The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

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

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

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 GySgt Peter Bimonte, U.S. Marine Corps (1984-2004)

Service Reflections of GySgt Peter Bimonte, U.S. Marine Corps (1984-2004)

I wish I could say I dreamt of being a Marine since I was a young child, however, that wasn’t the case. In fact, I was well into my senior year at John F. Kennedy Catholic high school before joining the armed services ever entered my mind.
My best friend, Kevin Hendricks, was visiting the local USMC recruiter quite often just to hang out and he asked if I wanted to tag along. It wasn’t long thereafter that I knew the Marine Corps was my ticket out without having to spend 4 more years behind a desk at some faraway college. So it is without a doubt that my recruiter, Sgt Mark Cross was the single most important person who influenced my decision to join the Corps. I’ve heard some real “horror stories” about recruiters but this guy was top-notch and NEVER lied or painted a rosy picture of how things would be in boot camp. For that, I am forever thankful!
In full disclosure, the girls he introduced me to and the beer he bought me didn’t hurt either – Semper Fi, Sgt Cross!

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Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

My oldest brother served in the Army from 1964 – 1967 and survived a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic. I figured if he could do that and come back alive, I could do better in the US Air Force. I was married for about 18 months, quit a full-time job to “go back to school,” hated going back to school, and got a job as a “courtesy clerk” at Kroger. Although I had a lot of experience in stage lighting, no jobs were panning out for me in that area. Then I remembered my brother’s experience with the Army and decided to visit an Air Force recruiter and see what it was all about. I still remember the recruiter – TSGT Steiger.

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Service Reflections of SRA Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force (1989-1999)

Service Reflections of SRA Richard Clark, U.S. Air Force (1989-1999)

My father was a United States Marine, so I grew up on stories of commitment and duty. I knew some of the hardships he had faced in Viet Nam, and at the time, we had no idea that Agent Orange was killing him. He was medically discharged at ten years due to incorrectly diagnosed “pinched nerves” that were, in fact, two ruptured discs in his lower back, even with all of the medical mix-ups my father deeply loved and missed the Corps.

Several of my uncles (2 – 4 years active with the rest of their time in the Army Reserves) had joined the Army, and they discouraged me from doing the same. Compared to my father’s stories of time spend in-country chasing tunnel rats (a cave-in trapped him in a pocket of the tunnel, but they had dug him out before his air ran out, after that he became horribly claustrophobic) made their stories of time in the field never seem as bad as they tried to convey. Nobody in my family ever cared for the open water, so the Navy was out…honestly, it was not considered. OK, briefly when Top Gun came out, but never seriously. Besides, I never like riding motorcycles, and they appeared to be a requirement.

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