Highlights of the 20th Annual Veterans Day Conference

Commander Dean “Diz” Laird, the only ‘ace’ pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in both theaters of World War II, talks with a student.

The 20th Annual Veterans Day Conference & Honors was a huge success, thanks to our team, generous donors and sponsors, student participants, and of course, our veterans and heroes from World War II to the current generation serving today.

Lt. Colonel Richard E. Cole, the last survivor of the Doolittle Raid, toasts to generations of heroes with our host Bear Grylls, British Special Forces veteran.

Special highlights from our weekend of heroes include:

• Kicking off the weekend with the Wounded Warrior Experience, a special televised discussion highlighting the service, sacrifice, and recovery of our wounded veterans, which aired on Fox Business Veterans Day weekend. Full program available here. 
• Connecting generations of service, from young cadets to the heroes of World War II
• Conversations with veterans of the epic battle of Midway in the year of its 75th anniversary 
• A special event at the Royal Norwegian Embassy, celebrating a relationship between the United States and Norway
• Conversations with legends of World War II such as Pearl Harbor survivor Lt. Jim Downing and Cmdr. Dean “Diz” Laird, the only ‘ace’ pilot to shoot down enemy aircraft in both the European and Pacific theaters. 
• A special closing event, American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes, and Emmy-winning television special honor heroes from World War II through today, and celebrating the best of who we are as Americans.

To learn more about AVC’s annual conference, click here. 

To learn more about American Valor: A Salute to Our Heroes, check our trailer below.