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Service Reflections of SSgt Michael Weaver, U.S. Marine Corps (1983-1993)

I thought after high school that I might go into the Navy. However, my brother was killed in an accident in the Army, and my mother did not want me to attend, so I didn’t. I floundered around for two years, trying college, working for Transcontinental Bolt Company selling tools, nuts, and bolts door-to-door to farmers in western PA, and then working at Wendy’s. My father was a Marine during WWII. After a bad day at Wendy’s, I went home and announced that I was going to the Marine recruiting station. Dad, would you like to go with me? He did, we went, and I left for the Marines shortly thereafter.

Maj Richard M. Cole, U.S. Air Force (1970-1992)

VA Military Memories Competition

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

Military service has become a tradition in my family. One of the things that has kept me busy in retirement is genealogy research. Through my research, I discovered that my fourth great-grandfather, William McLee “Mack” Cole, served with Company B of the South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, which drew the majority of its men from Laurens County. Pvt. Cole died of pneumonia following the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. He died in Chimborazo Hospital Number 5 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Richmond, Va. Men were dying in large numbers at the hospital and were buried in Oakwood with as many as six men to a grave. A small stone cube marked the graves with numbers on them that correlated to a grave registry book listing the names of the men in each grave. When I discovered that my grandfather did not have a headstone, I attempted to obtain one for him through the VA, only to have my request denied. They stated the stone cube and grave registry were sufficient markings for his grave. So, I purchased him a headstone and, with the assistance of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, had it installed over his burial site at Oakwood.

SSG Victoria Ryan, U.S. Army (1973-1988)

VA Military Memories Competition

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

I never knew my natural father, although I learned that he had been in the Army. My stepfather was stationed in the Philippines during WWII; however, he never spoke of his time on active duty during the war. Fast-forward to 1970, when my younger brother was 18 and Richard Nixon was the US President. The Vietnam War was in full force, and changes regarding military enlistment were afoot; a military draft lottery drawing had been instituted the prior year. My mother was terrified that my brother Bill would be drafted, sent to Vietnam, and killed. Rather than take his chances with becoming a draftee, Bill enlisted in the Army as a surveyor, went to Fort Sill, OK and on to Germany for his permanent duty station in 1971.

The Legendary Audie Murphy

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

The U.S. Army's history is filled with heroes, battlefield legends, and stories that seem like they could only come from the minds of Hollywood screenwriters. There are few larger-than-life tales of greatness bigger than that of World War II legend Audie Murphy, whose battlefield daring became an instant silver-screen classic – starring Audie Murphy himself. Audie Murphy: Medal of Honor, Movies and Advocacy Murphy's early life did not suggest a life destined for greatness. He was the son...

Service Reflections of SP 5 Charles V. Rogers, Jr., U.S. Army (1971-1975)

Army Reflections, Cold War

Several things made me choose my military service. I guess it’s the old cliche? I wanted to serve my country, mainly because my Dad did during WWII. It was my birthday in 1971 that I decided to enlist. My draft number was up, so it would only be a matter of time. I went to the recruiter and signed up for the US Army on the delayed entry program. I think it was September 30, 1971. I wanted to fly, but wearing glasses was going to prevent me from doing that. I picked the Army because my Dad had served, and I didn’t want to go into the Navy, Air Force, or Marines. The Army offered the best chance because they might have lifted the restriction on glasses if things hadn’t changed. While I was at the AFESS, and we were being processed, a Marine Sergeant came out and pointed to me and several others and said we were now Marines. I tried to object, and thankfully, an Army Sergeant came out and said no, can’t have him, he’s RA. I looked at the Army and Air Force, and it seemed my best chance to do what I wanted while serving was to join the Army. If I couldn’t be a pilot, I might still be able to fly as a crew member. I worked in a car dealership and had mechanics down pretty well, so I figured I had a little jump in the aviation maintenance department.

Service Reflections of SP5 Paul H. Wetherington, U.S. Army (1971-1979)

Army Reflections, Cold War

I was honored to serve when my country called on me. I really didn’t think they would draft me. I was hoping to get some college behind me to have more options. I did not have good grades in school; my dad had me working at “The Big Cone” fast food restaurant, which we owned when I was fourteen to sixteen years old, so I didn’t have time to study; it was after school every day till 10 pm and every weekend. At seventeen, on September 8, 1968, I was in a single-car crash that claimed four friends: Max Pearson, Mickey Rushing, Nancy Ingram, and Kathy Lewis. I was not driving, and Mickey was driving. I was the only survivor. I made no plans to avoid the draft; in fact, I thought I would not be accepted, even if I tried to enlist, because of my injuries, both physical and mental, from the accident. What a miscalculation on my part! I believe I went through BCT and AIT with a compression fracture at the eighth thoracic vertebra from the car crash less than three years earlier. The crash and injuries are clearly documented on my entrance physical exam. I guess it was true that “All you need is a trigger finger.” Project 100,000, also known as McNamara’s Misfits or McNamara’s Morons, was a DOD program in the 1960s to recruit soldiers who would previously have been below military physical and mental standards. The number mobilized was 320,000-354,000, and they died at three times the rate of others serving in Vietnam. The program ended in December 1971.

Famous Army Unit: 761st Tank Battalion

Famous Military Units, World War II

Entry of the United States into World War II quickly revealed how woefully ill-prepared the armed forces were to contend with a major conflict. Apart from the peacetime draft instituted in 1940 and lend-lease support to Great Britain few actions had been taken to address escalating global tensions. Now racing to enlist, train, arm and deploy resources necessary across multiple theatres of war the Army and other branches of service were forced to again face long-held racial...

Famous Army Units: 1099th Transportation Company

Famous Military Units, Vietnam War

The Vietnam War from its outset presented novel threats to US forces from unfamiliar terrain, embedded supply practices, enemy infiltration tactics and more. Striving for strategies to achieve battlefield supremacy the Army relied on tried-and-true practices, applying equipment and personnel in innovative ways to gain an advantage. Without question, the single largest departure from earlier conflicts was the extensive rivers and waterways, creating unique logistic and combat...

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