Veterans Chronicles

When he joined the military, George Hardy and the other Tuskegee Airmen were not considered worthy of training and living among white service members. Despite that discrimination, Hardy and his fellow Tuskegee alumni distinguished themselves in the skies over Europe in World War II. In this episode of "Veterans Chronicles," Hardy tells us what it was like to be part of that trailblazing unit. He a...

Growing up, Jack Carr had dreams of being a U.S. Navy SEAL and writing novels about the U.S. military. He's now successfully done both. In this episode of "Veterans Chronicles," Carr describes the difficulty of BUD/S training to become a SEAL and the mindset he used to get past any urges to quit. He describes his work boarding Iraqi ships off the coast of Iran, and his work as a sniper in the war...

You saw him at the Super Bowl. You saw him at the State of the Union address. Now hear the amazing story of service to our nation from retired U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Charles McGee, one of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen. McGee joined the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. At the time, however, McGee and the other black pilots were deemed unworthy to be in units with their white count...

Joseph Norcom served as a waist gunner on 23 U.S. Army Air Corps bombing missions over Europe, primarily on B-17 bombers. In this interview with Greg Corombos, Norcom describes a typical mission as well as numerous harrowing missions during the final months of World War II in Europe. He also describes the camaraderie, the professionalism, and, yes, the hijinks of the crew members.

Raised amid the turmoil and danger of a civil war in Liberia, Charles Burgess King came to the U.S. as a child. Upon graduation from high school, he went to college as a benefit of joining the U.S. Army National Guard. Just days into his first semester, King's unit was called to active duty and eventually deployed in Iraq. Working in administration, King was part of efforts to drastically improve...

The first Americans to set foot in Europe on D-Day in June 1944 were the paratroopers, including the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division. California native Tom Rice was the first man from the 101st to jump out of his plane into the pitch black night over the Normandy coast. In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Rice tells host Greg Corombos about the difficulties of getting out of th...

Rick Rescorla served as a British paratrooper but after coming to the United States he joined the U.S. Army, and was a veteran of Vietnam. His heroism at the battle of Ia Drang is immortalized in "We Were Soldiers Once...And young." Rescorla served 27 years in service to our nation, retiring in 1990. After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Rescorla took on a security leadership role for Morgan...

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...

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.

U.S. Amy veteran Kevin Rosenblum shares his story of joining the ROTC program in college, never thinking he would end up in combat. A short time later, the 9/11 attacks changed everything. Kevin describes his preparation for war and the most intense moments of combat while in theater. He also details his struggles with post-traumatic stress, what helped him deal with it, and how he got to know Pre...

Joseph Peterburs was in seminary to be a priest, but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed those plans. After being rejected by the U.S. Navy, Peterburs joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. By late 1944, he was in England and flying P-51's to escort bombing missions over mainland Europe. He flew 49 missions in all, but the last one is the most memorable. In this interview with Greg Corombos, Pete...

As World War II in Europe unfolded, the U.S. Army encountered a massive backlog of mail for the troops. Officers knew that no mail for meant low morale, so the 6888 Central Postal Directory Battalion was born. This unit of African-American women in the Army was was sent to Birmingham, England, and tasked with organizing a three-year pile of mail in six months. They did it in three months. Then the...

Gene Kranz grew up idolizing World War II pilots like Jimmy Doolittle and the Doolittle Raiders. Kranz later joined the U.S. Air Force, which would prepare him for an historic career at NASA. In this interview with Greg Corombos, Kranz talks about his Air Force work and then shares in great detail what it was like to be on the front lines of history as the flight director for the Gemini and Apollo...

"So I prayed that God would give me the strength to save this man. I wasn't really concerned about asking for my life, but I wanted to save this guy." On June 6, 1944, U.S. Army medic Ray Lambert came ashore in the first wave on Omaha Beach with the 1st Infantry Division, known as "The Big Red One." Lambert describes the carnage on the beach as the Germans hammered the American forces. Lambert was...

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.