June 2014

Experience the all-important Normandy invasion through some of D-Day’s most incredible photographs. Although it took a multinational coalition to conduct World War II’s amphibious D-Day landings, the U.S. military made a major contribution to the operation that created mighty American legends and unforgettable heroes

“Martin Morgan has spent years gathering and studying these images. He has walked the hallowed invasion beaches countless times. He has dug deeply into archives in multiple countries, poring over image after image. Over the years, he has befriended large numbers of veterans, many of whom have been kind enough to trust him with their own pictures. Sit back and enjoy a fresh look at one of history’s most significant events, as seen through the keen eyes of the talented photographers of yesteryear and a fine historian of our own time.” -From the introduction by John C. McManus (Last week’s guest on Veterans Radio.)

Wayne Vansant. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He graduated from the Atlanta College of Art in 1975. He began his writing and illustration career in 1986 with Marvel Comics’ “Savage Tales” and “The ‘Nam.” Since then he has written and/or illustrated many books and comics on historical/military subjects including The War in Korea, The Hammer and the Anvil (profiling Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass), Normandy (profiling D-Day and the entire Normandy Campaign), Gettysburg (profiling the Battle of Gettysburg), and many others.

Dwight Jon Zimmerman bestselling and award-winning author, radio host, and president of the Military Writers Society of America. Zimmerman is the author of a series of World War II 70th anniversary articles for the Defense Media Network website that chronologically recounts that conflict.

And, hopefully, at least one survivor of the Normandy Invasion right here on Veterans Radio.

They will be discussing the academic research that outdoor experience helps veterans reconnect, talk about Camp Liberty, Eisenhower Center, BIAMI and other outdoor recreation programs for veterans.

“Air warfare was a decisive component of World War II, especially in western Europe and over Japan, where Allied bombers damaged 66 of the country’s largest cities. The guts and glory of the bomber crews came, however, with a high casualty rate which had only improved marginally by the war’s end. Descriptions of the bombers’ harrowing missions told from the firsthand perspective of their pilots, navigators, bombardiers and gunners create the immediacy of a single person’s experience during one of America’s most daring military expeditions. A short biography of each veteran accompanies these tales of typical and not-so-typical missions.”

For this week’s Veterans Radio we go back to our roots…telling the stories of Veterans. Join host, Bob Gould, and his guest Alan L. Griggs, author of Flying Flak Alley.

All of their dogs are rescued. They come from rescue organizations, shelters, animal control agencies and humane societies. Stiggy’s Dogs believe that many mixed breed and rescue dogs can make wonderful service dogs and provide a mutually beneficial relationship with a veteran living with PTSD and/or TBI. By doing this, They are rescuing one to rescue another.

And the amazing story of Amir Hekmati. Amir served as an infantryman, senior language and cultural advisor and an Arabic and Persian Linguist in the US Marine Corps from 2001 to 2005. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2004.

Amir is an Iranian-American raised in Flint, Michigan who was detained in Iran while visiting his grandmother. Accused of being a spy, he was detained in August of 2011, held in solitary confinement for months and hidden by the walls of Iran’s Evin prison. He was sentence to death in January of 2012, the first American to receive the death penalty in Iran in over 33 years. His death penalty was overturned by a higher court in March 2012 based on insufficient evidence and a new trial ordered.

You’ll have to tune in this Sunday at 5:00pm eastern to find out what has happened to Amir.

The theory is that the tribes that once worked with the Americans to defeat Al-Qaeda in Iraq will rise up again to oust the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [ISIS]—a movement so extreme it was denounced by Osama bin Laden’s successor.” (Newsweek)

Join us this week on Veterans Radio as we look at what’s happening in Iraq through the eyes of those who have fought there. We will have some Iraqi Freedom veterans in our studio and we will also welcome Bing West, author of The Strongest Tribe.

And you, especially if you served in Iraq, please contact us with your thoughts about what is going on. Send me an e-mail, dale@veteransradio.net or put your thoughts on our facebook page