John 'Lucky" Luckadoo wanted to join the war effort against Nazi Germany even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He and a friend hatched a plan to join the service in Canada until Lucky's father refused to allow it. But his friend went through with it. After Pearl Harbor, while in his first year at college, Luckadoo joined the U.S. Army Air Corps. Before long he was assigned to be a co-pilot in the "Bloody 100th" bomb group. He would be one of the few to survive 25 missions early in the war and earn a trip home. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," 101-year-old Lucky Luckadoo takes us into his ups and downs of flight training to the challenges of co-piloting a B-17 bomber. He tells us about the mission where he nearly lost his toes to frostbite and his most harrowing mission after losing an engine while under intense anti-aircraft fire. Luckadoo also shares how he advanced from co-pilot to pilot to operations officer, the evolution of using fighters to keep the bombers safe, what he sees as the legacy of the Bloody 100th, and the tragic conclusion of his friend's service in the war.

Dakota Meyer decided to have some fun with the U.S. Marine recruiter visiting his high school. Within minutes he had a change of heart and signed up to serve. Meyer would serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a horrific day in September 2009 would change his life forever. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Meyer shares the very difficult story of watching from a a mile away as his fellow Marines came under deadly enemy fire. Defying orders, Meyer spent the next several hours against nearly impossible odds to save and recover his fallen comrades. For his actions that day, Meyer received the Medal of Honor. But while sharing his story with us, Meyer explains why the medal actually made his life more difficult.

Russell "Rusty" Schweikart grew up with a great interest in aviation and watching the planes fly around Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey. So it was no surprise when he joined the U.S. Air Force and was trained as a fighter pilot. He later joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard. But in 1963, he was selected as a NASA astronaut and was soon on track to be part of the Apollo program to fulfill President John F. Kennedy's vision of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles, Capt. Schweikart takes us through his days in the Air Force and Air National Guard. He also details the moment in a cafeteria that he decided to pursue becoming an astronaut and the training he went through to prepare for space. Schweikart also walks us through the dark days following the deadly Apollo 1 fire that killed Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee in 1967 and the changes that were made as a result. Finally, Schweikart takes us step by step through his Apollo 9 mission, the testing of the lunar module and Apollo space suits, and the mesmerizing moments of looking back towards Earth during the first-ever Apollo spacewalk.

Howard Hill attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and went on to flight training, where he became a radio intercept officer (RIO). Deployed to Vietnam as a backseater on an F-4, Hill flew many missions, including one that earned him his first Silver Star before being shot down two months later. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Hill details that successful mission in October 1967. He then takes moment by moment on the December mission in which his plane was shot down and he was taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese. He describes the torture he endured for refusing to give up information to the enemy and what life was like in the Hoa Lo prison - better known mockingly as the Hanoi Hilton - for more than five years. Col. Hill also describes how he kept his mind sharp in captivity by writing poetry expressing his love for America. Finally, he tells us about his release and how Americans should appreciate their freedoms.

Whitey Johnson was a farm kid from Minnesota who had the chance to fly a crop duster when he was a teenager. The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he stood in line to join the U.S. Army Air Corps. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Johnson describes his excitement at being assigned to the Flying Tigers, serving on the Shanghai Raids and his heart-pounding drama of being shot down and nearly captured while being hidden by the Chinese.

Randy Bresnik was born into a family that already had an aviation legacy. His father was a U.S. Army Air Cavalry helicopter pilot in Vietnam and his grandfather spent five years as the official photographer for Amelia Earhart. But Bresnik would chart his own path, attending The Citadel as a Navy ROTC student and ultimately choosing the U.S. Marine Corps. He has flown 86 different types of planes but his favorite is the F/A-18. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Bresnik takes us through his journey as a pilot, his early deployments, his memories of 9/11, and he goes into great detail about his close air support missions in the opening weeks of the Iraq War. He also details his pursuit of becoming a NASA astronaut, training for missions, and the family drama that played out on earth while he performed his first mission. Finally, Bresnik explains what a spacewalk is like and why he is excited about what lies ahead for the U.S. space program

