Ask A Vet Podcast

Episoder

• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Flying B-52s Over Vietnam 28.07.2026 2t 8min

  From a small farm town in Georgia to the cockpit of a C-7 Caribou over Vietnam, to eleven years flying B-52 Stratofortresses at the height of the Cold War — Buddy Herrington's story is one of the most remarkable we've covered on Ask A Vet. In this episode, Buddy walks us through four years at the Air Force Academy, two tours in Vietnam, a career that touched Guam, the Pentagon, and Space Command, and the unexpected call that led him from the cockpit to the pulpit as a Methodist minister in St. George, Utah.CHAPTERS: 01:30 Growing up in Alabama & rural Georgia11:24 The roommate who introduced him to the Air Force Academy14:47 Arriving at the Academy and basic training30:20 Graduation — Nixon, and backpacking across Europe42:18 Pilot training begins45:29 Learning to fly the C-7 Caribou50:35 First tour: flying into Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam1:02:26 Dodging ground fire in a plane with no defenses1:09:03 The jump from Caribou to B-521:12:09 Inside the B-52 "Stratofortress"1:14:06 Water-injection takeoffs and life on Guam1:24:16 Aerial refueling — "a planned collision"1:42:18 The scariest moment: SAM missiles over Hanoi1:48:23 Alert duty and the Middle East crisis2:01:01 Looking back on Vietnam and the Wall2:04:44 Space Command, GPS, and the Cold War2:10:11 Retiring — and the call to ministry2:10:47 Flood relief and building community in St. George2:18:07 Closing thoughts🎖️ Thank you to Buddy Herrington for his 28 years of service and for sharing his story with us.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Taking Fire in the Kiowa Warrior 22.07.2026 2t 38min

  Joe Priester never planned on the Army. He joined the Air Force at 18, spent six years flying on AWACS radar planes, and watched 9/11 unfold from a locked-down base — and walked out of that day determined to become a pilot. Twenty-four days after leaving the Air Force, he was back in basic training, this time headed for Army flight school.In this episode, Joe walks us through flying the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior — the Army's smallest, fastest, most maneuverable scout attack helicopter — through tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq was quiet for him (his call sign was literally "the White Dove"). Afghanistan wasn't. He takes us inside the two-day stretch in August 2008 that changed everything: a vehicle-borne IED at the gate, a danger-close CASEVAC mission that pulled five wounded soldiers out under fire, and an engagement the next day that lasted over 20 hours.We also talk about what came after — retiring in 2017, flying helicopter EMS today, and what he tells his own son, now an airborne infantryman, about carrying all of this.TIMESTAMPS: 01:50 – Wanting to be military since childhood (GI Joe, grandfather)03:18 – Joining the Air Force out of high school (1997)04:18 – Air Force basic training, Lackland AFB06:39 – Operation Northern/Southern Watch deployments08:14 – What a typical AWACS mission looked like09:08 – 9/11 and Operation Noble Eagle12:43 – Airborne school & Air Traffic Control course14:17 – Where he was on 9/11 (Keesler AFB lockdown)18:21 – Leaving the Air Force, walking away from a $35K bonus19:xx – Army basic training at Fort Jackson28:24 – Candidate school at Fort Rucker33:17 – Flight school begins45:57 – Selecting the Kiowa Warrior59:40 – Choosing the 101st Airborne, Fort Campbell1:03:11 – Deploying to Iraq, stuck in a supply job first1:07:44 – First flight in Iraq — straight into a firefight1:16:17 – The "White Dove" nickname1:22:27 – Coming home, learning Afghanistan is next1:26:30 – Arriving in Afghanistan (Jalalabad / FOB Fenty)1:29:34 – First Afghanistan mission — RPGs on day one1:39:08 – Life on rotation, moving to FOB Salerno1:39:08 – Aug 17, 2008: VBIED attack at the gate1:46:49 – Aug 18: FOB attacked overnight → CASEVAC mission begins2:07:41 – Aug 19: engaging the two vehicles2:18:43 – Rest of deployment, becoming instructor pilot / Fort Riley2:22:02 – Retiring in 2017, flying helicopter EMS today2:24:33 – Hardest part of coming home 2:30:59 – Legacy of Vietnam-era Army aviators2:34:18 – The Kiowa Warrior's retirement from service👉 If you’re a Veteran struggling with VA benefits, click this link to schedule a free consultation: https://ameconsultation.com/ref/AVPP1211J20A26YXODisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.If you're a veteran with a story to tell, or know someone who is, reach out to humanographyproject@gmail.com— we'd love to have you on.#Veterans #ArmyAviation #KiowaWarrior #MilitaryPodcast #CombatVeteran
• 
  What They Don’t Tell You About Giving Up Everything at 32 to Become a Green Beret 16.07.2026 2t 23min

