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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
Billy Joe Adams, U.S. Army, WW II (A&M Class of ‘41) (Interviewed June 15, 2005) Retired Lt. Col. Billy Joe Adams was a veteran of the fighting in the European Theater during World War II and of post-conflict Korea. During World War II, he was assigned to the A Battery of the 414th Field Artillery Battalion. He was the Field Operations Officer for the 414th.
Ray Akins, U.S. Marines, WW II (Interviewed Oct. 8, 2009) Most every World War II Veteran counts themselves lucky to have survived to tell their story when so many did not. Ray Akins’ service came near the war’s end, but included 82 days fighting in the Pacific’s bloodiest battle... Okinawa. The battle that killed more than 12,000 Americans and left another 36,000 wounded. As a member of a special weapons unit in the 1st Marine Division, his was the third wave to storm the beach that April 1st, 1945. Okinawa was to be a main staging area for the ground assault on Japan that never happened because of the dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here are some of Ray Akins’ war Stories, but some of his stories of a legendary 38-year high school football coaching career, one that produced a quarterback named Marty Akins who went on to run Darrell Royal’s wishbone attack at Texas. And he’ll talk about Ray Akins, the proud Grandfather of another quarterback you may recognize... a fella named Drew Brees.
Ray Akins, U.S. Marines, WW II (Interviewed Oct. 8, 2009) Most every World War II Veteran counts themselves lucky to have survived to tell their story when so many did not. Ray Akins’ service came near the war’s end, but included 82 days fighting in the Pacific’s bloodiest battle... Okinawa. The battle that killed more than 12,000 Americans and left another 36,000 wounded. As a member of a special weapons unit in the 1st Marine Division, his was the third wave to storm the beach that April 1st, 1945. Okinawa was to be a main staging area for the ground assault on Japan that never happened because of the dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here are some of Ray Akins’ war Stories, but some of his stories of a legendary 38-year high school football coaching career, one that produced a quarterback named Marty Akins who went on to run Darrell Royal’s wishbone attack at Texas. And he’ll talk about Ray Akins, the proud Grandfather of another quarterback you may recognize... a fella named Drew Brees.
Dr. Philip Alexander, Computer Artist (Interviewed July 19, 2007) College Station Physician Dr. Philip Alexander has a unique skill beyond health care. He’s an artist. Not with a palette and brush, but with a computer. And uses this unique talent to express his passion for the military and for veterans through his amazing art. This TV Show will exhibit many of his works.
John Anderson, U.S. Army, Vietnam (Interviewed Aug. 25, 2005) John Anderson is quick to say that his one year duty in Vietnam was not combat filled. He did not fly the gunships but he flew above them, in his 01 single engine bird dog aircraft, guiding the gunships and identifying landing zones. He was with the 75 Rangers
Jeff Bailey, U.S. Army, Viet Nam (Interviewed Feb. 26, 2009) This is the incredible story of service of First Sergeant Jeff Bailey of Bryan -- a 20-year Army veteran who served overseas in Germany twice, in Korea, and two tours of Viet Nam, first with the 18th Infantry and later with the 12th Cav. He was wounded during each Viet Nam deployment, earning 2 Purple Hearts and the Silver Star, among many other awards and medals. Between his Vietnam Tours, he served on the streets of Southside Chicago, helping to diffuse the devastating riots in the days following the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He also served three years at Ft. Greeley Alaska, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. As you can imagine, his is a remarkable story of service.
Jeff Bailey, U.S. Army, Viet Nam (Interviewed Feb. 26, 2009) This is the incredible story of service of First Sergeant Jeff Bailey of Bryan -- a 20-year Army veteran who served overseas in Germany twice, in Korea, and two tours of Viet Nam, first with the 18th Infantry and later with the 12th Cav. He was wounded during each Viet Nam deployment, earning 2 Purple Hearts and the Silver Star, among many other awards and medals. Between his Vietnam Tours, he served on the streets of Southside Chicago, helping to diffuse the devastating riots in the days following the April 4, 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He also served three years at Ft. Greeley Alaska, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. As you can imagine, his is a remarkable story of service.
