List of Interviewees by War
World War I
World War II
Misasi, John F Rank: T4Branch: US Army The Battle of the Bulge for us started for us, one morning in St. Vith. The German soldiers were dressed in white to match the snow. It got cold, bitter cold and they came down the slope and attacked our infantry and our infantry was annihilated.
Culotta, John Rank: Seaman First ClassBranch: Coast Guard We watched the palm trees flying through the air and it was kind of scary, the first time I had ever was in a hurricane, but we didn't get very much damage.
Grossman, John Rank: T4Branch: US Army ...Ours was made for speed, quickness and unfortunately, the first two battles we were in were stationary battles, much to our displeasure and suffering, casualties.
Knapp, George W Rank: CaptainBranch: US Army When we got there it was under control of quite a number of German Nazi soldiers and their officers and of course when we took the city, we captured them. I'll never forget this; the chaplain of these men was captured too... so naturally I went to visit him as a chaplain and when we both realized we were chaplains, he gave me a little Testament, in German of course. And I have it right here in my communion set.
Flanagan, Daniel F Rank: Chief Petty OfficerBranch: US Navy The military airplanes...they weren't rather luxuriously laid out you know, you didn't have cushiony seats or anything, just kind of bucket seats along the bulkhead as they called it, the walls of the plane. It was---it wasn't pleasant. It was cold and noisy and smelly.
Korea
Scott, J W Rank: Platoon LeaderBranch: US Army You'd have two hundred fourteen men and this evening you might have fifty. It was just that bad. It was war.
Fabiani, Joseph G Rank: CorporalBranch: US Army You're laying in the hole and you hear...bang...bang...bang and you're just laying there to see where they're going to hit. That's got to drive you out of your mind. Scare the hell out of you. That's what we kids went through.
Moccio, Frank R Rank: CorporalBranch: US Army As far as putting anything below ground, it was almost impossible. If we had to lay a pipeline, a water line, or a sewer line to a certain area we would lay straw on there, light it up with fuel oil, put wood on it and try to thaw out the ground. That would thaw it out maybe six or eight inches and we'd dig that down. We'd keep doing that...
Vietnam
Cusumano, Charles F Rank: SergeantBranch: US Army So everybody opened up their orders and everybody started crying. This guy next to me, he started laughing. I said, what's so funny? He says, where are you going? I said Vietnam and he said I'm not going there, and I said, why not? 199 of us are going, how come you're not? He says, nope, my orders say Southeast Asia. I said you idiot, that's where we're going....He started crying too.
Kerley, Glen E Rank: E4Branch: US Navy If you hadn't been across the equator, you're called a Pollywog and there's an initiation that goes on once you do it for the first time where from the time you get up in the morning to the time all the festivities are over, it's probably an eight hour ordeal.
Brayden, Rodger W Rank: MajorBranch: US Air Force In Luxembourg, I forgot the name of the town, they had a Patton Day parade every year because it was General Patton's Third Army specifically that had liberated Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge. He was iconic in Luxembourg... We went over for the parade and it was a very moving experience because two or three kids, who could not possibly have been alive in 1944 and 1945 because they were about ten, maybe, and this was 1983, wanted my autograph only because I was an American in a military uniform.