Genres: interview / Collection: Veterans of the Brazos Valley - TAMU

Date:: 2005-09-07
Main contributors:: Youngkin, Bill
Summary:: Bill Youngkin, U.S. Army, Vietnam (A&M Class of 69) (Interviewed September 7, 2005) Bill Youngkin was a Texas A&M Yell Leader his senior year. He was a U.S. Army Transportation Specialist in Vietnam in 1971 and 1972. Bill Youngkin talks about his service but also his passion for honoring other veterans through his weekly column in the Bryan/College Station Eagle, "Brazos Valley Heroes".

Date:: 2006-08-30
Main contributors:: Wilkinson, Bob
Summary:: Bob Wilkinson, U.S. Air Force, Korea/Viet Nam (Interviewed Aug. 30, 2006) Colonel Bob Wilkinson caught the end of the Korean War and then three tours of Vietnam, flying both fixed wing and choppers as a United States Marine. But some of his most memorable stories come from the 32 weeks he served as a helicopter pilot for President and Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower, shuttling them mostly from the White House to the retreat named after their grandson, Camp David. His is a fascinating 28 year career of military service. Welcome Bobby Wilkinson.

Date:: 2009-11-19
Main contributors:: West, David
Summary:: David West, U.S. Navy, Vietnam (Interviewed Nov. 19, 2009) David West joined the Navy and started out chasing hurricanes from 1956 to 1958. Later he says as a Navy Seal he was wounded in Vietnam but says that chasing hurricanes was some of the scariest stuff he did in the service. He was sent to Vietnam in February 1969 Landing in Saigon. Wounded in Vietnam before training in Vietnam he was at Malta training with the British Navy. David West lived in Navasota before his death.

Date:: 2008-04-10
Main contributors:: Wolters, Freddie
Summary:: Freddie Wolters, U.S. Army, World War II (A&M Class of 1944) (Interviewed April 10, 2008) Freddie Wolters served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima before his unit would have been deployed for a bloody ground fight, but still he has stories to tell, many of how he didn't always do things by the book. He was a freshman member of Homer Norton's 1940 A&M football team.

Date:: 2009-08-06
Main contributors:: Wade, James
Summary:: James Wade, U.S. Army, WW II (Interviewed Aug.6, 2009) James Wade arrived in Europe and there was only two more months of fighting and left in World War II. But in that short time, plus the time he spent there in occupational duty, he saw plenty of what now you read about in history books. That included serving guard duty over the witnesses of the Nuremberg trials. The stories don't in there. Here is James Wade of College Station.

Date:: 2006-04-26
Main contributors:: West, Jim
Summary:: Jim West, U.S. Marines, Vietnam (Interviewed April 26, 2006) Look up Marine in the dictionary and you might just see a picture of Jim West. Well you certainly should. This former Madisonville Police Chiefs spent nearly 3 years as a ground fighter in Vietnam. Jim West was not a spit-and-polish kind of Marine at all. He was a fighter who didn't mind bending a rule or two if it meant protecting his fellow Marines. If it weren't for those wounds he suffered 30 years ago he said that even at the age of 66 he'd volunteered to fight in Iraq. Sadly within a month of our interview Jim West died after suffering a rattlesnake bite on his own ranch.

Date:: 2008-01-17
Main contributors:: Woodall, Jim
Summary:: James Woodall, Navy/Army, Korea/Vietnam (A&M Class of 1950) (Interviewed January 17, 2008) James Woodall tried to enlist at the age of 15, even as a youth raising money to help the British fight off the Germans. He did enlist in the Navy Reserves in 1947 and retired in 1982, a 35 year military career that took him to Germany, Korea, Vietnam, and the Army War College in Pennsylvania. He was Commandant of the A&M Corp of Cadets until his retirement.

Date:: 2009-08-20
Main contributors:: Youngblood, Keith
Summary:: Keith Youngblood, U.S. Army, Iraq (Interview August 20, 2009) Keith Youngblood packed an incredible life of service into the 20 years between 1987 and 2007. His service started in Germany, continued with 5 months in Operations Desert Storm, and back to Iraq for Operation Intrinsic Action. He served two years working part-time in President Clinton's Communications Detail, three years back at A&M as a Military Advisor, and finally back to Iraq for 13 months as a Military Marksman in a Roving Sniper Unit. Keith Youngblood also tells his personal story of battling PTSD.

Date:: 2008-12-04
Main contributors:: White, Mark
Summary:: Mark White, U.S. Army, Iraq (A&M Class of 2003) (Interviewed December 4, 2008) Mark White was deployed in Iraq as a member of Alpha Company 111th Engineer Battalion. His job was security, as he helped arrange and provide security for visiting government officials, Presidents, and even Hollywood stars. The detail involved in these visits will surprise people. It was his job to make sure the visits went smoothly.

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