On a moonlit mountaintop in Afghanistan, Salvatore Giunta ran through a hailstorm of bullets to save a fellow soldier– his best friend– from capture. It was a heroic decision, but Sal didn’t see it that way. This is the story of an extraordinary band of brothers– and how Sal learned to live with what he did.

Episode bibliography:

Giunta, Salvatore and Joe Layden. Living with Honor: A Memoir. Threshold Editions, December 4, 2012. https://www.amazon.com/Living-Honor-Memoir-Salvatore-Giunta/dp/1451691467. 

Junger, ​​Sebastian. “Into the Valley of Death.” Vanity Fair, January 2008. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/afghanistan200801. 

Edwards, Elisabeth. “Korengal Valley: Why the Region Is Nicknamed the ‘Valley of Death’.” War History Online, Oct 24, 2022. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/korengal-valley.html.

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Dan Daly has been described as “America’s Fightin’est Marine,” who shouted that famous phrase, “Come on you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” Here, we explore Dan’s legendary (and crazy) adventures– and how his incredible bravery helped shape the modern Marine Corps.

Episode bibliography:

Dieckmann, Edward. Dan Daly: Reluctant Hero. Marine Corps Gazette, November 1960.  https://archive.org/details/sim_marine-corps-gazette_1960-11_44_11/page/24/mode/2up

Roberts, Charley. "Devil Dog" Dan Daly: America's Fightin'est Marine. McFarland, November 4, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Dog-Dan-Daly-Fightinest/dp/1476686769 

O’Connell, Aaron. Keystone Battle Brief: The Boxer Rebellion, China 1900. Marine Corps History Division, United States Marine Corps University, 2019. https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/HD/Brief%20Histories/Boxer%20Rebellion%20Lecture%20Notes.pdf?ver=2019-05-23-084222-070 

Iber, Patrick. “The Marine Who Turned Against U.S. Empire.” The New Republic, January 11, 2022.  https://newrepublic.com/article/164825/smedley-butler-marine-critic-american-empire. 

Gleichauf, Justin F. “Old Marine Corps—‘The Fightin’est Marine'.” U.S. Naval Institute, January 1990. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1990/january/old-marine-corps-fightinest-marine 

Hough, F. O.  “Daly of the Horse Marines.” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1954. https://archive.org/details/sim_marine-corps-gazette_1954-11_38_11/mode/2up?q=Daly&view=theater 

Naval History and Heritage Command. “Daniel Joseph Daly” Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library, May 18, 2021. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-d/daly-daniel-joseph.html

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The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is awarded to those who go above and beyond– at the farthest edges of our frontier. Judy Resnick was one of our country’s first women astronauts, but what makes her a hero is something else: her willingness to face death in the name of serving a greater good.

Special thanks to the NASA History Office, Performance Initiative Podcast, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Episode bibliography:

Higginbotham, Adam. “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.” Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster,  May 14, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Story-Heroism-Disaster-Space/dp/198217661X. 

Mullane, Mike. “Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut.” Scribner,  February 6, 2007. https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Rockets-Outrageous-Shuttle-Astronaut/dp/0743276833. 

SWE Magazine. “Judith Resnik’s Living Legacy” All Together, January 26, 2021. https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/01/judith-resniks-living-legacy/. 

Galloway, Barbara. “Astronaut and Akron native Judith Resnik remembered as brilliant, strong-willed.” Beacon Journal, January 27, 2020. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2020/01/27/jan-29-1986-judith-resnik/1820447007/. 

​​National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident: Chapter II - Events Leading Up to the Challenger Mission. https://www.nasa.gov/history/rogersrep/v1ch2.htm.

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J. R. Martinez interviews an old friend of his — Captain Charlie Plumb, a U.S. Navy fighter pilot who was shot down in Vietnam and spent six years in the infamous prison The Hanoi Hilton, right next to Medal of Honor recipient Bud Day. Charlie talks about living with guilt and finding forgiveness, even in the most unexpected place imaginable.

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Shot down over Vietnam, Bud Day escaped from a prison camp and ran barefoot and wounded through the jungle. What happened to him over the next five long years is a brutal testament to his strength and heroism. And what his wife did while she waited for his return is proof of the power of hope– and love.

Episode bibliography:

Coram, Robert. “American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day.” Back Bay Books, June 2, 2008. https://www.amazon.com/American-Patriot-Life-Wars-Colonel/dp/0316067393.

