THREE GENERATIONS OF SERVICE
The Spur - Fall 2013
CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS
PineStraw Magazine - December 2013
THE MATAXIS LEGACY
VERITAS: Journal of Army Special Operations History - Volume 11, Number 1
Thanksgiving in Arms
PineStraw Magazine - November 2017
Ted Mataxis likes to say he failed retirement. After a 31-year career in the Army, he spent another 20 years in education, 19 working for Moore County Schools. Unable to rest on his Harleys (he owns two), he still commutes to Fort Bragg to work in the history office. In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s he spent three Thanksgivings in Vietnam.
|
“The first one was when I was with the 101st. All we had to do for that one was move to a landing zone where they could come in and pick us up, take us back to the rear, which was a firebase in the mountains, and then redeploy us to another area afterwards. That one wasn’t too painful. “My last Thanksgiving there I was at a border Ranger camp, Polei Kleng Camp. Elevation was just about 2,000 feet. We had a 3,500-foot airstrip which was made out of perforated steel and we had a little old triangular French fort. There were only two Americans, we had three-man teams but at that particular time we only had two of the three slots filled. I had a battalion of Montagnards with me and I’ve got a village of Montagnard families. We got word that we had to accept a Thanksgiving meal that was being flown around to all the various camps. If you’re sitting in Saigon, say, a general looking at his map says, ‘These places all have airstrips, here’s what we need to do. I want every camp out there to get a meal.’ Yes, we had a strip but anytime anyone was coming in, they were subject to being fired up. To accept them we had to deploy a battalion worth of my soldiers so that myself and my NCO could have hot turkey.” It was a Thanksgiving dinner he’d have been content to do without. |
|
MY HERO: A Bond Across Three Generations, Forged in CombaT
AARP Veteran Report - October 2022
Lieutenant Colonel (R) Ted Mataxis Jr. (right) stands next to his son Lieutenant Colonel Ted Mataxis III at his home in Southern Pines, North Carolina. When not wearing the uniform, Ted III also works for Lockheed Martin as a Senior Program Manager of a Department of Defense (DoD) Special Operations Forces (SOF) Contract.
The most meaningful thing I possess is a set of captain’s bars — the old, flat, railroad track style. They are sterling silver, but their value is way beyond anything monetary. These are the bars that were pinned on my father’s lapel in 1942, which he then pinned on mine in Vietnam in 1971 and I pinned on my son’s at Fort Bragg in 2009.
I was always going to be a soldier. My father, Theodore Mataxis, known as Ted, pointed to my mother’s belly in 1944 and said that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Then a major, he rose to become a brigadier general in a 32-year career.
Dad dragged us all over the world. We lived in occupied Germany from 1946 to 1947 and then in India, where he attended staff college and was then assigned as a United Nations observer in Kashmir. After that he volunteered to go directly to the Korean War.
He was a perennial volunteer and a relentless adrenaline junkie, continually seeking out dangerous roles that no one else wanted.
My dad, who died in 2006 at age 88, commanded a battalion in combat in World War II at 26 and a regiment in Korea at 36. He served for four years in Vietnam and Cambodia. I was also in Vietnam for two of those years.
Although he rose to high rank, he was always a combat soldier first, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with “V” devices and two Purple Hearts along the way. He referred to his Combat Infantryman’s Badge with two stars — signifying it had been awarded in three separate wars — as his perfect attendance pin.
When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s, he served as the field director for the Committee for a Free Afghanistan in Peshawar, Pakistan, making eight trips there to assist the mujahideen against the Russians. That was his fourth war.
As a child, I didn’t get to spend much time with him. He would send me letters and recordings from faraway places. It wasn’t until I went to Vietnam as an adviser that we really bonded over our shared love for military life. I never resented his absences because I knew his calling was to serve his country.
His values had been passed on to him by his father, a Greek immigrant who arrived at Ellis Island in 1907, where his surname, Metaxas, became Mataxis because an Ellis Island official misspelled it. He was penniless and unable to speak English, but he lived the American dream and built a better life for his family.
