Heroes Behind Headlines

A financial investigator for Federal law enforcement, David Asher is an expert in the financial side of organized criminal activities. He has been working for decades 'finding the money' to help build cases against some of the most notorious criminal organizations, (including the Gambino crime family) terrorists, and China. In this episode, David lays out the link between China and Mexican drug cartels to promote  drug trafficking into the U.S., especially of deadly  fentanyl.  He also discusses heading the Federal investigation into the origins of the COVID.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Shetland, Scotland native and independent journalist Jen Stout was in Russia in late February 2022 when the war with Ukraine broke out and quickly left for a border post in southern Romania to cover the great flood of refugees who were fleeing the fighting. Weeks later she entered Ukraine to report first-hand from the front lines and cities across the country. A writer with a great sense of empathy, Jen’s main interest was not military strategy or international politics, but the Ukrainian people – their indomitable spirit, their poetic sensibilities  their hopes and fears. Her perspective is from the ground and her stories are filed from night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers. Her very moving book is entitled: “Night Train to Odessa: Covering the  Human Cost of Russia’s War.”

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Former SAS medical officer and current war surgeon, Richard Villar, volunteered to provide medical support in Gaza during the 2024 invasion following the October 7 Hamas attack. He found himself working in a 200-bed hospital overrun with 700 patients, many of whom were women and children The hospital was under constant threat from drones, missiles and naval shells. Despite the constant danger, he and his fellow medics performed complex surgeries on bombing victims. His moving account of his experience, captured in his book, Gaza Medic, transcends the politics of war and focuses on the raw, brutal realities faced by medical professionals in conflict zones.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Past guest and highly decorated former CIA operations officer Gary Berntsen is back and he's breaking down the facts about Tren De Aragua--the notorious gang of trained criminals at the heart of the illegal immigrant debate.

Gary explains how he and his colleagues gathered intel about Tren De Aragua as part of their investigations into the Cartel Del Sol, the largest criminal organization in the world, and how they provided the government with a list of  names of TdA members intentionally sent into the U.S. to cause mayhem. 

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

CIA contract pilot William "Tosh" Plumlee is back—this time with his eyewitness account from the South Knoll of Dealey Plaza, in Dallas on November 22rd, 1963. Present as part of a Pentagon abort team, Tosh counted five shots, coming from at least two directions, with the fatal headshot coming from the South Knoll parking lot. Tosh drew a map of the events as he saw them, and shared his eyewitness account under sworn testimony to the FBI, the Church Committee, the House Select Committee on Assassinations and others. Over the years, Tosh has received visits from anonymous 'agents' warning him to keep quiet. Now he's telling his story to HBH.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Doctor of behavioral science and pastor Michael Caparrelli spent 100 hours with convicted serial killer David Berkowitz in an effort to better understand the reasons he committed the notorious Son of Sam murders, which terrorized New York City during the late ‘70s. His highly compelling book on the subject is called The Monster Mirror. Michael Caparrelli’s approach is unique. Not only is he a doctor of human behavior, he’s also pastor who regularly lectures on mental health in churches, schools, and prisons throughout the country. In other words, he looks at psychology through a biblical worldview. 

He applies this perspective with great insight and compassion to his many conversations with David Berkowitz and arrives as at an understanding of the psychological and paranormal factors behind the 'Son and Sam' killings revealed by David Berkowitz himself, and gives us great insight into evil and how it preys on vulnerable humans. Said David Berkowitz  during their meeting: "Truly, I deserve to die. There are no excuses. But I do want to explain as best as I can the psychological and paranormal factors behind this madness as a cautionary tale for other troubled young people.”

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Historian Hampton Sides describes one of the most brutal ground battles ever fought – the 17-day Battle of Chosin Reservoir, which began on the 27th of November 1950. The conditions were relentlessly difficult – frigid temperatures, frozen, rocky ground, and an enemy that kept coming in waves. And they weren’t the North Koreans who General MacArthur had expected. No this was Mao's Red Army.  More than 120,000 Chinese soldiers surrounded 30,000 US Marines and UN troops. What was a desperate situation could have been much worse, save for the incredible bravery of the Marines and the sage leadership of U.S. Marine battalion General Oliver Prince.

Hampton Sides, in his excellent book On Desperate Ground, explains how General Smith’s strategic thinking preserved the lives of many of his men, helping them receive supplies during the battle and eventually break through enemy lines to find a path to safety. It’s a rosing tribute to the “Chosin Few!"

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

When Alfred Brenner enlisted in the Marines, he was told that the K-9 unit got to travel with air conditioning so he volunteered, even though he didn’t really know anything about dogs. He was assigned a German shepherd named Grief and these two forged a bond during four months of training and in combat in Afghanistan. 

Alfred explains the role of a K-9 team as part of a platoon, how they train the dogs to detect explosives and bravely lead the way on patrol in enemy territory. This highly dangerous work eventually led to tragedy. Discovering a powerful IED, Grief was killed, and Alfred was grievously wounded. He ultimately recovered.

Now a confirmed dog lover, Alfred recounts his unique experience and the job of these canine heroes in our military in his book, Surviving with Grief.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

"Desert Storm" vet and Army Times reporter Kelly Kennedy leapt at the chance to embed with an infantry unit to work on a story about PTSD. What Kelly couldn't have known is that her unit, Battalion 1-26, Charlie Company, was one of the first to serve 15 months in combat conditions. (A decision later reversed by the U.S. Army.)

Kelly's unit was placed in a "hot spot" and given the impossible mission to win hearts and minds. In fact, these soldiers faced almost daily IED incidents, earning them the dubious distinction of becoming the hardest-hit unit in Iraq. Things came to a head when one day the team refused to go on patrol, following the death of a comrade. Their 'mutiny' became a political lightning rod that resulted in ruined careers, ostracism, and penalty by the military upon Charlie Company. Many struggled when they got back home, and predictably there were a number of suicides within their ranks.

Kelly reports on her experience, her own PTSD, and that of the soldiers whom she befriended, with whom she remains connected.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Retired Commander Mark Divine served for over 15 years as a U.S. Navy Seal around the world in Asia Pacific, Africa, Bahrain, and Iraq. A native of upstate New York, and a lifelong student of karate and zen meditation, Mark entered the U.S. Navy in 1989 and entered the Seals’ BUDS training in 1990. As an outgrowth of his training and his service, he ultimately developed his own systems for mental and physical fitness, described in his books "SEALFIT" and “Unbeatable Mind.” In his latest book "Uncommon," Mark lays out the steps to applying his trademark warrior monk philosophy to the summit of personal development.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com