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sumrz t1_isq9fnb wrote

Good Grief, Charlie Brown.

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Forceflow15 t1_isqkxll wrote

I came here to say, Charlie Brown can't win for losing.

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calloy t1_isqaldv wrote

That blockhead

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DankVectorz t1_isq8e7r wrote

TIL we fought Koreans in 1870?

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molotovzav t1_isqi2s8 wrote

We were trying to establish ourselves in Asia and jockeying for trade routes and influence in the area, we had just emerged form the civil war, where Europe was already established in some parts of Asia. Sometimes shit like this happened too, but it wasn't a larger conflict, just us trying to exert influence and people fighting us from time to time.

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[deleted] t1_isrnq1p wrote

[deleted]

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Cheongshim t1_issajv6 wrote

Yes, but the motivations for imperialism were different from country to country and the nuances are important. Slapping the broad label of “imperialism” on everything and then moving on is the reason we still haven’t learned our lesson.

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[deleted] t1_ist0l2q wrote

[deleted]

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Cheongshim t1_ist47cl wrote

The first nuance is that people rarely exploited “natives” simply because they felt their race or culture was superior. Those are the excuses people made to justify, greed, corruption, and inadequate economic systems that were strained by war, famine, and policy.

Your points are reductionist and incredibly simplistic and I fear your version of a history book would only be about 3 pages long.

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Rossum81 t1_isssjod wrote

First Medals of Honor in a foreign conflict.

Korea was the ‘hermit kingdom’ in those days. Foreign visitors (especially missionaries) were banned. Many sailors who were shipwrecked were executed. As the US was trading heavily with China and Japan, incidents were bound to happen.

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SchillMcGuffin t1_isr9tos wrote

I think the Medal of Honor was the only medal for gallantry the US had before WWI, so it required a bit less distinction back then -- it could be awarded for a range of actions that might only be worth a Bronze Star today. I wonder how he'd ended up in Hong Kong to enlist in the first place.

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SuicidalGuidedog t1_iss4b1q wrote

There's definitely been an increase in the requirements to be awarded the Medal of Honor. I believe there was a "clean up" of about a thousand names when they removed awards that were considered 'unworthy'. People like Buffalo Bill had his taken away (although posthumously reinstated in the 1980s).

To put it in context, there have been 3,530 medals awarded and 1,523 were during the Civil War. That's more than the entire 20th Century combined.

If you want some really questionable awards for the Medal of Honor I'd start with the Battle of Veracruz. It triggered a new way of looking at medals in general and is broadly considered a turning point for the Medal of Honor.

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EndoExo t1_ist6f3b wrote

Yeah, a bunch of soldiers received the Medal of Honor for the "battle" of Wounded Knee. It meant less back then.

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Joggingmusic t1_iss97tu wrote

He was quoted as asking “why is everybody always pickin on me?”

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molotovzav t1_isqhrf4 wrote

At least he deserted in Shanghai, instead of being Shanghai'd (iykyk) which is how my brain tried to read it at first.

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Goalie_deacon t1_isramyv wrote

Maybe he was Shanghai’d, and why he went missing. How bad luck is that, get kidnapped, and marked as a deserter instead of them looking for him.

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Conscious_Card6261 t1_isr4b4x wrote

Of all the charlie browns in the world, he was the charlie browniest

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drak0bsidian t1_iss2iys wrote

And less than a century later, the Flying Ace came along. Doghouse and all.

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square3481 t1_isru2bx wrote

He's a clown, that Charlie Brown. He's gonna get caught, just you wait and see...

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irnehlacsap t1_issgr98 wrote

Good for him. Freedom is better than waging war for some rich dude that won't go or send his family.

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zstandig t1_issmn51 wrote

Deserted looking for a his kite probably

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Efficient-Library792 t1_iu2esvp wrote

Everyone "Youre a hero!" Brown "Yup had enough of that bullshit"

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