Leroy Balmain, Merchant Marines/Air Force, WW II/Korea (Interviewed March 17, 2011) Leroy Balmain was in boot camp at Catalena Island when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. As a Merchant Marine and later in the Air Force, he did not see combat duty but served his country first as a fireman aboard the SS Alfred C. True and then eventually as an Administrative Supervisor. He and his wife Marita were married in 1946 and his assignments took them from Alaska to Topeka to Alabama to Washington DC to Shreveport to the Philippines and finally back to the States and in 1972 to Bryan, where he served four years as an Air Force Recruiter. After he retired from the service, he spent 19 years as Executive Director for the Better Business Bureau here. So you see his entire adult life has been one of service.
Gary Banta, U.S. Army, Vietnam (Interviewed Feb. 11, 2010) Gary Banta joined the Army in 1967, well into the Vietnam War. he both drove and rode shotgun on truck convoys, delivering supplies to the hotspots where choppers and aircraft could not land. It was a year tour that certainly had it’s danger. Later he was assigned to Ft. Knox where he did indeed see the gold! And he was a chaplain’s assistant in Germany.
Gene Barber, U.S. Navy, WW II (Interviewed May 9, 2007) Gene Barber served the people of Williamson County as its sheriff for seven years, sold cars and lumber and delivered the mail in the years before that. But that all came after his 33 year months at sea, serving aboard the carrier USS Corregidor during four major battles of World War II’s Pacific Campaign. Plus, you will not find a bigger Bob Wills fan. They were both born in Kosse, Texas.
Garland Bayliss, U.S. Navy, WW II (Interviewed June 17, 2010) Join the Navy and see the World! And indeed Lt. Commander Garland Bayliss of College Station saw most of it in his two-year service aboard Auxiliary Personnel 149, a Troop Transport Ship during World War II. It was a vessel built only as a transport and ferried up to 3,000 from one town or island to another. It took some back home from war and some from home into war. He was on the water both in the Pacific and Atlantic for two years and traveled some 125,000 Nautical Miles. In all Garland Bayliss spent 30 years in the Navy and the reserves and then later spent 34 years as professor of history at Texas A&M.
Norman Beal, U.S. Marines, Korea (Interviewed Oct. 29, 2009) Some call it the forgotten war, but Norman Beal of rural Brazos County has not forgotten a thing about his 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines assault on the Korean coast in 1950. Nor has he forgotten the horror in the cold of that winter, scaling the cliffs at the beaches of Incheon, nor the card game that kept him in Korea to fight even longer. The Korean war cost 54,000 American lives and another 8000 were missing and Norman Beal counts himself very lucky to have survived to tell his story of service.
Jon Bennett, KAMU TV/Station Manager (Interviewed 2010) This Show was with KAMU Station Manager Jon Bennett, talking about the more than five years of Veterans of the Valley. Just a review of what at the time, was 145 shows.
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.
John Blasienz, U.S. Navy Seabees, WW II (A&M Class of ‘47) (Interviewed May 31, 2007) It's a simple fact that World War II could not have been fought, much less won, without Naval construction Battalion, better known as Seabees. Today you will meet John Blasienz of Bryan, but I dare say that many of you already know him. After all, he has lived all but 10 of his years in Bryan. He was born in Bryan, a proud member of the Stephen F Austin high school class of 1942 and Aggie class of 1947 and a proud sailor with the 105th Seabees serving the Pacific Campaign in Australia, New Guinea and the Leyte Gulf.
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.
Cal Boykin, U.S. Army, World War II (A&M Class of ‘46) (Interviewed June 7, 2007) Cal Boykin was a proud member of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion in World War II’s European Theater. He can best tell its story because he was an historian of his unit, as well as a gunner, aboard his M8 Armoured car, on recon duty mostly, patrolling the French roads behind Normandy, through Belgium and Holland and on to Germany. Cal Boykin’s story could not be told in just one Veterans of the Valley episode -- it took two.
