For those that don’t know me, I am a massive history nerd. From today onwards, I'm starting a new series called Today in War History, where I'll share a story from this day in a past conflict. So here we go 👇
October 27, 1969: A secret nuclear alert began, aimed at getting the Soviet Union to help end the Vietnam War.
President Nixon had come into office promising to end the war, but talks with North Vietnam were going nowhere. His team came up with an unusual idea. If the Soviets believed Nixon was unpredictable enough to use nuclear weapons, they might pressure Hanoi to make a deal.
In mid-October, Nixon quietly ordered a plan called Operation Giant Lance. Starting on October 27, American B-52 bombers loaded with nuclear weapons were readied and sent toward the Soviet Union, along with other moves meant to be noticed by Moscow. The public wasn't told. The signal was for the Soviets alone.
It didn't work. The Soviets didn't change their approach, and the war went on for another three and a half years. Historians have also pointed to the huge antiwar protests that fall, including the October 15 Moratorium, as one reason the White House drew back.
The episode only became widely known after documents were released years later. It's a reminder that some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War happened with almost no one watching.
When we think of WWII it is usually framed by its massive scale. It had huge armies, epic campaigns, and staggering numbers. Easy to lose the people in all of it. Individual soldier stories cut through that and make the history feel human again. Always refreshing to hear these.
June 6, 1944. An American paratrooper jumps into Normandy in the dark and lands on the roof of a church.
By the end of the war he had been declared dead, held a funeral he didn't attend, escaped the Nazis, and fought his way toward Berlin in a Soviet tank unit.
His name was Joseph Beyrle. He's believed to be the only American soldier to serve in both the US Army and the Red Army during World War Two.
Beyrle was from Muskegon, Michigan. He joined the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. His buddies called him Jumpin' Joe.
On D-Day night his plane was hit by flak and he jumped early. He came down on a church roof, slid off, and lost his unit in the chaos. For a few days he fought on his own, blowing up a power station and cutting German communications.
Then he was captured.
Here's where it gets strange. A German soldier ended up wearing Beyrle's uniform and dog tags. That German was killed. When the body was found, the Americans identified it as Joseph Beyrle.
The army told his parents their son was dead. His hometown held a funeral mass for him. His obituary ran in the local paper.
Meanwhile, he was very much alive, being moved from one German prison camp to another.
He escaped more than once. One time he and two other prisoners jumped off a train heading east. They thought they were heading for Russia and freedom. They got lost and ended up in Berlin, where they were caught by the Gestapo, beaten, and tortured.
In January 1945, from a camp in eastern Germany, he finally made a clean escape. He went east, toward the gunfire. Toward the Soviets.
When he found a Soviet tank unit, he walked out with his hands up, holding a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes, and shouted the only Russian he knew. American comrade.
It worked.
He asked to join them. And they said yes.
For about a month, an American paratrooper rode with Soviet tank crews as they pushed toward Germany. He used his demolition training. He fought. He was reportedly welcomed by a Soviet officer who was one of the rare women commanding a tank battalion.
Then a German dive bomber attacked. Beyrle was badly wounded.
He was evacuated to a Soviet hospital. Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov reportedly visited, heard his story, and gave him papers to get to the American embassy in Moscow.
When he showed up, the embassy didn't believe him. As far as the US was concerned, Joseph Beyrle was dead. They held him under guard until his fingerprints proved who he was.
He made it home to Michigan in April 1945.
In 1946 he got married. In the same church where they'd held his funeral.
Decades later, in 1994, he was honored at the White House by President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin for serving both countries.
And the last twist. His son, Joseph Beyrle II, grew up to become the United States Ambassador to Russia.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Joseph Robert “Joe” Beyrle had two sons. The elder son, Joe Beyrle II, served during the Vietnam War, but wasn’t a US Ambassador. That was the other son, John Beyrle.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Be…
Ty Barbo retweeted
I do everything I can to avoid extra travel for work.
Airports, delayed flights, hotels, terrible sleep, eating out every meal, and having your entire routine thrown off. When you’re younger, business travel feels exciting. Nice hotels, dinners, new cities, the whole experience. But once you have a wife, kids, and a home you love, the novelty disappears pretty quickly.
