The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow, U.S. Army (1952–1994)

Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow, U.S. Army (1952–1994)

Sidney Shachnow was born in Lithuania in 1934, Sidney Shachnow faced oppression in his homeland and found his calling in the U.S. Army after immigrating to America in 1950. Sidney Shachnow enlisted in the military in 1955 and served for more than 39 years, including 32 in the Special Forces community. His top posts included leadership of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School and U.S. Army Special Forces Command at Fort Bragg and U.S. Army-Berlin in Germany. "Maj. Gen. Sidney...

read more
Col Ola Lee Mize, U.S. Army (1950-1981)

Col Ola Lee Mize, U.S. Army (1950-1981)

Ola Lee Mize was born August 28, 1931, in Albertville, Alabama as the son of a sharecropper. He was forced to leave school after just the ninth grade to help his family put food on the table, as was very common throughout the United States in that era. Mize's Military Service Mize tried several times to enlist in the Army but was rejected for being too light at just 120 pounds. He finally got in when his mother signed an affidavit to affirm his age since a tornado had destroyed all his town's...

read more