The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Cpl Lyubov Shtrigel, U.S. Marine Corps (2009-2013)

Cpl Lyubov Shtrigel, U.S. Marine Corps (2009-2013)

What do you miss most about your time in the service and what made this especially significant to you?:

No one from my family approved nor even believed in me when I signed up for the Marine Corps in late spring of 2008 right around the time the recession hit. As a matter of fact, when it came time to attend the monthly poolie sessions in order to prepare me for bootcamp, my dad adamantly refused to take me there and wouldn’t budge no matter how much I pleaded with him. At that time I had no means of transportation and had just relocated to NC from CA after losing my 3 year job because the company I worked for had filed for bankruptcy. My dad stated that he was not going to contribute to his daughter’s death and that is what he believed would happen to me if I joined the military. His idea of the military was the one he was forced to enlist in 50 years prior as a Ukrainiaan in the Russian army where there were days the soldiers had nothing to subsist on but raw onion and stale black bread, not to mention so many other horrors he experienced there as well. Trying to explain the difference to my dad between his forced service in Russia half a century ago to my voluntary desire to serve in the United States was like talking to a brick wall, literally impossible. However, rather than giving up, I wanted to prove to him, to all of them, that I was my father’s daughter through and through and was made of harder stuff than what they thought I was made of…that I had what it takes to become a Marine and it was not going to necessarily end with my untimely death. Because when theres a will, there is a way, and I found that way.

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Cpl Daniel Crispell, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1968)

Cpl Daniel Crispell, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1968)

What do you miss most about your time in the service and what made this especially significant to you?:

The bond of Friendship. My Marine Friend Bob born 04-06-1946 . We met in Vietnam and were both Dump Truck drivers leading convoys and building roads into the jungle. While at Hill-55 we worked on Liberty Road and camped in a tent over looking the river and our bunkers below. Everynight after 8 pm we were attacked bullets whizzing through our tent. While working on this road I had a bulldozer track blown up in front of me. During the day working I had another Marine’s truck reared blew up by a landmine.

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CPL Joshua Thigpen, U.S. Army (2002-2014)

CPL Joshua Thigpen, U.S. Army (2002-2014)

What do you miss most about your time in the service and what made this especially significant to you?:

Brotherhood and Comradery: What I Miss Most From My Military Service.

While I miss many things from my time in the service every day, the element I miss the most is the comradery I shared with those I served with. In the early 2000s, it was a high op-tempo existence. We were constantly mobilized OCONUS, CONUS, and even assisting with things like Hurricane Katrina. We never knew if we would be together, and when several of us would be pulled out for an ad-hoc mission, we didn’t know if it would be the last time we would ever see one another. Yet somehow, we always found our way back together, and some of the most defining characteristics of who I am today came from my time with my brethren in the field. We didn’t squabble over issues that currently tear friends, family, and compatriots apart; we just saw each other as brothers to fight next to and for. When I look back on those days, I don’t remember the fear, I don’t remember the pain, the sweat, the tears of agony, enduring whatever hardship was placed before us next. What I remember is the laughter, the smiles, the extremely cool and unique things we got to do as soldiers together. Whether it be the disciplined execution of elements within our Top Secret ADA Mission in the NCR or us looking out for one another as we shammed out behind a connex, I have never trusted and believed in a group of men to both do their duty with integrity and to look out for me while doing it.

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SGT John Podlaski, U.S. Army (1970-1971)

SGT John Podlaski, U.S. Army (1970-1971)

What do you miss most about your time in the service and what made this especially significant to you?:

What I miss from my time in the service. Remember when we were younger, we had lots of friends. Although we had our favorites and best friend – it was a crushing blow when our family had to move to another location. We lost that best friend – never to be seen again. However, we met new friends, and with some, a lasting relationship. When I was in Vietnam, I was assigned to a squad of soldiers in one of the infantry platoons. Although the size should be a dozen or so soldiers, we generally ran with eight soldiers. We spent 24 hours a day with one another and got to know each other rather well. Oftentimes, we shared intricate secrets that we kept to ourselves for many years. Trust was never questioned. Was it possible to have eight besties?

