U.S. Navy Lieutenant Otis Wheeler Jr. describes a time during World War II when he and his fellow soldiers had to fly a search and rescue mission on Christmas Day; a mission in which he was the only one to return from. Continue reading
Paul Hackett was a Storekeeper 2nd class on the USS Mindanao when the ammunition ship USS Mount Hood exploded on November 10, 1944. All crew members aboard the USS Mount Hood that day were killed in the explosion. The Mindanao was only 350 yards away from Mount Hood at the … Continue reading
Admiral Grace Hopper joined the U.S. Navy in 1944 at the age of 37. She was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer and wrote the first compiler for a computer programming language. When asked by Letterman how she knew so much about computers then, Hopper … Continue reading
On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole was attacked by suicide bombers in the port of Aden, Yemen, while refueling. Al Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed 17 sailors and injured another 39. Chief Petit Officer Sean Taitt remembers being injured in the bombing: “It took me … Continue reading
Kirk Lippold was commander of the USS Cole when it was attacked on October 12, 2000, while refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen. Lippold was in his office when the attack happened, and recalls rushing to open the door of his office: “This huge cloud of grey smoke just … Continue reading
World War II veteran Harold Ward, who served with the U.S. Navy, experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor firsthand. Ward recalls observing the entire attack from his battle station on the U.S.S San Francisco, describing it as both “scary” and “awesome.” Ward later goes on to explain what his assignment … Continue reading
“It was as though the curtain was about to go up on one of the biggest shows in history, and I was part of the cast! I knew it was going to be a small part, but the overriding sense of it all was that I was there!” Raymond L. … Continue reading
The cast and crew of the “Top Gun” explain how a tricky mission inspired the opening scene of the movie and detail what it was like to film on an active aircraft carrier crewed by star-struck sailors. “Top Gun” premiered nationwide on May 16, 1986.
Veteran Harry Boland describes the atmosphere in New York City on V-E Day and recalls the fancy dinner he was invited to in celebration of the German surrender.
A resident of Abbottabad, Pakistan recalls what he saw when the U.S. military began their operation to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and explains what happened to locals ran toward the compound.
