As an amateur historian, I hope to share with you some of the hidden stories that often get lost in war’s sweeping events. Among the most tragic parts of the human experience, war and conflict also rank among the most personal and meaningful.
The stories are endless, so let’s begin…
Never forget, Mark
“You are a waist gunner” by Peter Hurd, 1942. U.S. Army Art Collection. 
In a scene familiar to countless Soldiers and Marines in 1990, a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division marches across the Saudi Arabian desert on the fall of 1990. Life Magazine Photo. 
May 1970, Cambodia. An 11th ACR line troop waits to move out during the opening stage of Operation Rock Crusher. Many Blackhorse leaders in Cold War Germany earned their spurs serving with the regiment in Southeast Asia. U.S. Army Photo 
“Operation Essex – Antenna Valley, An Hoa, 1967” by Capt. Leonard Dermott, USMCR, Marine Corps Combat Art Collection 
Whizzer II goes down over Nis, Yugoslavia, 15 April 1944 U.S.A.A.F. Photo 
A destroyed M1A1 tank on the 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment hardstand, Camp Doha, Kuwait. At least some of the unaccounted for DU rounds were vaporized from the blast furnace heat within these burning tanks. U.S. Army Photo. 
Marines push forward on Iwo Jima, February 1945. U.S.M.C. Photo 
Red-2, landing beach for 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, Fifth Marine Division, Iwo Jima, February 19th, 1945. 
11 April 1945, 1443 local time. A Japanese kamikaze aircraft is captured on film a split second before it crashes against the hull of battleship U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63). U.S. Navy Photo 
A 40mm crew aboard U.S.S. New Jersey (BB-63) during World War II. The Iowa-class battlewagons were outfitted with 20 of these quad mounts when they left the shipyards. The 40mm’s formed a cornerstone of the ships’ antiaircraft defenses. U.S. Navy Photo 
Echo Troop tanks during a night firing exercise on range 117 at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. The regiment has always been renowned for its hard-driving ethos and the ability to find, fix, and finish the enemy, then follow-on to the next mission. 
A Huey helicopter lands prior to taking on fallen U.S. Soldiers during Lam Son 719. About 10,000 American troops participated in Dewey Canyon II/Lam Son 719. Casualties were as follows: 215 were killed, 1,149 wounded, and 38 missing. 6 Life Magazine by Larry Burrows 
Captain Charles L. Thomas receives the Distinguished Service Cross awarded for heroism at Climbach on 14 December 1944. U. S. Army Photo 
29 March 1971. A Blackhorse combat veteran serves with another unit in Vietnam. The 11th ACR patch on the right shoulder was a sign that the wearer had served with the best. Photo by Neal Ulevich/ AP/ Shutterstock 
Mid-1944, Emirau, Bismarck Archipelago. A PB4Y-1 Liberator of Marine Photographic Squadron (VMD) 254 takes off at the start of a long-range reconnaissance mission to Truk Atoll. US Marine Corps Photo 
“Last Rites for the Sergeant” by Kerr Eby, 1944, U.S. Marine Corps Combat Art Collection 
1/7 Cavalry troopers rush a casualty to a distaff on LZ X-ray, 1965. Stars and Stripes Photo by Joe Galloway 
“Study of the 1st Armored Division in Combat, Feb ’91,” by Capt. Mario H. Acevedo, 1991. US Army Art Collection. 
Vietnam War, UH-1D helicopters airlift members of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment from the Filhol Rubber Plantation area to a new staging area, during Operation Wahiawa, a search and destroy mission conducted by the 25th Infantry Division, northeast of Cu Chi, circa late 1960s. Everett/Shutterstock 
24 March 1944, B-17s of the 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy) flying toward their secondary target at the Frankfurt am Main rail yards. U.S.A.A.F. Photo 
“Door Gunner, Vietnam,” 1967 by Spec. 4th Cl. Michael Crook. U.S. Army Art Collection
