written by Todd DePastinoHistory often happens when we’re not paying attention.That was the case in the early 1980s, when even those serving in the US military were largely unaware of how close we came to nuclear exchange and World War III with the Soviet Union. Even the President of the United States didn’t recognize the
written by Bob Von Bargen Robert McNamara meeting with Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House (LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto) My experience with the US Air Force Strategic Air Command, or SAC, began in January 1960 when I reported for duty in the 509th Air Refueling Squadron at Pease
written by Todd DePastino Elvis cleaning his new company’s sign at Ray Barracks, Friedberg, Germany, 1958 Three-hundred miles due west of Memphis, close to the Oklahoma border, stands a vintage Army barracks with a barber pole fixed to its whitewashed clapboard. Inside is the room where the “Haircut Heard ‘Round the World”
written by Johnny Lang Last June, we had the immense pleasure of hosting a VBC Happy Hour with the inimitable Johnny Lang, an Army veteran who served with Elvis Presley and seemed to channel Elvis's extraordinary energy. Johnny’s new book, My Army Days with Elvis: Friendship, Football & Follies, tells of hijinks and warm
Robert J. Dvorchak has been awarded the 2023 silver medal for writing in the history category of the annual competition held by the Military Writers Society of America, a national organization of writers, poets and authors who share the common bond of military service. His book, The Golden Brigade: The 82nd Airborne in Vietnam
