Veterans Chronicles

In this edition, hear the story of Army Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall (ret.) who received the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, 42 years after his heroic actions taken during The Battle of Ia Drang in 1965, during the Vietnam War.

This week, Gene's four guests are all veterans of World War II, all Marines, all pilots and all members of the original and later legendary Black Sheep Squadron led by ace pilot Greg "Pappy" Boyington.

John Del Vecchio is a decorated Vietnam veteran who wrote the highly acclaimed book "The 13th Valley." After serving in Vietnam, he later returned as a war correspondent. In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, he tells Gene of his wartime experiences...and his experiences as part of the media.

Army Major Jason Amerine is a leader of Army Special Forces who played a pivotal role in ousting the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The West Point graduate led a small U.S. force into the country to aid the guerrillas under Hamid Karzai against the regime which served as the protectors of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

Retired Navy Captain Thomas Hudner Jr. recounts his days as a Naval Aviator flying combat missions over Korea. He earned the nation's highest award for military heroism, the Medal of Honor, in his rescue attempt of Jessie Brown, the Navy's first African American aviator.

William Davis III was thinking about a job interview he was going to have at RCA in Camden, New Jersey on December 5, 1941, two days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shortly after the day of infamy, Davis joined the Naval Air Corps to go after the Japanese forces responsible for the attack. In this edition, he tells the story of how he would later go on to be credited with helping to sink the last Japanese carrier afloat that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

SSgt. David Bellavia from Buffalo, New York was a theater major in college with no drama in his life. By joining the Army, Bellavia said he found something that gave him meaning. The former Army Staff Sargent has received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, the Conspicuous Service Cross and been recommended for the Medal of Honor for actions taken in a fierce urban firefight during the 2004 Battle of Fallujah. Bellavia, a member of the New York Veteran's Hall of Fame, tells us his story of being in battle as well as his experience going back to Iraq as an embedded journalist.

Air Force Maj. General Edward Mechnbier (Ret.) was in the thick of battle in Vietnam two years after graduating from the Air Force Academy. He flew over 100 missions before being shot down and captured by the enemy, who imprisoned him in the notorious "Hanoi Hilton."

Gene talks to Major General David Jones (Ret.), one of the pilots during Jimmy Doolittle's raid, one of the most daring feats in US military history. Also, Greg Corombos spends time with Frank Buckles, the last living American veteran of World War I.

Sgt. Marco Martinez went from being a gang member as a teen to a hero in the United States Marine Corps. Sgt. Martinez tells Gene about his unconventional path to becoming the first Hispanic American during Operation Iraqi Freedom to earn the Navy Cross - second only to the Medal of Honor.

During the darkest days of World War II in April, 1942, then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led a daring raid on the Japanese homeland, providing a tremendous morale boost for the United States military. Retired Col. Carroll Glines was a cadet pilot in training at the time. He is a noted historian who is the official historian of General Doolittle and the Doolittle raid.

Imagine being a doctor working in in a emergency room with explosions and bombs going off all around you. That's what happened to Navy doctor Commander Richard Jadick whose battalion was called into Fallujah in November 2004 for the toughest battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He recalls his story of being "On Call In Hell."

Lt. General Richard Natonski is Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Plans, Policies and Operations.In 2004, He commanded the 1st Marine Division through counter insurgency operations, the Second Battle of Fallujah (known as Operation Phantom Fury), and the Iraqi national elections in January 2005.

It has been 40 years since Israeli Forces attacked the American surveillance ship USS Liberty on June 8, 1967. Since that time, the debate has continued about what happened and why. Officially, U.S. and Israeli policy contends the attack was an accident but former intelligence officials and the late Chief of Naval Operations contend otherwise.Three of the survivors, Joe Lentini, Glenn Oliphant and Dave Lucas, tell their story of what happened on that fateful day.