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Omer Poorman

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He took basic training at Fort Riley, where there was still horse cavalry. The horses were so old and broken down that Omer Poorman asked to bring his own horse from home. After being "stored" for a while, as he calls it, he went to the 66th Infantry Division, which had just been created and was bound for the European theater. (3:44)

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Boarding the ship to cross from England to France was a disorganized mess, recalls Omer Poorman, who was on the SS Leopoldville. It was nearly there when a torpedo from a German submarine hit it in the stern. The captain of the escort destroyer HMS brilliant valiantly tried to save the ship and the men. (3:35)

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It was a containing action around two French towns where the Germans had submarine bases. There was a lot of artillery fire back and forth and it was friendly fire that nearly got Omer Poorman. After the war ended, he had several occupation duty posts before heading home. (2:45)

Kenny Bell

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He was a young country kid trying to make his way in an Army full of more sophisticated people. Kenny Bell got the manual for the artillery pieces and read it at night until he knew the guns inside and out. He volunteered to go overseas when he was sent to a stateside post. (5:09)

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His division was devastated by the sinking of the SS Leopoldville, so Kenny Bell was not sent to Battle of the Bulge. The 66th Infantry Division was instead given the assignment of containing German troops around submarine bases on the French coast. (4:39)

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Kenny Bell relates the story of a man on his gun crew who went into the nearby French town and came back with five gallons of wine. That night, while he was having a little party, a fire mission came in. Not good for accuracy. (1:54)

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The end of the war was a big moment for Kenny Bell. For the first time in a long time, he went into town and celebrated. That was in Brittany, but before he went home, he had occupation duty in several places. In Austria, he had a big German command car for his personal transportation. (4:25)

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After World War II, Kenny Bell wound up an Army lifer. He became known as a fixer, a sergeant who could come into a dysfunctional unit and straighten it out. (3:48)

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The war was over and the guy wanted a souvenir. Kenny Bell told him that that his idea was a bad one, burning out the load from an artillery projectile so he could keep the shell. In Bell's pocket was what everyone thought was a pack of cigarettes, but was actually the secret to his success. (2:33)

Brett Stroney

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Brett Stroney was just a high schooler on the day of the 9/11 attacks. He recalls the sense of duty that led him to consider the United States Military Academy as America entered the Global War on Terror. (7:55)