Mission News Blog

Past National Commander Ron Hope marks his 50th Alive Day by paying tribute to those who never came home If there’s one thing Past National Commander Ron Hope would go back in time and tell his 21-year-old self on July 15, 1969, it’s this: “Zig; don’t zag.” Fifty years ago, that...

The date he was injured—and the date he truly began living Bobby Barrera had been in Vietnam for six weeks when a massive explosion rocked his vehicle, causing severe burns over 40% of his body and leaving him without a right hand or left arm. The date—Sept. 16, 1969—is forever etched into h...

Vietnam didn’t waste its time making an impression on Jim Mayer. A week into the 23-year-old infantryman’s deployment, a village elder insisted Mayer and other members of his platoon follow him into a hut to view a small coffin. Inside it was a young Vietnamese boy who had been playing in a rice paddy and tripped a land mine. 

Family marks Vietnam veteran’s life after tragedy  D.J. Katsur had just turned 18 in the summer of 1969 when she got word her older brother had been critically wounded in Vietnam.  “My dad told me we’d received a telegram and that his wounds were severe,” said Katsur. “...

"I’m proud to say I served as a medical officer in the USAF, USAF Reserves, and Air National Guard (ANG) during my military career, which spanned three decades. In 1999, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Then, in 2013, I discovered the medication I was taking caused me to get Lupus. I was devastated …and afraid...