By Todd DePastino We've been talking a lot about helicopters lately at the Veterans Breakfast Club, especially with Vietnam veterans who flew them (see our August 10, 2026 VBC LIVE and our September 14, 2026 VBC LIVE conversations). During these conversations, I keep asking pilots to explain how helicopters actually fly and, more particularly,
By Bob Von Bargen Few veterans today remember the phrase "purple suit." I was reminded of that recently after giving a presentation on the origins of Armed Forces Day. At the end, I asked the audience whether anyone remembered the expression. No one did. That surprised me because, for many of us, "putting on
By John DeBarber Peter DeBarber recently sent us this brief memoir of his WWII Navy veteran father, John DeBarber. Like many veterans of World War II, John left behind only a modest written account of his service. The few pages capture his journey from a high school student worried about being drafted to a
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 convoy mission in which tankers are led through the waters of the Gulf by U.S. naval ships (USN) The US is now at war with Iran, but
By Rich Thurmond No two men fought the same Vietnam War. Each Marine, Soldier, Sailor, or Airman carried his own war on his back, shaped by the ground he walked, the men beside him, the weather that punished him, and the enemy he seldom saw—until it was too late or almost too late. For
By John R. Terry “If you choose a fair fight, you chose the wrong fight.” The most favorable outcome in combat is simple to state and hard to achieve: accomplish the mission and bring everyone home alive. In the spring of 1971, I was responsible for planning and directing U.S. and allied naval forces
