AVS

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.

Phillis Abry enlisted in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) in 1943 and met her lover Mildred, with whom she worked on radio repair and WAAC recruiting.

Because Kazuo Yamaguchi was a Japanese American, the U.S. Army initially turned him away from a recruiting station during World War II. Yamaguchi was later drafted into the service, where he developed a sense of duty, honor, and an appreciation for his heritage.

Daniel K. Inouye served during World War II in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. During an attack on a German ridge in San Terenzo, Italy, Inouye was badly injured and lost his right arm to a rifle grenade attack. He later received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Italy. After the war, he became a lawyer and was active in Hawaiian politics. He became Hawaii’s first representative to the House and then a U.S. senator.