UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History

The end of World War II ushered in the atomic age, which began a new chapter in US foreign policy. While the world slid into a Cold War between the nuclear-armed US and the Soviet Union, the US military establishment reorganized and refitted to face the threats of the nuclear battlefield. Many of its leaders and those in Congress questioned the mission of, and even the need for, the US Marine Corps. In this episode, we explore the debate that enshrined the Corps into law, and how the Corps' combat in Korea silenced any doubt about its necessity in the nuclear age. We move from the so-called forgotten war of the twentieth century to the unpopular war of the twentieth century in Vietnam, and how the Corps' narrative passes on the successes and lessons from that conflict. Throughout the episode, listeners will hear from a Marine and his sons who fought in Korea and Vietnam, as well as Marine Veterans who study and teach the narratives of these Cold War conflicts. The episode will close by bringing the Corps' narrative to the present with the Global War on Terror.

Host: Liam Ambrose.

Featuring: Jim Stoddard, Lou Boria, Ray Fullard, and Marc Chabot.

Music and Sound Effects: US National Archives and Records Administration and the United States Marine Corps.

Interviews and narration recorded at the UCF Digital Exploration Center and the UCF College of Arts and Humanities Studio at the Nicholson School of Communication.

Podcast cover art designed by Sebastian Garcia.

This episode is researched, written, and produced by Jim Stoddard. Edited and Mixed by Sebastian Garcia. Executive Producers are Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Access this episode's instructional materials below:

• UCF-VLP-LouBoria-OralHistory
• UCF-VLP-9th-12th-USMarineCorpsHistory-LessonPlan
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-EP3-Transcript
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-Bibliography

UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History is made possible by the University of Central Florida's Veterans Legacy Program. The UCF VLP is a US Department of Veterans Affairs-funded partnership with the National Cemetery Administration through which UCF students, faculty, staff, and K-12 educators across Florida collaborate to extend the memorialization of Veterans buried in National Cemeteries across the state by using cutting-edge technology and innovative pedagogy.

To learn more about the other deliverables we produce as part of our VLP work, such as grade-level Veteran biographies, cemetery mini-tours, K-12 lesson plans, and more, visit our website: https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/.

Footnote/endnote citation for this episode (Chicago): Liam Ambrose, host, "Episode 3: Marines Remember Their Cold War," UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History, produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia, September 30, 2026, podcast, MP3 audio, 40:41, https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP3-RememberColdWar.html.

Bibliography entry (Chicago): Ambrose, Liam, host. "Episode 3: Marines Remember Their Cold War." UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History. Produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia. September 30, 2026. Podcast, MP3 audio, 40:41. https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP3-RememberColdWar.html.

World War I marked a turning point in Marine Corps history. It transformed the Corps from an expeditionary force at the forefront of American interventions in the Western Hemisphere into a modern fighting force essential to the US military's larger operations. To explain this transformation, this episode explores various places and events that the Marine Corps canonizes in its historical narrative, including the wheat fields of the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I and the Pacific Theater of World War II, from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima and the doorstep of mainland Japan. Along the way, this episode highlights the stories of Marine Veterans from both deadly conflicts, from those who survived their service and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Host: Liam Ambrose.

Featuring: Jim Stoddard and Lou Boria.

Music and Sound Effects: US National Archives and Records Administration, the US Library of Congress, the United States Marine Corps, and Pixabay artists.

Interviews and narration recorded at the UCF Digital Exploration Center and the UCF College of Arts and Humanities Studio at the Nicholson School of Communication.

Podcast cover art designed by Sebastian Garcia.

