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.
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Ed Manley joined the U.S. Army and was trained as a paratrooper and a demolition man. He is now immortalized in history in the famous photo of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower addressing the airborne troops on the eve of D-Day.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Manley takes us through his jump into Normandy, the confusion after he landed, and his disobeying of orders in those first hours in France. He also discusses the battle for Carentan, his role in Operation Market Garden in Holland, and how he was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge.
Tom Toski was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1943 and was deployed on a destroyer escort to the Pacific theater upon completion of his training. By the end of the war, just two years later, Toski had earned five battle stars, including Leyte Gulf and Okinawa.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Toski shares his story of service, describes his memories of those critical battles, and explains why he is so proud of his service during the war.
Scott Taylor signed up for the U.S. Navy while he was still on high school and he knew from the start he wanted to be a SEAL. It was training that would serve him well when he was deployed to Iraq just a few years later.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Taylor describes the grueling BUD/S training that only he and a small fraction of his original class was able to complete. Also trained as a sniper, Taylor describes the service of his platoon in Iraq and how he was seriously injured.
Finally, Taylor explains how his military service prepared him for his time in Congress.
Those who serve in our military go through rigorous training and elite forces must reach even more difficult standards. Perhaps the most famous and most demanding training belongs to the U.S. Navy SEALS. Candidates are tested physically and mentally in many different ways over many months but perhaps the most intense crucible is Hell Week.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles" author Scott McEwen joins us to discuss his new book, "Hell Week and Beyond: The Making of a Navy SEAL." McEwen takes us moment-by-moment through six excruciating days that expose the candidates who truly excel and never quit and those who don't quite measure up. From fighting through pain and sleep deprivation to hypothermia and sickness, McEwen explains why SEAL candidates go through Hell Week and how it creates a lasting brotherhood among those who endure.
John McCarney joined the U.S. Air Force shortly after deciding he'd had enough of college football. He trained to be a medical corpsman and was by late 1974 was on his way to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Upon arriving he was stunned to learn he was assigned to the obstetrics ward of the hospital.
It was just a few months later that President Gerald Ford authorized Operation Babylift, which was designed to rescue mixed-race babies and other children out of South Vietnam as the communist North Vietnamese neared Saigon.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," McCarney shares how he came to love his work but felt intense survivor's guilt when he was not on the the first Operation Babylift plane that tragically crashed shortly after takeoff. He also explains the moments that finally helped him ease that guilt and take pride in his service.
In 2011, U.S. Army Lt. General Patricia Horoho became the first nurse and the first woman to serve as Surgeon General of the U.S. Army. Prior to the that honor, she provided excellent emergency care in the immediate aftermath of two major disasters and commanded some of the nation's most critical military medical facilities.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gen. Horoho walks us through her response to the Green Ramp Disaster at Pope AFB in North Carolina and her actions to save lives at Pentagon 9/11 after terrorists slammed American Airlines Flight 77 into the west wall of the building.
Horoho also discusses the controversy over conditions and care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while she commanded there and the good that came out of the controversy. She also explains what she's most proud of from her time as surgeon general for the Army.
Frank DeVita joined the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II thinking his job would be to protect the American coast. But his war service would be much different than expected when the Navy decided to use Coast Guard personnel the responsibility of manning many of the landing crafts used during invasions. DeVita was assigned to a Higgins boat headed for Omaha Beach in the early hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944. And it was his job to drop the ramp, knowing full well that many of the soldiers on his boat would be killed within seconds.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," DeVita describes what he experienced moment-by-moment in the horror of that first wave at Omaha Beach, how American ships helped the soldiers advance up the beach and the bluffs, and his role in recovering the bodies of America's fallen heroes that day.
DeVita also describes his service in the Pacific during the time of the Battle of Okinawa and the grave danger American vessels faced from Japanese kamikaze pilots.
George Dramis joined the U.S. Army during World War II and was sent to Europe with many other soldiers to defeat Nazi Germany. But his unit was very different from all the others. Dramis was a member of the Army's 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, better known as General George S. Patton's "Ghost Army."
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Dramis explains how the 23rd was tasked with deceiving the Nazi forces to keep them guessing about American intentions and to lure them away from the areas the U.S. really planned to strike. Dramis tells us about the many different methods of deception used by the Ghost Army and how the 23rd played critical roles in rescuing the 101st Airborne at Bastogne and helping the Allies cross the Rhine River.
Maj. General Mari K. Eder shares her story of joining the U.S. Army in 1977 and embarking on a 36-year career, in which she rose to be Deputy Chief of U.S. Army Public Affairs during U.S. military action in Kosovo and Afghanistan. Gen. Eder also discusses her years serving as Deputy Chief of U.S. Army Reserve and the challenges she faced while holding that position during wartime.
Gen. Eder is also an accomplished author. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," she explains the premise of her book, "American Cyberscape," and how to protect our nation from cyber-related threats. She also details her forthcoming book, "The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line," focusing on 15 amazing women who demonstrated tremendous courage and determination in helping the Allies win World War II.
Carl Felton joined the U.S.Navy after graduating from high school in 1943, even though he didn't know how to swim. Felton was then trained in communications and sent to England to be part of the pivotal effort to attack Hitler's Atlantic Wall and establish a western front against Nazi Germany.
In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Felton shares his memories of the vast armada of ships off the coast of Normandy, later escaping an attempted attack from a German soldier in France, and surviving a harrowing mission in the North Atlantic.
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