American Warrior Radio

Jeff Nelligan is an Army Veteran that is recognized as one of the foremost commentators in the world of American Parenting. His book “Four Lessons from My Three Sons; How You Can Raise Resilient Kids” spent four months on the Amazon Parenting Best Seller’s List. His works have also been cited in numerous parenting magazines.

In addition to his Army Service, he formerly worked for three members of our US Congress and was twice a Presidential appointee. He currently works as a Senior Public Affairs executive in Washington, DC

Jeff shares a shocking statistic. Seventy five percent of the time you will spend in your children’s lives will take place before the time they reach 12 years old.

He emphasizes that raising resilient children must be an INTENTIONAL strategy.  The four elements of his strategy is based upon four eternal military values; courtesy, confidence, ambition & resilience in adversity.  We discuss several examples of the techniques and exercises he would conduct on a daily basis with his three sons.  He started at a young age and often made the “tests” fun so that they would more easily get engaged.  It is important to teach a child the importance of building relationships with the real world early in life. They will then have the “muscle memory” to face challenges that will inevitably arise.

All of Jeff’s sons have now embarked on military careers of their own. They still use “key phrases” they learned from those early life lessons taught by their father.

I cannot recall the last time I found so much value in only 140 pages. I highly recommend “Four Lessons from My Three Sons; How You Can Raise Resilient Kids”.  The book would also make an excellent gift for new parents.

TAKEAWAY:  “If you don’t have a strategy for raising your kids, society will do it for you – and that may not be something you want.

Code Name Nemo was the name eventually given to one of the most daring and audacious missions of World War II – the effort to capture a German submarine intact. Charles Lachman joins us to share this fascinating and still little known story. The capture of U-505 was the first time since the War of 1812 that an enemy vessel was boarded and captured.

Lachman is the Executive Producer of the nationally syndicated news program “Inside Edition” and the author of four books. In Code Name Nemo, Lachman uses archival documents and taped interviews with actual crewmembers to give the reader a deep familiarity with the sailors involved in this mission.

They include the maverick Navy Captain Daniel Galley, who first dreamed up the plan as well as one of the ill-fated German U-Boat Commander who committed suicide on board during a depth charge attack. Lt. Albert David led the boarding party and would eventually be awarded the Medal of Honor. Also key to the mission was ship’s mechanic Earl Trosino and Ewald Felix, a defecting German crew member who helped keep the U-505 stabilized and afloat so that it could be towed to an allied port.

Critical to Galley’s plan was for his antisubmarine task force to do sufficient damage to the enemy submarine to get her to surface and force the crew to abandon ship without destroying the vessel. Between engaging in a shootout with any German sailors remaining on board the sub sinking from any demolition charges left behind, the brave sailors who comprised the boarding crew knew they were likely on a suicide mission.

The capture of U-505 was an intelligence coup. However, the captured crew would have to be segregated and the submarine disguised so the Nazi’s would never realize it was captured. Renaming the ship “Nemo” in all communications was a key part of this strategy.

We also discuss the sometimes difficult decisions that have to be made in war, including the many violations of the Geneva Conventions that resulted from this secret plan.

The U-505 is on display at the at the Griffin Museum of Science and History in Chicago.

Alex Kershaw is one of the foremost authors writing on World War II subject matter, having written multiple best sellers.  He was born in York, England and taught history before becoming a journalist. He has written for various publications including the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and the New York Times.

His 2002 book “The Bedford Boys” became his first New York Times best seller. It tell the story of Bedford, Virginia, a small town that lost 21 of her sons during World War II, nineteen of them during the first minutes of D-Day.  His book “The Liberator” recounts the amazing story of maverick officer Felix Sparks who spent an amazing 500 straight days in combat. “The Liberator” was made into a Netflix four part series.

Approaching the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, Kershaw shares the stories of some of the key warriors who landed first on D-Day. (As featured in his book “The First Wave”) Examples include Bill MIllin, the only man to land on D-Day wearing a kilt, playing the bagpipes no less. He emphasizes that there was “no plan B for D-Day”. Kershaw prefers to “write about faces rather than numbers.” His books do a great job of introducing us to individuals and their role in the larger scenario.

