Official blog
TWS Website
TWS Website
U

MENU

The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

How to Celebrate the US Army’s 250th Birthday

How to Celebrate the US Army’s 250th Birthday

The U.S. Army claims its birthday is on June 14th and states that it was officially formed one year before the Declaration of Independence was signed. That means the Army is older than the nation it defends! This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States Army, and the world's most capable fighting force is throwing a big celebration on the National Mall – and yes, everyone is invited.  Honoring 250 Years of Service and Sacrifice "Since 1775, American soldiers have represented...

read more
The Mailman Went UA (A Vietnam Memoir) by David W. Mulldune

The Mailman Went UA (A Vietnam Memoir) by David W. Mulldune

,

The year 2025 will see a lot of retrospective looks at the Vietnam War, as the United States’ involvement began in 1965 (or 1955, depending on who you ask) and officially ended with the 1975 Fall of Saigon. The best retrospectives anyone could possibly read are the no-holds-barred accounts of the war from those who were there, on the ground, doing the job. And few Vietnam memoirs are as poignant and honest as David Mulldune’s “The Mailman Went UA.”

read more
Valentine’s Day by Charles A. Van Bibber

Valentine’s Day by Charles A. Van Bibber

,

In the late nineteen sixties, the author made a life-altering journey that led him out of Texas and into the U.S. Marine Corps and eventually into the jungles of Vietnam as a machine gunner during the tumultuous year 1968.   'Valentine's Day' (so named because Van Bidder's unit, 2nd Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, departed Camp Pendleton for Vietnam on February 14, 1968) is a very excellent read.  What makes it so is the straightforward accounting by the author on the horror,...

read more
Korean War – Sacrifice And Survival at Chosin Reservoir

Korean War – Sacrifice And Survival at Chosin Reservoir

,

For 19-year-old Pat Finn, a Minnesota Marine with Item Co, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, the night seemed colder and darker than any of the others he'd experienced since landing in Korea. His Battalion had just arrived at a desolate, frozen lake he would remember for the rest of his life: the Chosin Reservoir. Chosin Reservoir Hit by a Devastating Surprise Attack As the sun went down on November 27, 1950, and temperatures sank to 20 degrees below zero, Marines at Yudam-ni, a small village on the...

read more
The Last Airborne Deployment of WWII

The Last Airborne Deployment of WWII

,

In the early morning hours of March 24, 1945, a massive WWII airborne operation known as Operation Varsity launched with an attempt to deploy 17,000 American and British Airborne troops across the Rhine River. It was the largest single-day airborne operation in history. Operation Varsity Launches Bold Airborne Assault C-47 Transport Planes Release Hundreds of Paratroopers during Operation Varsity. In the final months of WWII, Western Allied Forces advanced east into Germany. This meant...

read more
LCpl Orville Richard Burrell (aka Shaggy), U.S. Marine Corps (1988-1992)

LCpl Orville Richard Burrell (aka Shaggy), U.S. Marine Corps (1988-1992)

Orville Richard Burrell, also known as Shaggy, who served on the US Marine Corps between 1988 and 1992, came to live in Brooklyn as a teenager after leaving his home of Jamaica. While he showed early musical promise, he was in need of steady income, and the Marines were happy to take him. Born on October 22 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica, Orville took singing lessons as a teen and discovered a natural talent. He earned the nickname ‘Shaggy’ because of his untamed hair, after the Scooby-Doo...

read more
Summary of The Vietnam War (1959-1975)

Summary of The Vietnam War (1959-1975)

,

Vietnam was a country torn by war long before Americans became involved in the fighting. French domination was interrupted by the Japanese occupation in World War II, during which Communist leader Ho Chi Minh formed his Viet Minh organization and began guerrilla operations against both occupying powers. The Viet Minh came to power when Japan fell, and the French Indochina War began in 1946 as France attempted to regain control over its colony. The war ended in May 1954 when the Viet Minh...

read more
The Curse of the Willy Dee

The Curse of the Willy Dee

,

The crew of the USS William D. Porter should have had better things to do than worry about some silly "curse." The ship was a Fletcher-class destroyer, one of more than a thousand warships built after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the United States was fighting a world war. But many of the crew were more concerned with surviving the ship, and not the war. The "Willy Dee" (as it came to be called) appeared to be cursed almost from the day it was launched. Willy Dee Earns a Cursed...

read more
MSG Jerry M. Shriver, U.S. Army (1962–1969)

MSG Jerry M. Shriver, U.S. Army (1962–1969)

,

When Jerry Shriver left the United States for Vietnam, the only reason he ever came home was because the Army forced him to get some R&R. Even then, Shriver spent his time stateside talking tactics with fellow soldiers and looking for weapons to use in his unconventional, often personal war against the communists of Southeast Asia. He earned the nickname "Mad Dog" from Radio Hanoi for his fierce raids into enemy territory, his ability to fight his way out, and his refusal to use...

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

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

I’d been assigned to West Point for over a year when I met my future husband, SP4 Rodney Helmers, in early 1978. That summer, Rod had a vehicle accident determined to have been caused by a seizure while driving. It seemed like a one-off, and I was not overly concerned. We married at West Point in December 1978 and were awarded government quarters on-post shortly thereafter. In April 1979, we were joyous to learn I was pregnant.

read more
PFC Vicki M. Taylor, U.S. Marines (1980-1981)

PFC Vicki M. Taylor, U.S. Marines (1980-1981)

On December 6, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq which was then one of the most volatile cities in the world Major Megan Malia McClung was killed in action when an IED struck her Humvee during a mission escorting journalists embedded with Marine forces. She was 34. What made her presence on that convoy so powerful was this: she didn t have to be there. She was the senior public affairs officer in the region she could have delegated the mission. But Megan believed leaders share risk, not avoid it. She believed in showing the world what our Marines were doing and standing beside them while they did it.

read more