Dakota Meyer never planned on joining the Marine Corps. Growing up on a cattle farm in Columbia, Kentucky, he planned to play college football after high school. He played running back for his high school team and wanted to play on a bigger stage. In 2006, when he was just 17, a Marine Corps recruiter visited his school and told Meyer that playing football was a good idea because he could never be a Marine.
Dakota Meyer signed up for the Marine Corps that day. After graduating, he shipped out to training at Parris Island, his first steps toward an entirely different destiny than he'd planned. Meyer would leave active duty in the Corps in 2010. The following year, he was working a construction job in his civilian career when the White House called his office to inform him he was receiving the Medal of Honor for actions he took in Afghanistan in 2009. The office told the White House Meyer would have to call them back during his lunch break.
In 2009, Meyer was deployed to Afghanistan's Kunar Province, his second deployment in the Global War on Terror, with Embedded Training Team 2–8. On Sept. 8, 2009, Meyer, a scout sniper, was acting as a turret gunner as his team conducted operations in the Ganjgal Valley. He was part of the security force at a rally point for a patrol en route to meet with some village elders. As that patrol moved into the village in the pre-dawn hours that day, it was ambushed by 50 Taliban fighters using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, and machine guns. Then-Cpl. Meyer repeatedly asked to join the fight but was denied each time.
Meyer eventually sprung into action, disobeying the order to stay put. When he heard four Americans were cut off from the rest of the party, Meyer enlisted fellow Marine Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez to drive the vehicle and they drove into the fray. Their first foray into the fight drew fire from the ambush and allowed them to reach five of the wounded. On the next trip, they disrupted the entire ambush and pulled out four more wounded.
They had drawn so much fire on the first two trips that their vehicle and its mounted gun could no longer take the punishment, so they switched to another and drove in once more. On the third trip, Meyer, as turret gunner, fired into the attackers at point-blank range, suppressing the enemy's ability to press their advantage and allowing 24 Marines and soldiers to break out of the ambush.
Meyer was wounded by shrapnel in his arm, but he and Rodriguez-Chavez would drive into the ambush again and again. Their next two trips into the area in a third gun truck accompanied by four other Afghan vehicles to recover more wounded Afghan soldiers and search for the missing U.S. team members. On his fifth and final trip, he dismounted the vehicle and moved house-to-house, looking for the bodies of the missing. He eventually found them, stripped of their weapons and gear. Meyer and the Afghan Army soldiers moved the bodies to a safe location.
Throughout the six-hour fight, Meyer "killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe," according to his Medal of Honor citation.
After sharing a beer with the President of the United States the day before, Meyer was presented with the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 15, 2011. Meyer is the second-youngest living Medal of Honor recipient, the third living recipient for either the Iraq War or the War in Afghanistan, and was the first living United States Marine in 38 years to receive the medal.
The 1990-91 Gulf War was probably one of the best-planned and most well-executed military operations in the history of human warfare. The United Nations, with its resolutions condemning the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait, worked the way it was intended. UN Resolution 678 called for Iraq to leave 
Kuwait by January 15, 1991, and authorized member states to use all necessary means to enforce the resolution after the deadline. A coalition of 42 countries, led by the United States, did just that – and abided by the mandate after Iraqi forces withdrew.
The U.S. military dubbed the combat phase of the war Operation Desert Storm. The use of air power and overwhelming military force took little more than a month to dislodge Iraq from its ill-gotten gains. While Desert Storm is still rightfully celebrated as a resounding victory, the buildup to that victory, Operation Desert Shield, sometimes gets lost to historical memory.
On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Army invaded neighboring Kuwait, in part to cancel his debt to the oil-rich nation for what he borrowed during the disastrous 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War. He also believed the Kuwaitis were illegally keeping the price of oil low and slant drilling in the oil field, which spanned their shared border. The invasion was immediately met with international condemnation, and the United Nations passed a resolution that demanded Iraq’s immediate withdrawal.
But the problem went well beyond the borders of tiny Kuwait. At the time, the Middle East held 65% of the world’s oil supply, while Saddam Hussein fielded the third-largest army in the world, with more than a million troops under arms. Fears began to mount that Hussein wouldn’t stop at Kuwait if the world powers failed to act. At least three armored divisions of Iraq’s elite Republican Guard were now on the doorstep of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi oil fields were ripe for the taking.
On August 6, 1990, Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud formally asked for assistance in deterring further Iraqi aggression, inviting U.S. troops to defend his kingdom. President George H.W. Bush acted fast – a rapid buildup of military power and logistical support was on its way to the Persian Gulf region. Operation Desert Shield had begun.
The United States’ global reach was tested and passed with flying colors within days. Two F-15 Strike Eagle Squadrons, two carrier battle groups, an airborne warning and control system (AWACS), and the 82nd Airborne Division’s ready brigade were in and on the ground, prepared to meet any force that crossed into Saudi Arabia. But American forces, along with the rest of the Middle East, were still at risk.
