Out of everyone you've met, who has had the most impressive military career?

ENS Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 20:11:00 -0400

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 11 at 2016 8:33 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 20:33:38 -0400

Of those I've met? Well, there was a master sergeant assigned to my office at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii when I arrived there. He was a white haired, quiet man who wore just one decoration on his uniform, a Silver Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster. Rather than simply ask, I went to the personnel records one day and pulled his 201 file. The story it revealed was truly incredible. He lied about his age at something like 13 to enlist in the Army and went to Europe with Pershing. When WWI ended, he went back home to the farm. He reenlisted for WWII and fought in Europe, receiving a battlefield commission and rising to major and commanded a battalion. When WWII ended, he went back to the farm. He enlisted again for Korea and Vietnam. When I met him he was completing 20 years of service, every one of them in war time service. Oh, and the Silver Stars? Both were awarded, the orders signed, by John J. Pershing.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Sep 11 at 2016 10:48 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 22:48:30 -0400

You mean Commander Shepard is based on a true Story?

Response by SSG Robert Webster made Sep 11 at 2016 11:14 PM

SSG Robert Webster — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 23:14:22 -0400

For me that is a difficult question to answer. There are several that not only have I met them, but I worked for, with, or they worked for me during my career. But I would suppose that as a group, the number of officers that served in the 2/508th PIR between mid-1982 and the end of 1985, as LTs that became General officers.

Response by SFC George Smith made Sep 11 at 2016 11:14 PM

SFC George Smith — Sun, 11 Sep 2016 23:14:24 -0400

Interesting...

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2016 12:49 AM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 00:49:08 -0400

I will go with Bob Crippen for his military and NASA careers.

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/crippen-rl.html

Astronaut Bio: Robert L. Crippen (07\2001)

Astronaut Biography: Robert L. Crippen

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2016 1:24 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 01:24:34 -0400

My buddies father, MSG Petry. Living Medal of Honor Recipient and then re-enlisting after his conflict

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2016 2:07 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 02:07:41 -0400

I do not know if having an "encounter" as a Private will count (he had to tell me to relax, as I was having a syncope when I saw him), but back in 1987 I saw GEN Louis Menetrey. I also had GEN Binford Peay III as commanding general back in Desert Storm, when he was a two-star general.

Response by SGT Rick Bell made Sep 12 at 2016 9:48 AM

SGT Rick Bell — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 09:48:03 -0400

When I was stationed in Germany a lot of people made one of the cooks on the Kaserne a object of ridicule just because he was a cook. Sometimes it was worse than others, but he would just put his head down and keep going. Several months after this started, an old friend of his was stationed there and one day I seen him rip up and down on several people who had been the main group giving the cook a hard time. By the time he was done several minutes later, everyone felt pretty bad when they heard the cooks story. He told them about how our cook use to be an 11B Army Grunt in Vietnam. One day on a long (several day) patrol they took fire and was pinned down. I believe it was about 20 people they had. Long story short, this man had cared for all the wounded, held off the enemy and kept them safe for several days until they could get help. He himself was wounded several times. He was put in for a Silver Star and for whatever reason, the "powers that be" decided it was just a Bronze Star kind of action to them. Personally A lot of us who heard the story felt it was MOH material. I seen several heads hang low after that and a clerk in the admin checked and did verify his records. After that, he was treated with respect and treated with dignity! He might not have all the medals and honors some receive, but the dignity this man treated people with, even while ridiculed and never bragged on his accomplishments made him someone to look up to I felt. He was a better man who had proven his self worth . He himself was a great role model, especially when you thought about him, his past actions and the way he treated people in general. It taught me a good lesson about how you never know who you are talking to and until you do, treat them with respect and dignity. You never know what they have done or been through. Our cook was a bad ass who deserved some respect!!!

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2016 10:41 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:41:03 -0400

Sure you can laugh at the meme until that little alien thing pops out of your friends' stomach and starts taking out your crew mates one at a time and then everyone looks to Captain Badass as he takes out a Kabar with a grin on his face.

Response by SGT Linda Burgess made Sep 12 at 2016 2:47 PM

SGT Linda Burgess — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 14:47:19 -0400

Pappy Devine