Tom Brown served as an infantryman in Vietnam, where he faced frequent and ferocious firefights as a member of the Big Red One. About six months into his tour, his unit was ambushed near the Cambodian border and Tom was severely wounded by a grenade. He describes his journey from there in today’s episode.

The Vietnam War had a soundtrack. For the men and women in-country, music -- and often one specific song -- provided an escape and a connection to "the world." Join Paul Meincke as he listens in to a recent talk by Doug Bradley, co-author of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War."

On March 6, 1944, Richard Bushong was at the controls of a B-17 Flying Fortress as part of the first daylight bombing raid to reach Berlin during WWII. The air armada that day stretched for 94 miles in the sky and inflicted heavy damage on the Nazis -- but at an alarming cost to the Allied forces as well.

On December 7, 1966, Air Force Captain John W. Carlson was shot down near Bien Hoa. To this day, he remains listed as Missing in Action. He left behind a wife and two young daughters, Margot and Kim, who struggled to grasp the depth of their loss. While they continue to search for his final resting place, Margot also founded the 2 Sides Project, which unites children whose fathers died fighting each other to bring about understanding and lasting healing. This is their story.

As a teenager in Vietnam, Donald Talbot was involved in a firefight so intense that many of his fellow Marines were killed. Himself badly wounded, Talbot emerged from unconsciousness with the realization that his hands were being bound together. He quickly understood that to stay alive he would have to play dead -- and that was just the beginning of his fight for survival.

Russel McClintock served over three decades in the Navy, beginning during the Vietnam War and continuing through and beyond the first Gulf War. That service was -- in part -- meant to honor the father whose name he shares. Russel McClintock, Sr., was a B-26 gunner in WWII when his plane was shot down over Italy, leading to his capture and eventual incarceration in the infamous Stalag 17B. When Russel the son traveled on HFC112 last year, he did so to honor both McClintocks.

Long after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, American service members were still fighting on the peninsula -- though their weapon of choice was not a firearm or a mortar but the power of the pen. William Fireside's mission in Korea was Psychological Operations (PsyOps for short), and the adventures he had in the execution of that mission make for an entertaining episode.

John Lee's Air Force basic training testing in 1955 revealed a hidden skill: an aptitude for foreign languages. His first assignment was a yearlong intensive study of Russian at Syracuse University. He then took those skills -- and a top-secret clearance -- to the border with East Germany where he and others listened in on Soviet pilots flying overhead.