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Warrant Officer Jim Stivers flew Hueys, Sky Cranes and Chinooks for 33 years
Warrant Officer 5th Class Jim Stivers of North Port flew Army Hueys, Sky Crane and Chinook helicopters starting in Vietnam and for the next three decades. He eventually became an instructor pilot who...
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Sgt. Buster Yates stopped Nazi spy ring during World War II
Retired Staff Sgt. Buster Yates decided to volunteer for the U.S. Army Air Corps before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, launching the United States into World War II. “I was playing...
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The wedding dress that saved airman’s life at the close of WW II
When Bill Bingham bailed out of “Lemon Squirts,” his doomed B-24 “Liberator” bomber over northern Italy on Mar. 4, 1945, he never considered the possibility the silk parachute that saved his life would...
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Cpl. Kean Mc Gill was a 2-finger typist and a boxer for the U.S.M.C.
When he wasn’t being a pretty good two-finger clerk typist for the United States Maine Corps, Cpl. Kean Mc Gill was a better than average “Junior Welter Weight” boxer for the Corps. He became a...
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Col. Norm Mac Lellan received ‘Silver Star’ for service in Vietnam
Col. Norm Mac Lellan of Venice had already served one tour in Vietnam and survived the 1968 Tet Offensive when he got in the firefight of his life with North Vietnamese Army troops during his second...
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He visited Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’ at WWII’s close – David Youngs won the war...
Dave Youngs turned mechanics into cooks when he wasn’t playing bridge, skiing and sightseeing around Europe on the weekends at the end of the Second World War. The youthful 2nd lieutenant was a member...
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Former Spc.-4 Don Rudness lasted 2 months in Vietnam before being wounded
After flunking out of Northern Michigan University in his sophomore year in 1968 Don Rudness of North Port, Fla. was classified 1-A by the draft board and sent to Vietnam by his friends and neighbors....
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Jack Monahan served 3 tours in Vietnam, now he barely survives on veteran’s...
Jack Monahan served three tours in Vietnam during the war. He returned to Sarasota in ’69 and became a general contractor. He was doing well until the housing took a nosedive a few years back. He lost...
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He bombed Saigon bridge in World War II – Sgt. Giff Stowell watched Japanese...
Giff Stowell of La Casa mobile home park in North Port, Fla. was a gunner on an A-20 Havoc twin-engine bomber in the Pacific during his first nine months of combat in World War II. The rest of the war...
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Medic Geoffrey Morris, awarded ‘Silver Star’ for saving lives in Vietnam
Geoffrey Morris of Venice. Fla. was a consciousness objector who volunteered to become a medic with the 237th Medical Detachment. He flew out of Quang Tri, Vietnam in 1970-71 aboard a DMZ Dust Off...
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Leon Gumley of Sarasota died in John Wayne’s arms while making the 1949 war...
Leon Gumley died in John Wayne’s arms as they fought their way up Mount Suribachi in the closing minutes of the 1949 World War II movie “Sands of Iwo Jima.” He played Marine Pvt. Sid Stein and Wayne...
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Former B-17 pilot recalls dangerous missions near end of WWII – Combat flight...
By the time Capt. Bill Haase reached England and the 8th Air Force during the last half of World War II, he was an experienced aviator with 15 months under his belt flying new bombardiers on practice...
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Jewish boy survives the Holocaust – Paul Molnar and family sent to death camp...
By the time Paul Molnar was 14 he had survived the Holocaust. It would be two more years before he survived World War II. In September 1939, when the German army marched into Poland, starting the...
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Jim Laurent worked in spy business and White House 24 years
Jim Laurent’s 24 years of service in the U.S. Air Force was shrouded in secrecy. He was a high frequency radio communication expert who spied on the Russians, kept the radio equipment running in the...
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Warrant Officer Shelly Berryman flew Huey helicopters in Vietnam War
Shelly Berryman of North Port started out not wanting anything to do with the Vietnam War. However, before the conflict was over he was in the thick of it flying 1st Infantry Division troops into...
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Gene Kopec of North Port received 3 Purple Hearts fighting in Vietnam
Three times Gene Kopec of North Port was wounded while fighting in Vietnam with the Marine Corps. He received three Purple Hearts and took part in the Battle at Khe Sanh. Here North Vietnam Army...
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2nd Lt. U.S. Cleveland involved in WW II’s biggest hoax
2nd Lt. U.S. Cleveland was a key part of the most elaborate hoax ever attempted by Allied forces during World War II. This picture of him was taken in Fort Knox, Ky. in 1941. Photo provided The...
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Master Chief Sanvictores served 7 Presidents, 4-star Admiral during 44 year...
Master Chief and Valet Ricardo Sanvictores of North Port, Fla. had two jobs during his 44 year Naval career. He was Adm. John S. McCain Jr.’s steward for 14 years. After the admiral retired he was...
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Brad Messick served as baker on destroyer USS Higbee and carrier John F. Kennedy
Before Brad Messick graduated from high school in 1966 at 19 he had already been notified by his draft board. He signed up with the Navy and was allowed to graduate before going to sea. “While still in...
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Englewood, Fla. man survived HMT Rohna sinking in ’43
In 1942 Dan Middleton joined the Army Air Corps instead of the Navy because he didn’t want to be sunk at sea. A year later, on Nov. 26, 1943, the day after Thanksgiving, he was aboard the HMT Rohna, an...
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