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George Barber

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He chose the Navy because of the bunk and the chow. George Barber was an experienced welder so he was assigned as a metalsmith on a destroyer tender. He left the ship in Sardinia for a time attached to a motor torpedo base, maintaining PT boats. He was touched by the hungry children who would gather at the chow hall and he made friends with sailors from the Italian navy, who were also hungry. (4:42)

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After serving off Italy and southern France. the destroyer tender USS Denebola sailed all the way to Kwajalein in the Pacific. There, metalsmith George Barber worked on repairing destroyers that had been damaged. The Denebola would also take on wounded sailors for transfer to a hospital ship. He remained in the reserves after the war but had more important things to do than go to Korea. (3:13)

George Bruzgis

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New Yorker George Bruzgis opted for the draft instead of enlistment because it required a year less, just in case he didn't like the Army. Trained in armor, he was deployed to Korea where he was unnerved by the destruction he saw on his way to the front. There, the tanks were dug in and essentially acted as artillery pieces. (4:55)

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George Bruzgis received a non-combat injury in Korea when his platoon sergeant, who had a grudge because George was a Yankee from New York City, assigned him to midnight refueling duty. He fell in a slit trench in the dark and couldn't walk for several weeks. That wasn't the end of it. (5:09)

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The Armistice was scheduled to take effect that evening, but George Bruzgis received orders for a fire mission at dawn. The high explosive rounds were fired from the tank and, years later, he found out the significance of those rounds. He was able to revisit Korea twice due to the generosity and gratitude of the Korean people. (3:57)

George Carrigan

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It was hard to find a job after World War II with all the returning service members out there doing the same. George Carrigan and two buddies went to enlist in the Army but all the recruiters were out for lunch except the Air Force. He talked them into signing up and forgetting about their paratrooper dreams. (4:00)

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The class before his and the class after his were all sent to Korea but George Carrigan's entire class of radar maintenance technicians were sent to Germany. He found it to be much like America in some ways but it was also the front line in the Cold War. (4:07)

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The war damage had been cleaned up on the free side of the Berlin Wall but the other side looked pretty bad, according to radar technician George Carrigan. His unit operated and maintained the ground control radar and control towers at the air base in Erding. He recalls when a secret U2 reconnaissance plane made an emergency landing. (4:07)

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While stationed in Cold War Germany, George Carrigan met a German girl and they planned to get married. When he talked to the chaplain, he was asked if he realized he was consorting with the enemy. This did not deter him. (2:51)

George Cattelona

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For some reason, Marine recruit George Cattelona answered "artillery," when he was asked what course he wanted to take after basic training. While learning about the howitzers, he also learned not to volunteer for anything. On the train to the California, his unit had a bit of luck at a stop in New Orleans. (4:59)