Patriot missile batteries, communications networks, combat support units, aviation elements of the 101st Airborne Division and the 24th Infantry Division with its 216 M1A1 Abrams tanks were soon to follow. Then came 15 AH–64 Apache helicopters, 8 OH–58 Kiowa observation helicopters, 18 M551 Sheridan light tanks, 56 tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile systems, multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers, and 12 105-mm towed howitzers.
Months passed without any movement from the Iraqis in Kuwait, either into Saudi Arabia or to abide by the UN Resolution, which demanded its immediate withdrawal by January 15, 1991. Saddam Hussein had reinforced Kuwait with six divisions at that time. The U.S. evened the scales when the XVIII Airborne Corps arrived with an airborne division, an air assault division, two heavy divisions, an armored cavalry regiment, some 120,000 troops, 700 tanks, 1,400 armored fighting vehicles, and 600 artillery.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy blockaded Iraq to enforce UN sanctions while aircraft from bases in the area, Diego Garcia, and even the mainland United States stood ready to defend the region from further Iraqi aggression. America had drawn its line in the sand. The rapid deployment of American power gave the President of the United States the ability to commit U.S. troops not just to the defense of Saudi Arabia and the region but also to go on the offensive and push Hussein’s troops out of Kuwait.
In November 1990, President Bush sent the U.S. Army VII Corps to Saudi Arabia and Army Reserve and National Guard units from eight states. The number of troops swelled to more than 400,000, the most concentrated and complex projection of American military power since World War II.
When the UN’s deadline passed on January 15, 1991, American and Coalition forces began to prepare to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm. On the night of January 16, the Coalition launched a massive, 42-day aerial bombing campaign consisting of 100,000 sorties and dropping 88,500 tons of explosives on Iraqi targets. By the time the ground assault launched on February 24, the massive force built up during Desert Shield bore fruit: Iraq was defeated, Kuwait was liberated, and Saddam Hussein was cowed forever inside the internationally recognized borders of Iraq.
TogetherWeServed.com helped me remember my military service and the friends that I served with by the way the questions were laid out. This website gave me a chance to reconnect with my previous supervisors, my former troops, my mentors, and my close military friends. I was able to remember all the important and special assignments that I had. I recalled all the bases and deployments and which one scared me the most. The questions also reminded me of my achievements from my Air Force career. It made me remember the Core Values the Air Force has taught me throughout my career. I am very proud to be an Air Force Veteran and would do it all over again if given a chance! Thank you, Together We Served, for making me remember all the great memories I had in the military. Also, I truly enjoyed reading other people's reflections because some of their stories I can definitely relate to. Most of all, Together We Served has allowed me to pass on my legacy to my children, grandchildren, and my military friends. Thank you again!
SMSgt Arnold Guiao US Air Force (Ret)
Served 1991-2014
Among the towering figures of legendary Americans, few loom larger than that of David Crockett. His exploits as a militia scout during the Creek War, an Army forager during the War of 1812, a U.S. Representative, and, of course, a frontiersman are legendary and led to his nickname "King of the Wild Frontier."
Crockett made his living in a number of varied, often surprising ways, but much of his renown comes from his day hunting bears in the wilds of Tennessee. He would sell their furs, meat, and oil, which were in high demand at the time. The tales he told of his time in the wilderness became the foundation of "The Lion of the West," an 1831 play about his exploits. Although it didn't mention him by name, Americans knew it was about him. He would later clarify the myths and legends of his life by publishing his 1834 autobiography.
Davy Crockett was certainly a legend in his own time, famous for defending the rights of the poor, his opposition to Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal policies, and his exploits on America's frontier. But what's not exactly known about Crockett is just how he died, an odd end for such a well-known history.
Crockett's opposition to Andrew Jackson and Jackson's hand-picked successor, Martin Van Buren, led him to move to Texas after losing his bid for reelection to Congress in 1831. He headed west in 1835, a supporter of the ongoing revolutionary war Texas was fighting against Mexico. He arrived with 65 other men in January 1836, pledging his loyalty to the Texas provisional government and enrolling as a volunteer with the Army for six months. On February 6, 1836, he and five others rode for San Antonio de Bexar.
Crockett and his men arrived on February 8, finding the Texan Army holed up in the Alamo Mission, having just expelled the Mexican Army a few months prior. They were undermanned and low on supplies, requesting both from the Texian government but receiving neither. Meanwhile, Mexico's President, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, was gathering an army. By February 23, the advance elements of Santa Anna's forces arrived and laid siege to the Alamo.
The siege lasted until March 6, when Santa Anna ordered his 2,000-man force to advance for an early morning assault of the makeshift fortress. The intense, brutal fight lasted just 90 minutes, with Mexican soldiers pouring over the Alamo's walls. Some 257 Texian defenders were killed, but they inflicted more than 400 casualties, with estimates as high as 600. Crockett certainly died at the Alamo, but how he died is the real mystery.
