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Incredible Military Stories
LCDR Curtis Smothers, U.S. Navy (1962-1986)

LCDR Curtis Smothers, U.S. Navy (1962-1986)

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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having had the most positive impact on you and why?:

Of the 24 years, 6 months I spent on active duty in the U.S. Navy, the leader who was the most positive influence on me was my commanding officer, Captain Jeremy (“Bear”) Taylor. He skippered the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea (CV-43) during my time as Administrative Department head (1981-1983). In early 1983, our ship was preparing for an around-the-world voyage and a home port change from Alameda, California, to Norfolk, Virginia. The Coral Sea was an aging aircraft carrier commissioned just before the Korean War. Taking this ship around the world was like getting a ’57 Chevy ready for a cross-country trip. Our main propulsion and auxiliary plants were stretched to the limit. They had to stay online, support a crew of over 5,000, and launch aircraft in climates that ranged from the frigid northern coast of Alaska to the tropical extremes of the Indian Ocean.

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LCDR E.L. Spratt, U.S. Navy (1969-1999)

LCDR E.L. Spratt, U.S. Navy (1969-1999)

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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having had the most positive impact on you and why?:

This one is easy. Radarman Chief Charles B. Sharp. He was my Chief on the USS Monticello, the first ship I rode after my tour in Nam. He taught me more about leadership than any of the schools the Navy sent me to, and the lessons I learned from him in our two years together have remained with me for my whole life. Chief Sharp helped me get through the post-Vietnam “spookies”. He showed me how to be a leader, and he taught me that the most important things a leader has going for him are the people who work for him. He also taught me the concept of “walk and talk”, as a way to get to know what’s going on in your division.

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SP 4 Tom Hirst, U.S. Army (1969-1971)

SP 4 Tom Hirst, U.S. Army (1969-1971)

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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having had the most positive impact on you and why?:

Day 25. Let’s face it, I didn’t know anything about “Jungle Living” or “Infantry Life”! It was my 25th day “In Country” and also Easter Sunday, March 29th, 1970. So, that said, I think the people that made the biggest impression on me were the first two people I met after the Huey dumped me off in the “landing zone” on log day. The “RTO” from 3rd platoon, SP/5 Gene Tetzlaff, basically “adopted me” and took me under his wing, explaining “how to do this” and “how to do that” and to “expect the unexpected”. Perhaps Gene was more concerned that I’d be walking right behind him as the platoon moved out!

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Sgt Jack Riley, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1972)

Sgt Jack Riley, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1972)

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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having had the most positive impact on you and why?:

Several heroes had a positive impact on my ability to survive some of the heaviest battles by Marines in the Vietnam War. My Senior DI at Parris Island, S/Sgt Leroy Elliott, named me the second most deserving of promotion to PFC in my Platoon 138. The Honor Marine was a contract journeyman butcher and deservingly so! Promoted to Gunny Elliott, he was killed on May 8, 1967, at Con Thien. My first Platoon Sergeant in Vietnam was S/Sgt Guy Hodgkins, who was Killed in Action on September 3, 1966. He spent a lot of time with me discussing VC tactics he had encountered and what I could expect as a squad leader.

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CPL Amber Endrusick, U.S. Army (2000-2009)

CPL Amber Endrusick, U.S. Army (2000-2009)

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Which individual(s) from your time in the military stand out as having had the most positive impact on you and why?:

His positivity and dedication to always doing the most good humanly possible impacted me for the rest of my life. We had some serious cases, hard things to see and deal with; we saw what human beings were capable of doing to each other in their darkest moments. We had rocks thrown at us and crowds begging us when there was nothing we could do. But through it all, Col Gonzalez held firm to his attitude of doing our best, rising above what we thought we could be, and, most importantly, always having faith in goodness.

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Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

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By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong. The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran with many twists and turns along the way from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel. UN and communist forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles.  The First Bloody Ground Battle One bloody ground...

