My mother’s youngest brother Earl Culp served in WW II. My dad, Boyd D. Lama was in the Navy during WW II. My brothers served. Donald B. Lama was in the Marines for four years and got out just before Vietnam. He was stationed on Okinawa and said that they were flying supplies and equipment to Vietnam when he got out in 1962. Larry E. Lama was drafted and volunteered for the Marines and was in Vietnam for a thirteen…..
I’m a Navy Veteran and legionnaire. I’ve been an active member of the newest MN 4th District American Legion Post 1975. This is a picture of myself on the left with my friend BM2 Tobia onboard the USS STETHEM DDG 63 San Diego. My dad is a Hmong Vietnam Veteran. He was with the Hmong SGU (secrete guerilla unit) under the CIA, USAF Ravens. These US commando units watched and supported to defend Laos and ambush the Ho Chi Minh…..
I was the only one in my family to serve. I was in the U.S. Army and served in the 5th Infantry Division as an11b40 Infantryman. It was 1969 and I was near the DMZ in Vietnam. In the distance, we could see the red Communist flag in North Vietnam. We carried the M-16, M-79 or M-60 for 365 days while patrolling the DMZ. Mutters Ridge ran along the South side of the DMZ, which was the area in Vietnam,…..
My son was SFC William Brian Woods, Jr. Brian was born on September 8, 1977. He ran track in high school and helped take Northwest High to the State finals for the first time in twenty-six years. As a little boy at the age of only three, he used to tell me that he would become an ” Army Man”. Brian would do just that and he accomplished it to the fullest. Brian graduated number one in his Green Beret…..
This is a picture of me on my last day in the jungles of Vietnam. I was in Vietnam and served in D Co., 1Battalion 5th Marine Regiment and the Ist Marine Division 1970 to 1971 as a Rifleman and then Squad Leader. The young 18 and 19 year-old soon-to-be boys to men were mostly poor black and white boys from the north and south who risked their lives for each other. Many were not really very religious. But every…..
My name is Ray Cantrell and I live in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Like so many people in Cherokee County, I am a Cherokee tribal member. My father was in the Navy during WWII and two of his brothers were in the Army, one of which survived the Battle of the Bulge. Five of my brothers-in-law were in the service, one of which was wounded in Viet Nam. This same brother-in-law’s wife had a brother that died in Viet Nam. My…..
My dad, Clell B. Elliott was in the Navy during WW ll. Dad went into the Navy in 1942. He was in from 1942 to 1945 and was the mail clerk on Okinawa right after the invasion. I could never get him to talk much about it. He told how they lived and how they made their hut from a bomb crater, downed trees and sand bags. Attached is Dad’s service picture. Although Dad used to say that he was…..
My name is James Mayton, and I am a Vietnam Veteran. I am the Soldier in the middle of the group picture. The other photos are of myself working on my helicopter. I can’t remember if they were taken in late 1968 or early 1969. I was a side gunner and Crew Chief with 1st Ava, 117th Guns, Sidewinders 68-69 67N20 Crew Chief No 1st C. My tour lasted 13 months in Long Bein, Vietnam. I was asked what it…..
I entered the service as an aviation cadet on November 7, 1942 in the Army Air Corps. I flew a B-24 Bomber in the 15th Air Force while stationed in Italy with the 825th Squadron and 484th Bomber Group. I was a First Lt. and was accredited with 25 missions. After the war, they gave us double credits for some of those missions. Foggia was our air base in Italy. There are so many stories. I wouldn’t know where to…..
I served proudly with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam 67 to 68, Fire Base Normandy 1 and 2. I loved The Donut Dollies but was really busy when they flew the girls out. I still love each and every one of them and my heart goes out to each Donut Dollie. They really didn’t know how much danger they were in out there. We love you girls. In 1986 my house burned to the ground. I have one photo…..
