(click picture to enlarge)
This picture haunts me, Marines marching into battle on Iwo Jima, men with hometowns, wives, parents and sweethearts. Who survived? How many are alive today?
When we ask a Veteran to do an interview, we often hear "I was no hero". We are not looking for heroes. We have not, nor shall we ever interview a Hero, the Heroes lie in Flanders's Fields, and in the cold deep waters. But wouldn't it be a sin, if all we remembered of their sacrifice was a causality number, or at best a name on a wall? Thank you God, for those witnesses who have shared with us who these Heroes were, and how they fell. Please check back with this page from time to time, as we will be adding to this list of remembrance. To hear these stories, click on the large bold names.
WARNING: many of these stories are violent and graphic. They are not intended to sensationalize, but rather to reveal the depth of sacrifice, and the debt we owe.
Every young boy should hear the story of Dr. Alvin Bridges. He was a man who studied long and hard to earn a station in life that generally eluded his race. In a day when most "Colored" men were thought of as cooks and truck drivers, Dr. Bridges told us of the Heroes' death of a fighting man,
Marine Cpl Tom Morgan shared with us his experiences on Iwo Jima, and this story of a football player who was a real Hero,
Kenny Lambertson served in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam. He was in the fierce battle of Dak To, where a Medal of Honor was earned by an unlikely Hero the fellows called
Ike Lamey was in a Portable Surgical Hospital in World War II. It was the forerunner of the M.A.S.H. units. Although in the thick of many battle zones, they had only one death in their unit. It was their Commander, Chief Surgeon, and true Hero
Dan Abbot fought in the undeclared war in El Salvador. Though it was not an official war, one would have a hard time explaining the difference to the family and friends of a war hero
Dan also served with some of the fellows who later perished in the explosion of the USS Iowa gun turret.
Indianapolis radio and TV personality Big John Gillis shared with us some great letters from his father, John Warren Gillis, who served in India in World War II. In one of his letters, Warren told the story of a hero without a last name. The censors had cut out the last name, but the story is rich and sad. Is there anyone out there who remembers Miss Mary McHale, or Lt. Bill's dog Flaps? If so please email me at nvha01@hotmail.com.
Bob Norris, who served in Marine aviation at Ie Shima in World War II, told us the story of aviation hero Capt. Greenwood, whose last act was to save all of the other pilots in his training mission
