Eric Terashima is an American retired military officer. He is known for his service as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps. He served for 30 years, and had twelve deployments that included eight combat tours., with three of those being in Afghanistan. [1]
He was born in Los Angeles to a Japanese immigrant father and third-generation Japanese American mother. [2] During World War II, his mother's family, the Shimonishis, was forced from their home in southern California and made to move into an internment camp. [3] [2] The family went to Japan after they were released from the camp. Terashima's grandmother worked at a Naval Air Station in Iwakuni. She then took her five children and moved back to California. [3]
He attended the University of Notre Dame on a full Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship. [2] After graduating, he served in Okinawa in Japan and in South Korea in the 1990s. He left active duty in 1997 and worked with the company John Deere. After the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, he returned to active combat. [2] He married several years afterwards, and his wife worked various jobs in agriculture and in the oil industry while he served. [2]
He retired from military service on June 1, 2021. [2] After the 2021 fall of Kabul and withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan, Terashima has donated thousands of dollars of his own money and started fundraising campaigns to support people that he knew from his time in Afghanistan. [2] [4] [5] He has personally helped Afghani refugees with resettling in and adjusting to the United States. [2] He has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his experiences. [1] [4] Terashima ran for a position in the North Carolina House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. [6] He has also volunteered to fight in support of Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War. [7]
Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with the Pacific fleet in 1941, Boyington joined the "Flying Tigers" of the Republic of China Air Force and saw combat in Burma in late 1941 and 1942 during the military conflict between China and Japan.
James Norman Mattis is an American military veteran who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Leonard Fielding Chapman Jr. was a United States Marine Corps general who served as the 24th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1968 to 1972. He was a World War II combat veteran, decorated for his actions in the Battle of Peleliu and the Battle of Okinawa. He retired from the Marine Corps after 37 years of service. In retirement, he served as the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine Force Navy personnel. The 3rd Battalion falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment which falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division.
Randolph McCall Pate was a United States Marine Corps general who served as the 21st Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959.
3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (3/25) is a reserve infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion was first formed in 1943 for service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II, taking part in a number of significant battles including those at Saipan and Iwo Jima before being deactivated at the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the unit was reactivated as a reserve battalion. Currently headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio with units throughout Ohio, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, the battalion is nicknamed "three deuce five" and consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors. They fall under the 25th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division. Recent operations have included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
James Elms Swett was a United States Marine Corps fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He was awarded the United States' highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for actions while a division flight leader in VMF-221 over Guadalcanal on April 7, 1943. He downed a total of 15.5 enemy aircraft during the war, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and five Air Medals.
2nd Battalion, 9th Marines (2/9) was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, the unit played an instrumental role in the defeat of the Japanese forces in the Battles of Guam and Iwo Jima during World War II. The battalion distinguished itself in the defense of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War, and later participated in an ill-fated invasion of Koh Tang Island in Southeast Asia, with the intention of rescuing the crew of SS Mayaguez. During Operation Desert Storm, the battalion served as the lead battalion for the III Marine Expeditionary Force.
James F. "Jim" Amos is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 35th commandant of the Marine Corps. As a naval aviator, Amos commanded the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing during the Iraq War in 2003 and 2006. He served as the 31st assistant commandant of the Marine Corps from 2008 to 2010, and was the first Marine Corps aviator to serve as commandant. He retired from the Marine Corps in December 2014.
The Ukrainian Ground Forces, also referred to as the Ukrainian army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the eight branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They were formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Ukrainian independence, and trace their ancestry to the 1917–22 army of the Ukrainian People's Republic.
Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps, such as Private France Silva who during the Boxer Rebellion became the first Marine of the thirteen Marines of Latin American descent to be awarded the Medal of Honor, and Private First Class Guy Gabaldon who is credited with capturing over 1,000 enemy soldiers and civilians during World War II, have distinguished themselves in combat. Hispanics have participated as members of the United States Marine Corps in the Boxer Rebellion, World War I, the American intervention in Latin America also known as the Banana Wars, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and most recently in the military campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq.
