American Warrior Radio

“Shot Down” tells the story of the crew of the “Susan Ruth”, a WWII B-17 shot down on Feb. 8, 1944 over the French/Belgium Border. The name was given to the aircraft by Pilot Howard Snyder in honor of his young daughter.

Steve Snyder, Howard’s son, has written a meticulously researched and detailed book that describes the lives of the crew members and their harrowing months in hiding from German forces. The book also tells the stories of the brave Belgian citizens who risked all to keep the American crew members safe.

Steve had a great deal of material to work with in putting together Shot Down. He had diaries and correspondence from the crew members as well as interviews with his father Howard before he died. There were also some surprises. He was able to get in contact with the German aviator who was one of the pilots that shot down his father’s plane. (Both German fighters were also shot down by the B-17 in that action.) A random Facebook message also put him in touch with the granddaughter of one of the Belgian rescuers.

Howard Snyder eventually got tired of hiding all the time and not being able to make the arduous escape journey through Spain. Because he had some infantry training before going to pilot school he decided to join The Maquis – a resistance fighter group. This was very unusual in the history of WWII.

Of the 10 member crew of the Susan Ruth, only five were eventually able to return home. Two crewmembers were killed in the attack and three were captured and executed by the Germans – a war crime. Many of the other five families only knew that their loved ones were missing in action until they received telegrams that they were safe.

TAKEAWAY: It was particularly impactful to talk with Steve while sitting a mere 20 feet away from the B-17 “I’ll Be Around” on display at the 390th Memorial Museum in Tucson, AZ.

Sentinels of Freedom began as a way of honoring young people choosing to join the military out of high school.   Following the 9/11 attacks, Mike Conklin and his group realized that some of these young people would be coming home severely injured and would likely need extra help.  Their first “Sentinel” had been run over by a tank. Mike’s group arranged for a donated four year apartment lease, a car, furniture and everything he would need to start his life over.

Since formally incorporating as a non-profit in 2007, Sentinels of Freedom has provided individually tailored assistance to 678 severely injured Veterans, mostly through their “Bridge for Education” program. This program fills gaps in funding not covered by the VA programs. Average investment per Veteran is $55,163. Mike chuckles when he recalls the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff telling him if the government ran a similar program it would probably cost $500,000 per Veteran.

Mike says they are seeking young men & women who have attitude, aptitude and drive. “We are NOT a charity. We are an investment company - we are investing in their futures.” Applicants must have a disability rating of 50% or higher and have been injured in combat or training. They must also express a sincere commitment to furthering their education through either college or vocational training. Veterans seeking assistance are encouraged to apply during the two rounds of scholarship awards each year.

Mike personally meets with each applicant and case managers design a customized plan for each client, including assignment of a mentor that works with them during their entire four year journey toward graduation.  They are currently supporting Sentinels in 40 states and have also built six Veteran student resource centers on college campuses.

Many Sentinels have said that, although the financial support is important, the best thing about the organization is the network of high level contacts they can bring to bear.

TAKEAWAY: “The fun part is watching them grow, overcome their injuries and flourish.”

D-Day was the greatest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare and one that that Harper Coleman will never forget. A member of the 4th Infantry Division, he landed in the first wave at Utah beach carrying a 30 pound machine gun over his head. Harper just celebrated his 100th birthday and joins us to share his memories of D-Day and the other major battles he was part of as his unit moved across Europe.

Suzanne Ryan is an avid historian. She regularly takes Veterans and their families back for tours of the Normandy landing areas. This past August Suzanne took Harper back to Utah Beach for the first time since the war.

French armor divisions were assigned to take the lead in liberating Paris but the 4th was attached. Harper recalls that the French troops may have begun celebrating a bit early and US soldiers were tasked with clearing the remaining Nazi forces.

