Honor Flight Chicago’s Operation Education program seeks to CONNECT. EDUCATE. INSPIRE. students through understanding the wars where American service members served, developing an appreciation for a veteran’s service and sacrifice, and implementing ways to support the mission of Honor Flight Chicago.
In 2020, with the vast majority of schools conducting remote learning and veterans unable to make their traditional Veterans Day visits to classrooms, Honor Flight Chicago embarked on a comprehensive project to record in-depth interviews with our alumni. Called “Many Faces, Many Voices, One Mission,” this collection of interviews cuts across the veteran experience for all demographics and wars we serve. Scroll down to watch the interviews, or click the button below for a Google Sheet breaking down the topics covered in all video, written and podcast interviews available from Honor Flight Chicago!
Operation Education Introduction
This video is an introduction to Operation Education and the veterans who inspire us as we honor them. It is targeted to younger students, however it serves as a fantastic entry point for any age level.
Operation Education Introduction (Middle School)
This video is an introduction to Operation Education and the veterans who inspire us as we honor them. It is targeted toward middle school and junior high aged students.
Operation Education Introduction (High School)
This video is an introduction to Operation Education and the veterans who inspire us as we honor them. It is targeted toward high school aged students.
Kay Akins
Air Force E5 Kay Ann Akins served in supply during the Vietnam War, stationed in both the United States and Taiwan. She went on to further serve in the Illinois Air National Guard, retiring as an E8.
Wallace Alcorn
Wallace Alcorn dropped out of high school to join the Naval Reserve so he could be a part of WWII, then was drafted into the Army during the Korean War. After he completed seminary, he continued to serve for 28 more years as an Army chaplain.
Morris Allen
Army Corporal Morris Allen served with an artillery unit during the Korean War.
Kris Artz
Kris Artz served with the Air Force as a statistical specialist at Headquarters Strategic Command, Offutt AFB during the Korean War. She recounts in great detail her first-person experience with what service was like for a woman during that era.
Mary Arvidson
Mary Arvidson served in the Army beginning in 1973 and then in the Navy until her retirement as a Master Chief Petty Officer in 2012. She performed intelligence work and was stationed in both Germany and England. This career service woman has a wealth of insight to share.
Curtis Bentley
Curtis Bentley served in the Navy during WWII, supervising land-based mess operations during the Battle of Okinawa and later serving as an ammo bearer during the iconic engagement.
Walt Bergonthal
Walt Bergonthal served during WWII with the Army Air Corps, attached to the 133rd AACS (Army Communications Systems).
Terry Blue and Robert Gurley
Marine S/Sgt Terry Blue served as an infantryman, rifleman, and with military intelligence during the Vietnam War. Army E3 Robert Gurley served in the infantry during the Vietnam War. Blue and Gurley are childhood friends who remain close to this day.
Ray Brown
Ray Brown served in the Army Air Corps during WWII. He flew 14 missions out of Italy as an aerial gunner, and was shot down on June 7, 1944. He was a POW at Stalag 4 and walked 630 miles after his liberation on April 26, 1945.
Bob Bruzek
Petty Officer 2nd Class Bob Bruzek served with the Navy Seabees from 1966-1968. He was stationed in Phu-Bai, Vietnam, where he was tasked with maintaining portable power generators in an area that drew consistent fire from enemy combatants.
Clifton Capp
Army Major General Clifton Capp entered the Illinois National Guard in 1948 before receiving a direct commission as a second lieutenant and serving on active duty during the Korean War. Upon discharge he joined the 85th Division (Army Reserve) and retired in 1983 having risen to the rank of Major General as commander of the 416th Engineer Command.
Rick Campbell
Navy HM1 Rick Campbell served as a corpsman during the Vietnam War. He was awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm for his service.
Andy Carillo
Andy Carillo is a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy aboard aircraft carriers.
Jim Castellano
Army Corporal Jim Castellano served with the 430th AAA Bal. Battery B, a heavy artillery unit throughout Europe during World War II. He landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day Plus 3.
Arthur Chavez
Army SP-4 Arthur Chavez served in Vietnam as the crew chief for a Huey in the 57th Assault Helicopter unit.
Bonnie Cordaro
Bonnie Cordaro served in the United States Navy early in the Vietnam War as a charge nurse stationed at the United States Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. Following her service, she was called up from inactive reserve — until she let the Navy know she’d have a baby with her.
Lou Covelli
Marine Sergeant E5 Lou Covelli served with a tank battalion in Okinawa and Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
Amelia Cunningham
A/1C Amelia Cunningham served in the Air Force during the Korean War as morning report clerk and personnel specialist in the United States. She says she enjoyed her job, and her biggest regret is that she did not have a mentor to encourage her to stay in the Air Force as a career.
James C. Dewitt
Navy Chief Yeoman James C. Dewitt is a Pearl Harbor survivor. He was stationed aboard the USS Antares outside the mouth of the harbor that morning. This interview was conducted shortly after his 100th birthday on the 80th anniversary of the attack.
Len Dora
Len Dora served three years in the Army during WWII in the Pacific Theatre. He had advanced training in artillery.
Weyman Edwards
Army Tech 5 Weyman Edwards served throughout Europe during World War II including at Monte Cassino and Fort Lucky Strike.
