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Welcome to Urban Valor, where we hear the stories of our veteran heroes in their own words. Within these vet interviews, you'll hear everything from combat stories, life stories pre/post military, military transition, and everything in between. Our interviews aren't just war stories or combat veteran interviews, but interviews from any military veteran willing to share. Our mission is to educate the masses with what military veterans go through while serving their country and how life has been since their military transition back to civilian life. Join our cause, online community, and show your support for Urban Valor at https://urbanvalor.com
206 Episodes
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This might be one of the wildest Marine Corps stories we’ve ever had on the show. Retired Marine First Sergeant Randall Parkes sat down with Urban Valor to share some of the funniest, most unbelievable, and downright fcked up* moments from his 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. From barracks inspections gone wrong, to combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, to a real-life rescue that helped spark the Abraham Accords — this episode has everything. Randall gets brutally honest about what i...
What drives a decorated Special Operations pilot to unload his weapon - not in fear of the enemy, but of himself? In this Urban Valor Podcast interview, Army veteran and Night Stalker pilot Nick O’Kelly reveals the mental battle he faced during deployment in Afghanistan. A former Green Beret turned elite helicopter pilot, Nick opens up about the hidden war inside his head — a war with depression, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts that nearly claimed his life. While flying missions in an active co...
This is one of the wildest military redemption stories I’ve ever heard. Shawn Vance was a former college athlete who spiraled hard—stealing for the thrill, smoking weed daily, and eventually overdosing on meth he found while picking up trash on the freeway. The overdose wrecked his heart. He could’ve died. Should’ve, honestly. But instead… he enlisted in the Army through the 18X program and clawed his way into Special Forces. In this Urban Valor episode, Shawn walks us through the full rid...
She came to America at five. She became a Marine. What happened next will stay with you. This week on Urban Valor, we dive into the story of Gunnery Sergeant Kimmy Lamano, a Filipino-American immigrant who rose through the ranks of the U.S. Marine Corps while carrying the weight of trauma, silence, and survival. From growing up in Manila and Hawaii, to surviving a convoy explosion in Afghanistan while teaching Afghan children, Kimmy’s journey is one of grit, honor, and post-service healing....
Blown up by a 25lb IED. Hunted by a sniper. Lost six Marines in one of the deadliest provinces in Afghanistan. This is Marine Lt. Col. Mike Manocchio’s story — and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard, and it's right here on today's Urban Valor Episode! Mike led troops through nonstop combat in Marjah, Helmand Province — an area packed with IEDs, ambushes, and Taliban fighters tracking their every move. He survived a massive explosion, had sniper rounds miss his head by inches, and ...
In 2003, just days before the U.S. invaded Iraq, a US Army base in Kuwait—Camp Pennsylvania - was hit with a deadly insider attack. In this weeks Urban Valor episode, Army Sergeant Major Bart Womack recounts the terrifying night a fellow soldier threw grenades into tents full of sleeping American troops. It was the first insider attack of the Iraq War, and it came from within their own ranks. But that wasn't the only time Bart faced death. He also survived a tense firefight in the Korean DMZ...
Marine Corps boot camp, combat in Haditha, Iraq, and the chaos, comedy, and cost of it all. Austin Hancock’s story is wild, hilarious, and at times heavy — this episode dives into all of it. We start today's episode of Urban Valor with boot camp madness: grown men in whitey-tighties doing squats, drill instructors weaponizing humor like it’s their MOS, and the kind of military hazing that only makes sense once you’ve been there. But underneath the laughs? IED-ridden convoys, combat stress,...
Army Infantryman Will Jones didn’t get a slow start to his military career. He got thrown into the fire—checking into his first unit mid-deployment… in Baghdad. No stateside prep. No easing in. Just boots on ground, rifle in hand, and mortar fire exploding around him. In this Urban Valor interview, Will shares what it’s like to be a brand new 11B Infantry soldier landing in a war zone without any time to train. His story is one of chaos, trauma, brotherhood, and survival. From Baghdad to Hu...
Air Force veteran Travis MossBarger was tasked with something most of us can’t even imagine — sending over 300 fallen soldiers home. In this Urban Valor episode, Travis opens up for the first time about the silent, invisible duty that haunted him every single day of his six years in service. He didn’t pull a trigger — he processed the aftermath. He didn’t storm a battlefield — he read the death certificates of those who did. And he didn’t run from RPG fire — he lit a cigarette and walk...
What do you do when your Humvee gets rocked by an IED blast… and a suspicious car creeps toward you through the dust? Most people freeze. Navy Corpsman Noi Dumpit didn't. He confronted the driver — thinking it could be his last moment — and somehow chose not to pull the trigger. In this episode of Urban Valor, Noi relives the chaos of Fallujah, where life and death blurred by the second. He breaks down the day his Humvee was launched into the air by a vehicle-borne IED, and the surreal momen...
