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Digital Museum for United States Veterans

Veteran Stories

The Stories

The Veterans Museum is here to share the stories of our Veterans and their families.

At the heart of the Veterans Museum are the Veteran stories that define our mission. These are the real voices of service — unfiltered, powerful, and deeply human. Every story told helps us preserve the personal side of military history, ensuring that no veteran’s experience is forgotten.

The videos below include the hundreds of stories of Veterans with a wide range of experiences. These are the same videos that display in all of the kiosks we have placed in locations throughout Florida.

Use the search options below to find videos of interest. 

.50 caliber machine gun 1st Cavalry Division 3rd Force Recon 5 inch ammunition 5" guns 5-inch 9-11 15-6 investigation 25th Infantry Division 48th base camp 64th Engineer Topographic Battalion 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron 886 927th 1972 Easter Offensive 1989 A-1E A-7 AC-130 Addiction admiral Admiral Hyman G. Rickover Afghanis Afghanistan Africa African Americans AI Air Assault Air Assault School Airborne School aircraft carrier Air Force Airman Air Medal air rescue Air Wing 8 AK AK-47 Al-Qaeda Albanians alcohol Allied Occupied Japan AMCROSS ammo ammunition AMTRAC Antarctica Anti-Submarine Rocket anti-Vietnam sentiment anti-war demonstration Arlington armored cavalry armor unit Army Army Cyber Batallion Army doctor Army National Guard Army Reserves article 15 ARVN asbestos asbestosis ashes ASROC attack author aviation boatswain's mate AWOL B-52 B-52H B-52s Baathists babies Baghdad Bagram Bahrain Balkans War ballistic missile bank Barack Obama Barney barrel baseball battle buddy Battle Rattle bear Berlin Wall Bermuda Bethesda Black Blackhorse blood Blue Dragons blue on green boatswain boatswain's mate boiler room boiler technicians bomb blast bombing bombing runs Bombs book boot camp bootcamp boots Bosnia Bosnia & Herzegovina brass Brigadier General Broadminded Bronze Star Buffalo Buffalo New York bunk burial at sea C-130 California fires Camera Camp Carroll Camp Edwards Camp Legeune Camp Lejeune canopy capped capsule Captain's mast Captain T.J. Harper Captain Wise Captured career Carrier cartels cash casket Cason Castro Catholic Nuns Cease fire Ceasefire chart Chicago chiefs mess Children children's books China chopper choppers Christmas Chu Lai CIA City Of Jacksonville civilian acquired skills claymore cleft palate close air support Clyde Lassen Coast Guard coffee Cold War Colin Powell College Combat combat diver combat engineer combat medic combat missions Combat Service Support Combat Sustainment Support Battalion Coming Home Commanding Officer Commission Communication Communism Community Service computer operator computers Condoleezza Rice convoy cook corpsman Corpsmen councilman counternarcotics counterterrorism crane crash crew chief Croatia Crying CS3 Cuba Cuban Army Cu Chi culinary specialist (CS) cyber command damage controlman Da Nang daycare deck department deck force Defense Computer Institute Degree demilitarized zone Deployment Desert Shield Desert Storm design flaw destroyer detainees Detention dirt disability Discrimination Distinguished Flying Cross dive-bomb dive school DMZ doc doctor DODCI dog dollars Dottie Capers Driver drug boats drugs duck DUI duty Duval Duval County earthquake education eject electrician's mate electronics Email embassy Emergency emergency breakaway engineer officer engineers engine room EOD Evasion Expo '70 F-4 F-111 FA-18 face gaiter Family FDVA Federal Reserve Fence Line Field Artillery fire Fire Controlman Fire Control Technician fire control technicians flagship flagship USS Rochester flight deck flight nurse flight program flight status flood Florida Florida A&M University Florida Hall of Fame Council Florida National Guard Florida State University Florida Veterans Foundation Florida Veterans Hall of Fame Flying Tiger Airlines football Fort Dix Fort Hood Fort Monmouth Fort Sheridan forward air controller forward operating base France Frank Cius friendly fire funerals Gadsden County gauntlet gender discrimination General Alexander General Dynamics General MacArthur General Shoemaker George H.W. Bush Germany Ghazni Province ghosts Gitmo glider Global War on Terror Gobi Gold Star Family gorilla Government Car GPA Grappa Great Lakes Green Beret Green Berets Greenpeace Green Zone Grenades grounded Guantanamo Bay Guard Gulf of Tonkin gunfire gunfire director gun line gun mount gun mounts gunner's mate gunner's mates gunnery officer H-3 Hachi Hachi Roku Ham Radio Hanoi Hanoi Hilton Hartsell Hawaii Hazara tribe HBCU head injury Healthcare Healthcare Management helicopter helicopter crew chief helicopter pilot helicopters helicopter squadron helicoptors Hickam high-tension wires highline Highway 1 Highway QL1 HMX-1 Hoa Lo Prison Ho Chi Minh Trail Ho Chi Min Sandal Ho Chi Min Trail homecoming Homestead Hong Kong hooch hospital hospital corpsman hospital ship Hue Huey human body experiments humanitarian humanitarian aid humanitarian relief humble hung bomb Hung ordinance hung rockets I-team Iceland IED IFAK IL IMA imagery Inauguration Individual Augmentee Injury insurgents integration intel intelligence gathering missions Interior Communications Electrician Internet interpreters interview Invasion of Inchon IRA Iran-Contra Affair Iraq Iraqi police ISIS Italy Jacksonville Jacksonville Community College Jacksonville University JAG Jalalabad James Capers James Capers Jr Japan Japanese Jarrid "Jay" Collins Jet Jim Castonguay John Dunham John Wayne joint forces Jolly Green Giant JROTC Judge jump patrol Justice Thurgood Marshall Kabul Kalashnikov Kamakura Key West Khe Sanh KIA kidnapped kids Kings Bay knee pads Knighthawks Kobe Korea Koreans Korean White Horse Division Kosovo Kuril Islands Kuwait lacerations LA County Sheriff Department Lake Charles Laos launch lawyer Leave Lebanon Leon County leper Letters Lieutenant Governor lifeguard Lithuania logistician logistics Lompoc London LPH LST Lyndon Johnson M16 M60 M79 M551 Sheridan MacArthur MacDill Macedonia Machinist Mate Madison County main condenser main galley Major James Capers Jr. Malinois man overboard Marine Corp Marine Corps Marines Martin Sheen Mayday Mayor Mayport medal