This episode is researched, written, and produced by Jim Stoddard. Edited and Mixed by Sebastian Garcia. Executive Producers are Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Access this episode's instructional materials below:

• UCF-VLP-ThomasOesterreicher-GradeLevelBiography
• UCF-VLP-LouBoria-OralHistory
• UCF-VLP-GeorgeJosephByersJr-SourcePacket
• UCF-VLP-LeroyIanBrandon-SourcePacket
• UCF-VLP-ThomasCharlesOesterreicher-SourcePacket
• UCF-VLP-LutherWadePilcher-SourcePacket
• UCF-VLP-9th-12th-USMarineCorpsHistory-LessonPlan
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-Bibliography
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-EP2-Transcript

UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History is made possible by the University of Central Florida’s Veterans Legacy Program. The UCF VLP is a US Department of Veterans Affairs-funded partnership with the National Cemetery Administration through which UCF students, faculty, staff, and K-12 educators across Florida collaborate to extend the memorialization of Veterans buried in National Cemeteries across the state by using cutting-edge technology and innovative pedagogy.

To learn more about the other deliverables we produce as part of our VLP work, such as grade-level Veteran biographies, cemetery mini-tours, K-12 lesson plans, and more, visit our website: https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/.

Footnote/endnote citation for this episode (Chicago): Liam Ambrose, host, “Episode 2: Marines Remember Their World Wars,” UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History, produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia, September 30, 2026, podcast, MP3 audio, 39:02, https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP2-RememberWorldWars.html.

Bibliography entry (Chicago): Ambrose, Liam, host. “Episode 2: Marines Remember Their World Wars.” UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History. Produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia. September 30, 2026. Podcast, MP3 audio, 39:02. https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP2-RememberWorldWars.html.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) valorizes its history more than any other branch in the US Armed Forces. History remains a critical asset in the arsenal of transforming recruits into US Marines and maintaining that title throughout one’s career. In other words, history enables and sustains the identity of a Marine and the organization’s culture. This first episode of a three-part series about USMC history answers the fundamental question of why the Marine Corps places so much onus on its past. To find out why, this episode features three Marine Corps Veterans who discuss how the Corps constructs its history, how Marines learn about that well-etched narrative, and how Marine Drill Instructors learn what they teach. The episode also goes beyond the Corps itself and explores how Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) instructors teach the narrative to their cadets.

Host: Liam Ambrose.

Featuring: Jim Stoddard, Ray Fullard, and Marc Chabot.

Music and Sound Effects: United States Marine Corps and Pixabay artists.

Interviews and narration recorded at the UCF Digital Exploration Center and the UCF College of Arts and Humanities Studio at the Nicholson School of Communication.

Podcast cover art designed by Sebastian Garcia.

This episode is researched, written, and produced by Jim Stoddard. Edited and Mixed by Sebastian Garcia. Executive Producers are Sebastian Garcia and Dr. Amelia Lyons.

Access this episode's instructional materials below:

• UCF-VLP-9th-12th-USMarineCorpsHistory-LessonPlan
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-Bibliography
• UCF-VLP-USMCPodcast-EP1-Transcript

UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History is made possible by the University of Central Florida’s Veterans Legacy Program. The UCF VLP is a US Department of Veterans Affairs-funded partnership with the National Cemetery Administration through which UCF students, faculty, staff, and K-12 educators across Florida collaborate to extend the memorialization of Veterans buried in National Cemeteries across the state by using cutting-edge technology and innovative pedagogy.

To learn more about the other deliverables we produce as part of our VLP work, such as grade-level Veteran biographies, cemetery mini-tours, K-12 lesson plans, and more, visit our website: https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/.

Footnote/endnote citation for this episode (Chicago): Liam Ambrose, host, “Episode 1: Why History Matters to the US Marine Corps,” UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History, produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia, September 30, 2026, podcast, MP3 audio, 29:35, https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP1-WhyHistoryMatters.html.

Bibliography entry (Chicago): Ambrose, Liam, host. “Episode 1: Why History Matters to the US Marine Corps.” UCF VLP Presents: US Marine Corps History. Produced by Jim Stoddard and Sebastian Garcia. September 30, 2026. Podcast, MP3 audio, 29:35. https://vlp.cah.ucf.edu/podcasts/USMC/EP1-WhyHistoryMatters.html.