NEW VIDEOS

Angela Beltz

---

The National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio is an amazing place for any veteran to visit, says Ohio veteran Angela Beltz. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, the National Veterans Memorial & Museum- https://nationalvmm.org/ .) (2:48)

---

There is a song that will make Angela Beltz recall her time in the desert, and another that will make her cry. As for the present, she is worried about the military being able to recruit among the existing pool of young people. (Interview conducted at, and with the assistance of, the National Veterans Memorial & Museum- https://nationalvmm.org/ .) (3:26)

Maurice O'Donnell

---

Coming out of the Depression, Maurice O'Donnell was fine with being drafted. They had regular meals there in the Army. He found the training camps in the South to be quite hot, unlike his home in Michigan. His duty post on the Atlantic crossing gave him another opportunity to eat. (3:50)

---

When Maurice O'Donnell was crossing the English Channel, he was surprised to see another troop ship all lit up. It was the SS Leopoldville, which had just been struck with a torpedo. His division had a change in mission because of the steep losses when it sank. Unfortunately, there were German 88's there, too. (5:20)

Loyd Laugherty

---

Loyd Laugherty met a lot of nice guys in basic training and one mean sergeant. When he shipped out for Europe, he was lucky enough to not get on the ship that was torpedoed in the English Channel. He lost a lot of friends when the SS Leopoldville went down. (4:11)

---

During the containing action at Lorient, which had a German submarine base, Loyd Laugherty set out on a combat patrol which took him right up to the enemy line. Soon he was pinned down by relentless fire and was hugging the ground next to a hedgerow. (6:20)

---

Loyd Laugherty could hardly believe that the war was over, but it wasn't long before he came off the line and began moving around Europe on a variety of occupation duties. Once he returned home, he worked several different jobs before finding an employer that he really appreciated. (4:24)

Bill Knowlton

---

Growing up with polio could have meant Bill Knowlton would’ve been unlikely to ever serve in the military, but in his favor he was able to join the Army after he got fed up working on Wall Street. Being placed in Airborne really gave him a love for the Army so he decided to take on more responsibility and go to Officer Candidate School. (5:04)

---

Coming out of Officer Candidate School, Bill Knowlton would be assigned to the Special Forces which had already done a lot of work in Vietnam. In fact, some members had already done multiple tours there, and he recalls the tragic story of one who was trying to go back to support his comrades. After another long stint of training, he’d get his orders to Vietnam. (6:06)

---

When Bill Knowlton arrived in Vietnam, he found himself under fire in no time. His assignment was to assist the locals in developing and defending their livestock and agriculture from the Viet Cong, He remembers calling for support during one firefight and seeing something he’d never seen before. (5:44)