His unit fought in both the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and the Battle of the Bulge. Hurtgen was the longest battle fought on German soil during the war and our troops’ first introduction to German artillery “tree bursts”. Fragments of a tree wounded Harper in the arm and put him out of commission for a couple of weeks. Harper was brought out of the Battle of the Bulge with frozen feet and narrowly avoided amputation.

Harper and Suzanne share the amazingly warm welcome they received from French citizens during his return visit. The Mayor of Saint Marie de Mont made Harper an honorary citizen. Suzanne booked what was supposed to be a private boat tour of the beaches for Harper but when word got out that there would be a WWII Veteran aboard, the boat was packed with French citizens who wanted to ride along. She also shares an encounter with a “big burly tattooed guy” who, upon seeing Harper wearing the French Legion of Honor medal, snapped to attention and rendered Harper a salute – tears streaming down his face.

TAKEAWAY: If you would like to support Suzanne's efforts to take WWII Veterans back to Normandy, please fill out the contact form on our website.

Veteran Jennifer Marshall attended high school in a “one stoplight” town so it didn’t take much convincing from the Navy recruiter to get her to join. She never imagined that someday she would appear in several Hollywood productions, host a television series and own her own private investigations firm.

Jennifer started as a logistics specialist and also served on the fire and ship security defense support teams aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. She had planned on making a career of the Navy but adverse reactions to vaccines on a Gulf War deployment forced her to leave at the five year mark. She decided to join the Los Angeles police department but was injured in the 14th week at the academy.  At that point she decided to pursue acting. Some of her roles include the TV series General Hospital, Hawaii Five-O, Jack Reacher and Stranger Things.

We discuss some of the challenges she faced breaking into Hollywood including the odd remark “You don’t LOOK like a Veteran.” Jennifer says she has no problem playing military roles because Veteran actors bring something extra to those characters.  “To a random actor the uniform is just a costume. A Veteran has a higher understanding.” Her best advice to other Veterans; “Know your own worth.”

Though she never made in into the ranks of LAPD, she was always interested in detective work. Jennifer founded Deep Source Investigations in 2014. Producers of the CW series “Mysteries Decoded” called her their “purple magical uniform” because she is female private investigator who has worked in television.

Jennifer Marshall is passionate about helping others. She funded the expansion of an orphanage in Uganda and two of her children are adopted from South America and Uganda. She also loves being part of the Pin-Ups for Vets organization.

TAKEAWAY: “I am here today because of the generosity of many people and am very thankful for that. That is why I try to give back as much as possible.”

Folds of Honor Executive Vice President of Operations and Relationships Col. James “Nick” Nichols joins us to share their story and how all of us can support this honorable cause. Folds of Honor provides scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. To date they have granted 35,000 scholarships with an educational impact in excess of $160 million.

The idea for Folds of Honor came to Founder Lt. Col. Dan Rooney through an experience on an airline flight after returning from his second deployment. As he boarded, he noticed a Corporal in Army dress greens sitting in first class. Upon landing, the pilot announced that they were carrying the remains of a fallen service member, Corporal Brock Bucklin. The soldier in first class was his twin brother Corporal Brad Bucklin, bringing his brother’s remains home. Dan witnessed Brock’s wife and young son greeting the flag draped coffin. Dan knew that that young man would have a huge gap in his life going forward and the rest of us should not leave that family behind. Jacob Bucklin would become the first Folds of Honor scholarship recipient in 2007.

Patriot Golf Days is one of their major initiatives. People all around the country are encouraged to make a donation and then go out and play a round of golf on Memorial Day weekend at their local golf course. People can join their “squadron” with a monthly donation of $13 per month. (The number of folds in the flags placed upon military coffins.)

Nick is a third generation fighter pilot. His father was killed when Nick was only fifteen. He knows firsthand the challenges faced by the Gold Star families that his organization supports.

Scholarship applications may be submitted via their website February 1 – March 31 of every year.

TAKEAWAY: “Leaving the military was a difficult transition but Folds of Honor allows me to continue to serve.”

