In the early morning hours of March 24, 1945, a massive WWII airborne operation known as Operation Varsity launched with an attempt to deploy 17,000 American and British Airborne troops across the Rhine River. It was the largest single-day airborne operation in history. Operation Varsity Launches Bold Airborne Assault C-47 Transport Planes Release Hundreds of Paratroopers during Operation Varsity. In the final months of WWII, Western Allied Forces advanced east into Germany. This meant...
Orville Richard Burrell, also known as Shaggy, who served on the US Marine Corps between 1988 and 1992, came to live in Brooklyn as a teenager after leaving his home of Jamaica. While he showed early musical promise, he was in need of steady income, and the Marines were happy to take him. Born on October 22 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica, Orville took singing lessons as a teen and discovered a natural talent. He earned the nickname ‘Shaggy’ because of his untamed hair, after the Scooby-Doo...
Vietnam was a country torn by war long before Americans became involved in the fighting. French domination was interrupted by the Japanese occupation in World War II, during which Communist leader Ho Chi Minh formed his Viet Minh organization and began guerrilla operations against both occupying powers. The Viet Minh came to power when Japan fell, and the French Indochina War began in 1946 as France attempted to regain control over its colony. The war ended in May 1954 when the Viet Minh...
During the war in Southeast Asia, the author flew combat missions in the KC-135 Tanker, H-3, and H-53 Helicopter. This book recounts rescue missions flown by H-3 and H-53 “Jolly Green” crews in 1969 and 1970 in Laos and Vietnam while he assigned to the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery (ARR) Squadron.
The only Medal of Honor to be awarded to a combat photographer is now on display in the Medal of Honor Gallery in the "Price of Freedom" exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. William Perkins Jr’s Medal of Honor at the Smithsonian Marine Cpl. William Thomas Perkins Jr. died at the age of 20 on Oct. 12, 1967, when he flung himself on a grenade to preserve the lives of three other Marines during Operation Medina, a Marine search and destroy operation in Quang Tri...
My dad, who had served in the Army’s 100th Infantry as part of a mortar crew, serving in the southwestern region of Germany in 1944-45, suggested that if I had to go (I had received my draft notice in the fall of 1966), then anything would be better than the Army. His reasoning was that it was better to die in a clean bunk than a dirt foxhole. Upon my return from my initial medical screening at Fort Knox, I knocked on the door of the only recruiter in town —the Navy.
Memorial Day is a deeply significant and cherished national holiday in the United States, providing an opportunity for Americans to reflect on and pay tribute to the courageous men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the armed forces. As we observe this solemn occasion, TogetherWeServed, the largest online community of military veterans and their families, is dedicated to sharing the rich history of Memorial Day, highlighting its distinctions from Veterans Day, and...
JD Vance, the Vice President-elect of the United States in 2024, is widely recognized for his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy and his role as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, has a lesser-known but significant chapter in his life: his service in the United States Marine Corps. This period was a pivotal time for Vance, providing him with discipline and a profound sense of purpose that shaped his future endeavors. JD Vance’s Early Life: From Middletown to the Marines James David Vance was born on...
We all know that military personnel are held to a different standard than their non-military peers. The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes things that are socially scandalous in civilian life, like adultery, are actually a crime for military members. Other activities, like attending political events, protest rallies, or other events, are protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution for most Americans. The Constitution won't protect military members who attend those events...
1917, and 1918, the United States government issued Liberty Bonds to raise money for our involvement in World War I. By the summer of 1940 when it appeared the United States would be drawn into World War II, bonds again were being sold as a way to remove money from circulation as well as reduce inflation. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the bonds became known at War Bonds.
I had always wanted to be in the military ever since I was a child. I was sure I wanted to join the US Marines and studied them while growing up. However, that was not to be the case, as my cousin, who is nine years older than I and was one of my primary babysitters growing up, went into the Marine Corps, became a sniper, and was in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968. Upon his return, he basically threatened me that if I even got close to a marine recruiter or office, he would personally “kick my butt.”
The story of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart is one of the most extraordinary acts of bravery and self-sacrifice in modern military history. Both were soldiers; U.S. Army Delta Force members who gave their lives trying to protect their fallen comrades in the face of overwhelming odds. It came in 1993, during the Battle of Mogadishu, famously depicted on the screen in the 2001 film, "Black Hawk Down." Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart Faced Chaos American forces in Somalia were looking to...
Many articles contained in this Blog were written by Together We Served’s former Chief Editor, Lt Col Michael Christy, and published in TWS’s Dispatches Newsletter.