  He gave up two businesses and a comfortable life at 32 years old to become a Green Beret — then spent six months in the Congo hunting one of the world's most wanted warlords, Joseph Kony.In this episode, Josh Nacey takes us from a small painting company in Rock Springs, Wyoming, through Special Forces selection, the Q Course, and multiple deployments — including a split-team operation in the Congo where his unit fought alongside Congolese forces, dealt with poachers and elephant killings, and lived alongside a warlord's brutal reach. He also opens up about what almost nobody in Special Operations wants to talk about: transitioning home, operator syndrome, divorce, and the suicide statistics that are 30% higher for special operations veterans than the rest of the military.Josh now runs the CharlieMike Foundation and is launching Mend the Drift, a new initiative using fly fishing to help special operations veterans heal.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS1:27 – Military roots: two grandfathers, two wars3:14 – Enlisting at 3210:00 – The recruiter's 8-month test12:15 – Arriving at basic training22:26 – The hardest part: Q Course & Small Unit Tactics41:40 – What is a Green Beret, really?44:35 – Inside a 12-man ODA46:13 – Becoming an 18 Charlie (demolitions)57:16 – Graduation day: earning the Green Beret1:01:10 – First deployment: the Philippines1:15:20 – The mission: hunting Joseph Kony1:16:07 – Deploying to the Congo1:18:37 – First impressions of the Congo1:21:31 – Hunting the LRA1:23:46 – The village and the two men1:29:25 – Patrolling the jungle with Congolese forces1:33:52 – Poachers, elephants, and a warzone for wildlife1:37:36 – The hippo story1:43:07 – A tragic firefight1:49:52 – Coming home: "operator syndrome"1:55:21 – Hitting bottom and asking for help1:58:50 – Ketamine, SGB, and resetting fight-or-flight2:04:58 – Founding the CharlieMike Foundation2:06:52 – Fly fishing and Operation Pay It Forward2:11:15 – Mend the Drift: his new mission2:12:48 – The suicide numbers no one talks about2:16:30 – The real cost of service🤝 SUPPORT THE MISSIONCharlieMike Foundation & Mend The Drift: https://mendthedrift.org/Operation Pay It Forward: https://opif4ourvets.org/IF YOU'RE STRUGGLINGThis episode includes candid discussion of combat, military transition, and veteran suicide statistics. If you or someone you know is a veteran in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7: call 988 then press 1, text 838255, or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net.#GreenBeret #SpecialForces #Veteran #JosephKony #Congo #MentalHealth #Podcast
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Vietnam Artillery 09.07.2026 1t 34min

  Robert Williams grew up in Colville, Utah, and followed three generations of his family into the military: commissioning through Army ROTC at the University of Utah before serving as an artillery officer in Vietnam. In this episode of Ask A Vet, Robert takes us from basic training at Fort Lewis through his time as a battery commander on a remote firebase in the Vietnamese highlands — the boredom, the terror, the firefights, a helicopter crash, and the split-second decision that came closest to costing a life. He also opens up about the reception he received coming home, the PTSD he didn't recognize until decades later, and what finally started to heal on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. with his son.This is Episode 50 of Ask A Vet — thank you for fifty episodes of listening to these stories.CHAPTERS:00:28 – Meet Robert: growing up in Colville, Utah, and a family history of service 02:53 – ROTC, a failed physical, and fighting to stay in 04:59 – Basic training at Fort Lewis 07:28 – Fort Sill: learning the guns and the M101 howitzer 09:33 – Night training and a scare on aggressor detail 11:55 – Firepower demonstrations and "time on target" 14:20 – Orders to Vietnam: leaving a pregnant wife behind 16:49 – Landing in-country on New Year's Day 19:13 – Camp Red Horse and life in the rear 21:38 – Taking command on LZ Linda / Hill 270 26:30 – Under fire: flechette rounds and a 20-minute firefight 28:47 – The drug problem on the hill 31:09 – Urinalysis, discipline, and hard calls as a young officer 33:35 – Inside the Fire Direction Center 36:00 – Contaminated water takes down the whole battery 38:26 – Getting sick, and leading men barely out of high school 40:23 – Keeping men sane: cockroach races and homemade games 44:49 – Going down in a helicopter 47:10 – The rocket attack they weren't allowed to stop 49:33 – B-52 strikes and danger-close air support 51:58 – Witnessing a midair collision 53:58 – Reassigned to Quinyon as base defense officer 56:02 – The closest he came to killing someone — and becoming the "whore control officer" 58:30 – Discipline duty during off-base entertainment nights 1:00:41 – A Montagnard farewell dinner: a crossbow, poison, and pigeon heads 1:02:38 – A body on the shore and the final weeks in-country 1:05:05 – Riding with a Korean convoy 1:07:19 – Two of the hardest things he saw in Vietnam 1:09:45 – A close call with incoming mortars 1:11:55 – Notes for the colonel and the province chief 1:13:44 – Learning his daughter was born — and had emergency surgery 1:15:18 – R&R in Hawaii, and the hardest part: going back 1:17:29 – Wheels up for home 1:19:51 – Coming home to a hostile crowd in San Francisco 1:21:49 – Assignments in Germany and Minnesota, finishing a master's degree 1:24:14 – Leaving the Army and his takeaway from Vietnam 1:25:38 – Recognizing PTSD — decades later 1:28:44 – What lingers: sights, sounds, and smells that don't go away 1:30:26 – Agent Orange, burn pits, and the health costs that show up later 1:32:00 – The Honor Flight with his son 1:33:24 – A welcome home, decades overdue 1:34:06 – Final thoughts & ReflectionsIf you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.
• 
  What They Didn't Tell Me About Being a Marine Door Gunner 03.07.2026 1t 29min

