AVS

In his song “The Cry of the Wounded,” Army Veteran Tom Spooner reflects on his struggles with PTSD and offers hope to others.

Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti was the first Hispanic woman to reach the rank of brigadier general.

Army Veteran Summer Elmer served in the military for five years, in which she was stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Fort Hood, Texas.

Louise C. Wilmot was the highest-decorated woman in the military and was one of the first women to pioneer the early steps into integrating and recruiting women in all branches of the military. Wilmot began her career in the Women Officer’s Candidate School that orientated women training in the military by other women. For her first duty station at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, Wilmot remembers a woman lieutenant commander who was appointed as the senior representative for women. Wilmot said she never felt alone during her training from her and a handful of women.

Army Veteran Shilo Harris became an inspirational speaker, sharing his triumph over an IED explosion and becoming the first person to participate in extracellular stem cell regeneration.

Emlen Tunnell was a professional football player and World War II Veteran.

Stayce Harris was inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen and female pilots to serve in the Air Force. She later became the first African American woman to serve as a United States Air Force Lieutenant General

Navy Veteran Robert Shumaker served during the Vietnam War. He was captured by North Vietnamese forces and held as a prisoner of war for eight years.

Army Veteran Seymour Kaplan served as a Yiddish translator in Germany during World War II and witnessed the aftermath of the Dachau concentration camp.

Jack Lucas became the youngest Medal of Honor recipient since the Civil War when he jumped onto two grenades to save his fellow Marines at age 17.

Army Gulf War Veteran Darius Carter shares the story behind his #OperationSong effort, a song called “Thankful.”

Navy Veteran Robert Johnson served in World War II and completed three expeditions in Antarctica.