Veterans Chronicles

Radio America
  • 4.5 (175)
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY
Veterans Chronicles Podcast

Veterans Chronicles tells the stories of America's greatest heroes in their own words.

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    LtCol Rob Riggle, USMC, 9/11, Ground Zero

    In 2022, we presented the oral history of U.S. Marine Corps veteran Rob Riggle, who later became famous as an actor and comedian. Riggle told us all about his service in Kosovo and Afghanistan and how his time in the service was a huge asset in his pursuit of a career in show business. During that interview, Riggle also mentioned being a USMC reservist in Manhattan on 9/11 and working in the search and rescue operation at Ground Zero for a week after the terrorist attacks.  Today, we hear that part of his story in much more detail. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Riggle takes us moment by moment through the 9/11 attacks, from wondering how such an airplane plane accident could happen to realizing our nation was under attack, and from what it was like on the stunned streets of New York City to getting notified that his unit was being called up to help at Ground Zero. Riggle then describes the painstaking efforts to sift through six stories of rubble in hopes of finding survivors, the "bucket brigades" set up to prevent cave-ins, and how he nearly suffered a major injury during that time. Finally, he explains how he then volunteered to go back on active duty - a decision that would have him in Afghanistan within just a few weeks.

    25 min

  2. AUG 28

    SGT David Rodriguez, U.S. Army, Vietnam

    David Rodriguez has a legacy of military service in his family, but his real motivation for joining the Army was to move on from working in the family business of farming. Soon he was off to Ft. Lewis, Washington, for basic training. He was then trained as a combat engineer. By late 1966, he was off to Vietnam. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Rodriguez tells us about his first time in combat and how training could never fully prepare him for it. He also explains the mindset needed to have a chance of surviving. Rodriguez also shares the details of his actions in December 1967 to counter a U-shaped ambush the enemy launched against his unit. His charging and takeover of a machine gun position led to the end of the threat and a Bronze Star. Rodriguez also tells us about his three wounds, including two serious bayonet injuries. Finally, he tells us about his work as National Commander of the American GI Forum and his advocacy for our veterans to get much better care than they currently receive.

    53 min

  3. AUG 21

    PFC Ernie Mogor, U.S. Army, World War II

    Ernie Mogor wanted to join the U.S. Navy during World War II but he was rejected for being colorblind. He then chose the Army over the Marines and was soon off for "vigorous" infantry training. He became very proficient with the M-1 rifle, only for the Army to have him switch to a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) not long before he was sent into combat. Much to his surprise, he loved the BAR even more. Mogor was assigned to the Army's 76th Infantry Division and was put into action just as the division was crossing the Saar River under heavy German fire. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Mogor tells us what it was like to cross the river on flat-bottomed boats using rifles as oars and somehow making it to the other side when so many other Americans did not. He also describes fighting consistently for the next three months as his division pushed to the Rhine River. And he details how he was shot, injured, and evacuated for the remainder of the war, just before tha U.S. crossed the Rhine. Finally, Mogor recounts his emotional return to where he fought - nearly 80 years later. He shares what it was like to find the grave of his good friend who was killed crossing the Saar - and what he said while standing at the gravesite.

    37 min

  4. AUG 14

    MSgt. John Dailey, USMC Special Operations, Afghanistan, Iraq

    John Dailey remembers the day he decided to become a U.S. Marine. He was a young boy at a U.S. bicentennial parade in 1976. When he saw the Marine in dress uniform, he was hooked. Eleven years later, fresh out of high school, Dailey enlisted in the Marines. Soon he was guarding the U.S. embassy in Hungary while the Iron Curtain was teetering and later held the same role in Argentina. He also passed sniper and reconnaissance training. But in his first 14 years of service, he never saw combat. That is until 9/11 happened while he was half a world away. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Dailey tells us how he learned of the devastating attacks on our nation, how he was among the first Marines in Afghanistan, and the judgment and decisiveness he exercised in his first combat duties there. Then Dailey explains how he helped to stand up a U.S. Marine Corps recon unit and get it ready for service in Iraq. He also takes us along for the ride as he recounts what it took to find and capture high value targets in Iraq and how he put his sniper skills to use against allies of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Finally, Dailey details why the special operations unit was disbanded after he returned to the U.S. and how he soon worked to help establish the the Marines' own special operations command (MARSOC) and the current generation of Marine Raiders. He is also the author of "Tough Rugged Bastards: A Memoir of a Life in Marine Special Operations."