Carry the Load co-founders Stephen Holley and Clint Bruce are both Navy SEAL Veterans. The idea for their initiative was born out of anger and frustration, feeling that Americans  were drifting away from the original purpose of Memorial Day.  On Memorial Day 2010 Clint decided to undergo physical pain as an emotional purge. He loaded his pack with one pound for every comrade he had lost. During that walk he encountered a WWII Veteran who asked him; “Who are you carrying son?” Stephen joins us to share more information about their organization.

Stephen and Clint organized their first Carry the Load walk in 2011. The event raised $100,000. Their intent was to just organize a Memorial Day event but it has since grown to a year round series of activities across 48 states. Carry the Load has raised over $33 million for Veteran and First Responder charities. Interestingly, their grassroots growth has principally been driven by the 99% or our population who never served.

Their goal this Memorial Day is to raise $2 million dollars. They have five national relays traveling 24 hours a day, seven days a week following different paths across the US. Those relays will cover a total of 20,000 miles during the month of May. There are also rallies schedule in many cities.

If there is not an event near you, Stephen encourages you to form a team and conduct your own. There is no cost to register – YOU can make a donation or register to walk at their website. Veteran and First Responder organizations who would like to apply to be a beneficiary can do so in September of each year.

Carry the Load has three principal focus areas; Raising awareness, funding continuum of care programs and inspiring patriotism in our nation’s youth.

TAKEAWAY: A critical element of each event is facilitating participants to share their “why” with each other. They walk because “you can’t run and talk.”

Coffee or Die Executive Editor Marty Skovlund, Jr. had two aspirations in High School; play for the NBA and become an Army Ranger. The Los Angeles Lakers never called but he did earn a Ranger tab. The idea that someday he would be doing “classic Ernie Pyle” journalism never crossed his mind.

Marty founded The Havok Journal to give a voice to the Veteran community.  Later, he approached Evan Hafer (a fellow soldier and Founder/CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company) about starting a media arm of Black Rifle. Coffee of Die launched in June of 2018. Their website receives 2 million visits per month and their YouTube channel has generated 13 million views so far this year.

Marty says he left Afghanistan with a rifle and returned with a camera. His reporting for Coffee or Die has also taken him to Iraq and he recently returned from Ukraine. He shares what he witnessed in that conflict. “In Ukraine they are fighting for their very existence. Even common citizens have taken up arms.” One of his most compelling series actually was domestic coverage – the Standing Rock protest in North Dakota.

Marty’s current project is a book about special forces legend Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, a woman operating “outside the wire” with Special Operations at a time when it was almost unheard of.  She was killed by an ISIS suicide bomber in 2019.

I strongly encourage listeners to read his first book: “Violence of Action; The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger Regiment in the War on Terror.”  Also, look into The Darby Project.

We also discuss Marty’s evolution into being a “real journalist”, an issue he struggled with for a long time.  He drew from his experience as the “new guy” in Ranger training. “You can’t expect others to take you seriously if you won’t take yourself seriously.”

TAKEAWAY: They idea that long form journalism has died is not accurate. People just have more competition for their time and if the product is compelling they WILL read it.

“Richard Eager: A Pilot’s Story From Tennessee Eagle Scout to General Montgomery’s Flying Fortress” is the product of a 13 year  long collaboration between a World War II B-17 pilot and his family.  Because Richard Evans was such a gung-ho air cadet and an Eagle Scout at heart, one of his fellow cadets began calling him Richard “Eager” and the nickname stuck.

Unlike many World War II Veterans, Richard often regaled his family with stories of his time in the service. At their urging he sat down, and over the course of three years penned a 21 chapter manuscript. However, he was never able to get it published. Upon Richard’s death in 2006 his daughter Barbara Evans Kinnear made it her personal mission to get her father’s story into print. 100% of the proceeds from book sales benefit the Air Force Aid Society.

