Veterans Chronicles

Clayton Hutmacher enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1978. Six years later he jumped at the chance to go to Army flight school and pursue a career in special operations. He would later see action in Panama, Desert Storm, and in both Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Maj. Gen. Hutmacher shares his story of service, including what was required to become a special operations aviator and what his service entailed in Operation Just Cause in Panama. Months later, he was in the Saudi Arabian desert as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Hutmacher shares the details of his missions against critical targets in northern Iraq and why the combat was much more intense there than in Panama.

He also tells us about his service in Iraq and Afghanistan, how the theaters of operation were very different from one another, and why Iraq provided the most intense combat of his career.

Gen. Hutmacher also reveals how he kept in touch with the concerns of enlisted personnel as he rose up the chain of command and the challenges he faced as Director of Operations at U.S. Special Operations Command.

Finally, he tells about his work now at the Special Operations Warrior Foundation serving the children of fallen special operators and others.

In the first half of our conversation with retired U.S. Navy Commander Porter Halyburton, we learned about the day he was shot down over North Vietnam, how he was captured and tortured, and the bond he formed with fellow POW Fred Cherry. Today, Halyburton explains the biggest shock of all during his imprisonment, how the prisoners kept their morale up in worst possible conditions over the years, and how they finally got home.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Halyburton details how he found out that he was listed as killed in action and that his wife, family, and government all thought he was dead for about 18 months - and how that problem finally got straightened out. 

Halyburton also explains how the famous tap code developed, how they taught it to each other without being able to see or speak with one another in many cases, how they hid the true meaning of the code from the enemy, and how it built the prisoners into a close-knit community.

Halyburton also tells us how he figured out he might soon be free more than seven years after being taken prisoner. He shares what that long awaited day of freedom was like and the critical, difficult decisions he made while being released that helped immensely every day after that.

Porter Halyburton was born in Florida and grew up in North Carolina. After college, he got married and joined the U.S. Navy with a clear goal of becoming a naval aviator. He got his wish, flying the F-4. Shortly after becoming a new father, he was deployed to Vietnam in May of 1965. He wouldn't come home for more than seven years.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," you'll hear the first half of Porter Halyburton's story of being a pilot, being shot down, and the horrors he endured after being captured by the North Vietnamese.

He takes us moment by moment through his experience of being hit by enemy fire, his decision to eject, his futile effort to avoid capture, and what he experienced after becoming a POW.

Halyburton also explains how the clear training he went through in case he was captured was very helpful in some circumstances but unnecessarily burdensome in others. He also shares what he suffered for refusing to answer questions from his captors. And he details how the North Vietnamese tried to use racial politics to turn him and a fellow prisoner against one another - an enemy plan that backfired spectacularly.

In our next edition, you'll hear how Halyburton learned the U.S. government and his family thought he was killed in action, how the prisoners used the famous tap code to keep their hopes up, and how he finally came home.

Ron DiFrancesco moved to the New York City area in 2000 to take an investment job with a firm based in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. He was already at work on September 11, 2001, when the first plane hijacked by Al Qaeda terrorists struck the North Tower. People working in the South Tower were immediately told their building was fine and they should continue working. Soon a friend called DiFrancesco and urged him to evacuate. Just moments after leaving the spot where he had been working, a wing from United Airlines Flight 175 sliced through the office.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," DiFrancesco describes the horrors of what he saw happening in the North Tower after it was struck and before the South Tower was hit. He then walks us through the impact of the jetliner hitting his building, the intitially futile efforts to get downstairs and the "voice" that guided him to an exit that could get him away from all the debilitating smoke. 

DiFrancesco tells us about getting to the lobby, where he was directed to go, and the last thing he remembers as the South Tower came down. Some experts later concluded he was likely the last person to get out of the World Trade Center alive.

He also discusses the injuries he suffered while getting out and the severe mental and emotional trauma that he and his family then endured for an extended time. DiFrancesco explains why he later decided to start speaking publicly about the horrific ordeal he endured.

In 2022, we presented the oral history of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle, who later became famous as an actor and comedian. Riggle told us all about his service in Kosovo and Afghanistan and how his time in the service was a huge asset in his pursuit of a career in show business. During that interview, Riggle also mentioned being a USMC reservist in Manhattan on 9/11 and working in the search and rescue operation at Ground Zero for a week after the terrorist attacks. 

Today, we hear that part of his story in much more detail.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Riggle takes us moment by moment through the 9/11 attacks, from wondering how such an airplane plane accident could happen to realizing our nation was under attack, and from what it was like on the stunned streets of New York City to getting notified that his unit was being called up to help at Ground Zero.

Riggle then describes the painstaking efforts to sift through six stories of rubble in hopes of finding survivors, the "bucket brigades" set up to prevent cave-ins, and how he nearly suffered a major injury during that time.

