When we think of women and their role in World War II what most often comes to mind is “Rosie the Riveter”, symbolizing the women who went to work in the factories building the planes and ships and ammunition needed to wage war. There were more, however, those who served and sacrificed and even died for the cause of freedom. Episode 9 of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast tells the story of some of those women, some of the “Others”.

A small-town teenager leaves high school to join the Marines and soon finds himself in the brutal island-hopping campaign of the Pacific during World War II. He returns home physically unharmed. The scars of war, however, run much deeper.

In this episode of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast we hear the story of one of the million of soldiers who lived through the war then fought another to return to a normal life after coming home.

Join Ron Eckberg, host of the ORDINARY HEROES PODCAST, in episode 8, the ORDINARY HEROES story of Gordon Larsen. 

D-Day, June 6, 1944, was a pivotal day in World War II and in World History, period. On that day 156,000 men took part in the largest amphibious invasion every attempted. In episode 7 of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast we will hear the story of one of those men, the battle he fought, and the path down which the war--and life--took him beyond that June day. 

It is easy to read even the most detailed of accounts of history’s great events and still never grasp the significance of them. The only way to really do that is to see them first hand. In episode 6 of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast, Ron Eckberg shares an overview of Normandy, France and the D-Day beaches as he saw them during his two visits when he walked “Where Heroes Walked”.

16 million Americans served in uniform during World War II. What they did was dangerous and essential, to be sure, but they were not the only ones who served our nation in such a way. Today we focus on one of the many--and certainly one of the best known--war correspondents who traveled with our forces to the front lines on the ground, on the seas, and in the air. He went on to a stellar career in radio, print, and television. He was so good, so honest at what he did that he was named "America's Most Trusted Man" by the American people and he cut his journalistic teeth in World War II. This is his story. His name was Walter Cronkite.

The story of Jackie Lucas is one of patriotism, persistence, courage, sacrifice and resilience. It is a story with more than a few surprising twists and turns along the way. Most of all it is about a very ordinary young man who did an extraordinary thing in a moment of crisis and against all odds lived to tell about it. Join host Ron Eckberg for episode four of the Ordinary Heroes Project Podcast titled, Indestructible: The Incredible Story of Jackie Lucas.

"No war is truly over until the last veteran has died", one veteran of World War II declared. That is certainly true. Or is it? Listen as writer / speaker / musician / and "lay" historian Ron Eckberg explains why that "end" of the war may come at different times and in different ways for every different soldier. Please Like / Subscribe / Review or contact Ron Eckberg at ordinaryheroes/roneckberg.com or visit his website, roneckberg.com/heroes .

"There is a defining moment in every man's life”,  an anonymous writer has penned, "within that moment everything that person is shines the brightest.”

There were many such moments for thousands upon thousands of combat soldiers in World War II. Join host Ron Eckberg for Episode 2 of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast and the story of one such night for one such soldier.

It is too easy to reduce the cost of war to dollars and statistics. War--as necessary as it may be--is not fought by statistics but by real life flesh and blood human beings that bleed, suffer, and die. Such is the case of the story of Hershel G. Horton. His story is one of suffering, loneliness, hope and despair. Through his own words we get a taste of the horror--the real story--of war.