  Larry Winters served as a Marine helicopter mechanic and door gunner in Vietnam, stationed at Phu Bai and Marble Mountain outside Da Nang in 1969. He grew up in a house with no electricity or running water in upstate New York, ran away from an abusive father at 16, and joined the Marines at 19 trying to "become a man." What he found in boot camp and Vietnam set him on a 56-year journey to understand what war actually does to the people who fight it.In this conversation, Larry talks about the brutal turning points of boot camp at Parris Island, his attempted AWOL into Mexico, the day he refused an order to fire on Vietnamese fishermen, and the concept that's defined his life's work as a therapist: moral injury. His take on why veterans are dying by suicide will challenge everything you've been told about PTSD.Larry is the author of "The Making and Unmaking of a Marine" and is currently finishing his second book.⚠️ Content warning: This episode contains discussion of war, combat, violence against civilians, suicide, and moral injury. If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, call the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 and press 1, or text 838255.CHAPTERS00:30 Growing up in Newpaltz, NY02:30 Signing up for the Marines at 1905:00 Parris Island — the yellow footprints09:30 Boot camp turning points: the hot sauce and the rifle bolt13:30 Coming home, ITR training, and shoe polish in the barracks22:30 Metalsmith school and shipping out to Vietnam29:30 Landing at Phu Bai — 126 degrees and Marston matting32:30 Tet, the move to Marble Mountain, and a sergeant's chilling words35:30 Locals on the base, peace symbols under shirts37:00 Becoming a door gunner — and getting in trouble first39:30 Three months on perimeter guard, the starlight scope42:30 The sandpan incident: "I'm not firing this"47:30 Flying missions, napalm, and the bulldozer that wouldn't lift52:00 The Freedom Bird home and protesters in San Diego58:30 College, poetry, and the long road to becoming a therapist1:10:00 Moral injury vs. PTSD — what's really killing veterans1:16:00 Presence as the best treatment1:20:00 Creativity, spontaneity, and finding his voice1:24:00 Final Reflections📕 Larry's first book "The Making and Unmaking of a Marine" — https://www.amazon.com/Making-Making-Marine-Larry-Winters/dp/0979229340📕 Larry's upcoming book: https://www.koehlerbooks.com/book/the-tug-of-war-a-reckoning-with-moral-injury-and-telling-the-truth/Larry's Substack: https://larrywinters.substack.com/
• 
  What They Never Told You About Playing Rock & Roll in a War Zone 29.06.2026 1t 51min

  Stephen Davy was drafted out of a Toys R Us toy gun department in 1967, joined the Air Force to avoid the Army, and ended up loading napalm, two-thousand-pound bombs, and 2.75 rockets at the Pleiku Air Base bomb dump in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. But the part of his story you've never heard is what happened on the weekends: Stephen and his buddy Tom Glenn formed a rock band that played Camp Holloway, Engineer Hill, Fifth Special Forces, and just about every Army camp within reach of Pleiku, often going AWOL to do it, and sometimes catching helicopter rides back to base from pilots who wanted to do loops with the band gear in the cargo hold.In this episode, Stephen shares the close calls (rocket attacks, a tunneled-in VC sapper team, a leopard outside the rehearsal door), the absurdity (a pet macaque named Colonel Spiker who got drunk in the Airmen's Club), and the quieter moments that stayed with him most — visiting the orphanage outside Pleiku with clothes his parents shipped from the States. He also talks honestly about coming home to Andrews Air Force Base, the PTSD no one was naming yet, getting robbed at gunpoint multiple times working nights at a 7-Eleven, and how a Washington Post want ad eventually led him to a 50-year career as a master violin maker in Laguna Beach.CHAPTERS00:30 Growing up — Navy dad, Boonville to Florida to DC 07:00 The draft notice08:30 Basic training at Lackland — getting punched, losing a spleen 12:00 Munitions school in Denver and meeting Tom Glenn 14:00 Learning to load bombs, fuse rockets, and mix napalm 20:00 Arriving in Pleiku — Central Highlands, Fifth Special Forces, MIKE Force 26:00 First rocket attack and the bunker in the tall grass 38:00 Forming the New Generations Band 50:00 Pleiku City, the Montagnards, and the orphanage 58:00 Going AWOL to play Camp Holloway and Engineer Hill 1:08:00 Flat tire on the way back from a gig 1:11:00 The colonel who saved the band from being broken up 1:20:00 Two GIs straight out of the field singing "Hold On, I'm Comin'" 1:25:00 Helicopter loops with the band gear 1:28:00 Leaving Pleiku under ground fire 1:32:00 Coming home — Andrews AFB, security details, and a bank robbery 1:47:00 Apprenticing under violin masters Tom Nerado and Albert Mollier 1:51:00 Vietnam, Agent Orange, and looking back 1:55:00 Colonel Spiker the monkeySubscribe for more interviews with the men and women who served.If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.#AskAVet #VietnamVeteran #VietnamWar #USAirForce #Pleiku #OralHistory
• 
  What They Don’t Tell You About Taking Fire on the Mekong River Delta 23.06.2026 59min

