Echoes of the Vietnam War

Even after 50 years, the impact of the Vietnam War echoes across generations. Hear the stories of service and sacrifice from people who are affected — veterans, their families, and others who add perspective to those experiences. Brought to you by the nonprofit that built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, “The Wall,” in Washington, D.C.

Episodes

Practicing Gratitude

April 11, 2025 • 40 mins

In this episode, we’ll introduce you to someone whose gratitude toward Vietnam veterans is a matter of regular, intentional practice. She has turned “thank you for your service” into a lifestyle. Because if it hadn’t been for Vietnam veterans, she says, she might never have known freedom.

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Baby #899

March 28, 2025 • 51 mins

Kimberly Mitchell grew up in northern Wisconsin and became a highly accomplished military officer, but that hardly scratches the surface who she is — not to mention why. For those of you who reflect on the Vietnam War and ask yourselves what it was all for, Kim’s story just might provide a pinpoint of light to shine on the answer.

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A Place of Honor

March 19, 2025 • 34 mins

In this stirring epilogue to Episode 77, a former Navy SEAL finds a surprising and powerful way to pay tribute to his fallen friend. It’s a heartwarming story full of tenacity and tenderness, reverence and providence… and most of all, teamwork.

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A Kindred Spirit

March 6, 2025 • 43 mins

Doyle Glass is not a Vietnam veteran. In fact, he never served in the military. But he has dedicated a significant chunk of his professional life to collecting and preserving the first-hand accounts of people who did. “You get inspired to do good things,” he says, “and to toughen up.”

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The Secret War, Part 3

February 12, 2025 • 51 mins

In the final installment of this series, we take a closer look at the legacy of MACV-SOG, including the immediate aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from Southeast Asia, coming home, controversy, vindication, and SOG's lasting impact.

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The Secret War, Part 2

January 31, 2025 • 42 mins

In this installment of our three-part series on MACV-SOG, team members share personal stories of combat, injury, and loss as they conducted the eight-year "secret war" in Laos and Cambodia.

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The Secret War, Part 1

January 15, 2025 • 49 mins

In this three-part series, we bring you stories of MACV-SOG, a highly classified special-operations unit that conducted covert, unconventional warfare missions in places where U.S. troops weren’t supposed to go.

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From Purple Heart to Red Suit

December 12, 2024 • 54 mins

At department stores, tree lightings, parades, and office parties all over the world, Santa makes personal appearances around this time every year. You might be surprised to learn how many Vietnam veterans are... well, uh... let's say "involved" in those efforts. Among them is Fred Honerkamp, who was wounded in combat while serving in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.

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Sky Trooper

November 21, 2024 • 59 mins

When he was drafted in 1965, twenty-year-old Will Bowe went from his family's Wisconsin farm to the 1st Cavalry Division (AIRMOBILE) in Vietnam. Dropping onto the battlefield from helicopters, he and his fellow "Sky Troopers" quickly learned the profound meaning of “search and destroy,” and the brutal reality of the first helicopter war.

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Air America, Pt. 2

November 5, 2024 • 56 mins

Early in his aviation career, Neil Hansen flew for the Teamsters during Jimmy Hoffa’s final days. During the Vietnam War he flew for Air America, a civilian airline owned and operated by the CIA. For ten years in Southeast Asia, Neil flew in and out of places that nature never intended for aircraft — often under hostile fire.

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Air America, Pt. 1

October 23, 2024 • 52 mins

Air America, a civilian airline owned and operated by the CIA, transported supplies and refugees, flew reconnaissance missions, inserted and extracted US personnel, and rescued downed American pilots throughout southeast Asia. Neil Graham Hansen flew those missions for more than ten years, including the last flight out of Cambodia in April 1975.

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Just Listen

October 10, 2024 • 37 mins

More than 50 years after he came home from Vietnam, Al Coke started unearthing his long-buried memories and sharing them with his young Canadian friend, Allan Danroth. They recorded more than ten hours of audio together, some of which we featured in EP74: The Hero In Your Midst. In this episode, we bring you more of their conversation.

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Dustoff, Part 3

September 25, 2024 • 46 mins

In our third and final episode of this series, we take a broader look at the legacy of Vietnam Dustoff, including their lasting impact on modern aeromedical crews and operations.

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Dustoff, Part 2

September 11, 2024 • 50 mins

Dustoff crews in the Vietnam War had a very clear sense of mission: to get the wounded to higher-level medical care within an hour. In this episode we’ll learn more about the crew members, their training and teamwork, and the dangers they faced as they raced around the battlefields of Vietnam, risking their lives to save others.

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Dustoff, Part 1

August 14, 2024 • 55 mins

The Army’s aeromedical crews flew nearly 500,000 missions in Vietnam, saving the lives of nearly a million people on both sides of the conflict. In this three-part series, we’ll take a close look at Dustoff in Vietnam — the missions, the crew members, the dangers, and the enduring legacy.

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Grandpa Roger's Legacy

July 26, 2024 • 41 mins

Roger L. Tolbert, Sr. received a Silver Star and two Bronze Stars for his service in Vietnam. He died in 2021 from causes connected to Agent Orange exposure. His granddaughter, Dakota, inherited his sense of duty and his drive to serve. She may have inherited more than that.

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The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday, Part 2

July 10, 2024 • 55 mins

We conclude an Honor Flight for Navy SEALs who served in Vietnam by exploring more of the connections between these special warfare operators and the people whose lives they’ve impacted, including each other’s.

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The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday (Part 1)

June 21, 2024 • 37 mins

On an Honor Flight full of Navy SEALs who served during the Vietnam War, we learn about the origins and training of the earliest SEAL teams and hear first-hand accounts of some of their triumphs and tragedies in Southeast Asia.

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The Long Shadow of War

June 6, 2024 • 50 mins

June is National PTSD Awareness Month and June 16th is Father’s Day. In this episode we bring you an interview with a father and son who have traveled together on the long road from trauma to healing.

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Front Man

May 23, 2024 • 49 mins

Bruce Springsteen’s song “The Wall” was inspired, in large part, by a musician he idolized in his youth. Walter Cichon was the front man for a band called the Motifs, who were taking the New Jersey shore by storm in mid-to-late 1960’s. Walter’s voice was forever silenced in Vietnam when he was just 21 years old, but his indomitable spirit lives on through those who knew him — including, to a surprising degree, The Boss himself.

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Echoes of the Vietnam War

Episodes

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A Place of Honor

A Kindred Spirit

The Secret War, Part 3

The Secret War, Part 2

The Secret War, Part 1

From Purple Heart to Red Suit

Sky Trooper

Air America, Pt. 2

Air America, Pt. 1

Just Listen

Dustoff, Part 3

Dustoff, Part 2

Dustoff, Part 1

Grandpa Roger's Legacy

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday, Part 2

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday (Part 1)

The Long Shadow of War

Front Man

Popular Podcasts

Practicing Gratitude

Baby #899