Veterans Chronicles

• Lieutenant (J.G.) Patrick Zilliacus, U.S. Navy, World War II

  Patrick Zilliacus was born in Finland and came to the U.S. when his father became the Finnish military attache in Washington, primarily to procure weapons for Finland's war with Russia. Left on his own in the U.S. at age 16, Zilliacus worked in a steel mill before joining the U.S. Navy in 1943. He was assigned as a torpedo man on a brand new submarine, the USS Spot.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Zilliacus explains how he was almost killed when the USS Spot went out for "shakedown" after commissioning. He also details what it was like stalking and attacking Japanese vessels off the coast of China, and how his sub sunk the Nanking Maru.Zilliacus also tells us what it was like to be pursued by Japanese ships, how the Spot was very close to a major event at the end of the war, and what his future wife told him about Japanese atrocies committed against her family in the Philippines.He also shares the story of how his father crossed paths with a major Axis leader long before World War II and why he does not want World War II veterans to be called the Greatest Generation.

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• Lt Gen. Marc Sasseville, USAF, Air National Guard, 9/11, Iraq

  Ltt Gen. Marc Sasseville was born into an Air Force family and that played a significant role in his decision to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy and become an Air Force officer. After 14 years on active duty, Sasseville shifted to the Air National Guard in 1999 and also became a commercial airline pilot.On September 11, 2001, Sasseville was serving with the 113th Wing of the District of Columbia Air National Guard at Andrews Air Force base when Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners. Once the second plane struck the World Trade Center, Sasseville and everyone else on base knew it was a terrorist attack. But would there be more planes? And would they be headed for Washington, D.C.?In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Gen. Sasseville tells how that day unfolded. He explains what development required pilots in the D.C. Air National Guard to scramble their F-16's and be ready to confront any other other planes being flown by terrorists. But they had a big problem. None of their F-16's were armed with missiles and there was no time to wait for that. The reality soon hit home: if they needed to stop an airliner, they'd have to hit it with their own planes. If that was required, they would not be coming home.Sasseville takes us through his thinking on the most effective way to strike an airliner with an F-16. Ultimately, that would not be necessary due to the heroism of the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93. Sasseville honors them and he tells us what it was like flying near the Pentagon not long after it was attacked.He also reveals the unexpected assignment he received later in that day on 9/11 and details his time as commander of the 410th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron in the early days of the Iraq War. Finally, he reflects upon what was really asked of him on 9/11 and his instinctive willingness to put his life on the line to protect our nation.

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• Andrew Card, Chief of Staff for Pres. George W. Bush, 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

  Andrew Card served more than five years as White House Chief of Staff for President George W. Bush. Less than eight months into Bush's first term, Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners. Two were flown into each of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Another was used to crash into the Pentagon. The fourth plane was headed to Washington, but was forced down in a Pennsylvania field by the heroic passengers of United Flight 93.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Mr. Card takes us moment by moment as he learned the disasters in New York City were actually deliberate acts of terrorism by Islamic extremists, told the president the news in a Florida elementary school classroom, gave orders to get Air Force One ready to depart early, and figured out where they were going next.He also takes us inside the intense debate he had with the president about whether to return to Washington and the first decisions Bush had to make, including whether to shoot down airliners refusing to obey air traffic commands.Card also discusses President Bush's speech after returning to the White House, his impromptu message to Ground Zero recovery workers  on a bullhorn, his emotional meeting with first responders and families of those lost on 9/11 and much more.We'll also hear why Bush asked Card to take one high-ranking national security official "to the woodshed" and the shocking thing British Prime Minister Tony Blair told Card after Bush's speech to a joint session of Congress. And we'll learn how both Bush and Card were scolded after Bush said he wanted Osama bin Laden captured "dead or alive."

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• Timothy Brown, FDNY, 9/11, South Tower World Trade Center

  Timothy Brown was serving as supervisor of field operations in New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani's office of emergency management on September 11, 2001. He was already at work near the World Trade Center when terrorists flew the first plane into the North Tower. He was in the lobby of that building when he got word that a second plane controlled by terrorists struck the South Tower. He immediately rushed over there. Less than an hour later, the South Tower collapsed while Timothy Brown was still inside.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Brown walks us from when he heard of the first attack through the horror of the South Tower coming down all around him. He explains what it felt like and sounded like as 110 stories crashed down around him. He also describes emerging from the rubble and getting out of the area just as the North Tower came down.Brown believes his life was spared in order to share the heroic actions of firefighters and other first responders on 9/11. And he tells multiple stories of those heroes, many of whom were friends he lost that day. Finally, Brown offers his thanks to the veterans who took the fight to the terrorists in the wars following 9/11.

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• MAJ Christopher Brewer, U.S. Army Special Forces, Colombia, Panama

  Christopher Brewer grew up as an Army brat and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1973 because he wanted to be a Ranger. Even though he had never jumped out of a plane prior to joining the Army, Brewer learned quickly and passed the rest of his training to become a Ranger. He later took on and successfully completed intense training while serving overseas that served him very well in Special Forces.In 1989, he was deployed to Colombia to assist government forces fighting against the drug cartels. The next year, he was in Panama, dealing with the volatile aftermath of Operation Just Cause.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Major Brewer walks us through his intense training as a Ranger and in Platoon Confidence Training. He also takes us moment by moment on the training mission where his primary parachute failed and it took every bit of his expertise to survive.Then Brewer takes us to Colombia, where he could not officially serve as a member of Special Forces. He explains what the overall mission was and his critical efforts to thwart drug kingpin Pablo Escobar from attacking and destroying an American radar station.Finally, he tells us about his deployment to Panama, confronting unrest from many different directions, sniffing out intelligence about a possible coup attempt, and dealing with turf wars within the military.Brewer is the author, most recently, of In the Shadows Between the Wars: Becoming a Special Forces Operator.

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