Medal of Honor medevac Medical evacuation medical school Mediterranean medivac mentor MEPS mess officer MIA military service minority missile missile tests missing Missing in Action Missionaries missionary Mississippi money monsoon Monterey mop mortar mortar attack Mortors Moscow Mosul Motorpool Monday Mount Fuji MP MPs mugs napalm Naples NAS Jax NAS Oceana Nassau County National Guard National League of POW/MIA Families national security NATO Naval Academy Naval Academy ring navigator Navy Navy Medical Service Corps Navy SEALS NCIS NEDU Newport New York Nike Hercules Noriega North Koreans North Vietnam North Vietnamese North Vietnamese Army North Vietnamese border NSA nuclear power program nuclear reactor Nurse Nursing School Nùngs Ocala OCS officers oiler Operation Deep Freeze Operation Iraqi Freedom Operations Specialist opportunity Ordinance Orlando Orphans Osama bin Laden P-3 paint Pan Am Panama pants parachute jumps Paris Peace Accords Parris Island partial fasciotomy Pasco County Patrick Air Force Base Peace Treaty Pearl Harbor pediatric ward penguins Pensacola Pentagon Pharmacy Technician Philippines photography Phu Bai Phu Loc physician pilot Pirates Pirmasens planes shot down plate carriers platoon leader polar bear Polaris police transition team politicians Ponte Vedra poop port call Port Orange Portsmouth Port Visit post 9/11 poster POW power lines POWs pregnancy president Presidental Helicopter Squadron President Eisenhower President Gerald Ford Presidential Helicopter Squadron Presidential Honor Guard President Nixon President Obama prison Prisoner Project CORONA prosecutor Prototype Provincial Reconstruction Team provisions PTSD Purple Heart Quantico R&R racial discrimination Racism radarman radio radioman radio operator Radios re-enlistment mandate Ready Room Reagan reconstruction Recruiters Red Cross message red phone Reese rehabilitation replenishments Rescue Mission rescuer Reserve resilience Retirement retirement ceremony RIO rivalries River City Robert Mitchum rocket rocket attack Rockets rotary school ROTC rounds Russia Russian sacrifice Saddam Hussein Saigon River sampans San Diego sandstorm Sandy pilots Sarajevo Sasebo satellite saturation diving scrapped scuba school Seabees Sea King seals Security Senator Serbia sergeants service dog Shellback shell casings Shia Shinjuku Ship Tour shock and awe Shoot shot shot down shrapnel Signature Silver Star Sixth Fleet snake Snipe SOCOM soldiers solitary confinement Somali pirates South China Sea Soviet Union space command Space Force Special Forces special operators special ops special response batallions sports spouses spy spy satellites St. Augustine St. Johns County STABO Statue of Liberty steam steam leak steam line Stephen Hadley storytelling strafing student loans Subic Bay Submarine submariner submarine tender Sunni supersonic support operations officer Surface Warfare surgery survival survivor's guilt SVNH swift boat swim test T-37 T-38 Takhli Taliban Tallahassee tank tanks tape recorder taxi runs teacher telephone television tent Terrorism Tet Offensive Texas Thailand Thanksgiving The Army Pictorial Center The Winds of War Thompson submachine gun Tigers Tokyo Top Secret Torpedoman's Mate tourniquet training translation Trauma Treasure Island tribal leaders Turkey typhoon U.S. Air Force U.S. Marine UAV undesignated unexploded ordinance UNF uniform University of Florida UN Peacekeepers USAMMC-E USMA USS Bausell USS Carl Vinson USS Enterprise USS Firm USS Frank E Evans USS Guadalcanal USS Halyburton USS Kitty Hawk USS La Salle USS Maryland USS Missouri USS Orleck USS Saratoga USS Theodore Roosevelt VA VA Hospital Vandenberg Veterans Veterans' stories Veterans Affairs Veterans Service Officer Veterans Treatment Court VFA-136 Vietcong Viet Cong Vietnam VTC ward room war in Israel War on Terror warrant officer helicopter program warrant officer training West Point White Horse White House wife Women women in aviation women veterans World's Fair wounded wounded soldiers Wounded Warriors Project WWII Xi'an XM1 Yellow Ribbon Program Yeltsin Yokosuka
Video Gallery
Jen Easterly - The Center of Gravity
Former Army LTC Jen Easterly recalls her experience working at the ...
Jen Easterly - How to Tell a Story
Former Army LTC Jen Easterly explains the importance of storytelling ...
Jen Easterly - Thousands and Thousands
Former Army LTC Jen Easterly describes entering a high-pressure role ...
Jen Easterly - The Right Place at the Right Time
Former Army LTC Jen Easterly reminisces on her time at the White House ...
Jen Easterly - Women at West Point
Former Army LTC Jen Easterly shares her introduction to military life ...
Neil Mengel - Learning to Shoot
Former Army Specialist Neil Mengel reminisces on his time at motion ...
Ronald A. Hesketh - The News Station That Became News
Ronald A. Hesketh, former SP6 in the Army during the Vietnam War, ...
Ryan McAbee - The Humanitarian Side
Ryan McAbee shares his experience as a hospital corpsman in the Navy, ...
Edward Latta - Tipsy Typhoon
Edward "Ted" Latta, a former culinary specialist in the Navy, shares ...
Frank Cormier - Captain of the Head
Former Navy boilerman, Frank Cormier, shares his experience as a ...
George Love - From Six to One
Former Navy Interior Communications Electrician, George Love, shares ...
Lyman Goodnight - "Rice Paddy's Looking Not so Bad"
Retired Navy Commander, Lyman "Lee" Goodnight, shares his experience ...
James Cramer - From Football to AWOL
Former Navy PO3, James Cramer, shares the story of a football injury ...
Samuel Lopez - Getting Serious
Former LCDR, Samuel Lopez, describes his decision to commit to a full ...
Richard Campbell - Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast
Former Navy Machinist's Mate Senior Chief Petty Officer, Richard ...
Christopher Brewer - "You Are a Scout"
Former Navy HM2, Christopher Brewer, shares the troubling experience ...
Christopher Liggins - Picking the Right Boat
Retired Senior Chief Operations Specialist, Christopher Liggins, ...
Dennis Bishop - "Hang Ten!"
Former Navy PO2, Dennis Bishop, shares his exciting experience as a ...
Robert Antrobius - Shootingest Ship Since WWII
Former Navy PO3, Robert Antrobius, shares his experience aboard the ...
Paula Hubert - Standing up to the Senior Chief
Former Navy Yeoman First Class, Paula Hubert, tells a story from her ...

