Veterans Breakfast Club

Veterans Breakfast Club

Welcome to the Veterans Breakfast Club! Our mission is to create communities of listening around veterans and their stories to connect, educate, heal, and inspire. Our two weekly pre-recorded programs are VBC Live and Greatest Generation Live. From the battlefields of World War II to the front lines of today’s active duty service, this podcast captures the voices, memories, and hard-earned wisdom of those who served. Each episode features powerful, firsthand stories from veterans across generations, revealing moments of courage, sacrifice, humor, and humanity. Listeners will hear untold experiences, lessons learned, and reflections that connect past and present military life. Whether honoring legacy or understanding modern service, this podcast bridges generations through authentic storytelling, preserving history while giving voice to those who continue to serve and protect around the world today and for generations to come forward.

  1. 5d ago

    The Battle of Manila 1945

    Join the Veterans Breakfast Club on Thursday, June 4 at 7:00pm ET for a special livestream conversation with historian Nicholas Evan Sarantakes about his acclaimed new book The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War. In February 1945, American and Japanese forces fought one of the most brutal urban battles of World War II: the month-long struggle for Manila. Often overshadowed by Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the Battle of Manila became the third-bloodiest city battle of the war, leaving much of the Philippine capital destroyed and more than 100,000 Filipino civilians dead. Sarantakes’ groundbreaking book examines the campaign from American, Japanese, and Filipino perspectives, revealing the chaos of house-to-house fighting, the role of Filipino guerrillas, and the devastating human cost of liberation. Nicholas Evan Sarantakes is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and an award-winning historian whose work explores the Pacific War, military strategy, and American foreign policy. His new study sheds light on a pivotal but often overlooked campaign that helped determine the final outcome of World War II in the Pacific. #BattleOfManila #WWII #WorldWarII #PacificWar #Philippines #MilitaryHistory #USArmy #DouglasMacArthur #NicholasSarantakes #VeteransBreakfastClub #WW2History #HistoryLivestream #Manila1945 #PacificTheater #WWIIHistory

    1h 32m

  2. May 29

    72 Hours to D-Day: The Story Behind the New Movie Pressure

    On Thursday, May 28 at 7:00pm ET, VBC Greatest Generation Live takes a timely look at one of the most anticipated WWII films of the year: Pressure, the new historical drama about the tense and uncertain 72 hours before D-Day. Joining us live will be the film’s director and co-writer, Anthony Maras, for a conversation with VBC historian Glenn Flickinger about the history behind the movie and the extraordinary real-life decisions that shaped Operation Overlord. Starring Brendan Fraser as General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Andrew Scott as meteorologist James Stagg, Pressure tells the little-known story of the weather forecast that may have determined the fate of the free world. As storms gathered over the English Channel in June 1944, Allied leaders faced an agonizing choice: launch the invasion or delay it and risk catastrophe. The film explores the immense burden carried by Eisenhower and the forecasters whose predictions helped decide the date of the Normandy landings. This special Greatest Generation Live program will explore the real history behind the film, the making of Pressure, and why the story still resonates more than eighty years later. Glenn Flickinger, who has led many acclaimed VBC programs on D-Day and Normandy history, will also discuss how the movie compares with the historical record and other famous depictions of the invasion. Select clips and trailers from the film may also be shown during the discussion. If you’ve ever wondered how weather, timing, leadership, and sheer uncertainty shaped the most important amphibious invasion in history, this program is for you. #DDay #PressureMovie #WWII #OperationOverlord #GreatestGeneration #Normandy #Eisenhower #MilitaryHistory #VeteransBreakfastClub

