NEW VIDEOS

Gary Howard

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Gary Howard was just hanging around after high school learning carpentry when a friend suggested he enlist. He asked a recruiter if he could be a carpenter in the Army. Sure, but there's a six month wait to begin. I want to go now, though. Another recruiter leaned in and said, you look like a cop. (4:04)

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Vietnam was winding down when Gary Howard enlisted. He remembers watching the news every night because he had cousins there. At the recruiter's office, they told him he could pick his duty station if he did well on tests. I don't care where, came the response. Well, are you married and do you like beer? (4:32)

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As an MP in Cold War Berlin, Gary Howard witnessed the stark divide of East and West. His job was mostly regular police work but there were occasional incidents, like the time one of the MP's tried to smuggle his girlfriend out of East Berlin. (5:03)

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The difference was like night and day. When MP Gary Howard would cross into East Berlin, it was very dismal. The cars were all the same and the people reticent. But the exchange rate made the shopping and restaurants a bargain. His encounters with Russians were very business like. They were both doing a job. (6:43)

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After two-plus years in Berlin, MP Gary Howard was asked if he wanted to re-enlist and he asked, can I stay here? He decided to get out and joined the sherriff's department when he got home. He fit right in. (3:53)

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The skills he learned as an MP in the Army helped Gary Howard thrive in his new career of law enforcement. He started as an entry level officer and rose to head the department as Sheriff. (3:08)

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The tension between East and West in Cold War Berlin was a very palpable thing. Gary Howard served as an MP there and he had a constant worry that things could blow up quickly. (4:52)

Don Cope

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Don Cope loved everything about ROTC when he was in high school so it was natural that he join the service when his college ambitions were derailed. It was in the Air Force that he found his career calling in aircraft maintenance. (3:37)

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In the years following the Vietnam era, Don Cope served in multiple places around the world for the Air Force, running aircraft maintenance operations and teaching. After he left the service, he continued doing the same in the private sector. (7:23)

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When Don Cope was stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War, he was elated to meet President Johnson during a visit to the air base. He was less than elated, however, with the restrictive policies that prevented US forces from actually defeating the enemy and he relates the story of a pilot who felt the same way. (5:04)