Time to give notice to everyone on the board that served our country. Name: branch of service: Years served: Combat experience, if any: Also, some good battle stories would be nice...bonus point for any cool injuries...Remember, chicks dig scars! Although I didn't serve, my dad was in the Navy back in the 60's...He always has some great stories...
Name: rockHEAD Branch of service: USAF Years served: 88-90 Combat experience, if any: none, but I got an early out (honorable, thank you) before the Gulf War! Cool Injuries: smashed my fingertip with a 55 gallon drum full of oil! (that's heavy by the way) no permanent damage or scar, sorry chicks. I did pulverize the bone at the very, very tip of my finger! Looked cool on an x-ray!!
My dad was a sergeant in the Korean war (ooops sorry, I mean conflict). Although he was in Korea he never saw combat. He does have some nice pictures of the country.
I'm an Air Force Brat. My father served 25 years and my brother served 10 years. I can't begin to explain the fights my father and I had. Me being the hippy tree hugger that I am, him wanting me to "follow in his footsteps. I'm kind of ashamed of some of the things I said to him at the time. But now I realize how noble and brave he is/was. He knows how I feel now and all is well. He served two tours of Vietnam. HE ACCUALLY VOLENTEERED for his second tour. He refuses to this day to discuss them. My brother did a tour during Desert Storm. In fact, a little story. My brother did 14 weeks of advanced terrorist training in the Nevada desert SIX MONTHS before desert storm. Which leads me to believe that our Govn't knew something was going down before we (the public) knew. My grandfather was in the Merchant Marines during WWII. So you could say the military is kind of in our family. Then there’s me… Call any veterans you know today and thank them!
My Dad had me late when he was 44....I learned recently about his efforts in late WW2...only 16 in 1945, he served the country and had two enemy kills (against Japan) to his credit. Even though he doesn't talk much about it, he had served with the Marines and was an accomplished sniper....(even though I can now shoot better groups than him when we go target shooting...I don't know why he keeps reminding me of his old age Still I'm proud of him and glad he didn't get killed or ROXRAN wouldn't exist.
Name: mr_gootan branch of service: Army / Reserves Years served: 90-91/ 92-97 Combat experience, if any: Field medic, but was in basic during the gulf war. My funniest "battle" story was during basic during "pugelist" training. The guy I was fighting forget to wear his protective, padded shorts and I didn't know. Yeah, I cracked him in the nuts. Everyone went silent, then started laughing.
My Dad had me late too (47). He actually served in Iwo Jima in WW2, but I don't think he ever fired a weapon in combat. He was a tank mechanic.
cool stories: Not really, but I almost blew up the motor pool. You ever wake up at night worrying about whether you did something important that you were supposed to do. Like turn off the coffee maker before going on vacation. You trace back your steps thinking about it. Usually, you always did it, but since it is so important, you still worry. Well, I often placed like 10 huge batteries on a recharger in the morning. These things then put out oxygen gas, as they charge, and if overcharged even Hidenburg hydrogen gas. Needless to say, they are both flammable and care is taken not to overcharge or have sparks nearby. It takes all day to charge, so I'd turn it off before leaving. This time I couldn't trace back my steps. Got the key to the entire battalion's motor pool gate from the Seargent of the Day (using some lame excuse...luckily Seargents didn't like to get on my badside, because there were only two of us Generator Mechanics (like gold), so we were often bribed to fix things for someone first...lol). Anyhow, sure enough, I opened the big bay doors to our garage and you could smell ozone everywhere. It was only about 1am at that time. Had I not gone back by morning....boom! I'd probably still be in the Army washing pots and pans.
Name: Chance McClain Branch: US Army Years Served: 1994-1997 Cobat Experience: None. I served in peace time. I early outed (honorably, of course) because I received my bachelors degree while enlisted. They had a program that encouraged soldiers that earned their degree while enlisted on active duty to early out in pursuance of advanced degrees/ROTC to come back as a commisioned soldier. I opted against this. I was a light infantry medic and loved every second of it. Well, almost every second. I was like a game in peace time. Do the right things around the right people and you get recognized. Get recognized enough and have enough points and time in grade and you get promoted. I loved it and played the game well. Chance
I fulfilled by military obligation in the German army (July 2000-April 2001). Damn conscription! After all, it was a fun time, mainly because there are so many funny stories to tell. I got my lorry driver´s license (which I never used again) and was more than happy to be selected the general´s driver. That was a heck of a job. A great person and lots of interesting trips. It was fun.
My grandfather was a prisoner of war in Word War II. He served in the Navy but was forced into combat on land at Corregidor. I'm sure most of you have heard of the Bataan Death March where many good mens' lives were lost. It was an all around brutal experience where men marched 90 miles with no food or water, were shot for sport by the Japanese, and were tortured. My grandfather was not on that particular march. But, he was on another march to a prison camp that was a similar experience...just not as well known. Honestly, I don't know very much about his experience or even US's attempt to defend their positions at Bataan and Corregidor. I do know there were some brutal battles fought there and it is the lesser known aspects of World War II. Anyway, my grandfather was in a prison camp for 4 long, brutal years. He was only given a cup of rice a day to live on. He lost so much weight. I don't think I have to explain how bad it was being in the prison camps. Eventually, the camps were liberated and this particular camp he was in was liberated with General Douglas MacArthur among them. My grandfather happened to be caught on film being rescued and is in one of those documentaries showing the liberation. He was caught on film shaking hands with MacArthur. It was very surreal for myself and my father to watch that experience. I have always admired my grandfather. He still lives in Florida. He is in his 90s now and lives with his wife in a nice retirement community. He never really spoke to me about his experiences... nor to my father. I always knew it was an area he just didn't want to talk about so we never went there. Occassionally, he may have talked to my father about it but rarely. I just got a book I am going to read on the subject to learn more about it. I know he experiences post traumatic stress syndrome(or whatever it's called) to this day over what he went through. As you know from interviews with others who served, it never leaves you and your always thinking about it. He did his duty for his country and is one of the many who have fought for the freedom we have today. Surf
Name: Master Baiter branch of service: Navy Electronics Technician 2nd Class Petty Officer Years served: 4 Combat experience, if any: None cool story: I was in training and working on a transmitter. Now a little background on how the training works. You always work in pairs and your partner is your safety buddy. Well I had found the problem on the unit and was replacing the card. As I was putting in the card, my safety buddy thought it was in and turned the unit on. I got shocked with 130 volts of 3 phase AC. Anyone that knows even a little about electricity knows that that is not fun. I was in the hospital for a day for monitoring. Anyway, that is the only battle wound I recieved but what do you expect, I was in the freaking Navy. If I wanted to be on the front line I would have joined the Marines. Stupid jar heads.
Name: Htownhero Branch: US Navy Years served: 1994-1997 Combat history: none I went in to the Navy right after Desert Storm. I was 20 years old, very patriotic and very naive when I joined. I was very cynical and very aware about the way our country and military does business when I got out. We may be the best thing going in the world today, but man we could be so much more.
