Podcasts about north vietnamese army

Fifty years ago Wednesday, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army and the U.S. war in Southeast Asia came to an end. In the aftermath, more than three million people to fled their homes in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Many eventually came to the United States and Minnesota. Now, a group of writers is using poetry and creative writing to document the stories of Lao refugees and their descendants over the last 50 years. Bryan Thao Worra is leading this effort by the SEALit Center, a literary organization, and the Lao Assistance Center of Minnesota. They received one of 14 grants from the Minnesota History Center to recognize the state's Southeast Asian diasporas. Worra is the Lao Minnesotan poet laureate and chair of the community board of the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans. He joins MPR News host Nina Moini to talk about the project — and why poetry and prose are his chosen tools for working with history.

The explosive true story of the Green Berets heroic role fighting the top-secret war in Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam in the late sixties as told by one of the few who survived it- John Stryker "Tilt" Meyer, author of Across The Fence-The Secret War in Vietnam. HONORING OUR NATIONS HEROES: This is the first of two Veteran's day interviews we did. Our guest here is Green Beret John Stryker Meyer, author of Across The Fence: The Secret War in Vietnam, which tells the story of the special forces operators who volunteered to be dropped into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam to monitor and hamper the movements of the attacking North Vietnamese Army as they brought hundreds of thousands of soldiers and weapons down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The mission of these Green Berets and their courageous South Vietnamese Special Forces counterparts was secret and deadly- the deadliest fighting done in that war. This is his story.

Shot down October 1965, Lt. Commander and naval aviator Porter Halyburton, who was part of Fighter Squadron 84, was helped by local villagers and then taken into custody by the North Vietnamese Army.  He was then imprisoned in the infamous Hanoi Hilton and moved to other prisons throughout North Vietnam.Initially declared dead, Porter describes how he and his fellow POWs forged friendships and developed unique mental exercises to help them cope and survive the deprivation and torture during their years in prison. In 1973, after eight years in captivity, Porter was finally released. The day he left Vietnam he decided to forgive his captors. In his book “Reflections on Captivity” he shares his philosophy of forgiveness and rising above hate. He and wife continue to visit Vietnam.Heroes Behind HeadlinesExecutive Producer Ralph PezzulloProduced & Engineered by Mike DawsonMusic provided by ExtremeMusic.com

In the fall of 1965 the Vietnam War was an event most Americans saw as a series of smaller battles leaving little to remember. That all would change when the First Cavalry Air Mobile Division flew into the Ia Drang Valley in the central highlands of South Vietnam. The Air Mobile Division was a new concept. Battalions would use helicopters to be transferred in and out as artillery support came in from above. This allowed troops to be quickly brought in and out for battle. The central highlands had few roads and challenging terrain, making air mobility the only viable mode of transportation. The Battle of the la Drang Valley would come to be remembered as one of the most iconic battles of the Vietnam War, and later would set the scene for the film We Were Soldiers based on the novel We Were Soldiers Once……And Young. It was the first major combat action between U.S. ground forces and the North Vietnamese Army. And it all began early one fall day. Travel to Germany with me here Check out our sister podcast the Mystery of Everything Coffee Collab With The Lore Lodge COFFEE Bonus episodes as well as ad-free episodes on Patreon. Find us on Instagram. Join us on Discord. Submit your relatives on our website Podcast Youtube Channel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I recently watched the second of two of Ken Burn's excellent war documentaries. Years ago, I watched the Vietnam documentary with rapt attention. I've seen it twice. In that war, America had her ass handed to her culminating in an ignominious escape from a rooftop via helicopters as the North Vietnamese Army closed in pretty much concluding their 30-year war for independence, 20 of these with the US as antagonist. We, America, left many of the locals we pledged to support behind to suffer at the hands of the victors... --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/david-olson6/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/david-olson6/support

This is the web version of Foreign Exchanges, but did you know you can get it delivered right to your inbox? Sign up today:Friends, for family reasons and also because of my own mental exhaustion I will be taking a longer than usual break from the newsletter for this year's Thanksgiving holiday. The newsletter will be going quiet following Thursday's roundup and will return to our regular schedule on Tuesday, November 28. As I've written before here I can always tell when it's time for me to take a bit of a break from the newsletter and the truth is we probably passed that point around three or four weeks ago so I'm running on fumes. Thanks for reading and for supporting this venture!TODAY IN HISTORYNovember 14, 1965: The Battle of Ia Drang, the first major engagement between the United States and the North Vietnamese Army, begins. It ended on November 18 with both sides claiming victory, though the NVA's ability to fight the much better armed US Army to a draw was a boost to their morale and probably the battle's most important effect.November 14, 2001: Fighters with the Northern Alliance rebel coalition enter and occupy the city of Kabul, marking the end of the US war in Afghanista—just kidding. I had you going there for a second, didn't I?INTERNATIONALWith deaths due to “extreme heat” projected to increase five-fold by 2050, according to The Lancet Countdown, you'll no doubt be pleasantly surprised to learn that an AP investigative report shows that the “green transition plans” being formulated by most major fossil fuel companies are not green, not transitional, and not even really plans. Without any serious government pressure to force them to invest in genuinely renewable technologies, these firms are able to do things like, say, classify natural gas development as a “green” investment. That's absurd, of course, but who's counting?The main problem with these plans has long been, and continues to be, the fact that fossil fuel companies exempt the products they sell when assessing their progress toward “net zero” carbon emissions. Firms only account for “Scope 1” emissions, which are their direct carbon outputs, and “Scope 2” emissions, the indirect output that results from their production process. The emissions that ensue when people burn the products they sell are considered “Scope 3” and energy firms disavow any responsibility for them. Like tobacco companies, they argue that what the customer does with their products is the customer's business, not theirs. Maybe people just want to buy a barrel of oil and place it in their foyer as a conversation piece or put it to some other use that doesn't emit carbon. Who's to say?MIDDLE EASTISRAEL-PALESTINEEarly Wednesday morning Israeli forces began what they called “a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital” involving “medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.” There are hundreds of patients and thousands of other people who have been trapped in the hospital by the IDF and the chances that “no harm” will come to any of them in the next several hours are probably slim. Israeli officials have been insisting that Hamas's lair is located underneath the hospital but at this point it's too soon to know if that's the target or if this is a more limited operation. This is a developing story so there's not much more I can say about it at this time.What I can say is that the Biden administration gave a green light to this operation earlier in the day, when White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the administration has “independent intelligence” (which is code for “we didn't get this from the IDF”) that “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip — including Al-Shifa — and tunnels underneath them to conceal and to support their military operations and to hold hostages.” According to Kirby this intelligence shows that the militant groups have a “command and control” center in Shifa and “have stored weapons there.” Kirby insisted that that the administration was not endorsing an Israeli attack on the hospital, but anybody with ears to hear or eyes to read what he said should have no doubt as to what the intent was.I wrote everything below prior to news of the Israeli assault breaking so some of it might no longer be relevant but I think most of it still is:Gazan health authorities said on Tuesday that some 40 patients at Shifa—three of them babies—have died since that facility ran out of generator fuel on Saturday. Without electricity the hospital cannot maintain its incubator units and so there are now 36 newborns who are at critical risk. With the IDF surrounding the hospital it's also become impossible to transfer the dead to a cemetery, so personnel are planning to bury some 120 bodies in a mass grave on site. Gazan officials have proposed evacuating the facility under the auspices of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and sending its remaining patients to Egypt but there had been no movement on that front at time of writing. The Israeli government has apparently offered to send the hospitals more incubators, a fascinating attempt at a humanitarian gesture that would be completely pointless because the problem isn't the incubators, it's the electricity.In other news:* David Ignatius at The Washington Post reported (I use that term loosely) on Monday that “Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal.” With the caveat that if David Ignatius told me the sky was blue I'd glance out the window to double check, the terms he reported are that Hamas would release (or facilitate the release) of the women and children that it and other Gazan militant groups took hostage during their October 7 rampage through southern Israel. This would be done in stages and be matched by the release of Palestinian women and children being held by Israeli authorities. It would also involve a ceasefire of unspecified duration but “perhaps five days” according to Ignatius. The ceasefire could allow some time to address humanitarian issues in Gaza though I don't know what that would entail and whatever it was would almost certainly be inadequate.* Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger on Tuesday and later told reporters that the ICRC has had no access to the aforementioned hostages. It's highly unlikely that the Israelis would agree to anything involving hostages without at least proof of life, so this could be a big sticking point with respect to the potential prisoner deal outlined above. Families of the hostages, meanwhile, are marching from Tel Aviv to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to pressure him to take some action to secure the hostages' release.* Israeli occupation forces killed at least eight Palestinians in the West Bank on Tuesday, seven of them in Tulkarm. The IDF carried out a drone strike in that city, an occurrence that's still relatively rare in the West Bank though it's certainly become more common over the past year and in particular the past month.* Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement on Tuesday endorsing what he laughably termed the “voluntary emigration of Gaza Arabs to countries around the world.” I guess “leave or die” is a choice, right? A couple of Israeli politicians floated this idea on Monday in a Wall Street Journal editorial that was less a serious proposal than a written middle finger to Western critics of the Israeli military campaign. That piece didn't go into extensive detail about what a mass relocation would look like—again, it wasn't meant as a serious proposal—but Smotrich's intent is much easier to guess, and that's the permanent ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the relocation of its population as far away from Israel as possible. Smotrich, whose ministerial brief also includes running the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories office, isn't part of Netanyahu's “war cabinet” but that doesn't mean he's completely lacking in influence.* The US and UK governments on Tuesday announced new sanctions targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members along with a Lebanese entity that allegedly facilitates money transfers from Iran to Gazan militant groups. This is the third round of sanctions the Biden administration has imposed since October 7. Also on Tuesday, over 400 employees of the Biden administration sent a joint letter to their boss, Joe Biden, expressing opposition to the administration's approach to the Gaza conflict.YEMENHouthi rebels say they fired another barrage of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday. There's no confirmation of this, though the IDF did say that its air defenses downed a single missile near Eilat that we can probably assume was of Houthi provenance. The leader of Yemen's Houthi movement, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, delivered a speech on Tuesday pledging that his rebel fighters would continue attacking Israel. In particular, Houthi suggested that they could target Israeli commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which would certainly be an easier target for them than Israel itself.IRAQA Turkish drone strike killed two people, both allegedly members of the Sinjar Resistance Units militia, in northern Iraq's Nineveh province on Monday evening. The Sinjar militia was formed in 2014 with assistance from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and is still allied with that group, which makes its personnel potential targets for the Turkish military.Elsewhere, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court removed two members of the Iraqi parliament on Tuesday, one of whom just happened to be speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi. It's not clear why, though another MP named Laith al-Dulaimi had reportedly sued Halbusi alleging that the speaker forged Dulaimi's name on a resignation letter. Dulaimi was, as it happens, the other MP who had his term ended by the court (I assume that's not a coincidence). The ruling created a potential political crisis for Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaʿ al-Sudani. As speaker, Halbusi was Iraq's leading Sunni Arab politician, and his support was important to Sudani's government. Three members of his Progress Party quit their cabinet posts after the court ruling and it remains to be seen how that will impact Sudani's position.ASIAAFGHANISTANAfghan Commerce Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi apparently visited Pakistan this week, where—according to the Afghan government—he pressed Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on the issue of all those Afghan migrants the Pakistani government is presently deporting. Specifically it sounds like Azizi raised the issue of allowing deportees to at least take some of their money and/or possessions to Afghanistan with them. Deportees are currently arriving with nothing and are being housed in what are effectively refugee camps—leaving aside the incongruity of being a “refugee” in one's home country—on the Afghan side of the border.MYANMARReports on Monday only hinted at some new fighting in western Myanmar's Chin state, but as more details are emerging the situation there sounds pretty serious. According to the Chin National Front, rebel fighters had by the end of the day seized two Myanmar military outposts and were working to seize control of the Myanmar-Indian border. According to Indian media the fighting has sent some 2000 people streaming across that border to escape. In neighboring Rakhine state, the rebel Arakan Army has also been seizing military outposts and authorities have imposed a curfew in the state capital, Sittwe, as a result. Rebel factions across Myanmar have launched new offensives in recent weeks, starting with the “1027” (for October 27) operations by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army in Shan state. Myanmar's ruling junta is clearly struggling to mount a response.CHINAJoe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that his main goal in meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco this week is to restore “normal” communications between their governments. In particular this would involve a return to regular military-to-military contacts, something Beijing ended in the wake of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last year. Any prospect of resuming those contacts was complicated by the fact that former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was under US sanction. But as he's no longer defense minister that complication is no longer an issue.AFRICALIBERIALiberian voters turned out on Tuesday for the second round of that country's presidential election, pitting incumbent George Weah against Joseph Boakai. Both candidates finished with just under 44 percent of the vote in last month's first round. Such a close finish might augur poorly for the incumbent in a head to head matchup, though that's just one of many factors that could sway this vote in either direction. Polls have closed in that contest but I have yet to see anything by way of preliminary or partial results.MALIMali's ruling junta says its security forces have seized control over the northern town of Kidal after battling with rebels in that region for several days. The Malian military and mercenary auxiliaries marched on Kidal after United Nations peacekeepers vacated the region as part of their ongoing withdrawal from Mali. Kidal has been a rebel stronghold since the initial northern Mali uprising in 2012 and government control there has been nebulous at best since then. There's been no comment as far as I know from the rebels and it's unclear what their disposition is at this point.ETHIOPIAAccording to Addis Standard, Fano militia fighters attacked a predominantly Oromo community in Ethiopia's Amhara region last week, killing at least 25 people and displacing some 3000 into the Oromia region. The Fano militia is still battling the Ethiopian government but Amhara paramilitary groups have also made a pastime of preying on ethnic Oromo communities (likewise, Oromo militias have preyed on ethnic Amhara). In this case they apparently demanded grain from the community and attacked after residents refused to comply.On a more upbeat note, the US Agency for International Development is reportedly planning to resume food distribution across Ethiopia next month under a “one-year trial period.” The agency suspended its Ethiopian food program earlier this year amid allegations that the aid was being diverted. It resumed providing food aid to Ethiopian refugees last month and is now planning to spend the next year testing whether procedural changes adopted by aid groups and the Ethiopian government are enough to stop that alleged diversion. Solid data is hard to come by but it's possible that hundreds or thousands of Ethiopians have died because of the decision (which the UN World Food Program joined) to suspend food aid.DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGOThe death toll from Sunday's Allied Democratic Forces attack on a village in the eastern DRC's North Kivu province has risen to 33, according to provincial officials. ADF fighters are also believed to have been responsible for attacking a village in neighboring Ituri province on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people.EUROPERUSSIAVladimir Putin signed a new law on Tuesday that permits elections to be held even in parts of Russia that are under martial law. This apparently clears the way for the portions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed to participate in next year's presidential election. The effect will be to try to stitch those regions a little more tightly to Russia and complicate any possible return to Ukrainian authority.UKRAINEThe European Union promised back in March to supply the Ukrainian military with 1 million 155 mm artillery shells within 12 months. You'll never guess how that went. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told a meeting of EU defense ministers on Tuesday that the bloc isn't going to fulfill its commitment and even went so far as to criticize the fact that it was made in the first place. The will was apparently there, but EU member states still don't have the collective capacity to churn out that many shells that quickly. The effort has apparently sparked a boost in production capacity but not enough to meet the 12 month deadline.SWEDENSweden's NATO accession may be moving slightly forward, as the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee will take up the issue on Thursday. It's been about three weeks since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan submitted Sweden's accession to parliament and it should be clear by now that the folks in Ankara are in no particular hurry to work their way through that process. There may be some impetus on the part of other NATO members to have the issue resolved in time for the alliance foreign ministers summit on November 28, but Erdoğan has proven himself to be fairly impervious to that sort of pressure in the past.AMERICASUNITED STATESFinally, TomDispatch's William Hartung wonders whether the “Arsenal of Democracy” really cares all that much about the “democracy” part:The list of major human rights abusers that receive U.S.-supplied weaponry is long and includes (but isn't faintly limited to) Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Such sales can have devastating human consequences. They also support regimes that all too often destabilize their regions and risk embroiling the United States directly in conflicts.U.S.-supplied arms also far too regularly fall into the hands of Washington's adversaries. As an example consider the way the UAE transferred small arms and armored vehicles produced by American weapons makers to extremist militias in Yemen, with no apparent consequences, even though such acts clearly violated American arms export laws. Sometimes, recipients of such weaponry even end up fighting each other, as when Turkey used U.S.-supplied F-16s in 2019 to bomb U.S.-backed Syrian forces involved in the fight against Islamic State terrorists.Such examples underscore the need to scrutinize U.S. arms exports far more carefully. Instead, the arms industry has promoted an increasingly “streamlined” process of approval of such weapons sales, campaigning for numerous measures that would make it even easier to arm foreign regimes regardless of their human-rights records or support for the interests Washington theoretically promotes. These have included an “Export Control Reform Initiative” heavily promoted by the industry during the Obama and Trump administrations that ended up ensuring a further relaxation of scrutiny over firearms exports. It has, in fact, eased the way for sales that, in the future, could put U.S.-produced weaponry in the hands of tyrants, terrorists, and criminal organizations.Now, the industry is promoting efforts to get weapons out the door ever more quickly through “reforms” to the Foreign Military Sales program in which the Pentagon essentially serves as an arms broker between those weapons corporations and foreign governments.Thanks for reading! Foreign Exchanges is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.foreignexchanges.news/subscribe

Ray Hildreth joined the U.S. Marine Corps in an effort to shape up after a brush with the law as a teenager. He joined during the Vietnam War, never once thinking he would be sent overseas. But after a grueling basic training period, Marine recon training, and sniper school, he was soon on his way to Okinawa to prepare for service in Vietnam.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Hildreth explains how the Marines' legendary basic training prepared him well for what would soon follow. He then describes the patrol missions his platoon was assigned once they got to Vietnam. But the vast majority of Hildreth's story centers on the June 1966 battle for Hill 488. He explains how the fighting began, how it quickly intensified, and how he and his fellow Marines suffered many casualties while vastly outnumbered by the North Vietnamese Army soldiers there.In incredible detail, Hildreth takes us moment by moment through the nighttime fighting and what he and the other Marines did to hold off the enemy and to help each other survive. He also tells how he twice took out an NVA machine gun position with just a rifle. Finally, Hildreth reflects on the tremendous cost required to hold the hill and why every American needs to know about the courage and sacrifice of the men he served with there.

be drawn between their actions: **Section 31:** - Carried out covert operations to protect the Federation and its interests[1][2]. - Utilized advanced technology and tactics to achieve its goals[2]. - Operated independently from Starfleet Command and the Federation Council[3]. - Was involved in a plot to militarize Starfleet and prepare for war with the Klingon Empire[1][2]. **Special Operations in the Vietnam War:** - Conducted by U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, and other special forces units[1][3]. - Focused on countering the threat posed by the Viet Cong insurgency and the North Vietnamese Army[1][3]. - Involved training and advising South Vietnamese forces to become more active and capable[1]. - Engaged in aggressive operations to find and destroy enemy forces[1]. While both Section 31 and the Special Operations in the Vietnam War were involved in covert actions, their objectives and methods were significantly different. Section 31 operated in a futuristic, interstellar context, while the Special Operations in the Vietnam War were part of a real-world conflict with specific geopolitical goals. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/david-nishimoto/message

The infamous breakdowns of Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 represent our deepest fears around nuclear power, yet both disasters happened during peace time. In the early days of the war, Russian forces seized Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The site has come under repeated fire, prompting warnings in May this year from the UN nuclear agency that the world risked a "severe nuclear accident". And this isn't a new problem. Here we tell a story with its origins in the Vietnam War and how the threat of the world's first dirty bomb loomed large. The battle over nuclear energy first came to the attention of the West in 1975, as the North Vietnamese Army advanced on Saigon during the end days of the war. Most of the world was unaware at the time that the North Vietnamese were also advancing on a new breed of nuclear reactor, gifted to the South by the US government. Not only was it technology the North's Russian allies did not yet have, it was also a source of weapons-grade nuclear fuel. As a last resort, the US discussed bombing the facility, risking nuclear fallout rather than have the technology fall into Soviet hands. To avoid humanitarian and environmental disaster on a colossal scale, and despite having literally no military experience, a physicist from Idaho called Wally Hendrickson volunteered to be dropped into the front line to remove the fuel rods from the reactor before it was over run. Still alive and well, Wally's story is just as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. The setting may be different, but right now the fear of nuclear disaster hangs over us. A 2 Degrees West production for BBC Radio 4

On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively ending the Vietnam War. In the days before, U.S. forces evacuated thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese. However, not everyone who wanted to escape, could. With South Vietnam now under communist control, life for those left behind became a completely new and challenging world, one that would eventually lead many to escape by any means necessary. On today's episode I welcome back Retired Marine Corps fighter pilot, LtCol “Charlie” Dinh for Part 2, to discuss his life As a Vietnamese refugee in the US. We talk about his combat experience as a Marine, some great lessons on selfless leadership, and then an absolutely amazing story on his full recovery from being paralyzed, and how self-pity will get you nowhere, but having a badass wife can elevate you in ways you never imagined. I am your host, SUSAN, and this is the Ready Room Podcast.