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QM3 Nicolette (Nikki) Martinez, U.S. Navy (1990-1994)

QM3 Nicolette (Nikki) Martinez, U.S. Navy (1990-1994)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

I went to boot camp in Orlando, FL beginning September 9, 1990. My company was K106. I had a female and male company commanders. She was very hardcore and much harder on us recruits than he was. He was higher rank. The one specific memory I have is not the happiest. We had one woman who had just made it to the age cut off. She was Filipino and her English wasn’t very good. She was an introvert and her age set her apart from the rest of us as we were mostly 18-20 years old. I’m going to call her Maggie to protect her identity due to the nature of her sad story.

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SGT Glen Sargent, U.S. Army (1999-2012)

SGT Glen Sargent, U.S. Army (1999-2012)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

I joined the Army in 1999 and started my journey in August, heading straight to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for boot camp. Arriving there late at night was a jarring experience; the drill sergeant’s yelling as we got off the bus made the reality of my decision immediately clear. The first night was confusing, to say the least. Sharing a bathroom with 40 strangers was a stark departure from the life I knew. Waking up to unfamiliar faces, I felt like a fish out of water. It was chaotic, overwhelming, and the constant uncertainty made every moment tense.

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SGT Marivel Perez, U.S. Army (2001-2011)

SGT Marivel Perez, U.S. Army (2001-2011)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

22 years ago, I was an 18-year-old who had just joined the Army. On 9/10 and 9/11 2001, I was at Fort Jackson, South Carolina conducting my final field training exercise in Basic Training. That morning, after setting up fox holes in the rain, pulling guard duty in the cold, and feeling completely drained from marching to the middle of nowhere the night before, we woke up, and were informed by our Drill Sergeants that our country had been attacked.

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SGT Russell Holmes, U.S. Army (1984-2003)

SGT Russell Holmes, U.S. Army (1984-2003)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

In 1984, FLW MO: We were training ‘Moving under fire”. We’d line up at the edge of the woods, and the first guy would run forward to cover. The first guy then yelled, “Covering!”. The next guy would yell, “Moving!” and run past the first guy and throw himself down at the next cover. He’d settle into a firing position and then yell, “Covering!” The first guy would yell “Moving!’ and run past him to the next cover. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. We were also using the downtime between platoons to enhance CTT skills. Located at this training area was the latrine. There was no running water at the training area, so the latrine was a wooden outhouse. It was about 8 feet wide and 30 feet long, with 10 holes cut out in the bench over the septic pit. It was well-maintained and clean for an outhouse. The stench, however, could lift the roof. Imagine countless soldiers doing their business in there, day in and day out. In Missouri. In August.

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CAPT Michael Lilly, U.S. Navy (1968-1998)

CAPT Michael Lilly, U.S. Navy (1968-1998)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

Saturday, July 20, 1968, is still the longest day of my life. This is how it began as I entered Naval Officer Candidate School – officer boot camp – at Newport, Rhode Island.

“HEY, YOU!”

The voice belonged to a khaki uniform.

I pointed to myself, “Who me?”

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A3C Michael Bell, U.S. Air Force (1963-1966)

A3C Michael Bell, U.S. Air Force (1963-1966)

Where did you go to Boot Camp/ Basic Training? What specific memories do you have of instructors, fellow recruits and any rigorous training?:

Lackland, in winter…

I quit my high school senior year in South Bend on the November day JFK was assassinated. Being a foster kid and ward of Cook County court I was given one choice; enlist or go back to school. I chose USAF because my uncle had been in blue working on Boxcars in Japan during Korea, and everyone else in the family going back to the 1700s had been Army. I scored high on “Abstract Reasoning” – as my wife and kids would attest still holds true 60 years later. In almost exactly one month I found myself in Indianapolis taking the physical, and the oath with about 20 other guys my age. After spending that night in a seedy hotel part of the city, we were put on the civilian equivalent of a C-131 (aka T-29) Samaritan recip. Bound south vector to San Antonio, at age 17; my first airplane ride, and into the unkowable.

