Welcome to Episode 23 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of Lieutenant Colonel John Heimburger, U.S. Air Force.If John Heimburger has a bucket list, there is nothing left on it. He’s taken on every challenge in life and met it head on. From flying 665 combat missions in Vietnam to […]
Chaplains in the military are a special breed. Not only do they assume the hardships of their own military service, including long family separations and deployments into combat zones, but they also try to lighten the burdens of the men and women they serve with by helping them carry their loads. Chaplain Lavern W. Gardai, U.S. Army (Retired), who served with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) in Vietnam and then went on to a distinguished twenty-eight-year Army career, knows these stresses all to well—he lived them firsthand. From ministering to the wounded, to surviving a deadly helicopter crash, he’s done it all. This is his story
Welcome to Episode 21 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of Staff Sergeant Adam Joseph, U.S. Army. Adam served in the artillery and did two tours in Vietnam, both in the northern part of South Vietnam where he was constantly under fire. His luck ran out during his second tour and he was seriously wounded. […]
Photographs are like time capsules, forever freezing a moment in time. They provide us with a window into the past, documenting our history in a way the written word cannot. Yet for Sergeant Ron Haeberle, U.S. Army, a photograph he took on March 16, 1968, did more than just look back in time. It foretold the future—a future built on courage and survival and shining as a beacon of hope to all who see and understand it. Now, over fifty years after Ron’s Nikon camera captured the image, it serves as an inspiration for Ron in every aspect of his life. This is Ron’s story.
Welcome to Episode 19 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of Command Sergeant Major Thurman C. Cousins, U.S. Army (Retired).Thurman Cousins is a soldier’s soldier. Steeled in battle during the Korean War, he went on to serve two combat tours in Vietnam and rose to the Army’s highest enlisted rank. […]
Welcome to Episode 18 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of Sergeant Paul Schuler, U.S. Army.I love Paul’s story because it’s a story of unlocking potential. At Basic Training, Paul was selected to be his Platoon Guide with four squad leaders reporting to him. In describing his selection, Paul notes […]
Welcome to Episode 16 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of 1st Lieutenant Dave Anson, U.S. Army.Dave’s story is one of unexpected twists and turns. Despite being designated 4F during his military screening physical in 1964 due to flat feet, he found himself drafted into the Army. Selected for Signal […]
Welcome to Episode 15 of the Voices to Veterans podcast. This episode features the story of Staff Sergeant Samuel D. High, U.S. Army.Sam joined the Army Reserve after graduating from North Little Rock High School because he saw storm clouds on the horizon in Southeast Asia and wanted to do his part. After his unit […]
Sometimes in life we are presented with choices where the “right” choice is obvious. Sergeant Jim Elsener, U.S. Marine Corps, was given such a choice in January 1966. He could finish out his enlistment at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, having served in the Marines with honor, and return to civilian life in the Midwest. Or he could choose a course that promised many unknowns. Jim chose the latter, and as the poet Carl Sandburg so eloquently expressed, that choice has made all the difference. This is Jim’s story.
Destiny has a way of just happening, whether you want it to or not. Staff Sergeant Dean Moss, U.S. Air Force, knows that all too well. No matter how many times he tried to point his life in a particular direction, destiny kept bringing him back to where he was meant to be. He was destined to serve our country in Vietnam,