On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Army, effectively ending the Vietnam War. In the days before, U.S. forces evacuated thousands of Americans and South Vietnamese. However, not everyone who wanted to escape, could. With South Vietnam now under communist control, life for those left behind became a completely new and challenging world, One that would eventually lead many to escape by any means necessary. On today's episode I welcome Retired Marine Corps fighter pilot, WSO, and Forward Air Controller, LtCol “Charlie” Dinh for Part 1 of our 2 part series. We talk about his childhood in communist South Vietnam, how his family eventually escaped, what life was like as a Vietnamese refugee in Paris, France, and how going to HS in Los Angeles not knowing a word of English, is a great motivator to learn a language. Enjoy!

Colonel Leo Thorsness served as a fighter pilot in Vietnam. He was a Wild Weasel, whose missions required them to draw surface-to-air (SAM) missiles away from bombers, and then destroy the SAM sites. This meant that Weasels spent sometimes more than 20 minutes over the target, as opposed to the one or two minutes bomber pilots spent. On one mission, COL Thorsness' wingman was shot down, forcing him to eject. As he parachuted to the ground, rescue helicopters were called in to rescue him, but they were threatened by encroaching enemy fighters. Despite being incredibly low on fuel, Thorsness fought off the enemy, saving his wingman and the rescue helicopters. Eleven days later, Thorsness was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese Army. He was captured, and became a prisoner of war. During his first three years in captivity, torture was common. After six years, he was released and sent home. Shortly after returning to the United States, COL Thorsness was awarded the Medal of Honor for saving his wingman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The remarkable true story of author Ralph White's desperate effort to save the entire staff of the Saigon branch of Chase Manhattan bank and their families before the city fell to the North Vietnamese Army. In April 1975, Ralph White was asked by his boss to transfer from the Bangkok branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank to the Saigon Branch. He was tasked with closing the branch if and when it appeared that Saigon would fall to the North Vietnamese army and ensure the safety of the senior Vietnamese employees. But when he arrived, he realized the situation in Saigon was far more perilous than he had imagined. The senior staff members there urged him to evacuate the entire staff of the branch and their families, which was far more than he was authorized to do. Quickly he realized that no one would be safe when the city fell, and it was no longer a question of whether to evacuate but how. GETTING OUT OF SAIGON is the remarkable story of a city on the eve of destruction and the colorful characters who respond

The remarkable true story of author Ralph White's desperate effort to save the entire staff of the Saigon branch of Chase Manhattan bank and their families before the city fell to the North Vietnamese Army. In April 1975, Ralph White was asked by his boss to transfer from the Bangkok branch of the Chase Manhattan Bank to the Saigon Branch. He was tasked with closing the branch if and when it appeared that Saigon would fall to the North Vietnamese army and ensure the safety of the senior Vietnamese employees. But when he arrived, he realized the situation in Saigon was far more perilous than he had imagined. The senior staff members there urged him to evacuate the entire staff of the branch and their families, which was far more than he was authorized to do. Quickly he realized that no one would be safe when the city fell, and it was no longer a question of whether to evacuate but how. GETTING OUT OF SAIGON is the remarkable story of a city on the eve of destruction and the colorful characters who respond differently to impending doom. It's about one man's quest to save innocent lives not because it was ordered but because it was the right thing to do.

