The Christy Collection
Military Stories and Articles
Bob Parsons was a 0311, a Marine Corps Rifleman, with 1st Battalion 26th Marines in South Vietnam’s Quang Nam province. When he first arrived on Hill 190, where his company operated, it was all rice paddy as far as his eyes could see. He was told that his time in-country would change him. He may not have realized just how much he would change.
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...
In his introduction, the author wrote: “ordinary implies middle-class Americans without special privileges of wealth or title.” He was referring to his own family in Attleboro, Mass. When one reads the entire book, however, one learns he is a modern renaissance man and a high achiever who excelled in sports, academics, science, military and almost anything he set his mind to – as well as a few failures. He referred to it as a cumulative assortment of life experiences that were humorous, others sad, motivations and educational as he continually sought excitement with new or unfamiliar areas to explore.
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...
“The Gunner and the Grunt” is a unique Vietnam War memoir because it’s actually two memoirs. Two men from Massachusetts join the Army to do very different jobs, train for those jobs, and both go to Vietnam to serve their country. The book is written in two distinct voices, both members of the same reconnaissance unit, the 1st Cavalry Division, providing two very different perspectives of the war. One flies an armed helicopter above, while the other pounds the ground through the jungles below.
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.
For some, finding humor in war and combat might seem to make light of a very heavy situation. Some might even find it offensive. But those of us who have served in combat know that humor, even dark humor, is sometimes the only way to break the tension, ease the pain, and build the camaraderie that comes with fighting in a war. John Montalbano, a retired Vietnam veteran who was drafted into the Army in 1967, would not only agree that humor is important, even in war, but he literally wrote...
Only two Marines have received the Medal of Honor for two separate actions: Maj. Gen Smedley Butler and SgtMaj. Daniel J. Daly. And you know it has to mean something when Butler called Daly "the fightingest Marine I ever knew." SgtMaj Daniel J. Daly and the Boxer Rebellion Daly served in the Marine Corps for 30 years, seeing every major Marine Corps campaign between 1899 and 1929. Growing up in New York City as a slender youth, he had to be tough; he even became a semi-pro boxer before joining...
Brian Dickinson is a former U.S. Navy Aviation Rescue Swimmer who specialized in combat search and rescue. His military experience is not the most difficult situation he's ever faced. For six years, he served as a rescue swimmer, but in his post-military career, he has climbed some of the most challenging mountains in the world, including Denali, Kilimanjaro, and even the Sentinel Range in Antarctica. In 2011, Dickinson climbed Mount Everest by himself, which was a difficult challenge in...
Joe Owen enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943. He deployed shortly afterward with a forward observer squad during World War II. If you talked to the man, however, you would quickly learn it was the Korean War that defined his service to the country. In 1997, he would literally write a book about his experiences in Korea, an experience that culminated with the infamous Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. By the time North Korean tanks rolled into South Korea in June 1950, Owen was a...
There are few Marine Corps legends like that of Carlos Hathcock. If there's a pantheon of Marine Corps gods somewhere, Hathcock is definitely among them. He served the Corps and his country for 20 years, including two tours as a sniper in Vietnam, where he racked up what was then the world record for confirmed kills at 93 - although he believed the actual number was somewhere around 300. "Carlos just really believed in what he was doing out there. He was saving Marines; that's how he really...
After serving nearly 20 years in the Navy, many enlisted sailors might opt for an easy assignment for their so-called twilight tour. But that was not why James E. Williams joined the Navy. He joined in 1947 because he thought getting paid to serve your country was possibly the greatest thing he could ever do. Over the course of the next 20 years, Williams would eventually become the most decorated enlisted sailor to ever serve in the U.S. Navy. Born in 1930, Williams was a South Carolina...
