Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

Military Campaign Stories

А1С Kurt Russell, U.S. Air Force (1969–1975)

А1С Kurt Russell, U.S. Air Force (1969–1975)

,

Kurt Russell is one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actors, known for a career that spans action, drama and westerns. From Escape from New York to Tombstone and The Hateful Eight, he built a reputation for portraying resilient, grounded and disciplined characters. Long before becoming a screen icon, however, Russell served in the California Air National Guard, an experience that helped shape his work ethic and sense of responsibility. While his military service did not involve combat, it represented a formative chapter in his life. TogetherWeServed honors Kurt Russell by highlighting his time in uniform, his early years and the lasting legacy he built both on and off the screen. Kurt Russell’s Early Life and Roots Kurt Vogel Russell was born on March 17, 1951, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Louise Julia Russell, a dancer and Bing Russell, an actor and former professional baseball player. Raised in a household that blended creativity and athletics, Kurt developed interests in both...

read more
BG James “Jimmy” Stewart, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1968)

BG James “Jimmy” Stewart, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1968)

,

One of the film's most beloved actors, Jimmy Stewart, made more than 80 films in his lifetime. He was known for his everyman quality, which made him both appealing and accessible to audiences. Jimmy Stewart Becomes a Hollywood Star Stewart got his first taste of performing as a young man. At Princeton University, he was a member of the Triangle Club and acted in shows they produced. Stewart earned a degree in architecture in 1932, but he never practiced the trade. Instead, he joined the University Players in Falmouth, Massachusetts, the summer after he graduated. There Stewart met fellow actor Henry Fonda, who became a lifelong friend.  That same year, Stewart made his Broadway debut in "Carrie Nation." The show didn't fare well, but he soon found more stage roles. In 1935, Stewart landed a movie contract with MGM and headed out west. Jimmy Stewart Discovers a Passion for Flying In his early Hollywood days, Stewart shared an apartment with Henry Fonda. The tall, lanky actor worked a...

read more
Gulf War – The Battle of Khafji

Gulf War – The Battle of Khafji

,

By late January 1991, the "war" part of the Gulf War still looked strangely distant. Since Operation Desert Shield transitioned to Operation Desert Storm, the war appeared very one-sided. Coalition jets had been pounding Iraqi command posts, radars, and armored columns in Kuwait and southern Iraq. That was all about to change.  Saddam Hussein aimed to strike back in The Battle of Khafji On the ground, Saddam Hussein still had large forces dug in, and he wanted to prove they could strike back against the American-led Coalition defending Saudi Arabia. His chosen target was the quiet Saudi border town of Khafji, just south of Kuwait on the Persian Gulf. It was a tempting target; the Iraqis not only needed a propaganda victory, but it's likely Hussein also wanted a reconnaissance-in-force to probe Coalition defenses and disrupt plans for a ground offensive he knew would be coming. Khafji had been evacuated of civilians months earlier, but on Iraqi maps it looked ideal: close,...

read more
Service Reflections of Lt Col Arthur Wedra, U.S. Air Force (1962-1984)

Service Reflections of Lt Col Arthur Wedra, U.S. Air Force (1962-1984)

,

The draft was on! I dreamed of being an Air Force pilot… had several training flights during my first two years of Air Force ROTC at Gettysburg College (PA), a detachment that trained only pilots in 1956-1957. After completing my second year of ROTC, I was subjected to a complete physical, in which I discovered that I was color-blind and consequently would never be able to fly as an Air Force pilot. I was disappointed, but shortly thereafter learned that the Navy had an easier-to-pass color-blindness test… so I arranged for a physical at the Philadelphia Navy Base… it was an all-day exercise; the last event was the color-blindness test. The testers brought out what I knew was the same test the Air Force testers used. Surprised, I asked about the different tests and replied, “Oh, we found out that this one is more reliable.” And so ended my desire to be a military pilot. I put the whole idea of military service on the back burner until my senior year, in the spring of 1962…following two dropouts for lack of funds to return.

read more
Women Combat Journalists

Women Combat Journalists

,

The Second World War opened a new chapter in the lives of Depression-weary Americans. As husbands and fathers, sons and brothers shipped out to fight in Europe and the Pacific, millions of women marched into factories, offices, and military bases to work in paying jobs and in roles traditionally reserved for men in peacetime. It was also a time that offered new professional opportunities for women journalists - a path to the rarest of assignments, war reporters. Women Journalists Break Barriers to Cover World War II Talented and determined, dozens of women fought for the right to cover the biggest story of their lives. By war's end, at least 127 American women managed to obtain official accreditation from the U.S. War Department as war correspondents. Rules imposed by the military, however, stated women journalists could not enter the actual combat zone but remain in the rear areas writing stories of soldiers healing their wounds in field hospitals or other pieces supporting the war...

