Military Campaign Stories

Pvt Harvey Keitel, U.S. Marine Corps (1956-1959)

Harvey Keitel is widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s most intense and versatile actors, known for his unforgettable performances in films like Taxi Driver, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. But before his rise to cinematic fame, Keitel served in the United States Marine Corps, an experience that would shape discipline throughout his life and career. Beyond his military service and acting, Keitel has dedicated himself to philanthropy, supporting veterans and aspiring artists alike. Harvey Keitel’s Early Life and Education Harvey Keitel was born on May 13, 1939, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland and Romania. Raised in a working-class family, Keitel grew up in Brighton Beach, where his parents owned and operated a small luncheonette. As a child, he was known for his rebellious streak, often getting into trouble at school. Despite this, he possessed a deep curiosity and an independent spirit. His teenage years were marked by a search for direction. Keitel...

Service Reflections of MST2 David Brennan, U.S. Coast Guard (1971-2003)

Coast Guard Reflections, Vietnam War

My dad served for 27 years and retired from Jack C. Brennan RMC in 1974. Through his influence growing up and seeing him put on his uniform every Monday afternoon, I wanted to do that someday, too. When I was a senior in high school in 1971, I heard through my dad that the Coast Guard reserves had just opened up for enlistment. My brother, who had graduated in 1970, had a low draft number and was looking for the correct service to join. He went to the recruiter, took the test, and qualified to go to basic training in April. I went as well, still being a senior in high school, and took the exam as well. I failed the first time, but I later retook it and passed. I was to go to Alameda, CA, in May 1971.

The Base Flagpole Truck

Military Myths and Legends, Vietnam War

There are a lot of military myths and urban legends out there, but few are more widespread or ridiculous than the legend of the base flagpole truck. No one knows who started it or why. It's just a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation of veterans. It transcends military branches and eras of wars, and it is as common to hear the myths of saltpeter in the Gatorade or "etherbunny." The Base Flagpole Truck: What's Supposedly Inside The legend goes that the truck above every military installation's flagpole is actually hollow and contains three to five very specific items for very specific uses. The most common legend is that it has three items: a razor blade, a match, and a bullet. The razor blade, it's said, is used to strip the flag, the match is to burn the flag properly, and the bullet is to use in defense of yourself (or, in some versions, to use on yourself). In another version of the myth, the truck also contains grains of rice and a penny (or some...

Famous Navy Units: Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach by A3C Michael Bell

Famous Military Units, World War II

"Immense bright lake! I trace in theeAn emblem of the mighty ocean,And in thy restless waves I see Nature's eternal law of motion; And fancy sees the Huron Chief…" "Lake Huron" by Thomas McQueen The peninsular state of Michigan (est. 1837) resembles an extended left human hand in a mitt with the thumb partly opened outward from the palm. And there, about where the quick of a thumbnail would be on the east side, is US Coast Guard Station Harbor Beach as it's known today. It is estimated that since the 17th century, there are 6,000 maritime wrecks at the bottom of the mighty Great Lakes, one of which is Lake Huron. District 9, consisting of forty-eight active stations, is a United States Coast Guard area of operations based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is responsible for all Coast Guard functions on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence...

Service Reflections of MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

Cold War, Navy Reflections

I was drafted into the military during the Vietnam War and decided to join the Navy instead of entering the Army. My late uncle, a career Navy man, said to me when I was young, “Son, if you ever have to join the military, join the Navy. “You get three squares a day and a dry place to sleep!” I remembered those words, and when it came time to enlist, it was the Navy for me. The strange thing is that I realized that I really did find a home once in the Navy. I enjoyed the self-discipline you had to have to succeed in the military and found that I really liked my job and the shipmates I served with. I was out of “A” School and at my first command for about a month when I was ordered to sea. I enjoyed sea duty, especially the days steaming underway. I found the solace of being at sea very enjoyable. I was having such a great time in uniform, and I decided to keep re-enlisting and ended up with a wonderful 24-year career.

Fire in the Hole by Bob Parsons

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

Bob Parsons was a 0311, a Marine Corps Rifleman, with 1st Battalion 26th Marines in South Vietnam’s Quang Nam province. When he first arrived on Hill 190, where his company operated, it was all rice paddy as far as his eyes could see. He was told that his time in-country would change him. He may not have realized just how much he would change.

