By David Nasaw Over one million Black men and women served in a racially segregated military in World War II, separate and unequal. Fighting in every theater across the globe, Black Americans saw the war as an opportunity for advancement. In 1942, the nation’s largest black newspaper, The Pittsburgh Courier, urged readers to embrace
We said goodbye to one of our most memorable and famous VBC veterans, John "Lucky" Luckadoo, who was the last surviving pilot from World War II's "Bloody Hundredth" 100th Bomb Group. Luckadoo died September 1, 2025, at the age of 103. John Luckadoo survived 25 harrowing missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot over
Written by John Duresky After we ran our VBC Magazine piece asking “When is V-J Day?” I heard from historian John Duresky, co-author (with David Britt) of Relentless Hope: A True Story of War and Survival about Bataan Death March survivor Chester Britt. John noticed the radio in our V-J Day photo from 1945
One of the great things of working with veterans and their families is hearing stories that don’t make it into textbooks. For those of us who care about history, these first-hand and second-hand memories present both a challenge and an opportunity. How do we preserve these stories of World War II as their tellers
Below is the story of Marvin C. Wolfe, a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Company I. Marvin fought from D-Day through Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. In 2004, six years before he passed away, Marvin wrote his story down and also recorded it on
The VBC--and the world--lost one of its most beloved veterans ever to share his story with us. Jake Larson—decorated World War II veteran and unlikely social media star known to millions as “Papa Jake”—died peacefully at his home in the San Francisco Bay Area on July 17, 2025. He was 102. Jake joined us