  Gary Howard grew up in Atlanta and joined the Navy in 1968 to stay one step ahead of the draft. A few months later he landed at Tan Son Nhut on the night of Tet '69 – the whole countryside on fire, Intel telling everyone this year would be worse than last. It wasn't. What followed was a year as a Naval advisor with the Vietnamese Marines in the Mekong Delta: helicopter landings, MEDCAPs in remote villages, climbing telephone poles to lay phone lines, sleeping topside under a mosquito net with his M16 next to his head, and yes, waterskiing on the Mekong behind a mail-order Johnson 75 outboard.In this episode Gary walks us through OCS at Newport, gunnery school, the bus ride into Saigon, the rocket that missed because his hat fell off, the mortar attack that interrupted a winning poker hand on his birthday, the overturned boat that gave him lifelong claustrophobia, and the moment a young woman spit on him at SFO when he finally made it home. After Vietnam he ran a nuclear weapons rework plant in Yorktown, went to law school in Texas, and tried jury cases in Arizona for forty years.CHAPTERS 00:48 — Drafted, so I joined the Navy 02:06 — OCS at Newport (and getting caught asleep) 03:30 — Gunnery school in Virginia Beach 07:09 — Amphibious and small arms training 08:25 — Landing in Vietnam on Tet '69 13:16 — Bus ride into Saigon 16:25 — Aboard the USS Mercer 19:36 — A 40-foot boat and 13 crew 22:51 — MEDCAPs, DENTCAPs, and winning hearts and minds 23:57 — Waterskiing on the Mekong 26:36 — The rocket that missed 27:58 — The telephone pole story 30:24 — Mortars on my birthday 35:42 — Food, heat, and the mosquitoes 36:12 — R&R in Hawaii 36:46 — Emergency leave home 40:11 — The girl at SFO who spit on me 43:22 — Two and a half years at a nuclear weapons plant 45:43 — Law school and forty years of trials 49:46 — What Vietnam taught me 51:05 — The overturned boat and lifelong claustrophobia 57:23 — Adjusting to "thank you for your service"Subscribe for more interviews with the men and women who served.👉 If you’re a Veteran struggling with VA benefits, click this link to schedule a free consultation: https://ameconsultation.com/ref/AVPP1211J20A26YXODisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.#VietnamWar #VietnamVeteran #USNavy #AskAVet #BrownWaterNavy #MekongDelta #Tet69 #OralHistory
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Life on a Nuclear Submarine 17.06.2026 1t 42min

  In 1963, a kid from Las Vegas with no money and a father enlisted in the Air Force earned appointments to all three service academies. A retired Army colonel teaching high school math gave him one piece of advice: "if you want choices, go to Annapolis" and it set Tim Martin on a path into the most secretive community in the U.S. military: the Silent Service.In Episode 46 of Ask A Vet, Tim takes us deep inside the Cold War nuclear Navy. Hand-picked for Admiral Rickover's legendary nuclear power program, Tim served aboard the USS John Adams (SSBN-620), a Polaris missile boat carrying 160 nuclear warheads — more destructive power than every bomb dropped in World War II — and later aboard the fast attack USS Permit (SSN-594), the "Steely-Eyed Killer of the Deep."He tells the stories submariners rarely tell: trailing a brand-new Soviet missile submarine for 38 straight days without being detected. Surviving the exact same casualty that sank the USS Thresher, a seawater flange blowout at 1,300 feet. Snagging a fishing net with his periscope at 2:30 in the morning. Watching Apollo 13 launch through the periscope. A swim call in the middle of the Panama Canal. And the day his captain made him the boat's official Shark Control Officer.Tim went on to a career in nuclear power and today serves on the USS Utah (SSN-801) Commissioning Committee — and he's the first submariner ever featured on this show.If you enjoy these stories, subscribing is free and it genuinely helps us preserve more of them.CHAPTERS00:30 — A Las Vegas Kid Gets Appointments to All Three Academies07:15 — Plebe Year, the Chronometer Answer & Falling for Submarines12:45 — Rickover's Nuclear Program: Sawed-Off Chairs, Nuke School & the Idaho Prototype19:00 — USS John Adams (SSBN-620): 16 Polaris Missiles, 160 Atom Bombs22:30 — Earning His Dolphins: Thrown Over the Side in Guam28:43 — THE DRAGNET STORY: 2:30 AM, Periscope Up Under Two Spotlights35:45 — Life at 300 Feet: Six On, Twelve Off, Movie Night & Fixing Everything40:30 — USS Permit, "Steely-Eyed Killer of the Deep": Trailing a Soviet Sub for 38 Days49:00 — Nuclear Torpedoes & the 1974 Anti-Nuclear Protest in Japan59:00 — The Thresher, the Scorpion & Surviving a Flange Blowout at 1,300 Feet1:06:49 — Creaking Hulls, Angles & Dangles, and How You Evade a Torpedo1:19:40 — Ice Cream Over Sonar, the Army-Navy Game Heist & Apollo 13 Through the Periscope1:30:30 — THE SHARK STORY: "You're the Shark Control Officer"1:35:30 — Rickover's Legacy, the USS Utah & Life After the Silent Service👉 If you’re a Veteran struggling with VA benefits, click this link to schedule a free consultation: https://ameconsultation.com/ref/AVPP1211J20A26YXODisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Your First Firefight in Afghanistan 12.06.2026 1t 52min

