From AARP Misca Geter. Right: Vernice Armour Rough date: 2004 in Al-Qa'im, Iraq. Courtesy Vernice Armour When I was in ROTC in college, I saw a Black woman in a flight suit and knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a pilot. I graduated from flight school on July 21, 2001, when there was no war. But 9/11 happened less than 60 days later, and something in me knew I would be going. I moved into my operational squadron, and several months later, another Black woman joined the

From AARP Paul Anka looks back on his career, from writing his own songs to collaborating with music legends, including Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones, and discusses his new documentary, “Paul Anka: His Way.” Watch the interview ...

From AARP “These go to 11.” “There’s a fine line between stupid and clever.” “Hello, Cleveland!” The 1984 movie This Is Spinal Tap is jammed with so many iconic one-liners, it’s as if its characters transcended the screen to walk among us in our daily lives. This Is Spinal Tap is credited with popularizing a movie genre: the mockumentary, a documentary of a made-up subject for the sake of laughs. Now 41 years old, the film has been called, by at least one magazine ( Time Ou

From AARP Every July Fourth, America throws a party with barbecues, festivals, ballgames and beer. Often lost in the crackle of fireworks is the reason why we celebrate in the first place. July Fourth is Independence Day, the birthday of the United States. On this day, the Founding Fathers adopted the Declaration of Independence, a document that still exists and is on display in the National Archives building in Washington, D.C. Its value is incalculable. Read more ...

A Vietnamese refugee's journey from a boy who loved cars to a star auto engineer From AARP A collection of Ford Mustangs, brought to Vietnam for an exhibition for U.S. soldiers. Courtesy Anghel Restorations. As darkness fell, Hau Thai-Tang could hear the gunfire. “Every night the sound got closer and closer to our home”—terrifying for anyone, but hard to imagine for an 8-year-old boy. “That’s what my brother and I grew up with,” Hau says. “When we would go visit our relatives

Harvey "Barney" Barnum Jr., 84, was the first Medal of Honor recipient to return to Vietnam From AARP There are few clubs more esteemed or exclusive than the living Medal of Honor recipients.​​​​​ What has life been like after that day of courage amid death and terror in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan? Every recipient has a different story. In this series we examine what came after that moment of extraordinary courage.​​​​ Read more ...

The story behind 'the real Forrest Gump' From AARP Sammy Lee Davis Receives the Medal of Honor from President Johnson Paramount Studios adapted the Medal of Honor ceremony to create an iconic scene in the movie "Forrest Gump." Read More ...

Along with legendary champions, they were among the thousands who sacrificed during the era of change From AARP Left to right: Fred Gray, Charles Person and Wille Pearl Mackey King. Credit: RORY DOYLE; LYNSEY WEATHERSPOON; SHURAN HUANG Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks. Medgar Evers. John Lewis. These names ring through history as leaders of the vast, sprawling events that constituted the Civil Rights Movement, in which African Americans struggled for equality during the 1950

Those whose lives were marked by the conflict carry its memory From AARP Sal Scarlato, then 90. Private, U.S. Marines, served in Korea from April 11, 1952, to early April 1953. He is a retired electromechanical design draftsman. Credit: Justin Kaneps Falling between World War II and Vietnam, the Korean War, which ended in an armistice 72 years ago, has sometimes seemed to have a less vivid place in America’s memory. But for those who fought in harrowing combat under brutal co

For many of these Americans, serving their country is a family tradition From AARP They served in the snows of Germany, the valleys of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam and the deserts of the Middle East. For many, going to war is a part of a family heritage that stretches both behind them, to the early days of America, and ahead, through their children, to the post-9/11 conflicts. All of their stories are unique — from firefights at eye level with invisible enemies to dangerous

From the assassination of John F. Kennedy to the death of a princess, these ordinary people lived through extraordinary events From AARP President John    F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas on the day of his assassination. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. Jenyce Gush was a teenager skipping school in Dallas. Dean Kahler was a college kid walking on campus to class. Clara Jean Ester was a young woman hoping to meet a hero in Memphis. Each was an ordinary person who live

Relive the historic upset of the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics From AARP AP Photo/Douglas Ball On July 15, 1979, Americans switched on their TVs to watch President Jimmy Carter deliver what would become known as his “crisis of confidence” speech. America, the president told millions, had lost its sense of greatness. “The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America,” Carter said. “The symptoms of t