For the longest time, Davy Crockett's legend had it that the frontiersman died in a heroic last stand, his body found in the barracks of the Alamo, surrounded by 16 Mexican bodies. This legend is corroborated by a former Black slave who served in Santa Anna's Army as a cook. Many accepted this end as fact, but in 1955, another account surfaced that shed a different light on Crockett's fate.
Lt. Jose Enrique de la Peña was an officer of the Toluca Battalion, a unit that arrived on the 12th day of the siege to reinforce Santa Anna's Army. De la Peña acted as a runner for Col. Francisco Duque during the battle and not only survived but was left unscathed. He would eventually publish a diary of his wartime exploits, and in that diary was an account of what he says were Davy Crockett's last moments.
"Some seven men had survived the general massacre and, guided by general Castrillon, who sponsored them, were presented to Santa Anna," De La Peña wrote. "Among them was one of great stature, well formed and of regular features, in whose countenance there was imprinted the sentiment of adversity, but in which was noted certain resignation and nobility that commended him. He was the naturalist David Crocket [sic], very well known in North America for his strange adventures."
Santa Anna, despite protestations from one of his senior officers, ordered the survivors shot, Crockett along with them. Ever since the diary was discovered, disputing historians have looked at many methods to prove or disprove its accuracy, even scientifically testing the kind of ink and paper used to write it. The diary is the chief source of the theory of his capture, while survivor accounts support his heroic last stand.
Band of Brothers by historian Stephen Ambrose, and the 2001 HBO miniseries of the same name. One hundred forty men formed the original E Company in Camp Toccoa. A total of 366 men are listed as having belonged to the company by WWII's end due to transfers and replacements. Forty-nine soldiers of E Company were killed in action. E Company and the rest of the 506th PIR were disbanded in November 1945. It was reactivated in 1954 as a training unit. Under the Combat Arms Regimental System and U.S. Army Regimental System, Easy Company's lineage and history is carried on as Alpha "Easy" Company, 2-506 Infantry, in Third Brigade Combat Team, "Rakkasan" of the 101st Airborne Division. "Currahee" was the cry of the 506th paratroopers as they cleared the door on their first jump, and it continued to be their cry when in combat. Currently, 90 members of Army TWS have served with this unit. Currahee Mountain, located in Stephens County, Toccoa, Georgia, gave the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment the motto. Currahee came from gurahiyi, a Cherokee word possibly meaning "stand alone." E Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", has been a company in the United States Army. The company was referred to as "Easy" after the radio call for "E" in the phonetic alphabet used during World War II. The experiences of its members during that war are the subject of the 1992 book.
Charles Bowery, Jr, Chief of Military History, office of the Secretary of the Army, wrote a chronological lineage of this unit:
1ST BATTALION, 506TH INFANTRY REGIMENT (CURRAHEE)
• Constituted Jul. 1 1942, in the Army of the United States as Company A, 506th Parachute Infantry
• Activated Jul. 20 1942, at Camp Toccoa, Georgia
• (506th Parachute Infantry assigned Mar. 1 1945, to the 101st Airborne Division)
• Inactivated Nov. 30 1945, in France
CAMPAIGNS
World War II
• Normandy (with arrowhead)
• Rhineland (with arrowhead)
• Ardennes-Alsace
• Central Europe
DECORATIONS
• Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered NORMANDY
• Presidential Unit Citation (Army), Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE
• French Croix de Guerre with Palm, World War II, Streamer embroidered NORMANDY
• Netherlands Orange Lanyard
• Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 with Palm, Streamer embroidered BASTOGNE; cited in the order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action at Bastogne
• Belgian Fourragere 1940 *Cited in the Order of the Day of the Belgian Army for action in France and Belgium
"Early on the morning of D-Day, after their horrific jump into Normandy France, in its first combat action, Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment captured and put out of action a German battery of four 105 mm cannon that were looking down on Utah beach. The company led the way into Carentan, fought in Holland, held the perimeter at Bastogne, led the counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge, fought in the Rhineland campaign, and took Hitler's Eagle's Nest. At its peak of effectiveness in Holland in October 1944 and in the Ardennes in January 1945, it was as good a rifle company as there was in the world. (Ambrose, 15-16) The 132 enlisted men and eight officers comprised Easy Company. Each of them had volunteered to be airborne infantry soldiers, to jump out of airplanes for two profound, personal reasons. First was the desire to be better than the other guy, and second, they knew they were going into combat and didn't want to go with poorly trained, poorly conditioned, poorly motivated draftees on either side of them. Stephen E. Ambrose states, "When the shooting started, they wanted to look up to the guy next to them, not down."
