Military Campaign Stories

We Don’t Want YOU, Uncle Sam by Matthew Weiss

Global War on Terror, Military Book Reviews

We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam by Matthew Weiss The military's recruiting crisis is at an all-time high in 2023. The U.S. Army, the military's largest branch, is expected to fall short by 15,000 recruits this year. Most of the younger generations the military can get are those who are children of someone who served -- but even that source is threatened. Other branches are seeing shortfalls, too. The Navy is going to miss its goal by 10,000 recruits; the Air Force will be short 3,000. Only the Marine Corps, the smallest branch, is expected to make its goal. News reports of substandard housing and food shortages don't help, nor do the decades of war, followed by an epidemic of post-traumatic stress disorder and veteran suicide. All branches are in a quandary about what they can do to make military life more appealing and make Gen-Z consider the military in their future plans. One Marine Corps intelligence officer believes he has the answers and compiled them into a new book, "We Don't...

Service Reflections of LCPL Nick Loye, U.S. Marine Corps (1974-1976)

Marine Reflections, Vietnam War

At the time of my decision, I tried college that did not work. I was not ready for more schooling just out of HS. My dad was in the Coast Guard, I was in the Boy Scouts, I always felt patriotic, and it seemed to lurk in my mind to serve. I found my life stagnant after two years out of HS my buddy at the time mentioned he and his brother were joining the Marine Corps. He mentioned his recruiter, and I should talk with him if I was interested. I did, and he explained to me there was a new enlistment experiment for a two-year commitment, and then if it worked out and I thought this was my groove, then I could do a re-enlist. The rest was history. I joined 1974.

The War of 1812 – The Siege of Fort McHenry

Battlefield Chronicles, War of 1812

Every American is familiar with the words of Francis Scott Key's epic poem-turned song-turned national anthem. "Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, ⁠O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?" As we stand there, listening to the words while waiting for our football or baseball game to start, it likely doesn't occur to us just how miraculous it was for the broad stripes and bright stars to still be gallantly streaming that morning in September 1814. At the outset of the battle, things looked pretty grim for the Americans. The Siege of Fort McHenry: Inspiration for Our National Anthem When the War of 1812 began, Britain was fighting a defensive war, mainly because it was focused on defeating Napoleon in Europe. When Napoleon was exiled to Elba in May 1814, the Royal Navy was free to take the offensive – and it did, in a big way. The U.S. saw success in the Great Lakes and against Britain's American Indian allies, but the Royal Navy...

Famous Marine Corps Unit: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

Famous Military Units, Global War on Terror, Vietnam War, World War II

Approximately 800 Marines and Sailors of the "Two Five" comprised of H&S Co, Echo Co, Fox Co, Golf Co, and Weapons Co. are based at MCB Camp Pendleton, California under command of the 1st Marine Division. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines is a battalion-level infantry unit composed of Marines and support personnel. Infantry battalions are the basic tactical units that the regiment uses to accomplish its mission of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and close combat. 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines: Rich History and Service Marines: Together We Served lists 3,104 registered members who had been assigned to this unit as of August 2023, from Col. Abbink to Sgt Zwarka. A superior and reliable summary of the 2/5 from its own lineage history and Marines TWS reads: "The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines was initially formed in July 1914 and immediately sailed to the Caribbean due to political turmoil in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The battalion returned to the United States...

Civil War – The Battle of Gettysburg

Battlefield Chronicles, Civil War

Gen. Robert E. Lee led his Army of North Virginia only two times into the North throughout the American Civil War. The winner of the first battle was inconclusive; the second determined the winner of the war. The first battle fought on northern soil took place in September 1862, when Gen. Robert E. Lee's army invaded Maryland. It was near Antietam Creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland where his Army of Northern Virginia was confronted by Maj. Gen. George McClellan's Army of the Potomac. Fierce hand-to-hand fighting resulted in halting Lee's invasion, but Lee was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia without obstruction from the cautious McClellan who offered no pursuit. Although the battle was tactically inconclusive, the Confederate troops had withdrawn first from the battlefield, making it, in military terms, a Union victory. Antietam was also the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined total of nearly 23,000 dead, wounded, and missing. Eleven months...

Service Reflections of CAPT Rex Conger, U.S. Navy (1966-2008)

Navy Reflections, Vietnam War

It was my Senior Year in high school. My dad was a history teacher and the Vice-Principal at my high school, so I didn’t get away with much.

I worked in a Grocery Store and delivered Sealtest Milk door to door on Saturdays and during school breaks. I also played the organ in a rock band most Saturday nights. I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, and I knew that we could not afford college, so I was trying to decide what I would do.

There was a footlocker in one of our closets that had my dad’s old uniforms in it, and I had played “dress up” years ago with those uniforms. My dad had served during WWII in the Navy as an officer – and I began to think that the Navy could give me a way to get away from home and perhaps provide me with a “Career” – little did I know!

