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Al Hanson, Army Air Corps, WW II (Interviewed Aug. 31, 2005) It was on Al and Ruby Hanson's backyard porch that Tom Turbiville first started his passion for telling the story of Brazos Valley Veterans. Al Hanson was a radio operator of the 55th troop carrier squadron US Army Air Corps. He lost count of how many air missions he flew in World War II -- his craft delivering supplies to the troops on practically every island of the Pacific Campaign.
Al Rampmeier, U.S. Army, Vietnam (Interviewed Feb. 8, 2007) Al Rampmeier served under Gen. Hal Moore. Moore was the officer depicted in the film “We Were Soldiers”, and wrote the book it was based on. His is a remarkable story of service as a member of the military police.
Albert Novak, Army/Navy/Air Force, WW II (Interviewed July 26, 2007) Albert Novak served his country in three services, the Army, Navy and Air Force. As a machinist aboard the USS Wasp for two years during World War II, Albert Novak recalls that day in March of 1945, when a 500-pound bomb hit the WASP. He was one of 150 injured, fortunately not one of the 100 who died that day. He was born and raised in Bryan, Texas. (Note: Albert Novak was in the advanced stages of Pancreatic cancer when we recorded the interview and passed away less that 2 months later)
Alfred “Whitey” Birdwell, U.S. Army, WW II Interviewed May 27, 2010 Alfred “Whitey” Birdwell was a Sherman tank driver in World War II's European Theater, after D-Day, but during the final push and in the Battle of the Bulge and until victory in Europe. He was overseas just more than a year but probably covered more miles per day served than just about anyone. He vividly recalls when he drove the first American tank over the Rhine River for the 3rd Armoured to spearhead. A Purple Heart recipient, he drove a tank every day except for those 10 days he was laid up because of shrapnel wounds.
Col Alton Meyer, Air Force, Vietnam P.O.W. (A&M Class of ‘60) (Interviewed Sept. 28, 2005) It was six years of life he will never get back but Lt. Col. Al Meyer of rural College Station will certainly never forget that time from the Spring of 1967 to 1973 that he spent as a captive of the North Vietnamese Army -- a P.O.W. Sitting in the back seat of his F-105, he was shot out of the sky. His pilot didn’t survive. His wife Bobbie didn’t know for three years that he was alive at the Hanoi Hilton, as the prison camp was called. It’s an amazing story of physical and mental victory.
Anne Boykin, Project Hold (Interviewed 2008) This is a very interesting program with then Director of College Station’s Project HOLD, Anne Boykin. She brought with her several photos from the Project HOLD collection, those that reflected the military commitment in the Brazos Valley and at Texas A&M. The photos are all described in the TV Show. Anne Boykin has been a great supporter and helper for the development of Veterans of the Valley.
Arnold Foltermann, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed Nov. 15, 2006) Arnold Foltermann and his wife Minnie were married some 60 years and worked for the phone company after he served in Gen. Patton’s 3rd Army during World War II. He saw action at the Battle of the Bulge in Europe. Just a “doughboy”, fighting for his country.
Bill Adams, U.S. Air Force, Korea (Interviewed March 3, 2011) Bill Adams wanted to be in the Air Force in 1950 but really had no designs on being a mechanic. But that where the Air Force needed him so he learned the craft and for the next four years kept B-29s in the air. Not in frigid Korea where the war was going on but among other places in steaming hot Saudi Arabia. Bill Adams is one of those many veterans who served his country not in combat but in still needed jobs that kept America safe
Bill Hamilton, U.S. Army, Vietnam Era Interviewed Dec. 13, 2006 Bill Hamilton is a veteran who did not serve in any overseas combat, but the battle he fought since January 1980 is one that he wins every day. He's a volunteer and an assistant chaplain of the Disabled American Veterans. He sings and writes poems and you'll understand how he turned a personal nightmare into hope and faith. Meet Sergeant Bill Hamilton, Vietnam veteran.
Bill Harper, Operation Ivy, Post WW II (Interviewed Oct. 10, 2010) Bill Harper does not have any real war stories to tell from his two hitches and more than five years in military service, but the one that he does tell is indeed a witness to history. November 1st, 1952, from the deck of the USS Estes near Eniwetok Island in the Marshall Islands, Bill Harper was one of those who watched the result of “Operation Ivy” -- the very first Hydrogen Bomb Explosion. Bill Harper has never discussed his specific duties in regard to Operation Ivy, and he never will. But he can describe in detail the incredible site and effect of the detonation of a bomb some 500 times more powerful than the Atomic Bomb that ended World War II some seven years earlier. And there are other fascinating stories to tell... like how he got to Texas by sailing down the Illinois and the Mighty Mississippi Rivers from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico.
