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Freddie Owens

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Freddie Owens has maintained contact with his fellow veterans from Vietnam, sometimes talking them out from under the bed in the middle of the night. His own healing was incomplete when he saw the Twin Towers fall on 9-11 and that became a turning point for him. (3:21)

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Freddie Owens says there is a difference between Vietnam veterans and the veterans returning from wars today. Those people are worse off and in terrible shape after multiple combat tours. Although he was able to put his life in order after his war experiences, not everyone is so lucky. (5:19)

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The man was a World War II veteran and he was clutching a flag at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Freddie Owens tells his remarkable story and how he became the subject of a famous photograph. And don't you tell him that the Wall doesn't talk to you. (5:30)

Freeman Barber

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Freeman Barber grew up tramping through the snowy woods of upstate New York. This would serve him well in the war but first, he had to survive student tank drivers and KP at Fort Knox. Then there was the time he almost burned down the general's office. (7:09)

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A bad case of pneumonia put Freeman Barber out of commission during basic training and while he was recuperating, his armored unit shipped out. He joined another unit and they prepared to follow them to Europe. Years later, he discovered the grim truth of what happened to that first group of men. (2:50)

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After a rough Atlantic crossing, Freeman Barber's armored unit waited in England for deployment to the front. While there, he managed to visit a friend's home for Christmas and drive a tank past Stonehenge. Once underway in France, the record-breaking cold proved was a challenge. (5:47)

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He was a cannoneer on a Sherman tank crew, in charge of the ammunition and because he was an obstinate survivor, Freeman Barber was also the unofficial forager. Before his unit deployed, he had filled the tank with canned goods from the kitchen. This caused some commotion later. (7:52)

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The first night in France, the rest of the men were lucky to have Freeman Barber along because the Yankee Boy Scout made a lean-to with a tarp that kept them off the snow. The armored unit was shuffled around in support of different outfits, including the British under Montgomery. As they pushed into Germany, they learned to not ignore the haystacks. (7:00)

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The armored unit had to hold up for a while so Freeman Barber's crew dug a pit for protection from artillery and frigid temperatures. After nearly doing themselves in with candles, they crossed the Rhine on a pontoon bridge, which can be an adventure in a thirty ton Sherman tank. (3:47)

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The German 88mm gun was very effective against tanks. Freeman Barber recalls when his unit lost over thirty tanks like a row of ducks on the road. Also deadly were the shoulder fired Panzerfaust rockets fired from concealed spider holes. In one town, as he stood up in the hatch, he stared down a German 88 just as he heard the whoosh of a shell fired straight at him. (7:00)