The creators of the original Medal of Honor take you back to explore the time of the Vietnam war. Playing as marine Dean Shepard, you travel through lush terrains and exotic landscapes to lead your AI controlled squad through jungles, tunnels and hooches while battling the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, Founder of Rubber Cheese.Download the Rubber Cheese 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report - the first digital benchmark statistics for the attractions sector.If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcast.If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this podcastCompetition ends July 31st 2023. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikwyness/https://tankmuseum.org/https://tankmuseumshop.org/https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTankMuseumhttps://www.tiktok.com/@famthetankman Nik Wyness is Head of Marketing and Engagement at The Tank Museum in Dorset.He has led the digital transformation of this rural regimental Museum and registered charity, creating an industry-leading strategy in the development and monetisation of a global online community.The Tank Museum tells the story of the tank and the people that served in them, with a collection of over 300 vehicles dating from World War One to the present day, displayed in modern awe-inspiring exhibitions.But the Museum's rural location poses an ever-present challenge – how to make people aware it exists?With the simple objective of “Being more famous” and a passion for powerful historical stories, Nik used social media channels like Facebook and YouTube to begin building a niche following worldwide.This laid the foundations for a base of advocacy and support that would lead to 27% of the Museum's total 2022 turnover generated online in 2022 – albeit somewhat inadvertently at first! Transcriptions: Kelly Molson: Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. In today's episode, I speak with Nik Wyness, Head of Marketing and Engagement at The Tank Museum. Nick developed a genius strategy to grow audiences and communities online, which has been phenomenally successful. Listen along to hear how The Tank Museum earned around 25% of a total 6 million turnover from online sources. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on itunes, spotify and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson: Nick, I am very excited to have you on the podcast today. Welcome to Skip the Queue. Nik Wyness: Thank you very much for having me.Kelly Molson: As ever, I'm going to start with some ice breakers, though, and I've got a topical one for you. Nik Wyness: Okay. Kelly Molson: So, last week, the BBC reported that a visitor had broken Jeff Koons iconic balloon dog sculpture. I know its  awful, isn't it? At a high end art fair in Miami. I want to know, have you ever been told off by security for touching a museum exhibit that you weren't supposed to touch? Nik Wyness: Oh, that's a good one, actually. I obviously work at The Tank Museum. That's why we're talking about. But I first visited The Tank Museum when I was about eight years old and I was a cub scout, and this was obviously quite a long time ago. Different decade, probably the 80's. Nik Wyness: They used to have a little arcade machine in there. I know it's kind of weird, like arcade machines in a museum, but they used to have one of those little kind of like, penny pushes. Kelly Molson: Oh, yeah, I love that. Nik Wyness: Yeah. I mean, it's a h*** of a way to lose money. And that's what happened. We were getting a bit frustrated with this thing. It kind of like, hangs over the edge, doesn't it? A really sort of tempting way. So my friend and I, we couldn't resist giving a little bit of encouragement, a little bit of a rock, and this guy came out and he told us off. And when I started working at The Tank Museum in 2004, I met the same guy. How funny is that? Kelly Molson: Wow. I mean, one, that's lovely. Very high rate of retention of staff at The Tank Museum. So that's a plus. Oh, my God. Did he actually recognise you? Nik Wyness: No, thankfully not. Otherwise things could have got different. But I definitely recognise him, that kind of ferocious look in his eye.Kelly Molson: That is a brilliant story. My Nan just while we're on the subject of penny machines, because I really like those penny machines, they are a very good way of losing a load of money, but only go for the 2p ones. Right. And then it doesn't feel as bad. Nik Wyness: High roller. Kelly Molson: High roller. My Nan had a bit of an obsession with those and the grabber machine, so they had a caravan in Walton-on-the-Naze, and she used to spend a lot of time on the old penny slot machines in her day. And I reckon that she might have had a little bit of a nudge of some of those because she used to win a lot. And you don't win that much on them, do you? I reckon she did a little hip bash, grandma. Nik Wyness: I think everyone must do that from time, so how could you not? It's so tempting. But I think the trouble is, if you go too far, that alarm goes off and a man comes out and tells, “you off”. Kelly Molson: Especially at The Tank Museum. Nik Wyness: Especially at The Tank Museum. Kelly Molson: That is excellent. Thank you for sharing that story. Right, okay, next one. I was going to ask you what your favourite tank is, but I think that'd be quite boring. Nik Wyness: You're like choosing a favourite child. You can't do that. Kelly Molson: I know. Unless you just have one and then it's easy. What one thing would you make a law that isn't already? Nik Wyness: Well, I think it should be law that everyone should visit The Tank Museum more than once a month. More than once a month. There you go. Kelly Molson: More than once a month. That's a lot of tanks. Okay, good one. All right, last one. I'm always intrigued by this. I think I'm going to start making this a regular question. I want to know if you now, or if you did when you were younger, if you had a collection of something?Nik Wyness: I've never really been one to collect things. I'm a bit sort of rubbish and a bit lazy. I get really into it and then I kind of lose interest in what I do. I used to collect stickers and that kind of thing. I remember my sister used to collect key rings, but, yeah, I'm not much of a collector. But I know you collect. Is it rubbers?Kelly Molson: Oh, you've done your research. Nik Wyness: One of the first things you told me about yourself when we first met, grew up at that Edinburgh conference. I thought it was an interesting thing to go in with early, but you did it and I respect that. So I'm sure we have a Tank Museum rubber and I kind of feel that I should maybe send you one. Kelly Molson: I would love that. Nik Wyness: It might even be tank shaped. Kelly Molson: Wow. Also, just for anyone that does meet me in the future, I'm really sorry. That is what my starting lines is, "Hey, I've got an 80s rubber collection". Excellent. Well done, me. Okay, let's move on to your unpopular opinion, Nik. Nik Wyness: Okay, so I thought long and hard about this because I have many unpopular opinions, so I'm going to go with this one. And that is I do not like Twitter. I can't stand Twitter, which is quite ironic, given what we're going to be talking about. I know, the shock, the despondency on your face. But hear me out. I've got three reasons why I really don't like Twitter. So the first reason is that Twitter, in my opinion, just seems to bring out the absolute worst in people. It's kind of like golf. If you've been on a golf course and a normally perfectly rational person can just turn into this kind of like snarling clubs, napping. Kelly Molson: Yeah, you've met my husband. Nik Wyness: There's plenty like him. There's plenty like him. I'm probably one of them myself, which is why I don't play golf. But, yeah, I don't know. On Twitter, you can see normal people, what appeared to be at first sight, normal people, anyway, kind of turn into vacuous, narcissists, all trying to show how clever they are or how virtuous they are or how much funnier they are than the other guys. It's kind of like a playground one upmanship, but it's quite derogatory and quite negative as well, isn't it, really? It's all sort of a bit sort of unpleasant. And I'm just amazed there are so many people out there who are willing to spend time arguing with people they've never met on the internet. Surely there has to be more to life. Nik Wyness: But the second reason is that, and this is the one which is always probably wound me up the most, is that lazy journalists mistaking what happens on Twitter for actual news, or worse, for actual public opinion, when it's actually neither. And so the fact that journalists do that is it kind of gives all of this rubbish a bigger platform and gives it greater credibility than I think some of it actually deserves. But the third reason, I just like Twitter, and there are many reasons why I think they have an increasingly polarised society, but Twitter is definitely not helping. And one of those general things that we worry about is what you see on Twitter being kind of manifested in just the greater public discourse. It's just like we've forgotten how to have a disagreement, respectfully, do you know what I mean? Nik Wyness: Nobody can have an argument these days without having to play the man or kind of take the other person out on every level. There's no, well, I respectfully agree with the opinion, but I will agree to disagree. There's none of that on Twitter, really, is there? Everyone's basically hacking the other person to death verbally until somebody gets bored and has to get off the bus or something. So for those three reasons yeah, and I hate all that abuse of public figures as well, whether it's just general hate or misogyny or racism, all that kind of stuff. Interesting, none of these people well, hopefully none of these people would have the courage to say the things that they'd say on Twitter to another person's face. Nik Wyness: And I always think that you should never say something in writing on Twitter, on social media that you wouldn't want to say to their face, because you've got to accept the consequences, right. Of the things that you say. And I think people hide behind the anonymity of the Internet. I don't think that's healthy. Gosh, that was quite a moralistic rant, but, my God, do I feel better. Kelly Molson: It really was. But, wow, what a great one. And I really love how in depth you went with your unpopular opinion. I was nodding along there, because I think that point 3, there is a dark side to Twitter, and I was agreeing with you on point 3. Kelly Molson: I like Twitter and I enjoy it, but I think that I'm probably in my lovely, happy, safe, kind of comfortable bubble there, because I follow really nice people and I engage with lovely people. And actually, there is quite a big kind of attractions and heritage and cultural community on Twitter that I feel quite part of. So that all feels very nice, but I absolutely agree with you that there is a dark and destructive side of it which isn't healthy for anybody to be involved. Nik Wyness: I respectfully disagree with your opinion. There you go. See, it is possible. Kelly Molson: Absolutely. We're still friends. You're still going to send me a rubber. I'm still going to start our conversations in strange and weird ways whenever we see each other. Let me know, listeners, what you think about Nik's unpopular opinion. I know a lot of you talk to me on Twitter, so it'd be interesting to hear if you agree. I think you probably agree with both of us. Good place, bad place, brings out good in some bad in some. Nik Wyness: Absolutely. I mean, sure. Just tweet me. Kelly Molson: Tweet Nik. Oh, God, please. Go, tweet Nik. Go tweet him. Make him respond on the platform that he finds appalling. Nik Wyness: Yeah, exactly. I'll just kind of go straight for the abuse. Kelly Molson: Great. Okay, Nik, you work at The Tank Museum. Tell us about your role there and what you do. Nik Wyness: Okay, so I, as you've heard, my association with The Tank Museum goes back an awfully long way from trying to rob arcade machines until when I first became a paid member of staff, which was in 2004, which was a very long time ago, almost 20 years, which is absolutely terrifying. So I first started working there as the PR officer, and this was at the beginning of a very transformational period for The Tank Museum. We applied for Heritage Lottery funding. There was this big redevelopment project in the office. And so it was very exciting, it was a very exciting time. And it was great to see the organisation go through this kind of great arc of transformation, which was supported by public money. But what was particularly good about that is it was really successful. Nik Wyness: And we achieved, with that Heritage Lottery funding, all of the things that we said were going to do. So we're bringing more people in, really making the subject a lot more accessible to a wider audience, all of those things absolutely fantastic. So it's been a big part of my career. I did leave The Tank Museum back in 2012, 2013, and I went to work at a very well established visitor attraction in another location. But I missed my tanks. I missed my tanks. And the First World War centenaries were coming up as well. I am quite into my military history. So the opportunity came to go back to The Tank Museum in a very different role, a much more senior role. And I took that opportunity back in 2016, and I haven't looked back. Nik Wyness: So my role at The Tank Museum, my job title is the Head of Marketing and Engagement, which means I'm head of marketing and engaging things. But in English, what that means is obviously I'm responsible for ensuring that the visitors show up. So The Tank Museum is a medium sized visitor attraction. We have about 200,000 visitors a year. When there isn't a pandemic. We have a portfolio of special events. Our big fundraising event every year is Tank fest, which if you haven't been, you absolutely must. Kelly Molson: Top of my list. Nik Wyness: Top of that. I'm sure it is. Although I'm surprised you haven't been already. Kelly Molson: I haven't been to The Tank Museum. Nik Wyness: You have the rubber if you did. Kelly Molson: Right, exactly. It's not in my collection.Nik Wyness: There you go. We'll have to put that, right. So that's The Tank Museum. Responsible for making sure the visitors show up and all of that kind of external communication, whether that's stakeholder communications, the public relations activity, the media relations activity, and the social media activity and the ecommerce activity. And a big part of what I've been doing, particularly since I returned, was basically building up these online audiences and building this online community. And latterly of sort of successfully monetising that, really. And what we've done is create an entirely almost distinct business from, if you like, our visitor onsite income. We've created this separate, sort of almost separate moneymaking enterprise, which is all about our online audiences that are online followers and supporters. Kelly Molson: This is what I want to talk about today, Nik. I have heard Nik talk about this. Well, the last time I heard you speak was up in Scotland at the Tourism Associations Conference, which is incredible. What you've achieved is pretty phenomenal, I have to say, and just so incredibly impressive. And I'm so glad that you've been able to come on and share it with our listeners today. So I think I'm not sure if I've got the date right, but was it in 2020 that you started to develop this strategy, or was it pre pandemic? Nik Wyness: It was pre pandemic, yeah. So it's kind of what I've been working on since I came back in 2016. Kelly Molson: Right, okay. Nik Wyness: I wouldn't say what I started working on is where we've ended up. So what we started doing, it was all about basically building up these online audiences. And it was all really about if I just wind back a bit, one of the problems with The Tank Museum, I'd say problems, I mean, it's a fantastic location, being endorsed as we are, but we are absolutely in the middle of nowhere. We are in a tiny garrison village of Bovington. The nearest big town is like Bournemouth, that's an hour away by car. So we are absolutely in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn't for the fact that Dorset, sorry, was a successful domestic tourist destination, there's no way The Tank Museum could have survived at all, really, because lots of people come to Dorset on holiday. August has always been our busiest month, for example. Nik Wyness: So the fact we're out there in the middle of nowhere means we have a real sort of challenge to get people's attention. And so this whole strategy came out of our requirement and our desire to just kind of let people know we existed. And the objectives that I set myself was we just needed to be more famous. So everything we did was about making The Tank Museum more famous. Kelly Molson: That was it. That was the key objective for the whole strategy. Love it. Nik Wyness: That was literally it, be more famous. Because if people don't know you exist, they're not going to come and visit you. And so, like I said, I'm kind of from the sort of more PR end of the marketing spectrum. I did like a journalism degree and I've always been really interested in storytelling. And The Tank Museum, as you can imagine, we tell stories and we tell some amazing stories, and warfare is one of those bits of history where you get to see the very best in humanity, but you also get to see the very worst. And some of the stories we deal with are just absolutely fascinating. Sometimes there's goodies, there's baddies and there's loss and love and all of that kind of thing. Really good story. Nik Wyness: So it's always been, in my view, the case that storytelling, PR, those kind of traditional ways of reaching an audience with stories, was going to be the way that we can to achieve that cut through making The Tank Museum more famous, making our objects speak for themselves, if you'd like, and the stories that we tell. And so the strategy really grew out of that PR strategy. And when social media kind of came around and we started to take things like Facebook more seriously back in, I don't know, 2010 or something like that, it was about using social media as a means to reach people without the filter of the media, if you like. There were specialist magazines and there were national newspapers that we could get the occasional story in, but it would always be heavily edited to be more in their voice. Nik Wyness: But social media allowed us to sort of speak with our own voice and get our stories out directly, unfiltered to a much bigger audience. And we started to see that audience online grow. And basically what we're doing at that point was very much alongside what we're doing offline, as it were. We started to see that audience grow and as it grew, it started to become clear that actually, the majority of people that were actually hitting with this weren't British, as in they weren't resident in the UK, and so they were therefore quite unlikely to be able to visit The Tank Museum. Nik Wyness: And that in itself did pose a bit of a kind of intellectual dilemma, really, because it's like, if you're putting all that time and effort into reaching people, you want them to visit, but if they're not actually going to visit, well, what's the point of actually reaching them then? You're just kind of making a lot of noise and it's unsustainable. And so the whole monetisation piece came out of this sort of really, I think, for me, being challenged by the trustees of The Tank Museum to say, well, this has got to pay for itself somehow. How are you going to do it? And if you don't do it, you got to stop. And so I like a challenge, so I stuck in. Kelly Molson: You really got stuck in, so I love this. So you achieved your objective, right, so we go back to 2016. You said the objective would be more famous. You drive that objective and you achieve it over the next few years. But actually, in achieving that objective, it's not bringing any more revenue to the organisation because your audience is.Nik Wyness: Lot of PR activity, it can be quite difficult to sort of measure. It can be quite difficult to track that back to source. Nik Wyness: I think the big change for us came when we introduced YouTube to our sort of social media marketing mix. And again, we've got a very visual subject matter. Tanks are big objects and they move so they look good on camera. And I launched the YouTube channel originally, I don't know, it's been about 2010, I bought a little rubbishy sort of digital camera and basically, for me, the idea of making videos for YouTube was I just had this idea of doing like, visual press releases, basically, because it might make them a bit more interesting. And were starting to see at that point, other people were coming to The Tank Museum, with camcorders and making little videos, and they were doing quite well. So we thought there was clearly a bit of potential in this. Nik Wyness: And then as time went on and we kind of introduced what is our sort of flagship YouTube series, which is The Tank Chats, where we have one of our experts literally standing in front of a tank, just talking about that object, the history of that object, how it was developed, blah, blah. And that's what really set our YouTube channel off. YouTube is quite a labour intensive. You need to have the kit, you need to have the people to make films, then they need to have spent time editing those things as well. So I think at that point, were getting really great views, really great engagement, but the reality was, we're a charity, we have to be careful how we spend our money. We're not rich like, say, we're in the middle of nowhere. Nik Wyness: This all has to go back to some kind of important box ticking objective and that has to be sort of financial in some way or other. We have to make sure it's washing its face. And whilst we could see, as the YouTube channel started to grow, 2014, 2015, we could see that were starting to see more international businesses, for example, rocking up our special events like Tank Fest. And we could see that our experts that were putting in front of the camera were bizarrely starting to get, like, people coming up and asking for autographs, which is kind of adorable in many ways, so we could see that, but you can't really put a figure on that. So, like, I say, like, a lot of PR activities, just really difficult to quantify in that way. Nik Wyness: And we've got a very switched on group of trustees and they were basically challenging to say, well, put value on this and it's very difficult unless you find another way of literally making it clear how it's performing for you. Kelly Molson: Okay, so we get to that point and trustees challenge you. What did you then start to do and how did you start to develop the monetisation strategy that you've put in place? Nik Wyness: Yeah, so there was this trustee meeting and I was very pleased with these massive numbers because it's all about on social media, the bigger the numbers, the more successful you are. So I think we're all feeling quite pleased with ourselves about that and say, "Look at all these people in America watching us. People have never heard of The Tank Museum, have now heard of The Tank Museum. Isn't that great?" And in a way it is great, but they were absolutely right to sort of say, well, hang on a minute, because actually that intervention has just led to things being better, really.Nik Wyness: And that's what you want from your trustees. At the time, it probably felt like a little bit deflating. Yeah, because my first thought was, goodness me, how on earth are we going to do this? Because there's no model in our sector for doing this at all. And normally, if you're short of a good idea or two, there's plenty of other people in our sector, bigger organisations, more established museums. You can just help yourself to an idea from really or talk to them and say, well, how have you done it? And what ideas can we basically steal and reform? But this one, there was nothing. So it was a real challenge, but actually, that's what made it fun in a way. Nik Wyness: And so what I did is, because I was then, and I still am now, a bit of a YouTube addict, I definitely think I probably watch more YouTube than Netflix and certainly much more than terrestrial television. I just like the variety and the randomness of the things you can see in my son, who's only eight years old, is much too my disappointment. Equally addicted to me, which is you spend hours watching people play minecraft and what is that about, how is that enjoyable? And they're all quite irritating as well, but that's why this isn't a therapy session, I must remind myself. Kelly Molson: Get it all out.Nik Wyness: Anyway, back to monetisation. So, yeah, so what I did is I had to look at YouTubers and how they were making a living effectively from just running a YouTube channel. And that became a thing, if you like, sort of 2012, 2013, 2014. And it was just literally a case of saying, right, how are they making their money? And identified there was four key ways in which they were making their money. The first thing was through advertising revenue. So when you are on YouTube and you're playing your videos, google basically puts ads at the beginning of those videos and I'm sure you've seen them, I'm sure you've skipped many of them as well. And basically they do operate a revenue share scheme with their creators. So you basically get a percentage of every ad that's played. So the second thing is memberships. Nik Wyness: So Patreon had just launched at that time and Patreon is like an online modern membership platform which allows you to facilitate an online modern membership scheme and it's very closely linked to YouTube. At that time, YouTube kind of endorsed it. A lot of YouTubers were using it, as well as a means to provide sort of tiered memberships where people could give monthly micro donations, whether it was one dollar a month, $3 a month, $5 a month or more in exchange for a tiered set of benefits, whether that's additional access to the creator, early access, that sort of thing. The third way was through sponsorships. Nik Wyness: And I'm sure we've all seen YouTube videos where at the very beginning of the video, no matter what it's about, there might be somebody who's promoting a product, whether that's like a VPN service or a pair of gaming headphones or whatnot. And the final way was merchandise sales. And even people with modest merchandise, YouTube channels will be using Printly or something like that to print their own T shirts with their like channel logo on it. So basically, using those methods, that's how we sort of built the strategy around kind of making it happen. And ad revenue is all about the more views you get, the more ads get served to your content and the more money you can make. So to give you an example, last year we had about 22 million views and we earned £90,000 from ads. Nik Wyness: And it's not an immaterial sum of money, it's completely passive as well. Once it's out there, you don't have to do anything apart from just kind of take the payment every month. And the other thing about that was really interesting to us as well, was that what we saw is that the overseas audience, particularly the American based viewers, were actually a lot more lucrative than the UK based viewers. So last year, about 30% of our viewers were based in the USA and basically 45% of our total ad revenue originated from those American viewers, because the ad market is much more developed on YouTube in the USA than it is in the UK. So the UK viewers contributed just 20% of our total views, which is, of course, a lot lower as a proportion than the USA, but just 23% of our ad revenue. Nik Wyness: So you can see it was actually a benefit all of a sudden to having these American based viewers. And you can see how in the future, it might beneficial for us to actually aim our content a little bit more at the American audience for that very reason. Kelly Molson: Gosh, that's fascinating. I can't believe the numbers on that as well. For passive income. That's incredible. Nik Wyness: Yeah, and that's from what you can that's not particularly stellar either, I have to say. There are people who do much more kind of commercial content than we do, because ours is very much educational, who would probably do a lot better than that, like the guys who make those Minecraft, but here that my son watches are probably absolutely pointing it in. So it really makes you question your life choices, doesn't it, really? Kelly Molson: Yeah, if it does. Nik Wyness: And then we launched our Patreon, and again, that was just a case of setting up the platform and then sign posting it in all of our videos, basically saying, if you want to support the town, it's easy for us, we're a charity. So if you like the ask is a lot more straightforward, you know, support our work, help us keep the channel going. We were able to eventually fund an internship using the earnings from Patreon. It built up such I think it was just over £20,000 after the first couple of years. So went to our local arts university and brought in a graduate placement, who had just graduated from the Film Study schools to help us make more content. So it became beautifully self fulfilling. Kelly Molson: That's wonderful that you could do that as well. Nik Wyness: Yeah, and it was all funded by the patrons and then yeah, we work with partners to generate sponsorship income. I think because we're a charity and because we're a museum, we're not going to just accept any old sponsorship opportunity that wanders by. We have to be a bit careful about our brand and who will work with and that sort of thing, but we're already working with a video games company called War Gaming. They make a video game called World of Tanks, which I'm sure you're an avid player of yourself and I need to introduce it any further. But basically it's one of those massively multiplayer. It's free to play online. Nik Wyness: And basically what you do is you kind of drive around in a tank and you sort of shoot at other people who are driving around online in their tank, played by literally millions of people worldwide. And they're already sponsoring like exhibitions and events at The Tank Museum. So it wasn't really a big leap for them to start sponsoring our online content as well. And a really good example of how their sort of support and sponsorship for our online content on our YouTube channel in particular could be found in 2020 during the pandemic. Because I'm sure you can remember all too well, weren't able that summer to hold our Tank Fest event because obviously everything was shut down, which left us with a real big problem because of course, Tank Fest is our biggest fundraising event of the year. Nik Wyness: So were able to use our YouTube channel and a bunch of edited footage to bring a Tank Fest 2020 live stream to the Internet with World of Tanks' financial support. So they basically gave us the sponsorship to kind of bring in the technology to live stream this stuff that we'd edited together, which was sort of live hosted and create a live stream. And that video did really well. It's had over a million views and still growing now, which is quite remarkable. From that live stream gained £50,000 worth of additional donations from the viewer base and it led to an additional £20,000 of sales in our online shop that weekend as well. So it was staggeringly successful for us, but we wouldn't have been able to do it without World of Tanks to support. Kelly Molson: That is an amazing achievement. So just thinking about what you said about the Pandemic there and not being able to do certain things because of it, but then being able to do this quite transformative project. Did the Pandemic speed up some of the things that you were going to do? Or were these things kind of naturally in progress anyway as the pandemic hit? Nik Wyness: I think were lucky in the sense that a lot of this stuff was just starting to get rolling when the pandemic hit. The fact existed when the pandemic hit. No question about it. I think it saved jobs at the time. No question about it. Nik Wyness: And I think that's really good news story, isn't it? At the end of the day. We were already in a place where we built these really big online audiences into a sort of a loyal community of almost advocates. And so when we were asking them for help, they were happy to support us. So we saw an increase in our Patreon age. Nik Wyness: During the pandemic, we saw an increase in ad revenue as well, because across the board, more people will have more time to sit and watch YouTube videos. And obviously, we work with a lot of tanks on that occasion to do this kind of big set piece, live stream, special event, which yielded great results. But probably for us, the most important thing, and the biggest chunk of our online income comes from e commerce. And so the fact that when the pandemic hit, we actually had the time, for the first time ever, to really focus in on e commerce and make it work, get it sorted out, get the website sorted out, sort out our logistics and yeah, I mean, in 2019, we took £120,000 in our online shop, which were quite happy with. In 2020, we took £1.2 million. Kelly Molson: Oh, wow. Nik Wyness: Exactly. And we wouldn't have been able to take that if we hadn't already built this enormous online audience organically. So, sure, were using, were advertising the products and that kind of stuff online during 2020, but the fact is that we kind of went in from a sort of a running start, because the audience was there, the product selection was there, we knew what were doing and what we wanted to achieve. We just actually had times to get on with it and actually, there's nothing like a crisis of that sort to really focus the mind and for everyone to be pulling out the stops. It was a fantastic team effort.Kelly Molson: Oh, absolutely. It's amazing what you can achieve when you're under that kind of pressure. And you've got nothing to lose, right? There's no barriers there. You've got absolutely nothing to lose by doing it.Nik Wyness: Nothing else to interfere with. Kelly Molson: There's no people, we don't have to worry about them. So was that a one off or has that continued since this big increase in your online sales? Nik Wyness: So, I think for us, that was always the concern, wasn't it? And I'm sure a lot of e commerce, of course, are a massive boom because there was literally nothing to do all day apart from watch YouTube and buy stuff on the internet. We were obviously worried that, how will things be in 2021? Is this just a blip? Is this just a bit of anomaly? So we did 1.2 million in 2020. In 2021, we did the same, I think 2.1 million again. So were like, well, that's interesting, but it's been a funny year, there's still lots of covered hangover. We locked down at the beginning of the year. So for us, 2022, the year just gone was a real test for us. This is going to tell us whether or not we managed to create sustainable growth. Nik Wyness: Actually, last year we did 1.4 million, so it was a huge effort. We had to work really hard for it, but we're far better set up for that. We've increased the size of the team to cope with this. But actually what we've shown is that we've got some really good foundations here and some really good foundations for future growth as well. So it wasn't just I mean, that was the concern. It could have all fallen away last year and we've been sort of sat wondering what we're going to do with all these people who were sat on their hands. But fortunately, so far at least, knock on wood has shown to be holding up. Kelly Molson: And is that the same with some of the other things as well? So is that the same with, like, your YouTube views? And has everything stayed the same or increased since then? Nik Wyness: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, that was for us. I think the big thing in 2022 was about basically kind of stepping back and letting your hands off and going, "Right, is this still, is it still there? Is it still happening?" So we didn't set, like, massively ambitious targets for 2022. It was all just about zero. Okay. But, yeah, we still continued. We had, I think, 22 million views last year, which was 2 million more than the one before. The membership income was £2000 more than it was the previous year. So what we saw is a lot of people who signed up to support us during the pandemic, when the pandemic was over, kind of fell away, but that's fine. Nik Wyness: We also know that people have been hit by the upheaval in financial uncertainty, so we've certainly lost a few, but we've had to work hard to gain a few as well. And our sponsors, War Gaming, have sort of stuck by us as well. And the e commerce, as I've just said, has continued to work really well. We had an incredibly strong Christmas season and we've continued to do some of the things that we started doing in 2020 as well. Like these self published books. We've got the audience we can sell directly to them. Nik Wyness: So what we do is we'll take a book that's out of print that we've got the rights to, you know, we know we can be relatively comfortable that we'll be able to shift 3 to 4000 of those based on the fact that we've got this really loyal audience in a real niche. We don't have a great deal of competition for that niche, and those have been really good for us as well. Really good things to drive sales and bring in the customers here. Kelly Molson: Are your Trustees happy? That's what I want to know. Are they happy? Nik Wyness: They're never happy. And I don't want them to be happy either, because if they're happy, that just makes life easier. They're always pushing us to try new things and just try and push it a little bit further. But that's why I believe The Tank Museum is very successful. We get the finger in the back, you can't get comfortable, you can't get complacent, and that's the way I like it. That's why I like working in The Tank Musuem. Kelly Molson: Yes, that's a good place to be, isn't it, where you're always challenged, so there's always more that you can do. You said earlier about.. The attraction sector is one that is incredibly supportive of each other, and you mentioned earlier that there's normally a model or someone's done what you're trying to achieve, and you can often go and ask people, but in this case, you are the model, right? You have developed the model. So what would be your tips for other museums that are looking to implement a really similar strategy to this? Nik Wyness: That's a good question. I guess part of the issue is we never really set out to implement the model. It kind of just awkwardly fell in this way. But I'm always looking at what other, whether it's attractions or museums in particular, really are doing in this space and how they're trying to do it. And I often wonder why there are much bigger, more established organisations than ours that aren't doing better than us. And I kind of feel like they arguably could be. I do think there's an issue with that. I have made the same museum because I've always had a lot of support from particularly my director, who's just kind of let me get on with it. And it's a bit of a smaller organisation as well, so working cross functionally is a little bit labyrinth. Nik Wyness: It's easier to get things done in a smaller organisation. You can be a bit more nimble. But I think a lot of the reason for our success really goes down to this obsession with really getting to know the audience and really sort of cherishing them, so you can really understand what they want and then you give them what they want. So it's not really rocket science at that point, if you know the audience. We've got a niche audience, obviously. People who are into tanks, they're quite easily defined, aren't they? "Is it a tank? Yes. I like it. It is not a tank. No, google don't like that", so we'd know when to talk about sharks or fish or anything like that. Nik Wyness: But the other thing I think that's made us successful is we throughout the course of this journey, because we didn't set out to achieve everything all in one go. We didn't realise were doing it at the time, but we've got these really strong and consistent online brand values. So I've always thought that the content we produce, anything we put on social media, has to be useful. It's got to give the audience something interesting, something they actually want, it's got to satisfy a need and we give them, hopefully, interesting stories and engaging facts. You've got to lay off on the sales on your social media, really, haven't you? It's a long game. You've got to earn the right to sell to people by giving them lots of useful, sort of free stuff. Nik Wyness: I think it's really important that organisations on social media are authentic to their own sort of organisational voice and not trying to be something else, not trying to follow what other people are doing necessarily. You've got to kind of cut your own path. I think being original is really important. There's no point trying to imitate what others are doing. I don't think it would be seemly for The Tank Museum to be trying to sort of imitate other online influences with the kind of things that they do, because that's not us, we're The Tank Museum. We're trying to be serious content creators and we've got a serious message. Nik Wyness: I think simplicity is important. And I mean simplicity in terms of sustainability to create, because we're not a massive team, but we have this requirement now to put a video out on YouTube every week and actually that can be quite labour intensive. So you need to make sure that you're not trying to achieve more than you actually can. And of course, the content needs to be good, simple. And what I mean by that really is easy for the audience to consume. Those would be my tips really. Gosh, there's quite a few. There's a lot there. Nik Wyness: I don't even know. I have no idea what happened. Kelly Molson: This has happened. They're really good tips, though, and if I'm honest, so they're tips that I took away. So I have heard you talk about this a couple of times, Nik and I've taken those tips away and I've implemented them, or I've tried to implement them for Rubber Cheese ourselves. So I think that there were a few things that were already doing, but I think just coming back to those every time to be useful, that everything that you push out has to be useful, is so vital. And that's the one takeaway that I took from your talk, is that if you are trying anything that you're trying to do on social media, whether you're trying to grow your audience or grow your presence or your brand or sell something, but not in a salesy way, it's just about being useful. Kelly Molson: What can we do? What do we know that would really be helpful for our audience? Just share that stuff. And that, for me, is the biggest takeaway from the things that you do, is about being useful. Nik Wyness: Absolutely, yeah. And it's sure, it's not useful to anybody, is it? But we're not after anybody online. We're particularly after that niche audience of enthusiasts. But because it's online, there's lots and lots of them scattered all around the world. The Tank Museum itself, and this is one of the really key things that I really kind of really grasp, and it's difficult to get other people to understand, is that the online audience, particularly for The Tank Museum, is totally different to the onsite audience. And that's how I want it to be. So the onsite audience is all about being accessible to the widest possible group of people who are endorsed and able to visit. We want families to visit, we want older people to visit, we want younger people to visit, we want schools to visit. Nik Wyness: But online, we're just going for those sort of military history aficionados. And you can see that, if you like, in the actual demographics of the audience. So I think on site, our gender split is 60% men and 40% female, which actually, I think we need to do better on. If I'm being honest. Kelly Molson: That's not bad, though I wouldn't have said that was too bad for what seems quite stereotypically male. Nik Wyness: Absolutely. Yeah. And it has got better. But the reality is actually, for me, is actually the subject matter The Tank Museum really is, particularly the way it is presented in recent times, because we've completely redone the entire museum. There is no reason why anybody couldn't come to The Tank Museum. There was nothing in here for me, because we just tell really good, fascinating stories, really. So you don't have to be someone who cares a great deal about tanks to get something out of The Tank Museum, but you do have to be someone who cares about tanks to get something about online content, and that's the way you want it. So online, our audience is 90% male, maybe more, probably more. And it's also very international. We probably struggle to get 10, 12 percent international visitors onto The Tank Museum site. Nik Wyness: It goes up during our special events, but not by much, probably to 20%. And we know that our online audience is probably 20, 25% UK. The biggest single segment would be North America, so that's USA and Canada. And what's left is everywhere else. And we've got Europeans, Australians, South Americans. Nik Wyness: It's a very global audience. And that's the thing with niche audiences. A niche audience in the UK is not so small when you take it to a global scale. And that's why this strategy is able to succeed at scale financially. Kelly Molson: It all comes back to what you said right at the beginning. Know your audience. Nik Wyness: Know your audience. Absolutely. And care about them.Kelly Molson: Good advice. Yeah, not just no care. Exactly. Okay, what is next for The Tank Museum? What can you share with us that's coming up? What other ideas have you got in the Tank?Nik Wyness: I like it. Kelly Molson: You're welcome. Nik Wyness: Well, I think for us, the biggest thing is we have to focus on COVID recovery. Last year wasn't horrendous, but we know that there are further headwinds. We know that there's a bit of an economic uncertainty at the moment. We're not quite sure how that's going to affect us on the door. We are very heavily dependent on The Tank Museum site, at least on the vagaries of UK domestic tourism. So there is a bit of wait and see. This year, we'll see the first normal Tank Fest since 2019, you know, because we've had to reduce the numbers or we've had to operate it in a very different way. And that event is so very important for us. But I think on the online side, I think there's still so much that I'd love to do.Nik Wyness: If only there was the time and the resource to do it. We want to get better at doing this stuff. We want to get better at the community development side of things. I think that's obviously going to be the future. And I mean, that niche broad is sent from starting with growing the amount of emails, engaged email subscribers that we have and kind of nudging them up that fabled ladder of loyalty. We want to increase the output of our content. So one of the big things that we did last year was launch a TikTok channel because TikTok is where the younger people are. Nik Wyness: And you've got to think about the future in terms of getting your brand in front of the younger audience because just because they're young and they're on TikTok doesn't mean that among that will be people who are interested in military history. It's not all about sort of funny dances and twerking. Although that's a good time, I'm sure. Yeah, if you're on TikTok. Nik Wyness: Check out famthetankman, who is our in house TikTok, he did really well last year. He only launched the channel in late April and he's accumulated 271,000 followers and 51 million views last year, which I think is pretty impressive. He's doing really well. Kelly Molson: That is phenomenal. I'm not on TikTok because it's another thing that I've got to learn and understand and to find time for. So I'm not on it yet. I need to be I do need to understand it. But that is a really big achievement in such a short space of time. Nik Wyness: Yeah, absolutely. And it shows that there is an appetite for serious military history content. And of course, we change, if you like, the tone of voice that we're using and we change the conventions that we're using in the kind of presentational sense. But the messages are still the same, the stories are still the same. Do you know what I mean? So there's still that consistency of authority and kind of our authenticity coming out through TikTok. Even though it's a very different approach and a very different audience to our YouTube channel, which is, you know, 45 plus, I suppose it's biggest continuing with TikTok, we know that the biggest audience is 18 to 25. So it's really important, isn't it, to find a different avenue and a different way of communicating with different generations. I mean, that's basically marketing, isn't it, really? Nik Wyness: But the other thing we really want to do, and I really hope we get to do it this year, is launch a second YouTube channel. And the reason we want to do that, again, it's part of this audience diversification piece we've done really well targeting that really hard core of sort of armoured warfare, history and enthusiasts. But we want to go a little bit broader than that. We want to sort of almost use a second YouTube channel as like a funnel to the main one, if you like, by telling more broader stories about people and events. Whereas our current main YouTube channel is very much focused on objects and things and stuff, if you know what I mean. Kelly Molson: So why set up the second one out of interest? Do you feel like you would dilute the first one if you put those kind of stories on there? Nik Wyness: Yeah, I think it's about when you because we've got some 477,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel at the moment, and so since the channel is launched, particularly in the last sort of seven years, we've really given them a very strict diet of very strict, kind of very in depth tanky information. So that's that audience, that's what that audience likes. It really is that kind of granularity they like, and they do prefer, generally speaking, those stories about the stuff like the objects. It's more, perhaps more engineering, more development, less about human history. Perhaps at times, we go there, but not very much. This is mainly about the kind of the machines and the objects, really. So with this second channel, we are looking to tell more interesting stories about what happened, when, and the artefacts are obviously a big part of that. Nik Wyness: But this is more about the human story. Kelly Molson: That's the kind of stuff that would appeal more to me than the real kind of specifics. So, again, it's looking at broadening that audience online, too. Got you. Brilliant. Great advice, great achievements. I'm so glad that you've been able to come on and share this with us today. Thank you. Nik Wyness: No, thank you very much for having me. It's always great to get out The Tank Museum and have a chat with people. Kelly Molson: Well, before you go, we always ask our listeners if they've got a book that they love that they'd like to share. Nik Wyness: So I had a look at what your other guests had recommended. I thought, my goodness me, there's lots of really worthy choices in there. I'm not really one of those people who particularly enjoys reading those, like, management strategy books, because I was like, in my own free time, I want to read for fun and obviously a bit of a nerd of military history. And there's interestingly a bit of an overlap, I suppose you could say, between sort of like military and marketing. We use a lot of the same terminology, like strategy and tactics and deployment and cut through all of that sort of thing. So I'm going to recommend a book which kind of overlaps a little bit with a professional, with the military history. That book is quite an old book, actually. It's called Hal Moore on Leadership: Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned. Nik Wyness: And basically Hal Moore was an officer in the US Army. He died a few years ago, I think. But I don't know if you've ever seen the movie. The Mel Gibson movie came out in 2002 called Weaver Soldiers. Have you ever come across that one? Okay, it's quite a good film but basically it's a Vietnam War movie and basically the star was this Hal Moore guy. It was biopic and it was about the first major engagement in the Vietnam War between the US army and the North Vietnamese Army. And basically his unit, 400 blokes were dropped in the jungle by helicopter. They quickly found themselves surrounded by like 4000 north, the emission soldiers and they found themselves cut off and basically having to fight off the determined and repeated attacks. Nik Wyness: And basically Hal Moore keeps his unit together through this tremendous series of challenges. And so that book is all about his perspective on leadership and what he learned during his military career. And actually I've worked with several ex soldiers and actually what you learn from soldiers is that the military is one thing that they're really good at and they're very good at many things is training leadership, if you know what I mean, and training people how to be a good leader. And I don't think that's something that the civilian world and the business world is actually very good in. Nik Wyness: But what's interesting as well that I've learned from these former soldiers that I've worked with is you get a completely different perspective from them, particularly those who have seen sort of action or any form of operational deployment on things like resilience and what tenacity is and what courage is and even what stress is and what a bad day in the office is like. Because of course a bad day in the office at The Tank Museum is nothing like a bad day in the office on a front line somewhere unpleasant in the world. So that perspective I think is really useful. But Hal Moore comes up with these four kind of principles of leadership, which is a book. The first one is something like, "The battle only stops when you stop fighting". Which basically means don't give up. Nik Wyness: Doesn't matter what you're facing, you've got to keep going. A bit like Winston Churchill said, "When you're going through h***, keep going". And the second one was that, "When you're in a tight spot there's always one more thing you can do to influence the situation positively in your favour". And that's about being proactive, right? Because when you're in a tough spot the worst thing you can do is nothing is freeze. You've got to be proactive and you've got to keep going. And the third thing was, "If there's nothing wrong, there's something wrong". So basically what that means is don't be complacent. Keep your garden up, be alert. And I think there are times when you're running marketing campaigns when you almost think, “well, everything's going all right". But actually, that's probably when you need to check in on things the most. Nik Wyness: And the last one was, "To trust your instincts". Basically, he argues that you're well trained, you've got plenty of experience, and so is your gut, so you should listen to it. And the other thing, of course, is your subconscious is much more observant than you will ever be. As marketers, we're very analytical. We like to look at our data and that kind of thing. But your gut can tell you if you're interpreting that data correctly or if you need to look at it again. Kelly Molson: Gosh, what a book. Wow, I've never heard of that book. Nik Wyness: That's pretty old. Kelly Molson:  Never been recommended before as well, so that's a great one. As ever if you would like to win a copy of Nik's book, if you head over to our Twitter account and retweet this episode announcement with the words, "I want Nik's book", then you'll be in with a chance of winning it. Maybe you'll come back on in a year from now and tell us how 2023 went and how the first Tank Fest since pre pandemic went. Nik Wyness: Yeah, I'd be delighted if my hair has gone completely grave at that point. You'll know, it wasn't a great year. Kelly Molson: I'm sure it's going to be a good year. Thanks ever so much for coming on, Nik. It's been a pleasure. Nik Wyness: Thank you. Kelly Molson: Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip The Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast.

