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Operation Steel Pike

Headshot of male Marine in dress uniform.

Corporal Robert Potts, U.S. Marine Corps – Deploying to the Dominican Republic and Vietnam

There is no such thing as a former Marine. Once someone earns the privilege of being called a Marine, they wear the honor for life. Perhaps this is because the mental and physical rigors a Marine must endure are so demanding. Perhaps it is because the Marine Corps has built a well-deserved reputation for being an elite fighting force capable of taking on any enemy, anywhere. Or perhaps it is because of the bond fellow Marines form—no matter when or where they served, they are like brothers and sisters to one another. Corporal Robert Potts has been a proud Marine every day of his life since he successfully completed boot camp in 1963. He went on to serve in both the 1965 Dominican Republic intervention and the Vietnam War. To him, there is no greater honor than being a member of the Corps.

Jim Elsener in the Marine Corps

Sergeant Jim Elsener, U.S. Marine Corps – From Chicago to Da Nang…and Back

Sometimes in life we are presented with choices where the “right” choice is obvious. Sergeant Jim Elsener, U.S. Marine Corps, was given such a choice in January 1966. He could finish out his enlistment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, having served in the Marines with honor, and return to civilian life in the Midwest. Or he could choose a course that promised many unknowns. Jim chose the latter, and as the poet Carl Sandburg so eloquently expressed, that choice has made all the difference. This is Jim’s story.