Raymond Bailey describes a horrible experience he had after the USS Franklin (CV-13) was hit by two bombs while operating off the coast of Japan in March 1945.

For extraordinary heroism and acts above and beyond the call of duty during World War II, the United States Congress awarded 473 Medals of Honor. To date, 3,534 have been awarded since the inception of the Medal during the US Civil War. Only one has ever been awarded to a US Coast Guardsman.

Joseph Armanini discusses the August 1943 Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission during which the 100th Bomb Group suffered terrible losses to German fighter aircraft.

Joseph LaNier describes two encounters he had with racism in the military, one of which surprised him.

James Allen describes his experiences aboard the USS Wahoo (SS-238) during her second war patrol in the waters off Guadalcanal.

Mary McLeod Bethune was a passionate educator and presidential advisor. In her long career of public service, she became one of the earliest black female activists that helped lay the foundation to the modern civil rights movement.

Jack Baldwin describes an experience he had with a young civilian in Germany a couple days after the war ended that remained with him for the rest of his life.

From January 1943 to June 1945, writer Kurt Vonnegut served in the US Army. His experiences with the 106th Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge and then later as a prisoner of war in Dresden imprinted his life and provided traumatic (and sometimes comedic) material for his novel Slaughterhouse-Five and other works.

Dominic Martello describes his experience of becoming a POW during the Battle of Kasserine Pass in North Africa.

Dr. Rothacker Smith looked death in the eye several times during World War II. In these moments during his wartime service, during captivity as a German POW and beyond, his faith carried him through and indeed directed much of his life, as did the proud tradition of the Buffalo Soldier which he upheld.

Byron O. Wilkins describes his experiences during the opening phase of the Battle of the Bulge from the opening shots to becoming a POW.

PhoM2c William “Bill” Roy describes his experiences aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-5) during the Battle of Midway.