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Service Reflections of MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

Service Reflections of MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

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I was drafted into the military during the Vietnam War and decided to join the Navy instead of entering the Army. My late uncle, a career Navy man, said to me when I was young, “Son, if you ever have to join the military, join the Navy. “You get three squares a day and a dry place to sleep!” I remembered those words, and when it came time to enlist, it was the Navy for me. The strange thing is that I realized that I really did find a home once in the Navy. I enjoyed the self-discipline you had to have to succeed in the military and found that I really liked my job and the shipmates I served with. I was out of “A” School and at my first command for about a month when I was ordered to sea. I enjoyed sea duty, especially the days steaming underway. I found the solace of being at sea very enjoyable. I was having such a great time in uniform, and I decided to keep re-enlisting and ended up with a wonderful 24-year career.

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Service Reflections of SSgt Michael Weaver, U.S. Marine Corps (1983-1993)

Service Reflections of SSgt Michael Weaver, U.S. Marine Corps (1983-1993)

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I thought after high school that I might go into the Navy. However, my brother was killed in an accident in the Army, and my mother did not want me to attend, so I didn’t. I floundered around for two years, trying college, working for Transcontinental Bolt Company selling tools, nuts, and bolts door-to-door to farmers in western PA, and then working at Wendy’s. My father was a Marine during WWII. After a bad day at Wendy’s, I went home and announced that I was going to the Marine recruiting station. Dad, would you like to go with me? He did, we went, and I left for the Marines shortly thereafter.

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Service Reflections of SGT James Casey, U.S. Army (1971-1979)

Service Reflections of SGT James Casey, U.S. Army (1971-1979)

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I was honored to serve when my country called on me. I really didn’t think they would draft me. I was hoping to get some college behind me to have more options. I did not have good grades in school; my dad had me working at “The Big Cone” fast food restaurant, which we owned when I was fourteen to sixteen years old, so I didn’t have time to study; it was after school every day till 10 pm and every weekend. At seventeen, on September 8, 1968, I was in a single-car crash that claimed four friends: Max Pearson, Mickey Rushing, Nancy Ingram, and Kathy Lewis. I was not driving, and Mickey was driving. I was the only survivor. I made no plans to avoid the draft; in fact, I thought I would not be accepted, even if I tried to enlist, because of my injuries, both physical and mental, from the accident. What a miscalculation on my part! I believe I went through BCT and AIT with a compression fracture at the eighth thoracic vertebra from the car crash less than three years earlier. The crash and injuries are clearly documented on my entrance physical exam. I guess it was true that “All you need is a trigger finger.” Project 100,000, also known as McNamara’s Misfits or McNamara’s Morons, was a DOD program in the 1960s to recruit soldiers who would previously have been below military physical and mental standards. The number mobilized was 320,000-354,000, and they died at three times the rate of others serving in Vietnam. The program ended in December 1971.

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Service Reflections of ET2 David E. Hendrick, U.S. Coast Guard (1960-1964)

Service Reflections of ET2 David E. Hendrick, U.S. Coast Guard (1960-1964)

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I was in high school at the time of Pearl Harbor. I had never heard of Pearl Harbor and didn’t know where it was. That was true for many of my friends, but we sure found out quickly. We all became Gung Ho and were ready to enlist; however, we had a couple of months left before graduation, so I opted to finish school. Many of my friends did enlist, going into the US Army Air Corps to become pilots. That was my desire also, but my father said “NO.” He was in the First World War, captured by the Germans, and gassed. He was shot, and he lost three fingers on his left hand.

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Bullets in My Bottom Drawer: The Lighter Side of Combat by John Montalbano

Bullets in My Bottom Drawer: The Lighter Side of Combat by John Montalbano

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For some, finding humor in war and combat might seem to make light of a very heavy situation. Some might even find it offensive. But those of us who have served in combat know that humor, even dark humor, is sometimes the only way to break the tension, ease the pain, and build the camaraderie that comes with fighting in a war.  John Montalbano, a retired Vietnam veteran who was drafted into the Army in 1967, would not only agree that humor is important, even in war, but he literally wrote a book about it. Montalbano would spend some thirty years after the war writing and rewriting the manuscript for his book, "Bullets in My Bottom Drawer: The Lighter Side of Combat," which he finally published to great fanfare in 2024.  Montalbano served in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division and later during an extended tour of duty as a courier for the 93rd Military Police Battalion Headquarters. Today, he writes about his unit’s experiences in-country and has been featured in Vietnam...

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Service Reflections of CWO2 Donald Stine, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1997)

Service Reflections of CWO2 Donald Stine, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1997)

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I was in high school at the time of Pearl Harbor. I had never heard of Pearl Harbor and didn’t know where it was. That was true for many of my friends, but we sure found out quickly. We all became Gung Ho and were ready to enlist; however, we had a couple of months left before graduation, so I opted to finish school. Many of my friends did enlist, going into the US Army Air Corps to become pilots. That was my desire also, but my father said “NO.” He was in the First World War, captured by the Germans, and gassed. He was shot, and he lost three fingers on his left hand.

