Military Campaign Stories

1SG Randy Jr. Taylor, U.S. Army (2002-2023)

Global War on Terror, VA Military Memories Competition

Of all the medals, awards, formal presentations, and qualification badges you received, which one(s) are the most meaningful to you and why?:

From the first day of my arrival at a replacement in Fort Benning in 2002, I waited to go over the hill and start my journey through One Station Unit Training. I silently observed my surroundings and the Army posters and informationals. I often observed a rifle against a rectangular background colored in blue etched in wood and was often positioned as the centerpiece on the walls. As I was brought to formation to receive classes, I would observe this rifle mounted on a rectangular background as a badge worn by my Drill Sergeants. In the Soldier Bay, I would observe this rifle badge in the latrines, in the dining facility, and in the Company Training Area.

SCPO Mike Day, U.S. Navy Seal

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

Senior Chief Petty Officer Douglas "Mike" Day was the first to breach a small room while on a house raid in Iraq's Anbar Province in April 2007. The moment he walked in, he felt like a sledgehammer hit him. It was the first of many bullets he would take in the next few minutes. The entire gunfight was about to take place inside of a 12-foot room. Day and his fellow U.S. Navy SEALs were tasked with taking down a terror cell run by al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the group that years later would morph into the Islamic State. With them was a team of Iraqi scouts on the hunt for a high-value target inside an AQI terror cell. They had shot down a pair of American helicopters, killing everyone aboard. Mike Day's Attack on Terror Cell Run By Al-Qaeda in Iraq To catch him, they were raiding a suspect's house at night. This particular house they were raiding was full of enemy insurgents. The room he just entered contained three of those insurgents. They opened fire on him as soon as he entered...

The Dark Side of Glory by Richard McMahon

Korean War, Military Book Reviews

In this page-turning suspense novel, Richard McMahon expertly switches between two settings and time periods, the earlier being the Korean War and the current a who-done-it mystery in a world of surprises where nothing is as it seems. The book opens in the present time (the early 1970s) as Biographer Matthew Clark is asked by Miriam Coursen to write a biography of her deceased husband, U.S. Army Major General Philip Coursen, a highly decorated Army officer. When Clark agrees to write the biography of General Coursen, he has no idea the layers of deceit and deception he'll uncover, not to mention a brutal covered-up murder, a secret mistress, an abandoned illegitimate daughter, and a tragic love. Nor does he realize his own life will be forever changed in the process. The story is principally told through the lives of five characters: Philip Coursen, who appears at first to be the perfect Army officer, but who seems to have an increasingly mysterious dark side; Miriam Coursen, equally...

The Battle of Buena Vista

Battlefield Chronicles, Civil War

The Mexican War was one of the United States' shortest wars, and it's a conflict that often goes overlooked in American history books. But it was one that literally shaped the country and its future in so many ways. It added more than half a million square miles to the United States, from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean, establishing a southern border and creating a territory that truly spread from sea to shining sea. It was also where many future commanders of the American Civil War would cut their teeth in the art of war, applying what they learned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. These notables included Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, George G. Meade, George McClellan, George Pickett, Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. The Battle of Buena Vista: General Taylor's Stand At the start of the war, the Mexican claimed its border with Texas was the Nueces River, while the U.S. upheld the Texas claim that the border was the...

Service Reflections of SGT Gary Clark, U.S. Marine Corps (1967-1970)

Marine Reflections, Vietnam War

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Gary Clark's legacy of his military service from 1967 to 1970. 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. Boot camp MCRD I joined like most in my day. I was not a Draft Dodger. I could not afford College in order to get the school deferment. I refused to go to Canada and live, which was only 70 miles away. I did not want to be placed anywhere in Uncle Sam's Army or Marines. Quite...

A Pilot’s Story from Tennessee Eagle Scouts to General Montgomery’s Flying Fortress by Richard Eager

Military Book Reviews, World War II

Some say the decades between 1930 and 1970 were the golden age of aviation. For many pilots, this was certainly the case. Aviation technology took a great leap forward during and after World War II. Pilots began testing the limits of their craft, from altitude to the sound barrier. Most importantly, the years saw the creation of the U.S. Air Force as an independent military branch. About the Author of A Pilot's Story from Tennessee Eagle Scouts Starting from a must-win air war like World War II, pilots like Col. Richard Ernest Evans could really make a name for themselves and thrive in the skies. Growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, Evans was practically born to serve. He started his service life with the Eagle Scouts and became a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot in the Mediterranean theater of World War II. He continued his service after the war as Deputy Director of Operations for the USAF Strategic Air Command. During the Cold War, he was promoted to colonel and was the...