read more
Break in the Chain-Intelligence Ignored by W.R. Baker

Break in the Chain-Intelligence Ignored by W.R. Baker

,

W.R. "Bob" Baker's "Break in the Chain — Intelligence Ignored: Military Intelligence in Vietnam and Why the Easter Offensive Should Have Turned Out Differently" is both a war story and an indictment. It's part memoir from the cramped intel bunkers of I Corps in 1972, and part after-action review of how a major enemy offensive can roar through a command system convinced that it "can't happen here." Break in the Chain shows how one analyst made a difference Baker isn't an armchair critic parachuting into history decades later. He graduated first in the Army's inaugural Intelligence (Order of Battle) Analyst course at Fort Huachuca in 1971 and was sent straight to Da Nang, where he became the sole trained intelligence analyst in the 571st Military Intelligence Detachment/525th MI Group, effectively the only U.S. intelligence unit still operating in I Corps at the time of the Easter Offensive.  After Vietnam, he worked as a forward-area watch analyst and electronic order of battle...

read more
SSG Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army (2003–2008)

SSG Robert J. Miller, U.S. Army (2003–2008)

,

Staff Sgt. Robert J. "Rob" Miller didn't look like the square-jawed "GI Joe" people imagine when they hear "Green Beret." He was a former high-school gymnast, band kid, Boy Scout and part-time surf bum who liked classical music as much as hard rock. He just also happened to be the guy who would one day charge a valley full of enemy fighters so his friends could live. Robert Miller Was Shaped by Family and Values Miller was born in Pennsylvania in 1983, the second of eight kids in a family where military service was basically a family tradition, stretching back to the Revolutionary War. He was named for both grandfathers, World War II veterans, and grew up around stories of war and oppression, including tales from Cambodian refugee friends about surviving the Khmer Rouge. It left him with an early sense that there were, in his words, some truly bad people in the world.  The Millers moved to Wheaton, Illinois, when Rob was five years old. He grew up into the kind of overachiever every...

read more
2LT Alan Alda, U.S. Army (1956-1956)

2LT Alan Alda, U.S. Army (1956-1956)

,

Alan Alda is a name that instantly brings to mind the quick-witted, irreverent Army surgeon Hawkeye Pierce from the Emmy-winning series MASH. But there is more to Alda than Hollywood fame and clever one-liners. Long before he was making audiences laugh on television, Alda served in the United States Army Reserve, a chapter of his life that quietly shaped the authenticity he brought to one of TV’s most beloved characters. That combination of real-life experience and natural charisma helped MASH stand out, giving the show a depth that reached well beyond typical sitcom humor. Alan Alda Grew Up in Manhattan and Studied at Fordham Alan Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo on January 28, 1936, in the vibrant heart of Manhattan, New York. Creativity ran in his veins, his father, Robert Alda, was a performer who moved seamlessly between burlesque, theater and film, while his mother, Joan Browne, held the family together despite struggling with schizophrenia. Alda’s childhood was a mix of...

read more
Service Reflections of Sgt Howard Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps (1969-1973)

Service Reflections of Sgt Howard Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps (1969-1973)

,

One of my family members served with Washington in the Revolutionary War, John Cahoes. He was actually on a sortie to capture an English General. They had to cross from New York to New Jersey in a rowboat, crossing between English warships in the dark of night. Intel had it that the British general had a kept maiden at a local pub, and the Americans caught him with his pants down. His troops were encamped just down from the pub. They caught him in bed and hauled him back down to the bay before they let him put his pants on. Then they rowed back across the bay between the warships.

read more
War in the Pacific – The Battle of Manila

War in the Pacific – The Battle of Manila

,

On February 3, 1945, American forces entered the outskirts of Manila, capital of the Philippines, beginning the Battle of Manila, a ferocious and destructive urban battle against the Japanese that would leave Manila the second-hardest hit Allied capital (following Warsaw) of World War II.  The Road to Manila and the First Days of Battle As part of his campaign to retake the Philippines from the Japanese (who had captured it from the Americans in 1942), General Douglas MacArthur first invaded the island of Leyte and then moved on to the island of Luzon, the largest of the Philippine islands and home to the capital, Manila.  American troops were able to rapidly advance to Manila, leading MacArthur to believe it would be a relatively easy fight. They entered the city limits on February 3, quickly liberating Allied (mostly American) POWs and civilians from their incarceration at the University of Santo Tomas and Bilibid Prison. However, Japanese forces dug in and put up a fierce...

read more
Maj Audie Murphy, U.S. Army (1942-1969)

Maj Audie Murphy, U.S. Army (1942-1969)

,

He wanted to join the Marines, but he was too short. The paratroopers wouldn't have him either. Reluctantly, he settled on the infantry, enlisting to become nothing less than one of the most-decorated heroes of World War II. He was Audie Murphy, the baby-faced Texas farm boy who became an American Legend. Audie Murphy Begins Life in Hardship and Early Responsibility The sixth of twelve children, Audie Murphy, was born in Kingston, Hunt County, TX, on June 20, 1925. The son of poor sharecroppers, Emmett and Josie Murphy, Audie grew up on a rundown farm and attended school in Celeste. His education was cut short in 1936 when his father abandoned the family. Left with only a fifth-grade education, Murphy began working on local farms as a laborer to help support his family. A gifted hunter, he was also able to feed his siblings from game animals he shot. Though he attempted to support the family on his own by working various jobs, Murphy was ultimately forced to place his three youngest...

read more