Korean War Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

Service Reflections of Sgt Howard Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps (1969-1973)

One of my family members served with Washington in the Revolutionary War, John Cahoes. He was actually on a sortie to capture an English General. They had to cross from New York to New Jersey in a rowboat, crossing between English warships in the dark of night. Intel had it that the British general had a kept maiden at a local pub, and the Americans caught him with his pants down. His troops were encamped just down from the pub. They caught him in bed and hauled him back down to the bay before they let him put his pants on. Then they rowed back across the bay between the warships.

Service Reflections of CMCS Daniel McKinnon, U.S. Navy (1976-1997)

Cold War, Navy Reflections

My decision to join the Navy was heavily influenced by my stepfather, a seasoned World War II and Korean War Navy veteran who retired as a Boatswain’s Mate First Class (BM1). After my mother remarried, he was transferred from the Navy shipyard in Boston to the Navy shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, just when I started high school, and it was not an easy transition for me. During my senior year of high school, his no-nonsense advice was clear: he strongly encouraged me to enlist, telling me to visit the recruiter because, upon graduating from high school, I’d need to leave his house. His experience as a crusty old salt and his ‘firm guidance’ (nice way of saying it) steered me toward a Navy enlistment.

Send Us More Japs!

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

The defense of Wake Island in December 1941 became one of the only bright spots in a month of disasters for the United States and its Allies in the Pacific. A tiny garrison of Marines, Sailors, Army radiomen, and civilian contractors held out from Dec. 8–23 and even stopped the first Japanese landing attempt cold, sinking two destroyers and inflicting heavy casualties in the process. Early war coverage turned the defenders of the tiny atoll into instant heroes. Wake Island Myth Became A...

The Most Decorated Enlisted Sailor in Navy History

Profiles in Courage, World War II

In the history of the United States Navy, only seven men have earned all of the big three valor awards: Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, and Silver Star. Six were World War II officers, including one aviator. The seventh was James Elliott "Willy" Williams - considered the most decorated enlisted man in the history of the Navy. James Williams Joined the Navy at Sixteen James Williams, a Cherokee Indian, was born November 13, 1930, in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Two months later he moved with his...

How Armistice Day Became Veterans Day

Military Myths and Legends, World War I

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the belligerent armies fighting World War I finally laid down their arms and stopped killing each other for the same pieces of blown-up mud they'd been fighting over since 1914. The Origins of Veterans Day The First World War killed as many as 22 million people worldwide and left some 23 million more wounded. An estimated 53,000 of those killed were American service members. Another 204,000 Americans would return home wounded....

Lt. Col. Stanley T. Adams, U.S. Army (1942–1970)

Korean War, Profiles in Courage

Mounting a knife on the end of a rifle might seem like an antiquated tactic, especially when the enemy is bearing down on you with automatic weapons, explosives, and whatever else they brought to bear. Running at these killing machines with sharp, cold steel might seem like suicide. Stanley Adams Chose a Bayonet Charge The only problem with that point of view is that bayonet charges still work on the battlefields of today's wars, because there's nothing that instills fear in the enemy like...

Service Reflections of CDR Allen Allegretto, U.S. Navy (1982-2021)

Cold War, Navy Reflections

I was proud that my father served in the Army during the Korean War, and my grandfather and several uncles served in the Navy. While attending Penn State University, I learned about an opportunity to join the Navy Nuclear Power Officer Candidate Program (NUPOC). I loved technology, so the idea of serving on a nuclear-powered submarine and learning about all of the technology on board fascinated me. I was excited to join the NUPOC program and was only required to maintain good grades and graduate with an engineering degree. I enjoyed the monthly E5 pay.

Together We Served’s Buddy Finder Provides a Faster Method to Find Former Service Friends

Significant TWS Website Features

Buddy Finder Tool is Free and Easy to Use Togetherweserved.com's new Buddy Finder was created specifically to help Veterans find those they served with. Now with more than 2.5 million members in five separate service branch websites, TWS has possibly reconnected more Veterans than any other website or organization. The secret behind this high rate of success is the depth of TWS’s hand-built databases that contain hundreds of U.S. military units, ships, squadrons and bases going back to WWII....

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

Global War on Terror, Marine Reflections

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.

Fallen Comrade (A Story of the Korean War) by Walter Howell

Korean War, Military Book Reviews

There’s nothing wrong with writing a book that chronicles some of the most defining moments of one’s life or generation. American military veterans often write gripping books from their own perspectives. What’s really interesting about “Fallen Comrade: A Story of the Korean War” is that author Walter Howell chronicles the intertwined lives of three childhood friends from Clinton, Mississippi – Waller King, Joe Albritton, and Homer Ainsworth – who all enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and serve together in Korea. And at some point, uses their own words to do so.

Korean War – The Forgotten War

Battlefield Chronicles, Korean War

Calling the war in Korea, the "forgotten war" has been part of the American lexicon since 1951. However, why it was called that in the first place is not completely understood. The Forgotten War Began With a Surprise Attack To understand how the words and, more importantly, how its meaning became part of our national mentality, one must first appreciate the history of what was occurring on the Korean peninsula before, during, and following the war. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the...

VADM John D. Bulkeley, U.S. Navy (1933-1975)