Military Campaign Stories

PFC Eugene Broyls, Jr. U.S. Marine Corps (1980-1990)

Cold War, VA Military Memories Competition

List the names of old friends you served with, at which locations, and recount what you remember most about them?:

My best friend from Chicago, Miguel Morales, and I joined the U.S. Marine Corps together. In boot camp, we were required to stand on our footlocker every evening, and when the Drill Instructor stood before us, we had to yell, “Sir, recruit (so-and-so) has no physical or mental problems to report, Sir!” We had to yell this loud and so fast that you could barely understand what the recruits were saying. Well, my friend Miguel’s bunk was right next to mine. Miguel, always the joker, whispered *watch this*, and when Staff Sargent Martinez came before him, he yelled, “Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra Ra!”

Benedict Arnold: Patriot and Traitor

Military Myths and Legends, Revolutionary War

Two hundred thirty-five years ago an event took place which, had it succeeded, would have ended the American fight for independence. Before exploring that near disaster, see if you can answer these questions about the American Revolutionary War, all of which have some bearing on the event. Who was called "The Hannibal of North America?" Who built a fleet on Lake Champlain and fought British ships invading New York from Canada? Who led a small American army more than 300 miles through the Maine wilderness in fierce winter conditions in an attempt to capture Quebec? Whose heroic action at the Battle of Saratoga led to the greatest American victory of the war? Who did George Washington consider to be his best fighting general? Who attempted to betray West Point to the British in exchange for 20,000 British Royal Pounds? A True Hero of the First Days of the War Benedict Arnold The answer to all these questions is Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American...

Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

Another Leatherneck, a black-bearded machine gunner, led a charge up a mountain of rubble that had once been a stately tower, shouting: "We're Marines, let's go!". These episodes illustrate the battle of the Hue Citadel - a grim, struggle through the courtyards and battlements of the old imperial fort. The fight pits U.S. and Vietnamese Marines, determined to take the Citadel, against North Vietnamese soldiers equally determined to hold it. John Olson, a photographer with the Pacific edition of "Stars and Stripes" spent three days with the 3rd Platoon of Delta Company, 1st Bn, 5th Marines. Attack of The Hue Tower Over the East Gate Thursday morning, Olson said, the platoon moved forward through the narrow alleys and tree-lined streets of a housing area to attack the tower over the east gate. They dashed at a half-crouch into a courtyard but didn't make it across. Three Communist rockets crashed into the yard. The radio operator was blown nearly in half. Several other Marines were...

Service Reflections of 1LT Frank Lavallee, U.S. Army (1966-1969)

Army Reflections, Vietnam War

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents 1LT Frank Lavallee's legacy of his military service from 1966 to 1969. 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 Army. My father was in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and was part of a B-17 bomber crew which was stationed at Drew Field in Tampa, Florida. My mother was born and raised in Tampa, so that's how they met in December 1944. They married a few weeks later, and I was born in...

Service Reflections of SMSGT Arnold Guiao, U.S. Air Force (1991-2014)

Air Force Reflections, Global War on Terror

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SMSGT Arnold Guiao's legacy of his military service from 1991 to 2014. 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 Air Force. 3703 BMTS FLT 006 OUTSTANDING FLIGHT LACKLAND AFB When I was young, I had a chance to attend UC Davis, but my brother requested if I could go to a college near San Francisco. The reason for that was my brother needed me to help in babysitting my two nieces. Eventually, I lost...

Mustache March

Military Myths and Legends, Vietnam War

Every November for the past few years, more and more American men are adopting the custom of growing out their mustaches to raise awareness about men's health issues. "Movember," as it's come to be called, raises awareness on such topics as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. Portrait "Mustache March" is a Military Tradition to Honor Robin Olds The men of the United States Air Force adopted a similar custom, except theirs comes in March and for a very different reason. "Mustache March" is a military tradition to honor one man: fighter pilot, World War II triple-ace, and Vietnam War legend Robin Olds. Robin Olds was, without a doubt, one of America's greatest fighter pilots. He was the son of an Army Air Corps captain who hung out with a virtual who's who of Air Force legends: Billy Mitchell, Hap Arnold, Carl Spaatz, and Eddie Rickenbacker, just to name a few. When Olds came of age, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (where he...

