Articles by Steven Gilchrist

W orld War II was the most destructive war in human history.   The United States played an integral role in defeating the Axis powers during the war. Located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., The World War II Memorial pays tribute to the 16 million Americans who served in the United States military during the Second World War.   Of those 16 million who served, 400,000 died.   The Memorial is also dedicated to the supporters of the American soldiers who fought in the war. The war was fought across six continents and all of the world’s oceans.   “It killed 50 million human beings, left hundreds of millions of others wounded in mind and body…,” British historian John Keegan wrote concerning WWII.    In 1987, the concept of the memorial was first introduced by Ohio congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.   However, construction for the memorial did not begin until 2001 and the dedication was on May 29, 2004.   Friedrich St. Florian designed the ...

T wenty-eight years ago, one of the deadliest events in U.S. military history occurred.   On the morning of October 23, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, a suicide bomber drove a yellow Mercedes truck into the U.S. Marine Corps base at Beirut International Airport.   The truck was filled with 12,000 pounds of explosive materials.   The explosion decimated the four-story military base.   The attack killed a total of 241 U.S. service members: 220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel, and 3 Army soldiers.   At the time of the attack, there were 1,600 Marines in Lebanon serving as neutral peacekeepers for ongoing tension in the Middle East.   According to the FBI, the attack was (at the time) the biggest non-nuclear explosion since World War II.      “For Americans, Beirut was a seminal moment on a timeline that led to the 9/11 attacks, Afghanistan, Iraq and beyond.   It was a first shot in a clash with a militant, fundamentalist Islam – exemplified by groups...

T he month of November is recognized as National Diabetes Month.   Diabetes affects 25.8 million Americans, about 8.3% of the U.S. population.   Diabetes is a disease that causes blood glucose levels to be above normal.   Most of the food people eat is turned into glucose or sugar which the body uses for energy.   The pancreas creates a hormone called insulin to help glucose travel throughout cells within the body.   When a person has diabetes their body does not produce enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as it should.      Approximately 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes which puts them at risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.   According to the American Diabetes Association, if current trends in health care continue then 1 out of 3 children born in the U.S. today, will eventually face a future with diabetes.   Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.   In addition to being one of ...

I n May 2011, a study was published concerning an inexcusable human rights crisis.   The Associated Press reported on the story in the central African country of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).   The study indicates that approximately 1,152 women are raped in the DRC every day.   This translates into a rate of 48 women being raped in the Congo every hour.   The study also indicates that on average, 29 Congolese women out of every 1,000 had been a victim of rape nationwide.   Compared to women in the DRC, women living in the United States face a lower incidence of rape.   The annual rate in the U.S. is 0.5 per 1,000 women. A woman in Congo is 58 times more likely to be a victim of rape than a woman in the United States.    This staggering information is based on the occurrence during a 12-month period from 2006 – 2007 where more than 400,000 women in the Congo were raped.   The DRC has a population of nearly 72 million people and is ab...

A ccording to the United Nations, methamphetamine (meth) is currently the most abused hard drug in the world.   The U.N. estimates that there are approximately 26 million meth addicts across the globe.   This amount is on par with the combined number of cocaine and heroin abusers worldwide.   Meth is also the most addictive illegal drug in the United States.   Researchers estimate that there are 1.4 million meth users in America. In May 2011, Frontline — a news documentary series which airs on PBS conducted an investigation into methamphetamine abuse.   The Meth Epidemic is a fifty-two minute documentary that chronicles the rise of meth usage and how state and federal entities have tried to intervene to prevent abuse of the highly addictive drug.   The documentary explains how methamphetamine is a man-made drug.   The main ingredients of meth are ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, chemicals that are found in over-the-counter allergy, cold, and cough me...

T he Middlesex Fells Reservation is one of the most popular parks in the greater Boston area.   The Fells Reservation encompasses 2,500 acres in five different cities and towns: Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham, and Winchester.   The Fells is home to several natural and historic features that make it a unique place: a mountain bike loop, hiking trails, ponds, reservoirs, two observation towers, Panther Cave, Virginia Wood history trail, Stone Zoo, historic houses, the Cascade waterfall, and other recreational components. Wright’s Tower, is one of the observation towers in the Middlesex Fells Reservation.   The tower, which is located in Medford, Massachusetts, offers a scenic view of the surrounding area, including the Boston skyline.   The tower is named after Elizur Wright (1804-1885). Wright was born near Canaan, Connecticut into a family that instilled in him anti-slavery sentiments.   In 1826 Wright graduated from Yale University.   Three years a...

BOSTON – 2010 marked the 100 th anniversary of the establishment of the National Urban League (NUL).   The organization was founded in New York City with the goal of empowering people through economic development and raising the standard of living and quality of life for urban communities.   These noble goals were on display this past summer when the NUL held its annual convention in Boston.   The NUL has more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and Washington, D.C. The theme for this year’s NUL conference was “JOBS REBUILD AMERICA.”   It was first time in 35 years that the conference was held in Boston, a city of firsts.   Boston had the 1 st public library, 1 st public school, and the 1 st public transportation system in the United States. I was not able to attend the conference, however; I was able to attend an affiliated program called The State of Black Boston .   The program was held on July 25, 2011 at the Hynes Convention Center.   T...