One of the more interesting aspects of Richard’s service included being selected to fly a B-17 that was “won” by British General Bernard Montgomery in a “bet” with General Eisenhower.  Captain Richard “Eager” was ordered to pick his crew, load into an assigned B-17 and report to General Montgomery. The book relates some little known insights into General Montgomery and the Eagle Scout from Tennessee even got to meet the King of England.

Richard left the service after World War II but was called back to serve during the Korean War and the Cold War. His career put him into the cockpits of many bombers more advanced than the B-17 including the B-47, B-52 and B-58. Richard’s last project was the XB-70, only two of which were ever produced.

TAKEAWAY: Richard’s story might have been lost forever when Barbara and her family lost their home to a wildfire in 2008. Miraculously, she discovered some of the original draft chapters along with a treasure trove of her father’s letters and photographs while cleaning out his storage shed.

Pin-Ups for Vets founder Gina Elise began to hear news stories about Iraq war Veterans needing medical care and she wanted to do something creative to help. Her grandfather served in WWII and Gina had always been a fan of that era’s pin-up art.  So in 2006 she decided to create a classy, 1940’s style pin-up calendar to raise money for Veterans.

After donating $5,000 in proceeds from the first calendar to a local Veteran’s hospital, she began to get inquiries about the next calendar. Gina also heard from female veterans looking to volunteer. She saw this as an opportunity to empower them and shift perspectives about what a Veteran is. In the words of one model; “There’s nothing that says I can’t be a hard charging Marine AND a lipstick wearing pin-up. So I choose to be both.” Pin-Ups for Vets just released their 17th calendar and have donated over $100,000 to purchase rehab equipment for Veterans hospitals.

In addition to shipping the calendars to troops deployed overseas, Gina and her Ambassadors embarked on a 50 state tour visiting Veteran hospitals/homes and military bases. She says it is very powerful to see the instant connection between these female Veterans and those they are visiting. In one case, after she had a conversation with a wounded soldier, the hospital staff told Gina he was suffering from a traumatic brain injury and that was the first time he had spoken in a month. To date, they have visited over 15,000 Veterans nationwide and overseas.

Listeners can help by making a direct donation or purchasing the calendar & branded merchandise through the website.  Advertising opportunities within the calendar are also available. Casting notices for the calendar are posted on the website each spring.

TAKEAWAY: “I came for the service but I stayed for the sisterhood."

Today, John “Lucky” Luckadoo is the last surviving member of the 100th Bomb Group from World War II.  Most of the bomber crews of the 100th only survived 5 missions, earning the group the unenviable nickname “The Bloody Hundredth". It not until 50 years after the end of the war that John began to talk about his time at war because “those were not the happiest days of our lives and recalling them was not a happy experience.”

Lucky relates that bestselling author Kevin Maurer called him “out of the blue” and said he had heard some of his stories and wanted to read his book. John replied “Well, I don’t have a book’ and that began a collaboration that resulted in “Damn Lucky; One Man’s Courage during the Bloodiest Campaign in Aviation History.

Lucky and his high school friend Sully both wanted to fly and tried to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Sully got permission but Lucky had to wait until the US entered the war. Later in the war Lucky flew to a nearby base to visit Sully and saw a crashed aircraft. Tragically, that had been Sully’s plane.

Kevin does an excellent job of translating Lucky’s war experiences including the Bremen mission when German pilots crashed their planes directly into the bombers. Of the 18 aircraft that began that mission, only six returned to base.

Kevin has written books that span from the Second World War to the present day. He says there are some universal truths regardless of the generation. Most soldiers are fighting for the person next to them and leave the politics for home.  He says one shouldn’t give the military a mission unless you are sure of what you want them to achieve because they will sacrifice their lives trying to accomplish that mission.

TAKEAWAY: Lucky says he was fortunate to have an author sufficiently talented to put the reader in the cockpit.