Doug "Tex" Wagner - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series

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Vietnam War

Click on Veteran's photo to see their service story. These Warriors served during the Vietnam War

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where can I donate?

I have created a way to accept donations to grow the project, use the WWII Veterans Portrait Series Go Fund Me.

Where are you located?

I live in the San Diego area but have traveled to many locations to interview and photograph Veterans.


How Long is an Appointment?

Appointments usually last an hour. But please free up time for Mickey to set up lights and cameras, hold the interview, and take some still photographers for in the project.

Do you accept reservations?

Yes is the simple answer to the question. Each appointment is set up as an individual session. Group sessions have been set up when I visited a senior living facility or many of the California Veterans Homes.

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US Marine Corps Lt. Col. Korean War - Vietnam War Douglas “Tex” Wagner was born on September 25, 1931, the youngest of three boys in the Wagner family, all of whom served. They grew up in Baird, Texas, and he graduated High school in 1948 in a class of 24. Doug then attended the University of Texas, Austin, and Houston, joining the Marine Corps through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Platoon Officers Course. He stated he enjoyed being the smallest guy or the runt. It always made him work harder than anyone else in his group. He received his nickname “Tex” from his ROTC Quantico classmates. Doug worked during college at the Shamrock Hotel with his brother as a stage manager, afternoons and nights, attending classes in the early morning. He also served as a Marine reservist for four years, drilling one weekend a month and two weeks in summer. In September 1952, Doug graduated college, was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant, and attended Officer Training School at Quantico. One weekend while on liberty in DC, he met his future wife, Therese Marie Couture, who was on a date with one of his friends. They dated, wondering when Doug might be deployed. In 1954 1st Lt. Wagner was deployed to Korea with the 2nd Battalion 7th Marines Infantry. He landed in Okinawa, Japan, and trained to deploy to Korea. The 2nd deployed to multiple locations, but in ’54, Doug was primarily deployed to the Imjin River, where the Seabees had built a bridge that crossed the river into the north. Charlie Company guarded the river from Hill, El Paso, above the bridge until the transfer of prisoners and the pull out of Korea. 2nd Lt Wagner returned to San Fransisco and was chosen for duty at MCRD in San Diego. He served as the Company Commander of 2nd Battalion, responsible for the Drill instructors and their recruits. He was recognized as a top performer and reassigned to headquarters to build the General's Retraining Unit. This unit aimed to minimize the attrition of recruits from basic training. The unit's success was duplicated and scaled to all Marine Corps boot camps. Doug was promoted to Captain and selected for supply officer training. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton to whip the supply corp back into a unit of Marines. Doug was the Commanding Officer of the newly formed 2nd Light support unit with the 1st Division for two years, updating supply units and embedding them into their infantry division. In 1959, Doug reported to the 5th Marine Battalion as the Company Commander of Bravo. They trained to deploy as a relief battalion vs. the individual marine replacement of forward-deployed units. The 5th deployed to Okinawa, Japan, for 13 months. Captain Wagner then served in recruiting in San Antonio, Texas, for three years and was promoted to Major. He returned to Quantico, attended Amphibious Warfare School, and served with the Command Staff College. From 1967-68, Doug served in Vietnam with the 1st Battalion 7th Marine as the Executive Officer Headquartered at Hill 55 and Hill 10. In country for 13 months in operations, including Pecos, Pau Bai, Danang, and Marble Mountain, he received a Bronze Star with Valor during operations. In 1968, Lt. Col. Wagner reported to Headquarters Marine Corps as the G3 Plans Officer. Lt. Col. Wagner served 24 years, retiring from active duty at MCRD San Diego as the 3rd Battalion Commander on April 30th, 1973.
Doug "Tex" Wagner - Mickey Strand - Veterans Series
US Marine Corps Lt. Col. Korean War - Vietnam War Douglas “Tex” Wagner was born on September 25, 1931, the youngest of three boys in the Wagner family, all of whom served. They grew up in Baird, Texas, and he graduated High school in 1948 in a class of 24. Doug then attended the University of Texas, Austin, and Houston, joining the Marine Corps through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Platoon Officers Course. He stated he enjoyed being the smallest guy or the runt. It always made him work harder than anyone else in his group. He received his nickname “Tex” from his ROTC Quantico classmates. Doug worked during college at the Shamrock Hotel with his brother as a stage manager, afternoons and nights, attending classes in the early morning. He also served as a Marine reservist for four years, drilling one weekend a month and two weeks in summer. In September 1952, Doug graduated college, was appointed a 2nd Lieutenant, and attended Officer Training School at Quantico. One weekend while on liberty in DC, he met his future wife, Therese Marie Couture, who was on a date with one of his friends. They dated, wondering when Doug might be deployed. In 1954 1st Lt. Wagner was deployed to Korea with the 2nd Battalion 7th Marines Infantry. He landed in Okinawa, Japan, and trained to deploy to Korea. The 2nd deployed to multiple locations, but in ’54, Doug was primarily deployed to the Imjin River, where the Seabees had built a bridge that crossed the river into the north. Charlie Company guarded the river from Hill, El Paso, above the bridge until the transfer of prisoners and the pull out of Korea. 2nd Lt Wagner returned to San Fransisco and was chosen for duty at MCRD in San Diego. He served as the Company Commander of 2nd Battalion, responsible for the Drill instructors and their recruits. He was recognized as a top performer and reassigned to headquarters to build the General's Retraining Unit. This unit aimed to minimize the attrition of recruits from basic training. The unit's success was duplicated and scaled to all Marine Corps boot camps. Doug was promoted to Captain and selected for supply officer training. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton to whip the supply corp back into a unit of Marines. Doug was the Commanding Officer of the newly formed 2nd Light support unit with the 1st Division for two years, updating supply units and embedding them into their infantry division. In 1959, Doug reported to the 5th Marine Battalion as the Company Commander of Bravo. They trained to deploy as a relief battalion vs. the individual marine replacement of forward-deployed units. The 5th deployed to Okinawa, Japan, for 13 months. Captain Wagner then served in recruiting in San Antonio, Texas, for three years and was promoted to Major. He returned to Quantico, attended Amphibious Warfare School, and served with the Command Staff College. From 1967-68, Doug served in Vietnam with the 1st Battalion 7th Marine as the Executive Officer Headquartered at Hill 55 and Hill 10. In country for 13 months in operations, including Pecos, Pau Bai, Danang, and Marble Mountain, he received a Bronze Star with Valor during operations. In 1968, Lt. Col. Wagner reported to Headquarters Marine Corps as the G3 Plans Officer. Lt. Col. Wagner served 24 years, retiring from active duty at MCRD San Diego as the 3rd Battalion Commander on April 30th, 1973.