The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Service Reflections of CWO2 Donald Stine, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1997)

Service Reflections of CWO2 Donald Stine, U.S. Coast Guard (1974-1997)

I was in high school at the time of Pearl Harbor. I had never heard of Pearl Harbor and didn’t know where it was. That was true for many of my friends, but we sure found out quickly. We all became Gung Ho and were ready to enlist; however, we had a couple of months left before graduation, so I opted to finish school. Many of my friends did enlist, going into the US Army Air Corps to become pilots. That was my desire also, but my father said “NO.” He was in the First World War, captured by the Germans, and gassed. He was shot, and he lost three fingers on his left hand.

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Service Reflections of AOCM David Phillips, U.S. Navy (1964-1994)

Service Reflections of AOCM David Phillips, U.S. Navy (1964-1994)

There were several events that occurred in my life which contributed to my decision to join the navy. The first occurred in 1958 when I was a young thirteen years old. My oldest brother was serving in the Navy; he joined in 1956 and in February 1958 he was on his way home on leave from his duty station in Norfolk, Va.; unfortunately, he was killed in a car accident. In my young mind, I swore I would join the Navy to finish what he had started. You see, he had only been in for two years.

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

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

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...

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