- [Voiceover] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- [Narrator] Tonight on a special Carolina Impact.

Stories of service and sacrifice.

- The heroes that we visit are the bravest, most wonderful people on earth.

- [Narrator] Life or death moments on the battlefield.

- They were shooting at us and we were shooting at them.

- [Narrator] And once the war is over, fighting another battle against the problems many veterans face when they come home.

- These are my brothers, my sisters.

It's therapy.

- [Narrator] We also honor the veterans who never came home.

- Even though we can't know exactly how you feel, we know that every single day is Veteran's Day.

- [Narrator] The hometowns that never forgot their hometown heroes.

- Makes me feel good because I know he's up there, smiling down.

- [Narrator] And meet wartime pen pals who never stopped writing and never stopped fighting to find love and each other.

- He is still my best friend.

He is the love of my life.

- [Narrator] Our tribute to veterans tonight on Carolina Impact.

- [Host] Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Tonight, we're honoring the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces with a small look at their huge service.

We begin with an army veteran who's made it his mission to bring hope and comfort to the families of our fallen.

To remember their sacrifices, the organization Tribute to the Troops organizes an annual motorcycle ride.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis takes us to Statesville to thank the families of those that gave their lives for each and every one of us.

(upbeat rock music) (engines revving) - [Jason] One by one, they pulled in, engines revving, flags waving.

Motorcycle riders from as far away as Florida and Minnesota coming together in Statesville, not for a biker rally, but to give thanks.

- It's a way for all of us to gather up to make sure the families were never forgotten.

- [Jason] With over 100 riders, Tribute to the Troops, spending an October weekend, visiting with the families of six fallen North Carolina heroes.

- The heroes that we visit are the bravest, most wonderful people on earth.

- [Jason] The purpose of those visits, to let the families know that the sacrifices of their loved ones will never be forgotten.

- Even though we can't know exactly how you feel, we know that every single day is Veteran's Day in your house.

Every day is Memorial day in your house, my friend.

- [Jason] On this day, Tribute to the Troops, honoring the family of Air Force Captain Mark Russell McDowell.

- He graduated from South Iredell High School right here with a 4.25 grade average and was accepted to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

- And I remember when he first started going there I said, "Mark, schoolwork must be very difficult, right?"

And he said, "Nah, it's easy."

He said, "'Cause everybody here is brilliant.

you wouldn't get here if you weren't brilliant."

He said, "What's tough is they're teaching you how to be a leader."

- [Jason] In July of 2009, just two months after being deployed to Afghanistan, Mark's fighter jet crashed into a mountain side during a nighttime mission.

He'd been given bad information.

- The information he received was that the elevation of the ground was at 3000 feet, but it was actually at 8,000.

- It is because of men like Mark McDowell, that we are free.

It's because of the sacrifices that they make and the selflessness that they show that we have our way of life.

- [Jason] During the presentation, riders share lots of hugs and personal stories.

Mark's father Stan received a plaque.

- We realized the hardship you've endured on behalf of our great nation, we want you to know that the wounds that you continue to carry in your hearts and minds will never be forgotten.

- I knew what they were going to have all these riders, but I didn't know they would all come up and speak to me.

And that was, that was great.

- [Susan] Most of them, this is the first time anyone has paid any attention to the death of their hero.

- I'm so sorry for your loss.

- And they're so excited because for some of them, it's been 10, 11, 12 years, and no one's ever said a word.

- [Jason] Susan McClamrock was previously recognized by Tribute to the Troops.

Her son, James was killed in 2010 when an Iraqi insurgent burst into his compound and started spraying bullets.

He was struck seven times.

- And really for me, it was about carrying on James' legacy.

Technically he should have been carrying my legacy at some point.

And instead I'm having to carry his.

- [Jason] Leading all the presentations is country musician and Statesville resident, Rockie Lynne, a veteran of the U.S. Army himself.

He first got the idea for Tribute to the Troops while living in Minnesota in the mid-2000s.

- And the news comes on and it says, "There's a traffic jam on I-35, pick another route.

Somebody robbed a liquor store in St. Paul.

Another Minnesota, soldier killed in Iraq."

And I thought, "Really?

It's gonna be the third story down."

