To mark Veterans Day, host J.R. Martinez sits down with producer Ryan Sweikert to talk about what he’s learned from the stories of veterans who have received the Medal of Honor, how to talk to veterans about their service, and the moments that shaped his life, both in the service and afterward.

Medal of Honor Season 3 is coming on May 27th, 2026. In the meantime, we want to hear from you. We’ve put together a listener survey. Tell us what you love about the show. What we can improve on. Stories you think we've missed. To take the survey, follow this link: bit.ly/mohsurvey

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The Chosin Reservoir was one of the most brutal battles of the Korean War, with overwhelming enemy forces and deadly weather. Into that fight came Captain Carl Sitter, a pudgy guy who wasn’t even supposed to be there. His inspiring leadership in the face of terrible odds came down to one thing: faith.

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Episode's bibliography:

O'Donnel, Patrick K. “Give Me Tomorrow.” Grand Central Publishing, October 25, 2011.
https://www.amazon.com/Give-Me-Tomorrow-Greatest-Story/dp/0306820447.

Sterner, C. Douglas, Pamla M. Sterner, Dwight Jon Zimmerman, and Scott Baron. “Beyond Belief: True Stories of American Heroes that Defy Belief.” Independently Published, November 16, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Belief-Stories-American-Heroes/dp/B09M57XDCV.

Hardy, Gordon. “Above and beyond: a history of the Medal of Honor from the Civil War to Vietnam by Congressional Medal of Honor Society.” Boston Pub. Co, May 3, 1985.
https://www.amazon.com/Above-beyond-history-Congressional-1985-05-03/dp/B01F820WNE.

Simmons, Edwin H. Frozen Chosin U.S. Marines at the Changjin Reservoir. USMCU, 2002.
https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/Frozen%20Chosin%20US%20Marines%20at%20the%20Changjin%20Reservoir%20%20PCN%2019000410000.pdf.

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Enslaved on a plantation in South Carolina, Robert Blake had little chance for freedom. Then came a surprise battle, a bold choice, and a new mission in life: serving in the U.S. Navy. Robert’s heroism would make him the first Black sailor to receive the Medal of Honor. But what happened next is… a total mystery.

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Episode bibliography:

Reidy, Joseph P. “Black Men in Navy Blue During the Civil War.” Navy and Marine, 2001.
https://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862blackinblue.htm

Jowdy, Laura. “Who Was Robert Blake? The Mystery of a Black Medal of Honor Recipient.” Congressional Medal of Honor Society, March 6, 2025 https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/who-was-robert-blake-the-mystery-of-a-black-medal-of-honor-recipient/.

Frazier, Herb. “Little-known Civil War hero once enslaved on South Santee.” Charleston City Paper, June 2, 2023.
https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2023/06/02/little-known-civil-war-hero-once-enslaved-on-south-santee/.

“Whatever Happened to Robert Blake and the Battle of Legareville, SC.” Civil War Traveler (Blog), January 5, 2024.
https://civilwartraveler.blog/2024/01/05/whatever-happened-to-robert-blake-and-the-battle-of-legareville/

The Frog of History. “The First African American Medal of Honor Recipient is Missing.” YouTube video. June 27, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aYHT8va5uM&t=233s

Quarstein, John V. “Ben Butler and the Contrabands.” The Mariners Museum and Park, May 28, 2021. https://www.marinersmuseum.org/2021/05/ben-butler-and-the-contrabands/

National Archives. “Black Soldiers in the U.S. Military During the Civil War.” National Archives and Records Administration, October 4, 2023.
https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war#:~:text=The%20black%20troops%2C%20however%2C%20faced,more%20harshly%20than%20white%20captives

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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.

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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.

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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.

We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey

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.

We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey

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.

We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey

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.

We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey

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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