← BACK TO VBC BLOG Giving Thanks in Bad Times We, as Americans, tend to give thanks the most when things are at their worst. We never would have had a national Thanksgiving holiday if not for war. In fact, our first Thanksgiving holiday came in what was perhaps
All he did was give candy to children. But in doing so, Lt. Gail Halvorsen inadvertently launched what was perhaps the greatest publicity campaign of the Cold War. One day during the Berlin Airlift in July 1948, C-54 pilot Halvorsen saw thirty hungry children huddled outside the barbed wire at Tempelhof Airport. “When the
This week’s Scuttlebutt episode is a special one. We couldn’t cram all the good things our guests had to say about the Marine Corps into one episode, so we’re coming in hot with an OORAH! Part 2. We’re spending the bulk of the episode with James as he reacts to a video of Marines
Rumor has it that the Air Force handed out yellow Stress Cards that permitted a recruit to “take a break” should the training become too strenuous. They were essentially “get out of jail free cards” that could be handed to a Recruit Division Commander, or RDC, for a chance to calm down. If this
Nine years ago, World War II veteran Don Chaney from Chester, West Virginia, came to a Veterans Breakfast Club event with a little “Caterpillar Club” pin shaped like the insect on his lapel. I asked him about the pin and got a great story in return. Don was a B-26 pilot in Europe. He
It is common nowadays to say to a veteran or service member, “thank you for your service”. This is a far cry from the way returning Vietnam vets were treated. Even so, some veterans bristle at this well-intended phrase. I didn’t understand why a post-9/11 vet would feel uneasy about my show of gratitude
