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Saturday, January 19, 2013

A Soldier's Battle Lost After Returning Home

Lance Pilgrim with his parents, Randy and Judy, at the pre-deployment ceremony at Fort Sill, Okla., in January 2003.

January 19, 2013 After being deployed to Iraq in 2003, Spc. Lance Pilgrim was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. His panic attacks led him to become dependent on pain medication, and he accidentally overdosed in 2007. His parents share their son's struggle to leave the war behind.

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Friday, January 18, 2013

The Moment Race Mattered: A Haunting Childhood Memory

Bernard Holyfield (right) shares a childhood story with his friend Charles Barlow, about growing up in a racially charged Alabama during the early 1960s.

January 18, 2013 Bernard Holyfield was 5 years old when he learned that skin color made a big difference. He recalls an incident in the early 1960s in Alabama in which a drunken white man approached him and his brother while they were playing on their front lawn.

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Friday, January 11, 2013

Mother To Daughter: 'That's When I Knew I Was Adopted'

Diane Tells His Name, 61, grew up unaware of her Native American identity. When she discovered the truth in her late 30s, she adopted a child from her Lakota tribe, Bonnie Buchanan.

January 11, 2013 Diane Tells His Name was 37 when she discovered she was adopted as a child. Rather than feeling anger or sadness, she embraced the opportunity to discover her Native American roots and eventually adopted a child of her own.

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Friday, January 04, 2013

A Single Mom's Toughness Pays Off

Reginald Mason, 47, says he owes his successes to his mother, who kept him disciplined during a financially tough upbringing.

January 4, 2013 For years after his father died, Reginald Mason's mother struggled to maintain a sense of normalcy for him — despite her financial troubles. "She made me and shaped me as a man," Mason says.

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Friday, December 28, 2012

Decades Later, Student Finds Teacher To Say 'Thank You'

John Cruitt reunited with his third-grade teacher, Cecile Doyle, to tell her about the impact she had on him as he coped with his mother's death.

December 28, 2012 When John Cruitt's mother died, his teacher was there to help him cope. More than 50 years later, Cruitt sought to find the woman who, he says, changed his life.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

Santa Claus Is Driving To Town

In December, when Boyd Applegate isn't driving his big-rig truck, he dresses up as Santa and hand-delivers gifts under Christmas trees. It's a pastime he's enjoyed for more than 20 years.

December 21, 2012 Boyd Applegate has been dressing up as Santa Claus for more than 20 years. It's a pastime he unintentionally discovered while on the job as a big-rig truck driver. Every year, he makes under-the-tree gift deliveries designed for children to wake up and catch him in the middle of the night.

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Friday, December 14, 2012

For Man With Amnesia, Love Repeats Itself

Jeff Ingram, 46, suffers from a rare condition that wipes his memory. Whenever he has an attack, his wife, Penny, fears he won't regain his love for her.

December 14, 2012 Whenever Jeff Ingram suffers from an amnesia attack, his memory is wiped clean and he has to start over. Fearful that one day he may no longer accept her, his wife reminds him of the memories they've shared.

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Saturday, December 08, 2012

Mother And Daughter Form Soldiers' Bond In Iraq

Marilyn Gonzalez (left) and her daughter, Jessica Pedraza, at their base in Kuwait in 2010.

December 8, 2012 Sgt. Marilyn Gonzalez and her daughter, Spc. Jessica Pedraza, served together in Kuwait and Iraq from January until December of 2010. But they weren't supposed to go together — the daughter made it happen.

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Friday, December 07, 2012

3 Years After Parents' Divorce, Son Looks Back

At StoryCorps in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state, Anand Hernandez and his mom, Sarah Avant, discussed his parents' 2009 divorce.

December 7, 2012 In a visit to StoryCorps, Sarah Avant and her 12-year-old son discuss how his life was changed by his parents' divorce in 2009. Anand Hernandez admits that the stress was hard on him. But lately, things have been looking up, he says.

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Friday, November 30, 2012

A Life's Ministry Springs From A Dilemma Over AIDS

The Rev. Eric Williams and his colleague Jannette Berkley-Patton visited StoryCorps in Kansas City, Mo., where they discussed a funeral that shaped Williams' future.

November 30, 2012 For more than 20 years, the Rev. Eric Williams has devoted himself to educating people about AIDS and helping those who suffer from the disease. As he recalls, one funeral — and a "favor" — led him to the undertaking. World AIDS Day is Saturday.

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Friday, November 23, 2012

StoryCorps' National Day Of Listening

Remembering A Father And Connecting Generations

Gary Knell with his father, David.

November 23, 2012 As part of StoryCorp's National Day of Listening, Tell Me More invited NPR President and CEO Gary Knell to talk about his father, the late David Knell, who was an Army officer in Texas during World War II.

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StoryCorps' National Day Of Listening

A Father Remembers The Son He Lost To War

Matthew Bolar was killed on May 3, 2007, in Baghdad. StoryCorps founder Dave Isay spoke recently with Matthew's father, Gordon, who wanted to pay tribute to his son.

November 23, 2012 Gordon Bolar knew he couldn't talk his son Matthew out of joining the military, because "he was a young man who knew what he wanted to do." So, Matthew "served his country, and that was his highest calling," and his father pays tribute to that every day.

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Friday, November 16, 2012

An Unusual Friendship, Forged Over Thanksgiving

Larry Rolf (left) and Denny Daniels are best friends who were both married to the same woman — though at different times. After she died, the two helped each other cope.

November 16, 2012 Larry Rolf and Denny Daniels share an uncommon bond: They're best friends and they were both married to the same woman — though not at the same time. Their friendship, which started over Thanksgiving years ago, has continued through thick and thin.

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Video: The Last Sunday Supper At Rocco's

In this animated short from StoryCorps, Nicholas Petron remembers his grandfather, Rocco Galasso, who moved to New York City from Italy with the hopes of making a better life.

November 16, 2012 For 18 years, Rocco Galasso was the owner and superintendent of a New York City apartment building where much of his family resided — until the day they were given notice that their building faced demolition. As his grandson remembers, that's when everything changed. See an animated video from StoryCorps.

Summary

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Amidst War, U.S. Guardsman Forges Unexpected Bond

Ali, an Iraqi teenager, wears Spc. Justin Cliburn's helmet and radio equipment in Baghdad. Ali and Cliburn became unlikely friends while Cliburn trained Iraqi police in 2005 and 2006.

November 10, 2012 Spc. Justin Cliburn was in his 20s when he trained Iraqi police in Baghdad. During his deployment, he made friends with a teenager that he says "made every day something I looked forward to." But even their friendship could not escape a violent reality.

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