Vietnam was going on – but I, and the guys I hung around with, really didn’t pay a lot of attention to it. And I was still too young to be “Drafted!” So I talked to my dad and found him “more patriotic than I ever realized.” He said it was my choice – but – he thought it would be good for me to “mature” and perhaps I would find my career choice. I didn’t talk much to my buddies – but I did talk to the Navy Recruiter. As I remember, the recruiter had me on a Bus shortly after that – I passed the Physical and was on my way to Great Lakes Naval Training Center, two hours from home.

Sgt Peter Lemon, U. S. Army (1968-1972)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

The tall man in an immaculate business suit looked across the crowded classroom at more than a hundred young faces. He was an imposing figure, over six feet tall and broad of shoulder. Yet he spoke with a quiet gentleness that captivated the children. At the back of the room stood an impatient cameraman from the local TV station. He had come to interview a rare hero, a living Medal of Honor recipient. It seemed, however, that Peter Lemon was more interested in talking to the children than in talking to the camera. And he wasn't even talking about himself or his own heroic actions decades earlier. Instead, the hero, pausing from time to time to compose himself, talked of three friends who had died the night of his action. Peter Lemon: the Heroic Night and the Price of Sacrifice On that spring day in 1993, there were only 204 living Americans authorized to wear the Medal of Honor. Mr. Lemon was one of them, yet he had shown up in business attire, no Medal draped around his neck. The...

Radioman 3rd Class Paul Leonard Newman, U.S. Navy (1943-1946)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

In the dazzling world of Hollywood, Paul Newman's name has become synonymous with timeless charm, talent, and philanthropy. A prominent American actor and director, renowned for his captivating charm, striking intelligence, and enduring good looks, he graced the silver screen for over half a century. Throughout his illustrious career, Newman made a name for himself by delivering riveting portrayals of iconic antiheroes. But long before he became an award-winning actor, Newman donned a uniform and served his country with unwavering dedication during World War II. Today, TogetherWeServed pays tribute to this remarkable actor and true patriot, as we take a look at the notable military service of Paul Newman. Paul Newman’s Early Years Born on January 26, 1925, in Shaker Heights, Ohio, Paul Leonard Newman grew up during the Great Depression era. The Newman family, including older brother Arthur Jr., lived on Brighton Road in Shaker Heights. Paul’s father and uncle ran Newman-Stern Co.,...

The Wreck of the USS Indianapolis Discovered

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis, the Navy cruiser sunk by an Imperial Japanese submarine 72 years ago during the waning days of World War II, was finally discovered on Saturday, reports Chris Buckley at The New York Times. Update on the USS Indianapolis A team financed by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, discovered the warship 18,000 feet deep in the North Pacific Ocean. Kristine Phillips at The Washington Post reports the ship was on a super-secret mission to Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands in late July 1945, to deliver the components for the "Little Boy" atomic bomb dropped a week later on Hiroshima, Japan. After delivering her payload, the ship was sailing in the Philippine Sea on its way to rendezvous with other ships in preparation for an attack on Japan. After delivering her payload, the ship was sailing in the Philippine Sea on its way to rendezvous with other ships in preparation for an attack on Japan. The Beginning of the Tragedy of The USS"...

Five Years to Freedom: The True Story of a Vietnam POW by James N. Rowe

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

When Green Beret Lieutenant James N. Rowe was captured in 1963 in Vietnam, his life became an intensely grueling endeavor that few could have survived. Rowe had been in Vietnam for only three months when he was captured. Imprisoned in a Viet Cong POW camp in an area known as the Forest of Darkness, Rowe endured beri-beri, dysentery, and tropical fungus diseases. He suffered demoralizing psychological and physical torment. He experienced the loneliness and frustration of watching his friends die. And he struggled every day to maintain faith in himself as a soldier and in his country as it appeared to be turning against him. However, he cunningly obfuscated his true status as an intelligence officer from the enemy, claiming to be a draftee engineer responsible for building schools and civic works projects. His training at West Point enabled him to keep up this pretense, until the Viet Cong learned of the deception by obtaining a American list of high-value POWs in which he was listed....

SGT William Upton, U.S. Army (1963-1968)

VA Military Memories Competition, Vietnam War

Which song do you connect most to your time in Military service? What specific memories does this song bring back for you?:

The Ballad of the Green Berets by SSG Barry Sadler – 1966. Captain Bracey, Mr. Stephens, and I were headed home to Vung Tau after a day-long parts route or “milk run.” The deHavilland Caribou was empty. Deadheading back. It had been a long day, and I was tired. I laid down on the empty troop seats and put my flak jacket under my head. As I reread my latest “Dear Bill” letter from Myra Faye, I hummed words from a recent Righteous Brothers song: You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’, oh-oh that lovin’ fe-e-elin’. . .

Maj Joseph Jennings, U.S. Marine Corps (1964-1988)