Clelia Ginay
Navy First Lieutenant Clelia Ginay served as an ICU nurse during World War II.
Donna Glielmi
E-6 Donna Glielmi served as a Navy data systems technician in the United States before an assignment in the Philippines supporting the effort to rescue Vietnamese refugees. She details how women had to work harder than men for the same rewards, something she was willing to do.
Charlie Hartley
Charlie Hartley was a Corporal in the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII in the Pacific as a member of the occupation force in Japan.
Howard Hill
Howard Hill served in the Navy during WWII, spending two years about an aircraft carrier.
Paul Hill
Army Air Corps Corporal Paul Hill served as an armament technician for B-24, B-29 and prop planes during World War II.
Ken Hirata
Army Sgt Ken Hirata served in engineering and maintenance during the Korean War. As a teenager during WWII, he and his Japanese-American family were sent to internment camps.
Scott Horvath
Navy E-3 Bosun’s Mate Scott Horvath served during the evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War.
Gladys Klauke
Navy Lieutenant Gladys Klauke served as a Navy Nurse during World War II. She recently celebrated her 100th birthday.
Don Klein
Army Corporal Don Klein served as a cook and a baker during the Korean War.
Eddie Krupiczowicz
Army Sgt Eddie Krupiczowicz served as a combat engineer, radio operator, helicopter machine gunner, and tunnel rat during the Vietnam War. He is an immigrant to the United States after being born in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II.
Joe Lamy
Army E5 Joe Lamy served in Cam Ranh Bay and Xuan Loc as a combat medic during the Vietnam War. He earned two Purple Hearts during his service with the 11th Army Armored Cavalry Regiment — “Blackhorse”
Gilberto Lassus
Air Force veteran Gilberto Lassus served as an MP throughout Vietnam in the early 1970s. In this interview, he is open about the psychological toll of war and the effects of PTSD and drug use on his life.
Bill Lederer
Army private Bill Lederer served as a schoolteacher for soldiers in Germany during the Korean War. After the war he went on to teach classes at Statesville prison.
Ted Manuel
Air Force A1C Ted Manuel served in the U.S. and Japan during the Korean War. While in the U.S. he was part of a special testing detachment, while in Japan his role was Career Guidance Specialist for his squadron. He experienced and discusses the segregation and military prejudice of the armed forces at that time.
Fred Maravilla
Army Air Corps Corporal Fred Maravilla served as a teletype operator and interpreter in Italy and Germany during World War II. He is a Mexican immigrant who got his U.S. citizenship during basic training, and went on to teach English to immigrants after the war.
John Milton
John Milton served in the Navy and was stationed at Pearl Harbor in the latter stages of WWII. He and his best friend — stationed onboard a ship in the Atlantic — wrote letters to each other. This exchange led to a tradition of letter writing in John’s family with his seven grandchildren, which he discusses at length in this interview.
Bob Misevich
Army Spec-5 Bob Misevich served as a combat medic during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, earning three Bronze stars.
Gary Nelson
Coast Guard Gunners Mate 2nd Class Gary Nelson served aboard an ice breaker in the USA and Antarctica during the Vietnam War.
Charles Nichols
Marines E6 Charles Nichols did two tours of duty as an infantryman and rifleman during the Vietnam War.
Joe Perez
Joe Perez served in the Marine Corps from 1968-70 in Vietnam. He is a Purple Heart veteran.
Luis Rodriguez
Army SSgt E-6 Luis Rodriguez served with the 101st Airborne Nomads during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War and is a Purple Heart veteran.
Elliot Rosenberg
Army Air Corps 1st Lieutenant Elliot Rosenberg served as a B-24 pilot completing 35 combat missions during World War II. He was awarded the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Ray Stoddard
Army Corporal Ray W. Stoddard served as an infantry squad leader with F Company, 291st Regiment, 75th Division throughout European Theatre from 1943-46.
Dr. Paul Thomas
Dr. Paul Thomas served in the Army Air Corps during WWII.
Patricia Tiner
Air Force veteran Patricia Tiner served during the Vietnam War in aircraft control, warning intercept tech, and as an air traffic controller in both the U.S. and the Philippines. She discusses how roles were limited for women during her time of service.
Jay Vandiver
Jay Vandiver served from 1943-46 in the Army during WWII. He was part of the second-wave of D-Day and participated in the liberation of Dachau concentration camp.
Bill Wagner
Bill Wagner was a Ships Cook Third Class in the Navy on the U.S.S. Yosemite all throughout the Pacific during WWII.
Bob Weiner
Army Air Corps Corporal Bob Weiner served as a ground control radar operator in Alaska during World War II and the Korean War.
Emery Wolf
Emery Wolf served in the Army during WWII as a replacement troop during the occupation of Germany.
Bill Zamzow
Army SSgt Bill Zamzow served in chemical warfare during World War II, working to apply agents to clothing to prevent injury to service members throughout the Pacific theatre.
Tom Zilla
Army Spec-4 Tom Zilla served as a helicopter crewman “advisor” during the early days of the Vietnam War before U.S. combat troops were deployed. He earned a Bronze Star, Air Medal, and Army Commendation Medal.
James Zwit
Army Spec-4 James Zwit is a Purple Heart veteran who served as an infantry machine gunner in the A Shau Valley during the Vietnam War.