World War I Archives - TogetherWeServed Blog

SM2 Humphrey Bogart, U.S. Navy (1918-1919)

While Humphrey Bogart is primarily celebrated for his legendary performances on the silver screen, his contributions off-camera during World War I remain a lesser-known yet significant aspect of his life. Beyond the glitz of Hollywood, Bogart served his country with honor and distinction, embodying courage and resilience. From Privilege to the Stage: The Early Dramas of Humphrey Bogart Humphrey Bogart, born on December 25, 1899, in New York City, had a childhood marked by privilege. His...

Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

Battlefield Chronicles, Korean War

By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong. The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran with many twists and turns along the way from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel. UN and communist forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles. The First Bloody Ground Battle One bloody ground...

Col. Robert Lewis Howard, U.S. Army (1956-1992)

Profiles in Courage, Vietnam War

The last time someone received a second Medal of Honor was in World War I, and it's unlikely we'll ever see another two-time recipient in our lifetime. But if anyone were going to come close to receiving multiple Medals of Honor, it would have been U.S. Army Col. Robert Lewis Howard. During his 54 months of active combat service in Vietnam, he was wounded an astonishing 14 times and received eight Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars. He was also nominated for the Medal of Honor three times in...

Why Americans Use Yellow Ribbons To Support the Troops?

Cold War, Military Myths and Legends

You just can't keep a good tradition down. The good stuff will always come back up to the top in the ebb and flow of history. Using yellow ribbons to remember the troops is based on that kind of tradition. The Use of a Yellow Ribbons in American Popular Culture There are a lot of myths and legends surrounding when ribbons were first tied on, why the color yellow is used, and where exactly one is supposed to tie the ribbon. Those legends are only a part of the full story. For centuries, people...

WW1 – The Christmas Truce of 1914

Battlefield Chronicles, World War I

During World War I, in the bitter winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place. The Germans had been in a fierce battle with the British and French. Both sides were dug in, safe in muddy, man-made trenches six to eight feet deep that seemed to stretch forever. The Sudden Christmas Truce During World War I All of a sudden, German troops began to put small Christmas trees, lit with candles, outside of their trenches. Then,...

The Tootsie Roll Marines

Korean War, Military Myths and Legends

On November 26, 1950, 10,000 men of the First Marine Division, along with elements of two Army regimental combat teams, a detachment of British Royal Marine commandos and some South Korean policemen were completely surrounded by over ten divisions of Chinese troops in rugged mountains near the Chosin Reservoir. Chairman Mao himself had ordered the Marines annihilated, and Chinese General Song Shi-Lun gave it his best shot, throwing human waves of his 120,000 soldiers against the heavily...

Veterans Day: Honor a Veteran on TogetherWeServed

Is the M2 “Ma Deuce” An Illegal Weapon of War?

Military Myths and Legends, Vietnam War

The M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun has been a favorite heavy infantry weapon since the end of World War I. That the weapon has remained in the U.S. arsenal for so long is a testament to its power and flexibility. And no wonder - it was designed by the legendary John Browning himself. Although the M2 has come in many variants over the years, it has still proven an effective weapon from the last days of World War l, into World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and into...

Famous Marine Corps Unit: 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines

Famous Military Units, Global War on Terror, Vietnam War, World War II

Approximately 800 Marines and Sailors of the "Two Five" comprised of H&S Co, Echo Co, Fox Co, Golf Co, and Weapons Co. are based at MCB Camp Pendleton, California under command of the 1st Marine Division. The 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines is a battalion-level infantry unit composed of Marines and support personnel. Infantry battalions are the basic tactical units that the regiment uses to accomplish its mission of locating, closing with and destroying the enemy by fire and close combat. 2nd...

National Purple Heart Day 2023

Military Myths and Legends, World War II

It might come as a surprise to many, but the United States did not offer its troops medals or ribbons as uniform decorations until the Medal of Honor was introduced by President Lincoln during the Civil War. It was only offered to enlisted troops in July 1862, but by December, it was made available to officers who displayed exceptional gallantry. Until that point in U.S. military history, military medals were more of a European tradition. Medals and ribbons were seen as a custom...

MajGen Frank Baldwin, U.S. Army (1861-1906)

Civil War, Profiles in Courage

Receiving the Medal of Honor for valor in combat puts one in the hallowed company of but a few thousand individuals to ever grace the earth. But by the time you earn two Medals of Honor, you are one of 19 persons to have ever done so. Perhaps it is because the Medal of Honor is quite often awarded posthumously but receiving two and living to talk about it is a rare feat in the world. Frank Baldwin would do just that in the 1800s and live to become a General by World War 1. His first would come...

Did Your Cell Phone Pay for U.S. Wars?

Military Myths and Legends, Spanish-American War

Wars are expensive, and there was a time when the United States paid for them with money instead of going into debt. Back in those days, however, the American government collected revenue very differently. Those old-timey methods of paying the bills led to more than 100 years of telecommunications excise taxes, including cell phone taxes that some believed were still paying for America's 1898 war with Spain. Congress did originally pass an excise tax to pay for the Spanish-American War, but it...

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