Episodios

  • MCPO Edward Byers, U.S. Navy SEAL, Afghanistan, Iraq, Medal of Honor

    MCPO Edward Byers, U.S. Navy SEAL, Afghanistan, Iraq, Medal of Honor
    Oct 29 2025
    Edward Byers became fascinated with the military - and Navy SEALs in particular - through books and movies in his younger years. He joined the U.S. Navy and, just a few months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, began SEAL training. His service would then bring him face to face with our enemies on multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Byers takes us through the mentally and physically grueling experience of BUD/s training to become a SEAL and his deployments to Iraq. And Byers walks us through the harrowing and costly mission to rescue an American doctor that resulted in Byers receiving the military's highest honor.
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    36 m
  • BM3 Vaughn Collicott, U.S. Navy, World War II, D-Day

    BM3 Vaughn Collicott, U.S. Navy, World War II, D-Day
    Oct 22 2025
    Vaughn Collicott spent the first year of his life traveling in a covered wagon. Before he was 21 years old, he was helping to fire the guns of a Navy destroyer at German positions on the coast of Normandy. The very same day, his ship was hit and sunk in the English Channel.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Collicott takes us from the frigid confines of training at Great Lakes, Illinois, to D-Day, to serving in the Pacific during the final months of the war.

    Collicott tells us about going though fire control training and then being assigned to the brand new USS Meredith. He explains what the Meredith's role was on D-Day and how it targeted and destroyed a troublesome German pillbox the next day.

    But just hour later, the Meredith was struck and it slowly sunk. Collicott walks us through that harrowing experience in detail, including why he survived the blast, what he did immediately afterwards, the injuries he saw that day, and the moments that still haunt him.

    Collicott then shares his experiences in Pacific aboard the USS Lanier, including the new jobs that he had and how he almost got left behind in Guam as the Lanier was pulling out of port.

    Finally, he details his efforts later in life to correct the official history of the USS Meredith.
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    35 m
  • TSgt Joe 'Peppy' Sciarra, U.S. Army, World War II, Battle of Luzon

    TSgt Joe 'Peppy' Sciarra, U.S. Army, World War II, Battle of Luzon
    Oct 15 2025
    Joe "Peppy" Sciarra was drafted into the U.S. Army the day after he graduated from high school. All four boys in his family served during World War II. After basic training, Sciarra was assigned to the Army's 25th Infantry Division, known as "Tropic Lightning." He was then ordered to be part of a heavy weapons platoon operating 81 millimeter mortars. The weapon would be critical to the U.S. driving the Japanese off of 47 separate ridges on the island of Luzon in the Philippines over five months in 1945.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Sciarra explains how the 81 millimeter guns were operated and why he sees them as the decisive weapon at Luzon. He also tells us about a suprisingly easy landing at Luzon, but there would nothing easy after that. He details the Japanese weapons that took a significant toll on American forces, what it was like fighting uphill all the time, how the Japanese ambushed our soldiers, and how he ended up with with a promotion he didn't want.

    Sciarra also takes us into the personal side of war, losing friends, and honoring the remains of the fallen. He also tells us about his harrowing journey to Japan for occupational duty and the serious illness he faced at the end of the war. But more than anything, Sciarra wants all Americans to appreciate the courage and sacrifice of the U.S. Army infantry in World War II and beyond.
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    34 m
  • Joseph Picard, U.S. Army Artillery, World War II, Battle of the Bulge

    Joseph Picard, U.S. Army Artillery, World War II, Battle of the Bulge
    Oct 8 2025
    Joseph Picard was a teenager when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. Unlike some of his peers, Picard was neither excited to join the service nor dreading it. He just accepted that he would need to serve.

    After completing basic training, Picard was assigned to the 552nd Field Artillery Battalion, working with the massive 240mm guns. The battalion was held out of D-Day operations and landed at Utah Beach in late June 1944.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Picard takes us through all the work involved in assembling and operating the 240mm guns. He also walks us from Utah Beach through the Battle for St. Lo and the Allied drive to Paris.

    Picard also describes the devastating combat at the Battle of Aachen, losing his best friend in combat, and the chaos and bitter cold at the Battle of the Bulge.
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    36 m
  • Don Graves, USMC, World War II, Iwo Jima

    Don Graves, USMC, World War II, Iwo Jima
    Oct 1 2025
    Don Graves tried to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps the day after President Franklin Roosevelt declared the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor a day of infamy. Since he was only 16 years old, Graves had to wait another six months to enlist. When he did, he went through basic training in California and was soon assigned as a flamethrower operator in the 2nd Battalion, 28th Regiment, 5th Marine Division.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Graves recounts the harrowing landing during the third wave at Iwo Jima, getting pinned down in the water, what they had to do to reach the volcanic ash beach, and how he begged God to spare his life as the bullets flew above him.

