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Colonel (Ret.) Harry Dermody enlisted in the Army in 1958, and graduated from West Point in 1965. After completing Airborne and Ranger training, he held commands at every level from platoon through brigade, including a combat tour leading an infantry company in Vietnam, and eventually coordinated all support logistics for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Following his retirement, he was active in numerous civic organizations, and worked extensively on behalf of the West Point Association of Graduates (AOG). He passed away on 24 November 2012, several months after this interview was conducted. Here, he discusses his diverse and colorful career, the soldiers with whom he served, the values by which he lived his rich life, and the strength he derived from his devoted family.

Service As An Armor And A Civil Affairs Officer: “Think Of The Peace Corps With Guns”

“My Parents Would Not Want Me To Be Out Here”: On An Observation Post In Vietnam

Finding The Balance: Managing Priorities And Cultivating Leadership At West Point

“I Got Involved In The Destruction Of The Third Reich, I Guess”: CSM Rock Merritt Discusses WWII And Meeting General Bradley

A Sky-Diving Cellist Aviator from the Virgin Islands

Vietnamese Influencing Vietnamese: A “Behind The Scenes” Look At Counterinsurgency At The Birth Of The Republic Of Vietnam

The Conscientious Objector And The Platoon Leader

“You Keep Your Head Down And Don’t Be No Hero”: The Witch Doctor In The ‘Nam

From “Center Stall Productions” To Custom Apparel: A West Point Grad On Tenacity And Success

“Don’t Ever Let Yourself Be Average”: Running The First WAC Detachment In Vietnam

A Lone Soldier In The Israeli Defense Force Becomes A Chaplain In The U.S. Army

“Holding A Life In Your Hands”: A Parachute Rigger In The Persian Gulf War

Learning To “Out-Guerrilla The Guerillas” With The Tiger Force In Vietnam

“One Day You Have To Deal With It”: Duty, Vietnam, And The Trauma Of War

“Same Language, Same People”: An ARVN Soldier On The Wars Of Vietnam

Transforming The Army For The Future: West Point, Vietnam, And Acquisition

Getting Your Headspace And Timing Right: Seizing Opportunities At West Point And In The Army

You Can Take Any Experience And Make A Joke Of It: Life Imitates Art For The Creator Of Beetle Bailey

“You Gotta Think About The Details”: The West Point Dean Reflects On His Operational Experience

“Coming In Pretty Hot”: Shot Down On Lam Son 719, March 8, 1971

Bending Without Breaking: A Naval Academy Graduate On Creative Leadership In The Navy And Beyond

“Pushing Myself Past My Limits”: Achieving Success At West Point

Cultivating The Bond Between Soldiers Through Leadership, Character, And A Positive Command Climate

“Lieutenants, You’re Going To War Somewhere”: A Marine Officer During The War In Iraq

“Where The Rubber Meets The Road”: A Sergeant’s Story, From Firestone To Vietnam

Broken: A Former Refugee Works With Others Whose Minds Are Still At War

“Completing The Circle Of Life”: A Jewish Lay Leader On Service And Giving Back

To Aid In The Healing Process: An Air Force Dietitian In Vietnam

Pride In America: Defending Freedom And Protecting People

A 54 Jump Paratrooper With A Fear Of Heights: Tours In Vietnam With Tiger Force And The 173rd

Flying With The Seawolves: A Naval Academy Graduate Pilots A Gunship In Vietnam

“Combat Is Completely Chaotic”: Service In Vietnam And Cambodia With D / 1-5 Cavalry

“Seek And Fight For Freedom”: A Vietnamese Refugee Starts A New Life In America

“We’d Hunt Them Or They’d Hunt Us”: Service In Vietnam And The Persian Gulf

African-Americans In The Military

“It Wasn’t A Bleeding Problem, It Was A Shrapnel Problem”: Perspectives Of A Platoon Leader And A Grunt In Vietnam

“Try To Be The Best”: Applying A Family Ethos Of Dedication And Service To Others

A Soldier’s Perspective On Service In Vietnam And Cambodia With The First Cavalry Division

“You’re Not Crying For Them; You’re Crying With Them”: A Vietnam Veteran Helping Others

Serving With Dignity And Compassion: A WAC’s Tour In Vietnam

King Of The Hill: A 101st Pathfinder On Firebase Ripcord

“Everyone Has Their Own Destiny”: Serving With The ARVN Airborne

Rations, Resistance, And Liberation: A Young Girl’s Perspective On The German Occupation Of Belgium

Reflections From A Special Forces Officer: West Point, Cold War Europe, And Vietnam

"Into Harm's Way"

