Landing craft and the men who sailed them were often unheralded. But they were a critical part of our victory in World War II. They were especially important to the island hopping campaign in the Pacific theater. Like many of his generation, Steven Ganzberger enlisted as soon as he turned 18 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. His grandson Zach Morris has always been an avid World War II historian. He was visiting town on May 18, 2011 and decided [...]
The Distinguished Flying Cross is our nation’s fourth highest award for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement. Three time DFC recipient Ross Detwiler and his fellow “Misty” pilots volunteered to fly some of the most dangerous missions of the Vietnam War. Twenty two percent of the forward air controllers were shot down. Ross was among them. The original Forward Air Control missions were flown in much slower, propeller driven aircraft. However, because the loss rates of pilots [...]
Havok Journal editor Scott Faith joins us for a regular update. Scott is currently an active duty officer with half a dozen combat deployments. He writes under a pseudonym. We begin with one of the first articles he published for Havok Journal, “What Veterans Are (Still) Owed on 4th of July”. The article caused quite a stir because in Scott’s opinion his fellow citizens don’t owe him anything. He doesn’t expect free drinks or store discounts and is perfectly okay [...]
Shadow Tier author Steve Snyder served in the White House Communications Office, worked with the Secret Service and earned his Green Beret. Much of that experience is reflected in the pages of his first published book. While in Army basic training at Fort Ord, a group of men wearing suits and sporting non-regulation hair addressed his class asking for volunteers for a special assignment. Steve figured wearing suits sure beat crawling around in the mud. He would become a member [...]
“Shot Down” tells the story of the crew of the “Susan Ruth”, a WWII B-17 shot down on Feb. 8, 1944 over the French/Belgium Border. The name was given to the aircraft by Pilot Howard Snyder in honor of his young daughter. Steve Snyder, Howard’s son, has written a meticulously researched and detailed book that describes the lives of the crew members and their harrowing months in hiding from German forces. The book also tells the stories of the brave [...]
Sentinels of Freedom began as a way of honoring young people choosing to join the military out of high school. Following the 9/11 attacks, Mike Conklin and his group realized that some of these young people would be coming home severely injured and would likely need extra help. Their first “Sentinel” had been run over by a tank. Mike’s group arranged for a donated four year apartment lease, a car, furniture and everything he would need to start his life [...]
D-Day was the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare and one that that Harper Coleman will never forget. A member of the 4th Infantry Division, he landed in the first wave at Utah beach carrying a 30 pound machine gun over his head. Harper just celebrated his 100th birthday and joins us to share his memories of D-Day and the other major battles he was part of as his unit moved across Europe. Suzanne Ryan is an avid [...]
Veteran Jennifer Marshall attended high school in a “one stoplight” town so it didn’t take much convincing from the Navy recruiter to get her to join. She never imagined that someday she would appear in several Hollywood productions, host a television series and own her own private investigations firm. Jennifer started as a logistics specialist and also served on the fire and ship security defense support teams aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. She had planned on making a career of [...]
Folds of Honor Executive Vice President of Operations and Relationships Col. James “Nick” Nichols joins us to share their story and how all of us can support this honorable cause. Folds of Honor provides scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. To date they have granted 35,000 scholarships with an educational impact in excess of $160 million. The idea for Folds of Honor came to Founder Lt. Col. Dan Rooney through an experience on an [...]
Carry the Load co-founders Stephen Holley and Clint Bruce are both Navy SEAL Veterans. The idea for their initiative was born out of anger and frustration, feeling that Americans were drifting away from the original purpose of Memorial Day. On Memorial Day 2010 Clint decided to undergo physical pain as an emotional purge. He loaded his pack with one pound for every comrade he had lost. During that walk he encountered a WWII Veteran who asked him; “Who are you [...]