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  Hank Cramer - Army +8 Total Videos

  1st Special Forces Group

  There were two parallel conflicts in Central America while Hank Cramer was serving with Special Forces in the area. The Sandanistas were fighting the Contras in Nicaragua and Manuel Noriega was running Panama like Al Capone.

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  Tom Kirk - Army +10 Total Videos

  336th Medical Detachment

  It was decades after his Vietnam tour that Tom Kirk got the call again. He was flying for a Reserve Medevac unit that was mobilized for Desert Storm. They were based in Riyadh and their helicopters had to be modified to deal with the sand. The Americans also had to deal with Saudi customs and social mores.

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  Sean Baerman - Air Force +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Fighter pilot Sean Baerman's career was defined by the aircraft he loved The A-10, affectionately known as the Warthog. It was designed to fight the Soviets but instead it saw service all over the world against a variety of enemies. (Caution: strong language)

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  Hank Cramer - Army +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  What is one sign of a Special Forces success? The lack of a war. If war does break out, they are likely already there. Hank Cramer's father was a member of the very first Special Forces unit and their motto was Everywhere Yet Nowhere.

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  LTG Eric Wesley - Army +8 Total Videos

  1st Armored Division

  LTG Wesley was deployed to Germany at the tail end of the Cold War where he was able to serve with the 1st Armored Division. He would have to sit out Desert Storm, but the experience gained during this time would be very valuable in the future.

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  Geoff Farrell - Army +8 Total Videos

  2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

  Lt. Geoff Farrell was sleeping in the command track when he heard it on the radio. We were at war with Iraq. His armored cavalry unit crossed from Saudi Arabia into Iraq where they were greeted by friendly children in the middle of nowhere.

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  Hank Cramer - Army +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Hank Cramer had grown up with only a memory of his father. He wanted to be in Special Forces like him but the Army put him in the Signal Corps. He did manage to get to Airborne School and he kept applying for Special Forces, always hoping. Finally, he got the call. It was the First Special Forces Group, the same unit as his father.

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  Don Lacy - Navy +3 Total Videos

  US Naval Communications Unit 4

  Don Lacy was managing a radio shop in Atlanta when he got the notice. The Navy wanted him back on active duty. He was sent to Tripoli to work at a communications facility and it turned out to be good duty.

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  Walt Richardson - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  For Walt Richardson, it was all about the core values of America. As one of the first black airmen to integrate the Air Force, he calls on his unique perspective to explain why America is so much greater than other nations that are so much older.

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  Hank Cramer - Army +8 Total Videos

  1st Special Forces Group

  Five years was all the Signal Corps would let Hank Cramer stay in Special Forces and he was in the field nearly the entire time. There was no war, but countries everywhere were asking for help. All over Southeast Asia and then on to Central America where no one got along.

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  Wes Ruth - Navy +6 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  As a Navy pilot, Wes Ruth had a number of assignments related to photo-reconnaissance during the Cold War, including the research and development of Navy technology. He also studied the progress of our Allies in that crucial area. He then took command of a patrol squadron. His last stop before retiring was in Naval Intelligence.

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  LTG (Ret) Freddy McFarren - Army +10 Total Videos

  18th Field Artillery Brigade

  Freddy McFarren was interviewed by the media when he was in Vietnam and again during Operation Desert Storm. It didn't go well either time.

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  Tom Pemberton - Army +10 Total Videos

  Transportation Division, US Army Europe

  Tom Pemberton spent the last of his twenty years in the Army in Europe. The transportation officer put his experience to use in one last arena before retiring.

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  Ken Preston - Army +33 Total Videos

  Sergeant Major of the Army

  The all volunteer Army faced serious challenges in the transition from a conscript force. Retired Sgt Major of the Army Ken Preston was there for the whole ride and has some observations about how it became a success.

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  Charlie Hooper - Navy +3 Total Videos

  USS Scanner (YAGR-5)

  He knew the draft would get him as soon as he graduated college, so Charlie Hooper joined the Navy Reserve and went active. He was assigned to a radar picket ship, which patrolled the West coast in a Cold War defensive operation.

