Corey Smith (’16)

My grandpa has two purple hearts. He fought in World War II and was this thing called a naked soldier. He would wade through the water and mark where the coral was in order for the boats to come through. He got one of his hearts when injured in the Pacific Islands.

Max McAllister (’17)

Kenneth Subak, Vietnam. He was in one of the fuel carriers and he got a purple heart after being hit by the shrapnel of an explosion.

Casey Leffers (’17)

My grandfather was a Marine during World War II. He fought with the 6th marine division on Okinawa during 1944. He was a forward observer, so his job involved scouting out enemy positions and relying them back. This often resulted in artillery, aerial, or naval bombardment. on the enemy position He returned from one of these missions and was exhausted. He hadn’t eaten or slept for three days and was so tired he couldn’t see straight. He got back behind Marine lines and spotted a group of marines sleeping. He dropped his gear and curled up next to them and was asleep in seconds. He awoke to two Marines carrying him by his arms and legs. He immediately flipped a shit. The two marines dropped him and shouted “this one’s alive!” One of the companies my grandfather was attached to suffered up to 112 percent casualties (all the original members killed and wounded, additional replacements killed and wounded).

Aidan Bryan (’16)

My grandpa fought in World War II, he did something with the computers.

Olivia Edmonson (’18)

My grandfather, Michael Lively, was in World War II but he worked at a golf course and was a bartender. My great grandfather D.O. Lively was a part of the Russian Revolution/Holocaust. He was rescuing children that were in captivity to take them back to England or America.

Andre Campbell Jr. (’16)

My cousin Claude Hall was in the navy for 25 years and enlisted as Chief Petty Officer. And my Uncle Ken Cherwood was in the US army artillery in the Korean War.

Leo Weisman (’16)

My grandfather, Weisman, was supposed to be in two different units. His unit was supposed to fight in the battle of the bulge but a misunderstanding left him in a unit in France. The unit they sent away fought and was killed to the last man, the mix up saved his life.

Arthur Root (’16)

My grandpa, Sam Blumenthal, fought in Korea. The person in the bunk next to him got killed by a North Korean using a pan as a weapon due to their low budget.

Sonia Fillipow (’16)

I mean I walk by a homeless veteran everyday on my way to school. His name is Eddie.

Reid Buzby (’15)

My grandfather, Milton Buzby, got a purple heart because he was an ambulance driver in World War II and got injured. Pretty sure we have it at home.

Harry Bendekgey (’15)

A lot of my ancestors fought in militias in Lebanon in the civil war from 1980 to 2010.

Jenny Assaf (’16)

My dad was in the Israeli army and watched a lot of his friends die. My grandpa was in the Marines for two years, he fought in World War II.

Marie Bergsund (’16)

I’m related to Edwin T. Layton, a Rear Admiral in the US Navy during World War II. He broke Japanese code that basically predicted Pearl Harbor, DC didn’t believe it, and after it happened he wrote a long “I told you so” in the novel And I Was There.