Greg Dittemore: Danger, Chance & Reconciliation
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T21:53:18-05:00Suddenly, the still, black night exploded. Air Force Sgt. Greg Dittemore heard a big boom, as a flash that looked like lightning crackled across the sky.
Bob Gatenby: ‘They didn’t know I was out in the field’
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T21:36:56-05:00Robert “Bob” Gatenby’s wife and family thought he was comfortably stationed in a base camp during his time in Vietnam. His reality, however, was the exact opposite.
Robert Carnagey: Providing hope in combat
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T20:25:16-05:00Bob Carnagey arrived in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. Even though he was a non-combatant, he said death was all around him
Richard Shannon: ‘God was with me’
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T20:11:30-05:00This story begins with a young boy from the southside of Chicago. As he lies in his bed, looking at the church steeples just outside his bedroom window, he dreams of one day becoming a Catholic priest.
James Duhig: ‘The luckiest SOB alive’
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T09:33:47-05:00When James stepped off the plane from Vietnam and his feet touched the ground in Hawaii, he got on his knees and kissed the ground. He remembers thinking to himself “you are the luckiest SOB alive”.
Dennis Mitzner: Dedicating a life of service to his country
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T09:32:22-05:00Dennis' first deployment came in 1968, in Turkey on the Black Sea Coast. He was responsible for monitoring missiles and spacecraft. There was only one adversary when he was first deployed; there were two at the end of his service.
Bill Holic Jr.: Riding the waves
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T09:27:41-05:00Guantánamo Bay, Cuba/Bermuda/ Pearl Harbor/San Diego/Norfolk/ Vietnam — Fortunately, Bill Holic, Jr., liked to travel and travel he did. Thirty years in the Navy certainly gives him the title of “lifer”.
Tom William Davidson: Launching more than 7,000 combat sorties
marc.zarefsky2024-05-14T09:26:15-05:00Like most young men, high school graduation found Tom William Davidson vulnerable for the draft. He passed his induction physical and then enlisted in the Navy. "As a kid I always wanted to get in the Navy,” he said.
Mike J. Ryan: We were always on guard
marc.zarefsky2024-05-08T08:08:55-05:00Mike was recognized for serving as an Army Sergeant from July 1967 to July 1969, serving a year in Vietnam as part of the Combat Infantry Division. Mike received a Purple Heart for an injury he suffered during his service.