veteran

It's imperative to look up to and learn from army veterans; only then can we truly understand the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform.

Mark the Sarge's Words
Author's Note: The following is a series of written letters from my 3rd Great Uncle, Stephen H. Herr, to his family, while serving in the United States Army, during the course of World War One. The orginal documents were written by hand and upon my discovery of them, I saw to it that my ancestor's first hand account of his service be translated to an online format, for others to see and learn from. However, because the orignal pieces are over 100 years old, the cursive handwriting was found to be very illegible, at times, and beggining to fade away; along with a plethora of grammatical errors and mispellings. The process of correcting such mistakes and restoring his written words to this medium, was (by no means) easy; however, the deed has been done.
By Jacob Herr3 years ago in Serve
D20
This particular late June day itself started much as any other. I was deployed with my squadron for Operation Southern Watch. I had risen early, ready for the day’s work. The hairline sun already lighting the stark Persian Gulf coastline promised another hot and humid Saudi Arabian day. I’d already been in country for more than 2 months, with the encroaching summer proving as brutal as any I had encountered. I don’t honestly recall the early day, just another in a litany of unremarkable points in time. I was more than likely checking the self-defense systems of each jet as it launched, as I did many times before and after. I ate an unimpressive lunch, perhaps enjoyed the small terrarium we had at the modular building where avionics troops like myself rested when we had no work. If that had been the course of my day, then I would say it would have been preferable, even if I had no memory to remark on later.
By Benjamin R Disher Jr3 years ago in Serve
Honoring Veterans For Service And Sacrifice
Introduction This article will cover the history of Veterans Day, how you can honor veterans in person and online, and show your support on this special day.
By Terry Mansfield3 years ago in Serve
Being a Soldier is one hell of a ride!
Being a Soldier is one hell of a ride. I personally have experienced the extreme highs, lows, the very frequent in-between moments, and the overwhelming amount of time spent waiting for something but you are not sure what. Of course, every ride needs to start somewhere, so let’s take you back to when that ride started for me. Now, most people would say it was the day basic training started, or they graduated from Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and became real Soldiers. But, my ride started the day before I went back to MEPS and shipped out to basic training. It all started in my bedroom with my left foot. Weird, I know.
By Brian Pehrson3 years ago in Serve
Ricardo Khan’s 'Fly' Takes off with the Tuskegee Airmen
Photo by Neon Tommy In 2008, as director Ricardo Khan was co-writing Fly with Trey Ellis, he made sure to be present when the Tuskegee Airmen were being honored at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. His realization was that the moment was set aside to recognize all the doors that these brave Americans opened. But for all the courage and patriotism that propelled these heroes, patience may have been the strength these fighter pilots needed most. Because what they returned to did not match up to their dream of making America a better place.
By Rich Monetti3 years ago in Serve
My Service & My Assault. Content Warning.
WARNING: This is my personal story, and it might be triggering to anybody who has suffered from sexual assault. I try not to get into too much detail, but still, tread lightly just in case.
