May 8 (A Triple)

1945 – V.E. Day (Victory in Europe Day) is celebrated by the Western Allies in WWII, for ending the war against Germany...Victory Day is celebrated by the Russians, for ending their war against Germany May 9, 1945.

After hundreds of years of general war, Europe was finally saved from itself...It's important to remember, WWII was nothing less than an extension of WWI, which was an extension of the hundreds of wars fought on the continent for thousands of years.

Luckily, since this day Europe has seen the longest period of general peace since the time of the Romans...Which is why this period is known as the Pax Americana - the American Peace.  A peace enforced by the strength of the American military and economy - and it's people's willingness to provide such strength.

To understand what an incredible human undertaking this war was, look at the death statistics from the major players in the European Theatre:

USSR: Over 23 million dead
Germany: Over 7 million dead
Poland: Over 5 million dead
Yugoslavia: Over 1 million dead
Romania: Over 830,000 dead
Hungary: Over 580,000 dead
France: Over 560,000 dead
Italy: Over 450,000 dead
United Kingdom: Over 450,000 dead
United States: Over 410,000 dead
Lithuania: Over 350,000 dead
Czechoslovakia: Over 340,000 dead
Latvia: Over 220,000 dead
The Netherlands: Over 200,000 dead

By far the most destructive war in the history of humankind.

It should also be noted V.E. and Victory Days didn't end WWII...There was another enemy who needed to be finished off:  The Japanese - who were on the verge of collapse, but the killing in the Pacific Theatre didn't stop for another couple months.

1952 - The U.S. conducted the first hydrogen bomb test, at the Eniwetok Atoll.

This was a massive upgrade on the atom bomb - Many hundreds of times larger.

The big question isn't who will ultimately have them.  The big question is: Who will be the first to use one - and equally, who will be the first to take one?

1980 - The World Health Organization announced the eradication of smallpox.

One of the true scourges of mankind was killed off...Hopefully.

Smallpox has been with man for at least 10,000 years, and with the expansion of cities it became one of man's greatest killers...In the 20th Century alone, it's estimated 500 million people died worldwide from smallpox.  To put this number in context:  It's estimated 200 million people died in the 20th Century due to war, genocide and famine - less than half the number killed by smallpox.

It must also be remembered smallpox pretty much wiped out the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere - the 'Indians'.  A fact which drastically changed the world.

Only time will tell, but it's a pretty safe bet the germ-world will find another great man-hunter.

Hopefully mankind isn't stupid enough to re-introduce such a killer in the form of a re-branded - and newly 'banded' - biological weapon, which would be much more devastating then nuclear weapons.

1541 - Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi River.

No he didn’t, the Indians had been there for thousands of years...I’m practicing to be a Liberal.

1846 - The Battle of Palo Atlo: The first major battle of the Mexican-American War.

General Zachary Taylor gave the Mexicans a 'whoopin,' which was the norm for the whole war...But make no mistake, the result of this battle was more a result of Mexican military inferiority than U.S. superiority.

It is kind of funny this same Mexican army, which couldn’t win a single battle against U.S. troops, spanked an invading French force 16-years later.

1864 - The Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse began: U.S. Civil War.

Another bloodbath, another day closer to Union victory…Grant wasn’t winning battles but he was winning the war.  It was a brutal last year, however.