The Christy Collection
Military Stories and Articles
One of the most significant influences on my decision to join the Air Force was witnessing the United States Air Force Thunderbirds perform at Otis Air Base in Massachusetts when I was a child. The impressive aerial maneuvers and the skill demonstrated by the pilots left a lasting impression on me, sparking a deep interest in aviation and the military.
Happy 250th birthday, United States Marine Corps! From the earliest days of the Continental Marines to present-day missions, the Marine Corps continues to stand as a symbol of courage and resilience. Celebrations this year span the globe, highlighting the Corps’ storied past and ongoing commitment to readiness. The Birth of the U.S. Marine Corps On November 10, 1775, the United States Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress, which authorized “two Battalions of Marines”...
Within hours of their December 7, 1941, attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the Japanese military began its assault on the Philippines, bombing airfields and bases, harbors and shipyards. Manila, the capital of the Philippines, sits on Manila Bay, one of the best deep-water ports in the Pacific Ocean, and it was, for the Japanese, a perfect resupply point for their planned conquest of the southern Pacific. After the initial air attacks, 43,000 men of the Imperial...
A separate design for a version of the Medal of Honor for the U.S. Air Force was created in 1956, authorized in 1960, and officially adopted on April 14, 1965. Previously, members of the U.S. Army Air Corps, U.S. Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Air Force received the Army version of the medal. The first person to receive the new U.S. Air Force Medal of Honor was Major Bernie Fisher during the Battle of A Shau Valley in March 1966. He also received a Silver Star during the same battle. Into...
I had worked as a fingerprint technician with the FBI in Washington, DC, from June 1962 through August 1964. I then called an ARMY RECRUITER and volunteered to join the Army. When speaking with the recruiter, I also selected the US ARMY SECURITY AGENCY. He warned me that I had to score at least 112 on my battery tests to be in the ASA MOS. Luckily, I scored 114.5. By the way, I was in the ARMY SECURITY AGENCY Honor Guard while going through my MOS schooling for THE ENTIRE year of 1965. I started out as just an honor guard member, then became a squad leader, a platoon Sergeant, and ultimately, the Field First, overseeing the entire Honor Guard, Companies A & B. The Honor Guard was Company “G” at Fort Devens. The attached picture was taken when I was Field First on NCO Day, when all companies marched to Soldier’s Field to listen to various speakers.
I grew up an adopted child in a dysfunctional family and was compelled to leave home at age 16. I managed to finish high school while paying for room and board earned from working two part-time jobs. In 1953, at age 17, I joined the Army National Guard (Combat Engineers, Charlestown, MA) to earn extra money and its drill team for the same reason, getting my first taste of military service. I was Captain of my high school hockey team, earned league All-Star honors, but had a passing but unimpressive academic record. Playing at the college level required remediation in prep school, which was unaffordable. So, I decided to test myself in the Marine Corps, a better option than the projected path that lay ahead. That decision changed my life!
Well, it’s the summer of 1966, and I just graduated from high school — then I got accepted to college in September and couldn’t wrap my head back in the books again, so I quit halfway through that semester. During that time, I kept getting notices in the mail to report to draft headquarters and going to college deferred 10 notices in 2 months — So, the day I quit, I went back home to visit my parents and, while I was doing that, I ran into a high school friend of mine and asked him what you doing – he says to me, I’m heading down to the Navy recruiting office and I say wait I’m going with ya – so that’s what we did – join the Navy because I didn’t want to carry a gun and get shot at.
What Was Your Nickname or Callsign During Your Military Service? Can You Recall the Nicknames or Callsigns of Other Characters From Your Service and How These Were Earned?:
I earned “Spiderman” in the most humbling way imaginable for someone working in classified intelligence. After contracting crabs, I captured one of the offending critters and taped it to a piece of paper like I was preparing evidence for analysis – occupational hazard of working in intelligence, I suppose. When I brought my “specimen” to the base clinic, the first medic I showed it to squinted at it and said, “Well, that looks like a little spider.” I had to patiently explain to this individual that it was definitely NOT a spider, and that we had a significantly more embarrassing situation to address. Finally, I got in to see an actual doc who confirmed my self-diagnosis and issued the appropriate treatment.
What Was Your Nickname or Callsign During Your Military Service? Can You Recall the Nicknames or Callsigns of Other Characters From Your Service and How These Were Earned?:
I recall my nickname well, it was Lil’Bit. Some even called me Lil’Bit with a silent “ch.” My AO buddies, and a few others, added the last part when I held a Marine over board after slapping my butt. Many may say oh that overreacting, but no it wasn’t. Especially if it was your 100th time, or more, of politely and rudely asking him to stop. The name arrived from the fact that I was, and Am, 4 foot 8.5 inches tall and 98 pounds. However, no matter my height, I did my job even though it should have been physically beyond my capabilities due to my height and weight. How did I hold a bullying male Marine over the edge of a ship at that height and weight, you may ask? Simple, my boot size was 3 1/2-4 in male’s red wings. They fit perfectly in the pad eyes on carriers. They are not only perfect for anchoring aircraft to the ship, but my feet and body as well. I was able to carry over 40 chains we used to anchor the F-18’s I dealt with, weighing at 5 pounds each, across a U.S. Carrier (length of 2 football fields) for almost 5months straight. Before joining the Navy, I was a gymnastic power tumbler, which I had done 15 years prior. Helping me to have the leg and arm strength to lift and carry the chains, which allowed me the ability to defend myself and my dignity from hands’y rude males who wouldn’t take stop and no as an answer. I never let my height deter me from being able to confidently complete a task, even if it means thinking outside the box and using the tools handy to me, like getting a ladder from the F-18 down, ways to get it back up for the jet to take off.
What Was Your Nickname or Callsign During Your Military Service? Can You Recall the Nicknames or Callsigns of Other Characters From Your Service and How These Were Earned?:
My nickname was Reb. It was given to me some of my classmates while in electronics school in San Diego, CA. They called me that because I was from Georgia and my other class members were from northern or Midwestern states. While stationed at San Diego, I got the inevitable tattoo on my right forearm. I is a picture of an Bald Eagle head overlaying a confederate battle flag with “REB” underneath. Some might think the confederate battle flag represents something bad but to most of us it represents a time in our history. The eagle overlaying it represents the resolution and reuniting of these great states.
What Was Your Nickname or Callsign During Your Military Service? Can You Recall the Nicknames or Callsigns of Other Characters From Your Service and How These Were Earned?:
TWS Battle Buddy Felipe Brown was “Mr. IMC” because of his speed with International Morse Code. Ronald “Tiny” DeMello certainly wasn’t tiny. TWS Brother Robert “Bru” Taylor assimilated the ways of the Bru people, speaking their language. James “Missing” Mitchum was sometimes hard to find. William “Grit” Pomeroy spoke fluent Southernese with a native tongue; however, I called him Billy.
"Rainy Street Stories" isn't a single tale so much as a map of scars. Author John William Davis is a retired U.S. Army counterintelligence officer, a seasoned veteran of the shadow trades. In this book, he takes readers around the world as he threads together short vignettes, essays, and memory-shards about espionage, terrorism, and the people who live between those crosshairs. Rainy Street Stories Beyond the Headlines Unfold If you're expecting a Tom Clancy showstopper with satellite...