(engines revving) - [Jason] The first Tribute to the Troops Ride was in 2004.

With October's ride, the 10th annual version in North Carolina.

Rockie spends about seven weekends a year devoted to this cause.

- The one thing I think we bring to the table that is very different is that if you read the obituary of these men that we visited today, it would say, "He's from South Iredale and is this is who he left behind, and this is what unit was with."

But it didn't tell you all those details that we find out.

It doesn't paint a picture of the human being that he was because every one of those lives that we lose, it's not just one life.

It's an entire family, an entire community that's impacted.

- [Jason] Rockie researches each fallen hero's story, and knows it inside out when doing a presentation.

- And I call their coach from high school, I call the guy that managed the McDonald's that they worked at and I find their story.

- It's amazing how this organization, you know, has portrayed that they really do care.

And that they are thankful for what our children did for us.

- [Jason] As part of each tribute ride, a banquet is held for all involved families.

Those being honored on that particular weekend, as well as those honored in the past.

The most moving part of the evening comes when each family reads the name of their fallen hero and a bell is rung to acknowledge their passing.

- Army Corporal Daniel T. O'Leary.

(bell rings) - Army Staff Sergeant Juantrea T. Bradley.

(bell rings) - [Jason] Afterwards, Rockie's band performs with many of his song's patriotic feed even recorded an album focusing on life in military service, songs for soldiers.

(singing) - All the people you saw today that were road guarding and setting up speakers and setting all of this and then up and doing this, they'll do it for free.

And the ride is free.

It's just a way for regular Americans to tell great Americans that they care.

- Organizations like this it helps me keep my head up, be proud of him.

- It enlarges my circle of friends that I have.

If I'm having a really bad day, I am free to connect with them and just say, "Hey, today is a really bad day."

And they understand that pain.

- [Jason] Never forgetting those that made the ultimate sacrifice while honoring the families that grieved their loss every day.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Jason Terzis reporting.

- Thank you, Jason.

Tribute to the Troops primary fundraising objective is the Fallen Heroes Children's Education Fund, which purchases more than 500 college savings plans for children who have lost a parent in active duty.

To date, the organization has opened college savings plans for 112 children totaling over $900,000.

What an amazing contribution.

Well, a lot of Veteran's Day parades and celebrations were held this past weekend.

Carolina cities and towns honoring those who serve and sacrifice as soldiers and sailors, airmen and Marines.

But in Cherryville, their downtown Veteran's Day displays a little bit different and personal, sort of like a big Veteran's Day scrapbook.

Jeff Sonier joins us now from downtown Cherryville with a peek at what's become a Veteran's Day tradition here.

- Yeah, on Veteran's Day, there's a lot of ways you can say, "Thank you for your service", but here in Cherryville, well, these pictures speak louder than words.

(trumpet blaring) (drums beating) They're not the famous faces or the heroes in the history books.

These are the everyday heroes, Cherryville's hometown heroes.

(trumpet blaring) (drums beating) - [Jerry] That's right, he was my hero.

They did a super job with it.

- [Jeff] Jerry Thornburg and her daughter stopped on Main Street where CV Thornburg's picture proudly hangs, just a grinning kid in his Navy uniform back then.

- It makes me feel good because I know he's up there smiling down.

'Cause everybody that comes through Cherryville is seeing his picture.

(chuckles) And he loved that.

That was made him happy.

He would take our district to the sunroom to show him his Navy pictures and also the picture of his ship because he was so proud of it.

(drums beating) (trumpet playing) It looks just like him and some of them say, "They can remember when he was young like that".

He was 90 when he died, but he never forgot his days in service.

And we had a good marriage and a good life.

And I thank you to all our veterans, is so deserving.

(metal clanging) - [Jeff] And that's why every year, every Veteran's Day, Cherryville turns Main Street into a downtown photo album, where every veteran's picture tells a story.

And where every military family is proud to share their story.

(drum beating) (trumpet playing) - Oh, absolutely.

Yeah.

When we went to graduation and he marched across that field, I knew that was it.

- [Jeff] Niney Johnson was out there watching when they put her son Brandon's banner up on Main Street.

He's active duty now, not a veteran, at least not yet.

