The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

PFC Ross Andrew McGinnis, U.S. Army (2004–2006)

PFC Ross Andrew McGinnis, U.S. Army (2004–2006)

On the afternoon of Dec. 4, 2006, a Humvee rolled through the narrow streets of Adhamiya, a tense neighborhood in northeast Baghdad. It was one of hundreds of patrols that had blurred together for the men of 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment. The mission that day was the same as it had been for months: show presence, deter sectarian violence, and make it just a little harder for insurgents to own the streets. Ross Andrew McGinnis Grew Up Wanting to Be a Soldier In...

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SFC Paul Ray Smith, U.S. Army (1989–2003)

SFC Paul Ray Smith, U.S. Army (1989–2003)

Despite the years of civil war and insurgency that followed, the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was a well-planned and well-timed operation, so successful in its initial phases that American and Coalition forces had captured Baghdad within just three weeks. Major combat operations famously ended on May 1, 2003, in less than two months. But despite the speed and skill of the Americans, it was not without considerable effort – or losses.  SFC Paul Ray Smith: A Soldier's Journey One of those...

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