Strange Military Deaths

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You may have heard of people dancing to death, laughing to death or sitting on a throne to death, but there are many more surprising stories told to the Grim Reaper when the scythe is resting by the door.
What follows are what happens when you really want to stick it to your enemies for slowing your conquest of the Mediterranean, the consequences of leaving a nuclear reactor to inexperienced workers, the measures people will go to when they’re furious and hungry, and an unfortunate incident relating with an elephant-sized general.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner (B.A. (Hons) in History, University College London)
Script:
Natasha Martell



American Battlefield Trust. n.d. “John Sedgwick.”

BBC News. “Segway boss died in 'act of courtesy,” July 15, 2011. BBC.

Bradley, James. “Flyboys: A True Story of Courage.” Boston: Little Brown, (2003).

Crowley, Roger. “Bragadin’s Defense,” April 19, 2018. HistoryNet.

Crowley, Roger. “Empires of the Sea.” New York: Random House, 2008.

Idaho National Laboratory. n.d. “SL-1, Idaho: Just The Facts.”

Naki, Emrah. “Conquest of Cyprus by the Turks: Divergence of the Early Modern Period and Establishment of Status Quo in the Mediterranean.” Gazi Akademik Bakış (November 19, 2019): 1-16.

Spokane Daily Chronicle. “3 Die in Reactor Blast,” 75th Year, No. 91, January 4, 1961.

The Spokesman Review. “3 Technicians Die in Reactor Blast,” 78th Year, No. 236, January 5, 1961.

T. McMahon, Martin. “THE DEATH OF GENERAL JOHN SEDGWICK.” In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: Being for the Most Part Contributions by Union and Confederate Officers. New York: The Century Co., 1884.

United States Atomic Energy Commission. “IDO-19311 Final Report of SL-1 Recovery Operation.” Idaho Falls: General Electric Corporation, 1962.

[averymorin]

I'd say WW2 Luftwaffe ace pilot Wolfgang Tonne was a pretty odd death. After a successful battle, upon returning to the airfield, he attempted to celebrate his victory by performing a roll in aircraft but lost control and crashed into the runway, killing him.

[Korpsmen]

The first guy just went through so much pain and it’s just horrible inhumane

[metalmadness]

Defending Sedgewick, that was how officers were supposed to act during combat, to bolster morale with a disregard for danger.

[dudex]

7:20 "skinned alive the now dead airmen"

Sooo... were they dead or alive while being skinned?

[dogwoodhillbilly]

Fun Fact: The death of General Sedgewick was the longest recorded sniper kill in history until 1874. Not to mention he was also shot with one of the first Sniper Rifles in history, the Whitworth Sniper Rifle.

[mcwildstyle]

Sedgewick's death is the greatest example of situational irony

[stevemc]

"They couldn't hit an ELEPHANT at this distance."
Confederate soldier: "...yeah but you said 'elephant'."

*no-scoped*

[lifeonleo]

That first venician captain my god that has to be the most gruesom way to kill a man I have ever heared of, the Ottamans were brutal

[lomax]

I worked in the nuclear industry when I was younger. We did research on the SR-1 incident. They were actually running a test on the reactor when the control rod was extracted too far. The most believable theory was one guy "goosed" the other causing him to pull the control rod out too far.

[azj_]

John Sedgwick: Look at them, they couldn't hit an elephant at this distance

The guy who shot at him: *Hold my beer!!*

[Pantsinabucket]

Ironically here in Chicago, we have a street named after Sedgwick, and Cabrini Green was built along it, with Seward Park (which the street dead-ended at) seeing many victims of sniper fire from abandoned apartments as parents took their kids across to Jenner Elementary.

In a horrifically ironic twist of fate, the event that’s widely regarded as having been the last straw for Cabrini Green and led to its demolition was the 1992 death of 7 year old Dantrell Davis, who was shot in the head by a sniper while walking to school in Seward Park.

[desmondhumebrotha]

Union soldiers: “don’t peek.”

General peeks and brags
*dies*

[Brandon_metab]

The Chichi Jima incident was immortalized in a book called Flyboys by James Bradley. I read it long ago for a reading assignment and I was shocked by how gruesome it was. HW Bush was truly a lucky SOB!

[sebastiangeller]

"Uncle John" Sedgwick went out in such an ironic manner. But his demise shocked his fellow Union officers and soldiers. Ulysses S. Grant had been so impacted by the news, that it was recalled that he asked often, "Is he really dead?"

[elrostarminyatur]

1:05 Bragadin's death wasn't a "strange death" but a barbaric act

[robertbalazslorincz]

"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distan-"
*gets shot centered exactly in the forehead*

[csongorszegedi-csinady]

Actually, the reason of Lala Mustafas decision is known, and well explained. When Bragadin surrendered to Mustafa, the deal wasn't only, that he gives up Famagusta, but also that, that among others, he releases the 50 muslim pilgrims, who were captured by Venetian ships in January of that same year, unscaved. However, several of Bragadins officers, for unknown reasons, but most probably out of furiosity for the lost battle massacred the pilgrims in the catacombs of the city. It is worth noting, that Bragadin didn't order this, and was only informed later about the action. He didn't mention this, however, during the meeting with the pasa. When the negotiation was nearing it's end, Lala Mustafa finally asked about them, to which Bragadin, suddenly furious and outraged, replied: "You don't get nothing, not even a dead dog!". Only then, realizing what had actually happened, did Mustafa order Bragadin to be tortured and executed. Source: Roger Crowley - Embires of the Sea, chapter 18

[v.emiltheii-nd.]

The Napoleonic War British general who kept the "Hold your fire!" order several times as the enemy forces approached until he was shot to death when they got within firing distance..

To quote a fictional character: "If you have to shoot, shoot! Don't stall or monologue talk!"

[reynaldoflores]

Many strange deaths in the military have occurred.
A relative of mine, a Sergeant, survived 15 years of combat service fighting rebels and insurgents.
On the day of his discharge, he hitched a ride with an army truck to go to the bus stop in town .
On the way, the truck hit a pothole and one of the rifles of the soldiers in the truck accidentally discharged. The Sergeant was hit and killed instantly.

[Raiden_]

Honestly the poor Australian soldier that used gympie-gympie as toilet paper, was a pretty strange way to go out. He was found with a single shot to the head and clutching gympie leaves with his pants down. It was speculated that he used the leaves which caused their famous burn that can last months if not years .