Just doing what he loves says this army mom, but still a long, long way from home.

- He's in Anchorage, Alaska right now, jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

Why?

I don't know, but that's, you know, that's his choice.

And that's when he graduated from Drill Sergeant School, when he said that the infantry was his thing, he said that, "You know, if I'm gonna do it, mom, I wanna be the first in.

You know, I'm not gonna sit in the back seat.

That's not what I signed up for."

It still kind of leaves a hole in your heart.

I don't want this town to ever forget him.

(calm piano music) - [Jeff] While the crew was installing these veteran banners near her Cherryville bakery, owner Rebecca Goins, a Navy veteran herself, heads out the front door to watch, but not for long, not on this busy morning.

- It is.

It's a orange and cream cheese brownie.

- [Jeff] Serving up sweets at the front counter before heading back to the always chaotic kitchen.

- Every Monday we start from scratch.

We get the ovens geared up and the smell start waffin' in the streets, you know, (laughs) (blender whirring) Six to eight hours straight, five days a week.

And that's what we do.

So, it's a lot of baking.

(laughs) There are things out of our grandmas, you know, cookbooks, or things that we've found that it's the old-school way of doing stuff.

You will never see any cake mixes or, you know, instant this or, you know, just bowl-to-bake, anything like that.

This is my happy spot behind the scenes.

- [Jeff] But for Rebecca, baking isn't just a hobby or just a successful business.

It's also her way of coping with civilian life.

After military service that included guarding terrorist prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

- [Rebecca] Blew things up and killing innocent people, and that's exactly who we were guarding down there.

So they were the worst of the worst.

That was supposed to be a six-month tour and it turned into two years.

And if you can imagine anything horrible, that's, that's it.

It's a scary thing when you don't have the bars to protect you anymore.

There's some things that you just can't forget.

You can't erase it.

You just, it's now a part of you.

And so it's a struggle.

It was a struggle for me.

It still is, you know, some days and that's okay.

(calm piano music) I think self-awareness is what makes the difference.

It's finding joy again, something that gives you joy, something that redefines your purpose in life.

- [Jeff] For Rebecca, it's the joy of baking, the joy of serving others, the joy of getting better and getting past the past, by doing something you love.

- It is work.

It can be work, but when you love it, it's just kind of part of you.

It's just you and you're making something.

It just, it gives you purpose.

When you can do something great for someone else, you know, the giving part of it, it's very healing and the process of it.

(calm piano music) - [Jeff] Healing in the center of a small town and feeling the love that Cherryville shows for all of its veterans.

(wind blowing) (calm piano music) - Yeah, right now, Cherryville has 21 of these poles and 40 photos on Main Street in downtown.

But by next year, they're hoping to double that number, so they can honor even more veterans, even more service members on Veteran's Day, Amy.

- Thank you so much, Jeff.

Main Street Cherryville hangs those hometown hero pictures and banners for Veteran's Day, every Memorial day too.

And this year, the town of Lincolnton is also following Cherryville's lead with its own downtown display of veteran photos.

Since 1995, veterans have been going to Richard's Coffee Shop Living Military Museum in Mooresville for more than just a cup of Joe.

The shop's camaraderie has brought thousands of veterans through the door.

As Carolina Impact's Coleen Harry shows us, it's just one of the places where veterans are helping veterans.

(bright guitar music) - [Coleen] At Richard's Coffee Shop in Mooresville.

- This is a place where veterans gather.

We got guys in here who have seen things that the average person just can't comprehend.

And this is their support line for really daily living.

And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that these are hallowed walls.

- [Host] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

- [Coleen] This is where they lean on each other.

- [Don] I like it here.

- [Coleen] 96 years old, Don Haseley is a World War II veteran, and he still will not talk about life aboard the submarine during the war.

- I don't wanna go back there (laughs) - [Coleen] for 20 something years.

Don has been coming here to Richard's.

Not many World War II veterans are around the coffee shop anymore.

Still Don says, "This is the place for him."

- I feel comfortable, so I just keep coming back.

I know quite a few of the guys.

- [Coleen] Over the years, he watched younger veterans come in.

- Whenever a veteran come through our doors for the first time, we try to honor them.

We get them to fill out our Book of Honor.

