12 hours of veterans’ stories on VBC’s annual Veterans Day Vet-A-Thon! On November 11, 2022, the VBC held its second annual Vet-A-Thon, a marathon online conversation with veterans of different backgrounds, ages, and branches of service from around the country. You can check out all 12 hours, broken out by hour, on the VBC YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/0fk8FTUEn2g
Highlights include:
Hour One
Army Colonel Kenny Mintz talks about his four deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq and his seven-month 3,000-mile walk across America after his retirement from 34 years as an Army Infantry officer..
Hour Two
National Veterans Art Museum (NVAM) Curator Megan Owoc shares the mission and art of NVAM from Chicago, Illinois. NVAM exhibits over 2,500 works of art inspired from military service.
SPECIAL VISIT FROM CANADIAN WORLD WAR II D-DAY VETERAN JIM PARK!
Hour Three
Veterans from Vet-A-Thon sponsor FedEx Ground share their stories of service.
Hour Four
Seth “The Speaker” Miller talks about leadership, his 21 years of Air Force service, and overcoming obstacles to get what you want in life.
Hour Five
Leading Service Record Historian Bill Beigel tells us how to research the veterans in your family.
Hour Six
Kelly Crager, historian at the Vietnam Center & Archive (VNCA) at Texas Tech University, shares what’s held at VCNA and BIG plans for a National Museum of the Vietnam War.
Hour Seven
USAF veteran Lloyd Knight and USMC veteran Kevin Horgan talk about Atlanta’s veteran community and how their organization, VETLANTA, not only helps veterans but help to make Atlanta a better place.
Hour Eight
Our favorite Army Captain, Ryan Ahl, leads a conversation about the Army, past and present.
Hour Nine
Army veterans Phyllis J. Wilson and Marilla Cushman of the National Military Women’s Memorial tells us about the fast-growing segment of the US military: women. Hear inspiring stories and what’s happening at the Memorial.
Hour Ten
Army veterans and storyteller Gregory Williams talks about the Mu Beta Phi Military Fraternity and the Black military experience.
Hour Eleven
OORAH! The long-awaited Marine Corps Hour with Brad Washabaugh and Mak Kelly. They speak with Tom Hastings about Operation Praying Mantis against Iran in 1988.
Hour Twelve
VBC Board President and Navy submarine veteran Mike Cherock, along with Todd DePastino, half delirious from the day’s events, lead a final conversation about Field Ball (an obscure Naval Academy sport), Djbouti, and the plan to makeover the US Marine Corps.