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Vietnam War

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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.

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Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

Cobra Talon by Patrick Sydor

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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...

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

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

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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.

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

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

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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...

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

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

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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...

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

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

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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...

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Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Bill Lee's legacy of his military service from 1966 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 Marine Corps. I grew up in a dysfunctional, alcoholic, domestically violent home on Minneapolis's North Side. I was just hanging out after being expelled from two separate high schools. My girlfriend, at age 16, was an Irish Catholic beauty on the dean's list. She had gone away to be a nun...

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Service Reflections of ET2 David Ingebright, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

Service Reflections of ET2 David Ingebright, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents ET2 David Ingebright's legacy of his military service from 1972 to 1976. 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. Commanders inspection at Monterey It was 1972, and I had just graduated from the Electronics Technician program at the DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, Arizona. The Vietnam War was in full swing, and the draft lottery was being used to draft young men my age. Since...

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Service Reflections of ET2 Dennis Sethe, U.S. Coast Guard (1964-1968)

Service Reflections of ET2 Dennis Sethe, U.S. Coast Guard (1964-1968)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents ET2 Dennis Sethe'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. What influenced me was that the CG helped people in distress and saved lives. Also, I was able in High School to learn electronics every school day for an hour at a nearby navy base. I received the highest scores there. After graduating High School, I saw a Coast Guard...

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Service Reflections of 1LT Jack Downing, U.S. Army (1968-1973)

Service Reflections of 1LT Jack Downing, U.S. Army (1968-1973)

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PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents 1LT Jack Downing's legacy of his military service from 1968 to 1973. 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 Army. Receiving Trainee of the Post Award by Gen. Collins I was living in Casper, WY, and received my draft notice. I was to report to my Draft Board in San Antonio, TX. I got my physical in Denver, Colorado, and reported to the Draft Board. I decided to see what kind of deal I could get if...

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Service Reflections of ETC Julius Marold, U.S. Navy (1964-1985)

Service Reflections of ETC Julius Marold, U.S. Navy (1964-1985)

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As a child, I had always had an interest in the Navy. My parents had been in the Army during WWII, so they couldn’t understand why I was so fascinated by all things Navy. My favorite TV shows were Silent Service, Men of Annapolis, Navy Log, Victory at Sea, and McHale’s Navy. I had a stack of paperback books about the Navy. I liked the idea of going into submarines, but my vision wasn’t good enough. After registering for the draft in 1964, my next stop was the Navy Recruiting Office in Babylon, New York. He wasn’t in, so I went to the one in Hempstead. The SMC in charge was in, so I signed up with him, and at the end of September, I was off to Great Lakes RTC.

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