To date we've got probably close to 20,000 entries.

- You'll hear the bell ring.

(bell rings) And that's a new veteran being signed in.

It's a great thing to bring 'em home.

And that's what we honor 'em with.

We bring 'em home.

- There are hundreds of thousands of veterans living in the Carolinas, and a lot of agencies are set up to help them.

But some veterans say there are some services they need that they just can't find.

And one woman in Charlotte is doing her best to make sure she provides it for them.

Joy Cook has spent most of her adult life in the Reserves and National Guard.

She's now with the Air National Guard base in Charlotte, part of the Force Support Squadron.

In this corner of Charlotte off Louise Avenue, Joy has a nonprofit to help veterans with items they need.

It's called, Support Her B.O.O.T.S.

- And B.O.O.T.S.

is an acronym that stands for Building around Obstacles and providing Opportunities Towards Self-sufficiency.

And then the entire point of the nonprofit is to educate, empower, provide resources, network, and opportunities, and also tangible services to veterans and their families.

Particularly female veterans like myself and their family.

- [Coleen] Whether they're active military or veterans, Joy says the women have different needs.

- But to get real tangible, I need tissue today, or I need peanut butter today.

But a lot of needs we deal with are right now, light bill due today by five o'clock.

That's what I need.

You know, I need child care for my child today, right now.

Or I'm in a domestic violent situation I had to run.

I didn't grab any Pampers.

- [Coleen] The non-profit is in memory of her father, a Marine, First Lieutenant Daniel Cook spent 10 years serving.

He was also a social worker.

He died in 2008.

The nonprofit started a pop-up shop, The Giving Boutique, where veterans can shop, save, and donate items.

Partners like Oak Street Health Center assist veterans with whatever medical services they need.

For Joy, it's all about helping.

- [Male Speaker] You probably noticed we got two tables set up in the front for books.

- [Coleen] It's the same mission in Mooresville.

Walter Dellinger has only been coming here for a couple of months.

- These are my brothers, my sisters.

It's therapy.

(laughs) You know, it really is.

I mean, you can talk to these guys about stuff.

We tell stories and banter back and forth.

- [Coleen] Retired Army, Walter is a combat veteran of the war in Iraq.

- We were called the insane people because we drove around in Humvees and everybody else is in Strikers.

I lost a kid over there, 24 years old.

We got hit with a vehicle-borne IED, and he took one piece of shrap metal.

And basically he was brain dead.

He never knew what happened.

- [Coleen] Glimpses of the war in Iraq are part of the coffee shop's ever-growing Living Military Museum.

Every day, new pieces are added from different eras.

Jim Kiger was the museum's director, retired Air Force.

He's a long-time military man.

And even he is surprised at a couple of the most recent donations to the museum, like this World War I jacket in pristine condition.

And then there's this, - This one blows me away to have, have a German piece from World War II.

And, but it's, it is what it is, you know.

I mean, we fought a tough enemy in World War II and to have one from our enemies in here as well, it's a great piece.

- [Coleen] Whether it's a chat over a cup of coffee at Richard's, or like at Support Her B.O.O.T.S., the tangible items, veterans are helping each other.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Coleen Harry reporting.

- Thank you, Coleen.

You can learn more about Richard's Coffee Shop and the nonprofit supporter, B.O.O.T.S.

at pbscharlotte.org.

A Charlotte Marine veteran has a mini-museum of his own right in his home.

It's where he keeps his mementos from his time in Vietnam, including the photos and letters from pen pals.

However, only one pen pal caught his eye and captured his heart.

Carolina Impact's Sarah Colon-Harris travels down memory lane with the Cruz's 53 years after tying the not.

(military marching music) - This is my room, my bunker.

- [Sarah] Once a Marine, always a Marine.

That's Roberto Cruz's mantra.

As a proud Marine veteran, he's got a roomful of memorabilia to prove it.

What initially began as a creative outlet, now a source of pride and joy.

- [Roberto] Right there, that's me.

- [Sarah] His seven years in the Marines dates back to the sixties.

- That was in Disneyland before going to Vietnam.

- [Sarah] Roberto, born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York city was just one of seven Latinos in his unit of more than 300 Marines.

