When a rocket from the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) struck Da Nang Air Base in the predawn hours of February 23, 1969, it hit a 450,000-gallon fuel tank near the base. Nineteen-year-old Rey Ovalle’s first thought was of his father. He quickly drove 15 minutes...
Brian Heyman didn’t turn 18 until 1974. “I wanted to enlist sooner, but my parents wouldn’t let me,” he recalled. By the time he joined the Air Force, the Vietnam War was winding down, and he was never deployed in-country. “Over the years, I’ve been surrounded by...
Ronald Roy Seagrave joined the Navy after high school at age 17. He served on a submarine, closely working with the Rear Admiral (Commodore) for his deployment. His years in the Navy molded him into the man he became. What the Navy taught him, he used every day and...
The Navy Desert Storm/Desert Shield veteran spent nearly 20 years in the military. “I accepted an early retirement offer in 1996 when President Clinton downsized the military.” It was an easy decision for the married man with three young teens at home and a...
U.S. Navy Nurse Corps veteran Carolyn Kirkland can best be described as a “firecracker.” At the age of 88, she still fits into the uniform she last wore in 1977 and has more energy than most people a quarter of her age. Always dressed impeccably in coordinated...