Reflections on Service
Can I ask you something? Yes you. What did you do in the service? If you are reading this, chances are you either served or are a family member of someone who did.
Did you know that Together We Served has a section where you can tell the story of your time in the service through a 15 question, self- guided interview called Reflections on Service? This section asks you things like, "Why did you join, where did you go, what did you do?" It even asks you who you would like to find from your service years.
For many of our members that you have probably read through our newsletter called "Voices", writing their Reflections has been a cathartic experience. They have been able to release the demons that have haunted them for years and set them free. They have found that by talking about their experiences, others begin to see themselves and the dialog begins between them. In turn, they help each other heal.
Here is what Mike Christy, our Dispatches Editor had to say about his experiences writing his Reflections.
"In 2005, I received an email for Marine Together We Served inviting me to join. The email detailed the advantages of being a member and how the site was a way reconnect with old friends who were already members and more importantly, a place to record one's military career and history. I joined that day.
I filled in the blanks in developing my profile page to include boot camp at San Diego, ITR at Camp Pendleton, MP duty at Camp McGill in Japan and my last duty station, brig guard at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. I also added the few photographs I had of my time in the Marines. Since I had no award or decorations from my time in the Marine Corp, I posted those I earned in the Army. I then set back waiting for former Marine buddies to contact me. They never did.
Later I was contacted by TWS and asked to fill in my Reflections. I checked out the questions to be answered and became quite excited. Here was a chance to record my military history for generations to come and what I could share with my family and friends. With each word I wrote, a host of recollections - both good and not so good - came rushing forth: difficult elite training, success, and failures, images of my friends, funny situations, moments of fear, conquering those fears, horrors of war, death of friends.
In 2008, Army Together We Served came online. I took what I had written for the Marine TWS and placed it word-for-word in my Army Reflections. But this time Army buddies came out in droves. Most were members of my rifle company in Vietnam or part of Special Forces in Vietnam, others were from my Ranger and Airborne classes. A couple knew me from other assignments.
But here is where TWS really paid off. In 2010, seventeen of the men from my rifle company in Vietnam - all ATWS members - came together from all over the United States for a reunion. We have had one every two years since."
If you served during the Cold War, you may feel that you have no stories to tell, nothing that would be of interest to anyone. That is where you are wrong. Your story matters. You did what only 1% of the country did during that time. You served your country. Your family, especially those too young to remember, would love to hear your story.
Say you and I met for a cup of coffee. We sat down and I asked you "What influenced you to join the military?" You would tell me about your family who served or knowing that your draft number was going to come up and you wanted to choose your service branch rather than have it chosen for you. If I asked you "Is there some incident or story that may not have been funny at the time but makes you laugh today?", you would tell me about the time that your friend Smitty had the latrine blown up under him, or the time you ended up being thrown over the side for cleaning the Chief's favorite coffee cup.
You can now upload a video of you reading your Reflections for your future generations to find but you have to get it written first.
So, tell me your story.