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Arlie Aukerman

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Looking back on his days as a B-24 gunner, Arlie Aukerman wonders, "Why wasn't I scared more?" Like most young flyers, he kept going by thinking it was the other guy who would get killed. One of the other guys in his squadron was Jimmy Stewart, who took the same risks as all the men. (5:13)

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In the nose turret, B-24 gunner Arlie Aukerman could see all the flak, but his friend and tail gunner Harry Hecht did not realize the danger they were in until he saw photos of the action. Sometimes, it was Aukerman's job to operate the toggle switch that released the bombs and, years later, he was haunted by thoughts of casualties from his action. (4:41)

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Despite thick flak over Germany, no one on Arlie Aukerman's B-24 crew was injured by it. Good fortune was also apparent when weather conditions forced them to spend a week in Paris. (4:10)

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B-24 Gunner Arlie Aukerman saw one of the Messerschmitt jets that the Germans developed near the end of the war. He reckons that with enough of those and the V2 rocket, the outcome of the war would have been different. (6:56)

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Arlie Aukerman recalls the men on his B-24 crew, including pilot Irving Kraus, who at 22 years old was responsible for the plane and the mission, and Lloyd Blackburn, the gunner from Kentucky who wouldn't give up his whiskey. (6:04)

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Arlie Aukerman was on his way to New Mexico to train for Pacific action in the B-29 when Japan surrendered. They locked the doors on the train to keep the troops from bolting. After his discharge, he declined to join the reserves. He'd had enough of guys like his drill instructor back in basic training. (4:47)

Armand Chapeau

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As soon as he went from reserve to active status in the Coast Guard, Armand Chapeau found himself in the Cold War. Deployed during the Berlin Wall crisis and the Cuban blockade, he then began intense training for Vietnam. (6:52)

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Nearly lost in transit with many Army troops to Vietnam, Armand Chapeau and his small Coast Guard contingent finally made it to Da Nang where his ship, the Point Ellis was based. Search and interdiction was the mission. (6:50)

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Patrolling the coast near Da Nang, Armand Chapeau was hit with small arms fire while at the helm. Told he would never walk again, he said, “No, I don’t think so,” and got up and walked down the hospital corridor. (9:23)

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If it had not been for a police line, wounded veteran Armand Chapeau would have been showered with blood and worse by protestors when he disembarked in California. Undeterred by them or his injury, he returned to active duty. (5:11)