Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage

Enslaved on a plantation in South Carolina, Robert Blake had little chance for freedom. Then came a surprise battle, a bold choice, and a new mission in life: serving in the U.S. Navy. Robert’s heroism would make him the first Black sailor to receive the Medal of Honor. But what happened next is… a total mystery. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Reidy, Joseph P. “Black Men in Navy Blue During the Civil War.” Navy and Marine, 2001. https://www.navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1862blackinblue.htm Jowdy, Laura. “Who Was Robert Blake? The Mystery of a Black Medal of Honor Recipient.” Congressional Medal of Honor Society, March 6, 2025 https://www.cmohs.org/news-events/medal-of-honor-recipient-profile/who-was-robert-blake-the-mystery-of-a-black-medal-of-honor-recipient/. Frazier, Herb. “Little-known Civil War hero once enslaved on South Santee.” Charleston City Paper, June 2, 2023. https://charlestoncitypaper.com/2023/06/02/little-known-civil-war-hero-once-enslaved-on-south-santee/. “Whatever Happened to Robert Blake and the Battle of Legareville, SC.” Civil War Traveler (Blog), January 5, 2024.https://civilwartraveler.blog/2024/01/05/whatever-happened-to-robert-blake-and-the-battle-of-legareville/ The Frog of History. “The First African American Medal of Honor Recipient is Missing.” YouTube video. June 27, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aYHT8va5uM&t=233s Quarstein, John V. “Ben Butler and the Contrabands.” The Mariners Museum and Park, May 28, 2021. https://www.marinersmuseum.org/2021/05/ben-butler-and-the-contrabands/ National Archives. “Black Soldiers in the U.S. Military During the Civil War.” National Archives and Records Administration, October 4, 2023.https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war#:~:text=The%20black%20troops%2C%20however%2C%20faced,more%20harshly%20than%20white%20captivesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On a moonlit mountaintop in Afghanistan, Salvatore Giunta ran through a hailstorm of bullets to save a fellow soldier– his best friend– from capture. It was a heroic decision, but Sal didn’t see it that way. This is the story of an extraordinary band of brothers– and how Sal learned to live with what he did. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Giunta, Salvatore and Joe Layden. Living with Honor: A Memoir. Threshold Editions, December 4, 2012. https://www.amazon.com/Living-Honor-Memoir-Salvatore-Giunta/dp/1451691467.  Junger, ​​Sebastian. “Into the Valley of Death.” Vanity Fair, January 2008. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/afghanistan200801.  Edwards, Elisabeth. “Korengal Valley: Why the Region Is Nicknamed the ‘Valley of Death’.” War History Online, Oct 24, 2022. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/korengal-valley.html.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Daly has been described as “America’s Fightin’est Marine,” who shouted that famous phrase, “Come on you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” Here, we explore Dan’s legendary (and crazy) adventures– and how his incredible bravery helped shape the modern Marine Corps. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Dieckmann, Edward. Dan Daly: Reluctant Hero. Marine Corps Gazette, November 1960.  https://archive.org/details/sim_marine-corps-gazette_1960-11_44_11/page/24/mode/2up Roberts, Charley. "Devil Dog" Dan Daly: America's Fightin'est Marine. McFarland, November 4, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Dog-Dan-Daly-Fightinest/dp/1476686769  O’Connell, Aaron. Keystone Battle Brief: The Boxer Rebellion, China 1900. Marine Corps History Division, United States Marine Corps University, 2019. https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/HD/Brief%20Histories/Boxer%20Rebellion%20Lecture%20Notes.pdf?ver=2019-05-23-084222-070  Iber, Patrick. “The Marine Who Turned Against U.S. Empire.” The New Republic, January 11, 2022.  https://newrepublic.com/article/164825/smedley-butler-marine-critic-american-empire.  Gleichauf, Justin F. “Old Marine Corps—‘The Fightin’est Marine'.” U.S. Naval Institute, January 1990. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1990/january/old-marine-corps-fightinest-marine  Hough, F. O.  “Daly of the Horse Marines.” Marine Corps Gazette, November 1954. https://archive.org/details/sim_marine-corps-gazette_1954-11_38_11/mode/2up?q=Daly&view=theater  Naval History and Heritage Command. “Daniel Joseph Daly” Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library, May 18, 2021. https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-d/daly-daniel-joseph.htmlSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Congressional Space Medal of Honor is awarded to those who go above and beyond– at the farthest edges of our frontier. Judy Resnick was one of our country’s first women astronauts, but what makes her a hero is something else: her willingness to face death in the name of serving a greater good. Special thanks to the NASA History Office, Performance Initiative Podcast, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Higginbotham, Adam. “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.” Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster,  May 14, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/Challenger-Story-Heroism-Disaster-Space/dp/198217661X.  Mullane, Mike. “Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut.” Scribner,  February 6, 2007. https://www.amazon.com/Riding-Rockets-Outrageous-Shuttle-Astronaut/dp/0743276833.  SWE Magazine. “Judith Resnik’s Living Legacy” All Together, January 26, 2021. https://alltogether.swe.org/2021/01/judith-resniks-living-legacy/.  Galloway, Barbara. “Astronaut and Akron native Judith Resnik remembered as brilliant, strong-willed.” Beacon Journal, January 27, 2020. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2020/01/27/jan-29-1986-judith-resnik/1820447007/.  ​​National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident: Chapter II - Events Leading Up to the Challenger Mission. https://www.nasa.gov/history/rogersrep/v1ch2.htm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J. R. Martinez interviews an old friend of his — Captain Charlie Plumb, a U.S. Navy fighter pilot who was shot down in Vietnam and spent six years in the infamous prison The Hanoi Hilton, right next to Medal of Honor recipient Bud Day. Charlie talks about living with guilt and finding forgiveness, even in the most unexpected place imaginable.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shot down over Vietnam, Bud Day escaped from a prison camp and ran barefoot and wounded through the jungle. What happened to him over the next five long years is a brutal testament to his strength and heroism. And what his wife did while she waited for his return is proof of the power of hope– and love. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Coram, Robert. “American Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day.” Back Bay Books, June 2, 2008. https://www.amazon.com/American-Patriot-Life-Wars-Colonel/dp/0316067393.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When President Harry Truman put the Medal of Honor around Macario Garcia’s neck, this heroic soldier wasn’t even an American citizen. Born in Mexico, Macario volunteered to serve in World War II– fearlessly running towards danger. But it’s the courage he showed when he returned to America that would cement his place in history. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Bailey, Robert and Katherine Bailey. “Seize Occupy and Defend.” Lulu.com, May 19, 2014. https://www.amazon.com/Seize-Occupy-Defend-Robert-Bailey/dp/1312175680.   Olivas, Michael A. The "Trial of the Century" that Never Was: Staff Sgt. Macario Garcia, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Oasis Cafè. University of Houston Law Center, 2008. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=ilj.  Rivas-Rodríguez, Maggie and Emilio Zamora. “Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation.” University of Texas Press, Dec 1, 2009. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Latino-World-War-Hero/dp/0292725809.  Rush Robert S. “Hell in the Forest: The 22d Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.” The Army Historical Foundation. https://armyhistory.org/hell-in-the-forest-the-22d-infantry-regiment-in-the-battle-of-hurtgen-forest/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you were alive between 1918 and 1940, it is absolutely certain that you would have heard of Alvin York’s famous exploits in World War One. But would you know the truth about the man, and about what he did one desperate day on the battlefield? Chances are you’d only know part of his story. But the tale behind his actual heroism is far more interesting, and far more human. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Gregory, James Patrick Jr. Unraveling the Myth of Sgt. Alvin York: The Other Sixteen. Texas A&M University Press, December 26, 2022. https://www.amazon.com/Unraveling-Myth-Sgt-Alvin-York/dp/1648430759  Nelson, James Carl. The York Patrol: The Real Story of Alvin York and the Unsung Heroes Who Made Him World War I's Most Famous Soldier. William Morrow, February 23, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/York-Patrol-Unsung-Heroes-Soldier/dp/0062975889.  Perry, John. Sgt. York: His Life, Legend & Legacy: The Remarkable Untold Story of Sgt. Alvin C. York. B&H Books, September 15, 1997 https://www.amazon.com/Sgt-York-Legend-Legacy-Remarkable/dp/0805460748. Skeyhill, Tom. Sergeant York and the Great War. The Vision Forum, October 23, 1998. https://www.amazon.com/Sergeant-York-Great-War-Courage/dp/1889128465.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a proud member of the Cherokee Nation, Dwight Birdwell was determined to fight for the country he loved. And his actions on the first day of the Tet Offensive in Vietnam are stuff of legend. But Dwight’s story is also about survival: not just what it takes to live through a terrible battle, but how that survival changes you– forever. