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• Dale Throneberry – Founder and Host of Veterans Radio
• Brig. Gen. Carol Ann Fausone (ret) – Legal Help for Veterans
• Brian Hayes – Director of Communications, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
• Ginny Creasman – Executive Director, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System
• Chris W. Cauley – Executive Director, VA Detroit Healthcare System

Join Dale and the rest of the panel for our live broadcast on the first Sunday of every month at 5:00pm ET or stream later on your preferred podcast platform.

Topics included: Vet Connect, Homeless Vets, Virtual Appointments, Outpatient Facilities, Medical records.

As the world recognizes the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, we talk with two authors and historians about the historic five-week offensive.

Kevin M. Hymel

Kevin M. Hymel has served as a historian and writer for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force for the last fifteen years. He is a regular contributor to Naval History, WWII History, and WWII Quarterly, and the author of three books, Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, Volume I, November 1942 -July 1944, Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, Volume 2: August–December 1944, and Patton’s Photographs: War as He Saw It. He also leads tours of General George S. Patton’s battlefields for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours.

Hymel is an expert on General George S. Patton and has given presentations about the Maverick General at the Library of Congress, Eisenhower Presidential Library and Army Navy Club. He has served as a historian at the U.S. Army Combat Studies Institute at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He was also the Research Director for WWII History and Military Heritage magazines and has written numerous articles for each. His article “WAC Corporal Lena Derriecott and the 6888th Central Postal Battalion,” is being made into a movie by Tyler Perry.

Robert B. O’Connor

Robert B. O’Connor is the author of “Jeep Show: A Trouper at the Battle of the Bulge.” The book follows a show business drop-out who enlists in the US Army in 1943. From the book’s website:

With its realism and emotional depth, Jeep Show is a must read for WWII buffs and lovers of historical fiction alike. The story will fascinate fans of Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, Ken Burns’ The War, The Thin Red Line, With the Old Breed, The Red Badge of Courage, Slaughterhouse Five, and Catch 22. Americans whose father served in WWII will be particularly interested.

Learn more about the book here, or visit Amazon to purchase.

This week’s first guest is photographer and US Navy Veteran Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman is a Navy Gulf War veteran and a professional photographer who recently published “Never Home: Remembering the Military Heroes Who Never Returned,” which honors the more than 207,000 men and women who are memorialized in America’s 23 overseas WWI and WWII cemeteries. He traveled and photographed all 23 American overseas WWI and WWII military cemeteries over the course of six years (8 trips to 3 continents): from Normandy to Tunisia, from Florence to Manila, and from England to Luxembourg. The book features more than 50 biographies of those who never made it home: from names you know, like Roosevelt and Patton, to ones you never heard of like Vinsant and Summers. The book includes more than 225 photos including several of his images from the 75th anniversary ceremony of the D-Day landings at Normandy American Cemetery.

The Foreword of the book was written by Vice Admiral Doug Crowder (Ret.), the former Commander of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet (Asia).

Learn more about the book here.

We also hear from Robert S. Colella, President and Founder of The Debrief Project

Dale speaks with Bobby Colella, who served in the United States Army Infantry for 21 years reaching the rank of First Sergeant. Bobby’s service includes 27 months leading soldiers in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004-2005 (Ramadi/Fallujah) and 2005-2006 (Baqubah). After retiring as a First Sergeant in 2010, Bobby was recruited by a private contractor and supported both Operation Iraqi Freedom from Kuwait and Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan. After two years overseas, Bobby returned to Central Florida and continued his work with PEO-STRI in Research Park as a Subject Matter Expert and later as a Military Analyst for the U.S. Army’s SOF Training Systems, Engagement Skills Trainer Program until January 2016.

