Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

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Adam Keys

Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) | 618th Engineer Support Company (Airborne)

Adam Keys was minus a hand and two legs following his experience in Afghanistan. His laughter when he heard things like, "Can I give you a hand?" made him think maybe he had a career in stand-up comedy. No joke. (5:14)
Adam Walton

Operation Iraqi Freedom | Riverine Squadron 3, Det 1

There was a lot of military service in his family, but Adam Walton resisted the calling. Somehow he enlisted in the Navy when he was badgered by a recruiter to join the Marines. He loved his first assignment aboard a sub tender based in Guam. It was a perfect spot for a young man. (4:41)
When the Navy restarted the Riverine squadrons for use in Iraq, Adam Walton volunteered. First he had to become a Marine for all intents and purposes and he did that at Camp Lejeune. The boats and crews were small but the armament was potent. (5:15)
In April of 2008, Adam Walton deployed to Iraq with the Navy's reborn Riverine Squadrons. They expected a lot of fighting, but interacting with the populace turned out to be the main job. (5:15)
When Iraqis went to the polls on election day, Adam Walton was patrolling waterways in a Riverine Squadron boat, helping to ensure their new right of a free vote. The hours could be long out there and you had to be creative to get through it. (4:31)
His first tour of Iraq was during summer and it was blazing hot. Second time around for Adam Walton, it was winter and it was freezing, but that was OK. He was a Michigander. His Navy Riverine unit was a tight knit bunch and they remain so to this day. (5:01)
Al Lipphardt

Vietnam | D Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade

The worst firefight for Al Lipphardt in Vietnam started on Thanksgiving 1967 and continued for four days. The initial barrage from the enemy killed four and wounded ten in his platoon. (5:42)
When Al Lipphardt went through basic training, his superiors noticed something special and he was recommended for Officer Candidate School. He recalls the spit shined floors at OCS and the lengths the unit went through to maintain them. (4:36)
In the I Corps area of Vietnam, the first time new platoon leader Al Lipphardt came under fire, he was slow to drop and take cover because he looked around to see the source of the fire as one of his men tugged on his pant leg. He learned that you drop and then look. (7:00)
Al Lipphardt spent time as a platoon leader and as an intelligence liaison during his first tour of duty in Vietnam. While a platoon leader, he tried to not get too close to his men, to avoid emotional reactions in battle. (7:29)