Cal Boykin, U.S. Army, World War II (A&M Class of ‘46) (Interviewed June 7, 2007) Cal Boykin was a proud member of the 814th Tank Destroyer Battalion in World War II’s European Theater. He can best tell its story because he was an historian of his unit, as well as a gunner, aboard his M8 Armoured car, on recon duty mostly, patrolling the French roads behind Normandy, through Belgium and Holland and on to Germany. Cal Boykin’s story could not be told in just one Veterans of the Valley episode -- it took two.
Joe Brewster, U.S. Army, Vietnam (A&M Class of ‘69) (Interviewed May 3, 2006) Being an Aggie is in Jor Brewster’s blood -- his father, his grandfather, great uncle, and sons all Aggies. Like his father Olin Brewster, he served his country in combat. Olin was a decorated survivor of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Joe Brewster was a ground Infantry fighter in the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia.
Tom Browning, Army Military Police, WW II Interviewed Feb.1, 2006 As important as any military detail of World War II was the Military Police -- providing personal protection for those conducting the war, and from time to time dealing with those soldiers whose behavior might undermine the unity of a mission. Sergeant Tom Browning of Bryan was a member of one of the very first military police battalions of the US Army, as a member of the 503rd and 504th MPs, he was quickly promoted from PFC to Corporal, then to Sergeant then First Sergeant and as a result of his duty, was in December 1944, awarded the Bronze Star Medal for what his Captain called meritorious service in connection with military operations against an enemy of the United States and France. Later, as a member of the 512th military police, Sergeant Browning was attached to General George Patton's 3rd Army.
Bob Bruner, U.S. Army, Desert Storm (Interviewed Nov. 6, 2008) Four months may not seem like a long time to most of us, but for Bob Bruner of the 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry, US Army, the four months starting on New Year's Day of 1991 was a period in time he'll never forget. Bob Bruner drove a Hum-vee in Operation Desert Storm’s ground war and saw the war up close from start to finish. Yes his was his unit that took the airfield at Safwan, Iraq where the ceasefire was negotiated.
Frank Buell, U.S. Navy, WW II (Interviewed Feb. 5, 2009) World War II, of course, was fought primarily in Europe and the Pacific, but there was never any guarantee that the enemy from either side would not find its way to United States shores. Frank Buell got permission from his mother to enter the U.S. Navy at the age of 17. That was 14 June 1944, just 14 months before Japan surrendered. While waiting for an opening to go to flight school, we was assigned as a bombardier, flying B-24s and later PB4Y2s. Out of 24 crews, his was one of four assigned to stay stateside and train, while at the same time guarding the east coast from deployments mainly in Florida.
Curtis Burns, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam (A&M Class of ‘52) (Interviewed Nov. 10, 2006) Major Curt Burns was an airman with plenty of passion and little fear. He grew up in a home about where G. Rollie White Coliseum once stood. He piloted five different jet fighters during his service in Europe and Vietnam. He spent 20 years as an Air Force pilot and logged more than 5,000 hours in the air. In retirement, he was the coach of A&M’s National Champion Pistol team.
P.K. Carlton, U.S. Air Force, Pentagon on 9/11 (Interviewed Aug. 19, 2010) Lt. General P.K. Carlton Jr’s career of service in the United States Air Force is without doubt one of the most compelling and fascinating that we’ve ever had the honor to share on Veterans of the Valley and we will hear it over the next two editions of our show. The son of a World War II B-29 pilot who eventually commanded the Air Force’s Military Airlift, P.K. Carlton Jr. knew as early as age 8 that he wanted to be in the Air Force and wanted to fly. But a Depth Perception problem on his flight physical sent him on another path...medicine...surgery... and a career that placed him in a position to help create and implement changes that indeed have saved the lives of literally countless numbers of military personnel, indeed surgical methods and concepts that he and his teams have brought to exist, are saving lives right now in Afghanistan and Iraq. We sadly hear every day of the numbers who have died. You’re about to hear things you don’t know about the numbers who have lived. He is the former Surgeon General of the Air Force and since his retirement in the winter of 2002, General Carlton has been Director of Homeland Security for the Texas A&M Health Science Center.