History Studied and Lived: A Vietnam Veteran Reflects on CORDS, Grenada, and the Army Reserve

“A Baptism Of Fire”: Fighting In Three Wars Abroad And Ushering In Constructive Disruption At Home

Megahertz And Methodism: A Vietnam Vet On Ministry, Ham Radios, And Lifelong Service

“If You Don’t Do Your Job, People Are Going To Die”: 18,959 Bonus Days Of Life

The Value Of Freedom: Two Vietnamese Refugees Begin A New Family In America

“Find ‘Em, Fix ‘Em, And Kill ‘Em”: Air Cav in Vietnam

An Army Wife Teaching, Raising A Daughter, And Worrying About Her Husband In Vietnam

“Don’t Quit Once You Start Something”: A Leader In War, Training, And Education

“Someplace I Didn’t Want To Be, Doing Something I Didn’t Want To Do”: Cambodia with D/1-5 Cavalry

“I Was So Proud To Be Here”: A West Point Graduate Reflects On His Service in Vietnam and Earning Three Silver Stars

“We Fought With Our Hearts And Minds”: A Vietnamese Veteran Achieves The American Dream

From Dream To Reality: Building The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

“A Battle Of Narratives”: Fighting And Writing The Second Battle Of Fallujah

Celebrating 40 Years of Women At West Point

“In The Confusion Of Combat, You Don’t Think Very Well”: Fighting And Surviving The Battle Of Welz

“We Were Suckers For A Hot LZ”: Never Turning Away From A Mission

“Never Drop Out Of A Run”: A Principle To Live By

“I Was Raised With Red, White, And Blue Blood”: A WAC Volunteers For Service In Vietnam

“Protecting The Unprotected”: Running A Camp For Vietnamese Refugees On Guam During Operation New Life

“It Wasn’t A Hero Thing, It Was A Twin Thing”: A Korean War Combat Medic

“Nurturing Fruit On The Tree”: Leaders Develop Leaders Throughout A Career

Undocumented Immigrant to American Patriot: The Story of a Son Tay Volunteer

“Never Let Anyone Limit You”: Hard Work, Determination, And Success

A South Vietnamese Pilot On Flying, Fighting, And Perseverance

Modernizing West Point’s Academic Administration: An Artillery Officer Returns To The Dean’s Staff

“I Couldn’t Be A Soldier Any Longer And Live With Myself”: An 11th ACR Doctor In Vietnam

Lessons From Afghanistan: An Air Defense Platoon Leader’s Perspective

"Carry This Forward": Exemplifying West Point's Ideals of Selfless Service

“You Are A Woman, You Are Strong”: Escaping Vietnam With A One-Year Old Baby

A True Brotherhood Of Combat: Twin Medics During The Korean War

Do What You're Supposed to Do: A Franciscan Who Fought at Pork Chop Hill

“Vengeance Is Mine”: Judge, Jury, And Executioner In The A Shau Valley

“We Can’t All Be Team Captain”: Contributing Your Talent Where It Is Needed The Most

Rebuilding The Hollow Army of the 1970s

“We Were Different”: Service As An Army Pathfinder

Principled, Wide-Ranging Leadership: Observations From Three Decades In The Army

“You’re Always Welcome Here”: A Taste Of Home With AAFES And Tom Shull

Witness to Inhumanity: A Concentration Camp Liberator's Recollections

Cut Off And Alone At Night On Hamburger Hill

Locking Shields: Surviving West Point As A Woman

“A Mighty Fine Pile of Rock”: An Engineer Officer On Building Infrastructure and Leaders

“Be Alert Because It’s Coming”: The Relationship Between An RTO And A Platoon Leader

A Lifelong Love Of Aviation: A Korean War Paratrooper And Aircraft Mechanic

“We Know We Will Come Back Unharmed”: Building Trust As An Advisor

Changing Hearts With Love: From Special Forces To Missionary Work

“I Told Her Don’t Worry”: From Vietnam To Being Kidnapped By Communists In Italy

“If You Lose Your Country, You Lose Everything”: A Vietnamese Intelligence Officer Immigrates To America

Called to Serve, Volunteered to Deploy

“It Was A Different War”: From Senior Advisor In Vietnam To The Pentagon

“When The Guys Go, They Take A Part of You With Them”: Surviving the Battle of Wanat

A Doctor Serving In Two Armies: An ARVN Surgeon Becomes An American Anesthesiologist

“An Endless Source Of Opportunities”: A West Point First Captain And Rhodes Scholar Reflects

“We Fought For Each Other”: Service In Vietnam As A Machine Gunner In The Rakkasans

“Nobody Expected A War”: Fighting The Nazis With The Soviets As A Polish Jew

Figuring It Out: Overcoming The Scars Of Battle Through Community And Advocacy

The Story Behind “Ashley’s War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield”

“Living With A Huge Family” In Bancroft Hall: An Army Brat Goes Navy

“You Gotta Relate To The Troops”: Leading Rakkasans In Vietnam

“Send Me, I’m Ready”: Combat Experience From Vietnam To Panama To Desert Storm

Finding The Center Of Gravity: Leadership And Modernization In The Army

“Reunions Heal People”: A Hamburger Hill Veteran On The Importance Of Keeping In Touch

“Lady, This Is Vietnam, There Are No ‘Behind The Lines’”: Sergeant Mac, The Strac WAC

“The Hog Does Not Live Better Than The People”: Gaining Cultural Understanding As An Advisor In Vietnam

“I Found A Home In The Military”: A Marine Advisor In Vietnam

“The Weight Of The World Was On My Shoulders”: An Infantry Platoon Leader At Hamburger Hill

“Morse Code Was Like Music”: From The WAC Band To Radio Intercepts In Vietnam

“We All Succeed Together”: Leadership, Training, And War

“Try To Be An Officer Soldiers Deserve”: Deployments To Iraq And Afghanistan With 3-89 Cavalry

“Gladly Accepting Hard Missions”: In Vietnam, Panama, and Beyond

“All I Ever Wanted To Be”: A Soldier’s Story Of WWII And Korea

“Family Everywhere”: Women’s Basketball, The Jewish Chapel, And The Army

“These Guys Aren’t Looking To Avoid Combat; They’re Looking To Find Some”: Fighting On Hamburger Hill With The Rakkasans

“Boredom Can Turn To Terror Real Quick”: Carrying A Radio For The Platoon Leader on Hamburger Hill

“We Never Had A Fear Of Being Defeated”: A Sky Soldier In Vietnam

“I Want To Be A Soldier, I Want To Protect My Country”: A Vietnamese Cavalry Major Recalls His Service

CORDS: A Foreign Service Officer in Vietnam

We Were All Miserable Together: Combat And Camaraderie In Vietnam

“As Long As We Were There, They Were Going To Fight Us”: Life And Death In The Korengal Valley

“Everyone Was A Volunteer”: Service With The 1st Cavalry And The 101st Airborne In Vietnam

“Let Your Tea Cool”: Patience In The Eye Of An Afghan Storm

“Get Off Your Butt And Go To West Point”: An Army Aviator Lands In The Department Of Behavioral Sciences And Leadership

“I’m The Best Battalion Commander You’ll Ever See”: Commanding At Hamburger Hill

Return To Vietnam: A Platoon Leader Retraces His Steps To Honor The Fallen

To Teach And Preach: From Vietnam And Special Forces To The Pulpit

Strengthening The Long Gray Line: Service, Family, And Relationships

Not My Will, But The Army’s: Three Decades of Service to the Nation

“You Lose Track Of Time When You’re On The Run”: A Child Of War Flees To The United States

Learning Camaraderie And Empathy As A Sailor And A Police Officer

“You Never Knew What To Expect”: A Rifleman At Hamburger Hill

“To Be A Good Citizen You Ought To Do Your Part”: An Air National Guard General Serves His Community

“I Found My Heart In The Army”: From WAC To Sergeant Major

“I Had To Prove That I Was Better”: Night Jumper Bravo, The Only Black Pathfinder In The 4th Infantry Division

The Story Behind “Beyond Glory”: Actor Stephen Lang On Portraying Medal Of Honor Recipients

“My Country Asked Me To Serve, And That’s What We Did”: Drafted For Vietnam

“A Lot Of Ways To Die”: 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division In Vietnam In May 1967

“You Can Be My Ranger Buddy Any Day”: Earning Respect In Ranger School at 37

“86,400 Seconds in a Day”: Getting The Most Out Of Every Opportunity

“I Got This Reputation As A Crazy Pilot”: Flying A LOACH At Hamburger Hill

From The Ukraine To Czechoslovakia With The Soviet Army: Wartime Experiences Of A Russian Jew

There Are No Challenges, Only Opportunities

“I Typed My Own Orders For Vietnam”: A WAC’s Pride In Service

“This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen To Me”: A Seriously Wounded Marine Gives Back

“Almost Sinful To Be Having So Much Damn Fun”: Surviving The War And Enjoying Life

“You Join The Infantry To Shoot Stuff And Blow Stuff Up”: Two Iraq Deployments With The Screaming Eagles

“It’s All About Opportunities”: Making The Most Of The West Point Experience