The Story: Women in Combat - Franciscan Brother Ken Lucas, Vietnam Vet

Dick talks to Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar, who served three tours in Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot. She earned a Purple Heart for her bravery under fire, in spite of a military policy that excludes women from serving in ground combat positions.  Hegar and three others, together with the ACLU, are suing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to open up all positions to women. We conclude this segment with a response from a Department of Defense spokesperson, Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen. To learn more about the military's restrictions on women in combat, you can read this DoD report to Congress.

A Vietnam veteran turned Franciscan friar talks about war and the long road toward finding a place for himself to work and feel at ease. In this web extra, hear the friar talk about his two uniforms. This portrait comes from Long Haul Productions, Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister.

Writer Clyde Edgerton lives in Wilmington, North Carolina and from time to time comes by to read us a story. Learn more about his work here.