In Part 1 of this multi-part conversation, Bill sits down with John Meade, a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and author of Confessions of a Surviving Alien.

John shares his early life growing up in Minnesota, the lessons learned from hard work at a young age, and the experiences that shaped his determination to always try. From boot camp and advanced Marine Corps infantry training to volunteering for Vietnam in 1966, John explains why he chose the toughest path and what it meant to serve during the Vietnam War.

This episode covers John’s journey to Vietnam, landing in-country, building base camps as a combat engineer, guarding perimeters, and witnessing the realities of war for the first time. John also opens up about a Christmas Eve 1966 incident that would leave lasting effects, introducing the early signs of combat trauma, moral injury, and PTSD in veterans—long before those terms were widely understood.

Part 1 sets the foundation for a powerful story about military service, Vietnam veteran experiences, survivor’s guilt, and the lifelong impact of war. It’s a raw, honest look at what happens when the fighting ends—but the memories don’t.