The Everyday Patriot Project

Chief Petty Officer Don Coram Lingle was born on October 21, 1899, in Union, Illinois. He worked as a food broker and grocery purchaser before enlisting in the US Navy on October 22, 1942, in response to World War II. He would be assigned to Naval recruitment. In December 1942, Chief Petty Officer Don Lingle hatched an idea using a pig named King Neptune to raise money for the USS Illinois. While the USS Illinois was never completed, the pair would ultimately raise 19 Million in war bonds. Chief Petty Officer Don Lingle left the Navy in 1947 and retired in 1968 to Clearwater, Florida. He died on February 27, 1987, and was cremated. * Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here* ****** ********************************* a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia.  In addition to her travel writings at  www.takethebackroads.com , you can also read her book reviews at  www.riteoffancy.com  and US military bio...

Captain Eugene Wesley Roddenberry was born on August 19, 1921, in El Paso, Texas. His family moved to Los Angeles in 1923, and he kept a home in southern California for most of his life. Captain Gene Roddenberry read a lot in his youth and was especially enthralled with pulp magazines. Wanting to become a pilot, he enlisted in the US Air Force on December 18, 1941, eleven days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the US involvement in World War II, through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. He would deploy with the 394th Bomb Squadron to Bellows Air Field in Oahu. On August 2, 1943, while flying out of Espiritu Santo, his plane, the "Yankee Doodle," overshot the runway, killing Sergeant John P. Kruger and Lieutenant Talbert H. Woolam.  Captain Roddenberry was cleared of any fault during the investigation and tribunal and would return stateside as a crash investigator for the US Air Force. However, as a passenger, he was involved in another plane crash during this ...

Colonel Orin Doughty Haugen was born on August 18, 1907, in Wyndmere, North Dakota.  He would graduate from the US Military Academy at Westpoint in 1920 and was assigned to the infantry. He was known to be an avid horseman and was a regular player in area polo matches.  He was also an active hunter, including fox hunting. In 1940, as the preparation for World War II began, Colonel Orin "Hard Rock" Haugen volunteered for training for the newly created paratrooper infantry training and would become a commander of the 501st Infantry.  His training methods and discipline would come to define the role of a paratrooper in the US Army. During World War II, his paratroopers would make a name for themselves in the Leyte and Luzon campaigns. Colonel Orin Hard Rock Haugen would be hit by mortar fire on February 22, 1945, during the Battle of Manilla, while his unit attempted to free the prisoners from the Los Banos prison camp.  They would succeed on February 23. He ...

Major General Smedley Butler was born on July 30, 1881, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He completed his early education at the West Chester Friends Graded School before attending the Haverford School, where he was the captain of the baseball team and a quarterback of the school's football team. He would leave Haverford a little before his 17th birthday (and graduation) to enlist in the US Marine Corps shortly after the start of the Spanish American War. However, based on his credits, the Haverford School would still award him his diploma on June 6, 1998. Major General Smedley Butler had to lie about his age to enlist. Nevertheless, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and deployed to Guantanamo Bay, arriving shortly after its capture. After spending four months at sea aboard the USS New York, he was briefly mustered out. Returning to the Marine Corps in April of 1899 as a 1st Lieutenant, he deployed to Manilla, where he led a team of 300 Marines to take the town of Nov...