Griselda Lemus and Papsy Lemus
Nine-year-old Griselda Lemus asks her mother, Sgt. Papsy Lemus, about the 13 months she spent at war serving in Baghdad, Iraq, and the difficulty of leaving her family in the United States.
Originally aired on May 29, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Allen Hoe
Allen Hoe was as a combat medic in Vietnam. His son, Nainoa K. Hoe, served as a 1st lieutenant infantry officer with the Army’s 3rd Battalion in Mosul, Iraq and died there on January 22, 2005, at the age of 27.
On Memorial Day in 2005, Allen traveled from Hawaii to Washington, D.C., for an event at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial honoring Army nurses returning home from the war. At StoryCorps he describes the amazing circumstances around how he met Major Paula Coughlin who was the nurse with his son when he died.
Originally aired May 22, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Hector Vega and his wife Leopoldina
Hector Vega and his wife, Leopoldina, remember the day Hector returned home from war.
Leon and Angela May
Leon May, who fought as a Marine in World War II, tells his daughter about leaving for basic training.
Wayman Simpson
Wayman Simpson served in the Korean War.
He was captured in 1950, soon after fighting began. As a POW, Simpson came under the command of a Korean officer nicknamed The Tiger, who led the prisoners on a brutal, nine-day trek that claimed nearly 100 lives.
Wayman came to StoryCorps to remember what came to be known as The Tiger Death March.
Originally aired November 9, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Jean Thackeray and Susan Thackeray
Jean Thackeray (left) tells her daughter-in-law Susan about a German POW who worked on her father’s Utah farm during World War II. She recounts coming across him crying over his lost Bible one day, and after she found it for him in the field, he carved her a necklace which she still has today as a thank-you.
Originally aired October 12, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Clayton Hall Jr. and Breana Hall
Clayton Hall remembers his first day as one of the few black students enrolled at Virginia Military Institute.
In 1975, Hall enrolled at VMI, where he was one of a few black students in his class.
When Hall came to StoryCorps with his daughter, Breana, he remembered his first day at the southern military college.
Rebecca Fuller and Jenny Francis
Rebecca Fuller (left) and her sister Jenny Francis remember their younger brother, Marine First Lieutenant Travis John Fuller, who died in Iraq.
Originally aired January 26, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Marie DeSantis & Mark Hayes
Marie DeSantis tells her grandson Mark Hayes about a time around Christmas during World War II when her brother Joe was fighting in Germany and the family learned that he was missing in action. But on Christmas Eve, a letter came from Joe letting them know he was in the hospital but doing fine.
Originally aired December 22, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Tom Geerdes and Hannah Campbell
Tom Geerdes tells his daughter Hannah Campbell about how the Vietnam War changed him. Tom recalls that upon his return to the United States he “was not really worried anymore about being socially acceptable,” and his long hair and beard alienated him from his family. It wasn’t until a decade after his return that he began to heal.
Originally aired November 10, 2006, on NPR’s Morning Edition.