Iraq War – The Battle of Abu Ghraib

Battlefield Chronicles, Global War on Terror

Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison was notorious long before U.S. troops were found guilty of abusing detainees there. Originally built in the 1960s, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein used the site to house and later execute political prisoners. He closed the prison in 2002, but when the U.S.-led Coalition ousted Hussein by force in 2003, it was reopened. Because Coalition forces used it as an internment camp, it also became a forward operating base – and a target for insurgents. The Battle of Abu Ghraib Begins With Coordinated Assault Insurgent battles in Iraq don't always get their due attention from historians, but for the longest time, the biggest obstacle to American success in the Iraq War was these insurgent groups. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was one of the architects of Iraq's Sunni insurgency. Determined to hit the Abu Ghraib base to show that nowhere in the country was safe as long as the Americans were in control, he launched an attack on Abu Ghraib so...

LT Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy (2000–2005)

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or not, you might have heard about "The Murph Challenge." Every Memorial Day, veterans, military members, and fitness nuts around the country pledge to take the challenge. It not only helps remember the courage and sacrifice of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, but also helps send military-connected individuals to college through the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Lt. Michael P. Murphy Leads SEAL Mission in Afghanistan To call the Murph a "grueling" workout would be an understatement, but it was something he did regularly, and it helped him fight on in the mountains of Afghanistan against incredible odds. Without his valiant physical and mental efforts that day, his entire team might have vanished without a trace. In 2005, the U.S. launched Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The goal was to disrupt the activity of the Taliban and other anti-Coalition militias operating in the areas west of Asadabad....

Service Reflections of SSgt Michael Weaver, U.S. Marine Corps (1983-1993)

Cold War, Marine Reflections

I thought after high school that I might go into the Navy. However, my brother was killed in an accident in the Army, and my mother did not want me to attend, so I didn’t. I floundered around for two years, trying college, working for Transcontinental Bolt Company selling tools, nuts, and bolts door-to-door to farmers in western PA, and then working at Wendy’s. My father was a Marine during WWII. After a bad day at Wendy’s, I went home and announced that I was going to the Marine recruiting station. Dad, would you like to go with me? He did, we went, and I left for the Marines shortly thereafter.

SSgt Desi Arnaz, U.S. Army (1942-1945)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Desi Arnaz who served in the US Army between 1942 and 1945 is perhaps most famous for his starring role as Ricky Ricardo opposite his real-life spouse Lucille Ball in the foundational modern TV sitcom I Love Lucy. Desi was already on his way to becoming a star when he was drafted into the US Army, but his time as a soldier gave him plenty of opportunities to hone his skills not only as a performer, but as a producer. Desi Arnaz Fled Cuba and Found His Path to Stardom Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III in 1917, Desi was a child of privilege, his father the mayor of Santiago, his grandfather an exec at Bacardi. However, his family’s fortunes changed with the Cuban Revolution of 1933. Narrowly avoiding a sticky end, the Arnaz family fled to Miami with their lives, if not their seized property. Desi went to high school and then prep school to improve his English, and formed a band, the Siboney Septet. The band was successful in Miami and gained the attention of Xavier Cugat, who...

Heroines Under Fire

Profiles in Courage, World War I

On July 29, 1918, field nurse Linnie Leckrone jumped on a truck headed for the front as part of Gas and Shock Team 134 in the battle of Chateau-Thierry northeast of Paris during the Great War. As German artillery rained down, she tended the wounded. For her “conspicuous gallantry in action,” Leckrone was awarded what was then called the Citation Star in a certificate signed by Gen. John (Black Jack) Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force.

Emperor of Nicaragua: William Walker

Civil War, Military Myths and Legends

On November 8, 1855, in front of the Parroquia Church in the town square of the Nicaraguan city of Granada, a line of riflemen shot Gen. Ponciano Corral, the senior general of the Conservative government. Strangely, the members of the firing squad hailed from the United States. So did the man who had ordered the execution. His name was William Walker. Though later generations would largely forget him, in the 1850s, he obsessed the American public. To many, he was a swashbuckling champion of Manifest Destiny. To others, he loomed as an international criminal. In Walker's own mind, he was a conqueror destined to create a Central American empire. His bizarre career would leave a legacy that shadows the relationship between the United States and Central America to this day. Biography of William Walker Walker was born in 1824 in Nashville, Tennessee, to James Walker and his wife, Mary Norvell. His father was the son of a Scottish immigrant. His mother was the daughter of Lipscomb...

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