Army and Society

Myer was the chief of the Signal Corps in 1870 when Congress authorized the Army to begin “meteorological observations” and establish the National Weather Service. In 1879, Myer received a patent for his “Improvement in Meteorological Instruments” that could be used by individuals for predicting local weather in rural areas that had limited access to published weather forecasts.

At the beginning of World War I, Edwin Armstrong, an electrical engineering instructor at Columbia University, received a commission as a captain in the Signal Corps. During the war, he continued his research at an Army laboratory where he invented the super heterodyne circuit that amplified weak high frequency radio signals. Armstrong’s early discoveries made the radios we use today possible.

On February 27, 1991, Cornum was aboard a Blackhawk searching for a downed F-16 pilot when the helicopter came under enemy fire. Five Soldiers on board were killed, but Cornum and two others survived. Pinned under the wreckage with multiple wounds, she dug her way out. She was captured by Iraqi troops before being repatriated. Cornum remained in the Army and became an advocate for lifting restrictions on what Army jobs women could hold.

Nantaje was one of 10 Apache “Indian Scouts” who helped the Army during the winter campaign of 1872-73 by guiding a large detachment of Soldiers against a band of renegade Apaches. At the height of the battle, Nantaje rescued a small boy who found himself caught in the crossfire. In 1875, he and the nine other Scouts received the Medal of Honor for their conduct during the campaign.

Born in Lesina in the Austria Empire (now Hvar, Croatia), Mazzanovich immigrated with his family to the United States in 1868. In January 1870, he joined the Army as a musician. Three years later, at the request of his father, he was discharged to help support his family. He returned to the Army in 1881 and served with the cavalry in Arizona. In July 1882, Mazzanovich was honorably discharged. He then worked as a mule-packer and scout during the Army’s final campaign against the Apache.