The “Mighty Moo” was the nickname given by the crew to the light aircraft carrier USS Cowpens. At the time carriers were named after battles. While the Battle of Cowpens is a rather obscure revolutionary war battle, a postcard from a local pharmacist convinced President Roosevelt to do so. The story of this scrappy little aircraft carrier is told in the book “The Mighty Moo; The USS Cowpens and Her Epic Journey from Jinx Ship to the Navy’s First Carrier [...]
The 299th Combat Engineer Battalion was the only combat engineer unit to land on both Omaha and Utah beaches during the D-Day invasion. Some of the engineers landed before any other allied soldiers set foot on the beaches earning them the nickname “First on Omaha”. Chief Warrant Officer James W. Tucker was among them. His daughter Jean joins us to share more about the “Famous 299th”. James commanded a group of eight armored tractors whose mission was to clear obstacles [...]
Code Name Nemo was the name eventually given to one of the most daring and audacious missions of World War II – the effort to capture a German submarine intact. Charles Lachman joins us to share this fascinating and still little known story. The capture of U-505 was the first time since the War of 1812 that an enemy vessel was boarded and captured. Lachman is the Executive Producer of the nationally syndicated news program “Inside Edition” and the author [...]
Alex Kershaw is one of the foremost authors writing on World War II subject matter, having written multiple best sellers. He was born in York, England and taught history before becoming a journalist. He has written for various publications including the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the New York Times. His 2002 book “The Bedford Boys” became his first New York Times best seller. It tell the story of Bedford, Virginia, a small town that lost [...]
“Chamber Divers”, a new book by Rachel Lance, uses recently declassified documents to recount the story of a somewhat ragtag group of scientist who forever changed special operations. Lance is a biological engineer and blast injury specialist who works as a researcher on military diving projects. She spent several years working with the US Navy building specialized diving equipment for our Special Forces. The need for better methods of scouting enemy beaches was apparent during the disastrous Dieppe Raid in [...]
Joe “Peppy” Sciarra was 16 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He was drafted into the Army the day after he graduated high school. He had planned on enlisting anyway. Sciarra was assigned to an 81 mm mortar squad of the 25th infantry division under General MacArthur. After 9 months training in New Caledonia and a stop for supplies on Guadalcanal, he and 68,000 men landed at Luzon in the Philippines. He would spend the next five and [...]
Bob Willis may not be a Veteran but his heart beats passionately for those who have served. He has organized ten living history events that allow Veterans to share first hand stories with the rest of us. The whole endeavor began when Bob and his boys watched the “Band of Brothers” series. His boys asked if it would be possible to meet some of the surviving members of Easy Company. When an opportunity came up to attend an Easy Company [...]
Wingmen are an aviation term used to describe a pilot who is positioned behind and outside a leader in a formation, allowing them to watch for threats to the primary aircraft. It can also refer to a person who helps, guides or supports another. Adam Lazarus’ new release “The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship between John Glenn and Ted Williams” is a book that both military and sports history fans will enjoy. Adam was once told to write [...]
“Lost At Sea” by author John Wukovits masterfully recounts the amazing story of famous aviator Eddie Rickenbacker and 7 other crewmembers' twenty four days adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Wukovits used survivor’s accounts and other records to create a compelling story of survival, leadership and faith against tremendous odds. Eddie Rickenbacker developed a reputation for cheating death early on in his life. He dropped out of school in 7th grade to support his family after his father’s death. A job [...]
Royce Williams kept a huge secret for fifty years. He had been given strict orders. Royce joins us as part of our partnership with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society. Royce and his brother signed up after the attack on Pearl Harbor. During his career he flew everything from open cockpit biplanes to jets at Mach 2 in three wars. During the Korean War, Royce was a member of a task force that sailed north to attack “juicy” targets close to [...]