Finally, he explains how he then volunteered to go back on active duty - a decision that would have him in Afghanistan within just a few weeks.

David Rodriguez has a legacy of military service in his family, but his real motivation for joining the Army was to move on from working in the family business of farming. Soon he was off to Ft. Lewis, Washington, for basic training. He was then trained as a combat engineer. By late 1966, he was off to Vietnam.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Rodriguez tells us about his first time in combat and how training could never fully prepare him for it. He also explains the mindset needed to have a chance of surviving. Rodriguez also shares the details of his actions in December 1967 to counter a U-shaped ambush the enemy launched against his unit. His charging and takeover of a machine gun position led to the end of the threat and a Bronze Star.

Rodriguez also tells us about his three wounds, including two serious bayonet injuries. Finally, he tells us about his work as National Commander of the American GI Forum and his advocacy for our veterans to get much better care than they currently receive.

Ernie Mogor wanted to join the U.S. Navy during World War II but he was rejected for being colorblind. He then chose the Army over the Marines and was soon off for "vigorous" infantry training. He became very proficient with the M-1 rifle, only for the Army to have him switch to a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) not long before he was sent into combat. Much to his surprise, he loved the BAR even more. Mogor was assigned to the Army's 76th Infantry Division and was put into action just as the division was crossing the Saar River under heavy German fire.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Mogor tells us what it was like to cross the river on flat-bottomed boats using rifles as oars and somehow making it to the other side when so many other Americans did not. He also describes fighting consistently for the next three months as his division pushed to the Rhine River. And he details how he was shot, injured, and evacuated for the remainder of the war, just before tha U.S. crossed the Rhine.

Finally, Mogor recounts his emotional return to where he fought - nearly 80 years later. He shares what it was like to find the grave of his good friend who was killed crossing the Saar - and what he said while standing at the gravesite.

John Dailey remembers the day he decided to become a U.S. Marine. He was a young boy at a U.S. bicentennial parade in 1976. When he saw the Marine in dress uniform, he was hooked. Eleven years later, fresh out of high school, Dailey enlisted in the Marines. Soon he was guarding the U.S. embassy in Hungary while the Iron Curtain was teetering and later held the same role in Argentina. He also passed sniper and reconnaissance training. But in his first 14 years of service, he never saw combat. That is until 9/11 happened while he was half a world away.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Dailey tells us how he learned of the devastating attacks on our nation, how he was among the first Marines in Afghanistan, and the judgment and decisiveness he exercised in his first combat duties there.

Then Dailey explains how he helped to stand up a U.S. Marine Corps recon unit and get it ready for service in Iraq. He also takes us along for the ride as he recounts what it took to find and capture high value targets in Iraq and how he put his sniper skills to use against allies of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Finally, Dailey details why the special operations unit was disbanded after he returned to the U.S. and how he soon worked to help establish the the Marines' own special operations command (MARSOC) and the current generation of Marine Raiders.

He is also the author of "Tough Rugged Bastards: A Memoir of a Life in Marine Special Operations."

In last week's edition of "Veterans Chronicles," U.S. Marine Corps veteran Darren Walton told us about his role on a seven-man reconnaissance team in Vietnam from 1969-1970. He explained his role of point man, what the team's most common objectives were, and how life and death decisions had to be made within seconds. He also described how the jungle itself was also a fierce enemy.

In this week's "Veterans Chronicles," Walton shares the rest of his story of service, starting with the jungle and how every small noise had him wondering whether it was something insignificant or a sign of an imminent enemy attack. He also takes us inside some of his most harrowing missions, including some that required extraction and at least one that would have been fatal for his team if the rescuing helicopter crew had not disobeyed orders. And he explains what happened the day his rifle malfunctioned at the worst possible time.

Walton also tells us how the Marines helped a local Vietnamese orphanage and how they found financial help from the unlikeliest of sources. Finally, he shares how fierce opposition to the war - particularly in his community just north of San Francisco - compelled him to stay silent about his service for more than 40 years.

Darren Walton grew up north of San Francisco and stood out as a distance runner in high school. When he found out he would soon be drafted into the U.S. Army, Walton joined the Marine Corps, intending to be part ofthe track team. Things did not turn out that way, and Walton was soon undergoing all sorts of elite special forces training and eventually being assigned to a USMC reconnaissance unit.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we share the first half of Walton's story of service. He explains the training he went through, how a recon team is assembled, how it prepped for missions, and what it was like to be the point man.

Walton also shares battling the jungle along with the enemy, difficult life and death decisions that had to be made within seconds, and having to be extracted after being attacked by "rock apes."

And don't miss next week's podcast when Walton shares his most harrowing moments in Vietnam, being snatched from almost certain death by extraction teams who disobeyed orders, how the Marines helped a local Vietnamese orphanage, and how hostility to the war back home compelled Walton to keep his service hidden for more than 40 years.