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LCDR Kaj Larsen, U.S. Navy SEAL, BUD/s Training, War on Terrorism
Kaj Larsen did not follow the typical route to becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL. He was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy but left after two years to focus on playing water polo at the collegiate level. A …
Published on 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Carole Engle Avriett, 'Midnight in Ironbottom Sound,' Guadalcanal
Military historian and author Carole Engle Avriett joins us to tell the powerful story of U.S. Navy Mess Attendant Charles Jackson French, which is told in her new book, Midnight in Ironbottom Sound:…
Published on 9 months ago
Delmar Beard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, World War II, Korea, Vietnam
Delmar Beard grew up near Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. But when it was time to join the military during World War II, he chose the Navy. Serving as a gunner aboard an LST, Beard made multiple landings …
Published on 9 months, 1 week ago
Cpl. Nils Mockler, USMC, World War II, Iwo Jima
Nils Mockler joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of 17, only because they wouldn't let him join when he was 16. Upon enlisting in 1944, Mockler completed boot camp and was soon tapped as a combat…
Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago
Cpl. Wayne Fletcher, U.S. Army, Korea
Wayne Fletcher joined the U.S. Army in September of 1949. In June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, and just 16 months after enlisting, Fletcher found himself at war. He operated .50 caliber ant…
Published on 9 months, 3 weeks ago
Col. Gregory 'Matt' Dillon, U.S. Army, Vietnam, Battle of Ia Drang
Gregory "Matt" Dillon was required to enroll in ROTC at the University of Alabama. Upon graduation, he was required to give two years in the U.S. Army. He ended up serving 24 years, including three t…
Published on 10 months ago
PHM2 Charles Cram, U.S. Navy Corpsman, World War II, Iwo Jima
Charles Cram was 15 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Before he was old enough to join the military, he worked as a messenger and received word of an alleged Japanese attack on the w…
Published on 10 months, 1 week ago
Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, USAF, World War II, Tuskegee Airman, 'Top Gun'
Harry Stewart grew up with a love of flying and dreamed of becoming an airline pilot one day. But shortly after graduating high school, with the nation at war, Stewart found himself in in the U.S. Ar…
Published on 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Col. Allison Black, USAF, Afghanistan, 'Angel of Death'
Allison Black surprised her family by deciding to enlist in the U.S. Air Force after high school. She did it to be part of a mission bigger than herself. After basic training, Black spent the next se…
Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago
Lt. Jesse 'Bud' Alley, U.S. Army, Vietnam, Battle of Ia Drang
Jesse "Bud" Alley was born in Florida but grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He joined Army ROTC while enrolled at Furman University. Not long after commissioning, he was assigned as a radio offi…
Published on 11 months ago