Military Campaign Stories

Historic Japanese Internment Camps At Risk!

John D. Bulkeley was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy and one of its most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was also the PT boat skipper who evacuated General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor in the Philippines. VADM John D. Bulkeley Led Daring WWII Missions John D. Bulkeley was born in New York City and grew up on a farm in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where he graduated from Hackettstown High School. He was a 1933 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. At the dawn of World War II, Bulkeley was a Lieutenant in command of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a Philippine-based detachment of six motor torpedo boats. He hit his stride as a daring, resourceful and courageous leader. He picked up General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and his immediate staff, who had been ordered to flee the Philippines, and took them aboard PT 41 and other 77-foot (23 m) motor torpedo boats through...

PFC Sixto Escobar, US Army (1941-1945)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Sixto Escobar, of the United States Army between 1941 and 1945, was Puerto Rico’s first world boxing champion, and International Boxing Hall of Fame member. Remembered today with the Estadio Sixto Escobar, the San Juan home of River Plate Puerto Rico, as well as many buildings, roads, and statues, he is a favored son of the island territory. Not as many people know, though, that he served in the military during the Second World War as an Army PFC.

Service Reflections of SSgt William Randolph, U.S. Air Force (1974-1987)

Air Force Reflections, Vietnam War

My father was the greatest influence on my life and the primary reason I joined the Air Force in April 1974, even before I graduated from high school. I grew up in an Air Force family. I was born at Hunter AFB, Savannah, GA, in 1955, and we moved seven times to various bases before my father medically retired in 1968. My father had just reenlisted in 1967 while stationed at Da Nang AB, Vietnam, and had planned on staying in to reach at least 25 years. My dad was also a great advocate and recruiter for the Air Force. Not only did he influence my older brother and me to join the Air Force, but he also influenced three of our friends to enlist. Two attended basic training with me. In the case of my youngest brother, he joined the Navy.

Largest Amphibious Invasions In Modern History

Korean War, Military Myths and Legends

The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations. The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital of Seoul two weeks later. The code name for the operation was Operation Chromite. Amphibious Invasions Turn the Tide at Inchon The battle began on September 15, 1950, and ended on September 19th. Through a surprise, amphibious assault far from the Pusan Perimeter that United Nations and South Korean forces were desperately defending, the largely undefended city of Incheon was being bombed by UN forces from the air and from the allied ships off the coast of Incheon. On September 16th, in an attempt to stop the advance of the UN forces, North Korean People's Army (NKPA) sent six columns of T-34 tanks to the beachhead. They were quite alone, without infantry support. They were spotted by a strike force of...

Distinguished Military Unit: 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Vietnam By A3C Michael Bell

Famous Military Units, Uncategorized, Vietnam War

"…Though some go curving down the trailTo seek a warmer scene.No Trooper ever gets to HellEre he's emptied his canteen.And so rides back to drink againWith friends at Fiddlers' Green." The 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) is respected for its lore and insignia, its mottos "[America's] First Team," "The Ground You Stand Upon," or "Live The Legend" and its traditions. The poem "Fiddler's Green" is noteworthy within the 1st Cavalry Division; it acknowledges cavalry history and sacrifices of its members, according to the 1st Cavalry Division Association. It is said that all who have been assigned or attached to this unit are Cavalry Troopers regardless of their military occupation skill and therefore eligible to rest at Fiddler's Green. The lyric's origin may have been the 5th Royal Irish Lancers as far back as 1689. 1st and 7th CAV (Garryowen) affiliation with it was first published in a 1923 volume of the Cavalry Journal. According to the article, it was part of a campfire story told...

The Mailman Went UA (A Vietnam Memoir) by David W. Mulldune

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

The year 2025 will see a lot of retrospective looks at the Vietnam War, as the United States’ involvement began in 1965 (or 1955, depending on who you ask) and officially ended with the 1975 Fall of Saigon. The best retrospectives anyone could possibly read are the no-holds-barred accounts of the war from those who were there, on the ground, doing the job. And few Vietnam memoirs are as poignant and honest as David Mulldune’s “The Mailman Went UA.”

WW2 – Midway and Guadalcanal

Battlefield Chronicles, World War II

There is some debate on the turning point of the war in the Pacific Theatre. Some historians believe the Allied victory at the Battle of Midway was the defining moment, followed by aggressive island-hopping all the way to the Japanese homeland. Others view Midway as the tipping point in the war where the initiative hung in the balance only to swing toward the Allies following its major victory in the Guadalcanal campaign. According to many other historians, however, the turning point of the war in the Pacific resulted from the two battles combined. They point out that the Battle of Midway inflicted such permanent damage on the Japanese Navy that when the Battle of Guadalcanal began two months later, they did not have enough resources to hold onto the island or to take it back once the U.S. Marines had landed. Together, these two victories ended major Japanese expansion in the Pacific, allowing the Americans and its allies to take the offensive. Japanese Expansion Before Midway...

Korean War – Sacrifice And Survival at Chosin Reservoir

Battlefield Chronicles, Korean War

For 19-year-old Pat Finn, a Minnesota Marine with Item Co, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, the night seemed colder and darker than any of the others he'd experienced since landing in Korea. His Battalion had just arrived at a desolate, frozen lake he would remember for the rest of his life: the Chosin Reservoir. Chosin Reservoir Hit by a Devastating Surprise Attack As the sun went down on November 27, 1950, and temperatures sank to 20 degrees below zero, Marines at Yudam-ni, a small village on the west side of the Chosin Reservoir, hunkered down for what they hoped would be a quiet, uneventful night. "The war was all but over," Finn recalled in his diary written weeks later from a hospital bed in Japan. "You'll be home by Christmas," he'd been told. But his buddy, Eddie Reilly, wasn't buying it. In his usual pessimistic tone, he told Finn, "Pat, I don't like the look of all this, it sounds too good." For the next four hours, the two Marines scraped and dug into the frozen, rocky ground,...

Summary of The Vietnam War (1959-1975)

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

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 mauled the French in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Geneva Accords then divided the country into North and South Vietnam. U.S. Enters the Conflict – Summary of Vietnam War Ho Chi Minh took power in North Vietnam and one million refugees fled south. The United States became involved in the defense of South Vietnam as the guerrilla activity by Communist-led insurgents intensified. The first Americans were killed in 1959. There were 342 advisers in Vietnam in January 1960, but after John F. Kennedy's...

The Last Airborne Deployment of WWII

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

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 crossing numerous rivers, many of which no longer had standing bridges. The Rhine River was especially treacherous, with steep banks and swift currents, providing German forces with a natural defensive barrier. Planning got underway to deploy airborne forces on the east side of the Rhine. The principal mission was to seize and hold the high ground five miles north of Wesel, Germany, and to facilitate the ground action and establish a bridgehead. The soldiers would then hold the territory until the...

Service Reflections of Sgt Frank Vanacore , U.S. Marine Corps (1958-1964)

Marine Reflections, Vietnam War

I had a cousin who is a Marine. He was on Embassy duty somewhere in Germany or Austria, I believe. I was a senior in high school at the time and didn’t know the time that he was a Mustang. I still don’t know all the details. When I decided college wasn’t for me, I decided to join the service. I picked the Marine Corps because of my cousin. I asked him for some advice on boot camp. I still remember his words, “Keep your ears open and your mouth shut.” Great advice, and it worked. I do know that he retired as a Major and still lives in Orange County, California.

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