written by Todd DePastino In the world-changing year of 1945, one of the biggest shocks came on April 12, the day the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, unexpectedly died. He was only 63 years old. Few could imagine a future without him. It's hard to appreciate today, but FDR's sudden death
written by Carole Wagener For Bill and Carole Wagener, 1969 was The Hardest Year. Newlyweds separated by 10,000 miles, Bill served in the 865th Engineer Gas Generating Detachment at Cha Rang Valley while Carole was a student at protest-wracked University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their 300-plus letters back and forth are the basis of a new book recounting their
written by Bob Bukk Lieutenant Commander Michael John Estocin, USN, 1964 (NARA) VBC member Bob Bukk recalls Medal of Honor recipient Michael J. Estocin, Naval Aviator who went missing in Vietnam in 1967. One day, I asked a fellow golfer about his hat and jacket, both of which blazed with the USS Estocin’s name
Written by Todd DePastino The Berlin Airlift, which began 75 years ago on June 25, was one of the United States Armed Forces’ finest hours. Children watching a U.S. cargo plane landing at Tempelhof Airfield in Berlin, 1948 (USAF Historical Research Agency) For almost one year, the US Air Force, with the
Written by Ron Farina Of the almost 2 million Americans who have received Purple Hearts since World War II, only about 500 have been women. The vast majority of these women earned the award since September 11, 2001. On two VBC Happy Hours in March, we had nine such recipients join us, along with
Written by Todd DePastino All he did was give candy to children. But in doing so, Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen inadvertently launched one of the greatest diplomatic missions of the Cold War. A Douglas C-54 Skymaster dropping candy over Berlin (Museum of USAF) In November 2020, we welcomed the 100-year-old Berlin Airlift hero
