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The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

1LT William R. Belisle, U.S. Army (1969-1974)

1LT William R. Belisle, U.S. Army (1969-1974)

What Was Your Most Proud Moment From Your Military Service? What Made This Especially Memorable For You?:

ARMY COMMISSIONING On a beautiful summer weekend in 1968, I graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), located in Massachusetts. College graduation for the Class of 1968 was scheduled for two days. An ROTC Commissioning Ceremony was held on Saturday, June 8. On Sunday, we went through the formal college graduation ceremony and got our diplomas. Before the Commissioning Ceremony on Saturday, our Army Green ROTC attire was transformed into Class “A” Army uniforms. Stripes were sewn on the legs of our trousers and the sleeves of our blouses. We replaced all our school emblems and badges with brass appropriate for Active Duty U.S. Army uniforms. We each wore Officer’s insignia and a Gold Band on our caps. We were to make sure our uniforms and haircuts were of the highest caliber. Missing, however, was any rank on our shoulder epaulets! Our gold Second Lieutenant rank would be pinned on after the ceremony.

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Col John Russell, U.S. Air Force (1975-2005)

Col John Russell, U.S. Air Force (1975-2005)

What Was Your Most Proud Moment From Your Military Service? What Made This Especially Memorable For You?:

Originally sent in an E-mail on September 24, 2003 at 10:23 AM to a friend. Two months ago, I made a special trip to San Antonio with my First Sergeant to welcome home a team of my 307th RED HORSE troops coming back from Baghdad. They had been in southwestern Asia supporting the war effort for 5 months. Just as they were about to be rotated home, another mission was tasked. The Senior Officer of the 1st Expeditionary RED HORSE Group asked them if they would volunteer to extend. These guys, after spending 5 months in the sand, were asked if they would volunteer to go to Baghdad International Airport and repair all the runway and taxiway craters we had blown in our bombing campaign. These repairs were necessary so that medicine, food and other civilian aid could begin to be air lifted directly to Baghdad International Airport.

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LTC Leslie S. Lee, U.S. Army (1986-2009)

LTC Leslie S. Lee, U.S. Army (1986-2009)

What Was Your Most Proud Moment From Your Military Service? What Made This Especially Memorable For You?:

When I was a freshly minted 1LT in the JAG Corps in 1986, we were taken to the range to familiarize on the M-16. I had never fired a weapon in my life, so I listened closely to the instructions. I hit the target every time. When I later went to actually qualify with my first unit (1st Infantry Division – Ft. Riley garrison company), I shot expert. I remember being in the foxhole and hearing people asking who was in lane 4 as all the farthest targets were being hit. (That was me and I think, but can’t swear, the farthest targets were 300 meters). After everyone finished, it was announced that the new female JAG had the top score. I remember the gasps from the other officers in the room. I will never forget how proud I felt. I later won an Excellence in Competition badge for the 45 pistol in 1991, but nothing compared to seeing the shock on the faces of my fellow officers (some of whom were infantry) on that first expert qualification. How I wish I still had a picture of that scorecard!

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MAJ Terrance (TP) Pitts, U.S. Army (1998-2025)

MAJ Terrance (TP) Pitts, U.S. Army (1998-2025)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

In a world often divided by political turmoil and cultural differences, moments of human connection transcend barriers and remind us of our shared humanity. This image captures a poignant scene as I was engaging with a group of Syrian children. What might seem like a simple interaction reveals profound lessons about freedom, servant leadership, and humility values that shape the ethos of military service and resonate deeply in contexts of conflict and need.

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1SG Randy Jr. Taylor, U.S. Army (2002-2023)

1SG Randy Jr. Taylor, U.S. Army (2002-2023)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

My favorite photo from my military service is the picture taken in 2006 of my Battalion, 1-18 Infantry Vanguards in flight to Kuwait where we would spend a short transitional period enroute to Baghdad Iraq. For some of us in this image this is a second deployment in theater to include myself and you can see the confidence of youth in my face during this air movement. Leading up to this image was a series of movements, baggage carries, weapons draw and close postured accountability while chain smoking with my Platoon. I am seen with a snack in my mouth towards the front. I can remember the smell of the jet fuel, the sounds, feel of being on the C130 and the excitement of going back to Iraq to do my trade as an Infantryman. This whole situation just felt so simple and familiar to me.

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RM2 Michael A. Harris, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

RM2 Michael A. Harris, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

I served in the Navy Mobile Riverine Force (Task Force 117) in the Mekong Delta from July 1968 to July 1969. In October 1968, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Commander Naval Forces, Vietnam (COMNAVFORV) launched Operation SEALORDs. The purpose was to interdict enemy soldiers and supplies from coming into South Vietnam from Cambodia. I was a Radioman/.50 Caliber Machine Gunner on Armored Troop Carrier 152-1 or T-152-1. It was an old ironclad LCM-6 that was modified to carry U.S. and Vietnamese infantry troops.

