I still remember the first time I arrived in Stolberg, Germany. Our living quarters were whatever section of the dirty floor we could claim; it was nothing like at home here. For me, home was Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the grand ole ' United States of America. I was trained in Fort Knox, Kentucky to be sent up to Germany as a replacement tank gunner in the second World War. There, I learnt everything I needed to know, from shooting a gun to the reason we all hated Adolf Hitler so much. Unlike many men here, who were recruited, I had enrolled myself in the United States Army. I 'd say my enrollment was a Godsend, if anything; it had gotten me out of finishing high school for the time being, and I couldn 't be more thankful. I was in grade twelve at …show more content…
To me, school was simply a waste of my time, but then again, I was just like any other eighteen year old; a naive, ignorant, self absorbed, know-it-all who just wanted to make his mark in the world. Despite it being one of the best decisions I had ever made, to join the military, I also felt very bad. Prior to my departure, my mother had a heart attack, leaving my little sister to take care of her. Though, what I did had to be done; if not for myself, for the good of our country and it 's future. Someone had to take out those nasty Germans! For being only twenty years of age when my discharge came in 1946, I had already been through many challenges; but then again, what veteran has not? Within the first two days of combats I experienced, I had already lost my first friend, Smitty, to Shrapnel
As far back as I can remember, you have been my personal hero and I owe so much to you, not the least of which is a Marine Corps heritage for our family to include a fantastic career in the Corps for myself. Had it not been for the photos of you and Uncle Bernard in your dress blues, setting on the dresser at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, I may never have joined the Marine Corps. Looking at those photos every time I went there always made me proud of you and Uncle Bernard and were a continuous source of intrigue for me. Those photos along
Soldier's Personal Narratives of the Vietnam War and The Vietnam War and the Tragedy of Containment
Once it was different. When we went to the district commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks. We had no definite plans for our future. Our thoughts of a career and occupation were as yet of too unpractical a character to furnish any scheme of life. We were still crammed full of vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also an ideal and almost romantic character. We were trained in the army for ten weeks and in this time more profoundly influenced than by ten years at school (Remarque 25).
Thesis: The war overseas, but there are millions of veterans still fighting the war at home.
As men and women serve this country we often forget the importance of what they did and how we give back to them for what they have experienced. Through student surveys that have been gathered, it has been proven in the course of knowledge that 80% of all thirty students surveyed that say they know of someone who is or was a veteran and only 57% of those Veterans receive help. Richelle E. Goodrich stated, “Have you ever stopped to ponder the amount of blood spilt, the volume of tears shed, the degree of pain and anguish endured, the number of noble men a...
To some people, it is only noise but to me, it was a whole new world. I can still remember the first time I heard a round whiz past my ear, the cars passing by, or SSG Blue yelling at me to get down. At that moment, I realized that I was not training anymore. I was made aware that everything and everyone were out to kill me. I kept telling myself, “I shouldn’t be here.” Mentally, I can hear my mother in the background crying just as the day she did when she found out I joined the military. My life was not the same nor will it ever be the same. In my first combat tour I learned the importance of life, how to mentally prepare myself for the worst outcomes, and I learned how to be a great leader.
It is not every day you see a three-year-old walking around the park or grocery store clutching the soggy ear of a plush Winnie the Pooh that has been sucked on in one hand, and a photograph of a disabled veteran in the other. Nonetheless, if you were in my neighborhood that is exactly what you would have seen.
It has been years, decades maybe since the war started, then ended with flaming spheres of fire and destruction raining from the sky. The war was fought on many sides and we don't know who started it but what does it matter now. Cities turned to wastelands completely uninhabitable, our capital is now rubble and our leader is gone, our whole system is gone. There are some survivors who have worked together to set up new settlements and then those who have taken control of the people threatening them if they don't comply. The people are now starving and the water is drying up; we ask for aid, but with no hope in sight and were tired of waiting. A tyrant has risen up and now she must be stopped.
Today when I woke, I was expecting my son to be asleep. That wasn't the case. Today was his first race. Now here we were, at the track, race about to start, everyone was lined up ready to run. *bang* The starting gun went off. Like a bolt of lightning, everything came flashing back to me.
At the end of my sophomore year, I signed up for a conversation group to see how it would be like to be in the forest for 5 weeks with complete strangers.When I arrived to the camp in Leavenworth, Washington I was scared and excited at the same time, it was a weird feeling to have.When I saw my Mom and Dad left me at the camp I knew I was now all alone with complete strangers that I have only met for 15 minutes.I felt alone, lost, scared that I would be here in washington with complete strangers but, it wasn’t hard because everyone at the camp was nice and helpful with meeting everyone. The next day we were separated into groups there was orange crew, blue crew, yellow cew, red crew, and rainbow crew. I was apart of the orange crew and we were
I don’t want to die. I’ve been sitting here for eight hours in total silence in the humid jungle, sweating, itching, and waiting. I know the enemies out there, I can feel their presence. It’s only a matter of time before someone blows their cover and all hell breaks loose. It’s already been a year and three months since I volunteered. I came here so sure of who the enemy was, but after a year of being in the war, I realize I regret my decision of joining the war. I remember the ride to basic training.
When I was seventeen I nervously traveled about 350 miles from my sleepy little home town of Freedom, Wyoming to the relatively enormous city of Boise, Idaho to go to the Military Entrance Processing Station. This wasn 't the first time I had been this far from home by myself, but it was the first time I was making adult decisions without my parents involvement. When it came time for me to choose my job in the army the counselors presented me with a long list that I qualified for. I got tired of scrolling and reading so I chose the first job that I actually understood. I returned home and excitedly told my parents that I would be an infantry soldier. My dad 's response to this might be considered a little less than heart warming “You dumb ass. Why didn 't you choose
There are many roads in life that people travel down to get to where they are going, and it is impossible to know where you are headed until you find experiance in where you have been. I did not have the opportunity to grow up in a military family per se, but the discipline instilled in myself by both of my parents allowed me to strive for any goal I set out after. From a very young age, a higher education was something not only to be sought after, but an expectation.
I have been blessed to have led a highly fulfilling career over the past 22 years. The Air Force’s standards of conduct and performance have helped me mature into an adult while creating lasting memories along the way. I have had the opportunity to make significant contributions to my country that offer a sense of pride and personal achievement. My current duties allow me to directly contribute to the Air Force and Joint arena on an almost daily basis. Joining the Air Force helped me to realize I had undertaken a task bigger than myself.
I’m proud to be in America because if I was in Vietnam I would have done same job as my parents did in America. Education is what had made me become successful throughout elementary to