Larry Krog: The Phantom Marine
marc.zarefsky2023-09-18T21:33:22-05:00It would be an understatement to say that Larry Krog always made up his own mind.
Charles Ohrn: Making a Deal
marc.zarefsky2023-08-22T23:13:28-05:00Charles Ohrn was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburb of Park Ridge. He was the middle son of three boys and had one sister. His older brother served in the US Army in Germany and his younger brother in the US Navy, based in Iceland.
George Kane: An unexpected military influence
marc.zarefsky2023-08-07T21:26:11-05:00The Reverend George Kane, or rather Fr. George as he prefers to be called, grew up on Chicago’s Northwest side as the second child in a family of four.
Kent Nylander: From Sailing the Great Lakes to Sailing the Pacific
marc.zarefsky2023-06-12T14:52:02-05:00Kent's father was a professor in foreign languages and his mother a librarian. His older brother retired as a Colonel in the Air Force and one of his younger brothers also was an Officer in the US Air Force. Thus, military life was not foreign to Kent.
Raymond Szweda: A Chicago-Tough Marine
marc.zarefsky2023-03-30T21:22:49-05:00With the war in Vietnam going on, Ray was scared but, at the same time, he also wanted to honor his country. Within a few days, he was on his way to Camp Pendleton in CA for Basic Training.
John Tourtelot: Army Signal Corps Had the Coolest Patch
marc.zarefsky2022-10-26T22:49:21-05:00The son of a WWII Veteran and brother to 3 sisters, John Tourtelot grew up in Oak Park, IL. After his graduation from Oak Park High School, he attended Wright Jr. College where, in his own words, “he was not an overly dedicated student and had a pretty good time.”
Larry Bychowski: Choosing Between Laundry and Aviation
marc.zarefsky2022-09-18T15:25:13-05:00Since Larry and his twin sister were the children of a Chicago police detective, Larry was already used to discipline. When right after high school he received his draft notice, he and his cousin decided to enlist instead of being drafted.
Walter Dobbs: From Building a Boat to Becoming a Flight Engineer on a B-29
marc.zarefsky2022-08-30T21:42:44-05:00Walter (Walt) Dobbs was born in Detroit in 1925. His father had served in the U.S. Army in WWI in Europe as a machinist. He had taken advantage of his acquired technical skills after he returned to civilian life by becoming an accomplished mechanic.
James Cook: Nuclear Weapons Specialist Serving in England
marc.zarefsky2022-07-17T20:35:28-05:00USAF A-1C, Fusing Systems Specialist James D. Cook was born in a coal miners’ camp in West Virginia, sometime between the two world wars. James lived with his mom and dad, a coal miner, until he was 5 years old.
Paul Barrath: From Naval Reserve To Active Duty During the Vietnam War Years
marc.zarefsky2022-06-09T06:12:44-05:00Growing up in a military family, it was not a difficult decision for Paul Barrath to make the decision to enlist in the U.S. Navy.
Stephen (Pete) Pedersen: Achieved a Double Mustang
marc.zarefsky2022-06-09T06:11:26-05:00Looking back on his early life, Lt. Colonel (Ret. U.S. Army) Stephen (“Pete”) Pedersen mused that the big surprise at his birth had been that he was a boy and not a girl.
Kenneth Albert: Blood, Sweat and Tears on the Mekong River
marc.zarefsky2022-06-07T19:41:55-05:00“Join the Navy and see the world!” But in Master Chief Boatswain's Mate Ken Albert’s case, it was not “see the world” but more like “be in the line of fire 24/7 for as long as your Vietnam tour of duty lasts.”
Bob and John Runtz: True Brothers in Arms
marc.zarefsky2022-04-09T21:55:39-05:00John and Bob Runtz are siblings from a Chicago family of five. John, born in August, 1943 and Bob born in June, 1945, instantly became members of a military family.
Margaret Bernal: Flying With The Big Boys
marc.zarefsky2021-11-04T10:14:49-05:00Life didn’t go the way 16-year-old Margaret Thomas would have liked it to go. Being the middle one of five sisters was always a challenge.
Mary Arvidson: 30 Years of Intelligence Work
marc.zarefsky2021-09-29T20:08:33-05:00With her good high school grades, Mary Arvidson was assigned to become a Traffic Analyst, tracking radio signals from foreign military units.
Jay Warbiany: I Saw A Lot Of Air Force Bases in Four Years
marc.zarefsky2021-09-10T12:11:33-05:00Jay gave up a four-year scholarship to IIT and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during the height of the Vietnam War.
Orlando (Lindy) Rossino: Turn 17, Join the Coast Guard
marc.zarefsky2021-08-10T06:24:24-05:00When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Lindy Rossino knew he wanted to join the American Forces. Unfortunately, he was barely 14 years old.
Ronald “Buzz” Hunt: Serving with the Popular Forces at Hotel 1
Doug Meffley2019-09-13T11:31:25-05:00When his initial assignment in Vietnam proved to be too slow for his liking, Buzz Hunt volunteered for a company that conducted patrols to safeguard "Hotel 1," a job he did for 10 months.
Bill Grady: From B-24’s in WWII To The Rockford Airport, Radar Impacted His Life
Doug Meffley2019-05-06T11:34:24-05:00U.S. Army World War II Rockford, IL [...]
John Robert Kemble: Navy Career Includes Land, Sea, Air and Family
Doug Meffley2019-04-08T07:57:37-05:00U.S. Navy Korean War & Vietnam War [...]