By C.M.Dallas3 years ago in Serve
Veterans day
As my eyes focus, I notice a loud ringing in my left ear and can hear the sound of shrapnel falling around what is left of the Humvee. I look down at my chest and see a large piece of the hood from the Humvee sticking out of my body armor. Snapping back to reality I realize our convoy has been hit by a chain of three IEDs, and the soldiers from the vehicles that weren't hit were forming a perimeter around what was left of the convoy. As I scanned what remained of our Humvee I saw that the front half was in pieces all over the road along with the broken bodies of Cpl. Stevenson, our driver. As well as Sgt. Lee, who we called J Lee because of his ability to run up to a Humvee and with assistance from his arms do a front handspring over a whole Humvee without even showing the slightest effort. Refocusing I heard the screams coming from all around me, "MEDIC!" and realizing I may be the only one still alive, I staggered out of my seat which was miraculously still attached to the Humvee. Only to grow faint and collapse realizing that there was a piece of the radio cover sticking out of my ankle. Against my fading strength I stood back up and ran to the location of the nearest screams, only to find it was another soldier crouching over J lee. He was in one piece but both legs were broken and he seemed to make this almost in-audible gurgling noise so after I splinted his legs, one with his rifle and the other with one of the front axles from our Humvee, I began checking him out. He had a weak pulse but still a pulse and as I ran my fingers up his neck I saw the light leave his eyes, and found that the top three vertebrae in his neck were shattered. I ran my fingers over his eyelids as I felt my self getting hot with anger, I instructed the soldier with me to take him to the nearest Humvee. Turning in the direction of another yell for help I slid on my good leg up to Cpl. Stevenson who was missing everything from the waist down with half the steering wheel embedded in his stomach, and yet was still breathing somehow. As I studied over him for some glint of hope that he would survive, he motioned for me to come in close. I placed my ear to his mouth as to hear him over the ringing in my other ear, and he whispered to me. " Tell my wife that I love her, and I didn't feel a thing", was not easily heard over his choking from the blood filling his throat. "You ll be telling her yourself brother," I said back though I knew momentarily he would be gone, I heard the shouts of cover fire as I took his hand and squeezed it. " lets have a beer when we get back stateside", I told him hoping it would help give him the strength to hold on. I caught a wry smile as he answered me "done" as he faded away, his grip on my hand softening as a hail of bullets were hurled in our direction from a field to our southeast. As I stared into his lifeless eyes I began to wonder, would those at home remember what happened today? I picked up my rifle, and aimed it in the direction of the incoming fire believing that these men didn't die for nothing. As I was able to focus on the figures far out in the field, I brought up my sights and zeroed in on one with what I was sure was an RPG. I took a deep breath and as I squeezed the trigger, I relayed a whisper, " Lord not for revenge but an act of justice", watching the bullet jet ever closer to the body in the cross-hairs of my rifle. At that moment the entire ridge in the field where our attackers were ambushing from erupted in fire and smoke as a millisecond view of an F-16 rushed in and out of view, " be at peace brothers", I thought as I turned back to the scene of destruction that lay behind me. They had pulled Sgt. Brock out of the seat next to me and bandaged him up, being in good shape other than missing part of his lower leg which we could not find. As we all loaded up in the remaining vehicles and got medics for the severely injured men, we pulled away from the sobering scene at what seemed like Mach 2 rolling back to base.
By Greg Holt3 years ago in Serve
Some Army Connections
Introduction In the post at the end of this, I initially thought I had covered every Vocal Community with my writing but there were six that I had not touched, so I thought it would be a challenge to, so to speak, complete the set.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 3 years ago in Serve
Oh, my dear!” said I. If you won’t let me speak—” ‟
‟You’re speaking now. You know you are. Don’t tell stories, Miss Summerson.” My dear,” said I, as long as you won’t hear me out—” ‟ ‟
By YouTH3 years ago in Serve
Soaring Power Prices Brings On Economic Jeopardy , as All Hell Break Loose
Everything the United States and its allies have done since Russia launched his “special military ops ” in Ukraine has only made things worse. Despite Russian and Ukrainian efforts to resolve the conflict through the transfer of weapons, the conflict has continued. Western leaders and their Russian counterparts could not afford to look foolish ,at the expense of their citizens
By Estalontech3 years ago in Serve
Who was Charles Jackson French?
Charles French is a World War II hero you will hear very little about. The reason why is about as obvious as the reflection from a mirror. In September 1942, Charles was pulling a life raft with fifteen injured sailors around his waist. He swam for six to eight hours. Now imagine doing that in shark infested waters, oh by the way the Japanese are trying to kill you and oh you have to deal with racism as well.
By Lawrence Edward Hinchee3 years ago in Serve
What People Really Mean When They Say Thank You for Your Service
On Veterans Day and Memorial Day, you hear it a lot. Your Facebook friends post pictures of themselves and their relatives in military uniforms, and the comments frequently include the phrase, “Thank you for your service.” It’s become the “have a nice day” of the new millennium. The number of people who sincerely mean it is questionable.
By Denise Shelton3 years ago in Serve