  In Episode 45 of Ask A Vet, we sit down with Aaron Hinds, a Georgia kid who turned down a Navy SEAL contract and a nuclear program to do the one thing he'd wanted since he was fourteen: be an infantryman.Aaron takes us from Sand Hill at Fort Benning to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, through brutal pre-deployment "tryouts" where only two dozen men made the cut, and into Afghanistan's fighting season at FOB Shank, better known as Rocket City. He shares what it's really like the first time rounds snap over your head, the frustrating reality of rules of engagement, the 45-minute firefight that made it into Ricky Schroder's docuseries "The Fighting Season," and the unforgettable Special Forces soldier in a Captain America t-shirt.But the heart of this episode is what came after. Aaron opens up about losing more friends at home than he did overseas, finding a therapist through the nonprofit HickStrong, getting his service dog Ace through Healing for Heroes, and learning that the same mind that survived a war can be pointed at helping people. As Aaron puts it: "I can do great things and I can do terrible things…and I have to decide which one I'm gonna let control my actions."If you're a veteran who's struggling, you are not alone. Reach out to the resources below or dial 988 and press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.🎖️ Resources mentioned in this episode: • HickStrong (free therapy for veterans & first responders): https://www.hicksstrong.org/• Healing for Heroes (service dogs for veterans): https://www.healing4heroes.org/• Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1“The Fighting Season” (2015): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4006826📺 Subscribe for a new veteran's story every episode. 🎧 Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and everywhere you listen.CHAPTERS 00:33 – Growing up in Stapleton, Georgia 03:11 – Turning down a SEAL contract to join the infantry 06:05 – Fort Benning: Drill sergeants, weather machines & "Chuck Norris" 15:10 – Fort Drum & the 10th Mountain Division 19:18 – Training to fight: glass houses & complex simplicity 21:30 – Tryouts: competing for a slot to deploy 27:03 – Shipping out: Ireland, Romania & landing at Bagram 29:23 – FOB Shank, a.k.a. Rocket City 36:46 – Rules of Engagement39:22 – Fighting Season 51:00 – The 45-minute firefight & the B-1 show of force 1:02:04 – The A-10 pilot with the angelic voice 1:04:37 – Pitch Perfect, surf & turf Fridays and badminton diplomacy 1:12:01 – The frustration of ROE 1:14:34 – Coming home 1:31:51 – Therapy, HickStrong & a service dog named Ace 1:43:17 – Final Thoughts & Reflections #AskAVet #Veterans #Afghanistan #10thMountain #Infantry #VeteranStories #MilitaryPodcast
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Being a Combat Medic Turned Infantry Officer 09.06.2026 1t 57min

  Stephan Wolfert enlisted as a medic in 1986, became an infantry officer, trained for elite special operations, and was on a fast track to a full military career…until two devastating losses in the same year broke something in him. A chance encounter with Shakespeare's Richard III in a small Montana theater changed the course of his life forever.Today, Stephan is a licensed psychotherapist, Shakespeare actor, and founder of De-Cruit, a groundbreaking program using Shakespeare's verse to help military veterans heal from PTSD and trauma. With over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles backing his work, what started as one veteran's personal catharsis has helped thousands find language for the unspeakable.In this episode, Stephan talks candidly about growing up on the rough north side of La Crosse, Wisconsin, fleeing to the Army as his only way out, the rapid rise through elite military training, the grief that broke him, and why he believes we recruit soldiers but never truly "decruit" them — and what that costs all of us.🔗 Learn more about De-Cruit: www.decruit.orgCHAPTERS:3:02 – Why He Joined the Army5:45 – Becoming a Combat Medic7:06 – Basic Training & What Surprised Him12:40 – Advanced Training & Becoming an Officer18:05 – Iran-Contra, Central America & Shifting Beliefs22:55 – Getting His History Degree & Turning Down Regular Army28:47 – JRTC & National Training Center: Elite Field Training34:33 – Ranger School & What Almost Ended It37:42 – The Arctic Training Story (A Favorite Army Memory)42:53 – The Losses That Broke Him: Deaths in Training & a Soldier's Suicide49:49 – Going AWOL: A PTSD Episode on an Amtrak Train54:14 – Whitefish, Montana & a Shakespeare Play That Changed Everything58:31 – Turning Down the Military for Good1:02:12 – Ranger School: The Concussion That Cost Him the Tab1:13:19 – Graduate School & the Birth of Cry Havoc1:16:36 – Creating DeCruit: Shakespeare as Medicine for Veterans1:29:02 – The Research: What the Data Actually Shows1:37:43 – Veterans, Childhood Trauma & ACE Scores1:46:44 – How to Find DeCruit & What's Coming Next1:48:35 – The Real Cost of War & What We Choose Not to Fix1:55:34 – Final Thoughts & Reflections If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com.
• 
  Veteran Podcast What They Don't Tell You About Being a JAG Officer in Vietnam Combat 04.06.2026 1t 6min

