Stay ConnectedVeterans Chronicles brings America’s military heroes to life through raw, first-person stories. Veterans recount the battles and moments that shaped their lives, from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. Powerful, personal, and deeply human, Veterans Chronicles preserves history one voice at a time.
Learn more about Veterans Chronicles
https://heliosmedia.us/veterans-chronicles/
Copyright: © Copyright Radio America
Michael "Mickey Ganitch" Ganitch grew up in Ohio and joined the U.S. Navy in early 1941, as he puts it, to dodge being drafted into the Army. Less than a year later, he had a front row seat for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while in the crow's nest aboard the USS Pennsylvania as it sat in dry dock off Battleship Row.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Ganitch describes the attack in detail, how it could have been even worse, the refurbishing of the USS Pennsylvania and the key role it played in many invasions in the North Pacific. He also shares the harrowing story of the Pennsylvania getting struck by a Japanese torpedo and how he managed to survive.
Finally, Ganitch tells about his interesting role in atomic testing after World War II ended.
Frank Emond joined the U.S. Navy in 1938 after learning it was looking for musicians. Three years later, Emond was standing on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania and watched in horror as the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor began.
Eighty years after the day of infamy that triggered the U.S. entry into World War II, Emond shares what he saw during the attack, how he and the other sailors aboard the USS Pensylvania responded, his gruesome duties following the attack, and his service after the ship was repaired.
David Devaney enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1983. After surviving boot camp, he soon pursued the opportunity to become a U.S. Marine sniper and was part of the early invasion of Iraq in March 2003.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," SgtMaj Devaney shares his memories at Parris Island both in training and as a drill sergeant. He also talks about what it takes to become a sniper, dealing with Iraqi forces and sandstorms in the early days of the Iraq War, and the mindset necessary to be effective in combat.
Charles Strange didn't initially want his son, Michael, to join the military. But when Michael turned 18, he joined the U.S. Navy and soon became an expert in cryptography, serving alongside Navy SEALs in Iraq and Afghanistan. Michael Strange was part of the mission that targeted and killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011. But just three months later, Michael and dozens of other elite forces were killed when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Charles Strange discusses his son's service, his decade-long search for answers to how Michael and the others were killed, and his leadership in bringing Gold Star families together to help one another heal.
Douglas Dillard joined the U.S. Army at age 16, determined to help the U.S. win World War II. By the end of his military career decades later, Dillard had parachuted into combat, fought in one of the fiercest battles on the western front, and eventually became one of the Army's critical leaders in military intelligence.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Dillard describes jumping into southern France as part of Operation Dragoon in August 1944, fighting the Nazis and the frigid temperatures at the Battle of the Bulge, how he shifted to intelligence work, and what that work looked like in Korea and Vietnam.
Eugene Groves joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 17, in part to get out of his racially charged town. Groves then trained at Montford Point at Camp Lejeune, where the USMC first began accepting black Marines just a few years earlier.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Groves details his service in the Korean War, how he and the other Montford Point Marines responded to discrimination even after the official integration of the military, and the tremendous progress he's seen since that time.
David Bellavia grew up hearing his grandfather's stories of fighting in Normandy during World War II. Sixty years later, Bellavia would be fighting urban warfare in the streets of Fallujah in Iraq and his actions in November 2004 would earn him the Medal of Honor.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Bellavia shares what house-to-house fighting was like in Iraq and the mindset needed to do it well. You'll also hear how Bellavia saved his squad by eliminating five enemy fighters as they came one after the other attempting to kill him. He also discusses the responsibility he feels as a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Daniel Gade graduated from West Point and eventually served as a tank company commander as part of the Second Infantry Division in Iraq in 2004-2005. While serving there, Gade was wounded twice. The second set of injuries nearly killed him and did lead to the amputation of his right leg.
Exactly one year after that horrific attack, Col. Gade began graduate school and became a triathlete. He also took an intense interest in the veterans benefits program, which he believe is a badly arranged system leading to tragic results for our nations heroes. He is the author of "Wounding Warriors: How Bad Policy Is Making Veterans Sicker and Poorer."
Frank Athanason wanted to join the Navy in 1945, but when the two men in front of him passed out from receiving shots in the arm and he didn't, he was assigned to the Army instead. Over the next 32 years, Athanason would serve in three wars, be deployed to Korea and Vietnam and have critical roles in two other international crises.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Athanason takes us into his as an artillery officer and describes the action that earned him a Silver Star and a Purple Heart in Korea. He also describes his two tours in Vietnam, being held prisoner for six weeks in communist East Germany in the 1950's and his role during the Cyprus crisis between Greece and Turkey in the 1970's.
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. Marine Corps set out to create the first two battalions of Marine Raiders. These well-trained, elite commando units quickly proved themselves better than the best Japanese troops on Guadalcanal and on the surrounding islands known as Tulagi and Makin Atoll. Two more battalions were soon created but the raiders were disbanded when the realities of war demanded it.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles", we'll speak with Carole Engle Avriett, author of "Marine Raiders: The True Story of the WWII Battlions." Avriett explains how the raiders came to be and how the battalions embodied the personalities of their commanders. She also follows individual raiders during the brutal battle of Bloody Ridge and the extended jungle mission known as the long patrol.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