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  Carter Tucker - Navy +10 Total Videos

  USS Bluegill (SSK-242)

  He had joined because of it, but the Korean War ended while Carter Tucker was in submarine school. Without a shooting war, the vessels were used for intelligence gathering and this nearly led to an icy disaster for him on his first patrol off the coast of Russia.

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  Joseph Hudson - Army +8 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  It wasn't glamorous at Fort Leonard Wood, but Joseph Hudson was there doing his best, working in supply. He re-enlisted a second time while he was there, going to a cavalry unit at Fort Meade, where he learned about that unique vehicle, the Duck.

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  Angela Beltz - Army +11 Total Videos

  134th Quartermaster Detachment

  In her quartermaster unit, Angela Beltz had to endure the stereotyping of women in the Army. It was difficult to find any men with much sympathy. But when she got to the Ohio National Guard, she found something she really liked, a new truck. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, the National Veterans Memorial & Museum- https://nationalvmm.org/)

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  Geoff Farrell - Army +8 Total Videos

  2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

  When the cease fire was declared, American units had not yet reached Baghdad. In his command track, Geoff Farrell had the graphics on his screen to guide him right in, but it was decided we would not go. Looking back to that critical moment, he reflects on the decision.

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  BG Robert L. Stewart - Army +16 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  After the Challenger tragedy, NASA mission specialist Bob Stewart returned to the Army where they made him a general. He worked at the Strategic Defense Command, a legacy of Ronald Reagan's SDI program. At some point the Army wanted him in Washington DC, at which point he promoted himself to ski bum.

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  Rick Hilton - Air Force +11 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  He was only four years old when Rick Hilton's uncle let him "fly" his airplane. The kid couldn't reach all the controls but he did get a deep desire to fly. He got his chance in college with the Air Force cadet program and was soon piloting jet fighters.

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  Dianne Butts - Army +3 Total Videos

  23rd Transportation Company

  Dianne Butts aced the PT test while she was in advanced courses for administration at Fort Benjamin Harrison. More personal milestones would come soon, the birth of a daughter and the founding of a public service sorority.

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  Curtis James - Marines +5 Total Videos

  Marine Corps Education Center

  Working as a Marine staff officer at Quantico, Curtis James was in attendance at some pretty high level meetings. During one of these, he was the lunch guest of the most powerful man in the world.

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  George Ferkes - Air Force +12 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  When he returned from Vietnam, George Ferkes is fairly sure he saw his old hooch burning on the television when Quang Tri fell. After a couple of years he leapt at the chance to join a special ops outfit, even though, at the time, there was little interest in those units.

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  Olin Rossman - Army +7 Total Videos

  1st Battalion. 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

  Squad leader Olin Rossman pays tribute to the men in his squad, who fought well in Mogadishu. There was also the medic, who showed incredible courage while treating wounded men under fire. (Caution: strong language)

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  Changiz Lahidji - Army +8 Total Videos

  Green Beret

  When Green Beret Changiz Lahidji was in the Philippines during the coup there, he encountered the men of SEAL Team 6. He did not appreciate their swagger.

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  Scott Wealing +7 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Scott Wealing tells why he supports the Warrior Reunion Foundation, a non-profit organization that organizes and facilitates reunions for veterans and their families.

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  Roland Guidry - Air Force +18 Total Videos

  8th Special Operations Squadron

  Early in the planning for the rescue attempt of the hostages in Iran, it was decided that carrier based helicopters would be the key aircraft. They would rendezvous with fixed wing aircraft carrying personnel and fuel in the remote Iranian desert. Pilot Roland Guidry explains why a preliminary clandestine mission was required before planning could continue. Part 2 of 4.

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  Paul Berry - Army +16 Total Videos

  Multiple Units

  Education is something that Paul Berry eagerly embraced in the Army. It got him cushy jobs and kept him out of dirty ones. Especially valuable was the esoteric science known as typing. He also absorbed all the medical knowledge and skills that he could.

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  Bob Ratonyi +17 Total Videos

  Hungarian Civilian

  He was free. Bob Ratonyi had made it out of communist Hungary into Austria. His first stop was a refugee camp, which was overcrowded. He made it to Vienna with the help of a Catholic charity and, once there, he made straight for the American embassy. Unfortunately, the quota for refugees had been met. He had three choices, Australia, Sweden and Canada.