  In EP 43 of Ask a Vet, Ron Holdaway shares a remarkable journey from growing up in Wyoming to serving as a senior Army lawyer involved in historic cases during Vietnam and beyond. Discover his perspectives on military justice, the Vietnam War, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of service.CHAPTERS: 01:00 - Growing up in Wyoming & becoming a lawyer02:37 - ROTC, JAG Corps & early military career07:21 - First assignments & court-martial work12:04 - Postings in Hawaii, Germany & Vietnam14:39 - First war crime case & combat refusals16:10 - Deployment to Vietnam21:36 - Arrival & life in Vietnam27:15 - Living under fire & shrapnel injuries31:00 - Soldier shoots fellow soldier on drugs33:01 - The 1st Cavalry Division36:20 - War crimes, mutilation & drug enforcement43:53 - The Mealy incident45:07 - Lieutenant Calley's court-martial & media fallout48:18 - Leaving Vietnam & anti-war sentiment back home51:33 - Pentagon, Europe & promotion to Colonel59:38 - Chief Judge & career reflections63:43 - Final thoughts on Vietnam & life lessons🎖️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever. If you believe these stories matter, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served.✈️ Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Every flight is free to veterans and made possible by generous donors. Learn more or support the mission at utahonorflight.org or find your local hub at honorflight.org.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Hunting Soviet Submarines in the Vietnam Era 29.05.2026 2t 11min

  In Episode 42 of Ask a Vet, we sit down with Navy veteran Tom Hopkins: a man who spent 20 years chasing submarines across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, surviving fire control lock-ons off the coast of China, harrowing carrier landings, cold catapult shots, and engine failures that nearly put him in the water. And somehow, he never stopped loving every minute of it.Tom grew up in Salida, Kansas, the son of an Air Force bomber pilot who flew unarmed DC-3s over the Himalayas in WWII — and who died in a B-47 crash when Tom was just 12. That loss shaped everything that came after: the draft, the Navy, the jets, the submarines, and the psychological reckoning in his final year of service that taught him PTSD is very, very real.From the flight line at Kingsville, Texas to carrier operations on the USS Ticonderoga and USS Kennedy, from S-2 Trackers to computerized S-3 Vikings, from a night aboard the USS Sabalo diesel submarine to Civil Air Patrol missions near Hill Air Force Base — this is a story of service, sacrifice, and a lifelong love of flight.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Being a Cobra Pilot in the Vietnam War 25.05.2026 1t 20min

  In Episode 41 of Ask a Vet, we sit down with Walter Cox, Vietnam-era Army warrant officer, helicopter pilot, and Price, Utah native.Walter flew both Cobra gunships and Huey slicks with the 7th/17th Air Cavalry and Alpha 2/27 at Camp Holloway in Pleiku, South Vietnam. He walks us through what it was like to learn to fly in the tiny TH-55 trainer, transition to the sleek and lethal AH-1 Cobra, and ultimately find his calling in the Huey — hauling troops, supplies, and ARVN advisors across the Central Highlands. He recalls his first time being fired upon, the B-40 rockets that barely missed his crew, a bullet hole discovered in his rotor head days after a mission, and the devastating loss of fellow pilots that still stays with him.Walter is also open about the silence he kept for decades after coming home — the airport with no welcome, the PTSD he still navigates, and the memories he's had to push down just to get through. This episode is a remarkable window into the everyday heroism of a generation of veterans who served quietly and came home to even quieter streets.🎙️ Ask a Vet is a podcast dedicated to honoring and preserving the stories of veterans.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Flying the CH-54 Skycrane in Vietnam 19.05.2026 2t 19min

  What does it take to fly the Army's heaviest helicopter, a 72-foot rotor-span Skycrane, into one of the most dangerous combat missions of the Vietnam War? Jim Oliphant knows firsthand. Jim grew up in San Diego, got drafted four times while studying architecture, and ended up becoming one of the Army's elite CH-54 Flying Crane pilots. In this episode, he takes us from boot camp at Fort Bliss to flight school in Texas, all the way to a classified mission on a mountain pinnacle overlooking the Ho Chi Minh Trail- a mission they never even told him the real purpose of until it was over.Jim shares the near-disasters, the ingenuity under pressure, and the surprising moments of humor and humanity that made his year in Vietnam unforgettable, including a hamburger stand on a Vietnamese island, barbecue with steak and lobster, and what it felt like to command the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a NATO exercise on his last day in the Army.🎙️ Ask A Vet is a podcast dedicated to honoring the stories of Veterans — told in their own words.🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. Like and share if this story moved you.
• 
  What They Never Told You About Being a Combat Flight Nurse in Vietnam 14.05.2026 1t 17min

