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The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

MCPO Carl Maxie Brashear, U.S. Navy (1948-1979)

MCPO Carl Maxie Brashear, U.S. Navy (1948-1979)

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Carl Maxie Brashear came from humble beginnings, which gave no hint of the significant course his life would later take. Carl was the sixth of eight children born to sharecroppers McDonald and Gonzella Brashear in rural Tonieville, Kentucky, on January 19, 1931. Even though their home did not have electricity or running water, Brashear remembered a very happy childhood. The children found entertainment in telling jokes and playing with their father. Carl's great uncle was a preacher, and he...

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Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler

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Often, non-combatant civilians risk their lives by performing quiet yet extraordinary acts of selflessness and gallantry that require just as much bravery as a soldier charging head-on into enemy fire. Irena Sendler was one such civilian. She was a gentle but determined Polish social worker who managed to smuggle 2,500 children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War. As amazing as this feat was, she was only internationally honored for her immense bravery toward the end of her...

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The Muslim Princess Spy

The Muslim Princess Spy

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Noor Inayat Khan was born New Year’s Day 1914 in Moscow to Hazrat Inayat Khan an Indian Sufi mystic of royal lineage and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker, half-sister of Perry Baker, often credited with introducing yoga into America. On her father’s side, she was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, the celebrated Muslim ruler of Mysore, who in the 18th Century successfully fought the British, stemming their advance into South India. He was killed in battle in 1799.

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CW2 Donnell Medley, U.S. Army (1964-1968)

CW2 Donnell Medley, U.S. Army (1964-1968)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

On June 13, 1966, while flying an Army Birddog out of Marble Mountain airfield, I was shot down supporting a Marine company that was pinned down by a Viet Cong force. My Marine observer and I had just taken off and were en route to Marine artillery base Hill 55 when there was a call on the radio, “Any Catkiller, any Catkiller near Hoi An?”. We were very near the area, so I answered with our location. The radio operator stated that they were pinned down by an enemy force and requested assistance. We obtained the coordinates and said that we were on our way. Arriving on the scene, we saw that the Marine force was on a narrow road and receiving fire from a trench line approximately 100 yards to their front. There were 12 to 15 VCs in the trench. Assessing the situation, I had the Marines set up their 60 mm mortar. The mortars weren’t coming close after several adjustments were made. I didn’t feel comfortable calling artillery as the Marines were too close. I then told the Marine observer to take my M16, and we would make some strafing runs.

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SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)

SPC Robert E. Hendrickson, U.S. Army (1976-1992)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

Yes, 3xs, … in my boot camp training .. I was taught basic 1st aid in 1976 … and later on in my life, I unchoked my foster dad from choking on a piece of steak two different times … I did the Heimlich maneuver on him … once I got in the right place and in position, I performed h. m. and he expelled the steak piece … God rest his soul now … that was in 1986 and 1987 respectively …

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SPC Gregory Tallant, U.S. Army (1992-1995)

SPC Gregory Tallant, U.S. Army (1992-1995)

Was There An Occasion, During Your Military Or Civilian Life, When Your Military Training Proved Invaluable In Overcoming A Difficult Situation?:

