LifePosts are a great way to not only celebrate a military hero, but to tell, share, and preserve his or her story. In honor of Veterans Day, we’re sharing our favorite LifePosts about veterans.
Irwin King
A true Bohemian, and self-proclaimed Jack-of-all-Trades
“He was enlisted in the Army as a Communications operator and returned a Veteran of the Korean War. He said he had to climb up poles to lay communication lines for the troops, thus he was also known as a ‘target,’ or easy shot by the enemy. We asked him what he was supposed to do if they did try to shoot, and he told us he was supposed to let go of the pole and fall to the ground to escape gunfire!” Read more
Myla Maravillosa
A reservist who died just one month after arriving in Iraq and was described as a “young woman who cared for the downtrodden”
“I was one of Sgt. Maravillosa’s instructors at the 97E Course on Ft. Huachuca. We have so many students go through the course that I only remember the really special ones. She was one of those soldiers who never gave up.” — Jon Bolling Read more
Carroll Gifford Everist
A Korean War POW, who was wounded in action and later served as chaplain with several military groups in Kansas
“I did not have a chance to go home and visit my parents one more time before shipping out. We had to send our civilians clothes home. One person borrowed my dress jacket and then went AWOL. I never saw him again. I remember that he was from Tennessee. News that I was going into war was very stressful for my family and my father had his first heart attack because of it. As to whether or not I wanted to go to war, I never thought about it. Being in the Army, we went where we were needed.” Read more
Sieara A. Washington
One of the fewest, the proudest, female Marines
“I decided to join the Marine Corps for many reasons. One, because I heard it was the hardest branch. I also joined because many people felt I wouldn’t make it. The biggest reason was for my brother and sister. Everything I did at that time (now I have a son) was for them.” Read more
Humayun Khan
A Muslim American soldier, who won the Bronze Star and Purple Heart—and became a hero at the 2016 Democratic Convention
“On the morning of June 8, 2004, the gate guards alerted Humayun to an orange-and-white taxi cab slowly moving through our serpentine barriers during the ‘rush hour’ of Iraqi day workers coming onto camp. Humayun probably moved toward the suspicious vehicle to avoid killing the driver unnecessarily, but at some point, he concluded that something was wrong and ordered his men to hit the dirt.” Read more
Robert Nylen
An extraordinary friend, father, entrepreneur, soldier, and writer
A telling review of Nylen’s book “Guts”:
“This is a tough book about a tough man. Nylen explores the interior landscape of an archetypal American man—himself—with courage, honesty, and the gallant humor of a soldier who knows he’s fighting his last campaign. Although his voice is as raw as an unhealed wound, it lingers powerfully in your mind. I feel like I have just been through a boot camp on how a man should live, and how he should die.”— Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower Read more
Ekundayo Falade
A Nigerian immigrant who enlisted in the army and served three-and-a-half years active duty with the 101st Airborne Division
“Boot Camp was a bit easy for me because I grew up in a boarding school in Nigeria that was run like a boot camp so I was used to some of the rules.” Read more
Marvin Rosenblum
Army Captain in WWII, Loving Husband, Dad, and Grandfather
“Dad was modest, and his stories about the military tended to be self-deprecating. But there’s at least one funny story in my memory bank. When he was finally returning home on a troop ship, the loudspeaker played “Sentimental Journey’ non-stop. For the rest of his life, he said, the song ‘Sentimental Journey’ made him feel seasick.” Read more