Richard Halferty was at college in Missouri when he learned that his brother had been killed while serving with the U.S. Army in Korea. As his parents' last surviving son, Halferty could be excused from military service but he refused to consider it.

In this edition of Veterans Chronicles," Capt. Halferty discusses his service aboard the USS Yarnall, which pounded targets in Korea, his emotional return to Korea in 2010, and his tireless effort to bring Korean War vets the honor and recognition they are due.

Michael Peyton grew up in a family with a legacy of military service. As a young man he joined the Navy for one simple reason: he wanted to be a SEAL. In more than two decades that followed, Peyton and his fellow SEALs deployed four times to Afghanistan and twice to Iraq.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Peyton describes the very rigorous SEAL training process and how he passed BUD/s training while learning to swim at the same time. He also takes us into his first combat experience, explains how SEAL teams operate so effectively, and the challenge of going from a SEAL team member to a team leader.

Finally, Peyton talks about his new organization, Tribe, Task and Purpose, which is designed specifically to help special operations veterans end their dependency on drugs and alcohol. For more information, visit tribetaskpurpose.org.

Pete Cannon joined the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from high school in 1965. Soon he was training to fly a variety of helicopters and two years later he was flying missions in Vietnam.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Cannon explains why he was able to master flying helicopters when many fixed wing pilots struggled greatly. He also describes the many different assignments he flew in theater, including medical evacuations, resupplying missions, ferrying high-ranking officers, and serving as a decoy pilot in missions to observe the enemy.

Cannon takes us through his role in response to the Tet Offensive and tremendous impact helicopters had against the North Vietnamese Army. He would be awarded the Bronze Star for his service during that response.

Both of Tom Harper's grandfathers served in the military and one of them later made a career out of repairing military helicopters in Florida. After seeing that world up close, Harper knew he wanted to join the military - although his future would be in ground forces. He finished basic training right before the 9/11 attacks and was ready and willing to be part of the fight that followed.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Harper takes us inside his first moments of combat in Afghanistan and then walks us through the December 2009 action there, where he and his men were wounded in a mortar assault. Only he and one other soldier were able to keep fighting and trying to hold off the enemy while waiting for air support. He also describes the events that led to his second Purple Heart, as his convoy in Afghanistan was struck by an IED in a kill zone.

Finally, Col. Harper, who is still on active duty, talks about his current duties trying to keep the military and members of Congress on the same page on the best policies for our military and national security.

Gloria Harnett Kerzner was just weeks shy of her 18th birthday when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Like most other Americans, she wanted to help the war effort. The U.S. Navy created the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, in 1942 replace the tens of thousands of Navy personnel who were deployed to Europe and the Pacific. Gloria was eager to enlist. But she had to wait until she was 20 years old to join.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Kerzner shares memories of how she learned about Pearl Harbor and also the Hindenburg disaster in her home state of New Jersey. She describes her WAVES training in New York and Iowa and the work she did during the war at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station to help the war effort on the home front.

Japanese-Americans were largely forbidden from serving in the Pacific theater in World War II over concerns about their loyalty in a war against their ancestral homeland. But a small number of soldiers did serve there as interrogators and translators and played a pivotal role in thwarting Japanese plans and saving American lives in several critical locations.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," author and historian Bruce Henderson discusses his new book "Bridge to the Sun: The Secret Role of Japanese Americans Who Fought in the Pacific in World War II." He explains how the Army scrambled to ramp up the language school after the attack on Pearl Harbor and how the soldiers faced the bewildering contradiction of being asked to fight for their country while their family members were held in internment camps.

But Henderson also follows several of these men to the front lines in the Pacific. He details their heroism in Burma, the Solomon Islands, Okinawa, and other locations, including eavesdropping on enemy forces, tapping phone lines, and translating battle plans found on fallen enemy fighters.

These soldiers proved their loyalty, provided invaluable assistance, and helped the Allies win the war.

Elliot Ackerman knew at a young age that he wanted to be in the military. He wanted to serve his country and he wanted a job where it was imperative to succeed. After completing the ROTC program at college, Ackerman was commissioned as a a Marine Corps officer in 2003. The next six years would bring five tours of duty between Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Ackerman takes us inside the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004 and what it was like to be the tip of the spear as the Marines plowed through that insurgent stronghold. He also shares some of his most difficult moments in Afghanistan, including how to recover the body of a fallen Marine without getting many more men killed in the process.

Finally, Ackerman describes his new book "The Fifth Act: America's End in Afghanistan." He describes his experience in the frantic networking of veterans, active duty forces, reporters and others who worked to get Afghan allies and their families out of the country in August 2021. He also discusses some of the most important lessons our nation ought to learn from our 20-year war there.

When Cecil Phipps joined the U.S. Army, he signed up for overseas deployments so he could see the world. Before long, the U.S. would be at war in Korea and Phipps would be among the first troops there. He arrived in August 1950 and would stay there for more than three years - most of that time as a prisoner of war.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Phipps describes the rapid U.S. advance into North Korea, the shocking arrival of Chinese forces into the war, and his capture by Chinese forces in November 1950.

Phipps also describes the horrific marching over more than three months in the bitter cold of a Korean winter, the squalid conditions at his prison camp, what it was like to see prisoners succumbing to the elements and harsh treatment of the Chinese, dropping down to just 75 pounds, and how he remembers breathing air as a free man after 33 months in captivity.

Ralph Gastelum grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and never experienced much of a winter before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. His first real winter would be spent in Korea in some of the most bitterly cold temperatures that American forces have ever experienced - at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Sgt. Gastelum, takes us along as he recalls the Inchon Landing. He also explains what urban combat was like in those early days and along the front lines in more rural areas. And he tells us how he survived at the Chosin Reservoir by playing dead as the Chinese attacked and how he later discovered which of his fellow Marines saved his life there.

Finally, Gastelum talks about his return trip to Korea decades later and what impressed him most.

Darrell Utt joined the U.S. Army just days before Iraq invaded Kuwait in the summer of 1990. Over the next decade, he would become a Green Beret, an Army Ranger, and a sniper. He also served in the Balkans during the late 1990s.

After 9/11, Utt was deeply disappointed that his unit was not sent to Afghanistan. Instead, it become one of the most highly-regarded detachments of special forces in the Iraq War.

In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Utt describes flying into northern Iraq under heavy fire in the early days of the war and working with the Kurdish Peshmerga to keep Iraqi troops away from the main invasion force. He also takes us through his harrowing 2006 action against enemy fighters in in the Baghdad suburb of Adimiyah that would earn him a Bronze Star with Valor for his courage and leadership under fire. And he walks us through one of his creative plans to lure and capture critical enemy personnel. Finally, MSgt. Utt explains the work he is now doing for the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation.