2nd Battalion Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

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

VA Military Memories Competition, Vietnam War

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.

Maj Joseph Jennings, U.S. Marine Corps (1964-1988)

VA Military Memories Competition, Vietnam War

Which song do you connect most to your time in Military service? What specific memories does this song bring back for you?:

We Gotta Get Outta This Place was released by The Animals in the summer of 1965. The Animals were a British pop group, and the song’s lyrics talked about escaping from inner-city poverty in England. It had nothing to do with the war in Vietnam, but that didn’t matter. It was the chorus, sung— almost screamed— by Eric Burdon, that hit home.

We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
‘Cause girl, there’s a better life for me and you

PO3 Robert Eugene Bush, U.S. Navy (1944–1945)

Profiles in Courage, World War II

Robert Eugene Bush wasn't old enough to join the Navy when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was still in high school. His neighbor in his hometown of Raymond, Washington, was a Fireman aboard the USS Arizona. "He's still on board the Arizona," Bush said in a Veterans History Project Interview. Bush could barely stand the wait to join the war. He wouldn't be old enough until his 17th birthday in the Fall of 1943. He and a friend from school dropped out and enlisted...

Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier by W. Thomas Burns

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

Like many young men who came of age in the late 1960s, W. Thomas Burns, the author of "Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier", joined the military and found himself in Vietnam. Burns, despite the title of his memoir, was a United States Marine who joined the Corps in 1967. By May of 1968, he was in-country, fighting with 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. "Vietnam, The Memoir of a Sandlot Soldier" isn’t a book about strategy, tactics, or the history of the war....

Vietnam War – The Battle of Ia Drang, LZ X-Ray

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

American involvement in Vietnam can stretch back as far as the end of World War II, depending on how you define "involvement," but one thing is for sure; when the U.S. committed its combat troops to defend South Vietnam, things got hot almost immediately. The most stunning example of the ferocity of Vietnam battlegrounds is the 1965 Battle of Ia Drang, the first time the U.S. Army fought a major battle against the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), North Vietnam's regular forces. ...

Service Reflections of SFC Joseph Wilson, Jr., U.S. Army (1967-1990)

Army Reflections, Vietnam War

My father was a WWII Navy veteran (1945-47). In 1964 – 65 I became a Cadet with the Civil Air Patrol in the Borah Cadet Squadron in Boise, Idaho, and later with the Gowen Field Cadet Squadron also in Boise, Idaho.Despite them being similarly reserved and not the type of men to brag, I could hardly wait to visit them so I could beg them to tell me war stories. The experiences they shared with me made a lasting impression during my early childhood, which further aroused my desire to serve my country.

Service Reflections of Sgt Ralph Hammer, U.S. Marine Corps (1972-1978)

Cold War, Marine Reflections

Growing up as a child, and since my first memory that I can remember, I always heard my Mother who had Served in the United States Marine Corps and the Great Pride of being a “MARINE” during service and after; she had started as a Model in Hollywood and was contracted for Billboard Pictures for WOMEN to Join the Marines allowing Men in Desk Jobs to Go out and fight the Japanese. My Mother was SO Proud of the Uniform that she Enlisted before going home.

PFC Oscar Palmer Austin, U.S. Marine Corps (1968 – 1969)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

One of the bravest, most extraordinary acts of valor American troops are known to do in combat is throwing themselves on a grenade to save their brothers and sisters in arms. Few survive such a selfless act of heroism. Even fewer get the opportunity to risk sacrificing their lives for a fellow service member twice. Oscar Palmer Austin was a Marine who did just that. It happened on the same fiery night in Vietnam, and he did it to save the same person. For his selfless bravery in saving...

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