Kershaw also gives us a preview of his latest work “Patton’s Prayer”. He believes that General Patton was an extremely complex individual and one of the most underrated officers of World War II. The book focuses on what Kershaw believes were some of Patton’s finest hours during the Battle of the Bulge.

Kershaw also conducts regular guided tours of the Normandy battlefields as part of his role with The Friends of National World War II Memorial.

TAKEAWAY: “Freedom is not free. Democracy is a very precious commodity. It’s messy, it’s conflictual, it’s never going to be perfect but it is the best system we will never have.”

Belleau Wood is the site of one of the most storied battles in US Marine Corps lore. Marine Veteran Jason Angell gathered up his family and made a “pilgrimage” to this famous World War I battlefield. His experience is recounted in the Havok Journal article “A Pilgrimage to Belleau Wood”.

Jason is a ten year Marine Corps Veteran with three deployments to Iraq. He and his wife felt strongly that their teen aged children should be exposed to the sacrifices made by two generations of Americans on their behalf. Following a visit to the American cemeteries in Normandy, they traveled to the Belleau Wood.

Photo Credit: US Marine Corps

The battle took place June 1 – 26, 1918. Germany had just achieved victory on the Eastern Front and shifted a large number of forces to the Western front in hopes of gaining ground before the recently arrived American troops could gain a foothold. The overpowering German advance rolled over French defenders and led to one of the most famous quotes of the war. When retreating French soldiers encountered the newly arrived US troops, they encouraged them to flee for their lives. Marine Captain Lloyd Williams’ response was “Retreat Hell! We just got here!”

On the first day of fighting, the Marines suffered more men killed in combat that in the entire history of the Corps up to that point in time. Belleau Wood proved a hard won battle, often involving hand the hand combat to gain yards at a time.  Of the 9,500 Marines who entered the fray, over a thousand were killed and 4,000 wounded. Their victory in the Belleau Wood secured Marines reputation as one of the world’s most fearsome fighting forces.

Jason and his two sons conducted an “unauthorized reconnaissance mission” when a gated fence interrupted their path to the “Iron Mike” Marine Memorial. He describes what it was like walking on the hallowed ground where so many Marines shed their blood. “It was odd how peaceful it seemed but it belied what really happened there over one hundred and five years ago. “

On Memorial Day, he reminds all of us that “There is a hole in somebody’s heart for all these men & women who died. Whether it was at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan or Belleau Wood and it is important to remember them.”

Jason will soon publish “Running Towards Gunfire”, an account of his role with Task Force Dark Eagle and their fight against insurgents in Ramadi.

The Hazard Ground podcast was created by Mark Zinno to allow members of our military to share their stories of combat & survival and deliver inspirational stories about resilience.

Mark was studying communications at Loyola University and joined the ROTC to help pay for his tuition. His original intent was to simply complete his four year commitment to Army and then 9/11 happened. He now has twenty five years of service in both the active duty and the National Guard, and currently holds the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserve. He had two deployments to Iraq. Mark also has over twenty years of experience as both a radio and television sports broadcaster.

While on drill at the local center, Mark noticed paintings that highlighted famous battles. One commemorated the battle of Takur Ghar.  He researched it and immediately wondered why more people didn’t know about this epic battle. He connected with a longtime friend who was familiar with the “backend” aspects of podcasting and the Hazard Ground podcast was born.

We discuss that advantage of being a Veteran interviewing other Veterans.  Often the conversation can be more in depth because he has “been there, there done that”. He feels HIS job is to “translate” these stories for the civilian population. We also briefly discuss the risks of “stolen valor” guests.

As both a Veteran and a professional in the sports broadcasting industry, Mark has some pretty strong feelings about how sports team sometimes “use” Veterans to make money. “If you walked up to your friend and said I just put five dollars in the Salvation Army bucket, what do you think of me? You would look ridiculous and sound ridiculous.”

Mark is also involved in the Merging Vets and Players organization. MVP is a wonderful organization that connects Veterans and Professional athletes to help each other dealing with the transition “when the uniform comes off.”

TAKEAWAY: Mark is proud that his podcast is chronicling history from a first person perspective. “When the child of one of our guests asks their parent what they did in the war, they can direct them to their Hazard Ground podcast.”