Dan Chadbourne, U.S. Marines, World War II (Interviewed Oct. 23, 2008) Dan Chadbourne flew the PBJB-25 Mitchell in World War II. His first wish was to be a tail gunner on a SBT-Dauntless. Instead he was a radio gunner on the B-25. He flew 38 Missions in the Pacific Theater in 1945. His 443rd Marine bombing squadron would strafe and bomb and serve as an escort for the fighters of the 1st Marine Wing in Okinawa -- Operation Iceberg.
Jerry Congleton, U.S. Air Force, Vietnam (Interviewed Oct. 18, 2007) Jerry Congleton flew 213 combat missions in the Vietnam War. He was a forward air controller for 113 of those. He Graduated from Evansville University and was commissioned the day he graduated. He volunteered for the military.
Dr. Jim Cooper, U.S. Navy, WW II (Interviewed March 1, 2005) Dr. Jim Cooper practiced medicine in the Brazos Valley for nearly 60 years and was a Navy doctor who served from ship to ship during both World War II and Korea. He is quick to say that he did not serve in combat during either year but was instrumental in saving the lives of those who did.
Dr. Jim Cooper, U.S. Navy, WW II (Interviewed March 1, 2005) Dr. Jim Cooper practiced medicine in the Brazos Valley for nearly 60 years and was a Navy doctor who served from ship to ship during both World War II and Korea. He is quick to say that he did not serve in combat during either year but was instrumental in saving the lives of those who did.
George Cox, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed May 4, 2005) 23-year-old tank commander George Cox of rural Brazos County, was a member of the 746th Battalion when he starred the horror of the war straight in the face. June of 1944 was when George Cox was one of those who lived to tell the story of D-Day and the stand made at beaches called Juno, Gold, Sword, Omaha and Utah. He recounts the final months of the war, when he earned his Purple Heart and Silver Star as a player in five major battles.
Walter Cronin Jr., U.S. Army, Korea/Vietnam (Interviewed June 7, 2006) Walter Cronin was 16 years old when he graduated from high school but as you will find out, Colonel Cronin was on the fast track just about all his life, certainly during a distinguished military career that spanned 27 years, It was a career that sent him to service not only in the United States, but to Japan, Korea, Paris, London and Vietnam. He kept up with World War II as a schoolboy, joined the merchant Marines and then the Army in 1946. He was coming into military service just as the fighting was wrapping up in the Pacific. It's an intriguing story of service and we are proud to welcome Colonel Walter J Cronin Jr.
Jack Currie, U.S. Army Air Corps, WW II (A&M Class of ‘64) (Interviewed July 24, 2008) Jack Currie is an Aggie, but before he ever entered A&M, there was a war to fight in World War II's European Theater. And that's where he and his B-17 crew flew some 50 combat missions in 1944 and 1945. It was a time in our history that included D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge and eventually victory in Europe. He has some interesting stories to tell but none more compelling than his mission on May 12, 1944, when his Flying Fortress was shot up so badly it really had no business staying at aloft. But it did, and thus Jack Currie is here to tell that story and many more.
Gen. Thomas Darling, Air Force, Vietnam (A&M Class of ‘54) (Interviewed Sept. 27, 2006) From the summer of 1987 to the summer of 1996, Major General Thomas G Darling served as Commandant of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. But his years of service to our country started long before that, 33 years before to be exact. As a member of the class of 1954 -- two months after graduation he was active-duty Air Force. He learned to fly and fly he did it, more than 7000 hours, 500 of those piloting the giant B-52 on some 46 combat missions in Vietnam.
Gen. Thomas Darling, Air Force, Vietnam (A&M Class of ‘54) (Interviewed Sept. 27, 2006) From the summer of 1987 to the summer of 1996, Major General Thomas G Darling served as Commandant of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets. But his years of service to our country started long before that, 33 years before to be exact. As a member of the class of 1954 -- two months after graduation he was active-duty Air Force. He learned to fly and fly he did it, more than 7000 hours, 500 of those piloting the giant B-52 on some 46 combat missions in Vietnam.
Dr. Rex Davis, Navy, Air Force, Army, WW II (Interviewed Feb. 18, 2010) Dr. Rex Davis tells an incredible story of service that includes action in both World War II, where he was aboard an LCS during the invasion of Okinawa, and later his service as a medical doctor in Viet Nam. He served in the Navy, the Air Force and the Army. Between World War II and Nam he returned home to Gidding, Texas, finished high school, college and med school before starting his career as a doctor. An accomplished writer, Dr. Davis has penned many of his accounts of service in the form of fascinating short stories. We will read from some of those as we visit with Dr. Rex Davis.
