Surprise Mail Brings Love to a Soldier in Remote Afghanistan

StoryCorps’ Military Voices Initiative records the stories of veterans and their families.

Private First Class Roman Coley Davis grew up in a small town in South Georgia. After graduating from high school in 2004, he joined the military.

By the time he was 20 years old, Roman found himself 7000 miles away from home, in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan — one of the most remote outposts in the U.S. war there.

At StoryCorps, he told his friend Dan Marek about his family and his time in Afghanistan.

After the military, Roman enrolled in culinary school. He used his GI Bill to attend Le Cordon Bleu. He’s now a chef, based in Arkansas.

Top photo: Roman Coley Davis and his mema, Laverne Tanner, in her South Georgia kitchen. Courtesy of Roman Coley Davis.

Middle photo: Roman during his deployment to Afghanistan. Courtesy of Roman Coley Davis.

Bottom photo: Roman in his chef’s whites with his meemaw, Laverne Tanner. Photo by Dailey Hubbard.

This interview was recorded in partnership with the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

This story originally aired April 07, 2018 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. It was rebroadcast April 10, 2020 on NPR’s Morning Edition.

‘You Were Walking Rage’: Reclaiming A Broken Brotherhood

Growing up in a troubled home in Florida, the fights between Derrick Storms and his younger brother Raymond were legendary. “There’s still probably a hole where you threw me through the wall, right by the TV, and Dad never fixed years later,” Raymond said to Derrick at StoryCorps in New York.

They would end up taking completely different paths: Derrick joined the military right out of high school, and Raymond sang opera professionally and practiced reiki. At StoryCorps, they talked about how they reclaimed their brotherhood.

Originally aired January 31st, 2020, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top Photo: Raymond Storms and Derrick Storms at their StoryCorps interview in New York on January 10, 2020. By Rochelle Kwan for StoryCorps.

Middle Photo: Raymond and Derrick Storms, with their mother, older sister Gail and younger sister Maryanne. Miami, FL, approximately 1986. Photo courtesy of the Storms family.

We Never Spoke Of It

Glennette Rozelle and her sister Jennifer Mack grew up outside of Oklahoma City during the 1970s. They fondly remember the happy moments of dancing in their living room and eating their mom’s biscuits and gravy.

But they also remember how common it was to hear their parents argue. And on Valentine’s Day of 1977, everything changed for their family. Their mom shot and killed her husband, Glenn, who was Glennette’s dad and Jennifer’s stepfather. Glennette and Jennifer were both children at the time, and they never spoke with their mother about what happened. Now adults, they came to StoryCorps to remember that night, and its aftermath.

Jennifer also came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Whitney Cotten, to talk about how this secret affected their family for generations.

Top photo: Artwork by Lindsay Mound.

Middle Photo 1: Minnie Jo Wallace, c. 1959. Courtesy of Jennifer Mack.

Middle Photo 2: Glennette Rozelle (left) and Jennifer Mack at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City on May 3, 2018. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.

Bottom Photo: Whitney Cotton (left) and Jennifer Mack at their StoryCorps interview in Oklahoma City on May 3, 2018. By Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.

Released on December 10, 2019.

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“I Felt I Was Helping A Fellow Soldier”: A Nephew Steps In For His Ailing Uncle

Growing up, Michael Menta idolized his uncle Sal Leone, a Marine. Michael would eventually follow in Sal’s footsteps, enlisting in the Navy his senior year of high school.

But in 2019, Michael found himself in a new role: caring for his uncle Sal at his bedside after he had fallen gravely ill from cancer.

They sat down together for StoryCorps.

Top photo: Michael Menta and Sal Leone at their StoryCorps interview in West Hartford, CT on October 26, 2019. By Camila Kerwin for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: A young Sal Leone in dress blues during U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Training. Photo courtesy of Sal Leone.

Originally aired November 9, 2019 on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

Loving — but Leaving — the Military

Retired Colonel Denise Baken enlisted in the Army in 1975 , following in her father’s military footsteps. She’d go on to serve for nearly three decades. 

At StoryCorps, Denise told her children, Richard and Christian Yingling, about her military career, and just how closely her father’s service mirrored her own.

Top photo: Denise Baken (center) with her children Christian Yingling (left) and Richard Yingling (right) at their StoryCorps interview in Baltimore, MD on August 23, 2019. By Emilyn Sosa for StoryCorps.

Bottom photo: Denise Baken in uniform as a lieutenant colonel in 1997. Photo courtesy of the Baken/Yingling family. 

Originally aired September 21, 2019, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. 

Remembering One Tough Veteran: Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy

Susan Ahn Cuddy was one seriously tough woman, who wore many hats — and broke many barriers — throughout her life.

She was the first Asian American woman in the Navy and the first woman gunnery officer teaching air combat tactics. During World War II, Lieutenant Cuddy trained Navy pilots in dogfighting maneuvers and firing .50-caliber machine guns.

But her children, Flip and Christine Cuddy, didn’t know about her accomplishments until later in life. In 2018, they came to StoryCorps to remember her.

Top photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy (far right) at the US Naval Air Station in Florida in 1943. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.

Middle photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy in uniform. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.

Middle photo: Susan Ahn Cuddy training a sailor in how to fire a .50-caliber machine gun. Courtesy of Flip Cuddy.