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: Birdwell, Dwight W., and Keith William Nolan. A Hundred Miles of Bad Road: An Armored Cavalryman in Vietnam. Presidio Press, June 1, 1997. https://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Miles-Bad-Road-Cavalryman/dp/0891416285See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When fighter pilot Jefferson DeBlanc survived being shot at in a crazy dogfight over the Solomon Islands in World War Two, his adventure was only beginning. What happened after he parachuted out of his burning plane is a story of grit, blind optimism, and against-all-odds survival. We’re committed to making Medal of Honor even better, and you can help! Leave your feedback for the show by filling out our listener survey at http://bit.ly/mohsurvey Episode bibliography: DeBlanc, Jefferson. The Guadalcanal Air War: Col. Jefferson DeBlanc's Story. Pelican Publishing, April 15, 2008. https://www.amazon.com/Guadalcanal-Air-War-Jefferson-DeBlancs/dp/1589805879  Torres, Rivers. “Jefferson DeBlanc and the Air Battle for Guadalcanal.” The National WWII Museum, July 10, 2024. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/jefferson-deblanc-and-air-battle-guadalcanal  Lord, Walter. “Ordeal At Vella Lavella.” American Heritage, June 1997. https://www.americanheritage.com/ordeal-vella-lavella Kwai, Anna Annie. Solomon Islanders in World War II: An Indigenous Perspective. Australian National University Press, 2017. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/481b8b20-5e35-4b66-bc3e-f8489e0745dc/643776.pdfSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Medal of Honor is back with Season Two! Join new host J.R. Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran whose life was profoundly changed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2003. J.R., introduced by Malcolm Gladwell, shares his journey of finding purpose through storytelling and previews the compelling stories of heroism in this season. Season Two explores a range of historical conflicts, from the Civil War, where we encounter the first Black sailor to receive the Medal of Honor, to the Boxer Rebellion and the remarkable Marine Daniel Daly, a recipient of two Medals of Honor. We also want to hear from you! Send us your personal story of courage, or highlight someone else’s bravery. Email us at medalofhonor@pushkin.fm. You might hear your stories on future episodes of Medal of Honor, or see them on our social channels @pushkinpods. Get early, ad-free access to episodes of Medal of Honor by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges, and bonus content for all Pushkin shows. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkinSubscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.com/plusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

March 25th was designated by Congress as a day of recognition and gratitude for those who have demonstrated extraordinary heroism and courage. Today marks one hundred and sixty two years since the very first medal of honor was ever awarded to Jacob Wilson Parrott, a private from the 33rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry’s Company K. We are celebrating the day by thinking back on some of the incredible heroes we covered in our last season. We will continue to tell those stories in our second season coming up in May. In the meantime, we also want to hear from you! Send us your personal story of courage, or highlight someone else’s bravery.  You might hear your stories on future episodes of Medal of Honor, or see them on our social channels. Email us at medalofhonor@pushkin.fm. We’ll see you all back here in May.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm chats with Meredith Rollins, the writer behind the series, to talk about what they both learned from the Medal of Honor recipients featured this season. They also share moments that didn’t make the cut, what surprised them, what made them cry– and the surprising influence of Medal of Honor moms.  If you have questions or comments you would like Meredith to answer, you can email her at meredith.rollins@pushkin.fm or send us a message on any of our social media accounts @pushkinpods. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Chapman is the first member of the Air Force to receive the Medal of Honor since Vietnam. John’s story takes us to a freezing, snowy mountain range in Afghanistan on March 4th, 2002, where he deployed with SEAL Team 6 during Operation Anaconda. His bravery in the pre-dawn hours that day teaches us something vital about heroism: It means being willing to risk everything… even if no one can see you do it.Special thanks to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Defense Visual Information Distributions Service.The appearance of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert E. Bush is one of the youngest recipients of the Medal of Honor. At only 18, Bob found himself at the Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest and fiercest battle of World War II’s Pacific theater. But Bob wasn’t the only teenager at that battle. Both the Japanese and US military had young soldiers and medics in dangerous – and lethal – situations at the frontlines. Bob’s story is about what it means to fight when you are still so young. How it shapes the people who survive. And what their legacy is to their country and to future generations.Special thanks to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.