COMBAT STORIES FROM OTHER

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  There is a always lot of dry humor in military life. Special operations pilot George Ferkes recalls some moments from his career that made him laugh.

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  Michael Boyce - Marines +3 Total Videos

  USMC, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expedition Brigade, 1st-4th Air Wings

  Mr. Boyce discusses working with many Kurds and Iraqi civilians for about a year following the end of the first Gulf War.

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  Howie Bachman - Army +19 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  His second return from Vietnam was a little hazy due to the friendly and generous flight crew on the airliner from Seattle to Houston. First it was grad school for Howie Bachman and then a career that alternated between the Pentagon and command in the field. While at Rice University, he set some people straight about how real soldiers felt about the Calley trial.

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  Jim Teixeira - Marines +9 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  The post-Vietnam period was not a great time to be a Marine. Jim Teixeira remembers how no money was available for training or much of anything. Then he got a chance to go to Ranger School and he jumped at it. It turned out to be the best training he ever received and it led to the regular commission he wanted.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  The first job for squad leader Olin Rossman was patrolling a road that linked his unit's base with the Mogadishu airport. Then his platoon began to rotate through that task, serving as a quick reaction force, and also providing convoy security. Some more up-to-date night optical devices would have helped a lot. (Caution: strong language.)

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  Vic Grahn - Air Force +7 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Vic Grahn flew a variety of fighters during the post-Vietnam Cold War. It was frustrating; lobbying and waiting for the sweetest assignments. It's all about the connections and, after a chance meeting with a general, it was smooth sailing until retirement.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  When a humanitarian disaster began to unfold in Somalia, Presidents Bush and Clinton committed US troops to stop the fighting among the warlords and enable aid to be delivered. Olin Rossman of the 10th Mountain Division was not originally slated to go, but his platoon was tapped at the last minute. (Caution: strong language)

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  GEN Ray Davis - Marines +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  After his Vietnam tour, General Ray Davis had a series of jobs at Quantico and in Washington, the last of which was Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He did not slow down in retirement, however.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  The crash site was at a typical Mogadishu intersection with countless places the enemy could be hiding. Olin Rossman's squad had secured the site and he went to help with body recovery. Only one set of remains had been taken out of the burnt Black Hawk when all hell broke loose. They had been waiting because they knew more Americans would be coming. Part 2 of 2. (Caution: strong language)

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  Ed Fulghum - Army +14 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  It was the stupidest weapon system he'd ever seen. Ed Fulghum was being trained on the ENTAC, a French-made anti-tank missile that was wire guided. When he tried to set one up in the field, the battery was missing so he improvised.

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  GEN Ray Davis - Marines +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Ray Davis was back at the Marine Corps schools where he had a run-in with a new boss. Friendships matter and some friends in high places rescued him and got him into a better job at the War College. Then he got exposed to intelligence work at Marine Corps HQ, followed by a tour in Europe. But there was a little place in Southeast Asia that was starting to heat up.

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  Allyn Johnson - Air Force +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  After retiring from the Air Force, Allyn Johnson acquired several college degrees thanks to the GI Bill. He tried running his own business but it wasn't long before he and his wife really retired.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  Not happy with his original MOS, Olin Rossman reenlisted as an infantryman. He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and trained at frigid Fort Drum in New York. He was well qualified before he saw combat, went to all the schools, including Ranger School where he suffered a mishap. (Caution: strong language.)

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  Zach Johnson - Marines +10 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  The first job for Zach Johnson after his combat tour was at the Marine Security Guard Battalion, which placed elite Marines at American embassies and consulates. Then it was years at Quantico in various training positions. After his twenty years in the Corps, he went to work for Booz Allen Hamilton doing support work for the Marines.

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  Ed Fulghum - Army +14 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  When he returned from his combat tour in Korea, Ed Fulghum began a long period of being sent all over the place by the Army. A series of short assignments culminated in Germany, where he served until his discharge. He got married and began an unsuccessful job hunt. Should he return to the Army?

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  Squad leader Olin Rossman pays tribute to the men in his squad, who fought well in Mogadishu. There was also the medic, who showed incredible courage while treating wounded men under fire. (Caution: strong language)

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  Ed Fulghum - Army +14 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Ed Fulghum has a message for future generations. You're going to have a much harder time than he did. He had only a sixth grade education, but possessed great intelligence which propelled him to a successful career.

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  Allyn Johnson - Air Force +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  As an Air Force pilot, Allyn Johnson flew the big transports like C-97's and C-124's. After flying the long Pacific routes, he was transferred to the Special Air Missions unit which provided air transportation for VIP's and executives.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  Everyone remembers Black Hawk Down but the incident portrayed in that movie was not the first time a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu. Squad leader Olin Rossman woke up to the words, "Get up and get your squad. We have a bird down." He joined the convoy headed to the crash site. Part 1 of 2. (Caution: strong language)

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  Ed Fulghum - Army +14 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  After rejoining the Army as an MP, Ed Fulghum returned to Korea where he guarded inspection teams. His next assignment, back in the States, was in a Military Government company, which was trained to rebuild and reset devastated areas. He decide that the Military Police was a career dead end, so he returned to the infantry.

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  Changiz Lahidji - Army +8 Total Videos

  Green Beret

  When Green Beret Changiz Lahidji was in the Philippines during the coup there, he encountered the men of SEAL Team 6. He did not appreciate their swagger.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  It was only a few days after a Black Hawk was shot down that another one suffered the same fate, only this time there were survivors who were pinned down. Olin Rossman was with the relief force that rushed to the scene and his squad held an important intersection in the fight that would become known as the Battle of Mogadishu. (Caution: strong language)

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  Roland Guidry - Air Force +18 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  The rescue attempt failed but it was the genesis of an all out effort to reorganize and improve the special operations capability of the military. Roland Guidry helped manage the air operations as the team began Project Honey Badger, which aimed to mount a second try at freeing the hostages in Iran.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  When the Iran hostage crisis happened, President Carter asked the joint chiefs if there was any way they could be rescued. This set off a mad scramble to put together a multi-branch operation and Air Force special ops pilot George Ferkes was right in the middle of it.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  Olin Rossman was mad. Some of his platoon were pinned down at a Mogadishu intersection but his squad was being held back in reserve. He couldn't go and help. Mogadishu was a vast maze of roads and alleyways, every building a potential sniper nest, every alley an RPG threat. (Caution: strong language)

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Special forces went through a bit of a renaissance after the failed rescue of the hostages in Iran. Never again would US special operations be caught flat footed and unprepared. Pilot George Ferkes was a part of that mission and it provided him with a purpose that guided him through the rest of his career.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +27 Total Videos

  1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

  Keith Nightingale remembers that, during the buildup of the new Ranger Battalion, the team researched units from the past including British commandos and Vikings to extract any useful training techniques. Live fire exercises and road marches became very important. In December of 1974, the new Rangers were ready.

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  Roland Guidry - Air Force +18 Total Videos

  Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)

  The Pentagon set up a commission to investigate Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran. Roland Guidry was the first chief of air operations at the newly formed Joint Special Operations Command, the organization created to deal with unconventional warfare in the future.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  When he returned from Vietnam, George Ferkes is fairly sure he saw his old hooch burning on the television when Quang Tri fell. After a couple of years he leapt at the chance to join a special ops outfit, even though, at the time, there was little interest in those units.

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  Keith Nightingale - Army +27 Total Videos

  Joint Task Force Eagle Claw

  After the tragic events at Desert One, planning began for another rescue mission. Parallel with this was the decision to create a permanent and robust special operations structure. Keith Nightingale was right in the middle of this difficult effort which involved all the services.