In August 1992, my basic training class, which was part of an OSUT unit, was sent to Fort Polk, LA. We were stationed in the old World War II barracks while waiting for our unit to return from Germany after the Gulf War. We were assigned to every type of work detail possible, from trash removal and building painting and repair to dishwashing and lawn care, every day, for several months. The first soldier who arrived at Fort Polk from our returning unit was Specialist Enke. He was one of the funniest and laziest soldiers I worked with. One day, an NCO asked for volunteers for NTC, and Specialist Enke raised his hand. I thought it was an easy detail job, so I raised my hand as well. After everyone who raised their hand was selected. Specialist Enke asked me why I volunteered for Desert Training. I said I didn’t. I volunteered for NTC. He said NTC is the National Training Center at Ft Irwin, California, which is in the Mojave Desert. My first thought was that it sounded better than all of the crap details I had been doing for several months. When we arrived at Fort Irwin, we were attached to an M109 self-propelled artillery unit, which was very beneficial for me, as in basic training, we were trained on the towed howitzers M102, M119, & M198 as we were supposed to go to the 10th Mountain Division at Ft Drum, NY, but at graduation we were advised that the 10th Mountain Division was full, so they offered us Fort Polk, LA. Our unit, which had just returned from Germany, also used the M109 howitzers, so I was excited about the opportunity to work with the M109. The E6 crew chief who selected me for his crew told me that since I was only an E2, he was going to put me on every crap detail. I told him that I would gladly work the crap details, and when I explained that while the unit I was attached to at Fort Polk was also an M109 battallion, I had only been trained on towed howitzers, and I asked if he would please teach me about the M109, when it wouldn’t interfere with his crew’s training. He was an E6 crew chief. To my amazement, he put me on every crap detail.

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Fallen Comrade (A Story of the Korean War) by Walter Howell

Fallen Comrade (A Story of the Korean War) by Walter Howell

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There’s nothing wrong with writing a book that chronicles some of the most defining moments of one’s life or generation. American military veterans often write gripping books from their own perspectives. What’s really interesting about “Fallen Comrade: A Story of the Korean War” is that author Walter Howell chronicles the intertwined lives of three childhood friends from Clinton, Mississippi – Waller King, Joe Albritton, and Homer Ainsworth – who all enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and serve together in Korea. And at some point, uses their own words to do so.

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Korean War – The Forgotten War

Korean War – The Forgotten War

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Calling the war in Korea, the "forgotten war" has been part of the American lexicon since 1951. However, why it was called that in the first place is not completely understood. The Forgotten War Began With a Surprise Attack To understand how the words and, more importantly, how its meaning became part of our national mentality, one must first appreciate the history of what was occurring on the Korean peninsula before, during, and following the war. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the...

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Japanese Soldier Surrenders 30 Years After End of WWII

Japanese Soldier Surrenders 30 Years After End of WWII

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By the summer of 1945, the Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. Its army had been decimated. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated, it's people suffering. The Aftermath of WWII and Hiroo Onoda’s Mission After the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack, factions of Japan's supreme war council favored unconditional surrender but the majority resisted. When the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the...

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The Only U.S. Woman POW in WWII Europe

The Only U.S. Woman POW in WWII Europe

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On September 27, 1944, a C-47 assigned to the 813th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron lifted off from England into the clear morning sky. Its destination was a landing field at St. Trond, Belgium, to pick up casualties. Since the aircraft usually carried military supplies and troops on the outbound flight and casualties on the return trip, it was not marked with the Red Cross. Aboard the aircraft was 24-year-old Texas-born Second Lt. Reba Whittle, an experienced flight nurse with 40 missions and...

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Capt. John Paul Jones, U.S. Navy (1775–1792)

Capt. John Paul Jones, U.S. Navy (1775–1792)

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There is no shortage of heroes who rose to prominence during the American Revolution, but few compare to the legacy of John Paul Jones. A Scotsman by birth, he came to the fledgling United States but joined the Continental Navy as an American. Although many of his newfound countrymen would enjoy victories over Great Britain in the years to come, only Capt. John Paul Jones, the "Father of the U.S. Navy," would ever bring the war home to the British.  John Paul Jones Rose as the Father of...

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The Forces Pin Up – GI Morale Boosters

The Forces Pin Up – GI Morale Boosters

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America’s entrance into World War II back in 1941 triggered the golden age of pinups, pictures of smiling women in a range of clothing-challenged situations. The racy photos adorned lonely servicemen’s lockers, the walls of barracks, and even the sides of planes. For the first time in its history, the US military unofficially sanctioned this kind of art: pinup pictures, magazines, and calendars were shipped and distributed among the troops, often at government expense, to “raise morale” and remind the young men what they were fighting for.

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