The Silver King's War

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This episode is Part Eighteen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer & creator of The Silver King's War, discusses his work and father's war. As he reaches his B-26 training base, Barksdale Field, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Stanley's greeted with news of a 15-day leave. He prepares for Birmingham and imagines Ida Mae's hot biscuits. The King loved his leave, but family friction over Sara Belle's tight house rules means unfortunate mistakes.

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This episode is Part Seventeen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer & creator of The Silver King's War, discusses his work and father's war.  It's mid-June 1944. Stanley has new orders to pack & ship.  His delay in training hours, due to mechanical problems and extra nights in Missouri, meant his group shipped from South Carolina without him.  Instead, The Silver King will learn to fly the B-26 Martin Marauder with his crew at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana. This assignment is the pivotal change in Stanley's war.  It means he will go to the European Theater of Operations after D-Day.

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This episode is Part Sixteen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War. Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his work and father's war.  It's June 1944.  Stanley is working hard to increase his flying hours. A big shot bumped him from a Chicago training mission and family visit. One mission bump and mechanical problems during a separate training flight changed the course and outcome of Stanley's war.  Now, however, The King has new orders: he will report to Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana, for B-26 training. 

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This episode is Part Fifteen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War. Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his father's adventures and war preparations.  It's May 1944 and the Silver King is enjoying life. His crew flies a training mission to Nebraska and diverts to St. Louis on the return due to a hydraulics system failure. After nights at the Mayfair Hotel, the crew visits a famous family estate to share BBQ ribs, single-malt scotch, and thoughts of home.

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This special bonus episode describes a specific event in the history of Glenn L. Martin, the man who made Stanley's plane, the famed Martin Marauder.  Martin, known as "The Flying Dude," began his aviation career building a bi-plane in an empty Methodist church in downtown Santa Ana in 1909.  Glenn Martin and his mother, Minta, visited Salina, Kansas, for an event at Kansas Wesleyan University in 1933. The Salina Journal published a story about Martin's visit titled: "Hometown Boy." Months later, in late May, first-term President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented Glenn Martin the Robert J. Collier trophy for his design & development of the Martin B-10 Bomber.

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This episode is Part Fourteen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his work and observations about his father's war preparation.  Stanley returns to Columbia Army Air Base from a meal-filled Birmingham visit.  He loves Ida and her cooking.  He's twenty-one,  flying B-25s, and becomes certified as a Co-pilot one year after washing out of pilot school in Lakeland, Florida.

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This episode is Part Thirteen of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his father's writing and war. The Silver King has arrived at Columbia Army Air Base in South Carolina and enjoys the simple perks of being an Air Corps officer, including living off base in a private home. He's lonely, and lacking approval for marriage, he's trying to buy a 1936 Ford Phaeton. His rationale: it's a long way to the flight line. 

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This episode is Part Twelve of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War.  It concludes the first year of The Silver King's War.  Stanley has his second-lieutenant gold bars as he travels east for advance bomber training.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses the context of his father's war and introduces the second part of Laura Fermi's writing about The Manhattan District.

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This episode is Part Eleven of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War (first produced on Veterans Day 2021; published on Veterans Day 2022).  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his father's bomber school graduation on 15 January, 1944, at Carlsbad Army Air Base in New Mexico. The Silver King is now a commissioned officer (2nd Lieutenant) in the Army of the United States.

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This episode is Part Ten of the epilogue for Stanley's letters, "Dearest Ones," that he wrote to his family throughout the Second World War (initially  published on the 78th anniversary of The Silver King's first bombing mission: November 5, 1944).  Stanley relates the arduous work throughout November and December 1943 to earn his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army of the United States.  Michael G. Sievers, the writer, producer and creator of "The Silver King's War" podcast series, discusses his father's work to become an Air Corps Bombardier-Navigator.

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