"The unit's coat of arms portrays the winged sword-breaker representing AIRBORNE troops. The conjoined caltraps stand for the enemy line of defense, behind which paratroopers are dropped. They are two in number in reference to the unit's two air assault landings. The fleur-de-lis is for the Normandy invasion, and the bugle horn from the arms of Eindhoven, Holland, refers to the organization's capture of that objective. The spikes of the caltraps stand for the unit's World War II decorations. The demi-roundel represents a section of the hub of a wheel. It stands for Bastogne, Belgium, a strategic crossroads of highways and railways. The hub, surmounted by the winged sword-breaker, commemorates the organization's heroic defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
Currahee Mountain further represents the foundation of the 506th's training. On this tough, rugged little mountain, the men of the 506th were sufficiently hardened to break the world forced march record of 115 miles held by the Japanese Army. The 506th gained nationwide attention for this feat."
"Fifty-eight hundred men tried to meet the physical and mental tests Colonel Robert Sink set for his regiment. Only 1,948 made the grade. Sink's task was to put his men through basic training, harden them, teach them about infantry tactics, prepare them for jump school, and lead them in for combat. After Camp Toccoa came to Fort Benning, Georgia, and the grueling weeks of jump school. Then, the paratroopers of the 506th traveled to Fort Bragg to join the 101st Airborne Division in July 1943. Sink's old boss, Major General William C. Lee, commanded the 101st, known as the "Screaming Eagles" for the eagle's head on their shoulder patch. Lee was preparing his Division for the greatest challenge of World War II, the invasion of Europe. Deployment to England came at the end of 1943, and the training became even more intense. On Jun. 6, 1944, D-Day, the men of Easy Company had their rendezvous with destiny as they jumped into the night sky over Normandy, France. The liberation of Europe was underway. From France through Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and then deep into Germany, the men of Easy Company fought long, bitter battles with Hitler's Army, proving conclusively that the Germans were not the "master race".
Today, the successors of the 1st Battalion, 506th IR, are based at Fort Campbell, KY, and call themselves "Red Currahee." The 506th Infantry Regiment has had a powerful lineage ever since its initial activation on Jul. 20, 1942. Since World War II, the 506th has been inactivated, reactivated, and redesignated several times. They have served different brigades, divisions and military posts. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 506th Inf. Regt. reunited in September of 2005 under the colors of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st AD., and have since had two separate deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The last group of soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team "Currahee," 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), consisting mainly of soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, returned home in the early hours of Jan. 26, 2014, marking the end of an era for the brigade. Many monuments, memorials, books, videos, and films have been created to honor their legacy.
"So far, it has been a great experience, but it has also been a very sobering experience. I've reconnected with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. It has also made me sort back through some memories, and getting them down on paper (so to speak) has also been good. I've made a point of reaching out to some people that I've crossed paths with, so hopefully, I'll do a better job of keeping those relationships intact. Frankly, I suck at such things, but as I get older, I'm finding that it means something.
I've taken the opportunity to become more involved with TWS as a volunteer. That has been the sobering piece. Looking at profiles of the young people who are no longer with us does make you think. I've also had the opportunity to put profiles together for those who died as POWs. I've recently been focusing on putting together assisted profiles for both friends and family members. It has also been sobering but for different reasons. It's a privilege to be able to create profiles. We, the military, sacrifice an awful lot, and in a lot of cases, it's done without anybody back home knowing about it. I can only hope that these profiles will be there when someone wants to find out what the military is about."
VA states that disability compensation is "a monthly tax-free payment to Veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to Veterans whose service made an existing condition worse."
After leaving service, an injury or disability can limit or reduce a Veteran's ability to earn a living. Additional expenditures on care, equipment, and supplies might be necessary. Disability compensation is the benefit that addresses this situation.
At a high level, the process to obtain disability compensation is as follows:
• The Veteran provides information and VA forms (referred to as a claim), documenting their injury that occurred during military service and continues to affect them.
• VA staff review information, comparing it with the relevant rules and regulations, to determine if the Veteran qualifies.
• VA decides to grant, and at what level, or deny benefits and informs the Veteran.
Here are the top reasons a claim is denied, with a brief explanation. Avoiding these increases the likelihood of a favorable decision.
• The stated condition was not present - Disability compensation is based on an injury that occurred during service and continues to affect the Veteran at the time a claim is filed. There is no basis for this benefit if the injury isn't present when filing.
• Didn't demonstrate injury occurred during service - To qualify for this benefit, the injury must occur during one's military service. It must happen during active duty or inactivity duty under certain circumstances, or else this benefit isn't relevant.
• Didn't demonstrate the connection between current condition and what happened in military service – Disability compensation addresses a current condition that exists because of an event that occurred during military service. Critically, it depends on demonstrating the link (or Nexus) between what the Veteran is currently experiencing and what happened during military service.
• The condition was preexisting and not due to military service-conditions that existed prior to military service should be documented. If the condition remained unchanged during military service, disability compensation would not apply. However, if the condition worsened because of military service, disability compensation would be granted.
• Veteran didn't attend required medical examination -A may request a Veteran who has applied for disability compensation to attend a medical exam, formally called a Compensation and Pension Examination. (This is generally referred to as a C&P exam.) VA does this when more information is needed to make a decision. The rules are straightforward: Failure to attend the exam will result in the claim being denied.
