—Claud Woodring

Woodring's job on D-Day was challenge enough. Scheduled to be among the first soldiers to land on the beach on D-Day, he was to demolish barbed wire so that the troops could advance unimpeded. He swam ashore when his boat hit a mine several hundred yards from shore. Despite horrific casualty rates, Woodring and his men achieved their objective, only to face a new challenge: fighting the Germans amid the hedgerows of Normandy.

"When I look back on it, I realize we knew we were breaking ground. . . ."

—Jeanne Holm

Answering the call to duty during wartime is one thing, but making a 33-year career out of the military was not something Holm planned on. Thanks to World War II, Holm got in on the ground floor for women in uniform and rose through the officer ranks to become the first woman major general in the Armed Forces. Along the way she fought many battles — not in combat, but against outdated barriers to women's full participation in national defense.

"We had a fine group of men . . . focused . . . on proving that colored troops were no different than white troops."

—Walter Morris

Morris deftly turned every disadvantage into a plus in his World War II-era experiences. He was turned out of Officer Candidate School and assigned to head a service unit of African-American soldiers, whom he transformed into the Army's first all-black battalion of paratroopers. Morris eventually got his stripes, earning the respect of both his men and his white superior officers, who admired his tenacity in the face of obstacles that had defeated many other soldiers before him.

"There was a saying in the service that the veterans live longer. . . ."

—Alvin Dickson

D-Day was only the beginning for Allied forces' intent on recapturing Europe from German domination. Dickson was one of thousands of soldiers whose job sounded simple: Take back every town and every farm, and don't stop until you reach Berlin or the Germans surrender. As an officer in the 11th Armored Division, Dickson saw his troops succeed because of superb training and the motivation of a clear-cut mission.

"We felt insulted we were captured by the Japanese."

—John Stensby