Military Campaign Stories

Capt. Kris Kristofferson, U.S. Army (1967-1975)

Kristoffer Kristofferson is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night", all of which were hits for other artists. But considering his family background and his education, Kristofferson seemed destined to become a military officer. The son of an Air Force major general, he served as a captain and helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army during his own stint in the service. TogetherWeServed follows Kris Kristofferson’s path from his childhood in Texas to his acclaimed career in the entertainment world, and the role his military service played in shaping his values and his music. Kris Kristofferson’s Early Life Kristoffer “Kris” Kristofferson was born in Brownsville, Texas, in June 1936. In his youth, Kristofferson showed a fondness for country music and a talent for writing, penning his first song at age 11. Kris was a Golden Gloves boxer...

Heroes From the Wall by John Douglas Foster

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

When the author John Douglas Foster was wounded while serving in Vietnam during the 1968 Tet Offensive, he received more than a piece of metal in his body - haunting memories of comrades opened his soul in a quest to learn more about those who didn't return. Sketching a fascinating portrait of the lives of those who fought and died valiantly, Foster pens a riveting and gut-wrenching read in Heroes from the Wall, ensuring that these heroes will never be forgotten by future generation who didn't know them on the battlefield. Foster seamlessly captures their quirks of personality, playful antics, heroic actions, compassion and care for others, their caring and sharing with their comrades, tender caring for their family and affirmation of life while engulfed in places of death. Foster writes with candor and resonating tone. Reader's Reviews on Heroes From the Wall An unknown name on a gravestone is as dead as the person in the grave. John Foster has brought dead names on the Vietnam...

Capt Bobbie Evan Brown, U.S. Army (1918-1952)

Profiles in Courage, World War II

The 21st of October 1944 saw the first city inside Nazi Germany to fall to the Allies. U.S. troops captured Aachen, the historical capital of Charlemagne, in 19 days of fighting. The Wehrmacht took a beating at Aachen, losing two divisions and taking irreplaceable losses from eight more. The Americans also had a corridor into the Ruhr Basin, the Third Reich’s industrial nerve center. Among the Americans who captured Aachen was Lt. Robert E. Brown (Bobbie Evan Brown), a longtime Army veteran who first enlisted in 1918. The Army knew him officially as Bobbie Brown because he’d signed his name that way when joining at age 15. When the United States entered World War II, he was a unit First Sergeant, but as a talented athlete and leader, he was ready to go. He had no idea he would become a one-man bunker buster. Bobbie Evan Brown Became Company Commander Brown had fought in North Africa with Gen. George S. Patton’s 2nd Armored Division, landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, and fought his way...

PO2 Jeff Bridges, U.S Coast Guard Reserves (1967-1975)

Celebrities Who Served, Vietnam War

Jeff Bridges is an Academy Award-winning actor, a musician, a photographer, and a philanthropist. He served in the US Coast Guard Reserves between 1967 and 1975, but he was a showbiz presence before he ever put on a uniform. The son of renowned Hollywood actor Lloyd Bridges, both his brother Beau and Jeff made appearances with their father on the TV series Sea Hunt between 1958 and 1960. Perhaps it was his father’s Coast Guard Auxiliary experience, combined with the Coast Guard role Lloyd played on the show, that influenced young Jeff’s choice to enlist as a young adult. The Beginning of Jeff Bridges’ Military Career Born in Los Angeles, California, on December 4, 1949, Jeffrey Leon Bridges would go on to become one of his generation’s best-loved actors. A child of privilege, with mother Dorothy and father Lloyd both successful actors, he grew up in the wealthy Holmby Hills neighborhood, and was on film before he was even a year old, in The Company She Keeps (1951). However, in his...

Famous Veterans Who Died in 2022

Celebrities Who Served, Vietnam War

Honoring Famous Veterans Who Passed Away In 2022 As 2022 draws to a close, we have a lot of memorable losses to reflect on. When a celebrity dies, we go through the cycle of public mourning. Experts say that the loss of a celebrity is personal and undeniably real. It is a sadness that transcends missing their acting, their voice, or comedic timing. At TogetherWeServed, we would like to take a few minutes to remember three famous veterans whose passing was a loss to the entertainment community and their U.S. Military family. Vin Scully: Beloved Dodgers Icon and Navy Veteran Vin Scully, a sportscaster best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, served in the Navy after graduating high school prior to attending Fordham University. He grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan and fell in love with the game of baseball at the age of eight, becoming a fan of the New York Giants. Scully began his career as a student broadcaster...

