Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a special Book Release Edition of VBC Live celebrating the publication of the new, updated edition of Consequences: An Intelligence Officer’s War by former Air Force counterintelligence officer David Grantham.

This event also marks the launch of VBC Books, the Veterans Breakfast Club’s new publishing imprint created in partnership with Blue Ear Books. We couldn’t imagine a more fitting first title.

In 2006, David Grantham entered Iraq as a young counterintelligence officer with the elite Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). Fresh out of training, he found himself operating in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and eventually at Camp Bucca—the sprawling American detention facility that would later become known as the incubator of ISIS. His mission was not to fight on the front lines, but to gather intelligence, recruit sources, protect American forces, and understand an increasingly chaotic battlefield where every decision carried unforeseen consequences.

Written as narrative nonfiction, Consequences offers a rare, ground-level view of intelligence work during the Iraq War. Rather than focusing on secret gadgets or Hollywood-style espionage, Grantham reveals the patient, uncertain, and deeply human work of earning trust, weighing evidence, and making decisions when lives—and history—hang in the balance. Reviewers have praised the book for opening a window into a world few Americans ever see and for exploring how choices made during wartime can echo for decades.

During this special conversation, David will discuss:

• What counterintelligence officers actually do in wartime
• The hidden intelligence battle behind the Iraq War
• Camp Bucca, Iran’s growing influence, and the rise of ISIS
• The burden of making life-and-death decisions with incomplete information
• Why he decided to tell this story—and what he learned by writing it

We’ll also celebrate the beginning of VBC Books and discuss why preserving veterans’ stories in print remains one of the Veterans Breakfast Club’s most important missions.

Whether you’re interested in military history, intelligence, the Global War on Terror, or simply a remarkable personal story told with honesty and humility, this promises to be an unforgettable evening.

Come help us celebrate the launch of a new book—and a new chapter in the Veterans Breakfast Club’s mission to preserve, publish, and share veterans’ stories.

One of the oldest surviving U.S. Army buildings in America is the Hessian Powder Magazine in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. This sturdy limestone structure was built during the darkest days of the American Revolution to store the gunpowder and ammunition that helped sustain George Washington’s army. But who built it? And why has it long been known as the “Hessian” Powder Magazine?

Join us for a special America 250 program featuring a screening of the new 40-minute documentary The Hessian Powder Magazine, followed by a live conversation with historian Jack Leighow of the U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center and Army University, who helped lead the years-long research behind the film.

Drawing on newly uncovered documents, architectural analysis, ground-penetrating radar, and archaeological excavations, the documentary follows the remarkable effort to solve a centuries-old historical puzzle. The investigation confirms that the building is indeed the Revolutionary War powder magazine constructed in 1777 as part of the sprawling military depot at Carlisle, one of the Continental Army’s most important centers for manufacturing weapons, ammunition, and military supplies. It also reveals compelling evidence that Hessian prisoners captured at Trenton likely helped build the magazine, giving new meaning to a name that had long been dismissed as little more than local legend.

The story illuminates the enormous logistical effort behind American independence, the workshops, foundries, carpenters, blacksmiths, laborers, and military planners who supplied Washington’s army when victory depended as much on production as battlefield success. It also reminds us that history is never finished. Even after 250 years, archaeology, archival research, and careful scholarship continue to reshape what we know about the Revolution.

Following the film, Jack Leighow will discuss the investigation, answer questions, and explain how this remarkable survivor of the Revolutionary War is helping us better understand the nation’s founding as America approaches its 250th anniversary.

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a remarkable conversation with William S. Reeder Jr., the last U.S. Army soldier taken prisoner during the Vietnam War and author of Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam.

In 1972, then-Captain Reeder was flying Cobra gunship missions in support of South Vietnamese forces near the besieged Special Forces camp at Ben Het, close to the Cambodian border. During an intense battle, his helicopter was shot down. After evading capture for three days, he was taken prisoner by North Vietnamese forces.

What followed was an extraordinary ordeal. Reeder spent weeks confined in jungle cages before enduring a brutal forced march along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Seven men in his group of twenty-seven POWs died during the journey. Eventually imprisoned in Hanoi, he spent nearly a year in captivity before returning home during Operation Homecoming in 1973.

Reeder’s memoir, Through the Valley, vividly recounts not only the horrors of captivity but also the bonds among prisoners, the strength drawn from family and country, and the determination to survive under unimaginable conditions.

A decorated Army aviator, Reeder flew dangerous reconnaissance and attack missions throughout Southeast Asia, including classified operations over Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. His service earned him numerous decorations, including the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Prisoner of War Medal.

During this live conversation, Reeder will reflect on his service and, as always, we’ll leave plenty of time for audience questions and conversation.

About William S. Reeder Jr.

William Reeder is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, combat aviator, and former prisoner of war. Captured in 1972 after his helicopter was shot down near Ben Het, he spent nearly two years as a POW before his release in 1973. His acclaimed memoir, Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam, is considered one of the most compelling firsthand accounts of the American POW experience during the Vietnam War. His story has also been featured by the Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine and numerous military history organizations.