ISSUE 14 - SPRING 2016
JAMES C . ROBERTS President
TIM HOLBERT Editor & Executive Director
WES SMITH Program Director
SETH NICHOLS Director of Development
TED GENEROUS Development Officer
MEGAN MAGGI
Content Manager
PETER TRAHAN
Website Manager
CHRIS GRAHAM Researcher
ADAM SYLVAIN
Associate Editor
MICHAEL PARADISO Publisher
ROB PERRY Creative Director
In This Issue ...
3Guarding Their Legacy , Honoring Their Sacrifice
OUR YEAR IN REVIEW
Highlights from the last year of programs of the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee
7A Witness To History DAYS OF INFAMY REMEMBERED
From James Leavelle
The incredible story of a Navy veteran of Pearl Harbor who played a central role in the apprehension of Lee Harvey Oswald twentytwo years later .
11KILL
OR BE KILLED
ENTERING THE DOG FIGHT WITH A TRIPLE-ACE PILOT From Colonel Bud
Anderson
Memories of combat over the skies of Europe with one of the top “ Ace ” pilots of World War II .
Letter from the President
American Valor Quarterly
A quarterly publication of the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee 1100 N . Glebe Rd . Suite 910 Arlington , VA 22201 Telephone : 703-302-1012 Fax : 571-480-4141
American Valor Quarterly is mailed to donors to the American Veterans Center and World War II Veterans Committee who make a contribution of $ 50 or more per-year . Contributions help fund the AVC and WWIIVC ’ s various speaker conferences , student programs , the National Memorial Day Parade , documentary and oral history projects , and this publication .
To make a contribution or subscribe , call 703-302-1012 ext . 214 or e-mail info @ americanveteranscenter . org .
www . AmericanVeteransCenter . org www . WWIIVets . com
Dear Friends :
For the first time an issue of American Valor Quarterly is doubling as an annual report . I thought it was important to enable our many loyal supporters — and hopefully – potential supporters — to see in one place the incredible array of activities sustained by our small staff over the course of a year .
I know I ’ m not objective , but I am confident in saying that no other organization stretches a dollar farther . Take the National Memorial Day Parade , which the World War II Veterans Committee revived in 2005 , following an absence of more than 60 years . Now several hundred thousand people line Constitution Avenue each year to watch a two-hour salute to America ’ s military , including active duty troops , veterans groups , 35 marching bands , floats and equestrian units . The parade is televised across the nation and world-wide , through Armed Forces Network . It ’ s an enormous undertaking , yet the cost is equal to one float in the Rose Bowl Parade or two balloons in the Macy ’ s Thanksgiving Day Parade .
We achieve the same efficiencies with our other programs whether it be our Annual Veterans Conference and National Youth Leadership Summit , our awards program - The Honors , oral history recordings , publications , our history oral history contest for high schools , Goodpaster lecture , radio broadcasts or social media outreach .
None of this would have been possible without the generous contributions of our thousands of supporters .
I thank you for your crucial support and I hope you are proud of what we have accomplished together to fulfill our mission to guard the legacy and honor the sacrifice of America ’ s veterans for the benefit of future generations .
Sincerely , James C . Roberts
James C . Roberts is President of the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee
2 AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY