Kids like Jack McLean didn’t go to Vietnam. A graduate of the elite Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., Jack decided to put off college and enlist in the United States Marine Corps instead. A year later, Jack landed in Vietnam as a grunt to serve in an infantry company in the northernmost reaches of South
Passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act as part of the larger PACT Act has focused attention once again on the contaminated water at the base between 1953-1987. Our own Ron Gionta--USAF veteran, retired VA Outreach Specialist Ron Gionta, and the VBC's resident "Veteran-in-the-Know"--shared the following information about Camp Lejeune water contamination claims. From
← BACK TO VBC BLOG Why Didn't Marines Wear Helmet Bands in Vietnam? The Army called it "Band, Helmet, Camouflage, US" and issued it to soldiers in Vietnam. The USMC didn't. Why? Left: 17-year-old USMC Private Richard Coggins waits on the beach during the Marine landing at Da Nang, 1965. Right: Army Sergeant
Today on VBC Coffee Hour we mark the 77th Anniversary of the Iwo Jima Flag Raising. Brent "Westy" Westemeyer joins us to talk about the battle, the photo, and Harold "Pie" Keller, the Marine Brent recently proved was in Joe Rosenthal's famous photo.
In December 1992, 1,800 United States Marines arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead Operation Restore Hope. Brad Graft was one of those Marines. Hear him talk about his service and the amazing historical fiction novels he's written since then.
The VBC lost a dear friend, and the world lost a hero on Monday night when WWII Marine Corps and Iwo Jima veteran Jack Watson passed away at age 98. I encourage everyone to spend some time listening to his story. Perhaps it was in war when humans first encountered the failure of language