- And we stuck together.

The Blacks had their clique, the Whites had their cliques, we had our cliques - [Sarah] At age 75, he still remembers clearly his 13 months in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.

- And then we got off the plane.

We see all this shooting up in Marble Mountain.

And that was, I said, "That's where we're going?"

"Yes, that's where you're goin'."

(bomb exploding) - [Sarah] One of the scariest moments came during the Tet Offensive when North Vietnam coordinated more than 100 attacks on cities and outposts in South Vietnam.

- The Tet Offensive wasn't a game of paintball.

I mean, they were shooting at us and we were shooting at them.

- [Sarah] But in the midst of all that fighting, there was one glimmer of hope, an ad featuring service members in the local newspaper, attracted letters from my pen pal back home in New York.

- There were two pictures in the Spanish paper.

That was his picture and another fellow.

I chose the other fellow because he was better-looking.

- She wrote to my friend and my friend said, "Roberto, you wanna write to this girl?"

I can't, I can't write because I'm leaving in three weeks.

And I said, "I can't write to another girl, I'm already writing to 38 girls."

So I started writing to her.

- [Sarah] And so began their friendship.

11 months of letters, back and forth.

Maria struck by his manners and perfect spelling.

Roberto struck by, well, her photo.

- They're just friendship letters.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

And he would, he would tell me what was going on there.

And that sometimes I was sad to know that I couldn't see him, or I didn't know him.

- [Sarah] But that was about to change.

Once he returned home, Roberto was anxious to meet the ladies he'd been writing to.

So in August of 1968, he showed up on Maria's doorstep.

- Her mother calls her back and said, "That's the guy that was writing to you from Vietnam."

So she comes to the door.

She got this massive head of hair in rollers.

She's wearing a robe.

- I was happy to see him, firstly, in person, and not knowing how tall he was.

I always aimed for tall, dark, and handsome, but I didn't get tall, dark, and handsome, I got, I, - [Roberto] She got short, dark, and handsome.

(laughs) - [Sarah] The couple tied the knot in December of that year, five months after Roberto's first visit home.

- [Roberto] That was 53 years ago.

- [Sarah] 53 years, two children, and four grandchildren later, Maria and Roberto are still going strong.

And he still has that photo that first caught his attention along with the 38 others.

- Instead of a black book, it's an orange book.

Firstly, I had no idea that this book existed till years later he showed me, - I broke it out of my archives.

- and I was one of the harems.

I did not know that this picture would even be there because this picture was sent for his eyes only, but now everybody sees it.

- [Sarah] And while the couple can look back and laugh now, they say there was a time when the flashbacks from Vietnam sent Roberto into a spiral of addiction.

- I was doing a lot of drinking then.

Every time I was having a lot of flashbacks, and she'll tell you a lot of times I would wake up from the bed, I was sweating bullets.

- [Sarah] It's been 15 years since those dark days filled with nightmares and drinking.

Roberto now credits his family, the camaraderie among his fellow vets and his roomful of mementos for helping him get sober.

- And I said, as soon as I have my own room, I can start putting up some of the stuff.

- [Sarah] As for their love story, Maria says, it's their mutual respect that's kept them together all these years.

- He is still my best friend.

He is the love of my life.

I've never had to look anywhere else.

(military marching song) (singing) - [Sarah] More than half a lifetime later, the memories and Marine hymn, still a source of pride.

(singing) - Hoorah!

Semper Fi!

- [Sarah] For Carolina Impact, I'm Sarah Colon-Harris reporting.

- Thank you, Sarah.

Roberto says he still keeps in touch with some of his veteran friends and continues to volunteer with multiple military organizations.

Finally, tonight, all of us at PBS Charlotte wanna say thank you to our veterans.

You're the heroes of our democracy.

Thank you to the parents, wives, children, and siblings who also sacrificed so much for us.

We hope you enjoyed our Tribute to the Troops.

We'd love to hear your feedback on tonight's show.

Please email us now at feedback@wtvi.org.

Well, that's all the time we have for you this evening.

We always appreciate your time.

Hope you'll join us back here again, next time for Carolina Impact.

Good night, my friends.

(bright music) - [Voiceover] A production of PBS, Charlotte.