On April 30, 1975, The North Vietnamese Army invaded Saigon and the war in Vietnam ended. While it was not a defeat for the United States since President Nixon had brokered a peace in January of 1973, and we had left, it sure felt like one. Gerald Ford , who had inherited the Presidency at the end of the Watergate legal process ( A process  we have shown that was riddled with alleged prosecutorial misconduct) was forced to watch helplessly as the city was overrun and we had to evacuate our Embassy. President Ford had wanted to live up to the promises we had made when President Nixon had negotiated our exit from the country.  However, Congress had cut all funding to the nation and refused to allow President Ford to spend any money to even offer air support for the South Vietnamese Army. It was a shameful abandonment to an ally that had trusted us. Seven days later, President Gerald Ford faced the television cameras and the Washington Press Corp. This is that press conference. It was a real symbol that the war was finally over as Ford actually has to answer a wide variety of questions on subjects that are very far ranging. It is a Press Conference that gives you a feel for just how many different issues the President has to deal with at any given time. It also gives you a feel for the President himself, and how he made decisions, and how open he tried to be with the American People, in contrast to several of his predecessors in that office. It is also , in a brief answer to a question, one of the first times you hear the President firmly state to the nation that the war in Vietnam is over for America. TAG: Talking About Guns“Talking About Guns” (TAG) is a podcast created to demystify a typically loaded and...Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify Questions or comments at , Randalrgw1@aol.com , https://twitter.com/randal_wallace , and http://www.randalwallace.com/Please Leave us a review at wherever you get your podcastsThanks for listening!!

James Livingston entered the ROTC program when he entered college. A decade later, he was in Vietnam as a company commander, leading his fellow Marines into battle against the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. His actions in the vicious 1968 battle of Dai Do would result in the Medal of Honor.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Gen. Livingston takes us through the combat that day, in which his Marines were overwhelmingly outnumbered and were forced to fight hand-to-hand at times. Livingston also tells us how he led his men under heavy fire and details his three injuries that day, including the final wound that forced him to leave the battlefield.Finally, Livingston tells us what it was like to receive the Medal of Honor and what the medal means to him today.

The explosive true story of the Green Berets heroic role fighting the top-secret war in Cambodia, Laos, and North Vietnam in the late sixties as told by one of the few who survived it- John Stryker "Tilt" Meyer, author of Across The Fence-The Secret War in Vietnam. HONORING OUR NATIONS HEROES: This is the first of two Veteran's day interviews we did. Our guest here is Green Beret John Stryker Meyer, author of Across The Fence: The Secret War in Vietnam, which tells the story of the special forces operators who volunteered to be dropped into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam to monitor and hamper the movements of the attacking North Vietnamese Army as they brought hundreds of thousands of soldiers and weapons down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The mission of these Green Berets and their courageous South Vietnamese Special Forces counterparts was secret and deadly- the deadliest fighting done in that war. This is his story. ANDROID USERS- 1001 Radio Days right here at Google Podcasts FREE: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20radio%20days 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vQURMNzU3MzM0Mjg0NQ== 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries at Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20heroes 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories (& Tales from Arthur Conan Doyle) https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20sherlock%20holmes 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre on Spotify: https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20ghost%20stories 1001 Stories for the Road on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20stories%20for%20the%20road Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Google Podcasts https://podcasts.google.com/search/1001%20greatest%20love%20stories 1001 History's Best Storytellers: (author interviews) on Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/1001-historys-best-storytellers APPLE USERS Catch 1001 Heroes on any Apple Device here (Free): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2  Catch 1001 CLASSIC SHORT STORIES at Apple Podcast App Now: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622 Catch 1001 Stories for the Road at Apple Podcast now:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901 NEW Enjoy 1001 Greatest Love Stories on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-greatest-love-stories/id1485751552 Catch 1001 RADIO DAYS now at Apple iTunes!  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-radio-days/id1405045413?mt=2 NEW 1001 Ghost Stories & Tales of the Macabre is now playing at Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-ghost-stories-tales-of-the-macabre/id1516332327 NEW Enjoy 1001 History's Best Storytellers (Interviews) on Apple Devices here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-historys-best-storytellers/id1483649026 NEW Enjoy 1001 Sherlock Holmes Stories and The Best of Arthur Conan Doyle https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-sherlock-holmes-stories-best-sir-arthur-conan/id1534427618 Get all of our shows at one website: https://.1001storiespodcast.com REVIEWS NEEDED . My email works as well for comments: 1001storiespodcast@gmail.com SUPPORT OUR SHOW BY BECOMING A PATRON! https://.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork. Its time I started asking for support! Thank you. Its a few dollars a month OR a one time. (Any amount is appreciated). YOUR REVIEWS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AT APPLE/ITUNES AND ALL ANDROID HOSTS ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! LINKS BELOW.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete Cannon joined the U.S. Army shortly after graduating from high school in 1965. Soon he was training to fly a variety of helicopters and two years later he was flying missions in Vietnam.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Cannon explains why he was able to master flying helicopters when many fixed wing pilots struggled greatly. He also describes the many different assignments he flew in theater, including medical evacuations, resupplying missions, ferrying high-ranking officers, and serving as a decoy pilot in missions to observe the enemy. Cannon takes us through his role in response to the Tet Offensive and tremendous impact helicopters had against the North Vietnamese Army. He would be awarded the Bronze Star for his service during that response.

With the newly established 1st Australian Task Force settled in to Nui Dat, work started on neutralising the Viet Cong activity in the area. The Viet Cong had other ideas. They wanted to draw out the Australians and engulf them with overwhelming numbers. Despite the mounting evidence, Brigadier Jackson didn't believe the North Vietnamese Army had arrived in Phuoc Tuy Province, even after a mortar attack was unleashed on the Task Force Base. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welp! Hell of a time to do our America Rah-Rah movie month. Look, this week we're doing Born on the Fourth of July: the Oliver Stone film starring Tom Cruise, based on the real story of Vietnam Vet and Peace Activist Ron Kevin. We're also talking... well... you know...Born on the Fourth of July was directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay was written by Ron Kevin, based on his autobiography of the same name. It tells the story of a young American in the 1960s who enlists in the Marines to fight the North Vietnamese Army. He saw it as his solemn duty to his beloved America. And then a bullet put him in a wheelchair, and his journey from jingoist American Son to Peace Activist (same thing if you ask us) had begun. It's a masterpiece and a very important film for times like these.Question of the week is: This land Support the show

Join us for a continued discussion on the hope and freedom we have in Jesus. We have special guest, William V. Taylor Jr. He had joined the Marines and was attached to a unique new unit designed to surprise the North Vietnamese Army. Bill was wounded three times in the ensuing battles. The battalion earned two Presidential Unit Citations for the heroic battles they fought. He has documented the battles and it has taken Bill years of writing, re-writing, and editing to finish his incredible journey he titled, "On Full Automatic: Surviving 13 Months in Vietnam." We will also have a roundtable discussion on the Bible, world events that may pertain to bible prophecy and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.-1 Thessalonians 1:10

We're back for another thematic episode - do superheroes hold people back from doing things for themselves? Do we stay on topic? Well... you'll have to listen to find out! Issue 153- Holding Out for a Hero Intro Background Holding Out for a Hero. Not just the single-most overused song on movie soundtracks in the 21st century, also the name of a trope denoting the tendency of individuals, governments, and entire societies who exist in worlds where there are superheroes fighting crimes and averting disasters all over the place to become overly dependent on them, to the point where heroes actually breed a degree of learned helplessness at best, and breathtakingly casual recklessness at worst. Do I need to take the time to check that my safety harness is properly fastened before I climb up this building's spire to do maintenance? Ehh...if I fall, there's someone out there who will save me. Do we need to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to install Positive Train Control throughout our rail system? Why? It costs nothing for a superhero to just save everyone whenever there's a derailment. If they're a super-strong superhero, they'll even put the train back on the track for us. Should the government seek a diplomatic solution in this international conflict? Are you kidding? Look at all these superheroes we have on our side. We'll do whatever we want and you can take it up with them if you have a problem with it. This is one of my favorite story mines of the superhero ethos. The conflict between helping people and making their lives better versus doing so much for them that they lose the ability or the will to do anything for themselves. Probably because it's extremely relatable here in the real world. Sociological interactions from the individual level of parent-child all the way up to the global level of government-citizen have always involved a need to strike that kind of balance. Guaranteeing people's safety, security, and relative prosperity has a tendency to lessen the responsibility people feel for providing it to themselves and one another on an individual level. Superheroes intervening to solve dangerous situations as they're happening can create a type of bystander effect that dissuades anyone else from even trying to help out, especially if it's something that's an everyday occurrence. Man oh man, does this have a lot of real-world parallels that we'll get into. But first, as always, some comic book examples. 1) Elliot S. Maggin's classic Must There Be A Superman? The Guardians of the Universe let Superman know that one of the tenets of the Green Lantern Corps is to handle the much larger, world-threatening crises and not do everything for sentient races, because it can actually stagnate evolution itself. When Superman gets back to Earth, he tests the assumption out by landing in a random small town, where the citizens ask for his help with EVERYTHING, including fixing a leaky roof.  2) During Mark Waid's first run on The Flash, a recurring theme is that part of the reason that the scientific community of Central City is so groundbreaking in its work is that they can push the boundaries of safety in their experiments well beyond what would normally be considered acceptable. They view having The Flash around if anything goes wrong as the only safety measure they actually need.  3) Ultimate Spider-Man Annual 2. After Peter's ninth or tenth run-in with The Shocker, he is shouting at the top of his lungs in frustration as to how he's still not in jail after all the times he's been caught. Thankfully, Foggy Nelson happens to be nearby and tells him straight up: dude, you have to get someone to hang around and give a statement to the police afterwards, or a first-year law student could get any criminal charges dropped. When there's a big crowd of people who just watched a superhero battle, every individual person is going to assume someone else is handling that, and go about their day. 4) Watchmen. President Nixon doesn't even try to reach a detente with the Soviet Union or China at the height of the Cold War. America has Dr. Manhattan as the ultimate trump card against anything the Communist world could ever do. As a result, they wipe out the North Vietnamese Army in a heartbeat and behave aggressively on the world stage throughout the 70s and 80s. This bites them back in a major way when Manhattan decides he doesn't want to be a part of humanity anymore and leaves Earth.  5) Red Son. A villain-ish example. Superman creates a utopia in the Soviet Union largely by solving all of the problems that arise himself. But he's cognizant of the fact that he's doing it, and tries very hard to get his citizens to start stepping up and following his example. He also could simply take over the world and install communism upon all of humanity by force. But it's critically important to him that humanity makes the choice to adopt it themselves, or the ideology won't have triumphed, only he would. Real-world examples? You want real-world examples? I've got real world examples for you. Seat belts. Introduced in the 1940s, it took over 5 decades for them to become mandatory in all 50 states, and the public fought against them every step of the way. One of the reasons why, that we've all just forgotten about, because it's been decades now and people just accept it? Studies done at the time laws were being implemented showed clear evidence that drivers disregarded safety behind the wheel more readily, they drove at unsafe speeds more frequently, and engaged in carelessness and negligence more often, viewing their seat belt as the ultimate form of protection. As recently as 2001, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study conceded the likely possibility that the presence of seat belts were a contributor to more frequent accidents even as they decreased fatalities. (21:53) In economics and political science, as you know, we call this the Moral Hazard. Safety rails in public policy meant to provide government help to people and institutions in hard times can increase the likelihood that they will engage in behavior more likely to bring about said hard times, as the fear of the consequences is taken out of the equation. Nowhere is this more prevalent today than in the world's financial industry. It has just become accepted now as a matter of course that the world's governments will always step in with currency support, quantitative easing, and outright bailouts when there is an economic downturn, allowing the large investors of the world to socialize the risks of their operations among the entire population whether they're a customer who's opted in to do so or not. Because of the interconnectedness of the global financial markets, the costs to the world's economies of a full-scale collapse of large banks and investment houses is seen as much higher than the occasional large payments it takes to keep them afloat. (36:42) On a micro, individual level, there's the bystander effect and the diffusion of responsibility. The tendency of individuals being less likely to offer help to someone in need when there are a large group of people present, figuring someone else will handle it. The Kitty Genovese case that first brought these terms to the lexicon in the 60s has largely been discredited, but for my money, you need look no further than any instance where there's someone in some kind of dangerous situation anywhere in a public place, what is the first thing almost anyone does? Do they step in and help? Call 911? Scream for someone else to call 911? No, they take out their freaking cell phones and start recording it to post on the Internet, as if the 300th camera angle is going to document what's going on in a way the other 299 won't. It. Drives. Me. Freaking. Nuts. (50:39) So as a superhero, how do you use that light touch, and do for people what they can't do for themselves without taking away their ability to do anything for themselves? Ending Recommended reading: Everything we talked about Next episodes: Wanda Maximoff, Beast Boy, Sue Storm Plugs for social References: Naked Gun - “That's my policy” - Doc (40:10) Apple Podcasts: here Google Play: here Stitcher: here TuneIn: here iHeartRadio: here Twitter Facebook Patreon TeePublic Discord

Today Sayre and Preston are joined by Leigh Freeman. Leigh served with C/2-506th IN, part of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. Leigh talks about his experience as a nineteen-year-old infantry rifleman in the jungles of Vietnam. As the platoon's point man, Leigh was the man at the very front of the formation cutting brush with a machete, in search of the North Vietnamese Army. We also discussed with Leigh what his experience was like coming home, and how it felt to be a veteran of that era. We really enjoyed this conversation and discussed many aspects that come with a combat deployment.