On August 26, 2021, during the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan, Marine veteran Christian Sanchez stood at Abbey Gate when a suicide bomber detonated his device—killing 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghan civilians. Thrown to the ground, barely conscious, Christian opened his eyes to pure chaos. Then came the gunfire—a Taliban fighter firing from a rooftop. Despite being injured, Christian engaged in the firefight, neutralized the shooter, and was later shot himself. In this Urb...
Marine veteran Ralph Sarabia takes you inside the chaos of Iraq...convoys hit by IEDs, RPGs ripping overhead, close-quarters ambushes, and the split-second choices that decide who makes it home. In todays Urban Valor Podcast episode, he opens up about survivor’s guilt, hypervigilance, and rebuilding life after deployment with faith, family, and boxing. This is a raw, unfiltered account of Marine combat and the fight to heal. 👍 Like this video to support and show appreciation. 🗣️ Comm...
Marine Corps Veteran Roger Michael Hall pulls no punches in this episode of Urban Valor. From 2017–2022, Roger served as an infantry mortarman (0341) — but this isn’t the recruiting poster version of the Corps. This is the truth about months living on a Navy ship, crammed into tight berthing spaces, working long hours, and finding ways to stay sane in a floating steel city. Roger shares it all: wild overseas port calls, boot camp fights, grueling Mountain Warfare training, and the mental gri...
From a young immigrant kid running barefoot in Mexico to serving as a U.S. Air Force veteran in Iraq — this is the incredible untold story of Hector Cabrera. In this Urban Valor episode, Hector opens up about growing up with a single mother, losing his father, facing cultural identity struggles, and ultimately finding his calling in the U.S. military. His journey takes us through childhood adversity, immigrant resilience, boot camp discipline, and combat deployments in Iraq — where survival ...
Army Chaplain Nimrod Alcala opens up about the hidden war that no one talks about—what it’s like carrying the emotional trauma of soldiers... until it breaks you. In this Urban Valor episode, Nimrod reveals the unbearable emotional toll of his service—not on the battlefield, but behind closed doors. As a U.S. Army Chaplain, he became the safe place for soldiers fighting silent battles—suicidal thoughts, trauma, PTSD, and moral injury. But what happens when the helper needs help? From gettin...
PTSD. Whistleblowing. Betrayal by your own agency. Robert Ledogar lived it. A 32-year career — Navy vet turned U.S. Marshal — shattered when he chose integrity over silence. From chasing fugitives in New York to working the El Chapo and MS-13 cases, Lugar served at the highest levels… until the U.S. Marshals turned on him for protecting a fellow Deputy. In episode of the Urban Valor podcast, Robert breaks his silence on: - Corruption inside the U.S. Marshal Service - The cost of loyalty in...
This week on Urban Valor, we sat down with Marine veteran Ernesto Menjivar. A man who watched his brother lose both legs to an IED right in front of him. Ernesto was 19 years old when he first hit the ground in Afghanistan, assigned to one of the most IED-infested regions in Helmand Province. The firefights came fast. The first one he was ever in, RPGs were flying over his head, and the next minute they were sweeping for pressure plates in the dirt, praying one of them wouldn’t go off. But t...
Green Beret Terry Wilson faced daily ambushes, IEDs, RPG attacks, and brutal firefights while deployed in Afghanistan’s deadly Helmand Province. But even after surviving the horrors of war, nothing could prepare him for the tragedy that struck back home—the heartbreaking loss of his son. This week on Urban Valor, we sit down with retired U.S. Army Green Beret Terry Wilson for one of the most emotional episodes yet. From clearing Sangin in chaotic "Wild West" gunfights to surviving recoilless...
He survived hell—and now he inspires millions. Tom “Quitproof” Jones, a former U.S. Marine and world-class endurance athlete, endured one of the most traumatic childhoods imaginable: being beaten, terrorized, and even woken with a gun to his forehead. In this episode of Urban Valor, Tom opens up about how his abusive father hunted his mom—with Tom as a forced witness—and how that trauma shaped him into the resilient man he is today. From PTSD and addiction to running 121 marathons in...
Meet Richard Aviles, a U.S. Army Veteran and former Military Policeman whose story is as raw as it is remarkable. In this Urban Valor episode, Richard recounts growing up in Puerto Rico, navigating culture shock in the U.S., and enlisting in the Army to escape homelessness and pursue purpose. Within months, he found himself deployed to Iraq, running combat missions, clearing houses, and collecting biometrics in high-risk environments. But the weight of war wasn’t left overseas. Richard opens...
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