Written by Todd DePastino In 1942, the nation's most popular entertainer took an obscure song from the year before and made it the best-selling record of all time. “I’ll be home for Christmas” is the optimistic refrain of soldiers and sailors heading off to war. When war begins, few can imagine it being anything but
Written by Bob Rabe Vietnam veteran Bob Rabe shares a beautiful Christmas moment from 1966. It seems like yesterday, December 25, 1966. While on patrol with my fellow Military Policeman, we came upon a Vietnamese Catholic Church. Mass had already started, but we entered the church quietly anyway. While we stood in the back, the Vietnamese
Written by Jim McStay A B-52 flies over the beach at U-Tapao, ca. 1973 (Jim McStay) Navy P-3 Orion pilot Jim McStay recalls a long day in the air from Diego Garcia with special cargo in a cooler and a badly hurt SeaBee on a litter awaiting emergency surgery. Back when I
Written by Irene Harrell Irene Harrell with her grandfather, retired Air Force Col. Ron Standerfer Irene Harrell is a young writer who has attended our VBC events in-person and online to meet veterans and hear their stories. She’s interested in interviewing Vietnam veterans especially to research a novel she’s working on about
Written by Jim McStay An aerial view of Diego Garcia island, 2013 (USN) In 1973, Navy SeaBees on the tiny island of Diego Garcia faced a crisis. They were hot, dry, and thirsty. One Navy P-3 Orion pilot, Jim McStay, came to their rescue. In 1973, I was a Navy pilot who
Written by Todd DePastino First airplane takeoff from a warship Eugene Burton Ely flies his Curtiss pusher biplane from USS Birmingham (Scout Cruiser No. 2), in Hampton Roads, Virginia, during the afternoon of 14 November 1910 (USN) On November 14, 1910, daredevil Eugene Burton Ely chugged his Curtiss Model D “Pusher” airplane