    51 min

  5. AUG 7

    Cpl. Darren Walton, USMC Reconnaissance, Vietnam, Part 2

    In last week's edition of "Veterans Chronicles," U.S. Marine Corps veteran Darren Walton told us about his role on a seven-man reconnaissance team in Vietnam from 1969-1970. He explained his role of point man, what the team's most common objectives were, and how life and death decisions had to be made within seconds. He also described how the jungle itself was also a fierce enemy. In this week's "Veterans Chronicles," Walton shares the rest of his story of service, starting with the jungle and how every small noise had him wondering whether it was something insignificant or a sign of an imminent enemy attack. He also takes us inside some of his most harrowing missions, including some that required extraction and at least one that would have been fatal for his team if the rescuing helicopter crew had not disobeyed orders. And he explains what happened the day his rifle malfunctioned at the worst possible time. Walton also tells us how the Marines helped a local Vietnamese orphanage and how they found financial help from the unlikeliest of sources. Finally, he shares how fierce opposition to the war - particularly in his community just north of San Francisco - compelled him to stay silent about his service for more than 40 years.

    36 min

  6. JUL 31

    Cpl. Darren Walton, USMC Reconnaissance, Vietnam, Part 1

    Darren Walton grew up north of San Francisco and stood out as a distance runner in high school. When he found out he would soon be drafted into the U.S. Army, Walton joined the Marine Corps, intending to be part ofthe track team. Things did not turn out that way, and Walton was soon undergoing all sorts of elite special forces training and eventually being assigned to a USMC reconnaissance unit. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we share the first half of Walton's story of service. He explains the training he went through, how a recon team is assembled, how it prepped for missions, and what it was like to be the point man. Walton also shares battling the jungle along with the enemy, difficult life and death decisions that had to be made within seconds, and having to be extracted after being attacked by "rock apes." And don't miss next week's podcast when Walton shares his most harrowing moments in Vietnam, being snatched from almost certain death by extraction teams who disobeyed orders, how the Marines helped a local Vietnamese orphanage, and how hostility to the war back home compelled Walton to keep his service hidden for more than 40 years.

    38 min

  7. JUL 24

    Col. Frank Cohn, U.S. Army, WWII, Holocaust Survivor Part 2

    Last week, we began sharing the story of Col. Frank Cohn, U.S. Army (Ret.). He told us about growing up in a Jewish family in Nazi Germany, how his family fled to the U.S. after Kristallnacht in 1938, and how he was drafted into the Army after turning 18 years old in 1943. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Cohn continues his story of service, including his Army training and the issue that delayed him from deploying with the rest of the 87th Infantry Division. He also tells us how he was transferred to interrogating Nazi prisoners of war and his service at the Battle of the Bulge. Now nearly 99 years old, Cohn also tells us about his many years of ongoing work with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and his relentless quest to make sure that nothing like the Holocaust never happens again.

    36 min

  8. JUL 17

    Col. Frank Cohn, U.S. Army, WWII, Holocaust Survivor Part 1

    Frank Cohn was born in Breslau, germany in 1925. His Jewish family lived very comfortably there. But soon anti-Semitiam was on the rise, even before Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933. Within a few years, his family fled to the U.S. and within a few more years, Cohn would be at war against his homeland. In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," we bring you the first half of our conversation with Frank Cohn. He describes what it was like to watch the Nazis take over society, force his father out of business, and even make his life miserable in school. He also describes how his father left for the U.S. and how he and his mother soon followed. Cohn also shares what it was like to arrive in the U.S. knowing almost no English and the creative steps he took to learn it quickly - and without a German accent. He also describes learning about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and eventually realizing he would be fighting against his homeland. And don't miss the second half of our conversation with Frank Cohn in next week's podcast. You'll hear about his Army training, why his deployment was delayed for several months, how he ended up interrogating German prisoners of war and much more.

    36 min
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Veterans Chronicles tells the stories of America's greatest heroes in their own words.

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