Veterans Day

Veterans Day was a special day in the town of Brooksville. It was a day to honour the brave men and women who had served in the military to protect the country. For 10-year-old Max, this was a day he had been looking forward to all year. He had learned in school that Veterans Day was a time to remember the sacrifices made by soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. It wasn’t just a holiday—it was a way to show gratitude.

Veterans Day is a holiday observed every year on November 11. It honors military soldiers who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Since 1775, the United States Armed Forces have played an important part in the history of the United States. The Armed Forces have done more than just fight.

When you listen to My 365 Days with the Wolfhounds in Vietnam, you will be amazed by the stories as told by SSGT John “Big John" Quintrell. You will feel what it is like to be eaten alive by leeches, bitten by cobras, and fighting a constant war with malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Experience the unique bonds of brotherhood between men that came into the platoon as strangers, but soon became brothers watching each other's back. You will feel the anguish of a soldier whose friend dies in his arms.

For 24 years, I've brought American veterans from all over the United States to high schools in Oregon to share their military experiences during times of war with the students. Over the years, as I became friends with many of these veterans, they began to open up and share with me. Many veterans refused to talk for years, but reached out to me as they grew older and realized they wanted their stories remembered. Even their spouses and children had never heard many of these shared stories.

Remembrance: Volume II follows the release of Remembrance: Volume I in 2020, sharing more personal experiences of WWII veterans. Listeners will learn about the defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Roberta Leveaux, RAF female pilot, and Tuskegee Airman Roger "Bill" Terry, who paid the heaviest price for his role in the Freeman Field Mutiny. Volume II also includes many Korean War stories, along with the Chosin Few and South Korea’s gratitude, Veterans of Underage Military Service, and Holocaust survivors Les and Eva Aigner.

Soldier Keith Nightingale has conducted terrain walks in Normandy for over forty years with veterans, active-duty military, and local French civilians. Over the decades Nightingale conducted dozens of formal interviews and informal conversations with many of the principals of the day, including Generals Bradley, Collins, Gavin, Ridgway, and Hill. Added to this rare new primary material from the top brass are numerous conversations with lower-ranking vets who did the heavy lifting.