In this episode, I deal with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army their effective use of ambushes and bobby traps..  I compare their main gun the AK47 and the American M14 rifle and why the more rugged AK47 proved to be a better weapon in the jungle of South Vietnam.

In April 1968 large elements of the North Vietnamese Army's 320th Division crossed the Demilitarized Zone into South Vietnam.  They were advancing towards the 3rd Marine Division's command post and major logistics hub at Dong Ha when they were engaged by the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines.  Fighting raged in and around the village of Dai Do from April 30th until May 3rd.  This was some of the Vietnam War's most intense combat.  The United States suffered 233 dead and 821 wounded.  Keith Nolan's “Magnificent Bastards” tells the story. 

In this episode I look at the American Army in South Vietnam in 1965 as it builds up its resources in the country and begins to fight the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese Army.  I shall deal with how the American Army is organised from the command of MACV down to the battalion and company.  I deal with some of the weapon of the American Army and look at the Huey helicopter.

A biography of General Westmoreland the commander of the American military in South Vietnam from 1964 to 1968.  The Viet Cong launch several attacks in the latter part of 1964 but for the first time, regular North Vietnamese Army regiments take to the field in South Vietnam. 

      Originally posted in Marine Corps Gazette, September 2007 BURIAL AT SEA….. BY LT COL GEORGE GOODSON, USMC (RET) In my 76th year, the events of my life appear to me, from time to time, as a series of vignettes. Some were significant; most were trivial. War is the seminal event in the life of everyone that has endured it. Though I fought in Korea and the Dominican Republic and was wounded there, Vietnam was my war.       Lt. Col. George Goodson (Ret) and family Now 42 years have passed, and thankfully, I rarely think of those days in Cambodia , Laos, and the panhandle of North Vietnam where small teams of Americans and Montagnards fought much larger elements of the North Vietnamese Army. Instead I see vignettes: some exotic, some mundane: *The smell of Nuc Mam *The heat, dust, and humidity *The blue exhaust of cycles clogging the streets *Elephants moving silently through the tall grass *Hard eyes behind the servile smiles of the villagersBeauty and the Beast streaming *Standing on a mountain in Laos and hearing a tiger roar *A young girl squeezing my hand as my medic delivered her baby *The flowing Ao Dais of the young women biking down Tran Hung Dao AND…….. *My two years as Casualty Notification Officer in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland It was late 1967. I had just returned after 18 months in Vietnam.  Casualties were increasing. I moved my family from Indianapolis to Norfolk, rented a house, enrolled my children in their fifth or sixth new school, and bought a second car. A week later, I put on my uniform and drove 10 miles to Little Creek, Virginia. I hesitated before entering my new office. Appearance is important to career Marines. I was no longer, if ever, a poster Marine. I had returned from my third tour in Vietnam only 30 days before. At 5'9″, I now weighed 128 pounds, 37 pounds below my normal weight. My uniforms fit ludicrously, my skin was yellow from malaria medication, and I think I had a twitch or two. I straightened my shoulders, walked into the office, looked at the nameplate on a Staff Sergeant's desk and said, “Sergeant Jolly, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Goodson. Here are my orders and my Qualification Jacket.” Sergeant Jolly stood, looked carefully at me, took my orders, stuck out his hand; we shook and he asked, “How long were you there, Colonel?” I replied “18 months this time.” Jolly breathed, “You must be a slow learner Colonel.” I smiled. Jolly said, “Colonel, I'll  show you to your office and bring in the Sergeant Major. I said, “No, let's just go straight to his office.” Jolly nodded, hesitated, and lowered his voice, “Colonel, the Sergeant Major. He's been in this job two years. He's packed pretty tight. I'm worried about him.” I nodded. Jolly escorted me into the Sergeant Major's office. “Sergeant Major, this is Colonel Goodson, the new Commanding Office. The Sergeant Major stood, extended his hand and said, “Good to see you again, Colonel.” I responded, “Hello Walt, how are you?” Jolly looked at me, raised an eyebrow, walked out, and closed the door. I sat down with the Sergeant Major. We had the obligatory cup of coffee and talked about mutual acquaintances. Walt's stress was palpable. Finally, I said, “Walt, what the h-ll's wrong?” He turned his chair, looked out the window and said, “George, you're going to wish you were back in Nam before you leave here. I've been in the Marine Corps since 1939. I was in the Pacific 36 months, Korea for 14 months, and Vietnam for 12 months. Now I come here to bury these kids. I'm putting my letter in. I can't take it anymore.” I said, “Okay Walt. If that's what you want, I'll endorse your request for retirement and do what I can to push it through Headquarters Marine Corps.” Sergeant Major Walt Xxxxx retired 12 weeks later. He had been a good Marine for 28 years, but he had seen too much death and too much suffering. He was used up. Over the next 16 months, I made 28 death notifications, conducted 28 military funerals, and made 30 notifications to the families of Marines that were severely wounded or missing in action. Most of the details of those casualty notifications have now, thankfully, faded from memory. Four, however, remain. MY FIRST NOTIFICATION………… My third or fourth day in Norfolk, I was notified of the death of a 19 year old Marine. This notification came by telephone from Headquarters Marine Corps. The information detailed: *Name, rank, and serial number. *Name, address, and phone number of next of kin. *Date of and limited details about the Marine's death. *Approximate date the body would arrive at the Norfolk Naval Air  Station. *A strong recommendation on whether the casket should be opened or closed. The boy's family lived over the border in North Carolina, about 60 miles away. I drove there in a Marine Corps staff car. Crossing the state line into North Carolina , I stopped at a small country store / service station / Post Office. I went in to ask directions. Three people were in the store. A man and woman approached the small Post Office window. The man held a package. The Store owner walked up and addressed them by name, “Hello John. Good morning Mrs. Cooper.” I was stunned. My casualty's next-of-kin's name was John Cooper! I hesitated, then stepped forward and said, “I beg your pardon. Are you Mr. and Mrs. John Cooper of (address.) The father looked at me – I was in uniform – and then, shaking, bent at the waist, he vomited. His wife looked horrified at him and then at me. Understanding came into her eyes and she collapsed in slow motion. I think I caught her before she hit the floor. The owner took a bottle of whiskey out of a drawer and handed it to Mr. Cooper who drank. I answered their questions for a few minutes. Then I drove them home in my staff car. The store owner locked the store and followed in their truck. We stayed an hour or so until the family began arriving. I returned the store owner to his business. He thanked me and said, “Mister, I wouldn't have your job for a million dollars.” I shook his hand and said; “Neither would I.” I vaguely remember the drive back to Norfolk. Violating about five Marine Corps regulations, I drove the staff car straight to my house.  I sat with my family while they ate dinner, went into the den, closed the door, and sat there all night, alone. My Marines steered clear of me for days. I had made my first death notification THE FUNERALS………. Weeks passed with more notifications and more funerals. I borrowed Marines from the local Marine Corps Reserve and taught them to conduct a military funeral: how to carry a casket, how to fire the volleys and how to fold the flag. When I presented the flag to the mother, wife, or father, I always said, “All Marines share in your grief.” I had been instructed to say, “On behalf of a grateful nation….” I didn't think the nation was grateful, so I didn't say that. Sometimes, my emotions got the best of me and I couldn't speak. When that happened, I just handed them the flag and touched a shoulder. They would look at me and nod. Once a mother said to me, “I'm so sorry you have this terrible job.” My eyes filled with tears and I leaned over and kissed her. ANOTHER NOTIFICATION………. Six weeks after my first notification, I had another. This was a young PFC. I drove to his mother's house. As always, I was in uniform and driving a Marine Corps staff car. I parked in front of the house, took a deep breath, and walked towards the house. Suddenly the door flew open, a middle-aged woman rushed out. She looked at me and ran across the yard, screaming “No! No! No! No!! I hesitated. Neighbors came out. I ran to her, grabbed her, and whispered stupid things to reassure her. She collapsed. I picked her up and carried her into the house.  Eight or nine neighbors followed. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the father came in followed by ambulance personnel. I have no recollection of leaving.Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download The funeral took place about two weeks later. We went through the drill. The mother never looked at me. The father looked at me once and shook his head sadly. ANOTHER NOTIFICATION………. One morning as I walked into the office, the phone was ringing.  Sergeant Jolly held the phone up and said, “You've got another one, Colonel.” I nodded, walked into my office, picked up the phone, took notes, thanked the officer making the call and hung up. Jolly, who had listened, came in with a special telephone directory that translates telephone numbers into the person's address and place of employment. The father of this casualty was a longshoreman. He lived a mile from my office. I called the Longshoreman's Union Office and asked for the business manager. He answered the phone, I told him who I was, and asked for the father's schedule. The business manager asked, “Is it his son?” I said nothing. After a moment, he said, in a low voice, “Tom is at home today.” I said, “Don't call him. I'll take care of that.” The business manager said, “Aye, Aye Sir,” and then explained, “Tom and I were Marines in WWII.” I got in my staff car and drove to the house. I was in uniform. I knocked and a woman in her early forties answered the door. I saw instantly that she was clueless. I asked, “Is Mr. Smith home?” She smiled pleasantly and responded, “Yes, but he's eating breakfast now.  Can you come back later?” I said, “I'm sorry. It's important. I need to see him now.” She nodded, stepped back into the beach house and said, “Tom, it's for you.” A moment later, a ruddy man in his late forties, appeared at the door. He looked at me, turned absolutely pale, steadied himself, and said, “Jesus Christ man, he's only been there three weeks!” Months passed. More notifications and more funerals. Then one day while I was running, Sergeant Jolly stepped outside the building and gave a loud whistle, two fingers in his mouth and held an imaginary phone to his ear. Another call from Headquarters Marine Corps. I took notes, said, “Got it.” and hung up. I had stopped saying “Thank You” long ago. Jolly, “Where?” Me, “Eastern Shore of Maryland . The father is a retired Chief Petty Officer. His brother will accompany the body back from Vietnam.” Jolly shook his head slowly, straightened, and then said, “This time of day, it'll take three hours to get there and back. I'll call the Naval Air Station and borrow a helicopter. And I'll have Captain Tolliver get one of his men to meet you and drive you to the Chief's home.” He did, and 40 minutes later, I was knocking on the father's door. He opened the door, looked at me, then looked at the Marine standing at parade rest beside the car, and asked, “Which one of my boys was it, Colonel?” I stayed a couple of hours, gave him all the information, my office and home phone number and told him to call me, anytime. He called me that evening about 2300 (11:00 PM). “I've gone through my boy's papers and found his will. He asked to be buried at sea. Can you make that happen?” I said, “Yes I can, Chief. I can and I will.” My wife who had been listening said, “Can you do that?” I told her, “I have no idea. But I'm going to die trying.” I called Lieutenant General Alpha Bowser, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, at home about 2330, explained the situation, and asked, “General, can you get me a quick appointment with the Admiral at Atlantic Fleet Headquarters?” General Bowser said,” George, you be there tomorrow at 0900. He will see you. I was and the Admiral did. He said coldly, “How can the Navy help the Marine Corps, Colonel.” I told him the story. He turned to his Chief of Staff and said, “Which is the sharpest destroyer in port?” The Chief of Staff responded with a name. The Admiral called the ship, “Captain, you're going to do a burial at sea. You'll report to a Marine Lieutenant Colonel Goodson until this mission is completed.” He hung up, looked at me, and said, “The next time you need a ship, Colonel, call me. You don't have to sic Al Bowser on me.” I responded, “Aye Aye, Sir” and got out of his office in a hurry. I went to the ship and met with the Captain, Executive Officer, and the Senior Chief. Sergeant Jolly and I trained the ship's crew for four days. Then Jolly raised a question none of us had thought of. He said, “These government caskets are air tight. How do we keep it from floating?” All the high priced help including me sat there looking dumb. Then the Senior Chief stood and said, “Come on Jolly. I know a bar where the retired guys from World War II hang out.” They returned a couple of hours later, slightly the worse for wear, and said, “It's simple; we cut four 12″ holes in the outer shell of the casket on each side and insert 300 lbs. of lead in the foot end of the casket. We can handle that, no sweat.” The day arrived. The ship and the sailors looked razor sharp. General Bowser, the Admiral, a US Senator, and a Navy Band were on board. The sealed casket was brought aboard and taken below for modification. The ship got underway to the 12-fathom depth. The sun was hot. The ocean flat. The casket was brought aft and placed on a catafalque. The chaplain spoke. The volleys were fired. The flag was removed, folded, and I gave it to the father. The band played “Eternal Father Strong to Save.” The casket was raised slightly at the head and it slid into the sea. The heavy casket plunged straight down about six feet. The incoming water collided with the air pockets in the outer shell. The casket stopped abruptly, rose straight out of the water about three feet, stopped, and slowly slipped back into the sea.  The air bubbles rising from the sinking casket sparkled in the in the sunlight as the casket disappeared from sight forever. The next morning I called a personal friend, Lieutenant General Oscar Peatross, at Headquarters Marine Corps and said, “General, get me out of here. I can't take this anymore.” I was transferred two weeks later. I was a good Marine but, after 17 years, I had seen too much death and too much suffering. I was used up. Vacating the house, my family and I drove to the office in a two-car convoy. I said my goodbyes. Sergeant Jolly walked out with me. He waved at my family, looked at me with tears in his eyes, came to attention, saluted, and said, “Well done, Colonel. Well done.” I felt as if I had received the Medal of Honor!