There’s nothing glamorous about being away from the people you work so hard to provide for.
We are buying a quick-service restaurant property in Iowa. Due to the seller not having their existing policy, the title company just told us the commitment will take "35 to 40 BUSINESS DAYS."
I am not even mad. That is just comical. 🤣
Found out this weekend that an old colleague was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma that had spread throughout his body. Still shaken.
Life is precious and fragile. None of us are promised tomorrow.
Call the people you love today. Tell them. Don’t wait.
Ty Barbo retweeted
One year ago vs today
From a chat box to a platform that runs an entire CRE investment firm.
Keep building.
Watched a wild documentary on The Korean War last night. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Korean War is how closely it resembles the shadow conflicts we see today.
American soldiers were directly fighting hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops while Soviet fighter pilots secretly flew MiG-15s against American aircraft.
The Soviets wore North Korean or Chinese uniforms, flew aircraft with foreign markings, and were instructed to avoid speaking Russian over the radio.
Washington knew Soviet pilots were involved. Moscow knew Washington knew.
Yet both sides had an incentive to keep the confrontation from escalating into World War III.
Fast-forward 75 years.
Western military veterans are fighting Russians in Ukraine. Russian military contractors have operated across Africa and the Middle East. In Syria, American forces even fought and killed Russian Wagner contractors in 2018.
Different circumstances, but a remarkably similar geopolitical dynamic.
Major powers finding ways to fight each other without officially going to war.
History doesn’t repeat itself exactly, but the parallels are fascinating.
Ranking the best algorithms in social media and streaming:
1. YouTube. It figures out what you want to watch better than anything else, and it rewards great content over follower count.
2. X. Fast, real-time, and the best place to see what the world is talking about right now.
3. Spotify. Its recommendations and playlists find music you didn't know you'd love.
4. Reddit. Its upvote system surfaces the best answers and the funniest threads from communities you'd never find otherwise.
5. Instagram. Strong on Reels and discovery, though it's more crowded than it used to be.
Iran's newest threat isn't aimed at oil tankers.
Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran plans to hit Gulf undersea internet cables if it's attacked again.
If that happens, it's one more case for @Starlink. You can't cut a cable that isn't there.
reuters.com/world/middle-eas…
I love being a dad. Hanging with my daughter is one of my favorite things to do.
But my God, I did not realize how much free time I had before being a parent
Shout out to all the moms and dads out there making it happen.
A buddy of mine quit his job last week to go all in on his own business.
Seven days in, he’s having panic attacks.
I’ve been there. And every time I’ve had one, it traced back to the same thing: something in my life was out of balance. Too much work, not enough sleep. Too much risk, not enough runway. Too much in my head, not enough people around me.
Here’s what I wish someone had told me early on:
Panic doesn’t mean you made the wrong decision. It usually means you changed everything at once and your body hasn’t caught up.
When you go out on your own, the structure disappears overnight. No boss, no paycheck, no schedule. Your nervous system notices.
So rebuild the foundation:
• Sleep like it’s part of the business plan
• Move your body every day
• Know your runway number, so the fear has edges
• Talk to people who’ve done it
• Talk to a professional if it doesn’t let up
If you’re in that spot right now, you’re not alone.
News I wasn't expecting today...
nytimes.com/2026/10/23/us/po…
One of the simplest, best things I've done with AI: freed my personal inbox from spam.
No apps. No clicking "unsubscribe" 400 times. I gave my AI assistant one prompt:
"Sweep my inbox. Sort every sender into three buckets: high-confidence unsubscribe, maybe, and DO NOT CANCEL. Never touch receipts, order status, security or banking emails. Show me the list first. Unsubscribe only after I say go. If an unsubscribe doesn't stick, set up an auto-archive filter. Delete nothing."
I edited, then approved the list. It did the rest.
I wonder how PTSD for front-line soldiers has changed now that drones are everywhere.
There's no "safe" moment anymore. You can be hunted by something you can't see or hear, at any hour, miles from the line.
And then they come home. A leaf blower, a toy drone at the park, a quiet sky. Normal civilian life must feel radically different for these troops.
