VBC Blog

James Thatcher “On that sad day how many hearts were wrung!” Army surgeon James Thacher, experienced unexpected heartbreak as he watched the army disband at...

By Todd DePastino In 1864, the American Experiment was on the brink of extinction as the Civil War tore the country apart. That same year,...

By Todd DePastino Baron von Steuben and the Making of a Real Army America has a long tradition of the “citizen-soldier.” The concept is like...

By Todd DePastino You may have heard the legend of Molly Pitcher, which first appeared in the 1830s as the nation was celebrating the last...

Military service is a transformative experience, no less today than it was during the American Revolution. What follows is a narrative journey tracing the experiences...

By Lew McDaniel My duty station was at Site 3, Teufelsberg, in West Berlin. Initially, I was an “operator” in the Pit. The Pit was...

By Will Mears Two recent Veterans Breakfast Club programs have featured veterans of the Army Security Agency (ASA) whose work was important and behind-the-scenes. Their...

By Todd DePastino As I circulated at our Veterans Breakfast at the Town and Country Diner in Bordentown, New Jersey, Dimitry Olhovsky caught my eye....

Mess Management Specialist 2nd Class Williams Hendrickson scans for mines from the bow of the guided missile frigate USS NICHOLAS (FFG-47) during an Earnest Will...

By Jim Cardillo, USMC, Vietnam, 1967-68 In March 2025, I had the rare privilege of visiting the island of Iwo Jima with my brother for...

During the Vietnam War, hundreds of journalists covered the conflict, filing dispatches and photographs that shaped how Americans understood the war. Among them were a...

The Veterans Breakfast Club mourns the passing of Major General William M. Matz, Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.), a soldier who emerged from childhood paralysis to...