NEW VIDEOS

Bill Ryan

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Bill Ryan spent his early life mostly in other countries such as Germany due to the fact that his father also served in the military. This factor is what ultimately would lead him down a similar pathway, and eventually to Vietnam. (3:04)

Bob Brockish

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When you're young, you don't know what it means to be a Marine, you just want to be one. Bob Brockish could not wait to join, but shortly after arriving at boot camp, he thought, "What have I done?" (5:33)

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After boot camp, the first assignment for Bob Brockish was the Marine Barracks at the Naval Ammunition Depot Hawthorne in the Nevada desert. When he was not on guard duty, he was training as a firefighter. (5:47)

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Every Marine knows about inspections. Bob Brockish prepared well and got duty at the front gate as a reward. That did not last but he got other duty which he liked, something which was preferable to guard duty in the cold desert lookout towers. (5:06)

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Just as the Marine Corps was releasing Bob Brockish from active duty, North Korea invaded the South. Soon he was at a newly bustling Camp Pendleton, training for deployment to the peninsula. His new cold weather gear proved to be a problem on exercises in Southern California. (7:33)

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When Marine Bob Brockish shipped out for Korea, he had no idea what an experience it would be just getting there. From the indignities suffered when he crossed the International Date Line to dealing with the sketchy black market in Japan, it was an adventure before he even saw the war. (9:35)

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The first thing he noticed was the smell. Bob Brockish was still on the ship at Pusan when he caught a whiff of the local fertilizer. The Marine's first assignment was driving an ambulance, but before he even got to that, he had two run-ins with the regimental commander. (5:59)

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It was like sandlot baseball. The replacement Marines were divvied up by the platoons and fire teams and Bob Brockish was the last guy to go. He had been driving an ambulance in the rear, but now he would be in a foxhole on the front line. (7:53)

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They knew the Chinese spring offensive was coming. The untrained Communist prisoners would just blab everything they knew. So the Marines hurried to the hill that became known as Horseshoe Ridge and dug in to block the way. It was the first combat for Bob Brockish and he recalls his part in the battle. Part 1 of 3. (6:46)

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When the sun rose after the first night at Horseshoe Ridge, the Marines could see they were surrounded so they prepared to attack back the way they came. Bob Brockish remembers the rolling, leapfrogging battle back to rejoin the regiment, during which he lost friends as well as his weapon. Part 2 of 3. (6:53)