John Floyd Goodman is a retired United States Marine Corps three-star general. He began his military service with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War — during which he earned the Soldier's Medal, the Bronze Star with "V" Device and a Purple Heart. He entered the U.S. Marine Corps in 1971, becoming an aviator. He flew over 4,100 hours during his years of service. He retired from military service in 2008, with over 41 years of active and reserve service, achieving a rank of lieutenant general.
Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills is a retired United States Marine Corps officer, who served as commander of the Marine Forces Reserve from 2013 to 2015 and Marine Forces North, headquartered at the Marine Corps Support Facility New Orleans. Previously he was deputy commandant for combat development and integration and commanding general, Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Virginia, and, prior to that assignment, was commander of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward)/Regional Command Southwest in Afghanistan.
Harold "Hank" P. Naughton Jr. is an American politician. He is a state legislator who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1995 to 2021. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on July 4, 1960 and grew up in Clinton, Massachusetts, where he still resides with his wife, Ellen, and four children. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Lt.Col.David Althoff was a decorated war veteran known for his heroic acts during the Vietnamese war. Althoff enlisted in the Navy in November of 1952 for the Korean War in fear of the draft. After completing 18 months of flight school and graduating in the top 10 percent of his class, David Alhoff was commissioned as a Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant. In 1954, he was deployed to Korea and then transferred to Osugi, Japan after five months to join Marine Attack Squadron 251. In Osugi he underwent training to deliver atomic bombs and became one of eight qualified pilots for this task after 15 months in Osugi, Japan. Following this he was ordered back to the United States for further training in Orange County, California. During his military service, David Althoff flew a remarkable 1080 combat missions in Vietnam and leading over 700 men in his career. He won multiple awards which include, "Aviator of the Year" in 1968, three silver stars, three Distinguished Flying Cross, a bronze star, and 54 air medals. He also is a recipient of the Cunningham Award and a developer of SuperGaggle. His dedication and skills led him to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1972. Lt.Col.David Althoff passed away March 8th, 2022 of leukemia.
There have been women in the United States Marine Corps since 1918, and women continue to serve in the Corps today. As of 2020, women make up 8.9% of total active duty Marines. The Marine Corps has the lowest percent of female service members of all of the U.S military branches. Women's presence in the Marine Corps first emerged in 1918 when they were permitted to do administrative work in an attempt to fill the spots of male Marines fighting overseas. It was not until 1948 that women were able to become a permanent part of the Corps with the passing of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act. However, even with the Integration Act, women were still banned from certain military occupation specialties. It was not until 2016 that Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that all military occupations would be open to women without exception. As of 2018, there were 18 women serving in the Marine Corps combat arms. In December 2020, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego agreed to join the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in accepting female recruits, with 60 female recruits starting their boot camp training at the San Diego depot in February 2021. 53 of these recruits would successfully graduate from boot camp in April 2021 and become Marines.
Robert R. Jones is an American farmer, Marine Corps veteran, motivational speaker, Paralympic athlete, and politician. In 2010, while serving in Afghanistan, he was severely wounded in action by an improvised explosive device where he lost both legs above the knee. Jones made headlines when he completed 31 consecutive marathons in 31 days while raising money for veterans. Between 2013 and 2014, he cycled nearly 5,200 miles across the United States in order to raise awareness for wounded veterans. He also won a bronze medal with Oksana Masters in mixed double sculls (rowing) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
Gary Lee Thomas is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general. He was most recently the 35th Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Gen Thomas is a naval aviator who flew the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and participated in combat operations during the Gulf War, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the War in Afghanistan. He has commanded at the squadron and Wing level and also led Marine Corps aviation's weapons school. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and National Defense University.
Lucas Tyree Kunce is an American attorney and politician who is the director of national security at the American Economic Liberties Project. On March 9, 2021, he announced his campaign for the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Missouri, the day after Roy Blunt announced his retirement. He lost the Democratic primary to Trudy Busch Valentine. On January 6, 2023, he announced his campaign to run for Missouri's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat in 2024 against incumbent Josh Hawley.