    Graves also tells us about the fight up Mount Suribachi against Japanese forces with the higher ground. He explains what made the difference in the fight, a shocking encounter with a Japanese soldier during the battle, and what he remembers about the iconic flag raising atop Mount Suribachi.

    Then Graves details an even more intense fight at Hill 362 A, where his unit lost all its remaining officers. He also takes us into the fighting in the caves, both with guns and with his flamethrower. And he shares one of the most devastating moments of the battle that took place in his own foxhole.

    Finally, Graves describes leaving the island alive when so many other Marines didn't. And he remembers hearing the news of the Japanese surrender just as he was training for the invasion of Japan.
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    36 m
  • LCDR Ed Hiner, U.S. Navy SEAL, Iraq, Afghanistan

    LCDR Ed Hiner, U.S. Navy SEAL, Iraq, Afghanistan
    Sep 24 2025
    Ed Hiner had no intention of joining the military until a friend's father forced him to help a military family in need. During that experience, Hiner met a Navy SEAL, learned about what the SEALs do, and immediately knew that's what he wanted to do with his life. Hiner joined the Navy, qualified for BUD/s training, and was one of just 10 SEAL candidates in his class to graduate.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Hiner takes us through BUD/s training - from how his life abruptly changed the moment he arrived at Coronado to the mental toughness required to survive to his absolute refusal to quit.

    Hiner shares stories from his deployments to Iraq, including a high-profile mission thrust upon him as soon as he arrived and capturing the notorious "Butcher of Ramadi."

    He also talks about the value of restraint in combat and why not using lethal force often saved a lot of lives and trouble.
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    35 m
  • Lieutenant (J.G.) Patrick Zilliacus, U.S. Navy, World War II

    Lieutenant (J.G.) Patrick Zilliacus, U.S. Navy, World War II
    Sep 17 2025
    Patrick Zilliacus was born in Finland and came to the U.S. when his father became the Finnish military attache in Washington, primarily to procure weapons for Finland's war with Russia. Left on his own in the U.S. at age 16, Zilliacus worked in a steel mill before joining the U.S. Navy in 1943. He was assigned as a torpedo man on a brand new submarine, the USS Spot.

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Zilliacus explains how he was almost killed when the USS Spot went out for "shakedown" after commissioning. He also details what it was like stalking and attacking Japanese vessels off the coast of China, and how his sub sunk the Nanking Maru.

    Zilliacus also tells us what it was like to be pursued by Japanese ships, how the Spot was very close to a major event at the end of the war, and what his future wife told him about Japanese atrocies committed against her family in the Philippines.

    He also shares the story of how his father crossed paths with a major Axis leader long before World War II and why he does not want World War II veterans to be called the Greatest Generation.
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    36 m
  • Lt Gen. Marc Sasseville, USAF, Air National Guard, 9/11, Iraq

    Lt Gen. Marc Sasseville, USAF, Air National Guard, 9/11, Iraq
    Sep 10 2025
    Ltt Gen. Marc Sasseville was born into an Air Force family and that played a significant role in his decision to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and become an Air Force officer. After 14 years on active duty, Sasseville shifted to the Air National Guard in 1999 and also became a commercial airline pilot.

    On September 11, 2001, Sasseville was serving with the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard at Andrews Air Force base when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners. Once the second plane struck the World Trade Center, Sasseville and everyone else on base knew it was a terrorist attack. But would there be more planes? And would they be headed for Washington, D.C.?

    In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Gen. Sasseville tells how that day unfolded. He explains what development required pilots in the D.C. Air National Guard to scramble their F-16's and be ready to confront any other other planes being flown by terrorists. But they had a big problem. None of their F-16's were armed with missiles and there was no time to wait for that. The reality soon hit home: if they needed to stop an airliner, they'd have to hit it with their own planes. If that was required, they would not be coming home.

    Sasseville takes us through his thinking on the most effective way to strike an airliner with an F-16. Ultimately, that would not be necessary due to the heroism of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93. Sasseville honors them and he tells us what it was like flying near the Pentagon not long after it was attacked.

    He also reveals the unexpected assignment he received later in that day on 9/11 and details his time as commander of the 410th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron in the early days of the Iraq War. Finally, he reflects upon what was really asked of him on 9/11 and his instinctive willingness to put his life on the line to protect our nation.
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    36 m