Dick Davison, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed June 21, 2006) Dick Davison does not dwell on the ribbons and medals that passed him by for his service in World War II. As you will discover PFC Davison was a soldier not looking for recognition; he was a fighter, simply looking to defeat the German enemy. A ground soldier – and as he admits, an independent thinker who didn't always go along with conventional ways. What he saw along the way is and incredible story that he was proud to tell.
Dick Davison, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed June 21, 2006) Dick Davison does not dwell on the ribbons and medals that passed him by for his service in World War II. As you will discover PFC Davison was a soldier not looking for recognition; he was a fighter, simply looking to defeat the German enemy. A ground soldier – and as he admits, an independent thinker who didn't always go along with conventional ways. What he saw along the way is and incredible story that he was proud to tell.
Dick Deiterich, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed March 10, 2011) The path that Dick Deiterich took from Bloomsburg Pennsylvania to the Brazos Valley included an 18-month hitch in the Army that started soon after Japan surrendered but before President Truman officially declared the end of hostilities in December 1946. So he served stateside, sent from base to base and eventually to Fort Knox, Kentucky to help forward mail to returning servicemen and those heading back overseas for post-war duty. His is one of those stories of service that he might not call remarkable but we call essential as it was for anyone who gave up the important time of their youth to serve their country.
Dr. Henry Dethloff, Author “Texas Aggies Go To War” Interviewed Jan. 4, 2006) It's no secret that Texas A&M's contribution to our country's war efforts have gone above and beyond those of most other universities. We have had the honor of featuring many former students on Veterans of the Valley. Well now they have a book dedicated to their service “Texas Aggies Go To War” authored by one of the foremost historians of Texas A&M, Henry Dethloff Professor Emeritus of History at Texas A&M, along with former student John A. Adams. Texas A&M sent more than 20,000 to serve in World War II alone, more than 14,000 as commissioned officers. It's an extraordinary account of Aggie military service.
Dr. Henry Dethloff, Author “Texas Aggies Go To War” Interviewed Jan. 4, 2006) It's no secret that Texas A&M's contribution to our country's war efforts have gone above and beyond those of most other universities. We have had the honor of featuring many former students on Veterans of the Valley. Well now they have a book dedicated to their service “Texas Aggies Go To War” authored by one of the foremost historians of Texas A&M, Henry Dethloff Professor Emeritus of History at Texas A&M, along with former student John A. Adams. Texas A&M sent more than 20,000 to serve in World War II alone, more than 14,000 as commissioned officers. It's an extraordinary account of Aggie military service.
Lawrence DeZavala, U.S. Air Force, WW II (Interviewed June 21, 2007) The path that Lawrence DeZavala took from his birthplace in Louisiana to his vineyards near New Baden, Tx included three years of service as a radio operator/gunner, flying some 21 combat missions with the Air Force’s 379th Bomber Group. Their mission aboard their B-24 was to take out rail yards and bridges in Austria and other positions near the war’s in. He counts himself lucky to have returned uninjured and counts himself even more fortunate to have lived the life he has. He and his wife Rachel own and operate DeZavala Vineyard where some of the tastiest blackberries, blueberries and raspberries can be picked.
Frank Dickey, U.S. Army, Vietnam (Interviewed June 28, 2006) Frank Dickey refuses to call himself a hero but most might disagree. He says that in Vietnam he fought alongside heroes but he, like many who went, who fought, who came home, prefers to reserve the label hero for those who did not come home. He was not an officer, nor a company commander nor a Phantom pilot. Frank Dickey’s role in Vietnam was as the guy who laid his rifle on the line with every patrol -- just infantry army soldier, search and destroy, chopping away at the jungle in search of the enemy. Yet by many standards a hero and it's our honor to have spoken with him on Veterans of the Valley.
