Dick joined the military during a tremendous time of desegregation in the United States. The military had already begun moving toward desegregation nine years earlier with the abolition of segregation in the Armed Forces.
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While Bill was never involved in politics, he knew that enlisting into the U.S. Army in 1943 was the right thing to do to save the world from Fascism. He enlisted right after he graduated high school, as he felt that it was his duty to help the United States defeat Adolf Hitler.
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Reginald A. Pacheco endured more than most servicemen could ever imagine, having survived one of the most traumatic events in U.S. military history—the Bataan Death March.
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Throughout his whole life, from growing up in an immigrant family, to surviving the Communist Chinese prison camps, to solving his financial issues, and to challenging social and political norms, Ernest Contrearas was a true American hero.
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At the age of 20, Orville enlisted into the Navy as a sonar operator, due to his experience with electrical engineering. He worked on operating and developing sonar on battleships, cruisers, and destroyers in the Pacific theater during World War II. He island hopped throughout the Pacific, guiding the guns on the ships to hit enemy targets.
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Ernest served the United States from around the world. Whether it was in a Japanese Prisoners of War Camp during World War II, serving at the northernmost operational Air Force Base in Greenland, or the huge refueling base in Libya, Ernest served in the U.S. Air Force with pride.
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As the blowing winds of change swept the nation in the early twentieth century, the suffrage movement demanded women be given the right to vote, in addition to other fundamental human rights.
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William faced constant discrimination and challenges in his life and was often told that he would not be able to make much of himself because of his skin color. William did not let this stop him from leading a happy and successful life however and from creating that very same life for his own family as a loving and devoted father.
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As a member of the Flying Tigers, William C. Chin bravely fought not only for his country and family in the United States but for his ancestral homeland in China as well. With a legacy in the Chin family of leadership and service to the community, William did not disappoint in keeping the family tradition.
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The stories of Vietnam War veterans are typically ignored in history, but this is not the case for Larry Branaugh. As the first service member from Thornton, Colorado to sacrifice his life in Vietnam, Larry has received significant recognition for his service, but beyond that, is remembered for his sense of duty and courage.
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John Francis Curry knew that his military career would “take off” after his enrollment in the Signal Corps Aviation School. First appropriated in 1911, the Aviation School was developed to test different types of airplanes and discern their potential military capabilities.
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During Joshua Hager’s all too brief 29 years, he became an elite soldier in the United States Army while being a dedicated family man at home.
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Sam Robinson was a “true Air Force Chief” who served for 28 years in the U.S. military. He was a friend to many and “had a laugh that when you heard it you knew he was in the building. He was a dedicated worker, no matter the challenge.”
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A Second Lieutenant in the U.S Army Nurse Corps, Ruth Nelson (née Kentta) spent her life caring for others, first as a nurse in the U.S Army, an administrator in a Denver hospital, and a school nurse in the Denver Public Schools, while taking care of her family as a mother and grandmother.
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African Americans served with distinction in every theater of World War II. By the end of the war, 1.2 million African Americans were serving in uniform. Norman Arnett Ford was one of these brave and resilient men.
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Milton Louis Craig was born to serve his country as he was the son of a Buffalo Soldier.
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Martin remained on Active Duty in the reserves throughout the course of the war thanks to the Thomason Act, which allowed for more reserves to join active duty. He served four campaigns on the front lines in North Africa and Italy.
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World War II broke out and Lou knew she could not be idle and watch her country move forward without her. She joined the army and was sworn in as a Second Lieutenant Army Nurse before she was shipped overseas to join the 95th General Hospital in England.
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Sergeant George B. Booker, born April 11, 1846, had the great distinction of serving in the 17th Regiment of Colored Infantry during the United States Civil War. Born into slavery, George Booker endured the grim realities of living as an enslaved person in the American South
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