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SSgt Kevin C. Anders, U.S. Air Force (1978-1983)

SSgt Kevin C. Anders, U.S. Air Force (1978-1983)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

I grew up in a large city and yet was near a river and spent a lot of time in the woods and banks surrounding it. I love animals and the outdoors. A training assignment was Survival School in Fairchild, Washington. My team was mostly my age from the South East US and mostly rural communities. To enforce the survival mentality, we were given very little to eat before they kicked us loose in the woods of Washington. I found a Snowshoe Rabbit huddled in the deep snow and quickly converted him into a grocery item.

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MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

MUCS James E. Richards, U.S. Navy (1971-1995)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

This photo was taken of a COMNAVAIRLANT Band called “Third Wire” resting on the tarmac at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily in February 1973. We were assigned to Commander Task Force 60.1 (ADM Turner) stationed aboard the flagship USS Forrestal CVA-59. We had flown from Forrestal to NAVSIG for a performance there and other locations in Sicily, but had returned to the Naval Station for our flight back to the ship. When we arrived, they shuttled us out to the Flight Line to our aircraft and dropped us off. Unfortunately, the aircraft was not ready to depart, and we had about an hour to kill before boarding and flying out.

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SGT Zach Pierce, U.S. Army (2002-2008)

SGT Zach Pierce, U.S. Army (2002-2008)

Do You Have A Favorite Photo From Your Military Service? What Memories Does This Photo Bring Back For You?:

This was taken some time in the summer of 2004, FAAAR FAR outside Bagram, Afghanistan. We were on some sort of multi-day mission to explore distant villages from our very remote outpost in the Tarin Kowt region. My unit, A Co (QUICKSTRIKE!) sent our platoon with minimal supervision, to a village that, it was said, had never seen American forces during the entire Afghanistan war, to that point. In this photo, we had just been dropped off and had wandered a few clicks when we came across this village. There were a few camels and me, being a touchy-feely kind of specialist, just had to see the camels. My squad leader and I both got camel rides thanks to my charisma!

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CSM Michael H. Sweeney, U.S. Army (1969-1999)

CSM Michael H. Sweeney, U.S. Army (1969-1999)

What Habit(s), Good or Not So Good, Did You Pick Up During Your Military Service That You Still Practise to This Day?:

Well, the Britannica Dictionary defines habit as: a usual way of behaving: something that a person often does in a regular and repeated way. With that in mind, the first thing that comes to mind, really the only thing, is waking up very early every morning. Sort of a given, isn t it? You know, We do more before 0900 than the rest of the world does all day , right? Well, this morning, like every morning, I woke up before 0500, and I have been retired from the uniform for 26 years and completely retired for over two years. That defines a habit that I have had now for over 55 years.

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

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

What Habit(s), Good or Not So Good, Did You Pick Up During Your Military Service That You Still Practise to This Day?:

Throughout all of my school years and into early adulthood, participation in sports and any other physical fitness activities were non-existent in my life. Little did I know, that by joining the Army in late 1973 at the age of 23, my previous semi-sedentary lifestyle would become a thing of the past.

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AX2 Tim Hinds, U.S. Navy (1963-1969)

AX2 Tim Hinds, U.S. Navy (1963-1969)

What Habit(s), Good or Not So Good, Did You Pick Up During Your Military Service That You Still Practise to This Day?:

This one was easy. It was life-changing for me. I may have posted this already but Im not aware how to enter it. I was chosen to be on what was called the J.J crew. We trained pilots and crew in operations of Antisubmarine warfare. Our air-craft was the P-2V Neptune. I was an AX-2, but we learned how to maintain all the electronics aboard the aircraft. My job was to preflight the aircraft scheduled for early morning missions. I was also an aircrew radio operator. On this particular early morning, I was testing the radio equipment. It failed so I did the obvious and replaced the radio module. That didn’t fix it, so I took the next obvious step, then the next, until I ran out of options. I was kind of a high-strung guy with more ego than brains. But my friend, also on the crew, asked what the problem was. I told him in an irritated , leave me alone manner. So he just went on with his tasks. A little later, as time was becoming an issue, he came over the wing beam and saw I was still struggling to figure it out. He then said “Still stumped in a friendly way?” Then he offered a suggestion and I snapped back, “I’ve got this I know how it works, I’ll get it, I don’t need your help!” He made a face, shook his head and went on, reminding me that the flight was scheduled in a half hour. I was getting nervous, and finally I tried his suggestion. It worked.

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