24 APR 2024 · Paul "Bud" Haedike was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. Before long, he was assigned as a bombardier on a B-17 bomber crew. From the final months of 1944 until the end of the war in Europe, Haedike took part in 23 bombing missions, and none of those missions came with a guarantee he would return to base safely.  In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Sgt. Haedike recounts his first mission, which resulted in a crash landing in Belgium. He also remembers emergency landings on two other missions, what it was like to suffer through anti-aircraft fire on most missions, and how his orders shifted from precision bombing to pattern bombing. He shares the powerful story of bringing critical food supplies to the Netherlands after despicable German cruelty at the end of the war. This was our second interview with Sgt. Haedike, recorded when he was "ninety-eight and a half" at the American Veterans Center conference in November 2023. Bud passed away in March 2024, not long before his 99th birthday. We're grateful to have known this wonderful man and for his service to our nation.

17 APR 2024 · Roger "Buck" Winters was a recent high school graduate working at a tool factory in Texas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He immediately wanted to quit his job and join the U.S. Army Air Corps. The government would not let him do either of those things at first. Winters would join the Army in 1943 and get trained as an engineer. He would be deployed to Guadalcanal and then to Cebu in the Philippines, where he would have a front row seat to history. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," 100-year-old Buck Winters tells us about his ordnance training and his work of destroying and building as an engineer in the Pacific theater of World War II. He will share what it was like to come under attack by the Japanese on Guadalcanal. He also explains what it took to find and eliminate the holdout Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender. From there, it's on to Cebu, his shock at hearing natives speaking excellent English, and the hard work of rebuilding Cebu City. But the most vivid memory for Buck Winters is serving on the honor guard that welcomed Gen. Douglas MacArthur on his return to Cebu.

10 APR 2024 · On April 1, 2024, LCDR Lou Conter, U.S. Navy (Retired) died at the age of 102. He was the last living survivor of the USS Arizona, which was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His passing marks a somber milestone for a generation that courageously rose up to defend our nation and our allies. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Conter shares how he joined the Navy, got assigned to the USS Arizona, and was privy to the conversations of commanders aboard the battleship. He also shares what it as like to live through the Japanese attacks that killed nearly 1,200 of his shipmates, what he was doing before and after the order to abandon ship, and the difficult work that followed. But Conter's service did not end there. He also describes going to flight school in Pensacola, Florida, just weeks after the attacks, his service as a PBY pilot in the Pacific theater, and how he survived being shot down into the ocean. Conter also shares some of his service surveilling the Soviets near Iceland in the early days of the Cold War and how the tough jungle survival course he taught turned out to be a critical asset for the Americans imprisoned at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" in Vietnam.

3 APR 2024 · Chris Alvarez grew up knowing he wanted to serve and that he wanted to serve with the best. After being convinced to join the Marines once he was old enough, a high school teacher who had served in the Marines encouraged him to learn more about the U.S. Navy SEAL's. It didn't take much research for Alvarez to decide that's exactly what he wanted to be. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Alvarez takes us through the grueling BUD/s training required to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. He explains what was most challenging for him and what's most important to understand about what the training is designed to accomplish. He also details his service with SEAl Team 10 in Afghanistan and with U.S. Southern Command in Latin America. And finally, he reflects on heading back to BUD/s training to serve as an instructor.

27 MAR 2024 · Kelly Elmlinger was a three-sport athlete in high school. She excelled in cross country, basketball, and track. After considering military service, she decided to keep playing sports at the next level, but she quickly decided college was not for her. That's when she joined the Army and became a combat medic, eventually with the 82nd Airborne Division, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Later, she became a nurse and then a cancer patient herself. Yet even after losing a leg, Elmlinger persevered and represented the U.S. at the Paralympic Games just a few years later. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Elmlinger shares how the 9/11 attacks changed the trajectory of her military service and how her combat medic training suddenly became much more real. She also describes her service in Afghanistan, meeting and connecting with the Afghan women, and what the Afghan men thought about her. Then she explains how different and how much harder the same job was in Iraq, why there was often little combat medics could do to help, and the painstaking efforts she and her teammates took to to find some personal effect to present to the families of every fallen service member. Elmlinger then recounts her decision to become a nurse and work with wounded veterans in San Antonio and how that work helped to prepare her to be a patient there as she battled cancer in her leg. And finally, she updates us on how she became an elite adaptive sports athlete - representing the U.S. at the 2021 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo. And she'll do it again this summer in Paris!

