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Military Stories and Articles

Fascinating Facts About The Film “Saving Private Ryan”

Fascinating Facts About The Film “Saving Private Ryan”

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One of the most accurate and raw depictions of World War II can be found in the film Saving Private Ryan. This film portrayed the terror and chaos that typifies war, rather than the sanitized and unrealistic images that Hollywood tended to put out in past films. Saving Private Ryan Redefined War Films With the realism portrayed in the film, there were many behind-the-scenes tricks that director Steven Spielberg employed to ensure that the ageless footage and intense combat scenes made it...

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WW1 – Meuse-Argonne Offensive

WW1 – Meuse-Argonne Offensive

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World War I will be remembered as one of the bloodiest wars in human history. Millions of soldiers died on both sides, and whole generations of young men were wiped out. Armies were bogged down in impenetrable trenches, resulting in thousands dying in futile assaults against fortified enemies. The war also introduced new and terrible weapons, such as the machine gun, which made the war even more horrific and bloody. There were many terrible battles, but the worst one for the American...

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Maj Stephen Kobelas, U.S. Air Force (1951-1971)

Maj Stephen Kobelas, U.S. Air Force (1951-1971)

When I retired from the Air Force in 1971, after twenty years of service, I thought I was closing one chapter and opening another. Real estate seemed like the right fit — civilian, practical, and full of possibility. As it happened, the local community college, Trident Technical College, North Charleston, SC, is just a short walk from our home, and I’d already taken a handful of night courses while in uniform. Those credits transferred neatly, and with the GI Bill in hand, I enrolled and chose Accounting.

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SP5 Larry Clark, U.S. Army (1967-1970)

SP5 Larry Clark, U.S. Army (1967-1970)

Yes, I used the GI BILL to complete my Bachelor’s Degree after receiving my Draft Notice in 1967 while attending a 2-year college program with only a short time before graduation.
I enlisted in the U.S. Army “90-Day Delay” Program, which allowed me to complete the remaining days of my last college courses and attend the graduation ceremony.
After Basic Training and before my AIT Course was available, I completed a 4-week Beginner Typing course.

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Cpl Rippy Williams , U.S. Marine (1996-2000)

Cpl Rippy Williams , U.S. Marine (1996-2000)

I had gotten out of the Marine Corps on August 12th, 2000, after 4 years as an 0481, Landing Support Specialist. I soon went home to Gallup, NM, and got into a car accident the very next day after I returned home. Which now had me stuck in my hometown. I met the Director of the hemodialysis unit in my hometown at Church the Sunday after the Friday I had gotten out of the Marine Corps. He offered me a job in Dialysis, which I knew nothing about at the time. So, I started working as a certified hemodialysis technician(CHT). I had to take classes and pass a test in order to work in Dialysis. After a couple of years of working as a CHT, I realized that I was doing everything the registered nurses were doing except giving medications and doing assessments.

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My Golden Valentine By Joann Hellmann

My Golden Valentine By Joann Hellmann

In early 1973, I felt like a real Nowhere Woman: a young twenty-something with a going-nowhere job, a not-ready-for-marriage mindset, and a hankering to go anywhere well west of my little Jersey Shore town. So I decided to boldly go where few women were going then and joined the Navy. Little did I know the Navy would bring me not only a career but the man with whom I'm about to celebrate a 50-year marriage.Our journey began by fluke … or was it fate? Navy Service Romance Began With...

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Cpl Carl Reiner, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–1946)

Cpl Carl Reiner, U.S. Army Air Forces (1942–1946)

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Carl Reiner was a multifaceted American entertainer, celebrated for his significant contributions to comedy, television, film, and literature. But did you know that Carl Reiner was also a veteran? Carl Reiner’s World War II service took him from a Signal Corps radio classroom to the Army’s Special Services entertainment units, where he used humor to boost morale across the Pacific instead of fighting on the front lines. That experience not only kept him out of some of the war’s deadliest...

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Vietnam War – Battle of Ngok Tavak & Kham Duc

Vietnam War – Battle of Ngok Tavak & Kham Duc

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Kham Duc Special Forces Camp (A-105), was located on the western fringes of Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. In the spring of 1968, it was the only remaining border camp in Military Region I. Backup responsibility for the camp fell on the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal), based at Chu Lai on the far side of the province. Battle Of Ngok Begins As Kham Duc Becomes Outpost The camp had originally been built for President Diem, who enjoyed hunting in the area. The 1st Special Forces Detachment...

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Service Reflections of LT David G. Potter, U.S. Coast Guard (1968-1973)

Service Reflections of LT David G. Potter, U.S. Coast Guard (1968-1973)

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In Spring 1968, the Vietnam War was very hot and heavy. Politicians were screaming about men hiding in colleges. I finished my college degree (B.S., wildlife biology, Washington State University) and received a research assistant full scholarship to Penn State for a master’s degree studying wood ducks. Drove 90 miles, including changing a flat tire on a snowy road shoulder, to hear my draft board take minimal time to decide I would be drafted if I didn’t get into an Officer program.

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5 Medal of Honor Stories Overlooked by History

5 Medal of Honor Stories Overlooked by History

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These days, to be considered for the Medal of Honor, a member of the U.S. armed forces has to have a pretty well-documented action of "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty." The action has to happen in combat, with incontestable evidence, usually involving eyewitness accounts. Early Medal of Honor Stories Were Barely Recorded But the earliest Medal of Honor stories weren't as well-documented. They tend to be so short and so limited that we...

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The Allegedly Secret Origins of the Space Force

The Allegedly Secret Origins of the Space Force

For a certain corner of the conspiracy theorist world, "Solar Warden" is the magic phrase that turns our ordinary satellite age into full-blown science fiction. In that telling, the United States operated a classified fleet of anti-gravity warships since the 1980s, patrolling the solar system, intercepting alien craft, and defending Earth from threats the public never heard about.  How Solar Warden Sparked Conspiracy Theories When the U.S. Space Force stood up as a separate branch in 2019,...

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Bayonet Charge

Bayonet Charge

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Following World War I, Americans reached the conclusion that our country's participation in that war had been a disastrous mistake, one which should never be repeated again. This resulted in a major segment of the population becoming "isolationist" hoping to avoid dragging the country into another disastrous foreign war. Lewis Lee Millett Enlisted Before America Entered the War Even when Nazi German invaded Poland in 1939 and began conquering and controlling much of continental Europe, most...

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