The Best Christmas Present Ever
Seventy years ago, US Navy demolition teams, Army engineers, and hundreds of other American servicemen, all part of a UN force that weeks earlier had numbered over 100,000, watched as a massive explosion – the…
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The POW/MIA Day Story that Facebook Thinks is Too Political
With National POW/MIA Recognition Day held this past Friday, September 18, Americans from all walks of life and from every creed, race, and religion honored their fellow countrymen who became prisoners of war or were…
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I Don’t Hate Nobody Because Life Is So Short
“When I became a citizen it was one of the happiest days in my life . . . [the US] is the best country in the world, and I’m part of it.” – Tibor Rubin…
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Three Men, Two Wars, and One Classroom
During wartime and peace, the power of an inspirational mentor can never be underestimated . . . One such mentor, a WWII Medal of Honor recipient once referred to by his commanding officer as “the…
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A Memorial Day “Murph”
While doing research on US Navy SEAL Lt. Michael “Murph” Murphy for a Facebook post I wrote on the anniversary of his birthday, I learned about the “Murph,” a high intensity workout developed by the…
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The Days of Flak, Fire, and Lost Friends
Born on February 22, 1920, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, George Washington “Buck” Perry is the personification of “The Greatest Generation.” A dedicated family man, patriot, and veteran of two wars, he enlisted in the US…
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A Week of Terror in 1968
“We thought the president there was a stooge, an American collaborator. I hated him.” – Kim Shin-jo, member of a North Korean commando team sent to assassinate the South Korean president in…
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Listening to Our Better Angels
“I have always thought of Christmas as a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” – Fred, the nephew of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol With the holiday season once again upon us, Americans…
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Jimmy Stewart’s Wonderful Life
With the holiday season once again upon us, it’s time to share a story I wrote a year ago about Jimmy Stewart. I’ve always admired the Academy-award winning actor for his role in the classic…
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A Country Worth Fighting For
“If this country is worth living in, it’s worth fighting for. There is no set pattern – no time when you can say you’ve done enough.” – Albert Ireland, USMC, WWII and Korean War veteran,…
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A Shining Example to the World
Veterans Day, first celebrated as Armistice Day one hundred years ago on November 11, 1919, honors all Americans who served in the US Armed Forces. It’s a holiday – like Thanksgiving and July Fourth –…
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“What Would Sybil Say?” A POW’s Story of Love, Loyalty, and Survival
When asked what kept him going during his nearly three years as a Korean War POW, William “Bill” Funchess, 91, gives credit to his physical and mental toughness growing up as a “South Carolina farm…
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We’ll Go Down Fighting Like Marines
“Hang on, Bert. I’m coming to get you!” – Medal of Honor recipient PFC Gene Obregon to his buddy, PFC Bert Johnson, during a firefight in Seoul Athletic, witty, and hard working, Eugene “Gene” Obregon,…
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They Stood Proud and Strong
“We grunts never knew, one day from the next, where we were or what we were accomplishing. The mountains, valleys, stinking rice paddies, and frozen mountains all seemed the same to us. We were living…
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Honor, Courage, Commitment
He never forgot the sight. Passing through Pearl Harbor on his way to the Marshall Islands during WWII, 17-year-old J. Robert “Bob” Lunney witnessed, for the first time in his life, the carnage of war:…
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One Terrifying Night, Two Heroic Marines
In the early morning hours of May 28, 1952, two Marines, one in Company A and the other in Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, made one last check of their gear,…
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미해병 용사가 된 쟈니
6.25 전쟁 당시 미국 해병대에서 복무한 한국인 쟈님 남을 위한 헌사
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So Much Life Ahead of Him
As we salute our brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces this weekend, we’re reminded that over 2 million current service members are stationed at military bases throughout the US and more…
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An Angel in Fatigues
“Now don’t worry, you won’t be in any wars . . .” – US Army recruiter’s promise to Ruby Bradley in 1933 In a little-known chapter of WWII and Korean War history, thousands of women…
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Doolittle Raiders: Mission Completed
Seventy-seven years ago today, one of the most storied and dangerous bombing missions of WWII began. The Doolittle Raiders, as the 80 men in the top-secret mission were called, were on their way to strike…
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The Bravest Man I Ever Knew
“My God, to witness him sing the national anthem in response to having a rifle pointed at his face – well, that was something to behold. Unforgettable.” – John McCain A tribute to George “Bud”…
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They Pray Like Angels and Fight Like Demons
“The Puerto Ricans are proud of their heritage, and on top of that, the soldiers of the 65th Infantry are very proud of their Regiment . . .” – William W. Harris, Commanding Officer, 65th Infantry Regiment…
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The Fighting Irish of the Korean War
As a young boy, I remember how proud my grandfather, Patrick J. Sullivan, was of his Irish ancestry. As the son of an Irish immigrant from County Kerry, he was also proud of the USA…
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Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve
Born in 1926, Julius W. Becton Jr., the first of two children in a proud family from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, was the kind of student that teachers and coaches loved. He was polite, smart, athletic,…
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Walking in the Boots of a Marine
“I have good memories of my time with the Marines.” – Johnny Nam, interpreter and guide during the Korean War He’ll always remember his first week scrubbing pots and pans for the Marines stationed near…
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We Will Remember Them
A lot has been written about our brave young boys who went off to many theatres of war and came back maimed or didn’t come back at all, but very little has been written about…
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1,010 Days of Hell
“They closed in steadily on us. There was no rush, no storming our positions. We kept knocking them down like ducks in a shooting gallery but they kept coming.” – Marine SSgt James Nash Chosin:…
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A “Timeless” Tribute to the Korean War
In one of the most unlikely events of holiday primetime television, the writers of “Timeless,” a science fiction drama series with a following of millions, showcased the Korean War’s Hungnam Evacuation. The show’s final episode,…
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A Christmas Miracle
Thousands of refugees, huddled at the water’s edge and anxiously waiting to board American ships, knew what would happen if they were left behind. The Chinese, massing in the nearby mountains, would storm into Hungnam…
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Work, Fight, Sacrifice!
On December 7, 1941, a day that would live in infamy, Pauline Peyton Forney, a mother of three, including a son who was serving in the Marines, knew her life was about to change. With…
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An Eternal Brotherhood
On a cold, starless night deep in the snow-covered mountains of North Korea, John Lee, a Korean interpreter with 1st Marine Division, watched as about twenty people cautiously entered a small building. Worried that the…
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A Wall That Beckons
We all have one, and long after we’re gone, it becomes a memorial to what we did or didn’t do during our time on earth. Whether chiseled in stone, recorded in a legal document, or…
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We Would Have Followed Him Anywhere
“Of all the Marine Corps officers I remember, Lt. Carl Lindquist inspired me the most. I will remember him the rest of my life.” – Joe “Doc” Candilora, US Navy Corpsman, Korea, 1953. On the…
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