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Service Reflections of LTCOL William Dolley, U.S. Marine Corps (1981-2005)

Service Reflections of LTCOL William Dolley, U.S. Marine Corps (1981-2005)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents LTCOL William Dolley's legacy of his military service from 1981 to 2005. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to remember key people and events from your military service and the impact they made on your life. Start recording your own Military Memories HERE. Please describe who or what influenced your decision to join the Marine Corps. MCRD San Diego Bootcamp Photo 1981 As an indelible U.S. Marine imprinted in your heart forever, we all know we come into this world without pockets and will leave this world with only accumulated wisdom, life lessons for our Higher Soul, and much love. Your...

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Sgt Elvis Aaron Presley, U.S. Army (1958-1960)

Sgt Elvis Aaron Presley, U.S. Army (1958-1960)

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American singer and actor Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), widely recognized as The King of Rock-N-Roll, is the celebrity whose military service is probably best known. He enlisted in the US army at the peak of his career, in 1958, when he was already world-famous and had wide success as a rockabilly and rock-n-roll singer also encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads, and pop music. Elvis Presley: Birth of the Star Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was a twin, but his brother was stillborn. Elvis had a strong bond with his parents, especially with his mother Gladys. His father Vernon was doing odd jobs, and the family often depended on the goodwill of neighbors or government food support. Elvis was an average student at best, but impressed the teachers with his singing. One of the teachers encouraged him to enter a singing contest, which turned out to be Elvis’s first public appearance at the age of...

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Operation Top Cover, a Year On The Dew Line By Arthur Wayland

Operation Top Cover, a Year On The Dew Line By Arthur Wayland

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During the Cold War, the United States relied on three radar lines to detect incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles that might come from the Soviet Union. The most important and most capable of the three was the Distant Early Warning Line - affectionately known as the DEW Line.  About the Author of Operation Top Cover In Cape Lisburne, Alaska, Arthur Wayland was manning the 711 Aircraft Control and Warning station. It was a very remote radar station, the westernmost site of the DEW Line. His job was to warn the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) of any enemy aircraft that crossed into U.S. airspace.  Wayland spent a year on the DEW Line between 1969 and 1970. His book, "Operation Top Cover: A Year on the DEW Line," recounts his time spent there.  It was an eventful year for the Cold War. Richard Nixon was elected as President of the United States, the Apollo 11 astronauts won the Space Race by landing on the moon, and Nixon implemented the "Madman...

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Service Reflections of SP4 Orlando Maione, U.S. Army (1958-1961)

Service Reflections of SP4 Orlando Maione, U.S. Army (1958-1961)

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I was 22 years old and just finished my fourth year as a student in a five-year program for a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame, IN. In June of that year, I received my draft notice. I went to the local draft board with my university catalog showing the program I was in was a five-year program; my parents canceled the check for the fifth-year tuition and explained that I didn’t want to get out of the draft. I was perfectly willing to serve but wanted to finish my college education and a one-year deferment.

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Tales from My Sea Bag by Luis Sung

Tales from My Sea Bag by Luis Sung

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There's a good chance that anyone in the Navy could fill a book of short stories with their own personal sea stories, no matter what their rating was. That's pretty much the greatest thing about joining the Navy: you get multiple lifetimes of experiences crammed into such a short amount of time. Of course, slots on aircraft carriers and submarines are limited, and sailors couldn't talk much about those experiences anyway. Author Luis Sung was stationed aboard the Amphibious Transport Dock USS Trenton (LPD 14) between 1980 and 1984. He chronicles his adventures of being deployed with his shipmates and their U.S. Marine Corps passengers and the challenges of being at sea. From Childhood in Hawaii to Naval Adventures Sung spent some of his early life in Florida but says his childhood really started when his family relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, in the 1970s. It wouldn't last. The family eventually moved back to Florida, where Sung spent most of his life – when he wasn't in the Navy, of...

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Did Ronald Reagan Scare Iran Into Freeing Hostages?

Did Ronald Reagan Scare Iran Into Freeing Hostages?

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For 444 days between 1979 and 1981, 52 American citizens and diplomats who once worked at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran were held hostage by Iranian college students loyal to Iran's revolutionary Islamic cleric, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Though no hostages died, the incident severed U.S.-Iranian relations that have never been restored. It is the date the hostages were finally released that leads many to believe it was more than negotiations that caused their release. Reagan's Inauguration: The Ronald Reagan Effect All 52 hostages were released the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States. Legend has it that the Gipper's rhetoric and forcefulness struck such fear into the hearts of the Ayatollah's revolutionary government that they were immediately compelled to send the hostages home. It's true that the hostages were released on January 20, 1981, the same day Reagan was inaugurated as President, but it had nothing to do with fear of Ronald Reagan. ...

