Billy was a Ration Breakdown Specialist in Vietnam, figuring out how much of each ration of meat, vegetables, etc. each company would get. His career after the service was just as full.
Michael’s enlistment code was an MOS 0311, also known as Grunt Rifleman / Ground Pounder. The riflemen are the heart of the Marine Corps. His unit was sent out on “Search and Destroy Missions” right away.
Joseph (Joe) Inserro was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island until the age of 10. From there, his family moved to Cicero, Illinois and he settled in Elmhurst, Illinois which he considers his home town.
Mike (“Doc”) was deployed overseas to Vietnam from October 1969 to October 1970 as a combat medic (corpsman). He spent time at LZ Baldy and LZ Ross during his deployment, with 3/7 1st Marine Division.
Ever wonder how someone gets interested in or decides to sign up to serve? For Jim Schlegel, he recalls hearing about Dr. Tom Dooley. Dr. Dooley was on board a ship that transported North Vietnamese Christians out of the area.
Tom Kelly grew up in Oak Lawn, then moved to Chicago where his father was a Chicago police officer. Tom was the middle child of 3. There were family members who also served in the military.
Dennis' first deployment came in 1968, in Turkey on the Black Sea Coast. He was responsible for monitoring missiles and spacecraft. There was only one adversary when he was first deployed; there were two at the end of his service.