Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

SSgt Kevin C. Anders, U.S. Air Force (1978-1983)

SSgt Kevin C. Anders, U.S. Air Force (1978-1983)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

I grew up in a large city and yet was near a river and spent a lot of time in the woods and banks surrounding it. I love animals and the outdoors. A training assignment was Survival School in Fairchild, Washington. My team was mostly my age from the South East US and mostly rural communities. To enforce the survival mentality, we were given very little to eat before they kicked us loose in the woods of Washington. I found a Snowshoe Rabbit huddled in the deep snow and quickly converted him into a grocery item.

read more
MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

This photo was taken of a COMNAVAIRLANT Band called “Third Wire” resting on the tarmac at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily in February 1973. We were assigned to Commander Task Force 60.1 (ADM Turner) stationed aboard the flagship USS Forrestal CVA-59. We had flown from Forrestal to NAVSIG for a performance there and other locations in Sicily, but had returned to the Naval Station for our flight back to the ship. When we arrived, they shuttled us out to the Flight Line to our aircraft and dropped us off. Unfortunately, the aircraft was not ready to depart, and we had about an hour to kill before boarding and flying out.

read more
SGT Zach Pierce, U.S. Army (2002-2008)

SGT Zach Pierce, U.S. Army (2002-2008)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

This was taken some time in the summer of 2004, FAAAR FAR outside Bagram, Afghanistan. We were on some sort of multi-day mission to explore distant villages from our very remote outpost in the Tarin Kowt region. My unit, A Co (QUICKSTRIKE!) sent our platoon with minimal supervision, to a village that, it was said, had never seen American forces during the entire Afghanistan war, to that point. In this photo, we had just been dropped off and had wandered a few clicks when we came across this village. There were a few camels and me, being a touchy-feely kind of specialist, just had to see the camels. My squad leader and I both got camel rides thanks to my charisma!

read more
How Armistice Day Became Veterans Day

How Armistice Day Became Veterans Day

,

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the belligerent armies fighting World War I finally laid down their arms and stopped killing each other for the same pieces of blown-up mud they'd been fighting over since 1914.  The Origins of Veterans Day The First World War killed as many as 22 million people worldwide and left some 23 million more wounded. An estimated 53,000 of those killed were American service members. Another 204,000 Americans would return home wounded....

read more
Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, U.S. Marine Corps (1959-1979)

Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock, U.S. Marine Corps (1959-1979)

,

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...

read more
Service Reflections of ATCS Frank Nelson, U.S. Navy (1972-1994)

Service Reflections of ATCS Frank Nelson, U.S. Navy (1972-1994)

,

My dad influenced me tremendously. I had no prospects of getting a job living overseas. My dad did all he could to get me into the Academy. He wrote letters and made phone calls to BUPERS and NAVSTA Rota (in those times, there were no recruiters nearby). I was tentatively accepted to the Prep School in Bainbridge, MD, but I was medically disqualified when they received my physical results due to my vision. I had vision correctable to 20/20, but there was too much refractive error between the left eye and the right one. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college back in the States, so off to the Navy I went.
But before I joined up, my dad made sure I got into a field where I would have a good chance of advancement, so I took a whole array of tests and was found qualified for the ADVANCED ELECTRONIC FIELD, qualifying for either AT, DS, or FT. I signed up for six years, and I would get PO3 upon successfully completing “A” school.

read more
Service Reflections of Sgt Steve Putnam, U.S. Marine Corps (1970 – 1975)

Service Reflections of Sgt Steve Putnam, U.S. Marine Corps (1970 – 1975)

,

My Father was a Marine Veteran of both WWII and Korea as a Corsair pilot in VMA-212. After Korea, he stayed in the Reserves, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. My Uncle was a Marine veteran of WWII, having fought on Iwo Jima and received a battlefield commission due to attrition in his unit. My cousin’s husband served as an officer in the Marines for 4 years in the early 1960’s. I had read Battle Cry by Leon Uris and a lot of other WWII history related to the Marines in WWII and Korea. In 1969, I was a sophomore in college and was part of the first lottery draft with the number 132, if my memory serves me correctly. I was thinking of changing my major in college but not having a clear idea of what that looked like. I had a strong desire of wanting to serve my country, but not by being drafted. Several other students at our local community college I attended were in the local Marine Reserve unit, and I began talking to them about their experiences. My Father was still attached to this unit and getting ready to retire.
I didn’t discuss this with my Dad but told him one day in December 1969 that I was going to join the Reserves. He didn’t try to talk me out of it but didn’t encourage me, either. He was with me for my swearing-in at the local Reserve Unit I & I Company Commander. Three weeks later, on January 15th, I was on a plane to MCRD San Diego from West Palm Beach, Florida. I had a guarantee for Radio School with an MOS of 2533, which was what the Reserve Unit needed. In my mind, I was Danny Forester of Battle Cry, although I was far from a star High School athlete. Neither my Dad nor my Uncle had talked about their war experiences, although my Dad would occasionally tell some funny stories.

