The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

JD Vance (Cpl. James D. Hamel), U.S. Marine Corps (2003-2007)

JD Vance (Cpl. James D. Hamel), U.S. Marine Corps (2003-2007)

JD Vance, best known for his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy and his role as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, has a lesser-known but significant chapter in his life: his service in the United States Marine Corps. This period was a pivotal time for Vance, providing him with discipline and a profound sense of purpose that shaped his future endeavors. JD Vance’s Early Life: From Middletown to the Marines James David Vance was born on August 2, 1984, in Middletown, Ohio, a town struggling with the...

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Service Reflections of 1STSGT Bill Hudson Gross, U.S. Marine Corps (2002-Present)

Service Reflections of 1STSGT Bill Hudson Gross, U.S. Marine Corps (2002-Present)

I grew up in rural, southeastern Kentucky and worked with my father and grandfather roofing and working tobacco fields seasonally. My father was a very strict man and most of my youth can be summed up by trying to identify a way to escape my then reality of never leaving my hometown. I participated in NJROTC and sports during high school to keep busy.
During high school, vocationally, and soon after graduation, I worked on a degree and certification in Masonry seemingly solidifying the reality that I would never leave Kentucky. The lack of opportunity teamed with the fall of the twin towers in my Senior Year, AP History led me to pursue the Navy Recruiting office. After multiple visits with no Navy Recruiter in the Office a lean, well-articulated Marine Recruiter approached me. Then, Sergeant Wesley Trucks inquired as to my intentions and made a very strong, positive impact on my tentative decision.

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Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue

Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue

Another Leatherneck, a black-bearded machine gunner, led a charge up a mountain of rubble that had once been a stately tower, shouting: "We're Marines, let's go!". These episodes illustrate the battle of the Hue Citadel - a grim, struggle through the courtyards and battlements of the old imperial fort. The fight pits U.S. and Vietnamese Marines, determined to take the Citadel, against North Vietnamese soldiers equally determined to hold it. John Olson, a photographer with the Pacific edition...

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Service Reflections of CPL James Foster,  U.S. Marine Corps (1973-1977)

Service Reflections of CPL James Foster, U.S. Marine Corps (1973-1977)

I guess it started back when I was around 9 or 10. My dad showed me pics of him when he was in the army, stationed in the Azores. He told me about his experiences, and I was like, “Wow!”. I started playing with these little, plastic army men on the front lawn in the grass, acting out battles and everything. I even began drawing pics of bombs exploding and things like that. One time in class, a teacher caught me…but I won’t go into that.

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Doorsteps of Hell by Tom Williams

Doorsteps of Hell by Tom Williams

As the son of a military officer who grew up in an always-moving military household, it makes total sense that Tom Williams would also grow up to be a military officer. His adoptive father was U.S. Air Force Maj. Carl Williams, but young Tom was destined for the Marine Corps and for the Vietnam War. "Doorsteps of Hell": Insight into Tom Williams' Vietnam Tour "Doorsteps of Hell" is the first book in Tom Williams' autobiographical "Heart of a Marine" series and covers his early years and his...

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The Marine Corps Memorial

The Marine Corps Memorial

The Battle of Iwo Jima is one of the most important battles in the history of the Marine Corps. More than 26,000 United States Marines were killed or wounded for the strategically vital eight square miles of the island. It allowed the United States to attack the Japanese home islands from the air without warning and become the staging point for the coming invasion of Japan. It also came to define the modern Marine Corps. The image of Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi became the...

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Reflections of Valour by James Elsener

Reflections of Valour by James Elsener

Reflections of Valour is a tale of untested lovers from different backgrounds during the tumultuous early days of the Vietnam War. Brenda Walker attends an exclusive East Coast women's college and enjoys the trappings of her wealthy suburban environment. John Briggs is from a modest Midwestern working-class family, dedicated to his career as a Marine. Despite their differing worldviews and priorities, their relationship develops and deepens. When he is called to war, Briggs is torn between a...

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We’ll All Die As Marines by Colonel Jim Bathurst

We’ll All Die As Marines by Colonel Jim Bathurst

For seventeen-year-old high school dropout Jim Bathurst, the Marine Corps reputation for making men out of boys was something he desperately needed when he enlisted in March of 1958. What began as a four-year hitch lasted nearly thirty-six years and included an interesting assortment of duty stations and assignments as both enlisted and officer. We'll All Die As Marines narrates a story about a young, free-spirited kid from Dundalk, Maryland, and how the Corps captured his body, mind, and...

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SSgt Bernice Frankel (Bea Arthur), U.S. Marine Corps (1943-1945)

SSgt Bernice Frankel (Bea Arthur), U.S. Marine Corps (1943-1945)

Bernice Frankel, better known as Bea Arthur, of the U.S. Marine Corps between 1943 and 1945, went on to be one of television’s best-loved sitcom stars. As one of the nation’s beloved Golden Girls, she was outspoken in and out of the character of Dorothy Zbornak, advocating for the rights of women and minorities. Yet she was also an intensely private person who kept many details of her life to herself for decades. Bea Arthur’s Military Career Bea Arthur was born Bernice Frankel in May 1922 to a...

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Service Reflections of Sgt Ralph Hammer, U.S. Marine Corps (1972-1978)

Service Reflections of Sgt Ralph Hammer, U.S. Marine Corps (1972-1978)

Growing up as a child, and since my first memory that I can remember, I always heard my Mother who had Served in the United States Marine Corps and the Great Pride of being a “MARINE” during service and after; she had started as a Model in Hollywood and was contracted for Billboard Pictures for WOMEN to Join the Marines allowing Men in Desk Jobs to Go out and fight the Japanese. My Mother was SO Proud of the Uniform that she Enlisted before going home.

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SOG. The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam by John L. Plaster

SOG. The Secret Wars of America’s Commandos in Vietnam by John L. Plaster

John Plaster (The Ultimate Sniper), a retired Army major, served three tours with the secretive "Studies and Observation Group," aka SOG, during the Vietnam War-a background he has put to good use in this authoritative and insightful look at the now-defunct commando unit. Plaster does much to illuminate both this frequently misunderstood group and its extraordinary participants. Made up entirely of volunteers, SOG tackled a wide range of vital and dangerous duties, including missions deep into...

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