Veterans Chronicles
Veterans Chronicles brings America’s military heroes to life through raw, first-person stories. Veterans recount the battles and moments that shaped their lives, from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan. Powerful, personal, and deeply human, Veterans Chronicles preserves history one voice at a time.
Episodes
December 10, 2025 • 35 mins
Matt Smith grew up on Long Island and joined Army ROTC at the University of Delaware in 1989. Four years later, he was commissioned as an officer. Smith was working in the private sector and serving in the Army National Guard when the 9/11 terrorist attacks were perpetrated by Al Qaeda in 2001. Over the next two decades, Smith would be leading soldiers into combat during the invasion of Iraq and on two deployments in Afghanistan.
In...
In...
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December 3, 2025 • 35 mins
Ed Miklavic was one of 12 children and he ended up joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1940 because he tagged along with his brother and a friend to the Army recruiter. But Ed was better qualified than both of them. This was before the U.S. entered World War II, and the Army didn't even have a current uniform to give Miklavcic. Nonetheless, he headed out west for training and was stationed at Pearl Harbor's Wheeler Field leading up ...
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November 26, 2025 • 36 mins
William Keim joined the U.S. Merchant Marine in 1943 at the age of 17. He was called to active duty when he turned 18 years old that same year. For the next two years, he served as an oilerman on Liberty Ships in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, transporting critical supplies and evading constant enemy efforts to sink their ships.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Keim tells all about the Liberty Ships and his role ...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Keim tells all about the Liberty Ships and his role ...
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November 19, 2025 • 34 mins
Sydney Levit was 17 years old when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Like most kids his age, he was eager to serve. In 1943, Levit was drafted into the U.S. Army and he soon had the opportunity to join the airborne, training as a paratrooper and also with gliders. He became part of the 17th Airborne Division.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Levit describes the rigorous training he went through as part of the airborne, incl...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Levit describes the rigorous training he went through as part of the airborne, incl...
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November 12, 2025 • 39 mins
Ralph Gastelum grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and never experienced much of a winter before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. His first real winter would be spent in Korea in some of the most bitterly cold temperatures that American forces have ever experienced - at Chosin Reservoir in Korea.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Sgt. Gastelum recalls the Inchon Landing. He also explains what urban combat was like in those early days an...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Sgt. Gastelum recalls the Inchon Landing. He also explains what urban combat was like in those early days an...
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November 5, 2025 • 35 mins
Handlon Tim "Bear" Handlon wanted to serve in the military after seeing the 9/11 terrorist attacks unfold on television. There was just one problem. He was only in eighth grade. After a football scholarship to Yale and a few years in the private sector, Handlon went to Navy Officer Candidate School with a goal of becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Handlon takes us through BUD/s training in great detai...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Handlon takes us through BUD/s training in great detai...
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October 29, 2025 • 36 mins
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 gr...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Byers takes us through the mentally and physically gr...
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October 22, 2025 • 35 mins
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 dur...
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 dur...
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October 15, 2025 • 33 mins
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 r...
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October 8, 2025 • 35 mins
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 Jun...
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 Jun...
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October 1, 2025 • 35 mins
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 Chron...
In this edition of Veterans Chron...
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September 24, 2025 • 35 mins
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...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Hiner takes us...
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September 17, 2025 • 35 mins
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 w...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Zilliacus explains how he w...
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September 10, 2025 • 35 mins
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 ...
On September 11, 2001, Sasseville was serving with the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard at Andrews Air ...
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September 3, 2025 • 40 mins
Andrew Card served more than five years as White House Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush. Less than eight months into Bush's first term, Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners. Two were flown into each of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Another was used to crash into the Pentagon. The fourth plane was headed to Washington, but was forced down in a Pennsylvania field by the heroic passengers of United ...
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August 27, 2025 • 35 mins
Timothy Brown was serving as supervisor of field operations in New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's office of emergency management on September 11, 2001. He was already at work near the World Trade Center when terrorists flew the first plane into the North Tower. He was in the lobby of that building when he got word that a second plane controlled by terrorists struck the South Tower. He immediately rushed over there. Less than an ho...
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August 20, 2025 • 35 mins
Christopher Brewer grew up as an Army brat and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1973 because he wanted to be a Ranger. Even though he had never jumped out of a plane prior to joining the Army, Brewer learned quickly and passed the rest of his training to become a Ranger. He later took on and successfully completed intense training while serving overseas that served him very well in Special Forces.
In 1989, he was deployed to Colombia to...
In 1989, he was deployed to Colombia to...
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August 13, 2025 • 41 mins
Tom Young grew up on his family's farm in North Carolina. From a young age he was fascinated by his grandfather's stories of being part of a bomber crew during World War II. That helped to spark his interest in both flying and in service. Young served in the Maryland and West Virginia Air National Guard, serving as flight engineer for C-130 Hercules and C-5 Galaxy transport planes. Missions took him to the war zones in both Iraq an...
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August 6, 2025 • 35 mins
Hilbert Margol was the first of twin boys born to his parents in February 1924. He was nearly finished with high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Soon, Margol and his brother, Howard, were in the Army, training on 105 mm howitzers with the 42nd Infantry Division. They saw their first combat in southern France in January 1945. After that, they fought into Germany, crossed the Rhine River, and helpe...
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July 30, 2025 • 28 mins
Walter Stitt, Jr. was a senior in high school when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He and his friends all assumed they'd be drafted. When that did not happen right away, Stitt enlisted in the Army. He was eventually assigned as a gunner for a tank crew in E company, 33rd armored regiment, 3rd armored division and joined the war just a month after D-Day.
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Stitt will tell ...
In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Stitt will tell ...
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