The Christy Collection
Military Stories and Articles
There were a few things that I recall. First, I was always impressed with how sharp the Marines at the recruiters’ office looked and I liked the way they presented strength and confidence.
The young filly showed great promise every time she ran a race. Many believed she would be a prize winner. But she never got the chance. In June 1950, North Korean troops stormed across the border between South Korea in a surprise attack that changed life on the Korean Peninsula. It also brought the sport of horseracing to a standstill. With no races to run, owning racehorses became a financial liability for their owners. Like many others, she was abandoned at the Seoul racetrack. A young...
From high school, I had been leaning toward a military career. My high school ROTC instructor didn’t have any information on the Naval ROTC program, but he gave me a booklet about the Coast Guard Academy. I guess you could say that my Coast Guard recruiter was M/SGT Vincent Thomas, USA.
PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT John Graham's legacy of his military service from 1962 to 1966. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...
The movie “Sands of Iwo Jima.” We were twelve-years-old when a friend and I came out of the movie theater and agreed that we would join the Corps together when we were old enough.
In 1955, my senior year in high school, I joined the 99th Special Infantry Company, our local Reserve unit. That is where I was recruited by then SSgt. H. Gene Duncan.
As a Cub Scout, the pack took a trip to the Philadelphia Navy Yard. We went through a submarine, and I was scared the thing would sink or blow up or something, so I ran through it. Going out, we passed all those old mothballed ships, and something inside me rang and said, “I want to be on one of those gray ships someday.
When I became aware that I was not interested in finishing college in my sophomore year, I sought out the local Coast Guard recruiter, but they were not looking for entry-level recruits at that time. As my draft number was low and I was soon to be status 1A, Dad had served in the Navy in WWII, so I talked to the Navy recruiter and enlisted in December 1971.