Bottom photo: Christine Cuddy and Flip Cuddy at StoryCorps in Northridge, CA. By Naomi Blech for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 17, 2019 on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Korean War POW Shares What It Was Like to Be Reported Dead — and What Happened When He Came Home Two Years Later

Ninety-year-old Walter Dixon, of Waynesville, Missouri, is a veteran of three wars. He joined the Army at age 16 to serve during World War II. He came back from that war and got married, just before shipping off to join the Army’s 38th Infantry in Korea. 

While there, he was declared dead on the battlefield — only to return home alive two years later. 

He came to StoryCorps with his son, Russ Dixon, to share his story.

There’s a little bit more to the story.

When Walter was declared dead in Korea, a woman named Aldine May Fenton wrote his obituary for the local paper.

He ended up marrying her after his return. They had three children, including Russ Dixon.

Walter retired from the military in 1971, 26 years after first signing up.

Top photo: Walter Dixon and Russ Dixon at their StoryCorps interview in Waynesville, Missouri on June 26, 2019. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: Walter Dixon poses with newspaper clippings and photos detailing his experience as a POW. By Dupe Oyebolu for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: A copy of Walter Dixon’s obituary, which was posted after he was presumed dead during the Korean War, and a newspaper article declaring his return. Courtesy Russ Dixon.

Bottom photo: Walter Dixon poses with his second wife, Aldine Dixon, and his death certificate after returning from Korea, where he was held prisoner of war for more than two years. Courtesy Russ Dixon.

Originally aired July 27, 2019 on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

In The Final Days Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Nation’s First Active-Duty Military Contingent Marches In Pride

In the final days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Navy Operations Specialist Sean Sala decided to do what had never been done before: march with an active duty military contingent in a Pride parade. It was July of 2011, just two months before the end of the policy that barred LGBTQ people from serving openly in the armed forces.

Sean teamed up with San Diego Pride organizer Fernando Zweifach Lopez.  At StoryCorps, they remembered how they pulled it off — and what it was like to see over 200 service members show up at the starting line. 

Top photo: Sean Sala and Fernando Zweifach Lopez at their StoryCorps interview in San Diego, CA on January 5th, 2013. By Luis Gallo for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: Sean Sala and Fernando Zweifach Lopez (center) marching together at San Diego Pride on July 16, 2011. Courtesy of Fernando Zweifach Lopez.

Bottom Photo: Sean Sala (right) marches alongside fellow Navy service members during San Diego Pride on July 21, 2012. That year, the Pentagon issued blanket approval for service members to march in uniform in the San Diego Pride parade. Courtesy of Sean Sala.

Originally aired June 29, 2019, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

104-Year-Old WWII Veteran Remembers Fake Tanks, Sound Effects in Top-Secret ‘Ghost Army’

Gilbert Seltzer was an architectural draftsman when the World War II broke out. Soon after he joined the Army, he was told he would be put on a top-secret mission — and an unconventional one at that.

He had been selected to lead a platoon of men in a unit dubbed the “Ghost Army,” made up mostly of artists, creatives and engineers. Their mission? Deception. From inflatable tanks, to phony convoys, to spreading misinformation in bars, they used any possible trick to fool the enemy.

Gil is now 104 years old. At StoryCorps, he sat down with his granddaughter, Sarah, to remember this unusual outfit.

Top photo: A young Gilbert Seltzer in uniform in October, 1942, after graduating from Officer Candidate School in Fort Belvoir, VA. Courtesy Gilbert Seltzer.

Middle photo 1: A dummy 155 mm gun. Photo taken between 1943 and 1944. Courtesy Ghost Army Legacy Project, The George William Curtis Collection.

Middle photo 2: Gilbert Seltzer eating lunch at  Pine Camp, Watertown, NY, during the spring of 1941. Courtesy Gilbert Seltzer.

Bottom photo: Sarah Seltzer and her grandfather, Gilbert Seltzer in West Orange, NJ for StoryCorps in January 2019. By Afi Yellow-Duke.

Originally aired May 25, 2019, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

‘We Don’t Talk About it Much’: Remembering the 241 U.S. Service Members Lost During the Beirut Bombing of 1983

James Edward Brown is one of the survivors of the Beirut Bombing.

On October 23, 1983, 241 U.S. service members were killed in the terrorist attack on Marine barracks in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. It was the largest single-day loss of life for the Marines since World War II, and the deadliest terror attack on American citizens prior to September 11, 2001.

Navy hospital corpsman Brown was 200 yards away from the barracks when the bomb detonated.

He came to StoryCorps in Pensacola with his friend and fellow Beirut veteran, Mike Cline, to remember the day of the attack.

In 2018, on the 35th anniversary of the bombing, Ed Brown walked 24.1 miles per day for a month to remember the 241 service members lost in the bombing.

Top photo: Rescuers probe the wreckage of the U.S. Marine command, Monday, Oct. 24, 1983 in a Beirut building that was destroyed by a terrorist bomb. AP Photo/Zouki.

Middle photo: Mike Cline and James Edward Brown pose at their StoryCorps interview on April 30, 2019 in Pensacola, FL. By Joseph Vincenza/WUWF.

Bottom photo: James Edward Brown is photographed during his 540-mile trek from Jacksonville, FL to Jacksonville, NC in October 2018. On his march, Ed walked 24.1 miles per day to honor the 241 soldiers killed in the bombing. Courtesy James Edward Brown.

Originally aired May 24, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.