SPC. Donna Zephrine joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1996 and became Full Active Duty in October 2002. Donna served with the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division (260 QM) and served 2 tours in Iraq from 2003-2005 as a 63 Bravo Light Weight Vehicle Mechanic.
Donna is active in many organizations including Wounded Warrior Project, World T.E.A.M Sports, Team Red White and Blue and Project 9 Line. She recently graduated from Columbia University School of Social Work and hoped to give back to help other Veterans or people who are in need.
In her spare time, Donna enjoys writing and has been published in multiple anthologies. These publications include Radvocate Literary Magazine, the “Afterwords” anthology, the “9 lives” New York University’s Veteran’s Writers Workshop anthology, Bards Annual 2017, The Local Gem Press, War Writer’s Campaign, Poets and Writers, Blogground, Oberon Magazine 2017 and CA/T Magazine of Columbia University.
On March 17th 2022, 97 year old WWII Veteran Harold Granitur was presented with the French Legion of Honor in recognition of his military service in France during WWII.
Read MoreBill Field joined the U.S. Army in 1971 and trained as a Radar Repair Technician. Bill served at White Sands Missile Base in New Mexico with C Company in the missile test and evaluation devision working with Continuous Wave Radar designed for the Hawk Missile System. After leaving the military Bill started a successful appliance repair company with his father. Bill is currently retired and is an active member of American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett, NY.
Read MoreWorld War II Veteran James C. Cady passed away on November 17th at the age of 105. Jim was one of the 1st Veterans USA Warrior Stories interviewed for our project. Please honor his memory by taking a moment to watch his story.
Read MoreJoan Furey began her career in Army service in 1968 as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. She later volunteered to be deployed to Vietnam, where she received a Bronze Star as a staff nurse.
In 1970, the U.S. Army discharged Joan from Vietnam, and after leaving Southeast Asia, she dedicated her life to Veteran Affairs.
To see more stories that focus on the experiences of WOMEN IN WAR view our Featured Stories below.
Read MoreIn honor of Purple Heart Day (August 7th) we feature Melissa Stockwell. A first lieutenant, Melissa was the first female soldier to lose a limb in the Iraq War. She lost her left leg when a roadside bomb exploded when she was leading a convoy in Baghdad. For her service in Iraq she was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Read MoreTerry Wallace served with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966-1968. Terry was deployed to Vietnam in 1966 and is currently the owner of Wallace Gallery on Main Street in East Hampton, New York.
Read MoreDr. Van Roger Tibbetts served as a dentist in the U.S. Navy from 1957-1981. Dr. Tibbetts served aboard the USS Bennington and the USS Kearsarge as well as serving in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Read MoreHappy 100th Birthday to Frazer Dougherty! Frazer joined the National Guard in the summer of 1940. When World War II was declared, Frazer transferred to the Army Air Corps where he was trained as a pilot and served in the 345th Bomb Group as First Pilot and survived sixty-three missions.
Read MoreJemille R. Charlton is currently a Technical Sergeant serving in the U.S. Air Force at the 106th Rescue Wing. Jemille has served in Afghanistan as well as being deployed state side supporting rescue missions during such emergencies as Hurricane Harvey.
Read MoreJohn J. Kremm enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1972 and served for 6 years in the Seabees as well as the Navy Seals.
Read MoreHonoring Black History Month. Lt. Lee A. Hayes (1922-2013) was a member of the legendary all-black Tuskegee Airmen and trained as a B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot with the 477th Bombardment Group. During their service, the pilots faced racism both from inside and outside the military, which was racially segregated at the time.
Read MoreJohn served in the US Navy from 1957-60. This interview was recorded by Bob Beres and is about John's experiences while in Navy.
Read MoreHeath Calhoun is double-leg amputee due to injuries received in the Iraq War who competed at the 2010 & 2014 Paralympics. We would like to congratulate all the athletes of the 2022 Winter Paralympics.
Read MoreDan Kelly grew up in Southampton, NY and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1999. After the attacks of September 11th Dan was deployed in support of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Read MoreJoseph Giannini served with the US Marines in Vietnam from 1967-68. Joesph grew up in Long Island, New York, graduated from Hofstra University and served with the First Battalion, Third Marines. He is retired from his criminal law practice of more than 40 years.
Read MoreMartin Sylvester and his son Paul recently traveled to France for the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. While recording Martin's original story we were just about to turn the camera off when we asked Martin if there was anything else he would like to talk about. Martin replied, "Did I tell you about when the put me in front a firing squad?" That day we decided to never turn the cameras off. Thank you for continuing to be our inspiration.
Read MoreIn 2011 Nick Kraus & Matt Hindra, the founders of USA Warrior Stories, traveled with and filmed a group of injured U.S. and British service men and women on a visit to the American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy. This project was sponsored by Wounded Warrior Project and BLESMA, the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association.
Read MoreWatch our Feature Film Welcome To Soldier Ride, the fist documentary produced and distributed by USA Warrior Stories. Also available on Amazon Prime Video. LINK HERE
This film was produced and directed by Matt Hindra and Nick Kraus in 2014. While Matt and Nick traveled around the country screen the film it became obvious that there were many other Veteran stories across America that needed to be recorded and shared so in 2017 we created USA Warrior Stories, a a Not-For-Profit organization designed to record, archive and share videos of Veteran stories online to help Veterans make a connection with one another and to help us all better understand their sacrifices for our freedom.
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