Veterans Chronicles

Retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Stavridis shares his story of military service, from his plebe year at Annapolis to Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. In this conversation, Stavridis tells Greg Corombos why he went to the U.S. Naval Academy intending to be an infantry officer but instead pursued surface warfare. He also walks us through the military buildup of the 1980's, his important command assi...

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Kyle Carpenter deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2010. Just before Thanksgiving, he was nearly killed after falling on a Taliban grenade to save his fellow Marines. In our conversation, Kyle describes the terrible events of that day. He also walks us through the amazing "domino of miracles" that kept him alive in the moments following the attack and all the way bac...

U.S. Army veteran Ron Rosser joins us to share the story of his actions in the Korean War that earned him the Medal of Honor. Rosser joined the Army in the final days of World War II and was discharged before the Korean War broke out. But after his younger brother was killed in Korea, Rosser re-enlisted and served as a forward observer during many intense battles. Listen here as Rosser talks about...

U.S. Army Green Beret Dillon Behr shares his military journey, including the dramatic story if being severely wounded while pursuing an enemy target on the side of a mountain in Afghanistan in 2008. He also describes the excruciating evacuation once the fighting had stopped. Behr tells us why he joined the Army, why he pursued special forces, and what combat was like in both Iraq and Afghanistan....

Clint Hill served this nation in the U.S. Army during the 1950's. Then, for nearly twenty years, he served as a U.S. Secret Service agent in five presidential administrations, starting with Dwight Eisenhower and concluding with Gerald Ford. During the Kennedy administration, Hill was assigned to protect First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and was the agent who jumped onto Kennedy's car in the moments fo...

Paul Roach served in the U.S. Army during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. While serving in Korea, Roach was held as a prisoner of war. In this 2017 conversation with Greg Corombos, Paul Roach discusses the brutal conditions in the prison camp, the chaplain who inspired the men during their darkest moments, and his many years of service to our nation.

U.S. Air Force veteran Mary Jennings Hegar shares her story of serving as a Medevac helicopter pilot in Afghanistan and the harrowing story of her crew needing to be rescued after coming under fire. In this interview with Greg Corombos, Hegar also tells the story of how she was refused an assignment because she was a woman and how she then became a leader in the effort to lift the ban on females s...

Retired U.S. Navy SEAL Mike Thornton shares his story of service from the Vietnam War. Thornton tells Greg Corombos about the challenge of SEAL (BUD/S) training and his actions from October 31, 1972, that earned him the Medal of Honor. Hear how Thornton and three others fended off 75 enemy fighters, how he ran across 500 yards of open ground under fire to save a fellow SEAL, and how he swam himsel...

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Eugene Deatrick, Jr. shares his impressive story of service. Col. Deatrick attended West Point during World War II, served as a test pilot measuring the impact of nuclear blasts, and later commanded the test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base. In his conversation with Greg Corombos, Col. Deatrick also details the powerful story of helping to rescue an American POW i...

November 4, 2019, will mark 40 years since the beginning of the Iranian hostage crisis. Islamic revolutionaries seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held dozens of Americans hostage for the next 444 days. The youngest hostage was 20-year-old U.S Marine embassy guard Kevin Hermening. Kevin shares his powerful story of capture, survival, and freedom with Greg Corombos.

Daniel Durso served in the U.S. Army during WWII in a Tank Battalion. He served in the European Theater and recounts his experiences fighting with his fellow soldiers and defeating the Nazis. Greg Corombos conducts the interview with Daniel.

Amelia Cunningham was one of the few black women to enlist in the U.S. Air Force in 1954. Still sharp and spunky at 85 years young, Ms. Cunningham reflects on her service, and a recent Honor Flight trip she made to Washington, DC.

David Lucier served in the Vietnam War as a Green Beret. Upon returning home, he experienced Post-Traumatic Stress, and had difficulty transitioning out of his military life. He eventually sought the care he needed and is an advocate for veterans coping with mental health challenges.

Wade Spann is a Marine Corps veteran who served three tours in Iraq. He was in boot camp on September 11, 2001, and was among the first US Marines in Iraq. Following his service, he has become active in helping his fellow veterans find the support and resources they need while transitioning back into civilian life.

Marc Yablonka is a military journalist and author. He has written for Stars and Stripes, Soldier of Fortune, Army Times, and previously worked for ABC and Reuters. He also served as a Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Army's 40th Infantry Division Support Brigade. This conversation focuses on his book 'Vietnam Bao Chi: Warriors of Word and Film,' which brings together interviews with 35 combat...

A veteran of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, Lt. Colonel Robert Friend flew 142 combat missions with the famed unit and served as wingman to the unit's leader, the first African American general in the Air Force, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Lt. Col. Friend passed away on June 21, 2019 at age 99. We are honored to have had the opportunity to record his story, and we will remember his incredible legacy.

Captain Lauran Glover made history in 2014 as the first female commander of the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Drill Team. Captain Glover reflects on her service, including a tour at Guantanamo Bay and as Platoon Leader for the Old Guard's 289th Military Police (M.P.) Company. Since her time as Drill Team Commander, Capt. Glover has begun a doctoral program in clinical psychology.

PFC Deloris Ruddock enlisted in the Women's Army Corps in October 1943 in Washington, DC. She would be assigned to the history-making 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only all-female African American unit deployed overseas during WWII. They were sent to Birmingham, England and Rouen, France to sort through the two year logjam of mail to send to American troops overseas.

Lt. Colonel James Harvey III served as a pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the famed Tuskegee Airmen. In 1949 he flew on the team that won the military's first "Top Gun" contest in 1949. He was the first African American jet fighter pilot to fly in the Korean War, and is the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Lt. Jason Redman spent eight years as an enlisted U.S. Navy SEAL, and was commissioned as a SEAL Officer in 2004. He completed combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2007, outside of Fallujah, Iraq, Lt. Redman's Assault Team came under heavy fire and he was severely wounded. While recovering at Bethesda Medical Center, Redman authored a bright orange sign on his door, which became a statem...

U.S. Senator of Arkansas Tom Cotton discusses his distinguished service in the U.S. Army. Cotton served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is a recipient of the Bronze Star, and served with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard. The unit conducts funerals for soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery, and is the topic of Cotton’s new book Sacred Duty: A Soldier’s Tour at Arlington...

Arnold Taylor served in the U.S. Army's 99th Infantry Division as a Military Policeman during World War II. Taylor served in Europe with the unit as it advanced into Germany, and witnessed the terrible impact of war on the German people. The horrors of war shaped Arnold Taylor into a man of peace, and when he returned home he devoted his life to helping others. Arnold Taylor was a good friend of t...

During his second tour in Vietnam, Colonel Anthony Wood was tasked with planning and executing the evacuation of Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam. When the city fell to the NVA on April 30, 1975, Col. Wood worked with about 100 American civilian volunteers who assumed great risk in helping Vietnamese citizens flee from the collapsing city.

On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders left a legacy by boosting American morale after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The story of the Doolittle Raiders is one of extraordinary valor and serves an example of the courage and selflessness presented by veterans of the Greatest Generation. As we mourn the passing of Lt. Colonel Richard E. Cole - the last surviving Doolittle Raider - and honor the...

Miki Nguyen is the son of Ba Nguyen, a South Vietnamese Air Force helicopter pilot who demonstrated incredible heroism on April 29, 1975. As Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces, Ba Nguyen commandeered a massive Chinook CH-47, loaded up with his family and friends, and embarked on a daring mission to escape to refuge. Miki was just six years old, but the dramatic event has stayed with him many y...