Written by Todd DePastino Veterans will talk with other veterans. Anyone who works with those who’ve served discovers that quickly. Judge Robert Russell saw the bonds of service work magic one day in his Buffalo courtroom in 2007. A Vietnam veteran appeared before him for missing appointments and failing to keep in touch with his
October 22, 1962 started out like a normal day aboard the USS Canberra (CAG-2), an old heavy cruiser in port at Norfolk. But then word came from President John F. Kennedy himself that we were to head south toward Cuba to blockade the island. It was the culmination of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a
Written by Todd DePastino Folks old enough to remember Desert Shield and Storm will recall that when the war started, yellow ribbons sprouted like daffodils on front doors and mailboxes, lamp posts and traffic signs. They became a symbol of support for troops sent into harm’s way and an expression of hope that they would
Written by Todd DePastino For much of our history, Halloween wasn’t about candy and costumes. It was about vandalism. All that changed in World War II, when Americans invented trick-or-treating. Paper-mache jack-o’-lantern (National Museum of American History, Smithsonian) Several Octobers ago, I woke up, looked out the window and saw pumpkins smashed,
Air Force Trailblazer, Sandra OrtegaThe word “ebullient” comes to mind when I think of Dr. Sandra Ortega, an Air Force veteran who joined our VBC Happy Hour for the first time back in May. Sandy’s high-spirited approach to life no doubt saw her through the trials of serving as the first direct-commissioned Black woman officer
Colonel Kenneth G. Carlson graduated the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966, launching a twenty-six year career in the Army. Among his honors are two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars (one for Valor), and a Purple Heart. The story below is selected from his interview with the West Point Center for
