Lt. Jesse 'Bud' Alley, U.S. Army, Vietnam, Battle of Ia Drang
Jesse "Bud" Alley was born in Florida but grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He joined Army ROTC while enrolled at Furman University. Not long after commissioning, he was assigned as a radio officer. After one more reassignment, his job was to make sure radios were in working order for the colonels in the new Air Cavalry Division.Because of the radio work and other training, Alley had never gone through an infantry training course or even flown in a helicopter when he was deployed to Vietnam in 1965. Within months he would be in the midst of some of the most intense combat of the war.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Alley walks us through the buildup to the Battle of Ia Drang. He also explains what he saw upon arriving at Landing Zone X-Ray after the brutal combat there. Alley then takes through the grueling march from X-Ray to Landing Zone Albany and almost immediately entering combat there. He also details the hours enduring what he calls a killing zone, and holding a soldier named Garrett Lee in his arms while Lee took his final breaths.Finally, Alley takes us on his journey to meet the family of Garrett Lee just two years ago and what that moment was like. He also tells about his trip back to Vietnam many years after the war.
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44:37
Capt Jack Hawkins, USMC, Vietnam
Jack Hawkins grew up in Alabama in a community full of military veterans. His family was full of U.S. Marines so joining the corps came naturally to him. Hawkins enlisted in 1963 but immediately began a path towards becoming an officer. That included grueling summer sessions in Quantico, Virginia, and additional training before he was deployed to command an infantry platoon in Vietnam.In this edition of "Veterans Chronicles," Hawkins takes us from officer training to commanding enlisted men with a whole lot more experience than he had. He tells us how he earned the trust and respect of those men and the importance of being close with your Marines - but not too close.Hawkins describes the patrols he led to identify and clear enemy booby traps. But less than a month after arriving in Vietnam, he was wounded during an ambush but quickly focused attention on men who suffered more severe wounds. He also tells the story of living with guilt over a fatal incident where his men struck a mine while driving a truck.Hawkins is now chancellor at Troy University in Alabama. In his ongoing efforts to provide students with overseas educational opportunities and to bring foreign students to Troy, Hawkins tells us about returning to Vietnam (reluctantly at first) and establishing a friendship and educational partnership with someone who had been an enemy decades ago.
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48:29
SN Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger, U.S. Navy, Notre Dame Football Walk-On
Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger grew up in a house of 14 children and his his connection with his father, a World War II veteran, was watching Notre Dame football. Rudy's dream was to play for the Fighting Irish. But his high school athetic career did not merit attention from Notre Dame and he says his grades weren't good enough to get accepted there either.So a co-worker encouraged him to join the Navy. Rudy says his time in the U.S. Navy changed his life and made his Notre Dame dream possible.In this edition of "Veteran's Chronicles," Ruettiger tells us about his time in the Navy, including trips to Guantanamo Bay and serving on a destroyer in the Mediterranean Sea during the Vietnam era. He explains how a conversation with an officer who graduated from Notre Dame rekindled his dream to play football. He then shares the tough road to get accepted into Notre Dame, how the GI Bill paid for his academic journey to get there and how his military service helped him to connect with both football coaches for the Fighting Irish.Finally, Ruettiger walks us through life as a walk-on and the dramatic events that led to him taking the field, getting in the game, and recording a tackle in his one play from scrimmage. And he'll reveal what was real in the movie "Rudy" and where the filmmakers took some dramatic license.
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39:13
Miracle Files: The Mystery Boat
If you're a fan of true crime but crave a dose of inspiration instead of tales of darkness, The Miracle Files is your perfect alternative. With the same storytelling intensity as true crime podcasts, The Miracle Files delves into the details of each miraculous story, exploring the people and circumstances that turned these moments into something unforgettable. Whether you believe in divine intervention or human perseverance, this podcast will leave you feeling uplifted and amazed.In this episode, A father and son come face to face with an unmanned boat on a collision course in the open ocean, triggering a miraculous chain of events. Follow Sasha Scheller’s harrowing battle for survival after falling overboard without a life jacket, defying impossible odds. Discover the mystery of an unmanned vessel, a gripping fight for life, and the inspiring connections forged in the crucible of danger on the latest episode of The Miracle Files.
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33:57
Lt. Col. Ken Corigliano, USAF, Afghanistan, Iraq
By his own admission, Ken Corigliano was a troubled teenager who probably had jail in his future. That all changed the day a U.S. Air Force recruiter came to his school and had plenty to say when Corigliano tried to cause trouble during his presentation. That interaction radically changed Corigliano's life and would lead him to join the Air Force and excel at aircraft maintenance, with a special focus on the MC-130 E. His instincts helped to save his crew members on at least two occasions. And then a non-combat brain injury would change his life immensely and lead down an unlikely path where Corigliano took on some of the toughest physical competitions in the world.In this edition of Veterans Chronicles, Corigliano walks us through his Air Force journey, how 9/11 changed his service and the two harrowing missions where he was under intense pressure to solve major problems on the MC-130 E in order to keep the missions on target.He also explains the path he took to become a USAF officer and how a lack of physical conditioning almost derailed that dream.Finally, Corigliano details his frightening brain injury sustained in a bike accident while training for the Olympic triathlon. He explains how physical fitness helped him to heal from that trauma and how it led to him competing and excelling on very difficult competitions like Beastmaster and American Ninja Warrior.Don't miss this compelling and inspirational story.
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