Now Playing: Hugo Parkman, Hugo Parkman recounts, in detail, the rescue of downed aircraft pilot George H. W. Bush on Sept. 2nd, 1944, and befriending the future president. (04:40)
Recommended Clips
An American plane crashes upon landing in a remote Chinese airfield. Staff Sgt. Edlemann is trapped while the plane burns around him - WWII Mitch Touart, 11th Bombardment Squadron / 3:00
Lewis Fern witnesses the gruesome aftermath of an artillery strike in Anzio - WWII Lewis Fern, 82nd Airborne Division / 1:00
Brigadier General Harold Dye (retired) recounts the tragic death of a Lieutenant towards the end of the war in Germany near the Rhine - WWII Harold Dye, 569th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion / 2:16
Ray Davis tells the extraordinary story of the expedition he led to save the encircled Fox Company in N. Korea near the Chosin Reservoir. This act earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor. - Korea Ray Davis, 7th Marines / 5:17
During the landings on D-Day, Easy Red sector, Omaha Beach, Ed Marriott sees a friend lose his life. (Note: This video clip was used by the soldier’s family as part of an effort to have his death date corrected to June 6, 1944.) - WWII Ed Marriott, 6th Naval Beach Battalion / 1:30
Burt Vardeman tells the tragic story of how his tail gunner was lost over the Adriatic Sea after an intense, flak filled mission. - WWII Burt Vardeman, 484th Bomber Group (Heavy) / 3:43
Jack Litchfield, a British Merchant Marine captured by the Japanese, recalls a funny mistake by a Japanese officer that provides a great morale boost for his fellow prisoners that was ‘better than a meal.’ - WWII Jack Litchfield, Allies / 1:13
Herbert Braselton recalls the terrible aftermath of a torpedo attack on the USS Pennsylvania in the early hours of August 12, 1945 while anchored at Nakagusuku Bay on the island of Okinawa. - WWII Herbert Braselton, USS Pennsylvania / 4:52
Fred King breaks a soldier’s rule and gets a humorous surprise. - WWII Fred King, 45th Infantry Division / 2:04
Joe Peoples describes a close call in Germany when a prisoner put a gun in his face. - WWII Joe Peoples, 9th Armored Division / :58
Don Ogden's bomber takes flak during a run over Hungary and the plane goes down. The aftermath has stayed with Don his whole life. - WWII Don Ogden, 15th Air Force, 304th Bomb Wing, 456th Bomb Group, 745th Squadron / 9:54
Stuart Jamison recalls observing the reality and immediacy of death as his unit assaults a Viet Cong company during the Second Phase Tet Offensive. - Vietnam Stuart Jamison, 9th Infantry Division (ARVN) / 4:45
At the French port of Lorient, Jack Brantley and his artillery unit face a break out attempt by German Army forces desperate to escape their encirclement. - WWII Walter Jackson Brantley, 695th Armored Field Artillery Battalion / 8:98
Rocky Bleier remembers the "foxhole prayer" that he made as he lay wounded after a grenade explosion in Vietnam. (4-time Super Bowl winning Pittsburgh Steeler. www.rockybleier.com) - Vietnam Rocky Bleier, Americal Division (23rd Infantry Division) / 5:10
While in the hills outside of Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy, a series of attacks and counter-attacks lead Oliver Diffey to a serious injury caused by a German mortar round. - WWII Oliver Diffey, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment / 5:18
Clayton Byrd shares the amazing story of how he and his platoon kept fighting when surrounded by an overwhelming force during the Battle of the Bulge, thus earning them all Silver Stars. - WWII Clayton Byrd, 94th Infantry / 13:50
William Lubbeck, author of At Leningrad's Gates: The Combat Memoirs of a Soldier with Army Group North, recalls the fate of his unit as the war winds to a close and finally ends. - WWII William Lubbeck, 13th Infantry Company (German Army) / 11:14
Olin Plunkett recalls the unforgiving beach landings at Salerno. - WWII Olin Plunkett, 4th Naval Beach Battalion / 1:24
Exhausted after three days of hard fighting on Peleliu with multiple wounds, Frank Pomroy finds himself separated from his unit. He runs into a Japanese patrol and then is almost killed by his own men. - WWII Frank Pomroy, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines / 4:03
Frank Pomroy recounts his exploits upon arriving at Guadalcanal on the USS George F. Elliot, his numerous brushes with death on that ship, and witnessing firsthand the Allied defeat at the Battle of Savo Island. - WWII Frank Pomroy, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines / 9:58
Col. Lee Ellis (ret.) goes through the mission that led to his capture by NVA forces. - Vietnam Col. Lee Ellis (ret.), 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron / 13:57
H.T. Maclin recalls the violent sinking of the Anzio's sister ship, USS Bismarck Sea (CVE-95), in the waters off Iwo Jima. - WWII H.T. Maclin, Hospital Corpsman, USS Anzio (CVE-57) / 5:51
Col. Harold Weekley (ret.) goes through the events leading up to and during his bailout over the fields of Northern France. - WWII Col. Harold Weekley (ret.), 398th Bomb Group / 9:09
Hap Chandler talks about losing fellow airmen while in the air and the feelings that come with it. - WWII Lt. Col. Hap Chandler (ret.), 8th Air Force, 491st Bomb Group / 2:50
Fred enters Carentan on June 12, 1944. He transfers a machine gun to a new position during heavy fighting, and witnesses the horrible fate of another soldier. - WWII Fred Bahlau, 101st Airborne Division, 506th PIR / 2:57
Paratrooper Mario Patruno, recalls the hard work and humor of basic training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia, including how a friend lost all of his teeth. - WWII Mario Patruno, 101st Airborne Division, 506 PIR, Company F / 3:13
Assigned as an officer's driver in the lead truck, 2LT Pinkerton describes how he felt the moment after riding over a live improvised explosive device (IED) that miraculously didn't explode. - Iraq 2LT Chris Pinkerton, 25th ID (ABN) / 6:22