Lt. Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Army Air Force (1917-1919)

Profiles in Courage, World War I

The American Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, was a successful race car driver, fighter pilot, an airline executive, wartime advisor, and elder statesman. Few aces achieved so much in so many different lifetime roles. His twenty-six aerial victories came after only two months of combat flying, a spectacular achievement. Eddie Rickenbacker Set a Speed Record in a Blitzen Benz His family name was originally spelled "Reichenbacher," anglicized to its more familiar form when the U.S. entered World War One. His father died when Eddie was twelve, and the youngster quit school to help support his mother. He found a job with the Frayer Miller Air-cooled Car Company, one of the thousands of automobile companies that emerged in the early 1900's. From his job road-testing cars for Frayer-Miller, he made his way into automobile racing, racing for Fred Duesenberg, among others. He raced three times in the Indianapolis 500 and set a speed record of 134 MPH in a Blitzen Benz. He became one of the...

You’ll Be Scared – Sure You’ll Be Scared by Philip Cole

Civil War, Military Book Reviews

What possesses a unit of soldiers to run headlong into a frontal assault on a heavily defended position, knowing that the chances of success aren't great and that they could die? Many might ask: aren't they scared? The answer is: of course they are. That's not really what matters at that moment, however. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear." Nowhere in American military history was that something more important than in the Civil War. Union soldiers marched into the grim melee of the world's first modern war, knowing they might be maimed or killed. Psychological Strain on the Battlefield: Insights from "You'll Be Scared - Sure You'll" Fear is the natural process that keeps us alive and (hopefully) unharmed in the face of overwhelming danger. It's what provokes us to run away to safety or prepare to stand our ground. But war is different. Soldiers can't run away from...

Service Reflections of AOM2C Barnett Solomon, U.S. Navy (1944-1946)

Navy Reflections, World War II

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents AOM2C Barnett Solomon's legacy of his military service from 1944 to 1946. 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 Navy. Join the Navy! I graduated from high school a couple of months before my 17th birthday. WWII was in its third year, and I wanted to join the Army Air Corps and become a pilot. My parents refused to sign the permission papers necessary to join the armed forces at 17. After...

Col. Bernard Fisher, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army National Guard, U.S Air Force (1945-1974)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

It's hard to know where to begin telling Bernard Fisher's military story. No one could have predicted that a kid who joined the Navy at 18 to fight in World War II would eventually receive the Medal of Honor as an Air Force fighter pilot in Vietnam. No one would have guessed it would take the same man 57 years to receive his bachelor's degree. That's the extraordinary life of Col. Bernard F. Fisher. Charting the Course: Bernard Fisher's Unforeseen Military Odyssey A native of San Bernardino, California, Fisher joined the Navy in 1945 at the end of World War II. When his time in the Navy ended in 1947, he attended Boise State Junior College and then transferred to the University of Utah—but he didn't get to finish his degree. He joined the Idaho National Guard around the same time he began his higher education. In 1951, the same year he was supposed to graduate from college, he was commissioned in the United States Air Force. To be clear, Bernie Fisher had done the classwork, and he...

An Airman’s Journey by Robert M. Fletcher

Korean War, Military Book Reviews

From the Korean War to the Vietnam War era, the author shares his memories and provides photos of his service with the U.S. Army and with his career the U.S. Air Force. Covered in the early part of the book are details of how he is exposed to military life, the drudgery of barracks duties, like cleaning latrines, and the kitchen police, overcoming all of those to become a surgical technician, and getting assigned to different air bases to finally reach a forward station in South Korea. He recounts the many instances of near-fatal attacks during his stint in South Korea during the Korean War, along with a tour of Japan. His long list of adventures includes returning from Japan to do a tour in Germany. The book is replete with humorous experiences like guarding the Commander's dog or inventing a real 'sob story' to arrange a compassionate transfer, or his escapades with girls nationally as well as abroad. The memoir has a very good collection of photographs of people,...

Service Reflections of SGT Donald Davey, U.S. Air Force (1965-1970)

Air Force Reflections, Vietnam War

It was 1965 … the War in Vietnam was really gearing up. I wanted to serve but not be drafted. My father served in OSS in WWII, both the Training and Operations Branches of that very elite Secret unit, and ended up in the Occupation of Japan. OSS was the precursor to the CIA. I had a choice to serve in any branch, so I took all the various branch tests and selected the USAF in March with a reporting date after high school graduation in June… After arrival at my first duty station, I volunteered for Vietnam and got the orders, but they were changed to Korat, Thailand. I volunteered again at Korat and was sent to Ubon, Thailand; once there, I volunteered again but was sent to Udorn, Thailand/Laos the third time.

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