Tail Gunner Sam  Sam Mastrogiacomo of the 445th Bomb Group describes the Gotha Mission, which at 2 hours and 25 minutes of continuous contact was the longest running battle between American bombers and German fighter planes in World War II.

Chuck Hurlbut 299th Combat Engineer Battalion, D-Day veteran of Omaha Beach

Don Foye and Wally Ansardi Don Foye (in photo, on the right) of the 90th Infantry Division had his chin shot off in Normandy in late July, 1944. Wally Ansardi, left, is the medic who treated him. They didn't see each other again until the 1996 reunion of the 90th Division.

The Hospitality Room  Sometimes at reunions of the 712th Tank Battalions, Aaron Elson would get a group of veterans sitting around a table and plant his tape recorder in the middle. This is the result of one of those sessions, featuring Otha Martin, Andy Rego, and others.

Jerome Auman 3rd Marine Division. By the grace of God, and a few Marines, MacArthur returned to the Philippines. Jerome Auman was one of those Marines.

Mike McKinney A veteran of the fabled "Big Red One," Vincent "Mike" McKinney may well have been the first American ashore in the assault wave on Omaha Beach.

Dale Albee  Originally a sergeant and instructor in the horse cavalry, Albee received three Purple Hearts as a member of the 712th Tank Battalion.

Ed Hays On Feb. 24, 1944, the B-17 in which Ed Hays was a tail gunner was shot down over Denmark. In 1998, Hays traveled to Berlin to meet the German fighter pilot who shot down his plane, and who in turn was shot down by Hays' B-24.

Arnold Brown A company commander in the 90th Infantry Division.

Helen Grottola "When are you going to interview some of the wives who stayed at home while their husbands went off to fight in the war?" Helen Grottola asked Aaron Elson at the 1994 reunion of the 712th Tank Battalion. "How about now?" he said.

Murray Levine A veteran of the 45th Infantry Division, Murray Levine was captured by the Germans at Anzio.

Karnig Thomasian A prisoner of war of the Japanese.

"I'm not supposed to be here. ..." Valentine Miele, 1st Infantry Division, D-Day veteran.

Francis "Snuffy" Fulller  A lieutenant in the 712th Tank Battalion

Bernie Levine  100th Bomb Group, former prisoner of war.

Orval Williams  Company B, 712th Tank Battalion.

Tim Dyas  A paratrooper, a poet, and a former prisoner of war.

Four Men and a Tank  Jim Gifford, Tony D'Arpino, Ed Spahr and Bob Rossi describe the day their tank was knocked out during the Battle of the Bulge.

Bob Levine  90th Infantry Division, former prisoner of war.

Joe Bernardino  A loader in A Company of the 712th Tank Battalion.

Sam Cropanese  The gunner in Joe Bernardino's tank