By Joy Smoots At the altar nearly forty-three years ago, a new life much different from the life I had known was about to begin. As we walked back down the church aisle, my husband in his “dress whites” smiled and asked, “Are you ready for the adventure?” Little did I know what lay ahead …Read More
By Benjamin Rednour, United States Army, United States Marine Corps It is 2:30am or 0230 for us. The context seems different although it is the same. We are heading into the most significant event of our lives in a beast of a helicopter known as the Sea Stallion. My Marine brethren and I are heading …Read More
By Keylle Locklear, United States Air Force I wanted to be important. I wanted to find my purpose, help people, see the world. I wanted to leave the small town I grew up in and do something extraordinary. I sat down in the recruiter’s office and began the process of joining the United States Air …Read More
By Bridget Floyd Ron Hemenway, or the Sergeant Major as we like to call him, is a dedicated and caring father. He is a devoted husband to my mother with 40 plus years of marriage. He served four times in Iraq post 9/11 as a civil servant even after he had retired from the National …Read More
By Sarah Flores, United States Marine Corps My earliest memory of writing was around the fifth grade when I was supposed to write a fictional short story. I don’t remember writing as much as I remember sitting down with my mother crying from the painfully constipated block of words. Like any mother, she coached me …Read More
By Andreah Anderson, United States Army I wondered would it ever go away The pain, the nightmares, and all the regrets. Would time do its course and would it become easier to bare Does waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweats come to cease? I wondered would it ever make sense …Read More
By Marilyn Alkire, United States Navy “The sea is eternal and so are the traditions that accompany it. As long as there are imaginary lines by which we travel, we will attach a special significance to crossing over them – a significance which also bonds the crew together in a way few things can.” Unknown …Read More
em>Noel Wheeler, United States Navy I always knew I would join the Navy. As a kid I had the usual thoughts of being a doctor, nurse, or veterinarian. As I watched my friends worry about Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) exams and college application essays, I rested easily knowing that the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery …Read More
By Seth Strickland, I sat uncomfortably in the metal folding chair, the room around me filled with the echoes of somber chatter. I wasn’t part of the conversation. I acted more like a fixture in the room, no different from the lifeless furniture, still and silent, apart in my own mind. The table in front …Read More
By Lisa Stephens, United States Marine Corps Sometime in the early 80’s, a movie called Private Benjamin made its debut. In the movie, Goldie Hahn fell off the bus at a recruit depot wearing a dress and heels. This was typical Lisa behavior, having earned the name “Slip” during spring break at Ft. Lauderdale, where …Read More