• Veteran provided incomplete information or used wrong forms – Attention to detail when applying for disability compensation is critical. All needed information must be supplied. This can be complicated as medical information can be in multiple formats and contain terms that most are unfamiliar with. In addition, the proper VA Forms must be used. Again, this can be complex because of their titles and numerical designation.
Need help?
You can get no-cost assistance from a Veteran Service Officer, who can help you complete the forms and file your claim. Service Officers have been trained in VA processes. Look for one who is "Accredited" by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, indicating they keep up to date with training and
have passed a background screen.
Service Officers are available from:
• The American Legion
• Disabled American Veterans (DAV)
• Paralyzed Veterans of American (PVA)
• Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
• Wounded Warrior Project
You can also access a Service Officer from your state Department of Veteran Affairs/Services. Some counties also provide Service Officers. A quick internet search should allow you to find one or both of these near you.
Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D., served as Under Secretary of Benefits at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from May 2018 to January 2021. He is the author of "Veterans Benefits for You: Get What You Deserve," available from Amazon.
Serving veterans incarcerated creates bonds with warriors who took part in wars spanning Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. One vet, who is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution at Terminal Island, California, precedes all these wars and has become a valued friend over the past five years. Because of confidentiality issues, I will not give his complete name, but I will refer to him simply as Rene. This is his story.
Rene is a World War II veteran, a Marine, and one of the many Marines who took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima under the leadership of General "Howlin' Mad" Smith on February 19th, 1945. Rene was part of the 5th Marine Division that was there on the first day when U.S. Marines took 2,400 casualties and 600 dead. Historians agree that the invasion of Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific. During the entire operation, Marines and sailors suffered 6,800 killed and more than 18,000 wounded. Japanese soldiers fared far worse. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island, 20,000 were killed.
Rene was born in upstate New York in 1924. He and his family lived through the Great Depression. They were a close-knit and loving family. He was in tenth grade when a radio news flash announced the attack on Pearl Harbor. He recalls all the students being called to assembly to hear President Roosevelt's remarks, including "a day that will live in infamy." A conscription would soon be instituted to draft all high school graduates and men from 18 to 27 years of age.
For Rene, life seemed forever changed and full of uncertainty. He graduated from high school in 1943, moved with his family to California, and volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps. Rene took his boot training in San Diego. He became an expert with the M-1 rifle and graduated Private First Class. From San Diego, he was shipped to Camp Pendleton, where the 5th Division (Spearhead Division) was formed.
The Story in Rene's Words
After six months of intense training, our division was shipped out to Camp Tarawa on the Big Island of Hawaii, and another four months of vigorous training followed. Finally, in January 1944, the division sailed out of Hilo to take on supplies. We had no idea of what our final destination would be. Some 800 vessels of all types made up the invasion armada, and after several days at sea, we were finally told that the target was a small volcanic ash island just 350 miles southwest of Japan called Iwo Jima.
We were also told that the island was made up of earth-covered structures, with connecting tunnels that ran from one end of the island to the other. At the left end of the island stood Mount Suribachi, where defenses were coordinated. The division was briefed by intelligence and told that the operation could probably be accomplished in short order. It soon became evident that support, such as battle wagon guns, was lacking and that Admiral Spruance, Chief of our Task Force, had decided that the attacks on Tokyo took priority over Iwo Jima.
The main objectives of taking Iwo were to destroy the Japanese radar station that alerted antiaircraft stations on the mainland and seize the airfields there. Japanese fighter planes attacking from the Iwo Jima airstrips were shooting down too many American B-29s returning from bombing runs over Japan. General Curtis Lemay wanted those airstrips for his B-29s and P-51 Mustangs.
U.S. forces dropped 5,800 tons of bombs in over 2,700 sorties. This bombing only seemed to strengthen the enemy's fanatical will to defend Iwo at all costs. Each Japanese soldier was instructed to kill at least six or seven Marines before dying.
We were awakened at 3:30 a.m., served a breakfast of steak and eggs, and given a "good hunting" message from our commanding officer. The first wave of the attack hit the beach around 9:00 a.m. Climbing down the cargo net was a tricky maneuver with full packs and weapons. One missed step would result in being tossed into the churning ocean. There were 40 men per landing craft.
As we neared the beach, we observed devastating gunfire coming from the island and blanketing the beach, blowing up landing craft on either side of us. I
t was the most frightening moment in my life. Our training paled in comparison to what was actually happening.
As we hit the beach, the ramp was dropped, and we dashed through raindrop-like barrages and explosions, trying to get to some protected coverage. I ripped my pack off to move faster and dug in. When I returned to retrieve my pack, the only thing left was a crater hole from where a mortar had hit. The landing beach was a mass of Marines being put ashore and having almost no place for cover. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.
