STORIES
EP 71: What They Never Told You About Walking Point in Vietnam
Joseph F. Maes grew up Southern Ute, learning from his father how to hunt, fish, clean a deer and, above all, use common sense. When his draft notice came in 1967, he thought it was a joke. He had never been away from home, never … Continue readingEP 71: What They Never Told You About Walking Point in Vietnam
ASK A VET EP 70: What They Never Told the Canadian Infantry in Afghanistan
David Wiseman was born on a Canadian base in Lahr, Germany, the oldest child of a signal operator who moved the family across Canada from posting to posting. As a boy he dug trenches in the woods and crawled through long grass as if he … Continue readingASK A VET EP 70: What They Never Told the Canadian Infantry in Afghanistan
ASK A VET EP 69: What They Never Told You About the Nuclear Missiles Guarding America’s Cities
Charles O’Hearn grew up in Indianapolis, taught by nuns in a parochial school where three grades often shared one room. When his draft notice arrived in early 1952, he chose to enlist rather than wait. After basic training at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, and advanced NCO … Continue readingASK A VET EP 69: What They Never Told You About the Nuclear Missiles Guarding America’s Cities
ASK A VET EP 68: What I Never Knew About the Vietnam War Until I Was Outside the Wire
John Fisher was born in Boston, grew up in Seattle and came of age on a surfboard in San Diego. He barely finished high school, flunked out of junior college and spent a year riding the North Shore of Oahu before coming home to compete. … Continue readingASK A VET EP 68: What I Never Knew About the Vietnam War Until I Was Outside the Wire
ASK A VET EP 67: What I Never Knew About Vietnam (Until I Got Sober)
Alex Pelensky grew up in New York City’s East Village, in the same building his uncle bought in 1962 for $26,000, the one his family still lives in today. He was an Eagle Scout and a soccer player for the New York Ukrainians, and he … Continue readingASK A VET EP 67: What I Never Knew About Vietnam (Until I Got Sober)
ASK A VET EP 66: What I Never Knew About the USS Forrestal Fire, From a Man Who Survived It
This episode is dedicated to the 134 sailors and aviators who lost their lives aboard USS Forrestal (CVA-59) on July 29, 1967, to the 161 who were injured, and to every crew member who fought that fire to save their ship and their shipmates. We … Continue readingASK A VET EP 66: What I Never Knew About the USS Forrestal Fire, From a Man Who Survived It
ASK A VET EP 65: EP 65: What They Never Told You About Firefights in Vietnam as a Marine Grunt
Amadeo Robert “Stef” Stefanelli grew up in South Brooklyn, in the neighborhood now called Park Slope, surrounded by Marines. His father was one, his cousin Eddie was his idol, and his younger brother Gregory would follow him in. Stef enlisted at 17, and when a … Continue readingASK A VET EP 65: EP 65: What They Never Told You About Firefights in Vietnam as a Marine Grunt
ASK A VET EP 64: What They Never Told You About Search and Destroy in Vietnam
Douglas Greenlaw grew up in a steel-mill family on the shore of Lake Michigan, about an hour from downtown Chicago. He lied about his age to work double shifts in the mills at sixteen, and he learned early that he was hard to kill: at … Continue readingASK A VET EP 64: What They Never Told You About Search and Destroy in Vietnam
ASK A VET EP 63: “The Devil Walked the Streets of Beirut” – A Marine Sniper Survives the 1983 Barracks Bombing
In memory of the 241 American service members, 220 Marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers, killed in the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983, and the 58 French paratroopers lost the same morning. We also honor every Marine and … Continue readingASK A VET EP 63: “The Devil Walked the Streets of Beirut” – A Marine Sniper Survives the 1983 Barracks Bombing
ASK A VET EP 62: What I Never Knew About My Father Killed in Vietnam
Amy Rodman Little was four years old when two uniformed men walked up to her family’s front door in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Her father, Army Captain David “Dave” Rodman, had been killed in Vietnam on May 8, 1968, during some of the heaviest American losses of … Continue readingASK A VET EP 62: What I Never Knew About My Father Killed in Vietnam