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SSG Leonard Nimoy, U.S. Army Reserve (1953-1955)

SSG Leonard Nimoy, U.S. Army Reserve (1953-1955)

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Leonard Nimoy, best known for his iconic role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek franchise, had a fascinating journey that included service in the United States Army before he became a household name. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant in the Special Services, an entertainment branch of the military. Who would have imagined that a young man entertaining troops would one day entertain millions across the galaxy, armed not with a rifle, but with a raised eyebrow and the immortal phrase, "Live long and prosper"? His life was proof that true exploration isn't just about traveling through space, but about pushing the boundaries of human imagination. Leonard Nimoy’s Early Life and Enlistment Born on March 26, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts, Leonard Simon Nimoy was the son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Max and Dora Nimoy. Max was a barber in Mattapan, and Dora a housewife, but the family grew up in a tenement on Boston’s West End. As a child, Leonard...

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MSgt Elliott Wayne Carmack, U.S. Air Force (1961-2003)

MSgt Elliott Wayne Carmack, U.S. Air Force (1961-2003)

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My decision to join the Air Force was influenced by the following:

FAMILY: My maternal uncle enlisted in the Army at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 1942, shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was assigned to the Army Air Corps. He was stationed at Keesler Army Airfield (Keesler Field), Mississippi, until his honorable discharge as a Sergeant the following year due to a service-connected injury sustained while working on military aircraft. My father was too old for military service, but worked in federal civil service at military bases during and following World War II, initially at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida during the war, and at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia after the war, a base I visited as a child.

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LCDR Montel Williams, US Navy and USMC (1974-1986)

LCDR Montel Williams, US Navy and USMC (1974-1986)

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Montel Williams is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of The Montel Williams Show, which aired nationally for seventeen years. Montel Brian Anthony Williams, known to most as simply “Montel,” is also an actor and motivational speaker. But did you know that Montel Williams served in the military? His decorated military service spanned 22 years in two branches of the service—the United States Marines and the United States Navy. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1974 and later became the first black man to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1980. Today, along with being a New York Times bestselling author, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Montel is a passionate advocate for veterans.  Montel Williams’s Early Years Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 3, 1956, Montel was the youngest of four children born to Marjorie and Herman Williams. Montel's father was a firefighter who in 1992 became Baltimore's first African American Fire Chief. Williams was raised as a Roman Catholic and...

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Service Reflections of SP 5 Charles V. Rogers, Jr., U.S. Army (1971-1975)

Service Reflections of SP 5 Charles V. Rogers, Jr., U.S. Army (1971-1975)

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Several things made me choose my military service. I guess it’s the old cliche? I wanted to serve my country, mainly because my Dad did during WWII. It was my birthday in 1971 that I decided to enlist. My draft number was up, so it would only be a matter of time. I went to the recruiter and signed up for the US Army on the delayed entry program. I think it was September 30, 1971. I wanted to fly, but wearing glasses was going to prevent me from doing that. I picked the Army because my Dad had served, and I didn’t want to go into the Navy, Air Force, or Marines. The Army offered the best chance because they might have lifted the restriction on glasses if things hadn’t changed. While I was at the AFESS, and we were being processed, a Marine Sergeant came out and pointed to me and several others and said we were now Marines. I tried to object, and thankfully, an Army Sergeant came out and said no, can’t have him, he’s RA. I looked at the Army and Air Force, and it seemed my best chance to do what I wanted while serving was to join the Army. If I couldn’t be a pilot, I might still be able to fly as a crew member. I worked in a car dealership and had mechanics down pretty well, so I figured I had a little jump in the aviation maintenance department.

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SMSgt Clifton Wrencher, U.S. Air Force (1980-2003)

SMSgt Clifton Wrencher, U.S. Air Force (1980-2003)

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I decided to join the Air Force to serve my country further and travel the world. I had already been in the North Carolina Army National Guard for four years when I made the decision. It was time to get away from my day-to-day feelings of unfulfillment. The Security Forces career field was challenging and demanding. It offered a lot of prestigious assignments, but the work forced you to stay focused. If not, someone would very well be hurt or killed. I tried retraining a couple of times, but a crisis or war caused the career field to be frozen. The assignments were Andrews AFB, Zaragoza AB, Avon Park Bombing Range, Soesterberg AB, Howard AFB, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Keflavik NAS, and Maxwell-Gunter AFB. After my Keflavik, Iceland assignment, I decided to return to Maxwell to teach leadership and management. I didn’t like the long periods in between classes, and the leadership there wouldn’t allow me to work with the Security Forces during downtime.

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