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Frank Capuozzi

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Frank Capuozzi was born in Naples. His father worked as a chef in America and as soon as he became a citizen in 1939, he sent for the rest of the family. Frank learned English and worked in the restaurant with his father. After Pearl Harbor, he was drafted and became a citizen in the Army before he shipped out to Europe. (4:58)

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He came in as a replacement to a tank destroyer battalion. Frank Capuozzi was a rifleman who rode in a jeep ahead of the guns as they pushed across France. His unit joined the forces ordered into the Battle of the Bulge, where he had to get some help when he was frozen in a foxhole. (4:03)

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Without enough points to go home in the first wave of returnees, Frank Capuozzi became an acting mess sergeant and took over a kitchen. After all, he was the son of a chef. When he did get home he started a family and worked as a top rate hairdresser in New York. (5:33)

Joe Diomede

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Joe Diomede was one of five boys growing up in New Jersey in what was a pretty rowdy home. One of his brothers was serious about becoming a special forces member but it wasn't on Joe's radar. After 9/11 he was angry, like everyone else, but the memory had faded somewhat by the time he graduated high school. (3:24)

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After a less than stellar start to college, Joe Diomede ran into a Marine recruiter at a shopping mall and struck up a conversation. He was ripe for the picking. When he told his parents he'd enlisted, his dad had a little surprise for him. (5:19)

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After his train up, Joe Diomede's motor transport outfit joined the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit on a cruise. He spent a lot of time fighting rust on his trucks down in the hold but he had time to visit a lot of interesting ports of call and he got to meet a SEAL team celebrating a successful mission. (Caution: strong language.) (3:52)

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When he was the training NCO for his unit, Joe Diomede was proud of helping guys get their deserved promotions. The most memorable guy in his unit was Doc Curry, the Corpsman, who seemed to know everything and jumped right in to help with any task. (3:45)

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When Joe Diomede got to Afghanistan, he thought he had landed back in Twentynine Palms. His anxiety level started to creep upward when he saw gun emplacements but he knew he was well trained and ready for anything. He was a "Motor T" Marine who was there to run convoys so, naturally, his first action involved an IED. (4:25)

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It was their worst day in Afghanistan. Joe Diomede's Motor T unit was in a convoy when a truck up front hit a mine. Another truck moved up to help and it hit a mine. Then his truck got hit. Before it was over, at least nine trucks were disabled. (5:53)

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It was a big convoy with over a hundred local Afghan national fuel trucks along with Marine tactical vehicles. As soon as they set out, torrential rains began and everything slowed to a crawl. Joe Diomede remembers the boredom of being stuck in one place for days at a time. This was interrupted more than once by attacks, including one that crippled his vehicle. (7:37)