My father believed that he owed this nation a debt for the opportunities it provided our family. He fully subscribed to the pre-Christian Greek saying “It is a great thing to fight, and die if you must, in defense of your land, your home and your wife and children.”
My father was not just a courageous Army officer, but also an intellectual, an author, an avid reader and collector of books, and a gunsmith. He always loved people, treating everyone with equal respect regardless of whether they were a private or a head of state.
I was always going to be a soldier. My father, Theodore Mataxis, known as Ted, pointed to my mother’s belly in 1944 and said that he wouldn’t have it any other way. Then a major, he rose to become a brigadier general in a 32-year career.
Dad dragged us all over the world. We lived in occupied Germany from 1946 to 1947 and then in India, where he attended staff college and was then assigned as a United Nations observer in Kashmir. After that he volunteered to go directly to the Korean War.
He was a perennial volunteer and a relentless adrenaline junkie, continually seeking out dangerous roles that no one else wanted.
My dad, who died in 2006 at age 88, commanded a battalion in combat in World War II at 26 and a regiment in Korea at 36. He served for four years in Vietnam and Cambodia. I was also in Vietnam for two of those years.
Although he rose to high rank, he was always a combat soldier first, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with “V” devices and two Purple Hearts along the way. He referred to his Combat Infantryman’s Badge with two stars — signifying it had been awarded in three separate wars — as his perfect attendance pin.
When the Soviets occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s, he served as the field director for the Committee for a Free Afghanistan in Peshawar, Pakistan, making eight trips there to assist the mujahideen against the Russians. That was his fourth war.
As a child, I didn’t get to spend much time with him. He would send me letters and recordings from faraway places. It wasn’t until I went to Vietnam as an adviser that we really bonded over our shared love for military life. I never resented his absences because I knew his calling was to serve his country.
His values had been passed on to him by his father, a Greek immigrant who arrived at Ellis Island in 1907, where his surname, Metaxas, became Mataxis because an Ellis Island official misspelled it. He was penniless and unable to speak English, but he lived the American dream and built a better life for his family.
My father believed that he owed this nation a debt for the opportunities it provided our family. He fully subscribed to the pre-Christian Greek saying “It is a great thing to fight, and die if you must, in defense of your land, your home and your wife and children.”
My father was not just a courageous Army officer, but also an intellectual, an author, an avid reader and collector of books, and a gunsmith. He always loved people, treating everyone with equal respect regardless of whether they were a private or a head of state.
Brig. Gen. Theodore Mataxis (left) pins the captain’s bars on his newly-promoted son Theodore Mataxis Jr. in Vietnam in 1971
I spent most of my military career in Special Forces and Rangers. In addition to my time in Vietnam, I saw active service in Grenada in 1983 and El Salvador from 1988 to 1989.
The pride my father felt for me as a son was matched only by that he felt for his grandson — my son, Ted III, who is now serving as a lieutenant colonel and commander of the U.S. Army Reserve 812th Transportation Battalion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ted III served in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying on the family legacy. If you count Afghanistan in the 1980s and after 9/11 as separate conflicts, that makes eight wars over three generations. My father, my son and I were all NCOs in the reserves before becoming commissioned officers, master parachutists and combat veterans of the 101st Airborne Division.
Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” It is clear which path Dad chose to follow. I’m now 78 and look back with immense pride on this man who etched our family name into this great nation’s history.
— As told to Richard Baimbridge
Theodore Mataxis Jr. retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1993. He is working on a memoir about his father, Ride to the Sound of Guns.
The pride my father felt for me as a son was matched only by that he felt for his grandson — my son, Ted III, who is now serving as a lieutenant colonel and commander of the U.S. Army Reserve 812th Transportation Battalion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Ted III served in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying on the family legacy. If you count Afghanistan in the 1980s and after 9/11 as separate conflicts, that makes eight wars over three generations. My father, my son and I were all NCOs in the reserves before becoming commissioned officers, master parachutists and combat veterans of the 101st Airborne Division.
Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” It is clear which path Dad chose to follow. I’m now 78 and look back with immense pride on this man who etched our family name into this great nation’s history.
