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Service Reflections of MSgt David Manchester, U.S. Air Force (1966-1986)

Service Reflections of MSgt David Manchester, U.S. Air Force (1966-1986)

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Just before I graduated from high school, at 17 years old, I was home. It was just Mom and me, and she said to me, “I think you need to call the ‘recruiter’ and enlist in the Air Force. Since my Dad served in the Army Air Forces during WWII, there was no other choice but to join the Air Force. Mom knew that the best thing for me was to get away from home, and we could not afford college tuition, so this was the logical step.

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Service Reflections of Sgt Dan Raymond, U.S. Marine Corps (1982-1988)

Service Reflections of Sgt Dan Raymond, U.S. Marine Corps (1982-1988)

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I grew up in Santa Ana, CA (1970s) near MCAS El Toro and watched the Blue Angels every year, and I always admired the Marines. A strange thing happened around 1971, when my dad was a taxi driver picking up Marines from El Toro who were directly returning from Vietnam. This is something that’s terrible. However, it sheds light on what was going on with our veterans returning from war at this time.

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Service Reflections of SMSgt Dale L. Durnell, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

Service Reflections of SMSgt Dale L. Durnell, U.S. Air Force (1964-1991)

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I graduated from high school when I was 17, and when I started Junior College, I was still 17. Just before my 18th birthday, dad asked what I was going to do in the spring, and I told him I sure wasn’t going back to college and that I was going to apply for a job with one of the many aerospace companies in the area (Rocketdyne, Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge, Lockheed, et al). Dad then said that no one was going to hire an 18-year-old, with the draft hanging over his head (there was no lottery in late 1963, and I’d never even heard of Vietnam), and I had no college deferment. He said I ought to just enlist, get my military service out of the way, and learn a skill.

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Service Reflections of CDR Allen Allegretto, U.S. Navy (1982-2021)

Service Reflections of CDR Allen Allegretto, U.S. Navy (1982-2021)

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I was proud that my father served in the Army during the Korean War, and my grandfather and several uncles served in the Navy. While attending Penn State University, I learned about an opportunity to join the Navy Nuclear Power Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC). I loved technology, so the idea of serving on a nuclear-powered submarine and learning about all of the technology on board fascinated me. I was excited to join the NUPOC program and was only required to maintain good grades and graduate with an engineering degree. I enjoyed the monthly E5 pay.

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Service Reflections of RM2 Tim Roach, U.S. Coast Guard (1962-1966)

Service Reflections of RM2 Tim Roach, U.S. Coast Guard (1962-1966)

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I would give most of the credit for my decision to join the Coast Guard to my uncle. He was in the Coast Guard during WWII and often talked about his experiences while patrolling the beaches on horseback along the New Jersey shores. I was in high school during my senior year in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the fall of 1961. My high school counselor informed me that I would not be able to graduate because I had failed to earn credits in algebra during my ninth-grade year. To put it mildly, I was never a fan of school.

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Service Reflections of SGT Julie Bryson Muster, U.S. Army (1972-1998)

Service Reflections of SGT Julie Bryson Muster, U.S. Army (1972-1998)

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Facing a dead-end life with limited opportunities and wanting to break free from my circumstances, I enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987 with a clear vision: to go to college and become someone meaningful. Growing up in challenging conditions from ages 5-12 in group and foster homes in Ohio, with abusive, alcoholic, and addicted parents, I experienced firsthand what it meant to have few options and little encouragement. The Army represented my pathway to transformation – not just a career, but a chance to build the foundation for higher education and personal growth. Military service offered structure, purpose, and the GI Bill benefits that would make college possible. I was determined to use my service as a stepping stone to earn my master’s degree in criminal justice and ultimately create a life of meaning, helping others along the way. The Army wasn’t just an escape from a difficult past; it was my deliberate choice to forge a better future and prove that circumstances don’t define destiny.

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Service Reflections of SK1 Richard Lee Wailes, U.S. Navy (1968-1989)

Service Reflections of SK1 Richard Lee Wailes, U.S. Navy (1968-1989)

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I joined the Navy because of my family’s military history. My grandfather was drafted into the National Guard in WWI and was one of the original members of the California National Guard 40th Infantry Division., assigned to the 115th Sanatiation Train. He served in France as a Saddler Private caring for horses and was stationed in France from 1917 to 1919. He was then discharged and returned to Colorado and then to Idaho.

