American Veterans Center

This week's video features Rudy Meekins, a Marine who was wounded 4x during the epic battle of Chosin Reservoir ==> https://youtu.be/IWvVp2WfReE

12 hours ago | [YT] | 2,818

American Veterans Center

The bloodiest battle of the Pacific War came to an end on this day in 1945.

After 82 days of fierce fighting, the Battle of Okinawa concluded, leaving more than 12,000 Americans dead and tens of thousands wounded. The battle also claimed the lives of over 100,000 Japanese soldiers and countless Okinawan civilians.

Sometimes referred to as the “Typhoon of Steel,” Okinawa was one of the most devastating battles of World War II and a turning point in the final months of the war.

Today, we remember those who fought, those who sacrificed, and those whose lives were forever changed by the battle.

To hear a first hand account, watch Kenneth Well’s interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r5GI...

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1 day ago | [YT] | 1,718

American Veterans Center

LIVE NOW: An AVC exclusive interview with former Navy SEAL and famed internet personality John Allen, better known to millions worldwide as MrBallen

1 week ago | [YT] | 117

American Veterans Center

Watch tomorrow for the release of part one of a special two-part interview with famed internet personality and former Navy SEAL John Allen, known to millions as MrBallen, as he deep dives into his service and combat in Afghanistan.

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,276

American Veterans Center

Live Now - Bob Jeffrey's incredibly detailed account of being shot down over North Vietnam and being held as a POW for seven agonizing years.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 70

American Veterans Center

This week's video features Bob Jeffrey, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force sharing his incredible story of being shot down and enduring 7-years as a POW in North Vietnam ==> https://youtu.be/YrbE8dfTKnA

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,254

American Veterans Center

His story has been going viral on social media this week, so today - on D-Day - let's hear from the man himself. By June 6, 1944, Ray Lambert already had two Silver Stars and three Purple Hearts for action in North Africa and Sicily. But Omaha Beach would be his true test.

Landing with the first wave, Ray - a medic with the 1st Infantry Division - went right to work, tending to men cut down as the ramps dropped. He was shot in the arm. Then hit in the leg by shrapnel. Yet he kept at it, tending to men behind a small slab of concrete, saving some 20 lives. Later in the invasion, while pulling a wounded soldier from the surf, Ray was crushed when a landing craft dropped its ramp on him, breaking his back, nearly drowning him. He later awoke back in England, next to his brother, also wounded at Omaha Beach.

Eighty-two years later, that slab of concrete is still there, on Omaha Beach. 'Ray's Rock' it is now called. And it serves as a memorial to the Combat Medics like Ray who sacrificed their bodies and their lives for the sake of others.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 323

American Veterans Center

An absolute legend. Right now, 82 years ago, 101st Airborne paratrooper Ed Shames prepped to board his Douglas C-47 Skytrain, enroute to Normandy and his drop zone just off Utah Beach. Operations Sergeant with I Company, 3rd Battalion of the 506th PIR, one week after D-Day Ed was given a battlefield commission and a new assignment: Command of Third Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion - today, known as the Band of Brothers. A position he held through the end of the war.

Funny and opinionated and a man who loved an ice cold vodka martini, Ed Shames was one of AVC's best friends for almost 20 years. This was his last interview, and one of our favorites. RIP old friend, and believe we'll be raising a glass to you - and all of the boys - for what you did 82 years ago tonight.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 350

American Veterans Center

Taking a breather from our run up to D-Day with a story on the other epic battle from this week in history: Midway, June 4, 1942. A dive-bomber pilot in WWII, George Walsh flew with Bull Halsey's Task Force 38 from carrier Ticonderoga and from ADM Spruance's Task Force 58 from carrier Hancock. In the years following, he became an expert on the Battle of Midway. Hear how the American dive-bombers changed the tide of the war, from a guy who would know!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 117

American Veterans Center

'In Normandy, you had a stench of death,' D-Day vet George Ciampa remembered. In terms of 'Dirty Jobs,' George's was among the worst - Graves Registration, from Utah Beach to the end of the war. Even before D-Day, he had some close calls, losing buddies to the infamous 'Exercise Tiger' dress rehearsal landings portrayed in the new movie, 'Pressure.' And it kept on going through the war.

One of our favorite interviews, a lot of commenters can't believe George was 96 when this was shot a few years ago. We can guarantee you it's true, he was sharp as a tack - and mad as hell when he later got sick, as he was determined to live to 100 and well beyond. What a great guy. Give him a watch, if you haven't already!

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 303