W.S. Edmonds, U.S. Army, World War II (A&M Class of ‘38) (Interviewed June 8, 2005) World War II was won by men and women all pulling their weight, doing their job, whether was fighting on the front lines or serving in the chow lines. When Bryan’s W.S. Edmonds, A&M class of 1938, enlisted in 1942 (just two months after the attack on Pearl Harbor), he had field artillery in mind. He spent a lot of his time in the Army training ragtag replacements stateside for overseas duty. But when his branch’s orders were changed to postal duty in Louisiana, that was not how W.S. wanted to spend the war. If he was going to stay in the states, he wanted to be where the action was so he got himself transferred to Washington DC, the Pentagon, a part of the Army’s Courier Transport Service. It was mostly top secret and it had to get from one place to another, and W.S. Edmonds was one of the soldiers the Army depended on to get it there. He is a past commander of the American Legion and a member of the VFW.
Ed Eyre, U.S. Marines, WW II (Interviewed Nov. 9, 2005) December 19, 1941 and Ed Eyre was among the first to volunteer for service following the attack on Pearl Harbor. It took a while and a little maneuvering to get where he wanted to be -- as a Marine. He wanted to fight for his country in the Pacific and eventually he found himself in the middle of it as a member of the 5th Marine Division, 28th Regimental Weapons Company. Charging the sands on D-Day at Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945. He saw that US flag flying atop Mount Suribachi -- The flag etched in American pride by the famous photograph of the Marines who mounted it there. He fought day and night and he would fight for 10 days, until shrapnel from a mortar round eventually ended his combat service. Ed Eyre was a winner of the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart -- live out his life in rural Brazos county.
Robert Fliedner, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed Oct. 22, 2009) Robert Fliedner had pretty much decided that the Army didn't want him after his high school graduation in 1940. He had tried to enlist twice but poor eyesight disqualified him both times. But then after the US got involved in World War II, after Pearl Harbor, his eyesight must have improved because he was drafted. First assigned to limited service, then General service and then to duty in both the European and Pacific theaters of the war, Robert Fliedner built stuff -- camps for incoming inventory, sewer lines for those camps, tank farms to store gasoline, and he maintained gasoline pump stations that pumped fuel to the front lines. His overseas duty started in England, then landing in Normandy at Utah Beach, and it ended more than two years later at Bataan, in the Pacific.
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.
R.F. “Sonny” Franze, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed June 22, 2005) “Sonny” Franze recalled well leaving his farm near Kurten and going into the Army -- learning to climb telephone poles and set communication wire and eventually taking that training across the North Atlantic to Europe front lines. He landed at Normandy on D+10 and that led to bravery that won him five Bronze Stars. He also saw the horror that his unit discovered at the concentration camp called Buchenwald.
Bob Gallery, U.S. Army, WW II, (Interviewed July 21, 2010) Bob Gallery was just 17 years old in 1944 and didn’t know that he was about to take the fast track from his home in Saginaw, Michigan to a Foxhole on the front lines of the War in Europe. But that’s pretty much exactly what happened when he was drafted into the Army near war’s end. A 38-year resident of Bryan, Bob Gallery’s 99th Infantry saw conflict eyeball-to-eyeball as he puts it, and counts himself fortunate to have come home uninjured.. indeed to have come home at all, as so many who served did not.
Spec Gammon, U.S. Army, World War II (Interviewed June 1, 2005) Army Infantry Tech Sergeant Spec Gammon was the long-time Sports Information Director at Texas A&M, but long before that, he fought as an Army Infantry soldier in World War II in Europe. He was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. He speaks highly of the British soldiers he met and people who endured so much destruction during the war, and he recalls the weather during the Bulge. “I’ve never been so cold in my life”, he says.
Jim Gordon, Army Air Corps, WW II (Interviewed June 14, 2006) Sometimes we forget exactly how young some of our World War II veterans were when they lay their short lives on the line for us. On October 26, 1944, Jim Gordon of College Station flew his first of 24 mission over Austria. The next day he celebrated his 19th birthday. He would fly 34 more missions over Europe, most of them with a crew that had been together since their training days in Lincoln, Nebraska. One of those missions earned him a Purple Heart. It was all part of the life of a World War II tail gunner.