read more
Service Reflections of SK1 David Pitts, U.S. Navy (1972-2000)

Service Reflections of SK1 David Pitts, U.S. Navy (1972-2000)

,

Both my father & my brother served in the Army. They certainly influenced my decision to join the military. Also, my best friend in high school, Vince Chostner, convinced me to join the Navy together under the “Buddy” Program. This program guaranteed that we would attend Boot Camp, Storekeeper ‘A’ School, and our first duty station together. But after only 3 weeks in a 9-week boot camp together, I came down with double pneumonia, sinusitis, with a side of hemorrhoids. I ended up at Balboa Naval Hospital for six weeks. Needless to say, he went on and graduated without me. Once I got out of the hospital, I had to start all over in another company that was reduced to 7 weeks.

read more
SPC Vergie Terrell, U.S. Army (2010-2016)

SPC Vergie Terrell, U.S. Army (2010-2016)

What was your primary Occupational Specialty in the Military? What was the most significant skill you learned and was this useful in your civilian life?

In the military, my primary occupational specialty was as a 25L, which stands for Cable System Installer Maintainer. This role is crucial within the communications field, focusing on installing, maintaining, and troubleshooting cable systems that support various communication networks. The responsibilities of a 25L include working with fiber optic and copper cabling and ensuring that communication lines are operational and reliable for mission-critical operations.

read more
Service Reflections of DCCM Ron Coombs, U.S. Coast Guard (1976 – 1997)

Service Reflections of DCCM Ron Coombs, U.S. Coast Guard (1976 – 1997)

,

I grew up in the airline industry, and the Vietnam War was still going on. I wanted college, and the GI bill was the only way to get there, so I went service shopping down on 7th Street in Ft. Worth, Texas.
After talking with the Navy and Air Force, I stepped out a side door and saw a small fold-out sign that said “Coast Guard.” I had no idea what it was. Two men were crammed into a small room, and I would run into one again ten years later.
The helicopters caught my eye, and I signed up. I never did get into aviation, and it turns out I like ships. Who knew? I had no fear of boot camp (Alameda) until we were told we were all going on a ship heading for Vietnam. We didn’t go. The war ended, and we were sent out to save America.

read more
Service Reflections of ET3 John Warren, U.S. Coast Guard (1970-1974)

Service Reflections of ET3 John Warren, U.S. Coast Guard (1970-1974)

,

Like so many young men in the late 1960’s and early 70’s, I found myself with a 1A classification in the draft. When the first draft lottery was drawn, my birthday came up number 23. Growing up on Coastal Maryland, I had always been around the water, although had not spent that much time on boats, enough to know that I would rather rock and roll than sleep in a tent. My Dad knew a couple of people, as did I who had gone into the Coast Guard and really enjoyed their duty. Hoping to find myself on small boats possibly in Ocean City, Maryland or Chincoteague, Virginia, I went into the recruiter’s office. I was immediately informed that there was a long wait to get into the Coast Guard, so being between semesters at college, I went to enroll for the spring semester. A couple of days later, my mother called to let me know that someone had backed out and decided not to go into the Coast Guard and that I could go in the next week.

read more
Service Reflections of GySgt Peter Bimonte, U.S. Marine Corps (1984-2004)

Service Reflections of GySgt Peter Bimonte, U.S. Marine Corps (1984-2004)

,

I wish I could say I dreamt of being a Marine since I was a young child, however, that wasn’t the case. In fact, I was well into my senior year at John F. Kennedy Catholic high school before joining the armed services ever entered my mind.
My best friend, Kevin Hendricks, was visiting the local USMC recruiter quite often just to hang out and he asked if I wanted to tag along. It wasn’t long thereafter that I knew the Marine Corps was my ticket out without having to spend 4 more years behind a desk at some faraway college. So it is without a doubt that my recruiter, Sgt Mark Cross was the single most important person who influenced my decision to join the Corps. I’ve heard some real “horror stories” about recruiters but this guy was top-notch and NEVER lied or painted a rosy picture of how things would be in boot camp. For that, I am forever thankful!
In full disclosure, the girls he introduced me to and the beer he bought me didn’t hurt either – Semper Fi, Sgt Cross!

read more