On June 29, the second day of the counteroffensive, an OV-10 flown by Air Force Capt. Steven L. Bennett had been working through the afternoon in the area south and east of Quang Tri City. Bennett, 26, was born in Texas but grew up in Lafayette, La. He was commissioned via ROTC in 1968 at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After pilot training, he had flown B-52s as a copilot at Fairchild AFB, Wash. He also had pulled five months of temporary duty in B-52s at U Tapao in Thailand. After that, he volunteered for a combat tour in OV-10s and had arrived at Da Nang in April 1972. Bennett's partner in the backseat of the OV-10 on June 29 was Capt. Michael B. Brown, a Marine Corps airborne artillery observer and also a Texan. Brown, a company commander stationed in Hawaii, had volunteered for a 90-day tour in Vietnam spotting for naval gunners from the backseat of an OV-10. Air Force FACs were not trained in directing the fire of naval guns. The two had flown together several times before on artillery adjustment missions. They had separate call signs. Bennett's was “Covey 87.” Brown was “Wolfman 45.” They took off from Da Nang at about 3 p.m. During the time they were airborne, Brown had been directing fire from the destroyer USS R.B. Anderson and the cruiser USS Newport News, which were about a mile offshore in the Tonkin Gulf. Bennett and Brown had also worked two close air support strikes by Navy fighters. It was almost time to return to base, but their relief was late taking off from Da Nang, so Bennett and Brown stayed a little longer. The area in which they were flying that afternoon had been fought over many times before. French military forces, who took heavy casualties here in the 1950s, called the stretch of Route 1 between Quang Tri and Hue the “Street Without Joy.” US airmen called it “SAM-7 Alley.” SA-7s were thick on the ground there, and they had taken a deadly toll on low-flying airplanes. The SA-7 could be carried by one man. It was similar to the US Redeye. It was fired from the shoulder like a bazooka, and its warhead homed on any source of heat, such as an aircraft engine. Pilots could outrun or outmaneuver the SA-7—if they saw it in time. At low altitudes, that was seldom possible. “Before the SA-7, the FACs mostly flew at 1,500 to 4,500 feet,” said William J. Begert, who, in 1972, was a captain and an O-2 pilot at Da Nang. “After the SA-7, it was 9,500 feet minimum. You could sneak an O-2 down to 6,500, but not an OV-10, because the bigger engines on OV-10 generated more heat.” The FACs sometimes carried flares on their wings and could fire them as decoys when they saw a SA-7 launch. “The problem was reaction time,” Begert said. “You seldom got the flare off before the missile had passed.” About 6 p.m., Bennett and Brown got an emergency call from “Harmony X-ray,” a US Marine Corps ground artillery spotter with a platoon of South Vietnamese marines a few miles east of Quang Tri City. The platoon consisted of about two dozen troops. They were at the fork of a creek, with several hundred North Vietnamese Army regulars advancing toward them. The NVA force was supported by big 130 mm guns, firing from 12 miles to the north at Dong Ha, as well as by smaller artillery closer by. Without help, the South Vietnamese marines would soon be overrun. Bennett called for tactical air support, but no fighters were available. The guns from Anderson and Newport News were not a solution, either. “The ships were about a mile offshore, and the friendlies were between the bad guys and the ships,” Brown said. “Naval gunfire shoots flat, and it has a long spread on impact. There was about a 50-50 chance they'd hit the friendlies.” Bennett decided to attack with the OV-10's four 7.62 mm guns. That meant he would have to descend from a relatively safe altitude and put his aircraft within range of SA-7s and small-arms fire. Because of the risk, Bennett was required to call for permission first. He did and got approval to go ahead. Apart from its employment as a FAC aircraft, the OV-10 was rated for a light ground attack role. Its machine guns were loaded with 500 rounds each. The guns were mounted in the aircraft's sponsons, stubby wings that stuck out like a seal's flippers from the lower fuselage. Bennett put the OV-10 into a power dive. The NVA force had been gathering in the trees along the creek bank. As Bennett roared by, the fire from his guns scattered the enemy concentration. After four strafing passes, the NVA began to retreat, leaving many dead and wounded behind. The OV-10 had taken a few hits in the fuselage from small-arms fire but nothing serious. Bennett decided to continue the attack to keep the NVA from regrouping and to allow the South Vietnamese to move to a more tenable position. Bennett swept along the creek for a fifth time and pulled out to the northeast. He was at 2,000 feet, banking to turn left, when the SA-7 hit from behind. Neither Bennett nor Brown saw it. The missile hit the left engine and exploded. The aircraft reeled from the impact. Shrapnel tore holes in the canopy. Much of the left engine was gone. The left landing gear was hanging down like a lame leg, and they were afire. Bennett needed to jettison the reserve fuel tank and the remaining smoke rockets as soon as he could, but there were South Vietnamese troops everywhere below. He headed for the Tonkin Gulf, hoping to get there and drop the stores before the fire reached the fuel. As they went, Brown radioed their Mayday to declare the emergency. Over the Gulf, Bennett safely dropped the fuel tank and rocket pods. The OV-10 was still flyable on one engine, although it could not gain altitude. They turned south, flying at 600 feet. Unless Bennett could reach a friendly airfield for an emergency landing, he and Brown would have to either eject or ditch the airplane in the Gulf of Tonkin. Every OV-10 pilot knew the danger of ditching. The aircraft had superb visibility because of the “greenhouse”-style expanses of plexiglass canopy in front and on the sides, but that came at the cost of structural strength. It was common knowledge, often discussed in the squadron, that no pilot had ever survived an OV-10 ditching. The cockpit always broke up on impact. Another OV-10 pilot, escorting Bennett's aircraft, warned him to eject as the wing was in danger of exploding. They began preparations to eject. As they did, Brown looked over his shoulder at the spot where his parachute should have been. “What I saw was a hole, about a foot square, from the rocket blast and bits of my parachute shredded up and down the cargo bay,” Brown said. “I told Steve I couldn't jump.” Bennett would not eject alone. That would have left Brown in an airplane without a pilot. Besides, the backseater had to eject first. If not, he would be burned severely by the rocket motors on the pilot's ejection seat as it went out. Momentarily, there was hope. The fire subsided. Da Nang—the nearest runway that could be foamed down—was only 25 minutes away and they had the fuel to get there. Then, just north of Hue, the fire fanned up again and started to spread. The aircraft was dangerously close to exploding. They couldn't make it to Da Nang. Bennett couldn't eject without killing Brown. That left only one choice: to crash-land in the sea. Bennett faced a decision, Lt. Col. Gabriel A. Kardong, 20th TASS commander, later wrote in recommending Bennett for the Medal of Honor. “He knew that if he saved his own life by ejecting from his aircraft, Captain Brown would face certain death,” said Kardong. “On the other hand, he realized that if he ditched the aircraft, his odds for survival were slim, due to the characteristics of the aircraft, but Captain Brown could survive. Captain Bennett made the decision to ditch and thereby made the ultimate sacrifice.” He decided to ditch about a mile off a strip of sand called “Wunder Beach.” Upon touchdown, the dangling landing gear dug in hard. “When the aircraft struck water, the damaged and extended left landing gear caused the aircraft to swerve left and flip wing over wing and come to rest in a nose down and inverted position, almost totally submerged,” Brown said in a statement attached to the Medal of Honor recommendation. “After a struggle with my harnesses, I managed to escape to the surface where I took a few deep breaths of air and attempted to dive below the surface in search of the pilot who had not surfaced. Exhaustion and ingestion of fuel and water prevented me from descending below water more than a few feet. I was shortly rescued by an orbiting naval helicopter and taken to the USS Tripoli for treatment.” Of Bennett, Brown said, “His personal disregard for his own life surely saved mine when he elected not to eject … and save himself in order that I might survive.” Bennett's body was recovered the next day. The front cockpit had broken up on impact with the water, and it had been impossible for him to get out. He was taken home to Lafayette, where he is buried. North Vietnam's Easter Offensive, battered by airpower, stalled. The South Vietnamese retook Quang Tri City on Sept. 16, 1972. The invasion having failed, Giap was forced to withdraw on all three fronts. It was a costly excursion for North Vietnam, with 100,000 or more of its troops killed and at least half of its tanks and large-caliber artillery pieces having been lost. The Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to Steven L. Bennett on Aug. 8, 1974. It was presented in Washington to his wife, Linda, and their daughter Angela, two-and-a- half years old, by Vice President Gerald R. Ford in the name of Congress. (Ford made the presentation because President Nixon announced his resignation that day. Ford was sworn in as President the next day, Aug. 9, 1974.) The citation accompanying the Medal of Honor recognized “Captain Bennett's unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life.” Since then, there have been other honors. Navy Sealift Command named a ship MV Steven L. Bennett. Palestine, Tex., where Bennett was born, dedicated the city athletic center to him. Among other facilities named for or dedicated to Bennett were the ROTC building at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the gymnasium at Kelly AFB, Tex., and a cafeteria at Webb AFB, Tex. From Wiki.org: Steven Logan Bennett (April 22, 1946 – June 29, 1972) of Palestine, Texas was a United States Air Force pilot who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Vietnam War on August 8, 1974 Prior to entering the U.S. Air Force, Steven Bennett attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in Lafayette, Louisiana; he graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He was in ROTC and received his private pilot's license in 1965. He entered the Air Force in August 1968, and earned his pilot wings at Webb AFB, Texas in 1969. In 1970, he completed B-52 bomber training course at Castle AFB, CA. He was stationed at Fairchild AFB, Washington. He flew B-52s out of Thailand for almost a year. He then transitioned to become a Forward Air Controller (FAC), and graduated from the FAC and fighter training courses at Cannon AFB, New Mexico, before reporting to Da Nang, Vietnam in April 1972. He had only been in combat for three months before his Medal of Honor mission and had also won the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He was also awarded the Purple Heart and the Cheny Award. His call-sign at DaNang was Covey 87. Bennett had recently turned 26 when he was killed. Captain Bennett was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Vice President Gerald Ford presented the decoration to Captain Bennett's wife, Linda, and daughter, Angela, at the Blair House on August 8, 1974. Bennett is buried in Lafayette Memorial Cemetery at Lafayette, Louisiana. He was survived by his wife and one child. He had two brothers, David and Miles, and three sisters, Kathe, Lynne and Ardra. His mother, Edith Alice Logan Bennett, preceded him in death and his father, Elwin Bennett, died many years later in 2006. His daughter now lives near Dallas, TX with her husband, Paul, and two children, Jake and Elizabeth. His wife, Linda Leveque Bennett Wells, died on July 11, 2011. Bennett's observer, Mike Brown, and was reunited with Bennett's wife and daughter in 1988. They have since remained close and together have attended numerous dedications in Bennett's honor throughout the United States. Angela is a lifetime member of the OV-10 Association located at Meacham Air Field in Fort Worth, Texas. They have acquired an OV-10 and painted the names of both Bennett and Mike Brown on the side in memory of their last flight together. Angela was named by her father, who chose Angela Noelle, as in Christmas Angel; she was born near Christmas. He is the namesake of the ship MV Capt. Steven L. Bennett (T-AK-4296) and his name is engraved on the Vietnam Memorial at Panel 01W - Row 051. There have been numerous other dedications done in his honor. They range from streets being named after him to buildings, including a gymnasium and a cafeteria, a sports arena and VFW posts, and many monuments. He has been mentioned in several military history books. Medal of Honor citation The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to CAPTAIN STEVEN L. BENNETT UNITED STATES AIR FORCE 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, Pacific Air Forces. Place and date of action: Quang Tri, Republic of Vietnam, June 29, 1972. For service as set forth in the following Citation: Capt. Bennett was the pilot of a light aircraft flying an artillery adjustment mission along a heavily defended segment of route structure. A large concentration of enemy troops was massing for an attack on a friendly unit. Capt. Bennett requested tactical air support but was advised that none was available. He also requested artillery support but this too was denied due to the close proximity of friendly troops to the target. Capt. Bennett was determined to aid the endangered unit and elected to strafe the hostile positions. After 4 such passes, the enemy force began to retreat. Capt. Bennett continued the attack, but, as he completed his fifth strafing pass, his aircraft was struck by a surface-to-air missile, which severely damaged the left engine and the left main landing gear. As fire spread in the left engine, Capt. Bennett realized that recovery at a friendly airfield was impossible. He instructed his observer to prepare for an ejection, but was informed by the observer that his parachute had been shredded by the force of the impacting missile. Although Capt. Bennett had a good parachute, he knew that if he ejected, the observer would have no chance of survival. With complete disregard for his own life, Capt. Bennett elected to ditch the aircraft into the Gulf of Tonkin, even though he realized that a pilot of this type aircraft had never survived a ditching. The ensuing impact upon the water caused the aircraft to cartwheel and severely damaged the front cockpit, making escape for Capt. Bennett impossible. The observer successfully made his way out of the aircraft and was rescued. Capt. Bennett's unparalleled concern for his companion, extraordinary heroism and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Air Force.

Join us for an exploration of a side of the Vietnam War that is little known in the United States. Learn about the unexploded ordnances left behind after the United States withdrew from the war, and hear about the "Secret War" in which people from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam fought alongside American troops. Meet the Speakers Sera Koulabdara serves as executive director of Legacies of War, the only international educational and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Legacies of War is working to address the impact of conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War-era, including removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and survivor assistance. Prior to this role, Sera was a long-time volunteer and served on Legacies' board for four years in multiple leadership positions, including vice chair. Under Sera's leadership, U.S. funding for UXO clearance in Laos reached $40 million for 2021—the highest level in history—and the Legacies of War Recognition and UXO Removal Act was introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin. If approved, this historic bill will recognize the people of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam who fought alongside American troops during the Vietnam War and authorizes landmark funding of $100 million for five years divided among the three countries of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Khao Insixiengmay is a former Royal Lao Army Colonel who received military training in Laos, France and in the United States. He was recruited by the CIA and fought in Military Region 3 for six years, and fought all over Laos. David Phommavong is a father, husband and son of a Secret War veteran, the late Keosond Phommavong of SGU Scorpion Unit. He is the co founder of Laotian American National Voice (LAN-V), co-chair of LAN-V Secret War Veteran's Benefit, and Lao Global Heritage Alliance Board of Director. Phommavong is an advocate and a community activist. He and his wife have a private charity, Nourish Lao Children, through which they provide financial and educational support to impoverished children in Lao PDR. Thomas Leo Briggs is retired from the U.S. federal government after 32 years of service. He spent three years in the U.S. Army with one year in Vietnam as a military police platoon leader, three years in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a special agent, and 26 years in the CIA as an operations officer. He entered duty with the CIA in 1969. His first assignment was as a special operations case officer in Laos from 1970 to 1972. During that assignment, he directed all small team special operations in Military Region IV in southern Laos. He published a book in 2009, Cash on Delivery: CIA Special Operations During the Secret War in Laos, which describes his experiences fighting the Secret War in cooperation with the Royal Lao Government against the North Vietnamese Army invaders of the Kingdom of Laos. SPEAKERS Sera Koulabdara Executive Director, Legacies of War Khao Insixiengmay Former Royal Lao Army Colonel David Phommavong Co-Founder, Laotian American National Voice (LAN-V); Co-Chair, LAN-V Secret War Veteran's Benefit; Member, Lao Global Heritage Alliance Board of Directors Thomas Leo Briggs Former Operations Officer, CIA; Former Special Agent, Drug Enforcement Administration; Former Military Police Platoon Leader, U.S. Army Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, The Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 20th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for an exploration of a side of the Vietnam War that is little known in the United States. Learn about the unexploded ordnances left behind after the United States withdrew from the war, and hear about the "Secret War" in which people from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam fought alongside American troops. Meet the Speakers Sera Koulabdara serves as executive director of Legacies of War, the only international educational and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. Legacies of War is working to address the impact of conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War-era, including removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and survivor assistance. Prior to this role, Sera was a long-time volunteer and served on Legacies' board for four years in multiple leadership positions, including vice chair. Under Sera's leadership, U.S. funding for UXO clearance in Laos reached $40 million for 2021—the highest level in history—and the Legacies of War Recognition and UXO Removal Act was introduced by Senator Tammy Baldwin. If approved, this historic bill will recognize the people of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam who fought alongside American troops during the Vietnam War and authorizes landmark funding of $100 million for five years divided among the three countries of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Khao Insixiengmay is a former Royal Lao Army Colonel who received military training in Laos, France and in the United States. He was recruited by the CIA and fought in Military Region 3 for six years, and fought all over Laos. David Phommavong is a father, husband and son of a Secret War veteran, the late Keosond Phommavong of SGU Scorpion Unit. He is the co founder of Laotian American National Voice (LAN-V), co-chair of LAN-V Secret War Veteran's Benefit, and Lao Global Heritage Alliance Board of Director. Phommavong is an advocate and a community activist. He and his wife have a private charity, Nourish Lao Children, through which they provide financial and educational support to impoverished children in Lao PDR. Thomas Leo Briggs is retired from the U.S. federal government after 32 years of service. He spent three years in the U.S. Army with one year in Vietnam as a military police platoon leader, three years in the Drug Enforcement Administration as a special agent, and 26 years in the CIA as an operations officer. He entered duty with the CIA in 1969. His first assignment was as a special operations case officer in Laos from 1970 to 1972. During that assignment, he directed all small team special operations in Military Region IV in southern Laos. He published a book in 2009, Cash on Delivery: CIA Special Operations During the Secret War in Laos, which describes his experiences fighting the Secret War in cooperation with the Royal Lao Government against the North Vietnamese Army invaders of the Kingdom of Laos. SPEAKERS Sera Koulabdara Executive Director, Legacies of War Khao Insixiengmay Former Royal Lao Army Colonel David Phommavong Co-Founder, Laotian American National Voice (LAN-V); Co-Chair, LAN-V Secret War Veteran's Benefit; Member, Lao Global Heritage Alliance Board of Directors Thomas Leo Briggs Former Operations Officer, CIA; Former Special Agent, Drug Enforcement Administration; Former Military Police Platoon Leader, U.S. Army Michelle Meow Producer and Host, "The Michelle Meow Show," KBCW/KPIX and Podcast; Member, The Commonwealth Club Board of Governors—Host In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently hosting all of our live programming via YouTube live stream. This program was recorded via video conference on May 20th, 2021 by the Commonwealth Club of California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Military planners referred to the 3,000-foot tall highland in the rugged, jungle-shrouded A Sầu Valley as “Hill 937.” North Vietnamese Army fighters called it “The Mountain of the Crouching Beast.” American Soldiers would come to call it Hamburger Hill. For 10 days, from 10 to 20 May, 1969, the cursed piece of rock would torture, confound, and aggrieve a group of American Soldiers from the 187th Infantry Regiment, “Rakassans.” It was a meat-grinder of a fight, waged by a group of lightly armed GIs against fresh, trained North Vietnamese regulars, against almost impossible terrain, against brutal weather. At the end of the ten-day battle, which saw some of the hardest fighting of the war in the decades since, that fight has come to serve as a metaphor for the Vietnam War itself: a maddening fool’s errand in which Soldiers were sacrificed for a political ploy with no strategic value. We’re releasing this episode 52 years to the day that the Battle for Hamburger Hill ended. This is a longer episode, more than an hour and a half, and in it we describe the point of Hamburger Hill, the American strategy behind the fight for it, and the way that fight played it. In this episode, you’ll hear from some of the men who fought there, some of whom never truly left Hill 937. You’ll also hear from Dr. Erik Villard, a historian who’s studied the battle, the terrain, and the North Vietnamese defenders. This is truly an enlightening, gutting, and inspiring program, one that honors the Rakassans who fought and died there.

On April 29, 1968, the North Vietnamese Army is spotted less than four miles from the U.S. Marines' Dong Ha Combat Base. Intense fighting develops in nearby Dai Do as the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, known as “the Magnificent Bastards,” struggles to eject NVA forces from this strategic position.   Listen to this unbelievable true story about heroes winning against remarkable odds. Wow!

He's the most famous sniper you've probably never heard of. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Carlos N. Hathcock II was a Marine Scout Sniper who served two tours in Vietnam, first in 1966 and returning in 1969. Until the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq he held the record for the most confirmed kills in the United States military. During the course of his two tours in Vietnam he recorded 93 confirmed kills and over 300 unconfirmed kills, building a reputation that was so renowned the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong placed a bounty on his head that was equal to three years pay or approximately $30,000. He was known by the army he hunted as "White Feather" for the single white feather he kept tucked in a band on his bush hat. His exploits against such deadly adversaries as "The Apache," "The Cobra," and "The General" were the stuff of legend! Show notes at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/35 Sound Off! With a comment or a question at https://thedigressionpodcast.com/soundoff Support the show and share our podcast with a friend!

On the morning of January 21, Marines at Khe Sanh Combat Base realized they were surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army and the only road leading to the base was cut off. Over the next 4 months, Marines would fend off multiple attacks in the various outposts surrounding the area and the base itself. By the time soldiers from the First Cavalry Division broke the siege, Over 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped by US aircraft and over 158,000 artillery rounds were fired in defense of the base. To explain the significance of the battle and its impact on the Vietnam War, we interview Gregg Jones who is an award-winning investigative journalist and international news correspondent. He has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a fellow at the Kluge Center and Black Mountain Institute, and a Botstiber Foundation grant recipient. He is the author of three acclaimed nonfiction books. Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and The Rise and Fall of America's Imperial Dream which was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. Last Stand at Khe Sanh received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation's General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award for Distinguished Nonfiction. 

We dive into one of the harriest missions of the Vietnam Air War. It starts with a high-speed ejection near the Ho Chi Minh trail. Retired Navy Captain and war hero Jack ‘Fingers’ Ensch takes us through his high speed ejection and subsequent capture by the North Vietnamese Army.

Jack Riley is decorated Marine Non-Commissioned Officer who served during the height of the Vietnam War, fighting against the North Vietnamese Army in the northern part of South Vietnam.  We celebrate Jack’s leadership in the veteran community this week and are extremely proud that he is a Marine and that he has shared so much […]

Australian Army Warrant Officer Kevin Conway of Queensland became the first Australian soldier to die in combat in Vietnam when the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army launched a fierce night-time assault on a US Green Beret base in Nam Dong. More than 50 years later, questions remain about the circumstances of his death. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

TODAY’S TOPICS: “Sustainable” (like Sweden) Covid19 policies Our friend Will Costantini’s interview Learning new things about the fight between the 3rd Marine Division and the North Vietnamese Army along the DMZ during 1967-1968 Bamboo bridges that existed just below the waterline of the Ben Hai River in the DMZ NVA soldiers putting on Marine flak […]

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn't his numerical achievement that made him a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn’t his numerical achievement that made him a legend.

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn't his numerical achievement that made him a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn’t his numerical achievement that made him a legend.

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn't his numerical achievement that made him a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn’t his numerical achievement that made him a legend.

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn't his numerical achievement that made him a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In combat, Carlos Hathcock earned the nickname “White Feather”. The Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army called him this because of the white feather he wore on his bush hat to taunt the North Vietnamese to spot him sooner. US Marine Corps Snipers were known for their lethal accuracy during the Vietnam war. One such sniper was Carlos Norman Hathcock II who had an astounding kill record of 93. But it wasn’t his numerical achievement that made him a legend.

