Three wars. One Marine. A lifetime of service preserved.
The Alpha Green uniform of Gunnery Sgt. Clifford O. Hermann preserves a Marine Corps career spanning World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
July 16, 2026
Some uniforms represent a single assignment or chapter of military service. Others tell the story of an entire lifetime spent in uniform. Preserved in the Ghosts of the Battlefield collection, this Marine Corps Alpha Green uniform belonged to Gunnery Sergeant Clifford O. Hermann, whose career carried him through three of the defining conflicts of the 20th century: World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Hermann’s service began during World War II and included duty connected to the bitter fighting on Okinawa. The island campaign became one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Pacific War, fought against a determined enemy across fortified ridges, caves, and shattered terrain. For the Marines who experienced it, Okinawa offered a grim indication of what an invasion of the Japanese home islands might require.
His service continued when war erupted again in Korea. Hermann served with C Company, 1st Tank Battalion, during a conflict marked by sudden reversals, desperate defenses, and extreme conditions. From the struggle to hold the Pusan Perimeter to the amphibious landing at Inchon, Marine tank crews supported infantrymen across terrain that ranged from flooded rice paddies to frozen mountain roads.
On July 6, 1952, Hermann was wounded in action. The injury became another permanent part of a service record already shaped by years of danger and sacrifice. Yet his military career did not end there. He recovered, returned to duty, and continued serving the Marine Corps.
Years later, another generation of Americans went to war in Southeast Asia, and Hermann once again answered the call. During the Vietnam War, he served with Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Amphibian Tractor Battalion. The environment was entirely different from the islands of the Pacific or the frozen battlefields of Korea, but the demands remained familiar: endurance, discipline, responsibility, and service beside fellow Marines.
This uniform therefore represents far more than cloth, brass, and ribbon. It is a timeline of war. Every decoration, insignia, stitch, and worn surface reflects decades spent in places where survival was never certain. It connects the amphibious campaigns of World War II with the armored fighting of Korea and the riverways, coastal regions, and jungles of Vietnam.
Few service members experienced one major war. Hermann served through three. He witnessed enormous changes in warfare, equipment, tactics, and the Marine Corps itself. The weapons and vehicles around him evolved, but the obligations of leadership and service remained constant. He went where he was needed, served with the Marines placed in his care, and continued forward even after being wounded.
Objects like this uniform help restore a human scale to military history. Wars are often remembered through campaign maps, casualty totals, and the names of famous battles. A personal uniform reminds us that those events were lived by individuals who endured repeated separations from home, carried responsibility for others, and returned to dangerous places again and again.
At Ghosts of the Battlefield, we preserve this uniform not simply as an example of Marine Corps clothing, but as evidence of one man’s extraordinary career. It stands for the young Marine who served during World War II, the tank battalion Marine wounded in Korea, and the seasoned Gunnery Sergeant who later served in Vietnam.
Men like Clifford O. Hermann did not merely witness history. They carried it—across oceans, through battlefields, and throughout decades of faithful service.