Brendan Quisenberry grew up with a deep appreciation for military service, as both his father and grandfather were veterans. As a sophomore in high school when terrorists struck the U.S. on 9/11, he knew he needed to serve. A couple of years later he joined the U.S. Army and by 2004 he was on his first deployment overseas - this one to Iraq. Following that deployment, Quisenberry successfully completed the training needed to become a U.S. Army Ranger. Soon he was off to the first of several assignments in Afghanistan. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Quisenberry walks us through the difficult days on those deployments and the major challenge of trying to avoid improvised explosive devices, or IED. He also details how those intense deployments led to record-level suicides when the men came home. He also describes an elite parachuting opportunity with the 101st Airborne Division, pursuing and achieving his dream of becoming a Green Beret, and his important work now as executive director of the Transcend Foundation, helping service members and first responders heal from their physical and mental injuries.

Harrison Schmitt's father was a geologist but it wasn't until college thatSchmitt decided to follow in his dad's footsteps. By the mid-1960's, Schmitt had a Ph.D and was working at the U.S. Geological Survey's Astrogeology Center. Before long, NASA was looking for geologists to advise on the upcoming lunar missions. Schmitt then advised the Apollo 11 crew on what to look for and to bring home. And he also consulted with every subsequent mission. But before too long, NASA decided to send Scmitt himself to the moon and the rest is history - the only man to visit the moon who was not a military aviator. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Schmitt describes training in the T-38 and helicopters with the U.S. Air Force at Chandler AFB and why that training was so critical to his mission. He also tells us what it was like to blast off, walk on the moon, and take one of the most famous photos in history. He also tells us what he considers to be the most important geological discoveries from the Apollo missions.

Ray Hildreth joined the U.S. Marine Corps in an effort to shape up after a brush with the law as a teenager. He joined during the Vietnam War, never once thinking he would be sent overseas. But after a grueling basic training period, Marine recon training, and sniper school, he was soon on his way to Okinawa to prepare for service in Vietnam. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Hildreth explains how the Marines' legendary basic training prepared him well for what would soon follow. He then describes the patrol missions his platoon was assigned once they got to Vietnam. But the vast majority of Hildreth's story centers on the June 1966 battle for Hill 488. He explains how the fighting began, how it quickly intensified, and how he and his fellow Marines suffered many casualties while vastly outnumbered by the North Vietnamese Army soldiers there. In incredible detail, Hildreth takes us moment by moment through the nighttime fighting and what he and the other Marines did to hold off the enemy and to help each other survive. He also tells how he twice took out an NVA machine gun position with just a rifle. Finally, Hildreth reflects on the tremendous cost required to hold the hill and why every American needs to know about the courage and sacrifice of the men he served with there.

Ramon "Tony" Nadal continued a proud family legacy when he was accepted into West Point after high school. Nadal's father was one the first Puerto Rican graduates of the U.S. Military Academy back in 1928. After his commissioning and officer training, Nadal quickly pursued special forces training with the Army Rangers and Pathfinders among others. Eventually that elite training made him an ideal choice to be a leader in a brand new type of air mobile warfare, which moved troops by helicopters instead of in trucks or on foot. In Vietnam, the air mobile concept would be put to the test. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Col. Nadal takes us inside this cutting edge approach to warfare in the 1960's. He also takes us into the ferocious battle for Landing Zone X-Ray as part of the Battle of Ia Drang in November 1965, where he served as commander of A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Air Cavalry Division. Nadal explains the circumstances leading up to the battle, how then-Col. Hal Moore and the other officers responded to a U.S. platoon being cut off from other forces, being in the midst of intense combat, and how the Americans successfully fought off North Vietnamese forces with much larger numbers. Don't miss this detailed reflection on a critical engagement in the early months of the Vietnam War.