AVS

In his decades-long career, James A. Lovell Jr. served in the U.S. Navy, and was most notably known as an astronaut in NASA’s Apollo 8, 11 and 13 missions.

A true jack of all trades, Herman Carl Abelein Jr. served a remarkable and multifaceted 28-year career in the U.S. Navy that brought him all over the world, including to Japan, Vietnam and Egypt.

Sidney Walton regrets not having met Civil War Veterans during his youth. Now, as one of the few remaining World War II Veterans, he is on the move so that any American can meet him.

Signalman First Class Paul Kennedy was serving deck duty on the USS Sacramento in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. After the bombings, Kennedy served on the USS Poole and helped escort landing craft crossing the English Channel into Normandy on D-Day.

This #OperationSong spotlight features “Why Am I Here” by Veteran Daniel Maderic, who served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

In his 20-year career with the Army, George Paris Davis III flew clandestine missions at the end of the Vietnam War and later worked in intelligence.

Navy SEAL Veteran David Goggins is the only member of the U.S Armed Forces to complete SEAL training, the U.S. Army Ranger School and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training. Goggins has also competed in over 60 marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons.

Navy WWII Veteran Adolfo Celaya was one of the few survivors of the USS Indianapolis.

Irwin Stovroff served during World War II in the Army Air Forces and flew bombing missions in Europe. During his final mission, he was shot down in France and became a prisoner of war (POW). After thirteen months imprisoned in Stalag Luft I in northern Germany, Stovroff was released in April 1945 and returned to the United States. Following his retirement from a sales career in the 1990s, Stovroff began volunteering at his local VA Medical Center and helped form an organization dedicated to raising money to find service dogs for Veterans.

From a scrappy New York youth to a Vietnam Vet to the Keeper of the Flame, Charlie DeLeo has lived it all.

Drury Wood served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot during World War II and the Korean War. He later tested planes for companies in the U.S. and Germany.

Cristina Frisby was forced to leave the U.S. Naval Academy when her ill health led to unexpected questioning of her sexual orientation. Despite Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Frisby later joined the California National Guard and served in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom.