For women, World War 2 transformed service on the homefront and the frontlines. But they worked twice as hard for half the pay. Army Nurse Victoria Louise Kambic found a bag of sweets in her pocket helped.

Ray Stanley Boutwell was one of seven brothers who served his country. As a Navy cook in New Jersey, he shares innovations in 1940s frozen meat, why the officers loved his food, and how cooking in the Service fueled him for a life in the professional kitchen.

Japanese American citizens were prisoners of war in the U.S. during WW2. The Japanese American soldiers of the 442nd “Purple Heart Battalion” are the most decorated outfit in military history to this day. Lawson Ichiro Sakai shares a gripping story covering it all. (Free history lesson plans for this episode!

Harold Bud Long grew up during the Great Depression on his family farm in upstate New York. With farmers vital to winning WW2, how did Bud end up as an Air Corp engineer on D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, and into concentration camps?

What did it take for an African American sailor to achieve rank in WW2? Navy veteran William Walker shares hardships and triumphs in his rise to Chief Petty Officer 1st Class, how soldiers, sailors, and civilians were fed in the Pacific, and how his Service was received on the homefront after the war ended. (Get free World War II history lesson plans for this episode, too!)

What was it like to be one of the first Black Air Corp pilots in history? George Hardy takes us from segregated training camps in the U.S. to escorting bomber planes in Europe, sharing food stories, hard memories, and high times alone the way.

How did the Coast Guard take fire on D-Day and in the Pacific? Gunner’s Mate Frank Devita takes us from the harrowing shores of Normandy into kamikaze attacks near Japan, sharing mischievous stories of how he fed himself fully along the way.

What did soldiers eat in WW2? Army veteran Pat D’Ambrosio takes us from Pearl Harbor through the draft and into the Pacific theater, and home again. (Get free World War II history lesson plans for this episode, too!)