It certainly beat out the Army or Marines! But I didn’t think I was smart enough for the Air Force, and besides that, my retired Air Force Master Sergent dad retired to Southern California, so I naturally became a beach and water lover. The US Coast Guard fit like a glove!
The Revolutionary War – Washington Crossing the Delaware
The American Revolution did not start off the way the Americans had hoped. By Christmas night, 1776, morale was lower than it had ever been. The British Army had captured New York the previous summer, and men were beginning to desert as Washington's Army camped across the Delaware River from occupied Trenton (Washington Crossing the Delaware), New Jersey. What men Washington had left were largely inexperienced, as most of the veterans from the Battle of Long Island went home when their...
Gen George S. Patton, U.S. Army (1915-1945)
Patton had his first real taste of battle in 1915 when leading cavalry patrols against Poncho Villa at Fort Bliss along the Mexican border. In 1916 he was selected to aide John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Mexico. In Mexico, Patton impressed Pershing by personally shooting Mexican leader Julio Cardenas during the Battle of Columbus. Pershing promoted Patton to captain and invited him to lead Pershing's Headquarters Troop once they left Mexico. In 1917, during...
Service Reflections of SSG Kevin Lipinski, U.S. Army (2002-2018)
I wanted to serve my country, but it took about a year after 9-11 to decide, and I was still on the fence, so I did the National Guard first, and I found out I loved it and went active. I also have a strong family military tradition that is important to me. As they say, the rest is history
Past Presidents Who Served In The Military
Looking Back at Past Presidents Who Served in the Military With the blood and fire in which the United States was forged, it is unsurprising that, looking back at past Presidents who served in the military, the number is a considerable one. Whether leading the US Army during the War of Independence in the 18th century or serving in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, almost two thirds of all men who have acted as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces have also...
WW2 – The Malmedy Massacre
In the last German offensive of World War II, three German Armies conducted a surprise attack along a 50 mile front in the mountainous and remote Ardennes Forest beginning on December 16, 1944, and quickly overtook thin U.S. lines during what became known as the Battle of the Bulge, the deadliest battle in the European campaign. On December 17, men from Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion were ordered to move from Schevenhutte, near Aachen, to St Vith in the Ardennes....
PO3 Isaac Sidney (Sid) Caesar, U.S. Coast Guard (1939-1945)
Born in 1922, Sid Caesar was the youngest of three children born to the Ziser family, who were Jewish immigrants who settled in Yonkers, NY. His parents ran a 24-hour luncheonette, and Caesar spent a lot of time around its diverse clientele. From a young age he developed a knack for imitating the cadence and accents of the customers, while speaking in gibberish vaguely reminiscent of their native languages. Caesar himself spoke only English and Yiddish, but could perform this ‘double-talk’, as...
AFN Patrick Leonard Sajdak (Pat Sajak), U.S. Army (1968-1969)
Pat Sajak, best known as the longtime host of the “Wheel of Fortune,” has held many jobs. Early in his career, Sajak was a weatherman, talk show host, and DJ. Wheel of Fortune, which debuted in 1975, became the longest-running syndicated game show on American television, turning Sajak and his co-host, Vanna White, into pop-culture icons. But not many know that before his showbiz career began, Sajak served our country in the military during the Vietnam War. Pat Sajak’s Early Life On...
Reflections of Valour by James Elsener
Reflections of Valour is a tale of untested lovers from different backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda Walker attends an exclusive East Coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John Briggs is from a modest Midwestern working-class family, dedicated to his career as a Marine. Despite their differing worldviews and priorities, their relationship develops and deepens. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a...
Cold War – The Berlin Airlift (1948)
After World War II, the Allies partitioned Germany into a Soviet-occupied zone, an American-occupied zone, a British-occupied zone, and a French-occupied zone. Berlin, the German capital city, was located deep in the Soviet zone, but it was also divided into four sections. In June 1948, the Russians–who wanted Berlin all for themselves–closed all highways, railroads, and canals from western-occupied Germany into western-occupied Berlin. This, they believed, would make it impossible for the...
American GIs Battle a German Sniper in Snowy WWII Thriller ‘Recon’
"Recon," a good old-fashioned World War II movie, turns out to be one of the few films that are trying to make a big impact in theaters this fall. The movie follows four American soldiers over the course of a day after they are sent on a possible suicide mission over a mountain. An old Italian partisan leads them, and no one can be sure of his loyalties. The men witnessed their Sergeant kill an Italian civilian just before this assignment, so no one really knows whether they are supposed...
SA David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins, U.S. Air Force (1979-1983)
SA David ‘Sinbad’ Adkins (U.S. Air Force, 1979-1983) is best known for his body of work as a comedian and film & TV actor. He became known in the 1990s for being featured on his own HBO specials, appearing on several television series such as Coach Walter Oakes in A Different World, and as David Bryan on The Sinbad Show, and starring in the films Necessary Roughness, Houseguest, First Kid, Jingle All the Way, Good Burger, and Planes. Prior to this success, however, Sinbad spent some time...
Many articles contained in this Blog were written by Together We Served’s former Chief Editor, Lt Col Michael Christy, and published in TWS’s Dispatches Newsletter.