The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

LT Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy (2000–2005)

LT Michael P. Murphy, U.S. Navy (2000–2005)

Whether you're a fitness enthusiast or not, you might have heard about "The Murph Challenge." Every Memorial Day, veterans, military members, and fitness nuts around the country pledge to take the challenge. It not only helps remember the courage and sacrifice of Navy SEAL Lt. Michael P. Murphy, but also helps send military-connected individuals to college through the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation. Lt. Michael P. Murphy Leads SEAL Mission in Afghanistan To call the...

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MAJ Mark Nunn, U.S. Army (1988-2010)

MAJ Mark Nunn, U.S. Army (1988-2010)

Did Any of Your Parents or Grandparents Serve? What Facts or Stories Do You Remember About Their Service?:

My father, 1st Lieutenant Omar Nunn, flew the C-47 Transport Plane in the Pacific off Saipan during WWII. On Oct 12, 1944, he landed on Peleliu while the battle still raged and was confronted by a platoon of ragged Marines. Although they were filthy, dirty, skinny from starvation and dehydration, with clothes torn to tatters, they had an air of excitement and anticipation about them.

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To Hear Silence by Ronald W. Hoffman

To Hear Silence by Ronald W. Hoffman

Five years ago, the author returned to Vietnam on a battlefield tour with his wife, Nancy. In a conversation with the guide, Bill Stilwagen, he mentioned how his unit had accomplished a lot in its first 13 months in-country, yet when he looked on the internet, he couldn’t find anything. Stilwagen challenged him by saying, “Why don’t you write a book about it?” Hoffman took the challenge seriously.

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Service Reflections of JOC Arthur Frith, U.S. Navy (1970-1991)

Service Reflections of JOC Arthur Frith, U.S. Navy (1970-1991)

Several things influenced my decision to join the Navy. Two other classmates and I at Lemoore High School were considering joining the Air Force. Being a “Navy Brat”, I was looking at being stationed someplace I’d not lived where my father had been stationed in the Navy. We completed the physical and paperwork and had a date in July to enlist and head for San Antonio. However, when the time arrived, I received a call from the Air Force recruiter saying that my date had been moved to October. Given the fact that I’d quit my job at Boy Scout summer camp, quit my jobs with the Fresno Bee and Lemoore Advance, and the fact that Dad was PCSing to NAS Memphis in September, I had very few options other than the Draft. I drove to Visalia, picked up my package from the Air Force recruiter, and walked down the hall to the Navy’s office. There was a Chief sitting at a desk. I put my folder in front of him and asked, “Chief, how soon can I enlist?” He looked it over, looked up at me, and said: “What about tomorrow? I asked him if I could use his phone. I called Dad at his office back on NAS Lemoore: “Hey. Do you have anything going on tomorrow?” He said, “Nope.” “Good. You’re taking me up to Fresno to swear me in the Navy.” It was off to RTC San Diego the following afternoon.

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Cpl William Stilwagen, U.S. Marine Corps (1968-1970)

Cpl William Stilwagen, U.S. Marine Corps (1968-1970)

What memorabilia/souvenirs have you kept from your military service? What special meaning do these have for you?:

Who knows how many lives each of us destroyed in Vietnam. Confirmed kills is a term for the official way of counting dead enemy bodies. But unless you were a sniper whose spotter could document your kills, you really have no way of knowing. The environmental conditions in Vietnam were such that clear sightings and clear shots were illusive. The vegetation and terrain were extremely rugged and concealing. Once we located the enemy, we d saturate the area with firepower and/or call in supporting arms. Unless you saw an individual go down when you squeezed the trigger, you never knew if it was truly your bullet that ended the life of an enemy soldier. We knew we were responsible in part for enemy deaths, but there was really no way to make a quantitative accounting for the individual warrior. Most times, the killing took place in an obscured environment, or at a healthy distance in the case of mortars and artillery.

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Service Reflections of HM1 Kenneth Smith, U.S. Navy (1987-2007)

Service Reflections of HM1 Kenneth Smith, U.S. Navy (1987-2007)

I had always wanted to join the Navy, ever since I was 12 years old.
My uncle was in the Navy and he would always come home with more sea stories to tell.
When my dad went back in the Navy, after 10 years of broken service, we moved to San Diego. I was immersed in the Navy culture and I knew I wanted to become a Sailor. I joined the Sea Cadet Corps and stayed in it for 3 years, until we moved to Minneapolis, MN.
I joined the Minnesota National Guard, while still in high school because the Navy didn’t want me until I graduated. I wanted to serve my country as soon as I could I finally joined the Navy in April of 1987 and went to Boot Camp in Jun 1987.
While in Boot Camp, a Chaplin asked my company why we joined. I was the only one in the company to say I simply wanted to serve my country. It was not popular, back then, to be as patriotic as I was. But I was proud to serve, and I am proud to have gotten as far as I did.

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Service Reflections of CPL Chandra Duncan, U.S. Marine Corps (1981-1986)

Service Reflections of CPL Chandra Duncan, U.S. Marine Corps (1981-1986)

As a child, I always wanted to be a Marine and spent many hours watching movies and playing “war” with friends in the backyard wearing surplus WWII, Korea, and Vietnam apparel and gear given to me by my “uncle” Jr. The late 90s, while I was in high school, was a relative time of peace, and the few people I did see joining the military were doing it for college money, which, while making sense to me, also kind of soured the idea for me. In my senior year in 2000, the Army National Guard ran a recruiting event in the quad area at lunch, and a friend and I added our names to a list to get more information; my mother always told me that the military would brainwash me and that I was flat-footed and wouldn’t be accepted anyway (I’m not flat-footed) and when that Army Sgt called the house I heard my mother quickly give him a piece of her mind and then abruptly hang up on him, and that was the end of that, I wasn’t fully committed to the idea myself and had apprehensions and concerns about whether I’d be up to military life and honestly was unsure that I even had what it takes to make it through boot camp. After high school, I worked for my family, got engaged, and took out a loan for my first home. Then September 11th happened. I was angry, and silly as it may sound, I was filled with guilt as I saw on the news the brave men and women my age who answered the call to service both before and during this unprecedented time in our country. Still, I had obligations here at home and continued on my current course at the time. Years passed, and I grew older and feared that my youth would quickly pass me by. Then, the economic recession of 2008 hit.

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Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Bill Lee's legacy of his military service from 1966 to 1969. 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...

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Is the M2 “Ma Deuce” An Illegal Weapon of War?

Is the M2 “Ma Deuce” An Illegal Weapon of War?

The M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun has been a favorite heavy infantry weapon since the end of World War I. That the weapon has remained in the U.S. arsenal for so long is a testament to its power and flexibility. And no wonder - it was designed by the legendary John Browning himself.  Although the M2 has come in many variants over the years, it has still proven an effective weapon from the last days of World War l, into World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and into...

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WW2 – The Battle of Iwo Jima

WW2 – The Battle of Iwo Jima

The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in early 1945. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks.  In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, it's believed that all but 200 or so of the...

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