Veterans Chronicles

Army Sgt. Bob Bearden was a young paratrooper with the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment when he jumped into the skies over Normandy on June 6, 1944 - D-Day. His was a remarkable story of battlefield action, capture by German forces, POW camp survival and a journey home that would take Bearden halfway around the world, by all forms a travel. Bearden is the author of the new book, "To D-Day and Back".

In this edition, we visit Army Lt. Col. Charles Krohn (Ret.), a combat veteran of the Vietnam War. Gene talks about Krohn's book, "The Lost Battalion of Tet: Breakout of the 2/12th Cavalry at Hue." The book has been recently revised to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Tet Offensive.

On April 14, 2004 on a road near Husaybah, Iraq, Cpl. Jason Dunham intentionally used his own helmet body to cover an enemy grenade, saving the lives of at least two of his fellow Marines. Cpl. Dunham, who was mortally wounded, would later become the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor in Operation Iraqi Freedom, awarded on November 10, 2006 - the 231st birthday of the Corps, and what would have been his 25th birthday. In this episode, two Marines who served with Dunham on that day - Maj. Trent Gibson and Sgt. Jason Sanders - recall this story of valor and sacrifice.

As Deputy Director of the Office of Provisional Outreach for the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq, Lt. Col. R. Alan King worked first-hand with the Iraqi people in their attempts to build a better society. His experience, chronicled in his book Twice Armed, demonstrates that the United States' chances for success depend on our ability to understand and appreciate the people and culture of Iraq.

In one of the more amazing stories of World War II, John Dolibois, an immigrant at the age of 13 from Luxembourg, found himself back in the country of his birth in 1945. This time, he was an interrogator with the U.S. Army. Following the surrender of Germany, he became one of five men assigned the duty of interrogating some of the greatest criminals in human history - the
top Nazi leadership, including Goering, Streicher, and Hess. This incredible American story continued when, years later, President Reagan named Dolibois to be U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg.

Michael Thornton, a veteran of the elite Navy Seals, was a part of a five member team sent overseas to gather intelligence on North Vietnamese troop movements. They were discovered by the enemy and soon engaged in a five and a half hour fire fight against a larger force in which Thornton saved his superior officer, who was seriously wounded. His heroism led to his being awarded the Medal of Honor.

In this edition, Gene talks with Medal of Honor recipient George Joe Sakato, a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The all-Japanese American 442nd was created a year after more than 100,000 Japanese, many of them American citizens, were sent to internment camps and denied service in the U.S. Armed Forces following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The 442nd would become one of the most highly decorated units in U.S. military history, producing in all 21 Medal of Honor recipients.

In this edition, hear the story of Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall (ret.) who received the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, 42 years after his heroic actions taken during The Battle of Ia Drang in 1965, during the Vietnam War.

This week, Gene's four guests are all veterans of World War II, all Marines, all pilots and all members of the original and later legendary Black Sheep Squadron led by ace pilot Greg "Pappy" Boyington.

John Del Vecchio is a decorated Vietnam veteran who wrote the highly acclaimed book "The 13th Valley." After serving in Vietnam, he later returned as a war correspondent. In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, he tells Gene of his wartime experiences...and his experiences as part of the media.