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When President Harry Truman put the Medal of Honor around Macario Garcia’s neck, this heroic soldier wasn’t even an American citizen. Born in Mexico, Macario volunteered to serve in World War II– fearlessly running towards danger. But it’s the courage he showed when he returned to America that would cement his place in history.

Episode bibliography:

Bailey, Robert and Katherine Bailey. “Seize Occupy and Defend.” Lulu.com, May 19, 2014. https://www.amazon.com/Seize-Occupy-Defend-Robert-Bailey/dp/1312175680.  

Olivas, Michael A. The "Trial of the Century" that Never Was: Staff Sgt. Macario Garcia, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Oasis Cafè. University of Houston Law Center, 2008. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=ilj. 

Rivas-Rodríguez, Maggie and Emilio Zamora. “Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation.” University of Texas Press, Dec 1, 2009. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Latino-World-War-Hero/dp/0292725809. 

Rush Robert S. “Hell in the Forest: The 22d Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.” The Army Historical Foundation. https://armyhistory.org/hell-in-the-forest-the-22d-infantry-regiment-in-the-battle-of-hurtgen-forest/

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If you were alive between 1918 and 1940, it is absolutely certain that you would have heard of Alvin York’s famous exploits in World War One. But would you know the truth about the man, and about what he did one desperate day on the battlefield? Chances are you’d only know part of his story. But the tale behind his actual heroism is far more interesting, and far more human.

Episode bibliography:

Gregory, James Patrick Jr. Unraveling the Myth of Sgt. Alvin York: The Other Sixteen. Texas A&M University Press, December 26, 2022. https://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-Myth-Sgt-Alvin-York/dp/1648430759 

Nelson, James Carl. The York Patrol: The Real Story of Alvin York and the Unsung Heroes Who Made Him World War I's Most Famous Soldier. William Morrow, February 23, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/York-Patrol-Unsung-Heroes-Soldier/dp/0062975889. 

Perry, John. Sgt. York: His Life, Legend & Legacy: The Remarkable Untold Story of Sgt. Alvin C. York. B&H Books, September 15, 1997 https://www.amazon.com/Sgt-York-Legend-Legacy-Remarkable/dp/0805460748.

Skeyhill, Tom. Sergeant York and the Great War. The Vision Forum, October 23, 1998. https://www.amazon.com/Sergeant-York-Great-War-Courage/dp/1889128465.

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As a proud member of the Cherokee Nation, Dwight Birdwell was determined to fight for the country he loved. And his actions on the first day of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam are stuff of legend. But Dwight’s story is also about survival: not just what it takes to live through a terrible battle, but how that survival changes you– forever.

Episode bibliography:

Birdwell, Dwight W., and Keith William Nolan. A Hundred Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Cavalryman in Vietnam. Presidio Press, June 1, 1997. https://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Miles-Bad-Road-Cavalryman/dp/0891416285

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When fighter pilot Jefferson DeBlanc survived being shot at in a crazy dogfight over the Solomon Islands in World War Two, his adventure was only beginning. What happened after he parachuted out of his burning plane is a story of grit, blind optimism, and against-all-odds survival.

Episode bibliography:

DeBlanc, Jefferson. The Guadalcanal Air War: Col. Jefferson DeBlanc's Story. Pelican Publishing, April 15, 2008. https://www.amazon.com/Guadalcanal-Air-War-Jefferson-DeBlancs/dp/1589805879 

Torres, Rivers. “Jefferson DeBlanc and the Air Battle for Guadalcanal.” The National WWII Museum, July 10, 2024. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/jefferson-deblanc-and-air-battle-guadalcanal 

Lord, Walter. “Ordeal At Vella Lavella.” American Heritage, June 1997. https://www.americanheritage.com/ordeal-vella-lavella

Kwai, Anna Annie. Solomon Islanders in World War II: An Indigenous Perspective. Australian National University Press, 2017. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/481b8b20-5e35-4b66-bc3e-f8489e0745dc/643776.pdf

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Medal of Honor is back with Season Two! Join new host J.R. Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran whose life was profoundly changed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2003. J.R., introduced by Malcolm Gladwell, shares his journey of finding purpose through storytelling and previews the compelling stories of heroism in this season. Season Two explores a range of historical conflicts, from the Civil War, where we encounter the first Black sailor to receive the Medal of Honor, to the Boxer Rebellion and the remarkable Marine Daniel Daly, a recipient of two Medals of Honor.

We also want to hear from you! Send us your personal story of courage, or highlight someone else’s bravery. Email us at [email protected].

You might hear your stories on future episodes of Medal of Honor, or see them on our social channels @pushkinpods.

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