In 2012, Bobby published “Battle for Baqubah: Killing Our Way Out.” In 2016, Bobby shifted his career toward the healthcare industry, where he held the position of director of new hire training and operations for AdventHealth’s Central and East Florida Divisions (15 hospitals and growing). Though Bobby’s post-military career was focused on supporting the training of newly hired nurses and other clinical staff, Bobby has maintained his passion for taking care of the troops and giving back to his community through various volunteer programs including assisting with establishing the Orlando and Daytona Beach Chapters of Team Red, White, and Blue and current administrative director for Redemption Community Biker Church in Daytona Beach. Bobby recently retired from AdventHealth to focus on The Debrief Project and its mission.

Learn more about The Debrief Project here, and tune in to hear from Bobby himself about this nonprofit aimed at helping Veterans tell their stories.

This week’s first guest is Major General James W. Lukeman from the MCHF

Major General James W. Lukeman, USMC (Ret.), is the President and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation (MCHF). His distinguished 40-year career included assignments as Rifle and Weapons Platoon Commander in Alpha Company and 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines; Assistant Operations Officer and Company Commander of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines; Executive Officer of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines; and Operations Officer, 1st Marine Division. He commanded 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines and served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-7 and G-3 for the 1st Marine Division in Iraq during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

Possible discussion topics include:

• In his role at the MCHF, he leads efforts to preserve and promote the history, traditions, and culture of the Marine Corps through educational initiatives and the National Museum of the Marine Corps. The National Museum of the Marine Corps has introduced two new galleries showcasing hundreds of artifacts from all primary U.S. Marine Corps operations from post-Cold War through Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
• The Marine Corps is also gearing up to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year. To commemorate this momentous occasion, MCHF is celebrating nationwide through cake-cutting ceremonies and many other events.
• Major General Lukeman can also shed light on the transition from active duty to civilian life. Drawing from his extensive combat experience and command roles, he can offer powerful insight into making decisions under pressure and leading in different environments.

Dale also talks with Marc Leepson, author and returning guest

We are also joined by Marc Leepson, arts editor and senior writer and columnist for The VVA Veteran, the national magazine published by the VVA.

Leepson returns to Veterans Radio once more to discuss his new book, “The Unlikely War Hero: A Vietnam War POW’s Story of Courage and Resilience in the Hanoi Hilton.”

Learn more about Leepson here, and see some of his other books on his website.

Story of a medic in Afghanistan. On June 25, 2011, Sgt. Julia Bringloe, with C Company, 3-10 General Support Aviation Battalion, was the medic for the four-person crew aboard a Black Hawk helicopter. The crew was one of two Army medevac teams tasked with supporting Operation Hammer Down in Afghanistan’s Watahpor Valley. Bringloe’s job was to exit the helicopter — suspended from a cable when necessary — and recover the casualties, then provide them lifesaving treatment while the helicopter flew to a medical facility.

Gregory "Pappy" Boyington (December 4, 1912 – January 11, 1988) was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross. A Marine aviator with the Pacific fleet in 1941, Boyington joined the "Flying Tigers" (1st American Volunteer Group) of the Republic of China Air Force and saw combat in Burma in late 1941 and 1942 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

In September 1942, Boyington rejoined the Marine Corps. In early 1943, he deployed to the South Pacific and began flying combat missions in the F4U Corsair fighter. On August 14, 1943, he took command of Marine fighter squadron VMF-214 ("Black Sheep").

In January 1944, Boyington, outnumbered by Japanese "Zero" planes, was shot down into the Pacific Ocean after downing one of the enemy planes. He was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half. He was released shortly after the surrender of Japan.

The television series Baa Baa Black Sheep was inspired by Boyington and his men in the "Black Sheep" squadron. It ran for two seasons in the late 1970s.

John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle for Henderson Field in the Guadalcanal campaign, and the Navy Cross posthumously for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima. He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both of these decorations in World War II.

Colonel Stephen Perkins talks about Major General Oliver W. Dillard, Sr.'s career from enlisted to officer. Ultimately rising to Major General in the U.S. Army focusing on military intelligence. Perkins explains Dillard's commands from Korea, Germany, and stateside. Dillard was the first black general officer in the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence. Dillard retired in 1980. Perkins chats with host Jim Fausone on this remarkable military officer.