— As told to Richard Baimbridge
Theodore Mataxis Jr. retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in 1993. He is working on a memoir about his father, Ride to the Sound of Guns.
Celebrating America: R. Carson Mataxis’ new book, The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero
USA Today - March 2024
R. Carson Mataxis, Emmy-Winning videographer and animator, celebrates an unforgettable era of pop culture in his new book The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. This omnibus hardcover includes decades of artistic flair and business strategy in a captivating book. The Art of G.I.JOE was created, designed, and produced by Carson with the help of former Hasbro executives and G.I.JOE designers, illustrators, and sculptors. The book can be purchased on 3DJoes, where Carson and company catalog the brand’s action figures, vehicles, playsets, print content, peripheral products, and more.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover (cover)
G.I.JOE was created in 1964 to entertain children with heroic stories of military heroes who espoused American values. With G.I.JOE, Hasbro created the ‘world’s first action figure’ with incredibly detailed and interactive designs. As the brand evolved into G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero in 1982, it became known for its action-packed comic books, high-quality cartoons, and valuable action figures. Eventually, several live-action movies were also released honoring the American spirit of G.I.JOE’s storylines.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover (art portfolio).
Fans who love the brand often collect these products, but it can be difficult and expensive to build a comprehensive packaged collection to appreciate the line. Carson, a lifelong fan of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero, had spent decades collecting, and has now spent over a decade documenting, restoring, and uploading extensive content on his 3DJoes archive showcasing G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero products.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover (clamshell case).
Before creating his most recent book, The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover, Carson had spent the last decade photographing and scanning every piece of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero art. He started with 1982-1994 carded figures and then moved into the 1982-1994 vehicles, playsets, catalogs and offers, books, newsletters, puzzles, posters, and more. Carson digitally restored this content and released it as six Collecting the Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero softcover volumes.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover (art portfolio featuring 24 offset lithograph prints)
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover differs from this previous content because it’s officially licensed by Hasbro, significantly larger, and even more comprehensive – featuring hundreds of images of unadorned artwork scanned from paintings and high-resolution transparencies.
The omnibus features over 700 pages of eye-catching art, insider information, and even unreleased paintings. The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Digipack includes four discs filled with Carson’s candid interviews with the brand’s former vice president, figure and vehicle designers, packaging painters, and other professionals who were integral to the creation of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. Excerpts from some of these interviews were woven into the omnibus, but the Digipack offers a much more comprehensive look at how the talent rallied together to create G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero.
The omnibus features over 700 pages of eye-catching art, insider information, and even unreleased paintings. The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Digipack includes four discs filled with Carson’s candid interviews with the brand’s former vice president, figure and vehicle designers, packaging painters, and other professionals who were integral to the creation of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. Excerpts from some of these interviews were woven into the omnibus, but the Digipack offers a much more comprehensive look at how the talent rallied together to create G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Blu-ray Digipack.
Just like all of Carson’s G.I.JOE work, the Omnibus Hardcover was financed by community crowdfunding and his own investment. For The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover, backers helped Carson and his team raise almost $400,000 to produce the book. He continued taking pre-orders through 3DJoes, and ultimately raised and spent over $500,000 on the production of this unparalleled omnibus. These contributions were mission-affirming for Carson and for the creators who were highlighted and celebrated.
Since Carson’s mission with 3DJoes has always been to celebrate G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero’s creators and to preserve their legacy, he plans to keep recording interviews and archiving content for decades to come.
Since Carson’s mission with 3DJoes has always been to celebrate G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero’s creators and to preserve their legacy, he plans to keep recording interviews and archiving content for decades to come.
The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Blu-ray Digipack features 10 hours of creator interviews on 4 discs.
“The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover has been an amazing project that has uplifted the brand,” says Carson. “The omnibus showcases the history of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero while also honoring the creators. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to create this behemoth of a tome, and I am excited to continue making it accessible to fans globally.”
THROWBACK ARTICLES:
Fayetteville Observer - 1967
|
|
