98-year-old Andy Negra shipped overseas in early 1944 with the 128th Field Artillery Battalion, 6th Armored Division. He landed on Utah Beach on July 18 and fought through to the end of the war, including at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Pete Mecca has documented Andy's story and hosts this conversation with
Laura Colbert was heartland-bred and tough enough when the Army sent her to Baghdad, but she quickly discovered soldiering in Iraq involved a lot more than she expected. As a daughter of a Vietnam War Military Police officer and a sister to an Army Infantry Medic, Laura joined the Army National Guard as a
99-year-old Bill Norberg served aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) from before Pearl Harbor. He spent years spent plying dangerous waters as the ship captain's yeoman. The ship saw more action than any other in World War II. Topedo strikes, diver bombers, enemy strafing, Bill saw it all, including several kamikaze attacks. There's one person left
Open Conversation includes newly married couple Beverly Detovsky and Doug Reichman, who first met in the Navy in the 1970s, 101-year-old Julia Parsons on being honored in Washington DC, for Memorial Day, and the incredible story of Larry Murley, taken prisoner by the NVA in Vietnam and escaped. We also talked about the Air
Tonight we welcome literary legend and Vietnam Marine Karl Marlantes. One of the greatest war writers in history, Karl gave up a Rhodes Scholarship in 1967 to join the Marine Corps and fight in Vietnam. He recounts his experiences in two masterful books, Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War, and memoir, What It
Thriller novelist Andre Lewis Carter comes aboard VBC Happy Hour to talk about his Navy career and the book it inspired, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. We talk about race and racism in the military, including perspectives from Vietnam-era Army veteran Robert Ximines, retired Command Sergeant Major Bart Womack, and Navy