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Service Reflections of STGC Gary E. Calvin, U.S. Navy (1960-1982)

Service Reflections of STGC Gary E. Calvin, U.S. Navy (1960-1982)

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I grew up in a Navy family. My dad was a career Boatswain’s Mate Chief. His brother, Roland, was a Chief Radioman who later became a Chief Warrant Officer. All my other uncles served during WWII – Jim and Harry, Army Air Corps, Mick, Navy, and Dick, USMC, WIA at Tarawa. I grew up listening to the stories and knew the military was the life for me. I also give credit to Hollywood, for I saw just about any picture that had to do with the service.

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Service Reflections of Col Christopher Steinhilber, U.S. Marine Corps (1987-2021)

Service Reflections of Col Christopher Steinhilber, U.S. Marine Corps (1987-2021)

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Great question…I don’t think I can pinpoint any one person or a singular event that motivated me to enlist in the Marines in 1986. I was an average (okay, maybe a little below average) student in HS and decided I wanted to enlist in my Junior year as part of the Delayed Entry Program. The idea of four more years of academia at an institute of higher learning did not particularly appeal to me, despite the majority of my peers seeming excited to head off to college. Maybe it was because, like many youths, I questioned what I wanted to do with my life and what my true purpose was. I visited my local recruiter, Staff Sgt. Webster Bridges to find out more information. Unfortunately, in order to enlist at age 17, I needed the permission of my parents, who both wanted me to attend college. They made me a deal that I had to apply to at least one college before they would consider signing my enlistment documents. My mother has heard about a small military college in Vermont, Norwich University, and she insisted on driving me three hours there (one-way) for a visit. I was intrigued by the Corps of Cadets and its regimented lifestyle. However, I was still more interested in enlisting on active duty in the Corps than in pursuing a college education. I begrudgingly completed my Norwich application and short essays and continued to work with the local recruiting office on my enlistment. I was somehow accepted to Norwich, despite my somewhat lackluster HS academic performance. Truth be told, I was more interested in playing sports (lacrosse), street hockey, and other sports with my friends. In the end, I compromised with my parents, who agreed to sign my enlistment documents in the Marine Corps Reserves if I attended Norwich in the fall of 1987.

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Service Reflections of SFC Paul Salopek, U.S. Army (1972-2007)

Service Reflections of SFC Paul Salopek, U.S. Army (1972-2007)

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I was 33 years old and was getting laid off from Westinghouse Electric East Pittsburgh Division. I needed a place where I could get a quick pension and earn enough to pay my mortgage. My wife and I went to the Air Force recruiter and could not get my age down enough to join the Air Force. He took us to the Army recruiter. He asked what MOS I held last time when I got drafted; I told him 24D20 and helped out with Special Forces. He asked if I wanted to go to SF, and I told him I was 33 years old and couldn’t run like a teenager anymore. I asked about a 51M fireman with no luck. I asked about my 88H, and he said no, so I asked about a 91B medic, and he said no. He told me I could be a Tanker or a Mechanic on the tank. I said I was a Mechanic, and it’s a thankless job, so make me a tanker. So, I became a Tanker, 19A3, M47/M48 Tanker. I was one of the few tankers that was qualified on the M47, M48 Tank, the M60 family, and the M1 family to the M1a2 SEP. I was told by an old tank that for every hour you ride a tank, you have to put seven hours of good maintenance on it. I lived by this rule, and my tank was always ready. There have been times that Murphy has bit me in the behind, but those times are few and far between. I knew that being a tanker, I would have to spend long times in the field. I averaged about 250 days a year. I had times when I could have left being a tanker, but I stayed with it. Even when I was a 92Y, I still went and got my range card. I would still run tank ranges along with other ranges. I was the go-to guy for a quick range. My weapons card started with 120mm, 105mm, 25mm, 40mm, M79, M203, shotgun, 50 cal, Belgian, 240 m240, all types, M14, M16, M-4, 45 cal, 9mm 38cal m82a1, m67 grenade I had the long list of weapons on any weapons card. They always asked about the shotgun. I told them it’s been a while, but I still remember.

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