This lasted all morning and intermittently throughout the day and night. Our landing on the Red Beach 2 location was about 500 yards from Iwo's number one airfield and about 2,000 yards from the base of Mount Suribachi. During the devastating barrages from enemy weapons, we attempted to dig our foxholes. My buddy and I, along with the rest of our troops, were taking sniper fire from the airstrips in front of us. Hidden behind a wrecked Zero aircraft above our elevation, he had good cover. The sniper was eventually silenced after an hour or so and after taking his quota of young Marine lives. The Japanese had the advantage of directing gunfire from Mount Suribachi. Our commanders considered withdrawing us from the battle because of the great losses we incurred through our first day.
Everything had been stalled on the beach. That night, we finally started to slowly move inland. The constant rain, along with the volcanic sand, caused our heavy equipment to be bogged down, making it difficult to move off the beach. This amphibious landing was a nightmare, but we were to prevail in spite of the odds. How did any of us survive the beach landing? This is a question that I have asked myself over and over again. It's a very haunting memory that I have carried and will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Picking Up Where Rene Left Off
Rene was unable to share the rest of his Iwo experience because of the distress and anguish these memories evoked. He tells me that he feels guilt because he was able to come home when his buddies didn't make it through the battle. I've heard this sentiment many times from veterans o
f all wars. At one point in his life, Rene made a wrong turn – a mistake, and he was incarcerated. Now, he would become just another forgotten veteran, joining the many others incarcerated or homeless out on the streets. But an unexpected phone call changed all that for the man who just turned 80 years of age. The curator from the LA Veterans History Museum called me to say the museum had just dedicated a section to the battle of Iwo Jima; she was given a lithograph of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi to hang in the museum; the original is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. She asked if I knew any veterans of this battle, wanting to put their signatures on the lithograph before it was displayed.
Yes, I knew one man telling her he was incarcerated at Terminal Island. She asked if he'd be able to sign the lithograph; I promised to find out. To my surprise, the administrators at Terminal Island gave permission for the curator to enter the facility and have Rene sign the lithograph. Arrangements were made, and a date was set.
On the day of the event, my team and I, the museum curator, and Rene's 85-year-old sister (to whom he was devoted) gathered at the institution. We were led into a special room and joined there by prison administrators and the warden. Then, all the veterans we served were led to witness the event. The lithograph was unrolled, and Rene signed it. Recognition filled the room in the form of applause, hugs, handshakes, and some tears. The institution even provided refreshments for attendees to enjoy after the ceremony took place.
UPDATE: Since this essay was first published, I recently learned the LA Veterans History Museum closed its doors. While this is unfortunate, the lithograph did have its moment in the sun, and Rene was not just another forgotten veteran. Rene was released from prison in 2007, and like the museum that held his Iwo Jima lithograph, he has since passed, leaving the battlefields of heroes.
TWS is a great organization. It has helped me remember some things I had forgotten and connected me with a couple of people who served in the same units I did.
Sgt Allen Rogers, US Marine Corps Veteran
Served 1967-1971
The United States government has never been overthrown by armed insurrection, even if it came close once or twice. The reason for this is the solid foundation of democratic principles on which our constitutional republic was founded. During World War II, millions of American men and women joined the military to defend those principles from anyone who might usurp them. Most came home to find their country and its democracy intact.
The GIs who came home to McMinn County, Tennessee, found something entirely different. Their service was not only not appreciated, but they found a corrupt local government that would pull stunts from the playbook of every ruthless dictator they had just fought—and they weren’t going to just sit there and take it.
In 1936, Paul Cantrell was elected McMinn County Sheriff. For ten years, Cantrell and the corrupt machine he built there maintained power using voter suppression and intimidation tactics, a fee system for arrests that the deputies would pocket for themselves, and blatant manipulation of local elections. They even took protection money from local vice rackets, including illegal gambling and prostitution rings.
When U.S. troops came home after serving, they found they were not exempt from harassment by the sheriff and his deputies. But they didn’t jump the gun and start a rebellion – at least, not right away.
The veterans still believed in the democratic process for which they fought so hard. For the 1946 election, they started their own political party, the GI Non-Partisan League, in Athens, Tennessee, to challenge the ruling government and unseat them legally. But dictators don’t go down easy. The sheriff used his deputies to try to intimidate the GIs and their supporters, which even led to violence. Then, voter suppression began.
The county had one voter registration book, which couldn’t be found whenever a GI tried to register. If it were available, sheriff’s deputies would take the would-be voter into custody on some trumped-up charge. On Election Day, deputies manned the polling stations in an attempt to intimidate voters or prevent likely GI voters from voting altogether. A deputy even shot and killed 60-year-old Tom Gillespie to prevent him from casting a ballot. When all was said and done, the ballot boxes were squirreled away, hidden in the local jail.
That was the last straw. The World War II veterans of McMinn County had tried to do things the right way, but now they were forced to take up arms: the Battle of Athens was about to begin. They had prepared for the possibility that the political machine in charge would refuse to let them win. They armed themselves, walked out of their party headquarters, and waited for night to fall, reportedly “draped in ammunition.”
