The Christy Collection

Military Stories and Articles

Service Reflections of SGT Rafael Irizarry-Laporte, U.S. Army (1966-1968)

Service Reflections of SGT Rafael Irizarry-Laporte, U.S. Army (1966-1968)

As a kid, I always liked the military. As a young kid, I wanted to join the Navy. When I got to high school, we had Army JROTC, and my interest changed to Army or Marines. My dad, who was in the Army, convinced me that the Army was the way to go because it was bigger and promoted faster. He was a tanker and tried to steer me to armor. I wanted to be an airborne ranger, and my dad said whatever you do, ensure you get what you want in your contract. When I went to the recruiter, I scored very high on the ASVAB. The career counselor told me that he didn’t have airborne infantry available. He said the only thing with airborne was the 31C Radio Operator, probably because of the high GT. I believed him and felt good about getting guaranteed airborne. It first took me to the 82nd, and as soon as I got there, I started applying for a Ranger assignment because I got put in the Engineer Battalion, and it wasn’t what I wanted. After a year and a half, I got my wish and orders for Ranger Indoctrination and the 2nd Ranger Battalion.

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Service Reflections of MSGT Terry Bacon, U.S. Marine Corps (1977-1998)

Service Reflections of MSGT Terry Bacon, U.S. Marine Corps (1977-1998)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents MSGT Terry Bacon's legacy of his military service from 1977 to 1998. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...

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Service Reflections of YN1y Gary Haythorn, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

Service Reflections of YN1y Gary Haythorn, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

I was 18, having just finished a semester of junior college, and just had no clue where I wanted to go in life. My girlfriend broke up with me, so I thought I would join the Marines. But my cousin, who was already a USMC Captain, aviator, and Vietnam veteran, talked to me. He said, “If you join the Marine Corps, I’ll kick your a@#.” Then he laughed and said, “Look, you’d be a fine Marine, but join the Coast Guard or Air Force. They treat their people better.” Having grown up in Florida, being around water and boats all my life, I went to the CG recruiting office in Orlando, FL, where SS1 Gravett signed me up.

PS That girl that broke up with me married me four years later. We’ve been married for over 40 years now. Blessed.

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Service Reflections of SSGT Jorge Hernandez, U.S. Air Force (1968-1972)

Service Reflections of SSGT Jorge Hernandez, U.S. Air Force (1968-1972)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SSGT Jorge Hernandez's legacy of his military service from 1968 to 1972. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you...

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Service Reflections of SGT Raymond L Britt, U.S. Marine Corps (1965-1971)

Service Reflections of SGT Raymond L Britt, U.S. Marine Corps (1965-1971)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Raymond L Britt's legacy of his military service from 1965 to 1971. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...

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BM2 Richard Kirshen, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

BM2 Richard Kirshen, U.S. Navy (1967-1971)

What was the biggest personal challenge that you encountered during your military service? How did you approach and overcome this?:

Not all experiences during the Vietnam War were unpleasant. There were a few “pleasant” events when I was in Vietnam during those strange days…days that ended on a high note. One might get the idea, from the glut of stories and movies that arose out of that war, that everything that occurred during that peculiar time was either horrific or life-threatening. That was not quite the case. There were brighter moments, moments that were still frightening, dangerous, and thought-provoking, but in another way.

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Service Reflections of ETCS David Scheffler, U.S. Navy (1972-1995)

Service Reflections of ETCS David Scheffler, U.S. Navy (1972-1995)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents ETCS David Scheffler's legacy of his military service from 1972 to 1995. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you...

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Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

Service Reflections of SGT Bill Lee, U.S. Marine Corps (1966-1969)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents SGT Bill Lee's legacy of his military service from 1966 to 1969. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you to...

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Service Reflections of ET2 David Ingebright, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

Service Reflections of ET2 David Ingebright, U.S. Coast Guard (1966-1970)

PRESERVING A MILITARY LEGACY FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS The following Reflections represents ET2 David Ingebright's legacy of his military service from 1972 to 1976. If you are a Veteran, consider preserving a record of your own military service, including your memories and photographs, on Togetherweserved.com (TWS), the leading archive of living military history. The following Service Reflections is an easy-to-complete self-interview, located on your TWS Military Service Page, which enables you...

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The Road Not Taken by Max Boot

The Road Not Taken by Max Boot

In chronicling the adventurous life of legendary CIA operative Edward Lansdale, The Road Not Taken definitively reframes our understanding of the Vietnam War. In this epic biography of Edward Lansdale (1908 - 1987), the man said to be the fictional model for Graham Greene's The Quiet American, best-selling historian Max Boot demonstrates how Lansdale pioneered a "hearts and mind" diplomacy, first in the Philippines, then in Vietnam. It was a visionary policy that, as Boot reveals, was...

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Mustache March

Mustache March

Every November for the past few years, more and more American men are adopting the custom of growing out their mustaches to raise awareness about men's health issues. "Movember," as it's come to be called, raises awareness on such topics as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide.  Portrait "Mustache March" is a Military Tradition to Honor Robin Olds The men of the United States Air Force adopted a similar custom, except theirs comes in March and for a very different reason....

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