Joseph Ditzler

Joseph Ditzler is a Marine Corps veteran and the Pacific editor for Stars and Stripes. He’s a native of Pennsylvania and has written for newspapers and websites in Alaska, California, Florida, New Mexico, Oregon and Pennsylvania. He studied journalism at Penn State and international relations at the University of Oklahoma.

@JosephDitzler

ditzler.joseph@stripes.com

A man gestures while sitting near an opening of an aircraft in the air.

Pennsylvania loses 2 Air Guard troops to off-duty incidents on same weekend

The Pennsylvania Air National Guard lost two airmen in unrelated, off-duty incidents a world apart on the first weekend of August, according to a Guard spokeswoman.

A woman with brown hair, seen from the neck up, poses for a portrait in front of a U.S. flag.

Pennsylvania Air National Guard master sergeant dies snorkeling on Tinian, report says

A rescue vehicle cruises through the cotton field toward the site of a jet crash. Black smoke rises from the flaming jet.

F-35 pilot safe after crash in California’s Central Valley

An elderly man poses in front of a white wall while wearing a brown military dress uniform, hat and sunglasses.

Last New Mexico veteran of storied World War II Guard regiments dies at 105

Contemporary health providers stand-in as Civil War surgeons during a re-enactment at the Spangler Barn in Gettysburg, Pa., June 7, 2025. From left, Drs. Jon Willen, William Campbell and Don Levick and Mark Quattrock, director of the Blue & Gray Hospital Association.

New take on Civil War medicine focuses on surgeons at Gettysburg

‘Gettysburg Surgeons’ is a Civil War history book that explores the experience of army surgeons, Union and Confederate, in a complicated, textured telling of the three-day fight in south central Pennsylvania.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter named Stratton (hull number 752) is illuminated by deck lights as it floats on calm ocean waters at dusk. Crew members are visible on the deck, and a small boat with personnel approaches the stern. The American flag flies atop the ship’s mast.

US Coast Guard cutter visits Philippine island amid South China Sea tensions

A California-based Coast Guard cutter has completed a three-day port call on Palawan, the Philippines, not far from the scene of clashes between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards.

President Donald Trump speaks into a podium microphone, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens from behind him.

DODEA teachers union sues Trump, Hegseth over order cutting bargaining rights

The union representing Department of Defense Education Activity teachers is suing President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging they unlawfully suspended its rights to due process, free speech and collective bargaining.

US, South Korea rehearse their response to threats targeting satellites

U.S. Space Forces Korea recently participated in its first space-defense tabletop exercise alongside South Korean government and military space experts, including representatives from the Ministry of National Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Senior Airman Christopher Collins marshals a B-1B Lancer at Misawa Air Base, Japan, April 18, 2025.

North Korea lashes out at Air Force’s ‘Swan of Death’ bomber deployment in Japan

The official voice of North Korea’s authoritarian regime on Friday denounced the recent appearance of Air Force long-range bombers in Japan as a “vicious change” and a “threat to regional security.”

A military ship transits through open water with clouds above the horizon in the background.

Guided-missile destroyer makes Navy’s second trip of year through Taiwan Strait

The U.S. Navy sent the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence on a solo transit of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the second Navy trip through the contentious waterway this year, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

Then-U.S. Ambassador to Portugal George Glass visits the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman.

Senate confirms veteran diplomat as ambassador to Japan with comfortable margin

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed George Glass, a veteran diplomat and businessman, as America’s next ambassador to Japan, approving his nomination by a 66-32 vote.

Airman 1st Class Cole Muder prepares to marshal an F-16 Fighting Falcon during exercise Cope Thunder at Clark Air Base, Philippines, May 11, 2023.

Philippines to bolster air force with $5.6 billion fighter jet deal

The Philippines plans to purchase a squadron’s worth of advanced U.S. fighter jets to shore up its air force, according to a Department of Defense notification of a proposed sale.

A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aviator prepares to launch.

No sign of missing sea ambulance as 6-day search ends in the Pacific

Authorities on Monday suspended the search for a Marshall Islands sea ambulance and its crew of four, missing since March 3, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Marines coax a Japanese sailor into surrendering on Guam, July 1944.

Pacific War author’s ‘Guam,’ due in March, fills a void

“Guam: The Battle for an American Island in World War II” sets the scene not only for the Japanese takeover and occupation from Dec. 10, 1941, but the 20 days of battle in July and August 1944 and the complete, post-war change that came over the island.

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