    1h 31m

  3. May 26

    Memorial Day Open Conversation

    Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a special Memorial Day virtual event on Monday, May 25, 2026, at 7:00pm ET. This live, online conversation invites veterans, families, and friends to gather in an open, heartfelt space to honor and remember those who have fallen in service to our nation. The event will take place on Zoom and will also be streamed live to Facebook and YouTube. Join us on Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6402618738 We especially welcome the family of Capt. William Boyd Graves, a Wyoming soldier killed in Vietnam whose voice has unexpectedly returned nearly 50 years later. After decades of silence, Graves’ family recently discovered a series of audio tapes he recorded during the Vietnam War—an extraordinary time capsule of humor, fear, longing, and daily life from a young American officer serving far from home. The discovery became the subject of a widely read article, “Voice From Vietnam: Nearly 50 Years After Wyoming Man Died, Family Discovers Tapes.” Joining us live will be Graves’ sister Linda Fabian and other members of the Graves family, who will share memories of William, reflect on hearing his voice again after all these years, and discuss what the tapes have meant to their family. During the program, we will also play selections from the recordings themselves, allowing audiences to hear Capt. Graves in his own words. This special Memorial Day conversation is about remembrance, family, loss, and the enduring humanity behind military service. It’s also a rare opportunity to encounter the Vietnam War not through history books, but through the preserved voice of one man who lived it. The Veterans Breakfast Club creates communities of listening where veterans, families, historians, and the public come together to share stories and preserve personal history. Our programs are informal, conversational, and open to all. #MemorialDay #VietnamWar #Veterans #WilliamBoydGraves #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryHistory #POWMIA #VeteransStories #OralHistory #USArmy #Vietnam #MemorialDay2026 #VeteransBreakfastClub Often remembered as the calm, steady “GI’s General” of World War II, General Omar Bradley commanded more American soldiers in combat than any other officer in U.S. history. Yet compared to Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur, Bradley remains a surprisingly enigmatic figure. Was he the humble soldiers’ general of popular memory? A cautious strategist? A political insider? Or something more complicated? Join Greatest Generation LIVE for a fascinating conversation with military historian Dr. David W. Hogan, Jr., former Director of Histories at the U.S. Army Center of Military History and one of the nation’s leading experts on Bradley. Hogan has spent decades researching the U.S. Army in World War II and is currently completing a major biography of Bradley, Omar Nelson Bradley: The GI’s General. Drawing on years of archival research, Hogan will explore Bradley’s rise from small-town Missouri to the highest ranks of the American military, his relationships with Eisenhower and Patton, his command during Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and his postwar role as the nation’s first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the early Cold War. This program will examine not only Bradley the general, but Bradley the man — modest, disciplined, intensely loyal, and still debated by historians today. #OmarBradley #WWII #GreatestGeneration #MilitaryHistory #WorldWarII #Dday #BattleOfTheBulge #USArmy #Veterans #History #Patton #Eisenhower #KoreanWar #VBC #VeteransBreakfastClub

    1h 33m

  4. May 26

    Who Was Omar Bradley?

    Who was Omar Bradley? The answer is more elusive than generally understood. Often remembered as the calm, steady “GI’s General” of World War II, General Omar Bradley commanded more American soldiers in combat than any other officer in U.S. history. Yet compared to Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur, Bradley remains a surprisingly enigmatic figure. Was he the humble soldiers’ general of popular memory? A cautious strategist? A political insider? Or something more complicated? Join Greatest Generation LIVE for a fascinating conversation with military historian Dr. David W. Hogan, Jr., former Director of Histories at the U.S. Army Center of Military History and one of the nation’s leading experts on Bradley. Hogan has spent decades researching the U.S. Army in World War II and is currently completing a major biography of Bradley, Omar Nelson Bradley: The GI’s General. Drawing on years of archival research, Hogan will explore Bradley’s rise from small-town Missouri to the highest ranks of the American military, his relationships with Eisenhower and Patton, his command during Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, and his postwar role as the nation’s first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the early Cold War. This program will examine not only Bradley the general, but Bradley the man — modest, disciplined, intensely loyal, and still debated by historians today. #OmarBradley #WWII #GreatestGeneration #MilitaryHistory #WorldWarII #Dday #BattleOfTheBulge #USArmy #Veterans #History #Patton #Eisenhower #KoreanWar #VBC #VeteransBreakfastClub

    1h 42m

  5. May 26

    Recon Marines in I Corps, 1969-70

    In 1969–1970–at the start of “Vietnamization”– a small, exposed rise south of Da Nang became one of the most contested observation posts in I Corps. Known simply as Hill 119, it overlooked the Thu Bon River Basin and Go Noi Island — terrain Marines called “Indian Country.” From this barren patch of ground, rotating platoons of Recon Marines watched, reported, called artillery, and launched patrols into enemy-held territory. Our guest, Col. Michael O. “Deli” Fallon, USMC (Ret.), served there as a young officer and later set out to reconstruct the full story. In writing Hill 119, Defending a Reconnaissance Marine’ OP, Vietnam, 1969-1970, Fallon interviewed more than one hundred Marines and artillerymen who rotated through the position and analyzed hundreds of debriefing reports and command chronologies to piece together what daily life — and nightly danger — truly looked like. Hill 119 was an observation post and a patrol base, a radio relay site monitoring Recon frequencies, and even a testing ground for new battlefield technology, including early laser range-finding systems that sharpened artillery accuracy. Yet as President Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization accelerated, fire support diminished and missions continued with fewer resources. Fallon writes candidly about what that shift meant to Marines holding an exposed hill while political decisions were made far away. We’ll also explore the harder questions: operating among civilians whose loyalties were uncertain, the strain of constant rotation as platoons “flipped” in and out, the reliance on helicopter crews who flew into enemy fire to extract teams — and the court-martial that followed the shooting of a Vietnamese woman outside the perimeter, a case that unfolded in the shadow of My Lai. Hill 119 could feel like the moon — one Marine joked on the night of the Apollo landing, “You’re already on the Moon.” But it was no abstraction. It was close combat, long watches, and young men navigating the line between aggression and restraint. Join us for a conversation about small-unit war, memory and documentation, leadership under scrutiny, and what Vietnamization looked like on the ground.