Fueled by the Fallen founder Kevyn Major Howard never served in the military. He has 31 film and television acting credits and is perhaps most recognized for his role as combat photographer “Rafterman” in the iconic Stanley Kubrick Vietnam war film “Full Metal Jacket”.

We spend some time discussing the films production and the experience of working with greats like Kubrick and R. Lee Ermey.

Because of his role in Full Metal Jacket, Kevyn was invited to visit the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base. During a tour of the base, he was drawn to a memorial for Lance Corporal Torrey L. Gray. Gray threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow Marines. When Kevyn returned home, he felt compelled to do something to assure that he and other Americans never forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

He decided to adorn his 1963 Chevy Nova race car with the rank and name of every Marine killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He then produced additional cars for all the other branches as well. He specifically chose the canvas of automobiles because “With a race car you can attract the attention of a two year old on up to a ninety two year old.”

Kevyn was then moved to create five Camaro “Angel Cars” to memorialize all the victims of the 9/11 attacks. The Angel Cars have done three cross country awareness tours and even been placed at the feet of the Statue of Liberty.

In addition to raising awareness all across the country, his Fueled by the Fallen Foundation also grants scholarships to children of the fallen.

Kevyn is known as the “King of the Hollywood Head Shot” and specializes in producing head shots for aspiring actors when he is not acting himself. He is currently working on producing a television series that will honor various military heroes and tell their stories

TAKEAWAY: “My family does not take lightly what the cost of freedom is.”

“Chamber Divers”, a new book by Rachel Lance, uses recently declassified documents to recount the story of a somewhat ragtag group of scientist who forever changed special operations. Lance is a biological engineer and blast injury specialist who works as a researcher on military diving projects. She spent several years working with the US Navy building specialized diving equipment for our Special Forces.

The need for better methods of scouting enemy beaches was apparent during the disastrous Dieppe Raid in 1942. The mission was intended as a test of the feasibility of large scale amphibious landings in France. However, due much to the inability to conduct accurate scouting of the beach conditions, 3,623 of the 6,086 men who landed were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

A group of researchers led by JBS Haldane conducted 611 experiments upon themselves, often risking their own lives, to find a solution. One of their greatest nemeses was nitrogen, which Rachel describes as “the boring neighbor in the cul-de-sac who turns out to be a serial killer.” Haldane and his team spent the equivalent of 284 days inside a pressurized dive chamber.  They even went so far as “getting stoned” in an effort to find a way to clear pressure in their ears.

Some of the equipment developed to address the challenge left something to be desired. The “diving skirt” used by the British frogmen was the adult equivalent of a child’s “onesie” pajama soaked in grease.  While X-Craft mini submarines initially had limited success, all of the D-Day beaches scouted by the early frogmen deployed from X-Craft were hit exactly on target. This saved many lives as the troops landed in between the guns rather than in front of them.

The “rebreather” closed system used by Special Forces, equipment used by scuba divers and escape trunks used on modern day submarines all evolved from the work of these World War II researchers.

TAKEAWAY: In many ways, Rachel is continuing the work of those “Chamber Divers” scientists by developing underwater solutions for our modern day forces.

Air America pilot Neil Graham Hansen’s livelihood began in a manner that might portend what the rest of his career would be like. At age 23 he was the a private pilot for Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. When I became apparent that Hoffa would be taking a “Federal Vacation”, Neil began looking for a new job.

He responded to a newspaper ad seeking pilots to fly in Southeast Asia. He submitted an application but was told “we’re not hiring”. He was in a Chicago airport when he was paged to the manager’s office for a phone call. The man on the line asked Neil if he was a good pilot and whether he drank a lot. He was hired after that two question interview. His story is recounted in the book “Flight: An Air America Pilot’s Story of Adventure, Descent and Redemption.”

He was asked to report to his new job in two weeks. Neil suspected something might be up when he went to get a passport and was told it would take 30-45 days.  When he informed them he was going to fly for Air America, his passport was ready in 4 days.

He would fly for Air America for more than a decade.  Neil had his “golden bb” moment when his aircraft was hit and he and his crew had to bail out. The first rescue helicopter damaged their tail rotor and had to land & shut down. The second rescue helicopter landed several hundred meters away because Neil and his crew were standing in a mine field. They took the wounded told Neil he would have to wait for another bird. The third rescue helicopter ran out of fuel and had to crash land. Neil eventually got to safety.