  She was 21 years old, a Johns Hopkins-trained nurse, and she had no idea what was about to walk off that plane. In Episode 39 of Ask A Vet, we sit down with Deanna Halterman Savage — Air Force flight nurse, Vietnam-era veteran, and one of the most remarkable women you'll ever hear from. Deanna flew medevac missions out of Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefields of Vietnam back to the United States. Two nurses. Two corpsmen. No doctors. Dozens of critically wounded men, many of them teenagers.She talks about the moment 35 young amputees stepped off a plane and changed everything she thought she knew about nursing. About flying through the night with burn patients whose dressings dried at altitude. About bringing boys home to a country that didn't want to acknowledge them. And about carrying all of it quietly for decades…until she couldn't anymore.This is a story about service, sacrifice, and what it really costs to care.🎙️ Subscribe so you never miss an episode of Ask A Vet.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Serving in the Korean War 09.05.2026 40min

  Richard Colborn was 18 years old when the Air Force made him a shift supervisor in a classified military communications center in the middle of the Korean War.Born in 1933 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, Richard joined the Air Force in 1951 with no expectation of ending up in a war zone. He ended up at Kimpo Air Base, just 20 miles outside a bombed-out Seoul, running teletype operations that sent classified messages across the globe, six hours on and twelve hours off, seven days a week. In this episode, he opens up about what Korea actually looked, sounded, and felt like from the inside — the distant flash of artillery visible from the base, the North Korean planes dropping grenades from above like a nuisance rather than a threat, hitchhiking through a live war zone on his time off to visit a cousin, and the Korean houseboy named Lee whose family living in a lean-to against a bombed-out factory wall quietly showed Richard what the war was really doing to an entire people.After Korea, Richard's story keeps going: Andrews Air Force Base, a transfer to French Morocco that his base doctor essentially prescribed, R&R in Rome and Madrid, and a post-military career with Westinghouse Electric that took him to Istanbul, Cairo, Chicago, and beyond. CHAPTERS01:45  Growing Up in Rural Pennsylvania and the Decision to Enlist03:30  Joining the Air Force in 1951 04:45  Boot Camp & Leadership06:00  Shipping Out: California to Seattle to Yokohama by Boat08:30  Landing in Korea — A Bombed-Out Seoul at Night10:00  Life at Kimpo Air Base: Huts, Pot-Bellied Stoves, and F-86s11:30  Running a Classified Comm Center at 18 Years Old13:30  The "Bombing" That Wasn't — North Korean Piper Cubs and Grenade Runs15:00  The Korean Houseboy Named Lee — The Human Side of the War17:30  Hitchhiking Through a War Zone to Visit His Cousin19:30  R&R in Tokyo: Elevated Trains and Chicken21:00  Watching the Armistice Negotiations from the Base22:30  Coming Home Under the Bay Bridge Into San Francisco24:00  Andrews Air Force Base and Two Promotions26:00  A Doctor's Prescription: "You Need a Change of Venue"27:30  French Morocco: Bombers, Tangier, and R&R in Rome and Madrid30:30  Discharge in New York and Back to Civilian Life31:30  Indiana Tech, Electrical Engineering, and Westinghouse Electric34:00  A Career That Took Him to Turkey, Cairo, Chicago, and Beyond38:00  Cairo, His Wife, and the Telegram That Changed Everything39:30  What Korea Taught Him ─────────────────────────────────────────🎖️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever. If you believe these stories matter, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served.✈️ Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Every flight is free to veterans and made possible by generous donors. Learn more or support the mission at utahonorflight.org or find your local hub at honorflight.org.💼 If you or someone you know isn't getting the VA benefits you've earned, click the link in our description. We've teamed up with a group of experts that help veterans build stronger VA claims and get the benefits they deserve. Click the link for a free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFreeConsultationwithAskaVetMedGroup?rid=e9b38e78cb91065c1fe320a7ded78fbd8bba8f49d0461551777fc2994529c25a57fa5b8c5b5a0967c3c2b0d295b2b223gid8b25e599eed0bfe92c1438b980632c02b6ed9488ec5e11f8c6677be7ffc43cecDisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Getting Shot Down Over Vietnam 05.05.2026 1t 27min

  Paul Huber grew up in Mesa, Arizona, the son of an Army Air Corps officer, and went on to fly 220 combat missions in an F-4 Phantom during the Vietnam War. In this episode of Ask A Vet, Paul takes us inside the cockpit — from jungle survival school in the Philippines, to night bombing runs over the DMZ, to the morning in March 1968 when his aircraft was hit over Laos and he had to eject into the jungle.Paul shares what it was really like to fly one of the most iconic aircraft of the Vietnam era, what he was thinking as he floated down through the jungle canopy, and how he called his wife from a command post phone just hours after being shot down. He also reflects on his post-Vietnam career as an instructor pilot, his time flying F-111s in England during the Cold War, and what 23 years of service ultimately taught him about America.Subscribe so you never miss an episode.⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS 1:30 – Growing up in Arizona & deciding to fly4:00 – ROTC, Arizona State & getting commissioned6:30 – F-4 Phantom training11:00 – Jungle survival school in the Philippines14:00 – Arriving at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam17:30 – Night bombing missions over the DMZ22:00 – What it was like to drop napalm and fly close air support27:00 – Getting shot down over Laos33:00 – The ejection, the jungle, and the rescue39:00 – Calling his wife hours after being shot down42:00 – R&R in Hawaii with his family46:00 – Returning to fly after being shot down48:30 – Distinguished Flying Cross & 220 combat missions52:00 – Life as an instructor pilot in Texas58:00 – Flying F-111s in England during the Cold War1:13:00 – The meaconing incident: nearly lured into East Germany1:16:00 – Final years, ROTC command at Utah State & retirement1:26:00 – Reflections on Vietnam and what service meantIf you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com.🎖️ Curious Humanography is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, helping veterans visit memorials built in their honor. To learn more or support their mission, visit UtahHonorFlight.org and honorflight.org.If this story moved you, please consider liking, commenting, and subscribing — it helps us continue sharing stories that deserve to be heard.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Combat Search & Rescue in Vietnam 30.04.2026 1t 53min

