TogetherWeServed.com Archives - Page 3 of 52

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.

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

Korean War, Military Book Reviews

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.

Korean War – The Forgotten War

Battlefield Chronicles, Korean War

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...

Japanese Soldier Surrenders 30 Years After End of WWII

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

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...

The Only U.S. Woman POW in WWII Europe

Profiles in Courage, World War II

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...

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

Profiles in Courage, Revolutionary War

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...

The Forces Pin Up – GI Morale Boosters

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

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.

PFC Oliver Stone, U.S. Army (1967-1968)

Celebrities Who Served, Vietnam War

Oliver Stone, renowned for directing bold and unflinching films such as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and JFK, is much more than a celebrated filmmaker. He is also a decorated Army veteran who proudly served during the Vietnam War. While many know Stone for his searing critiques of power and politics, his commitment to truth began long before Hollywood on the battlefields of Southeast Asia. Oliver Stone's Early Life and Enlistment William Oliver Stone was born on September 15, 1946, in...

Service Reflections of SFC Paul Salopek, U.S. Army (1972-2007)

Army Reflections, Cold War

I was 33 years old and was getting laid off from Westinghouse Electric East Pittsburgh Division. I needed a place where I could get a quick pension and earn enough to pay my mortgage. My wife and I went to the Air Force recruiter and could not get my age down enough to join the Air Force. He took us to the Army recruiter. He asked what MOS I held last time when I got drafted; I told him 24D20 and helped out with Special Forces. He asked if I wanted to go to SF, and I told him I was 33 years old and couldn’t run like a teenager anymore. I asked about a 51M fireman with no luck. I asked about my 88H, and he said no, so I asked about a 91B medic, and he said no. He told me I could be a Tanker or a Mechanic on the tank. I said I was a Mechanic, and it’s a thankless job, so make me a tanker. So, I became a Tanker, 19A3, M47/M48 Tanker. I was one of the few tankers that was qualified on the M47, M48 Tank, the M60 family, and the M1 family to the M1a2 SEP. I was told by an old tank that for every hour you ride a tank, you have to put seven hours of good maintenance on it. I lived by this rule, and my tank was always ready. There have been times that Murphy has bit me in the behind, but those times are few and far between. I knew that being a tanker, I would have to spend long times in the field. I averaged about 250 days a year. I had times when I could have left being a tanker, but I stayed with it. Even when I was a 92Y, I still went and got my range card. I would still run tank ranges along with other ranges. I was the go-to guy for a quick range. My weapons card started with 120mm, 105mm, 25mm, 40mm, M79, M203, shotgun, 50 cal, Belgian, 240 m240, all types, M14, M16, M-4, 45 cal, 9mm 38cal m82a1, m67 grenade I had the long list of weapons on any weapons card. They always asked about the shotgun. I told them it’s been a while, but I still remember.

Korean War – Pork Chop Hill

Battlefield Chronicles, Korean War

On Sunday, June 25, 1950, just before as sunrise, South Korean soldiers and their American advisors awakened to what they expected to be just another routine day guarding the demarcation line separating South Korea from Communist North Korea. Instead, they woke up to North Korean artillery blowing apart their positions, followed by heavy tanks and thousands of screaming North Korean soldiers. Outnumbered and outgunned, the UN forces were powerless to rout the invaders, forcing them into a...

Just Dust: An Improbable Marine’s Vietnam Story by Wes Choc

Military Book Reviews, Vietnam War

By their very nature, books on war deal with death, near-death experiences, injuries and all the unpleasant but inevitable aspects of war, like homesickness, bad food, substandard leadership, impossible missions and seeing friends die but above all, is the fear; fear of being killed, fear of losing body parts, fear of not living up to the challenge, fear of fear itself. Just Dust: An Improbable Marine's Vietnam Story has all of that but focuses more on the author's contemplation of the...

MENU