Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

Vietnam War

Service Reflections of SGT William Walsh, U.S. Air Force (1974-1978)

Service Reflections of SGT William Walsh, U.S. Air Force (1974-1978)

,

Since my parents went through the Great Depression and only finished the 8th grade, there was never an incentive for me to go to college. I grew up a country boy with interests in Hot Rodding and playing fastpitch softball. I continued both during my service career. After High School, I assumed that I would get a job at the Kelly Springfield Tire Co, where my father was a bead room supervisor. The company would not hire me because I had not fulfilled my military draft obligation.

read more
Service Reflections of EM2 Floyd Farrar, U.S. Navy (1957-1962)

Service Reflections of EM2 Floyd Farrar, U.S. Navy (1957-1962)

,

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents EM2 Floyd Farrar's legacy of his military service from 1957 to 1962. 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. B-29-20th Airforce, Tinian Island late 1944 My father was a WW II Seabee Carpenter's Mate 2nd. He was with the 38th Battalion during the invasion of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands during 1943-44. He then was sent to Camp Floyd B Parks in Pleasanton, Calif., where he learned...

read more
OSCS Larry Tucker, U.S. Navy (1956-1977)

OSCS Larry Tucker, U.S. Navy (1956-1977)

,

What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:

Early in my career, I received a recommendation for the Naval Aviation Cadet program, a golden ticket to becoming a pilot. The skies beckoned, and I eagerly pursued my dream. However, fate had other plans. Dental issues stood between me and the cockpit, and I found myself grounded. The Navy pilot wings eluded me, but destiny had a different flight path in mind.

read more
BM2 Richard Kirshen, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

BM2 Richard Kirshen, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

,

What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:

Not all experiences during the Vietnam War were unpleasant. There were a few “pleasant” events when I was in Vietnam during those strange days…days that ended on a high note. One might get the idea, from the glut of stories and movies that arose out of that war, that everything that occurred during that peculiar time was either horrific or life-threatening. That was not quite the case. There were brighter moments, moments that were still frightening, dangerous, and thought-provoking, but in another way.

read more
Cpl David Mulldune, U.S. Marine Corps (1967-1969)

Cpl David Mulldune, U.S. Marine Corps (1967-1969)

,

What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:

Upon arriving in Vietnam, I was assigned to India Company, 3rdBattalionn, 27th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. I had only been in Vietnam for about three to four weeks when word came down that we would leave to go on Operation Allen Brook. During briefing, we were told that Go Noi Island was serving as a staging area for NVA units preparing for attacks against Danang. Intelligence wasn’t sure of the exact enemy numbers but figured it to be around the strength of the battalion (approximately 1,000 men). Upon reaching our objective, we came under heavy attack and, at one point, were encircled by several NVA units.

read more
SP4 Tom Hirst, U.S. Army (1969-1971)

SP4 Tom Hirst, U.S. Army (1969-1971)

,

What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:

I know this will sound crazy, but when I got drafted in 1969, I was 20 years old and a VEGETARIAN! I didn’t smoke, drink or eat meat. Meat was something that had never been prepared at my home, and I was pretty sure that “à la carte” wasn’t on the menu! I was sent to Ft. Sam Houston for Basic Training & AIT, and I survived by picking my way through the mess hall offerings. I hope that my next duty station will work out the same way.

read more
Service Reflections of BM3 Michael Maloney, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1973)

Service Reflections of BM3 Michael Maloney, U.S. Coast Guard (1969-1973)

,

I was 18, having just finished a semester of junior college, and just had no clue where I wanted to go in life. My girlfriend broke up with me, so I thought I would join the Marines. But my cousin, who was already a USMC Captain, aviator, and Vietnam veteran, talked to me. He said, “If you join the Marine Corps, I’ll kick your a@#.” Then he laughed and said, “Look, you’d be a fine Marine, but join the Coast Guard or Air Force. They treat their people better.” Having grown up in Florida, being around water and boats all my life, I went to the CG recruiting office in Orlando, FL, where SS1 Gravett signed me up.

PS That girl that broke up with me married me four years later. We’ve been married for over 40 years now. Blessed.

read more
Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

,

Nick Parker is a Combat Security Police Flight Chief at Ko Kha Air Station, a remote radar outpost on the Thailand-Laos border. As the war in Vietnam draws to a close, he is suddenly thrust into a dark, secret war taking place in Thailand and must devise an effective defense for his small but important radar station, one that serves both the Air Force and the CIA.  Ever the joker, Nick finds himself competing with his boss, who was expected to take the assignment. Nick Parker's life isn't all about war, however. He struggles with the injuries he sustained during the war, the ready availability of drugs and alcohol, and – tragically – the suicide of a close friend and fellow soldier. Nick has to defend his radar station while grappling with a murder accusation and being torn between his love back home and the one he potentially finds while at war.  It's not often we get to review works of fiction by veteran authors, but "Cobra Talon," the first in a series of novels by Vietnam...

read more
Service Reflections of Maj Toppie Robinette, U.S. Air Force (1954-1974)

Service Reflections of Maj Toppie Robinette, U.S. Air Force (1954-1974)

,

Since my parents went through the Great Depression and only finished the 8th grade, there was never an incentive for me to go to college. I grew up a country boy with interests in Hot Rodding and playing fastpitch softball. I continued both during my service career. After High School, I assumed that I would get a job at the Kelly Springfield Tire Co, where my father was a bead room supervisor. The company would not hire me because I had not fulfilled my military draft obligation.

read more
Service Reflections of SN David Robb, U.S. Coast Guard (1964-1968)

Service Reflections of SN David Robb, U.S. Coast Guard (1964-1968)

,

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SN David Robb's legacy of his military service from 1964 to 1968. 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 Coast Guard. My family wanted me to follow in professional tracks as an attorney, and I realized I was too physical for that kind of life. On advice from my college counselor, he suggested I take a couple of years off to "find myself." I did. I went to the local recruiting office in...

read more
Service Reflections of GYSGT Edward Androlones, U.S. Marine Corps (1954-1974)

Service Reflections of GYSGT Edward Androlones, U.S. Marine Corps (1954-1974)

,

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents GYSGT Edward Androlones's legacy of his military service from 1954 to 1974. 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. Platoon Photo of young recruits. As a young seventeen-year-old school dropout, I knew my future was questionable at that time. I was hardworking at various jobs to help support my family. I was the oldest of eight boys. My stepfather was a hardworking Italian...

read more
Service Reflections of YN2 James Hopton, U.S. Navy (1965-1969)

Service Reflections of YN2 James Hopton, U.S. Navy (1965-1969)

,

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents YN2 James Hopton's legacy of his military service from 1965 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 Navy. Graduation at Boot Camp San Diego 1965 I was in 10th grade in high school, and one day I was walking downtown and saw a recruiting poster of a sailor in dress blues with "Travel and see the World" with the USS Constitution behind him. I was hooked from that moment on. That's all I...

read more