Military Medley

Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior by Ric Prado

Global War on Terror, Military Book Reviews

It's not often we get a glimpse inside the secret world of a covert CIA operative, let alone one as storied as Ric Prado. Prado is a 24-year veteran of the agency, the equivalent of a two-star general, and a retired member of the Special Activities Division, where he and others performed covert paramilitary actions all over the world. His new book, "Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior," takes readers into the world of the CIA, covering the shadow wars the agency has conducted in the years since the end of the Vietnam War. It's a memoir and a recounting of a secret history, a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest headlines of the Cold War and the War on Terror. It's also a must-read for anyone interested in covert operations. About the Author of Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior by Ric Prado Prado's life of action started early. He was born under the Batista regime in Cuba and was caught in his first firefight at age seven, amid the Castro-led Cuban...

Capt Dan Lauria, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1973)

Celebrities Who Served, Vietnam War

Dan Lauria: Marine Corps Veteran, Veteran Actor Dan Lauria, one of America’s best-known TV dads due to his famous role as “Kevin’s Dad” on the hit show Wonder Years, is an accomplished TV, film, and stage actor. His service in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War had a profound impact on both his life and his acting career. Todays, Lauria continues to support veterans through his involvement in several important organizations. Dan Lauria’s Early Years On Stage Lauria, an Italian-American, was born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Lindenhurst, New York. He graduated from Lindenhurst Senior High School in 1965 as a varsity football player. Later, he briefly returned to the same high school as a football coach. Lauria developed an interest in performing from his aunt who used to awaken him to watch old movies on TV. A joke cracked on the football field in college led to acting lessons with Yale's Constance Welch. Lauria’s father was a World War II veteran of the Army who...

Cpl Mel Brooks, U.S. Army (1944 – 1945)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Mel Brooks's Military Service “Springtime for Hitler” is one of the songs that made Mel Brooks famous. But did you know that this prolific actor, comedian, composer, and filmmaker served in World War II as a young man? Mel Brooks’s Early Life Mel Brooks was born Melvin James Kaminsky in 1926, the youngest of four boys. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a Jewish family of modest means. When Brooks was two years old, his father passed away from kidney disease. Mel was raised by his mother and three older brothers: Irving, Lennie, and Bernie. It is often said that his father’s untimely death fueled Brooks's comedy career. Later in life, Brooks reflected on his father’s death with these words: "there's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems - like a punch in the face." Brooks was a small, sickly boy,...

Maj Clark Gable, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1947)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Clark Gable, of the U.S. Army Air Forces between 1942 and 1947, is best known as the ‘King of Hollywood’, the womanizing man’s man with a filmography of over 60 productions. However, he had a passion for flying combat missions and defied death in World War II. Born William Clark Gable in 1901, his father Will was an oil-well driller living in Cadiz, Ohio. Baptized Catholic, his mother Adeline died when he was just ten months old, and his father refused to raise him in the faith. Gable’s father remarried in 1903, and he was raised by his stepmother Jennie. She taught him the piano, and Will taught him to repair automobiles and hunt. Young Clark also developed a taste for literature, and would recite Shakespeare. Gable’s Childhood and First Marriage Gable was inspired to become an actor at 17 after seeing the play The Bird of Paradise. However, he worked with his father in Oklahoma in the oil industry, his stepmother had passed away. At the age of 21, Gable received an inheritance from...

PFC Sixto Escobar, US Army (1941-1945)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Sixto Escobar, of the United States Army between 1941 and 1945, was Puerto Rico’s first world boxing champion, and International Boxing Hall of Fame member. Remembered today with the Estadio Sixto Escobar, the San Juan home of River Plate Puerto Rico, as well as many buildings, roads, and statues, he is a favored son of the island territory. Not as many people know, though, that he served in the military during the Second World War as an Army PFC. Remembering Sixto Escobar Escobar was born in the town of Barceloneta, in March 1913. Early in his childhood, his family moved to San Juan, where he was schooled until the seventh grade. At this point, he left school to focus on his athletic career. Boxing was illegal in Puerto Rico while he was growing up, though this restriction was lifted in 1927. In ‘28, Angel ‘Sotito’ Soto moved from New York to Escobar’s area of San Juan, and established a boxing gym in his backyard, giving boxing classes to Escobar and other young athletes. Despite...

Lt. Henry Fonda, U.S. Navy (1942-1946)

Celebrities Who Served, World War II

Lt. Henry Fonda, of the US Navy between 1942 and 1946, interrupted a prominent career as a film actor in order to serve his country when it needed him most. Fonda’s commanding screen presence made him a favorite of theatergoers for five decades, culminating in an Oscar for his final performance. Henry Fonda’s Stage Beginnings Born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1905, Fonda was the son of a printer. Raised in Omaha, he witnessed and was profoundly affected by the horrors of the Omaha race riot of 1919. After high school he attended the University of Minnesota, but did not graduate. At the age of 20 he joined the Omaha Community Playhouse. He grew to be fascinated by the stage and learned many aspects of stagecraft, eventually growing to enjoy acting as taking on a role and speaking someone else’s words gave him respite from his shy personality. In 1928 he moved to Massachusetts and met his future wife Margaret Sullavan while working for the University Players, a theater troupe....

