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Episode #669 of Hometown Heroes, airing February 19-22, 2021, shines a spotlight on two men who both experienced the first day of World War II for the United States, and both marked their 101st birthdays on February 15th. We’ll hear first from Frank Paredes, who grew up in the Dragoon Mountains of Arizona and survived the December 7th, 1941 attacks on Oahu. Frank shared first shared his remarkable story on episode #328 of Hometown Heroes in 2014.

Also marking his 101st birthday on February 15th in Albuquerque, NM was Bill Overmier. A native of Illinois, Overmier experienced the first day of the war for America at Clark Field in the Philippines, trying to shoot down Japanese planes as they attacked. He later became a prisoner of war, and survived over 1,200 days in captivity. Overmier spoke of his ordeal on Hometown Heroes in episodes #313 & 314 in 2014.