Service & Sacrifice
Military
Every month we tell the story of one serving American, remember one who didn’t come home, mark the anniversaries that shaped the six branches, and point readers toward a veteran-run business and a cause worth backing.
October 2026
Service Member of the Month
Nominated by readers · selected by the newsroom
Staff Sergeant Joel Gonzalez
U.S. Army · Arctic airborne infantry and cavalry · Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
Read the full storyFallen Hero of the Month
Died in the line of duty, or missing in action
In Memoriam
Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor
U.S. Navy · SEAL Team 3, Delta Platoon
April 5, 1981 — September 29, 2006 · Killed in action, Ramadi
Read the full storyThis Month in Military History
October · all six branches- Oct 3–4, 1993The Battle of Mogadishu — a daylight raid became a fight that lasted through the night. Eighteen American soldiers were killed and 79 wounded.
- Oct 7, 2001Operation Enduring Freedom begins — the war in Afghanistan opens. It became the longest war in the Army's history.
- Oct 17, 1777Burgoyne surrenders at Saratoga — the victory brought France into the war on the American side.
- Oct 19, 1781Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown after a siege by American and French forces. It was the last major battle of the Revolution.
- Oct 19, 1950Eighth Army takes Pyongyang — the only time the Army has taken a communist nation's capital.
- Oct 20, 1944The landing on Leyte — Sixth Army comes ashore, and MacArthur keeps his promise to return to the Philippines.
- Oct 25, 1983Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada — Rangers and paratroopers land. The Army's first major combat operation since Vietnam.
- Oct 23–26, 1942Henderson Field, Guadalcanal — the 1st Marine Division holds the airfield and destroys the Japanese offensive sent to take it back.
- Oct 23, 1983The Beirut barracks bombing — 241 American service members killed, 220 of them Marines. The Corps' deadliest day since Iwo Jima.
- Oct 25, 1983Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada — two days after Beirut, the 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit lands.
- Oct 7, 2001Operation Enduring Freedom begins — aircraft from Enterprise and Carl Vinson, and 50 Tomahawk missiles, open the air campaign over Afghanistan.
- Oct 10, 1845The Naval School opens at Annapolis. It becomes the United States Naval Academy.
- Oct 12, 1900USS Holland is commissioned — the Navy's first submarine.
- Oct 12, 2000The attack on USS Cole at Aden. Seventeen sailors are killed. The attack changed how the whole fleet protects itself.
- Oct 13, 1775The Navy's birthday — Congress appoints a three-man Naval Committee and authorises two armed vessels.
- Oct 17, 1922The first take-off from an American aircraft carrier, from the deck of USS Langley.
- Oct 23–26, 1944The Battle of Leyte Gulf — the largest naval battle in history. At Surigao Strait, battleships fought battleships for the last time.
- Oct 24, 1962The quarantine of Cuba — Navy ships take up the line during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- Oct 31, 1941USS Reuben James is sunk by a German U-boat on convoy escort — the first US Navy ship lost to enemy action in the Second World War.
- Oct 7, 2001Operation Enduring Freedom begins — B-1s and B-52s strike 31 targets across Afghanistan on the first night.
- Oct 14, 1943Black Thursday — the Army Air Forces return to Schweinfurt. Sixty of 291 bombers are lost, and about 600 airmen with them.
- Oct 14, 1947The X-1 breaks the sound barrier — Mach 1.06 at 43,000 feet over Muroc, four weeks after the Air Force became its own service.
- Oct 22–27, 1962SAC's Cuban Missile Crisis alert — the largest in its history. The first Minuteman goes on alert at Malmstrom on the 27th.
- Oct 31, 1959The first ICBM stands alert at Vandenberg.
- Oct 31, 1968The bombing of North Vietnam is halted, ending Operation Rolling Thunder.
- Oct 1, 2025Air National Guard space missions move into the Space Force — nine missions in six states.
- Oct 21, 2020Space Operations Command stands up — operational space units formally move over from the Air Force.
- Oct 4, 1980The Prinsendam rescue — more than 500 passengers and crew brought off a burning cruise ship off Alaska with no loss of life.
- Oct 30–31, 1991CGC Tamaroa in the Perfect Storm — the crew of the Satori saved, then four of five airmen from a ditched Guard helicopter.
Veteran-Run Business of the Month
Handcrafted leather · Tampa, Florida
Muddy Girl Leathers
Retired Army veteran Maria O'Connor makes leather goods by hand — wallets, bags, notebook covers and custom work.
Maria O'Connor served twenty years in the Army, fifteen of them leading teams. Today she runs her own shop, cutting, dyeing and stitching leather by hand. Every piece is one of a kind, and she takes custom orders.
Nonprofit of the Month
In crisis right now? Call 988, then press 1.
Veteran mental health
Fighting Mental Health
A nonprofit working on mental health for veterans and their families.
Fighting Mental Health is a nonprofit working on mental health for veterans and their families. If you want to help, the button below takes you straight to them.