Veterans Spotlight

US Marine Chris Bryant stands ready to protect, to serve—and to help save the lives of his fellow military warriors Chris Bryant is not one to seek the limelight, so it’s no surprise that he is most animated when talking about the…
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Knoxville’s Gail Wallace Davenport helped pioneer women’s Navy service on the high seas As Gail Wallace looked out over the Panama Canal in late 1973, she was reflecting on more than just the engineering marvel of locks and canals that…
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Vietnam veteran Randall Leyshon found healing after a half-century of mournful memories "Did you hear about John?” the young man asked warily, as he and several other 9th Infantry Division Army soldiers chatted with then-1st Lt. Randall…
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Veterans experience a day like no other on an HonorAir Knoxville flight Standing near the intersection of the two sloping, black-granite walls that form the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, on a sunny April afternoon, Eddie…
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Centenarian WWII veteran Milton Jones energized Oak Ridge and Knoxville's radio waves When Milton Jones was a teen in the 1930s—no, that’s not a typo—he would catch a bus for the 12-mile daily ride from Bluegrass to Farragut High…
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Matt Gordon served his nation and now serves up healing for fellow veterans A raging storm brought Matt Gordon to East Tennessee. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma unleashed her fury on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Matt’s home in…
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Bryan Gansner, who barely survived war, helps other vets survive its aftermath Only days after September 11, 2001, country star Alan Jackson wrote “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?” He would perform the song live to a…
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Former Air Force leader and Vietnam veteran Jim O'Brien gives back to his adopted Knoxville community When 591 American prisoners of war arrived back on U.S. soil from Vietnam in early 1973, Jim O’Brien was midway through his studies at…
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Charlie Orr built roads and survived harrowing moments in Vietnam Of all the vivid memories Charlie Orr holds from his tour of duty in Vietnam from late 1966 to early 1968—and there are many; a few will be told here, others are too…
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For World War II nurse Ruth Skidmore, service and sacrifice strike a chord “I’ve got an idea for a story,” my friend said. “Okay, shoot,” I replied. “It’s about a woman who is 100 and going strong. She’s spicy and feisty. Back in…
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