Jeffrey D. Noble, 74, of Dublin flew an Army helicopter gunship during the Vietnam War with Company B, 9th Aviation Battalion, 9th Infantry Division, and went on to have a 25-year career in the Army. “I wouldn’t trade one day of the 25 years for anything in the world,” he said. After graduating from high school in Florida in the early 1960s and taking courses at the College of Wooster, Noble tried to join the Navy as an aviator. He was told if he wanted to be a pilot, he had to get a college degree first. After a brief return to college and getting a private pilot’s license, he joined the Army in 1966 and became a helicopter pilot. In 1968, he was flying a UH-1 Huey helicopter gunship in South Vietnam, based at Bear Cat and Dong Tam. “Getting shot (at), first time, always exciting,” Noble said. “You look down; you see a little green dot. By the time that baby gets close to your helicopter, it’s about the size of a medicine ball.” Unlike the two-man AH-1 Cobra gunships that came into widespread use later, the UH-1 had a four-man crew. The extra eyes on board, he said, were handy in spotting enemy fire from the ground. Noble’s missions during the war included locating and targeting sites that were sending mortar or rocket fire toward U.S. or allied ground troops or bases. Other missions included supporting U.S. boats working to stop communist supplies moving in rivers and canals. Communist troops were adept at avoiding trouble, he said. They could sink their boats intentionally, hide on shore and raise the boat after the coast had cleared. River operations might involve Navy boats, Air Force planes and Army helicopters and artillery, Noble said, thereby creating challenges in coordinating the different elements. Because the Army and Navy used different radio systems, Army soldiers would ride the boats to communicate with helicopters and artillery, he said. During one engagement, he asked a soldier on a boat if he had called for other support. Apparently reluctant to see the gunship leave, the soldier said no. Then U.S. artillery began to land nearby, unexpected by Noble and his crew. The soldier on the boat knew about the artillery “but wasn’t telling us,” Noble recalled with a laugh. Noble returned to the scene when artillery subsided, asking the soldier if any other support had been called. Again the soldier said no, just before a B-57 Canberra bomber arrived carrying what Noble called “the biggest bomb I’ve ever seen.” Noble’s unit operated in the southern part of the country, where the enemy was the Viet Cong (local guerrilla fighters), while the North Vietnamese Army was more active in the north. That was the situation until the Tet Offensive broke out in January 1968, when the communists launched surprise attacks against towns and bases all across South Vietnam. An immediate effect for Noble was that he was operating in urban areas for the first time. Cho Lon, an area of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, was a hotbed of combat with “Viet Cong all over the place.” Noble’s helicopter flew missions in Cho Lon for two weeks. About 80 percent of Noble’s missions were flown at night. In a Third World country like South Vietnam at the time, there is no ambient light at night in rural areas, he said. It was “a big black field out there.” By abandoning hit-and-run tactics used earlier, communist forces were overwhelmed during Tet by the Americans and South Vietnamese, along with allies from Australia and Thailand. “We won Tet,” Noble said. “There were no more North Vietnamese soldiers in South Vietnam after Tet, nor were there any Viet Cong. They were literally decimated.” North Vietnamese literature admitted, he said, “militarily, they had no ability to respond anymore.” American troops at the time believed putting military pressure on North Vietnam after the Tet Offensive could have forced the communists into talks to end the war. It was not until he had returned to the United States, Noble said, that he learned the American public saw the Tet Offensive as a failure of U.S. policy, increasing erosion of public support. Depleted Viet Cong forces eventually would be replaced by the North Vietnamese Army. Toward the end of his tour, Noble said, the NVA attacked the base where he was stationed. A year earlier, he said, the enemy would have been “nothing but Viet Cong.” When his time in Vietnam ended, Noble said, “they told you, when you got to the states, take your uniform off (because of growing public opposition to the military). Which we did.” Back in the United States, Noble completed his college education and served at locations that include Fort Benning, Fort Knox and Fort Hood. He also was stationed at Baumholder in then-West Germany and at Fort Buchanan in Puerto Rico. He performed a variety of duties, including leading an armored unit and working as an inspector general and in military finance. Noble worked for Huntington Bank for 15 years after leaving the Army. He serves on the Franklin County Veterans Service Commission and is active in several veterans organizations. At the veterans service commission, “we see the issues every week,” he said of former military personnel readjusting to civilian life. “When they get out of the service, if you can get them into a career or a job that they enjoy and are interested in and give them enough money to live on,” he said, “you’ve got a good answer.” Noble’s decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (10th award), Army Commendation Medal (three oak leaf clusters), Joint Service Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (4 bronze stars), Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm, Overseas Service Bars (two), Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon (two). He and his wife, Jane, have been married 47 years. They have two sons, Dr. Gregory Noble and Kevin Noble, and 10 grandchildren. This podcast was hosted and produced by Scott Hummel, ThisWeek Community News assistant managing editor, digital. This profile was written by Paul Comstock.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade, part 2. Dedicated to my Dad and all those who served in the armed forces this Veterans Day. This episodes follows the Sky Soldiers as they move into the deep jungle of Vietnam and into the bloodiest battles they will fight. Their training will be put to the test as they encounter the North Vietnamese Army, tactics that they used against the Viet Cong will not be as effective against the PAVN. They will come to learn what the Hill Fights are all about and it will become very personal to all those in the Army that fought in the Hills of Vietnam. Enjoy Michael

The first of what will be a long running series at 1001 Heroes, this episode tells the story of heroes known and largely unknown from different periods in history and different walks of life. Today: William F. Cody- one of the world's biggest celebrities by 1900, who brought the American West to a world audience;  Virginia Hall, the only female OSS agent to ever receive their highest award for service after she provided espionage service saving allied escapees and training resistance behind Herman lines in Vichy controlled France; The Granite Mountain Hotshots, an elite firefighting team that lost 19 of its 20 members fighting a wildfire in Arizona; Audie Murphy, who won every medal the US Army had to give in WWII despite being turned down for his size (5;5"), and survived to become an author, song writer and movie star; Carlos Hathcock, the US Marine sniper upon whose head the North Vietnamese Army placed a $30,000 bounty and who helped bring attention to the need for PTSD therapy (as did Audie Murphy);; Abdul Haji, a Kenyan businessman who, upon hearing that Islamic terrorists were killing innocents in a nearby mall, rushed in to help save others; and a heart-rending story of a son's appreciation for his father's years of sacrifice. We appreciate your monthly support!  Here;s the link:  https://www.patreon.com/1001storiesnetwork IF YOU ENJOY THIS STORY YOUR REVIEWS AT APPLE/ITUNES ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED!  Here is the link for 1001 Stories For The Road at Apple/iTunes Podcast!   https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-stories-for-the-road/id1227478901?mt=2  Here is the link for 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales at Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-classic-short-stories-tales/id1078098622?mt=2 Android: try Podbay.fm for 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales!   http://podbay.fm/show/1078098622 And try our other show in the TOP 50 Apple Podcast -History Catch 1001 HEROES now at Apple iTunes Podcast App:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836?mt=2 Catch ALL of our shows at one place by going to www.1001storiesnetwork.com- our home website with Megaphone. Website For  1001 Heroes is still www.1001storiespodcast.com   

Minh Tuyen Hoang is known to his friends as Joseph, and he runs a successful bakery and restaurant in Hornsby Mall. What many of his friends don't know is he was born near Ha Long Bay, was conscripted into the North Vietnamese Army at the age of 16, spent six months on the Ho Chi Minh Trail under constant attack from American B52 bombers, had his hand blown off by a mine, and then fled Vietnam through Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia to Thailand where he was accepted as a refugee by Australia.

1968, In the northwest corner of south Vietnam, among the mountainous jungle in a valley called Khe Sanh about 7,000 United States Marines are about to take on over 35,000 North Vietnamese Army soldiers. We look at the disaster of Dien Bien Phu that took place ten years before and we will examine the importance of Logistics and the supply train to this mission. Featured Book:The Battle For Khe Sanh - Captain Moyers S. Shore II, USMC Featured Song: Fuck and Fight – Soda JerkTheme Song “Red Horse Rising” by X-Proph3t: http://www.reverbnation.com/xproph3tStigmata Studios Comic Books and Graphic Novels: www.stigmatastudios.comSign up for the newsletter for exclusive content! http://eepurl.com/YIbLf Additional Production by Daniel Foytik and Nelson Pyles· Incidental Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/· Incidental Music (royalty free) by Ross BugdenEmail Jon: Towers113@gmail.com Visit: www.stigmatastudios.comFind Jon on Twitter: @jonnyaxx https://twitter.com/JonnyAxx Find Jon on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/stigmatastudiosFind Jon On Instagram: http://instagram.com/stigmatastudios

2nd Lt. John P. Picket served with Glenn Denton. He was killed in action 12 October 1969. His platoon was ambushed on a mountain. By the time Glenn Denton's squad arrived, 2nd Lt Picket had been killed and the Platoon Sergeant Richard Glenn had been wounded. When the Golf Co 2/7 carried Lt Picket's body down the mountain, the North Vietnamese Army attempted to gas the squad as they left.

By the spring of 1972, the Vietnam War - in which my U.S. Army brother and I both served - was supposed to be "winding down." President Richard Nixon's commitment to "Vietnamization" - training, equipping & "supporting" the South Vietnamese government & military - was well underway. In February 1972, the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne - the last U.S. ground combat division in The Republic of Vietnam - headed home. By March 1972, U.S. combat troop levels "in country" had dropped from a high of 500,000 American Soldiers & Marines in 1969 to just two Army brigades guarding fixed installations and a few thousand U.S. "advisors" embedded with South Vietnamese forces. With President Nixon facing re-election - and making overtures to Beijing & Moscow - North Vietnam's General Vo Nguyen Giap convinced the Politburo in Hanoi that the spring of 1972 was the "perfect time" to strike a devastating blow against the U.S. supported government in Saigon. Giap chose noon, Thursday, 30 March - the eve of Good Friday and Easter weekend and the holiest of holidays for Christians in South Vietnam - as "H-Hour." His intent was to make this assault an even greater propaganda victory than "Tet 1968." He nearly succeeded. Tens of thousands of North Vietnamese troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles poured across the Demilitarized Zone and raced toward a strategic bridge U.S. Navy "Seabees" had built over the Cua Viet River near the town of Dong Ha, less than 8 miles south of the DMZ. It was there that a battalion of Vietnamese Marines and a handful of American advisors were all that stood in the way of the enemy. Among them - U.S. Marine Captain John Ripley - was determined to keep the North Vietnamese Army from crossing the river. The raw courage and personal resolve he showed has become legend in the annals of American military history. To make this riveting documentary, our War Stories team returned to Vietnam with my dear departed Marine friend, Colonel John Ripley. We retraced the epic battle & walked ground we both defended when we served in 3rd Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment. You'll also meet the South Vietnamese Marine Battalion Commander - Major Nguyen Binh - whose men fought to the death beside Captain Ripley in Dong Ha during the Easter '72 offensive. If you're not moved by the accounts of the eyewitness participants in this bloody fight, seek immediate medical attention. Your heart may have already stopped. That's an order!

It is one of the Vietnam War's most famous battles. The locals called it "Dong Ap Bia" or "Mountain of the Crouching Beast"; the Americans came to know it as Hamburger Hill. But what do you really know about the fight? Risking serious injury due to unexploded bombs and ordnance, "War Stories Investigates" journeyed to the top of Hamburger Hill. We traveled over 8,000 miles and, in doing so, "War Stories" became the first journalists or camera crew to visit Hamburger Hill since the Vietnam War. This unprecedented expedition will provide you an amazing understanding of what it is was like to do battle on this rain forest-covered mountain. In May of 1969 the famed 101st Airborne Division launched "Operation Apache Snow." The goal was simple: enter the A-Shau Valley, find the enemy and kill them. But, even a good plan never survives first contact with the enemy. From the beginning of the war, the A-Shau's steep, jungle covered slopes and valleys were an enemy stronghold. This American and South Vietnamese assault would be met with stunning force, but not where or how anyone expected. In this fascinating episode of "War Stories" you will meet a Vietnamese veteran who fought with the enemy. Hear him talk about the tactics that worked against America and our weapons he most feared. You will also learn what it was like from American veterans. "War Stories" sat down with over a dozen men who battled for the mountain. Men like Frank Boccia, John Snyder and Ray Walker, all members of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Regiment of the famed "Screaming Eagles." On May 11, 1969, it was Bravo Company that first encountered the heavily armed and fortified positions of the North Vietnamese Army's 29th Regiment. The days that followed took hundreds of lives and wounded thousands. You need to hear this episode of "War Stories Investigates with Oliver North" if you truly want to understand the battle for Hamburger Hill.

During the Vietnam war, the US army's Psychological Operations, or PSYOP, teams were deployed to battle communist Viet Cong guerillas and the North Vietnamese Army. Their goal was to try to weaken the enemy's willingness to fight. They used a variety of methods including playing spooky "Wandering Soul" tapes which preyed on local beliefs about the afterlife. Alex Last has been speaking to PSYOP veteran Rick Hofmann who was deployed to Vietnam in the late 1960s. Photo:Viet Cong guerrillas on patrol during the Vietnam War, 2nd March 1966: (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

During the Vietnam war, the US army's Psychological Operations, or PSYOP, teams were deployed to battle communist Viet Cong guerillas and the North Vietnamese Army. Their goal was to try to weaken the enemy's willingness to fight. They used a variety of methods including playing spooky "Wandering Soul" tapes which preyed on local beliefs about the afterlife. Alex Last has been speaking to PSYOP veteran Rick Hofmann who was deployed to Vietnam in the late 1960s. Photo:Viet Cong guerrillas on patrol during the Vietnam War, 2nd March 1966: (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

U.S. President Gerald Ford declares Vietnam War over.The Vietnamese War, a war that defined a generation, was coming to an end in the early 1970s. As casualties mounted, so did pressure on Nixon’s Republican administration. Following Nixon’s resignation, President Gerald Ford and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger brokered deals with North Vietnamese Foreign Secretary Le Duc Tho in 1972 and 1973, for the return of American prisoners and to allow the South Vietnamese government to stay in some kind of power. As American troops withdrew, however, the NorthVietnamese ignored their promises and sent troops to fill their places. On April 23, 1975, President Gerald Ford gave a speech at Tulane University, New Orleans, in which he said that from an American perspective, the Vietnam War was finished. "Today, Americans can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by re-fighting a war." Within days, the North Vietnamese Army took control of most of the South. On April 30th, the last 10 Marines were evacuated from the American embassy in Saigon, soon renamed Ho Chi Minh City. More than 50,000 American soldiers had been killed and six times that many wounded, while Vietnam itself lost an estimated one million soldiers and civilians. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the premiere episode of FROM WHAT I REMEMBER, Nicole and Tiffany recount their mother's story about Vietnamese communist troops fighting in her town, and how it changed their home.Note: Though the Viet Cong were technically defeated during the Tet Offensive in 1968, remaining VC troops were integrated into the North Vietnamese Army. For our parents, all communists troops were referred to as Viet Cong (as it literally translates to "Vietnamese Communists"), instead of the NVA. In this episode, we have also adopted this terminology.

Sep. 5, 2015. John Riordan discusses "They Are All My Family: A Daring Rescue in the Chaos of Saigon's Fall" at the 2015 Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Speaker Biography: A former vice president of Citibank, John Riordan’s new book, “They Are All My Family: A Daring Rescue in the Chaos of Saigon’s Fall," tells the tale of his efforts to save his coworkers during the Vietnam War. While working as an assistant manager for Citibank in Saigon, he was ordered to evacuate as the North Vietnamese Army approached and was taken to Hong Kong, where he devised a plan to enable his South Vietnamese coworkers to qualify for evacuation by the U.S. In 1982, Riordan left banking to focus on real estate and now owns and runs an environmental farm in Wisconsin next to some really big buffalo. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6992

In 1968, US troops in South Vietnam discovered the victims of a Communist offensive in the old imperial capital, Hue. Much of the city had been overrun by the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong guerillas during the Tet offensive. During the occupation, hundreds, possibly thousands, linked to the South Vietnamese regime were executed. We hear from Phil Gioia, from the 82nd Airborne Division, who discovered one of the first graves. (Photo: A South Vietnamese woman mourns over the body of her husband, found with 47 others in a mass grave near Hue. Credit: AP)

“At All Costs” details the life of Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger, a Pennsylvania native who was among 12 U.S. airmen killed March 11, 1968, when a North Vietnamese Army special forces team scaled a 3,000-foot cliff and attacked their secret radar camp.

During the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance crumbles. The United States has only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country. As Communist victory becomes inevitable and the U.S. readies to withdraw, some Americans begin to consider the certain imprisonment and possible death of their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers, and friends. Meanwhile, the prospect of an official evacuation of South Vietnamese becomes terminally delayed by Congressional gridlock and the inexplicably optimistic U.S. Ambassador. With the clock ticking and the city under fire, a number of heroic Americans take matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned and often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many South Vietnamese lives as possible. Director Rory Kennedy joins us to talk about the desperate attempt to rescue thousands of Vietnamese people and the consequences the operation had on them and the ones left behind.

Tonights broadcast is dedicated In Loving Memory of : USMC PFC Dan Bullock Dan Bullock was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina.   When he was 14 years old he altered the date on his birth certificate to show he was born December 21, 1949, processed through the recruiting station, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 18, 1968. As a member of Platoon 3039 in Parris Island, he graduated from boot camp on December 10, 1968. Bullock arrived in Vietnam on May 18, 1969 and was assigned as a rifleman in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base in Quang Nam Province. He was killed instantly by small arms fire on June 7, 1969, during a North Vietnamese Army night attack while making an ammunition run to resupply his beleaguered unit. He was 15 years old " COOL " Mike is in for Dr. C. Robert Jones tonight and he is taking time to spread the great word of President Obama. How it is that so many can NOT like the KING of Kings & Lord of Lords. The President of ALL Presidents & Americas first BLACK LEADER in the oval office. Why and how is it you can NOT LOVE A man of such convictions who is helping put America back to work with QUALITY FAST FOOD entry level positions. Do the BLIND not see that the DEPRESSION we are in is NOW in the rear view mirror? Freedom of The Press? Not on his watch The Right to Bare Arms - NOT w/ our U.N. Approval Tonight this dance is going to get pretty HOT so join us for this topic and know class is in session its hostory 101.

Tonights broadcast is dedicated In Loving Memory of : USMC PFC Dan Bullock Dan Bullock was born in Goldsboro, North Carolina.   When he was 14 years old he altered the date on his birth certificate to show he was born December 21, 1949, processed through the recruiting station, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 18, 1968. As a member of Platoon 3039 in Parris Island, he graduated from boot camp on December 10, 1968. Bullock arrived in Vietnam on May 18, 1969 and was assigned as a rifleman in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base in Quang Nam Province. He was killed instantly by small arms fire on June 7, 1969, during a North Vietnamese Army night attack while making an ammunition run to resupply his beleaguered unit. He was 15 years old " COOL " Mike is in for Dr. C. Robert Jones tonight and he is taking time to spread the great word of President Obama. How it is that so many can NOT like the KING of Kings & Lord of Lords. The President of ALL Presidents & Americas first BLACK LEADER in the oval office. Why and how is it you can NOT LOVE A man of such convictions who is helping put America back to work with QUALITY FAST FOOD entry level positions. Do the BLIND not see that the DEPRESSION we are in is NOW in the rear view mirror? Freedom of The Press? Not on his watch The Right to Bare Arms - NOT w/ our U.N. Approval Tonight this dance is going to get pretty HOT so join us for this topic and know class is in session its hostory 101.

SPY Historian Mark Stout explores the importance of signals intelligence (SIGINT) to the Vietnam War with retired National Security Agency cryptanalyst Tom Glenn. Glenn served more time in country than any other civilian of the NSA. Hear about the sixth sense that good SIGINTers need to have, the difficulties of working in foreign languages, and how Glenn and his colleagues were able to predict every major Communist offensive. Learn also why American commanders did not always believe them. Finally, hear the wrenching story of Glenn’s last days in Saigon in 1975 as the city was falling to the North Vietnamese Army.

