Harold Brown earned his wings as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black aviators in the United States armed services. At the outset of his distinguished, two-decade-long career in the military, Brown flew for this ground-breaking World War II unit. On his 30th mission, his P-51 Mustang was shot down. He survived as a prisoner of war in Germany until liberation. Brown recognized the irony that the first time he experienced integrated living was in a POW camp.” For more powerful memories from veterans, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/, where you can also watch the American Veteran television series and digital short films. Learn more by using #AmericanVeteranPBS.

Raised on her father’s stories as a Marine recruit, CJ Scarlet wanted to prove she could be as tough as her Dad. Like her twin brother, in 1981 she joined the Corps, and she excelled on the rifle range, became an expert marksman, and completed boot camp as an honor graduate. Scarlet planned on a twenty-year career as a photojournalist, but the constant sexual harassment she encountered at bases like Camp Pendleton turned her dream into a nightmare. For more powerful memories from veterans, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/, where you can also watch the American Veteran television series and digital short films. Learn more by using #AmericanVeteranPBS.

As a teenager watching the 9/11 attacks, Clifton Hicks remembers that it was “our Pearl Harbor moment.” He joined the army as an M1 Abrams tank specialist and deployed to Germany, Kuwait, and finally to Iraq. There, his experiences in combat convinced him that what he was doing wasn’t glamorous or honorable.  He earned the enmity of many of his colleagues by speaking out against the war.  Then he made the risky decision to try and get out of the army as a conscientious objector. For more powerful memories from veterans, visit https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/american-veteran/, where you can also watch the American Veteran television series and digital short films. Learn more by using #AmericanVeteranPBS.