    1h 30m

  6. May 15

    WWII Okinawa Veteran James Wheeler

    At 104 years old, WWII Army veteran James Wheeler is one of the last surviving American tankers to witness firsthand the brutal Battle of Okinawa. A member of Company C, 193rd Tank Battalion, Wheeler fought in one of the most punishing armored campaigns of the Pacific War, where American Sherman tanks were sent headlong into the deadly defenses of the Japanese Shuri Line. In April 1945, the 193rd Tank Battalion took part in the disastrous assault on Kakazu Ridge and Kakazu Village—what historians later called the “Death Ride of the Shermans.” Trapped without infantry support, Wheeler’s battalion drove into a maze of mines, hidden anti-tank guns, artillery fire, and suicide attacks. In a single day, the battalion lost 22 tanks, the greatest single combat loss of American tanks in the Pacific Theater. Join us for a rare and extraordinary conversation with James Wheeler as he reflects on survival, combat inside a Sherman tank, and the savage realities of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Wheeler’s memories offer not just a window into armored warfare in the Pacific, but a living connection to a rapidly vanishing generation. #WWII #WorldWarII #Okinawa #BattleOfOkinawa #TankBattalion #ShermanTank #USArmy #PacificWar #GreatestGeneration #MilitaryHistory #WW2Veteran #TankCrew #Okinawa1945 #Veterans #VeteransBreakfastClub

    1h 36m

  7. May 12

    Linebacker I: The Air Battle of 1972

    In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched the massive Easter Offensive, a conventional invasion that nearly broke South Vietnam. The response: Operation Linebacker I—a sustained U.S. air campaign that reshaped the battlefield and helped halt the advance. Join the Veterans Breakfast Club (VBC) for a powerful live conversation on this pivotal moment in the Vietnam War. Our guest, Brian Harrison, served in Vietnam in 1972–1973 with the legendary 1st Cavalry Division’s “Centaurs” (air cavalry)—flying in the thick of the fighting as U.S. airpower supported South Vietnamese forces on the ground. His firsthand perspective brings us closer to the reality of the Easter Offensive and the air war that followed. We’ll explore what triggered the 1972 Easter Offensive and how Operation Linebacker I differed from earlier bombing campaigns like Rolling Thunder. We’ll look at the role of air cavalry and helicopter operations in the fight, and what it felt like on the ground and in the air during one of the war’s most intense phases. Finally, we’ll consider why 1972 marked a turning point in U.S. strategy in Vietnam. #VietnamWar #LinebackerI #EasterOffensive #MilitaryHistory #AirWar #USAirForce #ArmyAviation #VietnamVeterans #VeteransStories #ColdWarHistory

    1h 30m

  8. May 8

    WWII Marine Neal McCallum and the Battle of Okinawa

    Join VBC LIVE on Thursday, May 7 at 7PM (ET) for a conversation with World War II Marine veteran Neal McCallum, who fought in the Battle of Okinawa 81 years ago. At just 18 years old, McCallum landed on Okinawa with Fox Company, 29th Marine Regiment, 6th Marine Division, part of the massive U.S. invasion force that stormed the island on Easter Sunday April 1, 1945y. He served as an infantryman in a mortar section and fought through some of the fiercest combat of the war, including the deadly struggle for Sugar Loaf Hill, where Marines suffered staggering losses. On May 19, 1945, McCallum was seriously wounded by enemy fire, just one day after his close friend was killed in action. The Battle of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater and one of the bloodiest. The battle raged over 82 days. Whenit was over, more 12,000 Americans were dead and another 37,000 wounded. Japanese casualties were many times that number. And, perhaps most tragic, 100,000–200,000 Okinawan civilians were dead. Fought across ridges, caves, and fortified positions, Okinawa became a war of attrition with kamikaze attacks. The scale of the destruction gave a U.S. forces a yardstick for estimating the cost of invading mainland Japan. Battle of Okinawa, World War II Pacific, US Marines WWII, Okinawa 1945, Neal McCallum, WWII veteran interview, Sugar Loaf Hill, Pacific War history, VBC Live, Veterans Breakfast Club, WWII stories, military history livestream #WWII #BattleOfOkinawa #USMarines #VeteransStories #MilitaryHistory #VBC #PacificWar #Okinawa #WW2Veteran #HistoryLive

    54 min
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About

Welcome to the Veterans Breakfast Club! Our mission is to create communities of listening around veterans and their stories to connect, educate, heal, and inspire. Our two weekly pre-recorded programs are VBC Live and Greatest Generation Live. From the battlefields of World War II to the front lines of today’s active duty service, this podcast captures the voices, memories, and hard-earned wisdom of those who served. Each episode features powerful, firsthand stories from veterans across generations, revealing moments of courage, sacrifice, humor, and humanity. Listeners will hear untold experiences, lessons learned, and reflections that connect past and present military life. Whether honoring legacy or understanding modern service, this podcast bridges generations through authentic storytelling, preserving history while giving voice to those who continue to serve and protect around the world today and for generations to come forward.

Information

  • Creator
    Veterans Breakfast Club
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020
  • Show Website
    Veterans Breakfast Club

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