For the veterans, the objective was the ballot boxes, so they marched to the local jail, where they were holed up. When they demanded the ballot boxes from the deputies, they were told they’d have to come in and get them. Then Bill White, a Marine who fought in the Pacific, pulled the bolt on his rifle.
Gunfire erupted as sheriff’s deputies tried to fight them off, but they were fighting battle-hardened veterans of the largest war in history. Citizens ran for cover as small arms, machine gun fire, and even TNT lit up the night for the next six hours. When the sun rose the next day, 20 people were wounded, the deputies had been apprehended, the votes counted, and GI Non-Partisan League candidate Knox Henry was elected the new sheriff.
True to their promise, the GIs of McMinn County restored the lawful democratic functions of their local government.
If the name Jack Carr sounds familiar, that's because the former Navy SEAL and podcaster is also the author of "The Terminal List," a New York Times bestseller. The paperback thriller has been adapted into a hit television show on Amazon Prime Video, starring Chris Pratt as the main character, Navy SEAL Lt. Cmdr. James Reece. There is even a prequel series in the works at Amazon Studios starring Taylor Kitsch.
Earlier in 2024, Carr released "Red Sky Mourning," the seventh book in the thrilling "Terminal List" series, but in September, he will offer fans something entirely different. His first nonfiction novel, "Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror."
On Oct. 23, 1983, a 19-ton stake-bed truck laden with high explosives drove through the security perimeter of a building that served as the barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines, deployed to Beirut as part of the Multinational Force, a UN peacekeeping mission. It drove right through the concertina wire, chain-link fence, and guard shacks, and ground to a halt in the building's lobby. The driver then detonated the equivalent of 12,000 pounds of TNT the vehicle carried.
The explosion was powerful enough to lift the building from its concrete supports and slam the entire structure back down on itself, turning much of the structure to rubble. Inside the demolished remains, 241 U.S. service members were killed either by the blast or were buried under the weight of what was left of the building. A similar attack occurred just minutes later, this time targeting the barracks of the French 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment some six kilometers away, with similar results, killing 58 French paratroopers.
In "Targeted: Beirut," Carr and historian James. M. Scott delves into what led to the attack and why the Marines were in Lebanon and revisits the immediate aftermath. The book is more than a simple retelling of the story, as the authors weave survivor interviews, official military records, and political documents into a compelling narrative that provides a fresh view of the bombing. Readers get the entire story of this pivotal moment in U.S. military history, from the boots on the ground in Lebanon to the Oval Office of President Ronald Reagan himself.
"Targeted: Beirut: The 1983 Marine Barracks Bombing and the Untold Origin Story of the War on Terror" will be released in bookstores and online on Sept. 24, 2024. It is available for preorder in hardcover, e-readers, and audiobooks now, starting at $16.99.
Dakota Meyer signed up for the Marine Corps that day. After graduating, he shipped out to training at Parris Island, his first steps toward an entirely different destiny than he'd planned. Meyer would leave active duty in the Corps in 2010. The following year, he was working a construction job in his civilian career when the White House called his office to inform him he was receiving the Medal of Honor for actions he took in Afghanistan in 2009. The office told the White House Meyer would have to call them back during his lunch break. 
They had drawn so much fire on the first two trips that their vehicle and its mounted gun could no longer take the punishment, so they switched to another and drove in once more. On the third trip, Meyer, as turret gunner, fired into the attackers at point-blank range, suppressing the enemy's ability to press their advantage and allowing 24 Marines and soldiers to break out of the ambush. 
Kuwait by January 15, 1991, and authorized member states to use all necessary means to enforce the resolution after the deadline. A coalition of 42 countries, led by the United States, did just that – and abided by the mandate after Iraqi forces withdrew. 
But the problem went well beyond the borders of tiny Kuwait. At the time, the Middle East held 65% of the world’s oil supply, while Saddam Hussein fielded the third-largest army in the world, with more than a million troops under arms. Fears began to mount that Hussein wouldn’t stop at Kuwait if the world powers failed to act. At least three armored divisions of Iraq’s elite Republican Guard were now on the doorstep of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi oil fields were ripe for the taking. 
Patriot missile batteries, communications networks, combat support units, aviation elements of the 101st Airborne Division and the 24th Infantry Division with its 216 M1A1 Abrams tanks were soon to follow. Then came 15 AH–64 Apache helicopters, 8 OH–58 Kiowa observation helicopters, 18 M551 Sheridan light tanks, 56 tube-launched optically tracked wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank missile systems, multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers, and 12 105-mm towed howitzers.
In November 1990, President Bush sent the U.S. Army VII Corps to Saudi Arabia and Army Reserve and National Guard units from eight states. The number of troops swelled to more than 400,000, the most concentrated and complex projection of American military power since World War II.