Sgt Allen James Lynch, U.S. Army (1964–1969)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

When Allen James Lynch Graduated from high school, he knew he would either have to go to a college or trade school or wait to get drafted. He decided to chart his own course and join the Army. He didn't want to wait for something to happen to him, so he made his way to a recruiter. "I wasn't the hero you read about in books, you know," Allen said in a 2011 interview. "I was bullied a lot, pushed around in grade school, high school. I had a bad self-image. I had to test myself… I had to figure out who I was." Allen James Lynch Volunteered to Serve in Vietnam So Allen James Lynch joined the Army in 1964. Two years later, he volunteered to serve in Vietnam. Lynch arrived there with Company D, 1st Battalion of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) on May 31, 1967. Around six months later, he would be fighting for his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers. For his acts of astonishing bravery under fire, he would receive the Medal of Honor. In...

WW1 – The First Battle of the Somme (1916)

Battlefield Chronicles, World War I

In the annals of military history, few battles evoke the same sense of sacrifice, tragedy, and valor as the First Battle of the Somme. Fought during the First World War, this monumental clash took place between July 1st and November 18th, 1916, primarily along the banks of the River Somme in France. It remains one of the most significant engagements of the Great War, characterized by its staggering casualties and strategic significance. The First Battle of the Somme is famous chiefly on account of the loss of 58,000 British troops (one third of them killed) on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1916, which to this day remains a one-day record The First Battle of the Somme: The Ill-Fated Bombardment The attack was preceded by an eight-day preliminary bombardment of the German lines, with expectations that the ferocity of the bombardment would entirely destroy all forward German defenses, enabling the attacking British troops to practically walk across No Man's Land and take...

Night Mission to Mogadishu by Trent LaLand

Gulf War, Military Book Reviews

While the United States military and coalition forces prepared for the imminent battle with Iraq's military forces, Operation Desert Storm, January of 1991, a second international crisis unfolded in the famine-stricken country of Somalia, where a full-scale bloody civil war erupted. Warlord General Mohammad Farah Aideed rebel forces were attempting to overthrow the Somali government. The fighting threatened Americans and Foreign diplomatic missions based in Mogadishu, Somalia, as the Somali government was collapsing under the weight of the bloody civil war. This is an incredible story that has not been told of heroism in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The story was simply lost because it occurred in the immediate lead-up to Operation Desert Storm and hardly received any media attention. On January 2, 1991, Italian officials in Mogadishu made a fruitless effort to arrange a cease-fire among the factions. When this effort failed, U.S. ambassador James K. Bishop realized...

Frank Buckles, the Last Surviving American Veteran of World War I

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

Though legendary American veterans may live forever in our hearts, no one truly lives forever. There will always be a last survivor, and of the estimated 4.7 million Americans who served in the First World War, West Virginia's Frank Buckles was the last American witness to the horrors of the Western Front. Buckles died on February 27, 2011, but it was after a long, extraordinarily eventful life – and World War I was just the beginning. The Last Survivor of World War I: Frank Buckles' Journey Buckles was born into a long line of veterans on February 1, 1901. He said his ancestors had served in the American Revolution and the Civil War. So, it should have been no surprise that a young Frank Buckles attempted to enlist to go to war just a few months after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917. He was rejected by the Marine Corps and the Navy for physical issues, but the Army felt so good about the young man that they accepted the lie that he was older than 16. Anxious to...

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

Coast Guard Reflections, Vietnam War

I completed two tours of duty as a Naval Officer serving aboard the USS Duncan DD-874 and the USS Lipan ATF-85 before considering service in the U. S. Coast Guard. Both of those shipboard tours included deployments to Vietnam, the first in 1970 and the second in 1972. I liked the Navy. I had been designated a Distinguished Naval Graduate on commissioning from the NROTC program at Oregon State University, which meant a Regular USN commission. Both of my initial shipboard tours were excellent experiences because I served under very competent Commanding Officers, and my shipmates on both ships were guys used to form my abilities and competencies as a sea service officer.

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

Celebrities Who Served, Cold War

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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