Veterans Chronicles

PFC James “Pee Wee” Martin, veteran of G Company, 101st Airborne Division, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, saw some of the greatest action of the European theater throughout World War II. PFC Martin participated in the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy, parachuting into the town of St. Come du Mont, and taking part in the fight to liberate France. Martin and his comrades held the Belgian town o...

Colonel Charles McGee's distinguished flying career has seen three wars and witnessed critical moments in American history. A veteran of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, Col. McGee flew missions with the famed Red Tails during World War II. He is the recipient of three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and would go on to set an Air Force record of 409 combat missions flown during WWII, Korea, and Vietna...

Many know the photo, few know the story. The famed photo "VJ Day in Times Square" and its key figures - US Navy sailor George Mendonsa, and dental assistant Greta Friedman - share their stories recalling that infamous day, August 14, 1945. They recount their experiences during the Second World War, and upon learning they were featured in one of the most iconic photos of the twentieth century. Thes...

Bill Lord was a young draftee at the height of the Vietnam War. He served in Vietnam as an infantry sergeant carrying a radio in the U.S. Army's Charlie Company, 4th/47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division. Later in his career he served as television news executive and general manager of WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. His book "50 Years After Vietnam" is available here: https://www.amazon.com/50-Years-A...

A veteran of the Tuskegee Airmen, Lt. Colonel Harold Brown is a combat pilot of 30 missions, shot down over enemy territory on March 14, 1945.

Lieutenant Jim Downing was aboard USS West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Here he shares his incredible story of survival - including a mission he took on to ensure his fallen comrades would not be forgotten.

U.S. Army Captain William Reynolds' life was forever changed on November 7, 2004, while on a dismounted patrol in Southwest Baghdad. After an IED was remote detonated, the explosion left his arm and left leg seriously wounded. Years later, he would serve as Captain to the U.S. contingent at the 2016 Invictus Games. Guest host Senior Chief Beck talks with Captain Reynolds about his remarkable journ...

Dave Yoho served in the U.S. Maritime served during World War II when he was just 15 years old. Too young to serve, he lied about his age, eager to join the fight. He would serve on a T2 Tanker ship in the South Pacific, profoundly impacted by his experience.

Gareth Hugh "Cy" Tanner was as stationed in Bassingbourne, England from July 1944 to January 1945. He turned 19 just days after arriving in England. Tanner flew 35 bombing missions on B-17s as a waist gunner, primarily over Germany, with the 8th Air Force, 91st Bomb Group, 324th Squadron. He kept a small diary with a flight log of each mission. In this episode, Tanner reflects on how his service i...

Colonel Frank Cohn was born in Breslau, Germany in 1925. Cohn's father owned a store which was boycotted by the Nazis since the family was Jewish. He and his family managed to escape to the United States on October 30, 1938 -- just over one week before Kristallnacht. In 1943, Cohn was drafted into the US Army, where he served in an Intelligence unit.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a veteran of the US Marine Corps, Major Katelyn Van Dam served in Operation Enduring Freedom as an attack helicopter pilot. Major Van Dam conducted combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and later conducted anti-pirate operations in the horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden. She served more than ten years on active duty. 

A 25-year highly decorated U.S. Army veteran, Tom Satterly was portrayed in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down along with his teammates. He served in the elite Delta Force, witnessing intense combat at the Battle of Mogadishu and later in the Iraq war. After coping with PTS and other personal struggles following his time in combat, Tom and his wife Jen have started the All Secure Foundation, which prov...

Mark Heathco is a retired military veteran who spent ten years inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of South Korea. During that time he pulled 385 missions, including a dangerous one in August of 1985. He discusses his harrowing experiences in his memoir, Call Sign Purple Three: Patrolling the US Sector of the Korean DMZ. 

Captain Jerry Yellin has the unique distinction of flying the first and last combat missions over Japan during the Second World War. He spent the majority of the war with the 78th Fighter Squadron, flying the P-40, P-47, and P-51. Captain Yellin passed away on December 21, 2017. This video is in memoriam to help ensure his legacy lives on. 

A veteran of Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Ryan Pitts talks about his service and sacrifice during his tours, and specifically during the Battle of Wanat. His acts of valor during the battle would earn him the Medal of Honor. Here he reflects on his experience, those he served beside, and the impact of his service on his life. 

In honor of the centennial of America's entrance into World War I - April 6, 2017 - noted author and historian Andrew Carroll discusses his latest book, My Fellow Soldiers: General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War. The book portarys an intimate portrait of the General, who led the American Expeditionary Forces during the First World War. Using many letters and diares, C...

World War II veteran Lt. Col. Alfred Shehab saw action during the Battle of the Bulge ? Hitler?s month-long final offensive on the Western front. LTC Shehab was assigned to the 38th Cavalry Squadron, a reconnaissance unit tasked with patrolling the forests of the Ardennes region when the battle broke out on December 16, 1944.

Dr. Sudip Bose served in the U.S. Army for 12 years. A veteran of Iraq, Dr. Bose was tasked with caring for Saddam Hussein after his capture. He was awarded the Bronze Star for serving one of the longest tours in combat by a physician since the Second World War.

World War II veteran John Weston joined the U.S. Army in 1941 as part of the 758th Tank Battalion. The 758th was the first all African-American armored unit in U.S. history. Weston reflects on his service and its influence upon his life. In November 2015, AVC had the honor of conducting this interview with Weston at the annual Veterans Day Conference. Two months later, on December 29, 2015, John S...

Emanuel "Manny" Mandel was born in Riga, Latvia in 1936, shortly before Europe was engulfed in war. His family then moved to Budapest, which was an important Jewish center in Europe, where his father was a cantor. As the years progressed, Europe was becoming more dangerous for Jewish families. In 1944, Manny and his family were among a group of Jews who Adolf Eichmann traded for Allied material. M...

On December 7, 1941, Jim Leavelle was aboard the USS Whitney when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Twenty-two years later, he would witness history once again as a homicide detective for the Dallas Police Department when President Kennedy was assassinated. Leavelle interrogated Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy?s alleged assassin, and is known as ?the man in the tan suit? in the famed photo of Oswald?...

Ned Thomas, World War II veteran of the Army Air Force discusses his experience as a "Hump Pilot" flying over the Himalayas to supply materials to the Nationalist Chinese forces fighting the Japanese. He is joined by his daughter Nedda Thomas, author of "Hump Pilot: Defying Death Flying the Himalayas During World War II."

Captain Jason Pak graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2011, proceeding to both Airborne and Ranger schools. In October 2012 he was deployed to Panjwai, Afghanistan as a Company Fire Support Officer, where he was eventually promoted to First Lieutenant. On December 12, 2012, he was seriously wounded by an IED while leading a patrol on foot, losing both of his legs and...

World War II veteran William Peacock recounts his experience as a charter member of LST 357. Peacock managed much of the navigational charts aboard the ship, and took part in many Naval missions back and forth from Bizerte, North Africa to Salerno in Southern Italy.

Lt. Col. Bill Johnson entered the U.S. Air Force in 1973 after graduating from high school. LTC Johnson would eventually become a software engineer for the Air Force, working with much of the communicating and computing technology of the nation's military. He talks about his time in the service and the impact it had on his career, which would lead him to start his own businesses. He his now Congre...