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CDR Denise McCallaCreary, U.S. Navy (1973-2000)

CDR Denise McCallaCreary, U.S. Navy (1973-2000)

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What personal and professional achievements from your Military service are you most proud of and why?:

I retired with the rank of Commander, United States Navy. During my career, I garnered medals, friendships beyond my wildest dream, and a master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School and Navy War College. While these achievements are extremely meaningful to me, what I am most proud of was being elected in 2019 by my peers to the position of National President — making me the first female National President of the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA) in 50 years. As a 15-year-old teenager arriving from Kingston, Jamaica, landing in the cold, freezing city of Chicago, Illinois, my dreams were small. After being taken out of my high school in Jamaica, when I was set to graduate, I knew I would need my diploma to succeed in a new country. Failure was not an option. I would have to graduate and go to college. As for what college or vocation I should have strived for, I had no clue.

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CAPT David Edling, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1999)

CAPT David Edling, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1999)

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What personal and professional achievements from your Military service are you most proud of and why?:

I’m proud I didn’t crash the ship that day in May. Being proud of something you didn’t do may not exactly be on point with the assigned question, but given the circumstances (and my relative inexperience), I’m still proud I didn’t crash the ship that day. Some old sea service sayings: “It’s been a good day whenever you don’t have a collision at sea or don’t run aground,” and “A collision at sea can ruin your whole damn day.” As a 22-year-old Navy Ensign (O-1), serving aboard the destroyer USS Duncan (DD-874) in the waters off the coast of Vietnam in 1970, I had finally qualified as a full-fledged Officer of the Deck Underway (OOD) in April. The following month (May 1970) was our first rotation on the gunline. The Duncan was a “well-used” WW2 naval vessel that had seen action in WW2, Korea, and, of course, Vietnam. Her main armament was three 5-inch/38 twin mounts. The primary tasks assigned to our ship were Naval Gunfire Support (NGFS) and plane guarding with the aircraft carriers operating in the South China Sea.

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The First Air-to-Space Kill

The First Air-to-Space Kill

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Even before the creation of the U.S. Space Force, American military leaders have had to grapple with what a war in space might look like and what we would need to be successful. In 2022, Russia launched what U.S. intelligence believes to be an orbital anti-satellite weapon into space. China is thought to be pursuing a range of anti-satellite weapons.  The F-15 Eagle: The Triumph in Cold War Skies While that may seem surprising to some and downright frightening to others, it's important to remember that the U.S. has had the capability to shoot satellites out of orbit for almost 40 years – and it didn't require advanced rocketry, fuels, or some kind of secret weapons to do it, either.  About 50 years ago, the U.S. Air Force's newest air superiority fighter took to the skies for the first time. The F-15 Eagle was intended to take lessons learned from the Vietnam War while creating a fighter that could match the power, altitude, and speed of the Soviet Union's newest...

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Why Americans Use Yellow Ribbons To Support the Troops?

Why Americans Use Yellow Ribbons To Support the Troops?

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You just can't keep a good tradition down. The good stuff will always come back up to the top in the ebb and flow of history. Using yellow ribbons to remember the troops is based on that kind of tradition. The Use of a Yellow Ribbons in American Popular Culture There are a lot of myths and legends surrounding when ribbons were first tied on, why the color yellow is used, and where exactly one is supposed to tie the ribbon. Those legends are only a part of the full story. For centuries, people have used items with special meaning to remember loved ones while they are away, whether they're at war or not. The use of a yellow ribbon in American popular culture first appears in a folk song, "Round Her Neck She Wore A Yellow Ribbon." This song can be traced as far back as 1838 and as far away as the United Kingdom. Versions of the song have appeared and reappeared in American culture ever since. It emerged once again in 1917, as the United States entered World War I as "Round Her Neck She...

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USS Midway Historic Aircraft Carrier & Naval Museum

USS Midway Historic Aircraft Carrier & Naval Museum

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The USS Midway aircraft carrier is America’s most popular naval warship museum. Located in downtown San Diego, the museum is open 10am to 5pm 7 days a week, closing only for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. The museum holds over 700 events a year, from Navy retirements and re-enlistments to changes of command. What is the USS Midway Known For? Commissioned after the culmination of World War II, the USS Midway was one of the longest-serving aircraft carriers of the 20th century. The United States Navy used the Midway throughout the Cold War, until the carrier was decommissioned in 1992. Midway was an important contributor to the US war effort in Vietnam.  During Operation Frequent Wind, known by civilians as the evacuation of Saigon, the Midway was the scene of a heroic rescue. Major Buang-Ly of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force loaded his family of seven onto a 2-seat Cessna O-1, evaded enemy ground fire while fleeing occupied Côn Sơn, and pleaded with Midway to let him land. After...

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Cold War – 1983 Beirut Bombing

Cold War – 1983 Beirut Bombing

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In 1975, a bloody civil war erupted in Lebanon, with Palestinian and leftist Muslim guerrillas battling militias of the Christian Phalange Party, the Maronite Christian community, and other groups. During the next few years, Syrian, Israeli, and United Nations interventions failed to resolve the factional fighting, and in August 1982 a multinational force arrived to oversee the safe and peaceful withdrawal of Yasir Arafat and the PLO from positions within Beirut and ensure the safety of the Palestinian civilians that remained behind. The participants included contingents of U.S. Marines and Navy SEALs, units of the French 11th Parachute Brigade, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment, the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment and units of the French Foreign Legion, Italian soldiers, and British soldiers. Withdrawal of the PLO was accomplished by early September, and the bulk of the multinational force soon withdrew to ships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea....

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