Episodes

  • The Capture of U-505: LTJG Albert L. David

    The Capture of U-505: LTJG Albert L. David
    Oct 28 2024
    Lieutenant Junior Grade Albert Leroy David served in World War II as an assistant engineering and electrical officer on the USS Pillsbury. On June 4th, 1944, the Pillsbury’s hunter-killer group located a German U-boat 150 miles off the coast of West Africa. They attacked the submarine with depth charges, seriously damaging the ship and forcing the enemy to surface. As they abandoned ship, the German crew rigged demolition charges and cut holes in the hull, hoping to sink the U-boat to prevent their enemies from recovering any sensitive information. Facing enemy fire, an erratically moving vessel, and the possibility of explosion at any minute, LTJG David led a group of nine men onto the enemy U-boat. They quickly disarmed all the explosives and stopped the ship's flooding, allowing it to be recovered and hauled to the U.S.. On board, they recovered classified materials, charts, codebooks and enigma decoding machines. This became crucial information to the U.S., allowing allies to break German map code to locate U-boats, as well as decode German submarine radio messages in real time. The technology and advanced systems recovered on the ship also provided valuable information to the U.S. As a result of this success David was promoted to Lieutenant and recommended for the Medal of Honor. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could receive it. On September 17th, 1945, just two months before the ceremony, he died of a heart attack. On November 9th, 1945 Lieutenant Albert Leroy David was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The Medal was presented to his wife, and it now sits on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, along with U-505. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • The Battle of Shok Valley: SSG Ronald J. Shurer II

    The Battle of Shok Valley: SSG Ronald J. Shurer II
    Oct 14 2024
    SSG Ronald J. Shurer served in the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) as a Medical Sergeant. On April 6th, 2008, his unit embarked on Operation Commando Wrath, a mission to capture or kill high-value targets in Shok Valley. The operation would later be named The Battle of Shok Valley. For six hours, Shurer and his unit came under RPG, machine gun, sniper, and small arms fire on the mountain. During that time, Shurer put himself in harm's way numerous times to provide aid to his wounded comrades. On October 1st, 2018, Ronald J. Shurer II was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Shok Valley. Thanks to Shurer’s incredible bravery, not a single American died in the battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • The Ultimate Sacrifice: Pvt. Christian and Pvt. Johnson

    The Ultimate Sacrifice: Pvt. Christian and Pvt. Johnson
    Sep 30 2024
    On June 3rd, 1944, Private Herbert Christian and Private Elden Johnson were on a patrol looking for enemy Germans. At 1am, they were ambushed, and came under suffocating fire from nearly all sides. Seeing no other options, Christian and Johnson stood up amidst the fire and advanced, drawing the enemy’s attention away from their allies and towards themselves. Despite the odds, and Christian even having his leg shot off, they were both able to travel 20 yards and kill multiple enemies before finally being gunned down. In the end, their diversion worked, and 12 of their allies were able to escape to safety. Both Private Herbert Christian and Private Elden Johnson were later awarded the Medal of Honor for the courageous sacrifice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins
  • The Fighting Field Music: Sgt. Darrell S. Cole

    The Fighting Field Music: Sgt. Darrell S. Cole
    Sep 16 2024
    Sergeant Darrell S. Cole initially served during World War II as a bugler. He didn’t like the job, and wanted to serve with his unit so badly that he twice took it upon himself to mount unmanned machine guns and join the battle. For this he became known as “The Fighting Field Music”. Due to his accomplishments and persistence, he was eventually assigned to a machine gun and became squad leader. During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Sgt. Cole lead his section onto the shore and up the beach through heavy fire. As they advanced, they were pinned down twice by a total of 5 protectedJapanese machine guns. Under intense fire,Cole destroyed all five on his own with a machine gun, grenades, and his pistol. After destroying the fifth, he was killed by an enemy grenade. On April 17th, 1947, Darrell S. Cole was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage, determination, and sacrifice during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Thanks to Cole, his unit was able to storm the remaining fortifications and seize their objective during a critical period of the battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    5 mins
  • The Battle of A Shau Part II: CSM Bennie G. Adkins

    The Battle of A Shau Part II: CSM Bennie G. Adkins
    Sep 2 2024
    The Battle of A Shau was a brutal battle that took place in the northern part of South Vietnam. More aptly described as a multi-day defense, less than 450 soldiers faced an onslaught of 2,000 NVA attackers. In this two-part episode, we tell the full story of the battle, and reveal why two of the camp’s defenders, Col. Bernard Francis Fisher and CSM Bennie G. Adkins, were both awarded the Medal of Honor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    14 mins
  • The Battle of A Shau Part I: Col. Bernard Francis Fisher

    The Battle of A Shau Part I: Col. Bernard Francis Fisher
    Aug 19 2024
    The Battle of A Shau was a brutal battle that took place in the northern part of South Vietnam. More aptly described as a multi-day defense, less than 450 soldiers faced an onslaught of 2,000 NVA attackers. In this two-part episode, we tell the full story of the battle, and reveal why two of the camp’s defenders, Col. Bernard Francis Fisher and CSM Bennie G. Adkins, were both awarded the Medal of Honor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    21 mins
  • Feed Drop: History Daily - A B-24 Crash Survivor Begins a Fight for Survival

    Feed Drop: History Daily - A B-24 Crash Survivor Begins a Fight for Survival
    Aug 12 2024
    This week we wanted to share an episode of another podcast we’re excited about; History Daily from Noiser and Airship. Today we’re listening to their episode covering the story of 2d Lt and former Olympian Louis Zamperini, who became a POW after his bomber crashed at sea in WWII. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    19 mins
  • Surrounded in Ia Drang: LTC Ronald E. Ray

    Surrounded in Ia Drang: LTC Ronald E. Ray
    Aug 5 2024
    Lieutenant Ronald E. Ray was deployed as a platoon leader in the Ia Drang Valley, right on the Cambodian border. After one of his patrols was surrounded by the enemy, Ray took nearly all of his men to rescue them. They successfully broke through enemy lines to reach their allies, where they took fire from all sides. Ray directed their defense while single handedly taking out multiple enemies and machine gun nests, in addition to using his body to protect two of his allies from a grenade explosion. Ray and his team weathered the storm, and Ray only agreed to be evac’ed after all of his men had reached safety. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    6 mins