After the fall of Vietnam, Neil was flying out of Cambodia and was sitting on the ramp when he got word that the Khmer Rouge was taking over the country. Neil decided to fly himself and his crew to Bangkok. He later learned he flew the last plane out of Cambodia. The emotion in his voice is apparent when he recalls those who didn’t get out.

TAKEAWAY: The Mel Gibson film “Air America” is based upon Neil’s story.

“Bobbie the Weather Girl” may have been the most popular celebrity of the Vietnam War, eclipsing even Adrian Cronauer of “Good Morning Vietnam” fame. Her real name is Barbara Keith.

Barbara grew up a military “brat”. Her father served in WWII, Korea & Vietnam and her mother was a Navy Nurse during WWII. She believes that “If you don’t do something for your country, don’t call yourself an American.” As an adventurous 19 year old, she was looking for her opportunity to serve. However, military structure did not appeal to her so she joined US AID serving in Vietnam.

She says that US AID’s mission was to “win hearts and minds”. Life in Saigon was surreal, including dining in a rooftop restaurant while tracer fire lit up the skies. One evening she and her co-workers were at a bar when a military officer commented that Barbara looked like a weather girl. At first she thought it to be an awkward pickup line but then learned that the Armed Forces Vietnam Network was indeed looking to recruit a “Weather Girl.” Barbara auditioned and won the part.

Every evening for two years she brought a sense of normalcy to the troops, sharing the weather in their hometowns or popular R&R destinations. She believes part of the reason for her popularity was that she reminded the troops of their kid sister or their girlfriend back home. She made hundreds of visits to troops in the field, sometimes even dodging rocket attacks.

Barbara had to take a several yearlong “sanity sabbatical” to decompress from what she witnessed in Vietnam. Disgusted with the way returning troops were being treated in the US, she took an overseas job with the State Department, beginning a 30 year career. She continues to support Veteran causes to this day.

TAKEAWAY: “If for one second you can bring a touch of home into a grim situation, you’ve done your job. If you wore White Shoulders perfume and that reminded someone of their girlfriend or of home – to be remembered for that is one of the greatest compliments you can receive.”

Barbara is looking to reconnect with some of those she served with or impacted her time in Vietnam. If you are one of those, please send a message to [email protected] and we will put you in touch.

Al “Hollywood” Billings developed a reputation as a Maverick while flying for the Sea Wolves.  The Sea Wolves (Helicopter Attack Squadron Light 3) were formed specifically to support Navy Special Warfare and Mobile Riverine Forces during the Vietnam War. They would become the most decorated Navy squadron of the war. We talk to Billings as part of our educational partnership with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society.

He enlisted in the Naval Aviation Cadet program. “If you made it through you got your wings and commission on the same day. If you didn’t you were on a ship in the Pacific somewhere chipping paint.”  He flew four tours of duty in Vietnam.

On October 8th 1968 he was approached by the SEALs for support on a mission but only one aircraft was available. The Officer in Charge told him he was not going. Squadron policy was to never send out a single ship on a mission. Billings says he thinks the OIC knew he was going to ignore that order and go anyway.

They received an alert that the SEALs had three wounded and were cut off from their insertion boats. Billings and his crew provided air to ground support, returned to base, refueled & rearmored for another flight. By that time the medevac helicopters were on station and Billings and his crew suppressed the enemy such that they were able to retrieve the SEALs.  Before he could be reprimanded for disobeying orders, the SEAL Commander had called his CO. Billings would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for that mission.

Thirty days later on November 8th two river patrol boats on an extraction mission were ambushed. One boat was disabled with several crew members wounded. Because of the intensity of the enemy fire, Billings was ordered to not go in.  He once again disobeyed orders – he was NOT going to let anyone to die on his watch. He actually rested his helicopter’s skid on the disabled boat allowing his crew to extract the wounded crew members. He was so close that river water began to collect in the nose of is helicopter. Once again, instead of taking his wings for disobeying orders, he was awarded the Silver Star.

You can find more on Billings’ career here.

TAKEAWAY: “We were the meanest guys in the land and went out looking for trouble sometimes.”