13 MAR 2024 · Thomas "Drago" Dzieran grew up in Communist Poland. He realized he was being fed lies and propaganda as a boy when he got in big trouble at school for asking simple questions about the government. As a young man, he became actively involved in the Solidarity movement and in spreading anti-Communist messages. His activities landed him in prison and he was eventually expelled from Poland. Poland's loss was America's gain. In 1984, Drago Dzieran came to the U.S. Seven years later he became an American citizen - what he still considers his greatest accomplishment - and soon joined the U.S. Navy. A short time later he began BUD/s training and became a Navy SEAL. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Drago shares tremendous detail about his life behind the Iron Curtain, the grueling process to become a SEAL, and his three back-to-back deployments in Iraq. He will also tell us about his SEAL teams pursuing high-value targets and the toll that work took on his health. Finally, Drago shares what it was like returning to SEAL training as an instructor and why he enthusiastically loves the United States. It's an infectious enthusiasm will likely make you even prouder to be an American.

6 MAR 2024 · In the early 1960's, the U.S. Army developed a new way of moving troops into and out of strategic locations. It was called Air Cavalry and operated under the theory that moving forces by helicopter was faster and more precise than driving them or having them jump out of airplanes. One of the earliest and best known Air Cavalry engagements was at Landing Zone X-Ray during the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965. Young Earnie Savage was part of Bravo company in the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry of the 1st Air Cavalry Division. Shortly after landing at X-Ray, his platoon was cut off and the two highest-ranking member of the platoon were killed. That suddenly left him in charge, surrounded by the enemy and trying to keep any other men from being killed. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Savage tells us about the platoon getting cut off, how he adjusted to being in command, his strategy for holding off the enemy for many hours until they could reconnect with other American forces, why he did not get very nervous in combat, and much more. Savage also tells us about going right back to the fight shortly after surviving this ordeal and what it was like to train new members of the battalion after many of his friends completed their tours.

28 FEB 2024 · Leon Walker, Jr. grew up in a family full of Army and Marine Corps veterans. He tried to enlist in the Marines but the recruiter didn't want to be bothered on his lunch hour. Within minutes, Walker joined the U.S. Navy. He was initially assigned to serve as a deckhand on the fast frigate USS Reid, but on his first deployment he started learning how to navigate. For the next 21 years, he served as a navigator on many different deployments before rising to the rank of command master chief. On his second deployment, Walker and the USS Reid were in the southern Persian Gulf in May 1987, when another fast frigate, the USS Stark, was struck by two missiles fired by an Iraqi pilot in the northern part of the gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. The Reid raced to help and arrived the next day to find the Stark smoking and listing. Thirty-seven Americans were killed on the Stark and 21 others were injured. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Walker takes us step by step through the very difficult work of searching the Stark for the remains of those killed in the missile strike and tells us what he saw and did while on board. He also explains how he became numb do his duties that day and how it created post-traumatic stress that was not diagnosed for decades. Finally, Walker reflects on other deployments to the Persian Gulf and what it was like to navigate through the Suez Canal and the very rough waters of the Bering Sea.

21 FEB 2024 · Melvin Jenner was already in the Michigan Air National Guard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps and undergoing training for a bomber crew, he was soon flying missions in the European Theater of World War II. The next few years would bring him harrowing bomber missions, a secret flight over Normandy on D-Day, and an unforgettable role in the Berlin Airlift. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Jenner tells us how he ended up flying missions in the A-20 with the British Royal Air Force before he ever flew with an American crew - and about his shock when he discovered those missions with the UK did not count towards his total needed for a ticket home. Jenner also describes his roles as radio man and gunner on the B-17, the most tense missions of the war and what it was like to fly through flak. He also shares what he saw from the sky as he flew over the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. But Jenner's memorable career did not end with the war. He also shares an emotional recollection of serving in the Berlin Airlift as the U.S. flew in provisions to break the Soviet blockade there. Finally, he tells about his role in helping Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier.

14 FEB 2024 · Patrick Finn fibbed about his age in order to join the U.S. Marine Corps a bit earlier than he should have. He served honorably and was ready to end his service before the Korean War ever began. But his inability to come up with $92 led him to re-enlist and in the summer of 1950 he was off to fight a war in a place he knew nothing about. The summer of 1950 was chaotic in Korea. The North Koreans invaded the south in late June and nearly conquered the whole peninsula. But U.S. forces arrived just in time, pushing out from the Pusan Perimeter and executing the very successful Inchon Landing. Within a couple of months, U.S. forces thought they would be home by Christmas. But in late 1950, just as the U.S. and our allies had pushed the North Koreans back to the Yalu River, Chinese forces came swarming across the border, inflicting severe American casualties, taking many troops prisoner, and surrounding U.S. Marines at Chosin Reservoir. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Patrick Finn describes the surprise of the Chinese onslaught, the brutally frigid temperatures at Chosin Reservoir, how the Marines fought while surrounded, and what it was like to fight hand-to-hand. Mr. Finn also reflects on the proce of our freedom and tells us why returning to Korea in recent years was such a powerful experience.