Heroes Behind Headlines

Some of the most ferocious fighting in recorded human history took place on a tiny Pacific Ocean island between February 19th and March 26th 1945. The United States Navy and Marine Corps invaded Iwo Jima, which was being held by The Imperial Japanese Army, protecting the island’s two separate air fields. Raymond Salvie was one of the incredibly brave Marines who fought and survived these weeks in hell.

This historic interview is one of many conducted by Joe Messineo over the past decade, as part of the Veteran's History Project. We sincerely thank Joe for granting us access and allowing this exciting collaboration with HBH. 

The Japanese force of 21,000 was surrounded, outmanned and outgunned by 110,000 American troops. While the invading force was overwhelming, under this 8-square-mile island was more than 11 miles of tunnels, which allowed the Japanese to launch brutal waves of counter-attacks. 

Raymond is true American hero who passed away peacefully earlier this year at the age of 97.

We hope you enjoy this special episode and as always, thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

A ten year old Belgian girl found herself sold into a murderous pedophile network by her own mentally ill mother. Despite living in hell, the little girl still loved her mother and believed that someday she would find love in another person as well. Surrounded by betrayal, violence and a near-death experience - among other horrors - she faced an almost certain demise. HBH is honored to welcome Anneke Lucas as our guest.

Severe and organized child abuse is among our world’s greatest horrors. To such an extent, that it can be hard to comprehend and process. Acknowledging the existence of evils so significant can be the first step towards eradication. For the victims, acknowledging the darkness can be the first step in the healing process.

Anneke bravely recounts her experience. Her strength and poise is enough to give anyone pause, when the reality of what she has survived comes into focus. Despite such suffering at far too young of an age, ultimately she has found remarkable peace and unconditional love.

We thank you for listening to Anneke’s important story and we certainly recommend her book, published earlier this year: ‘Quest For Love: Memoir of a Child Sex Slave’.

As one of 128 siblings, and part of a much larger Mormon Cult known as ‘The Order’, Jacob Kingston hardly stood out. However, that changed when he realized he could use his small biofuel company to scam the US Government out of hundreds of millions of dollars. To make this possible, he reached out to an unlikely partner: the head of Los Angeles’ ruthless Armenian Mafia, whose nickname was ‘The Lion’. We are excited to welcome award-winning author, producer and journalist, Michele McPhee, whose latest article in LA Magazine covers this incredible story.

The Order - aka The Kingston Clan - is a fundamentalist, polygamist, racist, misogynistic, and criminal Mormon cult. They prefer to keep a low-profile. When Jacob Kingston was advised by an Armenian known as ‘The Lion’ to trade in his Toyota Tercel for a Lamborghini, The Order noticed. But their share of the profits - many tens of millions of dollars - was simply too much to do anything about it.

Levon ‘The Lion’ Termendzhyan dropped out of high school at 17 to work at a gas station, and would became a billionaire by the time he was 30. Despite being a fearsome mafia boss, due to his expertise in fuel transportation and delivery, he seemed like the perfect partner for Jacob.

Their criminal operation, which scammed the US government through biodiesel subsidies, generated hundreds of millions of dollars. The scope of protecting their operation and spending their stolen money was spectacular. It spanned from Utah to California to Belize to Turkey, the latter of which where they stashed over $100 million should they ever needed to flee the US. They spent millions more using a fake attorney to pay off an LA Narcotics cop and an FBI counter-terrorism agent, and to buy multiple Bugattis, a Bel-Air mansion, private jets and even a 150-foot yacht.

Make sure to check out Michele’s incredible article, ‘The Mobster and the Mormon’ in LA Magazine. As always, thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

Master Sergeant Changiz Lahidji has served on more Special Forces A-teams than anyone in history. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he is also the very first Muslim to wear the US Army Special Forces Green Beret.

An absolute legend during his 24 years as a Green Beret, Changiz has served America in every war since Vietnam - including over 100 combat missions in Afghanistan alone. He has traversed dozens of other theaters of operation. His amazing and heroic time in the Army is unlike any other.

We hope you enjoy this Rapid Fire episode and thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

In the early 1990s, gang warfare and the crack cocaine epidemic took hold of South Los Angeles. The violence spiraled out of control, to a scale which grabbed national attention. During this, the most dangerous period in LA’s history, a criminal with an automatic weapon tried to kill an officer at close range. Fortunately for that officer, the weapon malfunctioned, and a chase began. HBH is honored to welcome retired LA Country Sheriff’s Department Homicide Detective and author: Danny R Smith.