The Veterans Museum is here to share the stories of our veterans and their families in their own words. We believe these voices matter. From combat experiences and moments of courage to reflections on service, transition, and healing — each story adds meaning and depth to our understanding of military life.

Our goal for these exhibits is to capture meaningful excerpts of veteran stories and make them accessible to the public. These narratives provide insight, education, and inspiration for civilians and fellow service members alike. Whether you’re a student, a fellow veteran, or a curious visitor, these stories offer a connection to the people behind the uniform.

Why Veteran Stories Matter

  • They preserve personal history that might otherwise be lost

  • They honor service and sacrifice in a deeply human way

  • They bridge the civilian-military divide through storytelling

  • They educate future generations about the realities of military life

  • They empower veterans to share their truth, in their voice

If you’re interested in exploring even more stories beyond our collection, we encourage you to visit the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, where thousands of personal accounts are preserved for public access. You may also find meaningful perspectives at the National Veterans Foundation, which offers veteran-led support and shares lived experiences to promote healing and advocacy.

As you explore these veteran stories, we encourage you to listen with an open heart and mind. Each story is a thread in the fabric of our national identity — brave, complex, and real.

If you or someone you know would like to share a personal story for this collection, please visit our Share Your Story page or contact us so we can include you.

Let’s make sure these stories are never forgotten.

Share Your STory

Every Veteran's voice deserves to be Heard

Your story is important. It’s time to preserve it for generations to come!

At the Veterans Museum, we believe that every veteran’s voice deserves to be heard. That’s why we offer a free interview service to record and archive your story. These interviews are conducted using best practices outlined by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, and if you choose, we’ll even submit your interview to their official archive.

Sharing your story allows you to:

  • Reflect on and honor your service

  • Preserve a lasting record for your loved ones

  • Contribute to a growing archive of veteran experiences

  • Educate the public about military life from your perspective