Members of the South Korean pop group BTS are, left to right, front row: Suga and V. Back row: J-Hope, RM, Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook.
Credit: © RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

BTS members are trading in their matching outfits for… different matching outfits. The group, also known as Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean K-pop (Korean pop) music group that rose to international fame in the mid-2010’s. The South Korean government requires men to complete 18 to 21 months of military service, and international pop stars are not immune. The group’s management company, Big Hit, announced their conscription (military draft) on October 17, 2022.

BTS combines elements of rap, hip-hop, pop, and electronic dance music (EDM). The group’s vocals are mainly in Korean. But they also perform lyrics in English and Japanese. The group also is known for its lyrics about the challenges that young people face. BTS plans to come back together as a band in 2025. Maybe they will have new songs inspired by their time in the military.

BTS originally stood as an abbreviation for Bangtan Sonyeondan, Korean for Bulletproof Boy Scouts. The initials were later also said to stand for Beyond the Scene. The members of the group are J-Hope (born Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji-min), Jin (Kim Seok-jin), Jungkook (Jeon Jeong-guk), RM (Kim Nam-joon), Suga (Min Yoon-gi), and V (Kim Tae-hyung). In June 2022, the band members announced they would take a break to pursue additional solo projects.

The government normally requires military service to be completed before men turn 28. However, the government granted Jin (Kim Seok-jin), the oldest member of BTH, a two year delay since he was “enhancing Korea’s image” while working with the band. Refusing to serve in the military is considered a crime in South Korea. Many fans called for an exemption for the members of BTS. some athletes and musicians have received exemptions in the past. However, the group decided to enlist despite their musical fame. Now the members are starting off on a different kind of tour. Before starting off on their new endeavors, the group held their last concert in Busan on October 15, 2022.

BTS was formed by the South Korean music producer and record executive Bang Si-hyuk. The group’s first single was “No More Dream” (2013). The song deals with the pressures many young Koreans feel from their culture and society. Since 2013, the group has released many successful recordings. The band’s first full-length studio album was Dark & Wild (2014).

In 2017, BTS released the popular EP (extended play recording) Love Yourself: Her. An EP contains several songs but is not considered a full-length album. The EP’s songs “DNA” and “Mic Drop” became the first tracks by a Korean group to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). RIAA presents a gold record to an artist who sells 500,000 copies of an album. The group’s single “Idol” (2018) also became a huge hit. That same year, BTS became the first K-pop group to reach number 1 on Billboard magazine’s “Billboard 200″ music chart, with its album Love Yourself: Tear (2018).

May 3, 2018

Dogs have lived with people as pets for more than 10,000 years. Over that time, dogs have accompanied people in all sorts of situations, including when people have gone to war. Dogs fought alongside soldiers in the days of ancient Rome, and they continue to do so today. One hundred years ago, in the final year of World War I (1914-1918), one particular war dog earned military and other honors in the United States Army. That dog, a pit bull terrier named Stubby, also earned his stripes and achieved the Army rank of sergeant.

Sergeant Stubby wears his stripes and several medals on his Army uniform. Credit: Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History

Stubby was a scrawny brown-and-white puppy when he wandered onto the campus of Yale University in Connecticut in 1917. At the time, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Regiment was training there before being sent to Europe to fight in the war. Stubby seemed to enjoy running among the troops on the practice field as they marched and drilled. One of the soldiers, Private John Robert Conroy, became especially attached to Stubby.

When the 102nd received orders to board a troop ship headed for France, Conroy smuggled Stubby aboard. The rest of the men quickly became fond of the little stowaway, and Stubby became the mascot of the 102nd Regiment. The soldiers even taught the dog to salute—Stubby would raise his right front paw to his face.

John Robert Conroy and Sergeant Stubby pose for a post-war photo in March 1919. Credit: Division of Armed Forces/Smithsonian National Museum of America History

Soon after the 102nd arrived in Europe, the regiment was sent to fight on the Western Front in France. Stubby had never been trained in the horrific conditions of war, but from the beginning, the small dog reacted calmly to the noise and confusion of the battlefield. When the soldiers heard incoming shells and ran to take cover in the trenches, Stubby ran, too. Soon, with his superior canine hearing, Stubby would know that shells were coming before the men did. When the soldiers saw Stubby run for cover, they ran too.

But Stubby did more than run and hide from danger. When any of his men were injured during a battle, Stubby would run out onto the field, find the soldier, and stay with him until he could be rescued. Stubby’s daring actions resulted twice in wounds and the dog was cared for in a Red Cross hospital.

Besides his excellent hearing, Stubby also possessed a canine’s superior sense of smell. During a gas attack by the enemy, Stubby gave his troops early warning and saved the soldiers from injury or death. Stubby also carried messages across the battlefield, took turns at guard duty, and once even caught a German spy! For his service, Stubby was made an honorary sergeant in the U.S. Army.

After the war, Sergeant Stubby returned to the United States with Conroy. He was introduced to President Woodrow Wilson (whom Stubby saluted) and later met Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Stubby marched in many parades and was named a life member of the Red Cross, the American Legion, and the YMCA.

When Conroy went to Georgetown University to study law, Stubby became the mascot of the university’s football team. Stubby often enjoyed playing with the football on the sidelines at halftime. Stubby eventually died of old age in 1926, with his favorite soldier, Conroy, at his side.

Sergeant Stubby was the subject of the 1978 children’s book, Stubby—Brave Soldier Dog. In 2018, an animated film, Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, recounted Stubby’s story and that of his best friend, Private Conroy.

December 7, 2016

Today, December 7, marks the 75^th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack officially drew the United States into World War II (1939-1945). Thousands of people have attended events that began last week at Pearl Harbor, capped by today’s headline ceremony at Kilo Pier attended by survivors of the attack and a number of dignitaries. The U.S. Navy co-hosted events with the National Park Service, with support from the city and county of Honolulu, the state of Hawaii, the governor’s office, Hawaiian members of Congress, and other branches of the U.S. military.

Events today at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, recall the Japanese attack 75 years ago on Dec. 7, 1941. The World War II battleship USS Missouri sits in the right foreground. The white Arizona memorial is at left. Credit: National Park Service

Events this morning at Pearl Harbor begin precisely at 7:50 a.m. local time (12:50 p.m. Eastern Time), the moment the first Japanese planes hit nearby Hickam Field on Dec. 7, 1941. Following events today include the laying of a wreath at the Marine Corps Base Hawaii, the ringing of the Freedom Bell at the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum & Park, a band performance at the Battleship Missouri Memorial, a four-team college basketball tournament, ceremonies at the USS Oklahoma Memorial on Ford Island, and ceremonies at Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield honoring the U.S. Army and its 25th Infantry Division. A private interment ceremony will take place at the USS Arizona Memorial, where the ashes of two Arizona survivors who recently passed away will be buried with their comrades who died in the ship 75 years ago. A memorial parade down Honolulu’s Kalakaua Avenue and a closing ceremony will finish the day’s formal events.

The poignant USS Arizona Memorial sits above the sunken remains of the battleship itself. Of the ship’s 1,511 crew members, 1,177 died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Credit: National Park Service

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Two waves of Japanese warplanes sank several U.S. ships, including four battleships. They also destroyed more than 180 U.S. aircraft. The Japanese killed 2,400 Americans but lost only about 100 of their own troops. The attack was a success for Japan at the time. But bringing the United States into the war proved disastrous for Japan and its citizens. The attack on Pearl Harbor has since become one of the iconic moments in U.S. history.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a key event in U.S. history. Following the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on the U.S. naval base, the United States declared war on Japan and formally entered World War II (1939-1945). Credit: © AP Photo