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SGT Robert Pryor, U.S. Army (1967-1969)

SGT Robert Pryor, U.S. Army (1967-1969)

What was your favorite bar/ recreational establishment from your Military Service? What do you remember most about this place and do you know if it still exists?:

After getting wounded, I was given a three-day R&R in Vũng Tàu. I stayed at the Grand Hotel, which had been taken over as an R&R Center. Many GIs had cute dinner dates that first night. I don’t do nightlife, so there would be no opportunity to find even a plain Jane for me.

On my second day, I passed a barefoot woman in an alley. She was dressed in filthy black pajama peasant rags sporting rips and patches while smelling like raw sewage. I said hello to her in Vietnamese in the most formal manner. She returned my greeting, and we continued our separate ways. Suddenly, she came running back. As a Chinese Nùng, she was from the lowest strata of Vietnamese society. They were treated like animals. Other than her fellow Nùngs, I was the first to show her any respect.

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SGT William Upton, U.S. Army (1963-1968)

SGT William Upton, U.S. Army (1963-1968)

What was your favorite bar/ recreational establishment from your Military Service? What do you remember most about this place and do you know if it still exists?:

The Vung Tau Airfield NCO Club – 1966. On March 11, 1966, three months after I arrived in Vung Tau, Viet Nam, the NCO club served pizza. I loved pizza. So, hearing it was on the NCO Club menu, I hurried to get mine. A half a kilometer from the Club, my nostrils flared and I wiped drool from my mouth with the back of my hand as the smell of baking pizza dough wafted by. Before I opened the door, I could already taste the succulent wedges loaded with spicy pepperoni, steaming tomato sauce, and cheese that spilled off the edges.

Inside, the smoke-filled Quonset hut buzzed like a squadron of WWI bi-planes in a dogfight as others chomped, chewed, drank beer, bullshitted, and belched approval.

Huong, the Vietnamese waiter, came to my table, pad in hand, pencil on ear. He had read my mind. “You want pizza pie?”

“I’ll take a pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni, Huong.” I wiped my drooling mouth again, this time with a paper napkin.

“No have pepperoni pizza,” Huong said.

“Then give me a sausage pizza with extra sausage and black olives,” I said, leaning back in my chair.

“No have sausage pizza.”

“Well, Jeezus H,” I sat back up. “What kind of pizza do you have?”

Huong smiled, obviously pleased with my irritation. “Have cheese and Veenamese pepper pizza is all.”

“Then bring me a cheese and pepper pizza with extra pepper and a beer.”

Huong padded off to the kitchen and within fifteen minutes, I had my pizza. With two hands I guided the pointed end of a steaming wedge into my mouth. I bit. I chewed. The melted American cheese tasted heavenly. The Vietnamese hot peppers had been grown in Hell. Fire scorched my tongue and the roof of my mouth. Tears streamed from my eyes. Smoke must’ve poured from my ears. I gulped down my beer and ordered two more before eating another piece.

After four slices, my mouth and tongue had gone numb and I could no longer taste the pizza. I finished it without a whimper. Three beers later, I paid my tab, whistled all the way back to the tent, and plopped on my cot. Twenty minutes after I laid down, my stomach began to work on the meal. Internally, the peppers fired burp guns at pizza slices which lobbed gas canisters back. My tent mates complained each time I belched or farted. Frog Fogarty moved his cot outside.

Some time later, the pizza wars ended and I dropped off to a fitful sleep. In my dreams, a blazing wheel chased me around the compound and I burped fire.

The next morning, after I showered, shaved, and ate breakfast, I headed for the latrine. If I had known my rear was going to catch fire, I would have taken a fire extinguisher with me. It took a few minutes before I realized that the pizza wars hadn’t ended. The Vietnamese peppers were now firing parting shots.

Regardless of all that, the hot pepper pizza proved so popular that the NCO Club was always full.

Obviously, the Vung Tau NCO Club is no longer in existence. Did the hot peppers burn it down? No one knows, but it’s a definite possibility.

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