**Today's host(s):** Scot Landry **Today's guest(s):** Fr. Stephen Rock, pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Reading; Beirne Lovely, General Counsel for the Archdiocese of Boston; Fr. Frank Pavone, Director of Priests for Life; Bill Wise, parishioner at St. Paul Parish in Hingham * [Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA](http://www.milarch.org/site/c.dwJXKgOUJiIaG/b.6287817/k.3DFD/Home__Archdiocese_for_the_Military.htm) **Today's topics:** Memorial Day remembrances by a Vietnam veteran and a former Navy chaplain; Priests for Life **A summary of today's show:** On Memorial Day, Scot talks with Beirne Lovely about his experience as a Marine serving in Vietnam and as a veteran on Memorial Day; with Fr. Frank Pavone about the ministry of Priests for Life and this weekend's appearance at St. Paul, Hingham; and Fr. Stephen Rock, a 34-year Navy chaplain and now pastor of St. Agnes, Reading. **1st segment:** Scot welcomes Beirne Lovely, general counsel for the archdiocese and a former Marine, to the show. Scot asked him about his military service. He was commissioned as a Marine officer directly from Dartmouth College in 1967, followed by six months in Marine officer training, and then directly to Vietnam. He was stationed there for 13 months, all of 1968, which was one of the worst years of the war, including the [Tet Offensive](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive). He spent his whole tour up north, including a [Khe Sanh](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khe_Sanh) and the [DMZ](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_Demilitarized_Zone). He was very close to the North Vietnamese border, serving as a platoon commander in an infantry company. He became a company commander when his company commander was killed. Scot said his perception of the Marines is that they are the ones who go in first, taking on the most difficult and most life-threatening assignments. Beirne said that was true. The Marine Corps had responsibility for the northern region of South Vietnam so they primarily were facing uniformed, trained [North Vietnamese Army](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_People%27s_Army) soldiers rather than [Viet Cong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viet_Cong) guerillas, so that's a fair statement. Beirne has been out of active duty with the Marines for 40 years now. What's it like to be a veteran on Memorial Day, remembering all those who have served and given their lives? Beirne said he lost a lot of friends in Vietnams. He arrived in Vietnam on an airplane with about 40 infantry Second Lieutenants and of those about half were killed and virtually all of the rest were wounded, so he has a special memory of service. He spends Memorial Day with other veterans in his hometown of Milton, which has services of recognition of veterans. He's spoken at a number of memorial services. He stays in touch with them year-round. He belongs to a number of veteran organizations to gather and recall the services of others. It's a difficult day in some respects because it reminds him of the friends he's lost as well as the people who served with and under him who were killed. He remains close to a small cadre of friends who he survived with and periodically they gather. Every year they celebrate the Marine Corps birthday on November 10. Boston is famous for its [Marine Corps birthday recognition](http://www.necn.com/11/10/10/US-Marine-Corps-turns-235/landing_newengland.html?blockID=349493&feedID=4206). They have a Marine Corps luncheon with over 2000 at the Hynes Convention Center. It's the biggest gathering of Marines in the country and often the [Commandant](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commandant_of_the_Marine_Corps) or the assistant commandant come and speak. They have a number of Medal of Honor winners who are present. Msgr. John McDonough, a priest of Boston and former Chief of Chaplains for the Air Force (who Scot and Beirne jokingly call "the General") and Fr. Rich Erikson, the vicar general of the Archdiocese and reserve Air Force chaplain, have attended the last couple of years with Beirne. Scot asked Beirne about the message he often delivers about the debt we all owe to those who are willing to give their lives in service to their country, particularly those who have lost their lives. The principle message he tries to send is one of respect and thanks and admiration for those who have served. This past week was recently Armed Forces Day, which honors everyone, living and dead, who have served. Memorial Day is a special time to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. When he talks to young people, many of them have no idea of this reality and have not experienced this and hopefully never will. But given Iraq and Afghanistan, people are more cognizant. He tries to make them understand that people can have a special calling and sometimes we have to do what we don't like to do. No one likes war, but someone has to fight it. Scot said Beirne served in a time when the respect for the military was low during the War in Vietnam. Beirne said during his last parade at Dartmouth College before graduating, they had to move to the stadium because there were so many protesters. He remembers having eggs thrown at him. Coming back from Vietnam, he recalls spitting at him or looking the other way or yelling at him. Quite a different experience than what troops experience today. He doesn't hesitate to say that he thinks Vietnam was a mistake, but when one is serving in the Armed Forces, you don't challenge your superiors, from the President on down. Scot said we may face some of the same issues today where some don't agree with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which can lead to an attitude towards men and women in uniform. It seems to have gotten better, but Scot's not sure that we still show proper appreciation for those who offer their lives in protection of our country. What's Beirne's sense of how we as a society, particularly in Massachusetts, appreciate our servicemen and women? He thinks we're getting much better at it. He thinks veterans are being accorded the respect that they're due. It's painful for him to watch. He wasn't a big supporter of what we did in Iraq or the strategy in Afghanistan. It's difficult to conceive how the war will be "won". He has friends, whose children are in the service and going back for their third, fourth, or even fifth tours. In a sense, you're waiting for the bubble to burst. Vietnam was somewhat similar. Beirne was at Khe Sanh for 100 days. It was a famous base in a valley that was ill-situated. He remembers taking patrols out every day for 100 days and running into small-arms contact every day without exception and forcing his troops to walk through the densest of brush. Today, the young people are forced to drive on roads which they don't have complete control over and there's no way to combat the improved explosive devices (IED). One of Beirne's jobs, his hardest, was when he came back from Vietnam. He was assigned to Newport naval base as executive officer of the Marine barracks over a couple hundred Marines. His job every fourth day was to make casualty calls to families of Marines who had lost a loved one. He probably did 100 of those over 3-1/2 years. That was the most painful task. There's nothing worse than knocking on the front the door and telling a mother her son is dead. Scot said, they know as soon as they see you. It's a very quick notification in the sense that you have to get it out: "Mr Lovely, I'm sorry to tell you that your son, Charles, was killed two days ago in the Republic of Vietnam serving his country." It just doesn't get any worse than that. After the notification it was his job to follow through and handle the funeral and coordinate the military honors at the funeral. Of all the things that bring him tears, he's not ashamed to say it, is thinking about those people who gave their lives. Scot said, both for our Catholic and non-Catholic listeners, Memorial Day takes on an air of "what cookout are you going to?" using the language of celebration, not thinking of how difficult it is for someone who's made 100 of those calls and lost so many friends. What suggestion does Beirne have for everyone, but especially Catholics? Beirne said he was not the most devout and faithful Catholic when he finished college. But he remembers in Vietnam the role of the chaplain. At Khe Sanh, you had to stay in a trench all the time. They were taking 2,500 rounds per day of heavy artillery. These chaplains were notoriously visible, which gave him a great deal of comfort. His message to people is to pause some time during the day to think about those who have worn the uniform and have made the ultimate sacrifice for their God and their country from their perspective. Scot would add to that to pray for the souls of the faithful departed, particularly those who have served in the military. Something we're very good at in the Church is remembering those who have gone before us. If you happen to encounter someone you know has served, thank them for their service, however short or long it is. **2nd segment:** Scot welcomes Bill Wise and Fr. Frank Pavone to show. Scot asked Fr. Frank to describe Priests for Life's ministries. He said this is the group's 20th year. They help priests to be more clear, articulate, and effective in proclaiming the Gospel of Life, counseling those who may be tempted to abort, helping those who have had abortions to find forgiveness and peace. * [Priests for Life](http://www.priestsforlife.org/) Their ministry goes beyond what priests are called to do. Priests for Life ministers to the whole pro-life movement, training laypeople in the spirituality of being pro-life, how to defend life; ministering directly to those who've had abortions, via Rachel's Vineyard; operating the Silent No More campaign, in which men and women who've lost children to abortion share their testimony publicly; reaching out to people to exercise their political responsibilities consistent with the Church's teachings; reaching out to African-Americans, led by Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King; and more. * [Missionaries of the Gospel of Life](http://www.priestsforlife.org/missionary/) * [Rachel's Vineyard](http://www.rachelsvineyard.org/) * [Silent No More Awareness campaign](http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/) * [African-American Outreach](http://www.priestsforlife.org/africanamerican/) * [Fr. Frank Pavone on Twitter](http://twitter.com/frfrankpavone) * [Priests for Life on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/ProLifePage) * [Fr. Pavone's channel on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/frfrankpavone) Scot asked Fr. Frank what image does he hope that Catholics in the pro-life movement portray. He said the secular media is always trying to portray the extremists, but that isn't what we are as Catholics. Fr. Frank points out that this is a movement that is positive and one of inclusion. It goes against the "[Roe v. Wade](http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0410_0113_ZS.html)" decision, which said that the word "person" does not include the unborn. The pro-life view has open arms, welcoming and nurturing all human life. We say to the society, what Jesus says to us: "I am with you." I do not condemn you. I want to help you to say yes to life, to find solutions to your problems. Scot recalled that Marianne Luthin, pro-life director for the Archdiocese, [described](http://www.thegoodcatholiclife.com/2011/03/18/program-0008-for-friday-march-18-2011/) Boston's Project Rachel retreats and how they bring healing to women who've suffered abortion. He said the Rachel's Vineyard ministry does the same thing. It's important for us to share that it's important to help people both before and after abortion. Fr. Frank said the pro-life movement is a pro-woman movement. Pope John Paul said the pro-life stance is a stance in solidarity with the woman. We say that very clearly. We don't say, Let's love the baby and forget about the mother. They sometimes counsel women who've had as many as 25 abortions. Someone who's gone through something like that and is reconciled to the Church, then other people can say that there's hope for them, even for those involved in other sins. Scot said St. Paul's parish has asked Fr. Frank to speak at all the Masses and lead an evening discussion on June 4 and 5. Bill Wise said he and his wife attended a conference of Catholic CEOs in Naples, Florida, through [Legatus](http://www.legatus.org/). He and his wife knew Fr. Frank from other events, including the National Prayer Breakfast in DC. Fr. Frank had said at the time that he'd met Cardinal Seán last January and how he was so supportive of his ministries. Bill said he was moved by the Holy Spirit to invite Fr. Frank to Hingham. Fr. James Rafferty, the pastor of the parish, graciously extended his invitation and the pro-life committee organized the event. * [St. Paul Parish, Hingham](http://www.stpaulhingham.net/) Fr. Frank was grateful for the invitation and that there was a weekend relatively soon to come visit. He said anyone who wants him or any of the priests who work with him to visit their parish are welcome to contact Priests for Life. There are six priests from various parts of the country who do this work full-time. On Saturday, June 4, 7pm-9pm, Fr. Frank will give an encouragement and signs of progress and victory in the pro-life movement together with a look forward to some key projects and opportunities in the months to come. Then he will listen to the people to hear their impressions, their questions, their concerns. He wants them to feel they got exactly what they need to take the next steps in their ministry. Fr. Frank said it's been at least five years since he's been in the Boston area. Scot asked Bill how many people can be accommodated at St. Paul's for this gathering. Bill said they are prepared to welcome anyone who comes. He said they will see a good representation of the youth of the parish on Saturday night as well. Fr. Frank will be preaching at the 4pm vigil Mass on Saturday and then at the 7am, 9am, and 11am Masses on Sunday. The Saturday night gathering will be tentatively in the St. Paul School hall, or in the church if they need more room. Scot made the point that Priests for Life is not just for priests, but for everyone. Fr. Frank agreed and said the group is there to serve both clergy and laity. Much of their work is directed to people in the pews and people of other denominations as well. This is a matter of life itself and there's nothing more fundamental than that. **3rd segment:** Scot welcomes Fr. Rock to show. He's pastor of St. Agnes in Reading and a former Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard chaplain. Scot said he's retired as a military chaplain and asked him about the assignments he's had as a Navy chaplain. Fr. Rock said he served for 34 years, the first 13 in the Reserves and the rest on active duty. He served with the Marines in [Okinawa, Japan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Base_Camp_Smedley_D._Butler); on board the USS Long Beach out of San Diego, (which was built in Quincy); [Camp LeJeune](http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/), North Carolina, with the Marines; and then [Naval Air Station Sigonella](http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Sigonella/index.htm) in Sicily, Italy. From there he was called back to Washington to serve as personnel director for chaplains serving the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. * ["Fr. Stephen Rock named new pastor in Reading," The Pilot, 4/13/2007](http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=4468) * [St. Agnes Parish, Reading](http://www.st-agnes-reading.org/) Scot asked how many Navy chaplains are there? Fr. Rock said there were 1,100 chaplains around the world, 235 of them active duty priests. That was at the time he left he job in 1996. As he understands it now, there are less than 100 priests on active duty. * ["Chaplains in short supply to minister to the armed forces," Rhode Island Catholic, 2/24/11](http://thericatholic.com/news/detail.html?sub_id=3880) After that job, he assigned himself to the [USS Theodore Roosevelt](http://www.roosevelt.navy.mil/) out of Norfolk, Virginia, an aircraft carrier with 5,000 sailors and Marines on board. From there he went back to the Marines in Okinawa and then around the world again to [Naples, Italy](http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Naples/index.htm), which gave him an opportunity to be in Rome on several occasions. For his last assignment, he returned to New England for the [Coast Guard Academy](http://www.cga.edu/) in New London, Connecticut. He spent 3 great years with those young men and women. Scot asked him what attracted to being a naval chaplain when he was in the seminary. Fr. Rock said his father had a cousin who was a chaplain with the Army Air Corp in World War II and he's sure he heard some of those stories growing up. Also growing up in Boston, he had a great love of the ocean and stories of naval history here. He wanted to be a priest in conjunction with serving the country and traveling and seeing the world. Scot asked what it was like to be a chaplain on the Roosevelt, how it's different from being pastor of a large parish in Reading. Fr. Rock said he was the senior chaplain on the ship with two Protestant chaplains who served under him along with a couple of enlisted personnel. Their role was to provide not only for the religious needs of the men and women onboard, but also the personal needs that are the equivalent of social work. They would handle all the Red Cross messages from the US regarding a death in the family or issues back home. They became pastors for the whole trip. The difference between being a chaplain on the ship and a pastor in a parish is just the uniform. In the parish he has the collar on and on the ship he has the uniform on. Some of the sailors would refer to him as "Captain" (his rank), but most would call him "Chaps" or "Padre" or "Father". It was always a sign of endearment. He wasn't into the rank. He remembers a sailor telling another, "Don't worry about his rank. He couldn't care less about it. He's more interested in being with us." Fr. Rock saw that as the ultimate compliment. His responsibilities as a chaplain extended beyond the Catholics. Fr. Rock said chaplains are responsible to provide religious opportunities for everyone. So of course he would celebrate the Masses, which occurred on the Roosevelt on Saturday night, Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon. He would also helicopter to other ships in the carrier's task force. There was no Jewish chaplain so he would work with the Jewish community onboard to prepare lay-led services. Before they would deploy, he would connect one of them with a local rabbi for training. They would do the same for all the other faith groups as well. Scot asked if there were big difference between serving with the Navy versus serving with the Marines and serving with the Coast Guard. Fr. Rock said that one interesting difference is that there were more Catholic Marines than there were Catholic sailors. He's heard different explanations, but he doesn't know how to explain it. He said there's a deep desire in people for a better understanding of God, and who more than those putting themselves in harm's way. They want to know there is a God who cares and loves them. That is the same between the services. The chaplains serve as role models and to share with them not only their hardships, but also the love of God and the hope that comes from a relationship with God. Scot asked what it's like to be at sea for long periods. Fr. Rock said it's awesome to see the beauty of God. Being a person of faith, you try to see God everywhere in His creation. At sea, you see the ocean, the clouds, the sunrises and sunsets, and the night sky. Also the animals you find at sea. You get a whole sense of God's creation. In 1987, he was on an [Aegis cruiser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticonderoga_class_cruiser) coming out of the Persian Gulf through the Straits of Hormuz about midnight. The Captain told him that they would have Mass that night out on the deck between weapons mounts and they jokingly named it St. [CIWS](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS) of the Sea. It was incredible in terms of the brightness of the stars and the phosphorescence of the ocean so they didn't need any lights for the Mass. The men and women could sense that God was with them in this place in a very special way. It's one of his best memories celebrating Mass at sea. **4th segment:** Scot asked Fr. Rock what is like to be chaplain in the Far East during his two stints at Okinawa for himself the men interacting in a culture different from our own. Fr. Rock said it's a blessing for our military to have assignments around the world because they are put in contact with other cultures and they don't have a choice. When they get there, they can embrace it and go out and discover it, or they just stay on the base. For those that want to learn as much as they can, there's a richness that opens up for them. Fr. Rock was blessed to have a priest in the local diocese, a Capuchin Franciscan from Wisconsin who'd been there since the 1950s. He was a great mentor to all the priests coming through Okinawa and he gave them a view into the local culture that was very Shinto Buddhist but also connected to the Catholic Church. The more Fr. Rock understood Shinto, it was like reading the Old Testament. He remembers being at a ceremony in a town in northern Okinawa called [Nago](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nago,_Okinawa), for the cherry blossom festival, which is a big celebration for Japan. There was a huge banyan tree in the middle of the city, in front of which was an altar covered with fruits and vegetables and other items, like sake. Of course, Fr. Rock didn't understand Japanese, so he just had to go on what he saw was happening. But he watched them chant, beat the drum, and dance around, and then take the food on the altar and throw it up into the tree, and then take the big bottles of sake and pour them on the roots of the tree (which disappointed the Marines he was with). Later on the day, one of his chaplain friends who'd been a missionary in Taiwan before becoming a chaplain said to Fr. Rock that's right out of the Old Testament. Wherever the patriarchs had encountered God in a special way, they would build an altar and offer sacrifice to God in honor of that visit. For the Shinto, in the ceremony they weren't worshipping the tree, but worshipping the gods as they understood them. What they did know is that because the tree was so big and unique in Okinawa, they believed the gods as they understood them must have touched earth in this particular spot. The Franciscan missionary told him that they were able to use much of the folklore to help the people understand Christianity because of the connections to Christian understanding. The more he traveled in Asia and visited Shinto shrines, he saw the devotion of the people at them and their sense of the divine mystery. They had no understanding of it as we do, but they recognized that there was something beyond them. At these places of worship they would be present while we in the West, without our scientific way of thinking and wanting to figure everything out, have lost a lot of the sense of the sacred and the divine. The biggest difficulty for Christianity in that part of the world is the crucifixion. They can't understand the humiliation of the cross. Fr. Rock recalls a book that said the way to the Japanese heart is through the compassion of Christ and the stories of Scripture like the Samaritan woman and the the woman with the hemorrhages. Fr. Rock said it enriched the spiritual lives of those from the West who were able to experience it. Scot asked Fr. Rock how often he brings his experiences in the Navy to his preaching at St. Agnes. He replied that it depends on what's going on. He tries not to tell Navy stories all the time, but there are opportunities to bring his experience to a particular reading. Scot asked him to describe St. Agnes. He said it's a busy parish with a lot going on. They have had a great foundation of faith-building in the parish. They had Fr. Arthur Flynn as pastor for 33 years and they did a lot of great spiritual development at that time. Fr. Rock wants to go from being a good parish to a great parish and move forward, improving their outreach. That's one of the big differences from being a chaplain. On a naval base, you take care of the chapel and maintain things for two or three years or maintain the chaplaincy on a ship, and you move on to another assignment. But now Fr. Rock is close to his fourth anniversary at St. Agnes, which is the longest he's been in one place for the last 25 years. So on the one hand, he could sit back and relax, but on the other, there's so much that needs to be done working with all the parishioners and growing the parish. Something they've took on was the project related to the book, "From Maintenance to Mission," by Fr. Bob Rivers, to be come a church that is mission-oriented. They started the process a year ago and in October they did the parish-wide survey during the homily at Mass. The surveys were sent to the [Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate](http://cara.georgetown.edu/index.html) at Georgetown, who complied the data and put it together in a report. Then they did focus groups which involved about 140 people. In February, they had a listening day at which 175 people came to the church for six hours. They were excited to be able to talk and be heard. Then in March they had a discernment day, trying to narrow down all the ideas of listening day into some practical things they could move forward with. That was another six hour day. They have another one coming up at the beginning of June that they call vision day, to lay out what they will do for the next three years in outreach. It begins a process that is Christ-centered and will be all laid out on Pentecost weekend. Scot said he will have Fr. Rock and some of his parishioners back on the show to talk about this process which could be a model for other parishes. He thanked Fr. Rock for his service to our country and as a priest here in the Archdiocese of Boston. Fr. Rock said Memorial Day is a reminder to us of the sacrifice of all who have gone before us and a good day to remember them, to pray for them, and to thank God for the gifts we have in this country of those who are willingly to go in harm's way on our behalf.