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THEY SERVED WITH DISTINCTION

Friday, November 10, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we salute a battalion that fought the enemy as well as segregation, explore polar regions, learn how drugs like Lunesta or Viagra get named ... and prepare to join 1 billion people in a worldwide festival of lights.

A portrait of Luis Sanchez Hernandez, who was part of the US Army’s 65th Infantry, from his tour in the Korean War.

PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTOPHER GREGORY-RIVERA

Courage in Europe, bravery on the freezing mountaintops of Korea. For decades actions of members of the Army’s 65th Infantry Regiment merited an award like the Congressional Medal of Honor; it wasn’t until 2014 that they got it.

Presenting members with the honor, then President Barack Obama said: “Some of these soldiers fought, and died, for a country that did not always see them as equal.”

On this Veterans Day, read about this journey—and witness one infantry member (pictured above) and his commitment to duty.

A SOLDIER’S STORY

Members of the U.S. Army's 65th Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Borinqueneers," hold a Puerto Rican flag, using a finger to show one of the holes in the flag riddled with shellfire during the war in Korea in 1952.

PHOTOGRAPH BY AP

In Korea: Members of "The Borinqueneers" hold a Puerto Rican flag, using a finger to show one of the holes in the banner riddled with shellfire in 1952. Read more.

Related: Hear the last living voices of WWII
Also: How did Veterans Day begin?

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A cat that hisses and shows its teeth is showing aggressive behavior, one of the facial expressions recorded in the study.

BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Famously aloof, cats can make 276 facial expressions. Why? (Above, a cat that hisses, showing its teeth and aggressive behavior.)

Is this photo real or is it an AI fabrication?

See Spain's fabled Alhambra as few have ever before

Lunesta? Viagra? How do drugs get named? It’s not pretty.

How COVID attacks the heart

Why is the key element inside the Mediterranean diet so good for you?

A 2,400-year-old curse has emerged. A priestess was behind it.

Is leaky gut real? Does it cause all that stuff?

It’s OK to wear an Aloha shirt. Here’s what culturally conscious travelers should know

R.I.P. Apollo astronaut and Nat Geo Explorer Frank Borman

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Icebergs off the coast of Antarctica can create striking natural sculptures

PHOTOGRAPH BY CRISTINA MITTERMEIER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

The battle at Earth’s poles: The Arctic is warming four times faster than the world in general. The Antarctic’s melting iceberg formations (above) are contributing to rising seas. In these scenes, our photographers captured this beautiful, abruptly changing world.

SEE THEIR IMAGES

Related: A thawing Arctic is heating up a new Cold War
Also: Century-old photos reveal Antarctica as you’ve never seen it

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Parents hold their daughter 8 months and 23 days after she received a face transplant

PHOTOGRAPH BY MAGGIE STEBER

Now there has been a first eye and partial face transplant: The first-ever operation follows scores of face transplants. Nat Geo followed one involving a 21-year-old woman, and the procedure transformed her life. (Pictured above, nine months after the operation, she is hugged by her parents.)

Related: What's it like to have a new face? Transplant recipients tell us.

LAST GLIMPSE

A group of spotted jellyfish

PHOTOGRAPH BY RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI, REUTERS

A celebration of good over evil: Beginning Sunday, more than a billion people will take part in Diwali—India's five-day festival of lights—which brings prayer, feasts, fireworks and, for some, a new year. (Above, people gather to release sky lanterns as part of the celebration.)

Today’s soundtrack: Shrini's Dream, Shakti

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, and David Beard. We’d love to hear from you: [email protected].

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