The current crime wave in Los Angeles gets a lot of attention both locally and nationally, as 2021 saw a homicide rate of over 300. However, in 1991 that rate was more than triple with over 1,000 homicides reported.

For Danny, decades surrounded by unspeakable violence affecting colleagues, children, and other innocents took a toll. Long after retiring, the effects remain and like too many others who have put their life on the line, the battle with PTSD continues. 

We highly recommend Danny’s book ‘Nothing Left To Prove: A Law Enforcement Memoir'. As always, thanks for downloading and listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

Being accepted to work at the CIA is highly difficult. The interview process is long and secretive - and applicants and their references are often vetted without ever knowing it. Once accepted, very few go on to practice espionage. That distinction is reserved for those invited to the CIA’s top secret and legendary training program known as ‘The Farm’. Fewer still actually graduate the program and become Case Officers or as they are most commonly referred: Spies. HBH is excited to welcome back former CIA Case Officer Doug Laux.

Before deploying abroad, or even traveling to Camp Peary - which houses ‘The Farm’ somewhere deep in the forests of Virginia - Doug was required to make enormous personal sacrifices. He had to to lie to family and friends, leaving them all completely in the dark, as to what he was really doing with his life. 

This is all the very beginning of a CIA Case Officer’s career. Doug’s career at the agency was a significant one which took him to Afghanistan, Syria and other other hot zones around the world.

Make sure to check out the outstanding book ‘Left of Boom’ by Doug Laux and Ralph Pezzullo - and thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

Raymond Salvie enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1944 at the height of World War II. By the end of February 1945 he found himself part of the US military’s massive Pacific Campaign, landing on the beaches of Iwo Jima.

The infamous 5-week battle of Iwo Jima is regarded as some of the fiercest fighting in modern military history. At one point Raymond fired mortars from the same position for 4 straight days. By battle’s end there were 27,000 American casualties and 18,000 Japanese were killed or unaccounted thereafter. 

Raymond passed away peacefully earlier this month at the age of 97.

We hope you enjoy this ‘Rapid Fire’ episode and as always, thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

In the late 1970s Iran fell into violent revolution, as Ayatollah Khomeini installed an Islamic fundamentalist government. This forced millions of citizens opposed to his system of rule to flee their home nation, as refugees. Armin Armiri was only thirteen when his family left the only country they had ever called home. 

Forced to spend his teenage years in refugee camps, Armin finally arrived in America in 1989, without money, family, or friends. Starting out as a busboy, he eventually became manager and owner of iconic clubs in both New York and Los Angeles and is now a successful actor, producer, and director. HBH is excited to welcome our guest: Armin Armiri.

As the Cold War was taking shape in 1953, the United States accepted Lockheed Corporation’s proposal to build the U-2 spy plane, out of absolute necessity. The program has been such a massive success for the US military and CIA, that the plane remains in service today over 64 years later. However, only one black woman has ever flown the U-2. We are honored to welcome United States Air Force Col. Merryl Tengesdal.

Colonel Tengesdal’s remarkable journey began in the Bronx. Despite facing enormous adversity throughout her Air Force career, Merryl surpassed every expectation. She earned her seat in the cockpit of the most successful spy plane in history, more than 70,000 feet above the earth’s surface.

The significance of the now legendary U-2 spy plane, nicknamed “Dragon Lady”, cannot be overstated. The program was such a priority for American national security that it became operational and first took flight in 1955, only two years after it was initially proposed. 

Since retiring in 2017, Merryl may no longer be flying more than 13 miles up into the sky, but she has hardly slowed down. She now works as a personal trainer and even starred on the hit CBS reality show, ‘Tough As Nails’.

Merryl Tengesdal is a true inspiration and we highly recommend her book, ‘Shatter the Sky: What Going to the Stratosphere Taught Me About Self-worth, Sacrifice, and Discipline’.

Introducing ‘Rapid Fire’, new short-form episodes of Heroes Behind Headlines featuring our host Ralph Pezzullo himself, telling an amazing story about an incredible hero. There is no better person with whom to begin, particularly during the week of September 11, than CIA Case Officer Gary Berntsen.

Gary is the man the CIA picked to lead the first Americans into Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. Armed with less than 500 total CIA and Special Operations personnel - along with US air power and over $11 million in cash - Gary led one of the most consequential missions in American history. 

It is easy to forget in the two decades since, but the initial phase of taking the fight to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban was a massive success. A phase which cumulated before Thanksgiving 2001, with none other than Osama bin-Laden trapped in the mountain pass of Tora Bora.

We hope you enjoy ‘Rapid Fire’ and as always, thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.