Army Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

Vietnam War – Battle of Camp Bunard (1969)

Gazing out the open cargo doors of the Huey flying over Phouc Long Province, boyish-looking Specialist 4 Robert Pryor took in an endless landscape of mountains, meandering rivers and rolling hills covered with dense evergreen vegetation, bamboo thickets, and triple canopy tropical broadleaf forests. The forbidding wilderness had an odd virginal beauty. It was also one of the most dangerous places in South Vietnam. This sparsely populated highland plateau, nestled along the Cambodian border...

MAJ Montgomery J. Granger, U.S. Army (1986-2008)

VA Military Memories Competition

Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:

I am a Mustang officer, now a retired major, spent five years enlisted as a Combat Medic and then attended OCS and had a 22 year career in the Army, including deployments to Gitmo and Iraq. I attended Basic Training at Fort Blist(er), TX, in the fall of 1987. I consider my Drill Sergeants as near perfect human beings. I was there after completing six years of college, including a BS Ed., and MA degrees in teaching.

CSM Patrick Gavin Tadina – Vietnam War’s Longest Continuously Serving Ranger

Military Myths and Legends, Vietnam War

A 30-year Army veteran who was the longest continuously serving Ranger in Vietnam and one of the war's most decorated enlisted soldiers died. Patrick Gavin Tadina served in Vietnam for over five years straight between 1965 and 1970, leading long-range reconnaissance patrols deep into enemy territory - often dressed in black pajamas and sandals and carrying an AK-47. Patrick Gavin Tadina Left a Lasting Legacy The retired Command Sergeant Major Patrick Gavin Tadina died May 29, 2020, in...

The Barracks of 1814

Battlefield Chronicles

At the time, it was the most devastating military disaster to ever occur on American soil. On August 24, 1814, British troops marched into Washington, the capital of the United States, and set key buildings ablaze. These included the White House, the Capitol, and finished off what was left of the Navy Yard. The Barracks of 1814 Stood Firm Amid Defeat What was miraculously untouched, however, was the Marine Barracks and the Commandant's House. No one really understood why these buildings...

The Tragic Defeat of the Bonus Army

Extortion 17

Global War on Terror, Profiles in Courage

On August 6, 2011, a quick reaction force (QRF) aboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter was dispatched from Forward Operating Base Shank in Afghanistan's Logar Province. They were on their way to support U.S. Army Rangers on a kill-or-capture mission against a senior Taliban official. It was carrying 30 U.S. military members, mostly American special operators. Extortion 17 Was Sent on a High-Risk Mission in Afghanistan But the transport, callsign Extortion 17, was shot down before it could...

Vietnam War – A Shau Valley

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

The A Shau Valley is a rugged, remote passageway near the border of Laos and the Ho Chi Ming Trail in Thua Thien province. It runs north and south for twenty-five miles. It's low, mile-wide, flat bottomland is covered with tall elephant grass and flanked by two strings of densely forested mountains that vary from three to six thousand feet. Because of its forbidden terrain and remoteness - and the fact it was usually hidden from the air by thick canopy jungle and fog and clouds - it was a key...

SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)

VA Military Memories Competition

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Yes, 3xs, … in my boot camp training .. I was taught basic 1st aid in 1976 … and later on in my life, I unchoked my foster dad from choking on a piece of steak two different times … I did the Heimlich maneuver on him … once I got in the right place and in position, I performed h. m. and he expelled the steak piece … God rest his soul now … that was in 1986 and 1987 respectively …

The Only U.S. Woman POW in WWII Europe

Profiles in Courage, World War II

On September 27, 1944, a C-47 assigned to the 813th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron lifted off from England into the clear morning sky. Its destination was a landing field at St. Trond, Belgium, to pick up casualties. Since the aircraft usually carried military supplies and troops on the outbound flight and casualties on the return trip, it was not marked with the Red Cross. Aboard the aircraft was 24-year-old Texas-born Second Lt. Reba Whittle, an experienced flight nurse with 40 missions and...

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

Army Reflections, Cold War

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.

Service Reflections of SGT Charles Carter, U.S. Army (1969-1970)

Army Reflections, Vietnam War

I graduated from Erie Community College in 1968 and applied to the University of Buffalo’s School of Architecture. However, the Tet Offensive had erupted, two patrol boats of ours had been captured in the Gulf of Tonkin, and a US airbase in Pleiku had come under attack, leading the then commander of US forces, General Westmoreland, to contact LBJ for help. President Johnson could not find enough volunteer troops to send to Vietnam, so he reinstated the draft. Since I was technically between schools during summer break and not actively enrolled in school at the time, I was drafted into the Army and had to report for active duty on January 2nd, 1969.

Vietnam War – LZ Hereford (1966)