The Civil War Began and Ended at the Same Guy’s House

Civil War, Military Myths and Legends

When a war breaks out on your front lawn, and your chimney explodes from enemy fire, it’s time to find a new place to live. Neighborhoods like those are no place to raise children. That was Wilmer McLean’s opinion in the Civil War, anyway. That’s exactly what he did when the Battle of Bull Run erupted in front of his property. The Confederate Army and the Union Army in the Civil War The real fighting didn’t break out until three months later when the Confederate Army and the Union Army met in the first real engagement of the Civil War at the First Battle of Bull Run… or the First Manassas, depending on which side you were on. They’re the same battle. Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard commandeered the house of a local man named Wilmer McLean as a headquarters during the battle. As the general and McLean sat in his dining room during the battle, a Union cannonball hit McLean’s chimney, the shot falling right into the fireplace. Beauregard thought it was comical. McLean didn’t...

Famous Marine Corps Unit: 2nd Marine Raider Battalion

Famous Military Units, World War II

With America thrust into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became interested in creating an American equivalent to the British Commandos; elite, highly mobile, hard-hitting forces, and the Marine Corps was the natural place for this organization. The debate over the creation of these elite units came to a climax when the new commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz, requested a "commando unit" for raids against lightly defended Japanese-held islands. Created by an order from President Roosevelt, the Marine Commandant, Major General Thomas Holcomb, selected the term "Raider" and created two battalions. The 1st Raider Battalion was activated on February 16, 1942, under the command of Lt. Col. Merritt Edson, followed immediately by the 2nd Raider Battalion on February 19, under the command of Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson. However, much of the Marine establishment was unaccepting of the change and, in combination...

Service Reflections of SA Lawrence Worthen, U.S. Coast Guard (1972-1975)

Coast Guard Reflections, Cold War

It certainly beat out the Army or Marines! But I didn’t think I was smart enough for the Air Force, and besides that, my retired Air Force Master Sergent dad retired to Southern California, so I naturally became a beach and water lover. The US Coast Guard fit like a glove!

Gen George S. Patton, U.S. Army (1915-1945)

World War II

Patton had his first real taste of battle in 1915 when leading cavalry patrols against Poncho Villa at Fort Bliss along the Mexican border. In 1916 he was selected to aide John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Mexico. In Mexico, Patton impressed Pershing by personally shooting Mexican leader Julio Cardenas during the Battle of Columbus. Pershing promoted Patton to captain and invited him to lead Pershing's Headquarters Troop once they left Mexico. In 1917, during WWI, Patton was the first officer assigned to the new American Expeditionary Force Tank Corps. Tanks had proven effective in France at the Battle of Cambria. Patton studied this battle and established himself as one of the leading experts in tank warfare. He organized the American tank school in Bourg, France, and trained American tankers to pilot the French Renault tanks. Patton's first battle was at St. Mihiel, in September 1918. He was later wounded in the battle of Meuse-Argonne and later...

Service Reflections of SSG Kevin Lipinski, U.S. Army (2002-2018)

Army Reflections, Global War on Terror

I wanted to serve my country, but it took about a year after 9-11 to decide, and I was still on the fence, so I did the National Guard first, and I found out I loved it and went active. I also have a strong family military tradition that is important to me. As they say, the rest is history

WW2 – The Malmedy Massacre

Battlefield Chronicles, World War II

In the last German offensive of World War II, three German Armies conducted a surprise attack along a 50 mile front in the mountainous and remote Ardennes Forest beginning on December 16, 1944, and quickly overtook thin U.S. lines during what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the deadliest battle in the European campaign. On December 17, men from Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion were ordered to move from Schevenhutte, near Aachen, to St Vith in the Ardennes. Their route took them near to the town of Malmedy. On their journey, on the N-23 St Vith road that passed to the east of Malmedy, Battery B met up with Lt. Colonel David Pergrin of the 291st Engineer Combat Battalion. Pergrin had heard that the Germans were along the route which the men from Battery B were taking. He advised them to take a different route to St Vith. However, the officers in charge of the battery decided that they had their orders and, ignoring Pergrin's advice, continued along...

PO3 Isaac Sidney (Sid) Caesar, U.S. Coast Guard (1939-1945)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Born in 1922, Sid Caesar was the youngest of three children born to the Ziser family, who were Jewish immigrants who settled in Yonkers, NY. His parents ran a 24-hour luncheonette, and Caesar spent a lot of time around its diverse clientele. From a young age he developed a knack for imitating the cadence and accents of the customers, while speaking in gibberish vaguely reminiscent of their native languages. Caesar himself spoke only English and Yiddish, but could perform this ‘double-talk’, as he called it, to mimic Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Hungarian, French, Lithuanian, and Bulgarian. At the age of 14, Caesar performed in a band called The Swingtime Six as a saxophonist. In 1939, Caesar graduated high school and left home to become a musician. After establishing residency in New York City, working as a saxophonist at the Vacationland Hotel in the Catskill Mountains, he joined the local musicians’ union. Mentored by the resort’s social director, Caesar learned to perform...

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