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Operation Top Cover, a Year On The Dew Line By Arthur Wayland

Operation Top Cover, a Year On The Dew Line By Arthur Wayland

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During the Cold War, the United States relied on three radar lines to detect incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles that might come from the Soviet Union. The most important and most capable of the three was the Distant Early Warning Line - affectionately known as the DEW Line.  About the Author of Operation Top Cover In Cape Lisburne, Alaska, Arthur Wayland was manning the 711 Aircraft Control and Warning station. It was a very remote radar station, the westernmost site of the DEW...

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Service Reflections of SP4 Orlando Maione, U.S. Army (1958-1961)

Service Reflections of SP4 Orlando Maione, U.S. Army (1958-1961)

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I was 22 years old and just finished my fourth year as a student in a five-year program for a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame, IN. In June of that year, I received my draft notice. I went to the local draft board with my university catalog showing the program I was in was a five-year program; my parents canceled the check for the fifth-year tuition and explained that I didn’t want to get out of the draft. I was perfectly willing to serve but wanted to finish my college education and a one-year deferment.

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WW2 – The Heroes Of Eager Beavers

WW2 – The Heroes Of Eager Beavers

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In 1943, several U.S. airmen went on a suicide mission. Two men, who were part of Eager Beavers, on the mission were awarded a Medal of Honor - the only time in WWII that two men received the same award for the same engagement. Interestingly, their careers didn't start out well. Biography of Lt Col Jay Zeamer Jr. Jay Zeamer, Jr. got his wings in 1941 at Langley Field. All his classmates became pilots and got their own planes and crews, but not Zeamer. Although he could fly and had a passion...

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Was Mr. Rogers a Vietnam-Era Sniper?

Was Mr. Rogers a Vietnam-Era Sniper?

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At some point in their military career, U.S. troops will likely hear the rumor that television's Mr. Rogers, host of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," was a death-dealing, hardcore Vietnam-era sniper in either the Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, or the Marine Corps.  Fred Rogers and his past are just one more file to add to the mounting list of military myths and urban legends. It might be fun to think of a man as smart and wholesome as Fred Rogers picking off a North Vietnamese general or...

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War in Afghanistan – The Battle of Kunduz

War in Afghanistan – The Battle of Kunduz

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The Battle of Kunduz took place from April to October 2015 for control of the city of Kunduz, located in northern Afghanistan, with Taliban fighters attempting to displace Afghan security forces. On September 28, 2015, the Taliban forces suddenly overran the city, with government forces retreating outside the city. The capture marked the first time since 2001 that the Taliban had taken control of a major city in Afghanistan. The Afghan government claimed to have largely recaptured Kunduz by...

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Famous Navy Unit: USRC Harriet Lane

Famous Navy Unit: USRC Harriet Lane

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The USRC Harriet Lane (1857) was a vessel serving in the United States Revenue Cutter Service from 1861–1881; builder: William Webb, New York, length: 180 ft., navigation draft: 10 ft., beam: 30 ft., propulsion: sail & steam: brigantine-rigged & side wheel paddles; inclined, direct-acting steam engine. Its descendants since then have included USCGC Harriet Lane (WSC-141), a 125-foot cutter in US Coast Guard service 1926-46, and USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903), a medium-endurance cutter...

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Soldier and Writer
Lt Col Michael Christy (USA) Ret.

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.

Lt Col Christy’s military career spanned 26 years, beginning in 1956 when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Following two years active duty, he spent another two years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. In 1962, he joined the Army National Guard and in 1966 was called up for active duty with the U.S. Army. After an 18 year distinguished Army career, Lt Col Christy retired from military service in 1984.
Lt Col Christy saw action in Vietnam with Special Forces Units, including the renowned Delta Force, and was awarded two Silver Stars, six Bronze Stars (three with Valor), and two Purple Hearts.
As a military consultant and accomplished writer, Lt Col Christy has contributed to several TV military documentaries, including those found on the History Channel, plus significant military history publications, including Vietnam Magazine.