Jake Larson joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 1938 in order to earn money and help his family during the Great Depression. He was just 15 years old. By late 1941, he was preparing to leave the service. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the Army required him to stay. By 1942, he was in England helping to train American forces assigned for invasions in North Africa and in the European theater. Finally, Larson himself was part of an invasion - the largest amphibious assault in history -...

Raul "Art" Sifuentes was born in Michigan and knew he wanted to be a U.S. Marine when he watched John Wayne in "The Sands of Iwo Jima" when he was just 11 years old. At age 17, while still in high school, Sifuentes enlisted in Marine Reserves and went on active duty after graduation. He left the Corps after three years and attended college. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Sifuentes planned to pursue a Masters degree, but a meeting with a Marine officer selection official changed...

On Monday, Americans will pause for Memorial Day and honor the service and sacrifice of those gave what President Lincoln called their last full measure of devotion. And the reason we are often able to remember the fallen is because those who died had a friend who lived to tell the story. That is certainly case for Don Mates and his great friend, Jimmy Trimble, a highly promising pitcher who delayed a Major League career to serve his nation in uniform. In this edition of "Veterans...

James Finn ended up in the U.S. Navy because he didn't want to join the Army and promised his parents he would not join the Marines. Soon he was training to be a bomber pilot and eventually deployed to the Pacific theater. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Mr. Finn tells us about flying the single engine TBF and TBM Avengers as part of a three-man crew, dropping bombs over Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Chi Chi Jima, French IndoChina and even in Burma. Finn describes the challenge of taking off...

Last week, we followed Don Graves and his story of service as a U.S. Marine from basic training to the invasion of Iwo Jima to seeing the raising of the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi. Now we focus on his actions and reflections over the rest of the six-week battle on Iwo Jima. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we'll hear Graves describe his memories of the Japanese sinking the carrier escort USS Bismarck Sea while he was fighting in the mountains of Iwo Jima. He will also share...

Don Graves was born in Michigan in 1925 and his family struggled mightily during the Great Depression. He was 16 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He immediately ran down to the U.S. Marine Corps recruiter's office to sign up. He was too young, but on his seventeenth birthday, Graves officially became a Marine. Nearly three years later, Graves was among the Marines invading the critically important island of Iwo Jima. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Graves shares...

Paul "Bud" Haedike was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943. Before long, he was assigned as a bombardier on a B-17 bomber crew. From the final months of 1944 until the end of the war in Europe, Haedike took part in 23 bombing missions, and none of those missions came with a guarantee he would return to base safely.  In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Sgt. Haedike recounts his first mission, which resulted in a crash landing in Belgium. He also remembers emergency landings on...

Roger "Buck" Winters was a recent high school graduate working at a tool factory in Texas when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He immediately wanted to quit his job and join the U.S. Army Air Corps. The government would not let him do either of those things at first. Winters would join the Army in 1943 and get trained as an engineer. He would be deployed to Guadalcanal and then to Cebu in the Philippines, where he would have a front row seat to history. In this...

On April 1, 2024, LCDR Lou Conter, U.S. Navy (Retired) died at the age of 102. He was the last living survivor of the USS Arizona, which was sunk by the Japanese during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His passing marks a somber milestone for a generation that courageously rose up to defend our nation and our allies. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Conter shares how he joined the Navy, got assigned to the USS Arizona, and was privy to the conversations of commanders...

Chris Alvarez grew up knowing he wanted to serve and that he wanted to serve with the best. After being convinced to join the Marines once he was old enough, a high school teacher who had served in the Marines encouraged him to learn more about the U.S. Navy SEAL's. It didn't take much research for Alvarez to decide that's exactly what he wanted to be. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Alvarez takes us through the grueling BUD/s training required to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. He...

Kelly Elmlinger was a three-sport athlete in high school. She excelled in cross country, basketball, and track. After considering military service, she decided to keep playing sports at the next level, but she quickly decided college was not for her. That's when she joined the Army and became a combat medic, eventually with the 82nd Airborne Division, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Later, she became a nurse and then a cancer patient herself. Yet even after losing a leg, Elmlinger...

Thomas "Drago" Dzieran grew up in Communist Poland. He realized he was being fed lies and propaganda as a boy when he got in big trouble at school for asking simple questions about the government. As a young man, he became actively involved in the Solidarity movement and in spreading anti-Communist messages. His activities landed him in prison and he was eventually expelled from Poland. Poland's loss was America's gain. In 1984, Drago Dzieran came to the U.S. Seven years later he became an...

