Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes

183 Episodes

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A Marine Veteran’s Long Road From Addiction To Purpose (Joel Crawford)

2026-10-1302:05:26

Send us Fan Mail A lot of veteran stories skip the messy middle. Joel Crawford doesn’t. From being born on Clark Air Base in the Philippines to growing up in Dearborn Heights, his early years look “normal” on the surface until binge drinking, a DUI, and years of drifting make it clear something is off. Then he makes a late decision that changes everything: at 26, he enlists in the United States Marine Corps and is in Afghanistan not long after, trying to grow up fast while the stakes get real...

From Small Town To The White House (Cynthia Wright-Hale)

2026-10-1301:00:33

Send us Fan Mail A kid from a Michigan town of about 400 people doesn’t usually end up walking the White House colonnade or sitting on the plane with the President of the United States on 9/11. Cynthia Wright-Hale did, and her story connects the dots in a way that feels both unbelievable and deeply human. We talk through Cynthia’s path from Ferris State nursing school into high-intensity pediatrics ICU work, the moment she realized the job was taking too much, and how she eventually found he...

How To Get Married In Seven Days (Jeff Anderson)

2026-10-0101:45:04

Send us Fan Mail You can hear it in Jeff Anderson’s voice right away: he’s not chasing a highlight reel, he’s trying to tell the truth. Jeff grew up in West Michigan, moved 13 times, lived poor, and still learned to look outward. That early “see a need and meet it” mindset leads him to volunteer at Ground Zero after 9/11, enlist in the US Army, and eventually serve as an airborne combat medic on a relentless 2005 Afghanistan deployment where every mile of road training you to expect the worst...

Donald Behm Explains How Service Followed Him Home

2026-09-3001:31:35

Send us Fan Mail A draft notice, a quick marriage, and a flight to Vietnam with people he’d never met. Donald Behm walks us through what it feels like to land in-country alone, step into combat within days, and learn the unwritten rule that trust is earned under fire. He remembers the terrain and tempo vividly: hill assaults near Huế, patrols that blur together, mortar harassment, and a lightning strike so close it burned his leg and nearly set off the electrical blasting caps he was carrying...

From Bad Axe To Vietnam And Back Home (Dennis Hill)

2026-09-2435:21

Send us Fan Mail He grew up in Bad Axe, Michigan, running the neighborhood until the whistle blew and life felt simple. Then Dennis Hill loses his mom at eight years old, gets raised by his newly married sister, and learns early what it means to adapt when the people you count on are suddenly gone. That foundation sets the tone for everything that follows, including the years where he bounces through jobs, searches for direction, and eventually collides with a draft notice during the Vietnam ...

#box-pro-ellipsis-179316557874518{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes

Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes