famous military units Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

Maj Bernie Fisher – First Air Force MOH

A separate design for a version of the Medal of Honor for the U.S. Air Force was created in 1956, authorized in 1960, and officially adopted on April 14, 1965. Previously, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Air Force received the Army version of the medal. The first person to receive the new U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor was Major Bernie Fisher during the Battle of A Shau Valley in March 1966. He also received a Silver Star during the same battle. Into...

Rainy Street Stories by John William Davis

Cold War, Military Book Reviews

"Rainy Street Stories" isn't a single tale so much as a map of scars. Author John William Davis is a retired U.S. Army counterintelligence officer, a seasoned veteran of the shadow trades. In this book, he takes readers around the world as he threads together short vignettes, essays, and memory-shards about espionage, terrorism, and the people who live between those crosshairs. Rainy Street Stories Beyond the Headlines Unfold If you're expecting a Tom Clancy showstopper with satellite...

The Taliban Prison Revolt of Qala-i-Jangi

Global War on Terror, Other Military Articles

In the first chaotic weeks after 9/11, two Americans walked into a 19th-century Afghan fortress with nothing but a translator, a notebook, and the kind of quiet confidence you get from hard jobs and worse timing. Qala-i-Jangi Becomes the Center of a Deadly Encounter The place was Qala-i-Jangi, a sprawling mud-brick stronghold outside Mazar-i-Sharif where hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters had just "surrendered" to the Northern Alliance. And those Americans were CIA officers Johnny...

General John Kelly’s Speech About Two Heroic Marines

Gulf War, Profiles in Courage

Two years ago, when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Haerter, Jordan, LCpl Yale, Jonathan Tyler, Cpl Yale and Haerter Form an Unlikely Brotherhood in Ramadi Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal...

Indian Wars – The Nez Perce War

Battlefield Chronicles

Shortly after purchasing the Louisiana territory from France in 1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered an expedition to explore and map the newly acquired territory and establish an American presence before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Native American tribes. To lead the expedition of U.S. Army volunteers, Jefferson...

Vietnam War – America’s Secret War

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

The guerrilla war was not going well for the Viet Cong in the late fifties. Badly needed supplies moving down jungle trails from North Vietnam were constantly being spotted by South Vietnamese warplanes and often destroyed. To give themselves a fighting chance, existing tribal trails through Laos and Cambodia were opened up in 1959. The North Vietnamese went to great lengths to keep this new set of interconnecting trails secret. America’s Secret War Begins in the Jungles of Laos The...

The U.S. Military’s Anti-Communist Vampire Allies

Military Myths and Legends

To be clear, the U.S. military did not have an actual vampire in its arsenal. There was no secret alliance with Romania to use Count Dracula in combat. In the 1950s, Romania was part of the Eastern Bloc anyway, and it's unlikely the count would have been able to escape from behind the Iron Curtain. Psychological Operations Philippines Used Fear Also, vampires aren't real. But that's the glory of psychological operations. The boogie men don't have to be real; the enemy just has to think...

The 250th Birthday of the U.S. Navy

Other Military Articles, Useful Military Information

On October 13, 2025, we commemorate the 250th birthday of the United States Navy. Since its establishment on October 13, 1775, the Navy has played a critical role in safeguarding the United States. For nearly two and a half centuries, the Navy has stood ready to defend our interests and uphold international maritime freedom. The History of the U.S. Navy The U.S. Navy was established on October 13, 1775, during the American Revolution, when the Continental Congress authorized a small naval...

John J. Kelly Received Two Medals of Honor for the Same Action

Profiles in Courage, World War I

On Oct. 3, 1918, the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division, along with the French Fourth Army, advanced on Blanc Mont Ridge, the Imperial German machine gun death trap that the Entente forces had failed to capture over the past four years. The goal was to capture the ridge and push the Huns back over the Aisne River. It was a good plan, but like all World War I strategies, it was easier said than done. John Kelly Charged Through Fire to Make History The Americans stepped off toward the ridge...

Vietnam War – Fire Base Mary Ann

Battlefield Chronicles, Vietnam War

Richard Nixon had campaigned in the 1968 presidential election under the slogan that he would end the war in Vietnam and bring 'peace with honor.' However, there was no plan in place to do this, and the American commitment continued for another five years. The goal of the American military effort was to gradually build up the strength and confidence of the South Vietnamese armed forces by re-equipping it with modern weapons so that they could defend their nation on their own. This policy...

Iraq War – Operation Restoring Rights – The Battle of Tal Afar

Battlefield Chronicles, Global War on Terror

In 2005, Al-Qaida in Iraq was the budding offshoot of Osama bin Laden's notorious terror organization. It would later become notorious worldwide, as AQI was the forerunner of what would eventually evolve into the Islamic State, spreading death and destruction across large swathes of Syria and Iraq. During the Iraq War, however, the group was just getting started. The Battle of Tal Afar Began With a Bold Assault Al-Qaida in Iraq controlled the Iraqi city of Tal Afar, a town filled with...

Landmines in Vietnam

Military Myths and Legends, Vietnam War

Horrific stories and pictures from all around the world often show that large numbers of civilians are the main landmine casualties and continued to be so years after the warring factions have left the battlefield. Even today, with a multitude of mine-clearing methods and equipment, de-mining efforts remain challenging and risky. This is particularly true in cases where records were not kept on exact locations for any or all landmines. Landmines Still Endanger Civilians After Wars On land...

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