Crockett made his living in a number of varied, often surprising ways, but much of his renown comes from his day hunting bears in the wilds of Tennessee. He would sell their furs, meat, and oil, which were in high demand at the time. The tales he told of his time in the wilderness became the foundation of "The Lion of the West," an 1831 play about his exploits. Although it didn't mention him by name, Americans knew it was about him. He would later clarify the myths and legends of his life by publishing his 1834 autobiography.
For the longest time, Davy Crockett's legend had it that the frontiersman died in a heroic last stand, his body found in the barracks of the Alamo, surrounded by 16 Mexican bodies. This legend is corroborated by a former Black slave who served in Santa Anna's Army as a cook. Many accepted this end as fact, but in 1955, another account surfaced that shed a different light on Crockett's fate.
DECORATIONS
"The unit's coat of arms portrays the winged sword-breaker representing AIRBORNE troops. The conjoined caltraps stand for the enemy line of defense, behind which paratroopers are dropped. They are two in number in reference to the unit's two air assault landings. The fleur-de-lis is for the Normandy invasion, and the bugle horn from the arms of Eindhoven, Holland, refers to the organization's capture of that objective. The spikes of the caltraps stand for the unit's World War II decorations. The demi-roundel represents a section of the hub of a wheel. It stands for Bastogne, Belgium, a strategic crossroads of highways and railways. The hub, surmounted by the winged sword-breaker, commemorates the organization's heroic defense of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.
Today, the successors of the 1st Battalion, 506th IR, are based at Fort Campbell, KY, and call themselves "Red Currahee." The 506th Infantry Regiment has had a powerful lineage ever since its initial activation on Jul. 20, 1942. Since World War II, the 506th has been inactivated, reactivated, and redesignated several times. They have served different brigades, divisions and military posts. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 506th Inf. Regt. reunited in September of 2005 under the colors of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st AD., and have since had two separate deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The last group of soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team "Currahee," 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), consisting mainly of soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, returned home in the early hours of Jan. 26, 2014, marking the end of an era for the brigade. Many monuments, memorials, books, videos, and films have been created to honor their legacy.
After leaving service, an injury or disability can limit or reduce a Veteran's ability to earn a living. Additional expenditures on care, equipment, and supplies might be necessary. Disability compensation is the benefit that addresses this situation.
• The condition was preexisting and not due to military service-conditions that existed prior to military service should be documented. If the condition remained unchanged during military service, disability compensation would not apply. However, if the condition worsened because of military service, disability compensation would be granted.
have passed a background screen.
Rene is a World War II veteran, a Marine, and one of the many Marines who took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima under the leadership of General "Howlin' Mad" Smith on February 19th, 1945. Rene was part of the 5th Marine Division that was there on the first day when U.S. Marines took 2,400 casualties and 600 dead. Historians agree that the invasion of Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific. During the entire operation, Marines and sailors suffered 6,800 killed and more than 18,000 wounded. Japanese soldiers fared far worse. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers entrenched on the island, 20,000 were killed.
t was the most frightening moment in my life. Our training paled in comparison to what was actually happening.
f all wars. At one point in his life, Rene made a wrong turn – a mistake, and he was incarcerated. Now, he would become just another forgotten veteran, joining the many others incarcerated or homeless out on the streets. But an unexpected phone call changed all that for the man who just turned 80 years of age. The curator from the LA Veterans History Museum called me to say the museum had just dedicated a section to the battle of Iwo Jima; she was given a lithograph of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi to hang in the museum; the original is in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. She asked if I knew any veterans of this battle, wanting to put their signatures on the lithograph before it was displayed. 
The GIs who came home to McMinn County, Tennessee, found something entirely different. Their service was not only not appreciated, but they found a corrupt local government that would pull stunts from the playbook of every ruthless dictator they had just fought—and they weren’t going to just sit there and take it. 
The county had one voter registration book, which couldn’t be found whenever a GI tried to register. If it were available, sheriff’s deputies would take the would-be voter into custody on some trumped-up charge. On Election Day, deputies manned the polling stations in an attempt to intimidate voters or prevent likely GI voters from voting altogether. A deputy even shot and killed 60-year-old Tom Gillespie to prevent him from casting a ballot. When all was said and done, the ballot boxes were squirreled away, hidden in the local jail. 
If the name Jack Carr sounds familiar, that's because the former Navy SEAL and podcaster is also the author of "The Terminal List," a New York Times bestseller. The paperback thriller has been adapted into a hit television show on Amazon Prime Video, starring Chris Pratt as the main character, Navy SEAL Lt. Cmdr. James Reece. There is even a prequel series in the works at Amazon Studios starring Taylor Kitsch. 
The explosion was powerful enough to lift the building from its concrete supports and slam the entire structure back down on itself, turning much of the structure to rubble. Inside the demolished remains, 241 U.S. service members were killed either by the blast or were buried under the weight of what was left of the building. A similar attack occurred just minutes later, this time targeting the barracks of the French 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment some six kilometers away, with similar results, killing 58 French paratroopers.