Common Valor

David Canter was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army from 1966-1969. His story vividly illustrates what many Vietnam veterans went through and the heavy burden they carried when they returned home. Over 58,000 American lives were lost in Vietnam, but for many more there were injury and trauma that took years, or perhaps, a lifetime to recover from.

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Senior Chief GL Squirrel Murphy spent 40 years as a US Navy Seabee. Squirrel talks about his enlistment and tells about his experiences about his 3 tours in Vietnam. He was a Silver Star recipient. 

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Ray Vercoe was on reserve duty when in 1966 his unit was called up. Ray was a Seabee, one of those charged with construction and the building of bases, runway, piers and all the infrastructure of war in a foreign land. He was in harms way, and felt the full impact in the midst of a fight. In the 7th U.S. Naval Construction Battalion, or Seabees, he was a Builder Heavy 2nd Class. His stories take him from making a difficult decision in New Hampshire to serving his country in Vietnam during the 1960's.

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Salvatore Scali recounts his days in the Vietnam War.

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Perhaps through some trickery by his father, Dennis Martin ended up serving in the United States Coast Guard.  Always a good swimmer, Dennis enjoyed life as a Coastie and his role in helping fight the war on drugs.  He remains a proud American who gladly defended our freedom, and would gladly do it again.

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Leo Thomas enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served in both the European and Pacific theaters.  He was even crew on a troop ship that transported men to D-Day at Normandy.

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Larry Morrison was born and raised in New Jersey. He was barely 18 years old when he was drafted into the Navy . He found himself heading to Okinawa as part of the U.S. Navy construction battalions effort to build bases in the Pacific that would be needed for the invasion of Japan. Larry shares his recollections of service in World War II.

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In today’s story, we meet Paul Roy who served in both the Marine Corps and New Hampshire National Guard.  In 2006, Paul deployed to Afghanistan and encountered firsthand the challenge of maintaining morals in a world without rules.

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This story is from veterans of the war in Afghanistan and explores the risks that surround them and the realities they face while living in a war zone.  These are the Dangers of Deployment today.

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Johnathon Starnes - Post 9/11: Starnes was a first class petty officer in the Seabees, or US Navy Construction Battalions, when we interviewed him. In today's story, he tells us of his hope for the future when enlisting in the military and the realities he found awaiting him.

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