Just Dust: An Improbable Marine’s Vietnam Story by Wes Choc

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

By their very nature, books on war deal with death, near-death experiences, injuries and all the unpleasant but inevitable aspects of war, like homesickness, bad food, substandard leadership, impossible missions and seeing friends die but above all, is the fear; fear of being killed, fear of losing body parts, fear of not living up to the challenge, fear of fear itself. Just Dust: An Improbable Marine's Vietnam Story has all of that but focuses more on the author's contemplation of the experience. Like any good book - and this one is brilliant - Choc follows a logical progression beginning with his dissatisfaction with college; his inability to feel important; his decision to join the Marines and his difficulty in boot camp; the challenges of Vietnam and his ultimate and surprising dissatisfaction of Marine life that did not include combat. But what makes this book stand out is how he processed all this and how he closely analyzed his actions and thoughts. Most importantly are...

I Flew With Heroes by Lt Col Thomas R. Waldron

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

During the war in Southeast Asia, the author flew combat missions in the KC-135 Tanker, H-3, and H-53 Helicopter. This book recounts rescue missions flown by H-3 and H-53 "Jolly Green" crews in 1969 and 1970 in Laos and Vietnam while he assigned to the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery (ARR) Squadron. In a straight forward writing style, Waldron begins his book with flight school, additional training, including jungle survival school, and transition helicopter training in Thailand. When the author recounts his rescue and recovery missions in Laos, his writing takes on a more urgent approach. Readers will get the feeling they are sitting in the cockpit with him on every mission. When any of those missions fail in making a rescue or when fellow helicopter crews are shot out of the air, readers will feel his pain. When the author's tour in Southeast Asia ended in August 1970, he was assigned to Eglin AFB near Destin, Florida. Shortly after arriving, he was asked to join a highly...

Gary Sinise Foundation

Important Organizations, Useful Military Information

The Gary Sinise Foundation and Veterans What is the relationship between the Gary Sinise Foundation and veterans? There are many non-profit organizations and charities that endeavor to support veterans, particularly those wounded in the line of duty. The Gary Sinise Foundation’s mission statement is, “We serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need...by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.” Together We Served takes a closer work at the efforts the Foundation is making to support the veteran community. Who is Gary Sinise? Born in 1955, Gary Sinise is an American actor. He got his start in theater and small television roles. He first attracted substantial attention for directing, producing, and starring in the 1992 film Of Mice And Men, adapting the classic John Steinbeck novella. Shortly after, he made a huge impression as the double amputee...

GySgt R. Lee Ermey, USMC (1961-1972)

Celebrities Who Served

Remembering R. Lee Ermey Together We Served is among those remembering R. Lee Ermey, aka ‘Gunny’, famous Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant-turned-Hollywood star. Ermey passed away on April 15 2018, at the age of 74, as a result of complications that arose from pneumonia. Vietnam veteran and character actor R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey joined 700 Veterans as part of the IAVA/Victory Motorcycles presence at the 2014 America's Parade in New York. Ermey died Sunday from complications of pneumonia, his manager Bill Rogin said. The Early Life of Ronald Lee Ermey Ermey developed a reputation for being a strict authoritarian and was eventually typecast as the stern authority figure, but as a youth he was anything but. Born in 1944 in Kansas, Ermey and his family moved to Zillah in central Washington. Ermey was actually arrested twice for criminal mischief. The second time, the judge gave 17-year old Ermey the option of jail or joining the military. Ermey joined the Marine Corps in 1961, serving in...

80th Anniversary of The Pearl Harbor Attack

United Service Organizations

Important Organizations, Other Military Articles

USO Military Support Are you curious about USO benefits and veterans’ care? The United Service Organizations, better known as the USO, has existed for more than 80 years, bringing comfort and support to military service members and their families. The USO works closely with the Department of Defense (DoD) and is chartered by Congress. However, the non-profit organization is not operated by the US government and is in fact private. Together We Served recognizes the superlative efforts that the volunteers and staff of the USO have gone through to ensure that service members and military families receive care to make the burdens they carry a little lighter. USO Centers There are more than 230 USO locations worldwide, though civilians are probably most used to seeing them in major airports. The USO isn’t only present in the United States, though. Centers can be found in places as far-flung as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and even Iraq....

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Military Medley

Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior by Ric Prado

Capt Dan Lauria, U.S. Marine Corps (1970-1973)

Cpl Mel Brooks, U.S. Army (1944 – 1945)

Maj Clark Gable, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942-1947)

PFC Sixto Escobar, US Army (1941-1945)

Lt. Henry Fonda, U.S. Navy (1942-1946)

Just Dust: An Improbable Marine’s Vietnam Story by Wes Choc

I Flew With Heroes by Lt Col Thomas R. Waldron

Gary Sinise Foundation

GySgt R. Lee Ermey, USMC (1961-1972)

80th Anniversary of The Pearl Harbor Attack

United Service Organizations

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