In the early 1960's, the U.S. Army developed a new way of moving troops into and out of strategic locations. It was called Air Cavalry and operated under the theory that moving forces by helicopter was faster and more precise than driving them or having them jump out of airplanes. One of the earliest and best known Air Cavalry engagements was at Landing Zone X-Ray during the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965. Young Earnie Savage was part of Bravo company in the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry...

Leon Walker, Jr. grew up in a family full of Army and Marine Corps veterans. He tried to enlist in the Marines but the recruiter didn't want to be bothered on his lunch hour. Within minutes, Walker joined the U.S. Navy. He was initially assigned to serve as a deckhand on the fast frigate USS Reid, but on his first deployment he started learning how to navigate. For the next 21 years, he served as a navigator on many different deployments before rising to the rank of command master chief. On...

Melvin Jenner was already in the Michigan Air National Guard when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps and undergoing training for a bomber crew, he was soon flying missions in the European Theater of World War II. The next few years would bring him harrowing bomber missions, a secret flight over Normandy on D-Day, and an unforgettable role in the Berlin Airlift. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Jenner tells us how he ended up...

Patrick Finn fibbed about his age in order to join the U.S. Marine Corps a bit earlier than he should have. He served honorably and was ready to end his service before the Korean War ever began. But his inability to come up with $92 led him to re-enlist and in the summer of 1950 he was off to fight a war in a place he knew nothing about. The summer of 1950 was chaotic in Korea. The North Koreans invaded the south in late June and nearly conquered the whole peninsula. But U.S. forces arrived...

In our last edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we learned about the World War II service of U.S. Air Force Col. Joe Peterburs (Ret.). He told us all about escorting U.S. bombers into Germany, strafing Luftwaffe airfields, and shooting down a highly decorated German ace before getting shot down himself on the very same mission. Please be sure to listen to Part 1 of his story. But the story of Col. Peterburs goes well beyond World War II. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Peterburs...

Joe Peterburs was on track to become a priest. All of that changed when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The next year, Peterburs joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and trained to be a fighter pilot. He mastered the P-40, but by the time he got to England in late 1944, the P-51 was waiting for him. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Joe Peterburs takes us through his service in World War II as he began a military career lasting more than 36 years. You'll hear...

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.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Royal Earle, Jr. and a buddy were on their way to join the the U.S. Marine Corps to take the fight to Japan. But his friend got snagged by the U.S. Navy instead. Unfazed, Earle endured Parris Island and Camp Pendleton and received training as a switchboard operator and wireman in preparation for service in the Pacific. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Mr. Earle walks us through his biggest challenge in boot camp and a big mystery during his...

John DeGennero was just 15 years old and playing at a park on the Sunday the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. After turning 17 in 1943, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, determined to help win the war. Over the next two years, that teenager perfected a skill that would be crucial to winning the Battle of Iwo Jima. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Mr. DeGennaro tells us about boot camp at Parris Island and then specializing in the science of sound ranging. From...

Richard Baughn served as an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and then the U.S. Air Force for more than 30 years both active duty and reserve. He retired as a brigadier general. Gen. Baughn's passion was flying and he put it to excellent use as a P-51 pilot over Europe in World War II and flying the F-104 and F-105 in Vietnam. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gen. Baughn takes us along on his missions in World War II, both as a fighter escort for American bombers and his frequent...

Vincent Speranza was born to immigrant Italian parents in New York City. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Speranza's father stressed to his boys that they were Americans and that America must not lose the war. He was quite a bit more conflicted over the prospects of his sons fighting against Italy. Once old enough to serve, Speranza was assigned to the U.S. Army infantry but eventually moved to the airborne. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Speranza details how he joined the...

Lester Schrenk joined the U.S. Army Air Forces on his 19th birthday in November 1942. Even though he still sees perfectly today, he was told he could not become a pilot due to poor eyesight. So this Minnesota farm kid was assigned as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber crew. At 5'11", he was much bigger than most men tasked with squeezing into that very tiny space. Roughly a year later, he was deployed to Europe. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Schrenk tells us what the missions...

Roy Gleason grew up near Chicago and fell in love with baseball while watching Cubs games with his grandfather. As a young teenager, he learned he had a tremendous amount of talent. After moving to California, he soon found himself signed to the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. In 1963, Gleason was a late-season call-up for the Dodgers, played in several games as a pinch runner and got one very memorable at-bat. After a few difficult years back in the minors, Gleason seemed poised to return...