William “Bill” Conner (Air Force/Air Guard/ Broadcast Media) Video
Conner has served with the United States Air Force and the Air Guard, with a career focused on broadcast media. He has worked in Iceland, the Azores, and San Antonio, Texas in radio, Air Force recruiting, and the their Christmas “The Gift” special with country music stars. He now works for the Air Guard base and training center at McGhee-Tyson in Knoxville, TN.
Chad Faulkner (Army) Video Documents
Chad Faulkner is a retired Army veteran who lives in Knoxville who served from 1997-2017. In his twenty years of service, he served as an infantryman and later in special operations. As an infantryman, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division. He was deployed to Haiti, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait. He was deployed twice to Afghanistan, and he also served as part of the Hurricane Katrina recovery operations. He was an instructor at the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, and he worked in science and technology for Army Special Operations Command. After his military career, he trained security guards in Oak Ridge. He is currently getting his certification to be a professional helicopter pilot in Alabama.
Leo Patrick Quesinberry (Marines) Iraq/Afghanistan Documents Video
Born in Newport News, Virginia, Quesinberry is from an Air Force family and lived in Virginia, Washington, South Dakota, and Texas before they settled in Johnson City, Tennessee. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and was trained as a Heavy Machine Operator. He served in deployments in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He lives in Gray, Tennessee and works for Homestead Materials Handling Company.
Connor Pearce (Army) Afghanistan Transcript Video
Captain Connor Pearce’s story is one of a winding road and personal persistence. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina and is a native of Nashville, TN. He graduated from the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga and was commissioned through ROTC as a Second Lieutenant in the United States’ Army Chemical Corps in 2016. He has served as a Dismounted Reconnaissance Platoon Leader in the 101st Airborne Division. He served as the Deputy Regimental CBRN Officer with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He deployed to Afghanistan as the Chief of Operations for a Joint Special Operations Task Force. He has worked in Nuclear Planning and attended the USMC Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, VA. He served on Task Force COVID. He continues to serve to this day.
Tammy Silvers-Haller (Marines/National Guard/Air Force) Transcript Video
Master Sergeant Tammy Silvers-Haller was raised in Poughkeepsie, New York. She was recruited into the Marine Corps in 1987 and trained as a musician, playing the flute, for the Marine Corps Band at the Naval School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. Silvers-Haller was stationed during her four years with the Marine Corps at Quantico in Virginia. After four years with the Marines, she got her education in Music Therapy and Music Education and taught music in places like Texas. She also dedicated time to serve her local communities, particularly in VA hospitals and with youth programs. She started returned to the military service with the Army National Guard in New York playing with the Army National Guard Band around 2003 to 2005. She transferred to the Air National Guard Band before returning to active duty with the Air Force. She went into the Chapel Corps as a chaplain assistant with the Air Force. She was deployed to Jordan in 2017 and is now stationed as an instructor for Leadership and Development at the Non-Commissioned Officer School at McGhee Tyson in Knoxville.
Kelly Waugh (Marines/National Guard) Video Documents Transcript
Major Kelly Grant Waugh was born on October 25th, 1972 at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, NC. He was raised in Abingdon, Virginia by his parents, Edward Waugh and Eula Grant, both Marines themselves. He enlisted after his high school graduation in 1991 and attended boot camp at Parris Island. Waugh attended C-school (AIT) for a year and a half and then was assigned to duty in California. He married his high school sweetheart Amanda in 1994, and they had their first two children while he was still in the Marines in 1995 and 1996, respectively. He was honorably discharged shortly after the birth of his second son in order to be around his family. He worked in the home improvement industry while continuing to grow his family with two more children until the tragedy of 9/11, after which he reenlisted in the Tennessee National Guard. He was deployed to Iraq from 2004-2005. Upon his return he earned a degree in Business Management from King university in Bristol, TN, at which point he received a commission from the Direct Commission program. He was assigned as a platoon leader in Marion, VA and deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. He commanded a rear detachment in Texas until 2019, at which point he received orders to teach at the University of Tennessee as an Assistant Professor of Military Science.