  Dick Van Allen dreamed of flying from the moment a B-24 roared over his small Ohio town when he was seven years old. What followed was a lifetime of aviation:  from propeller trainers in Georgia to jet fighters in Alabama, from combat rescue helicopters over Vietnam to a dam disaster in Idaho. In this episode, Dick takes us through it all: the engine failures in training, arriving in Vietnam to discover he was the only pilot on his base, flying 300+ days of combat, nearly being hit by falling flare parachutes while hovering over a crash in the dark, and the civilian rescues that gave him just as much satisfaction as the military ones.Dick served in the United States Air Force, flying multiple tours in Vietnam with the 20th Special Operations Squadron — the Green Hornets — and later as a combat rescue pilot flying on three-minute alert. He logged over 6,500 hours in the Huey alone and performed roughly 75 civilian rescues after his military career, including responding to the collapse of Teton Dam.If this episode moved you, please subscribe, leave a comment, and share it with someone who should hear this story.CHAPTERS:0:01:30 – Growing Up in Willard, Ohio: A Seven-Year-Old Decides to Fly0:11:00 – Propeller Training, the T-28, and Engine Failures Over the Okefenokee0:17:00 – First Jet Flight — Five Minutes of Pure Chaos0:22:00 – Formation Flying, G-Force Blackouts, and Close Calls0:29:00 – Choosing Helicopters Over the B-47 Back Seat0:36:00 – Helicopter School: Igor Sikorsky Said We Were Crazy0:41:00 – The Huey, SAC, and Moving Seven Times in Seven Years0:44:00 – Volunteering for Vietnam: The 20th SOS Green Hornets (1966)0:47:00 – Jungle Survival School and Arriving at Cam Ranh Bay0:53:00 – General Ryan and the Island Assignment0:57:00 – First Mission: Finding a Downed F-4 by a Dead Tree1:03:00 – Arriving at Takhli: The Only Pilot on the Base1:08:00 – Drying the Softball Field and Other Unusual Missions1:12:00 – Supporting President Johnson in Bangkok1:17:00 – Back to Shepherd: Training the F Troop Gunship Crews1:20:00 – Second Tour: Return to Thailand, Evacuation Planning That Never Started1:24:00 – The Scariest Night: C-141 Crash, Hovering in Jet Fuel and Falling Flares1:29:00 – Flying Asleep: Eight Scrambles in One Night1:35:00 – Combat Rescues, Hot LZs, and Fake Beacons1:41:00 – MAST Unit at Hill AFB and the Teton Dam Disaster1:50:00 – 19 Years of Helicopter Flying: What It All Meant1:53:00 – Closing Thoughts & Reflections ────────────────────────────🎙️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever.🤝 Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — part of the National Honor Flight Network — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Learn more or donate: utahonorflight.org📋 Not getting the VA benefits you've earned? Click the link below — we've partnered with experts who help veterans build stronger claims and get the benefits they deserve. Free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFreeConsultationwithAskaVetMedGroup?rid=e9b38e78cb91065c1fe320a7ded78fbd8bba8f49d0461551777fc2994529c25a57fa5b8c5b5a0967c3c2b0d295b2b223gid8b25e599eed0bfe92c1438b980632c02b6ed9488ec5e11f8c6677be7ffc43cecDisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.📲 Subscribe | Like | Comment | Share — Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served.#AskAVet #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryPodcast #CombatRescue #HelicopterPilot #VietnamWar #VeteranStories #HonorFlight #UtahHonorFlight
• 
  What They Don’t Tell You About Surviving Desert Storm as a MP 26.04.2026 49min

  From Florida kid to Desert Storm MP, Jesse Clifton's story is one of quiet duty, unshakable instinct, and a lifetime spent protecting others. In this episode of Ask A Vet, Jesse walks us through joining the Army as a Military Policeman, deploying to the Philippines in 1986, keeping the peace after Hurricane Hugo, conducting secretive security operations in Honduras, and finally heading to Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield and Desert Storm — where he manned an M60 from a Humvee turret, managed dozens of Iraqi POWs solo, and came within inches of an international incident at a desert checkpoint.After coming home, Jesse faced the quieter battles: a son who didn't recognize him, fellow veterans losing businesses and families, and the long shadow of invisible wounds. He eventually channeled every one of those experiences into a career in home health care — now spending his days listening to and advocating for aging veterans who need someone in their corner.This is an honest, unfiltered conversation about service, sacrifice, and what it really means to "protect and serve."EPISODE CHAPTERS: 01:45 – Growing Up in a Service Family & Deciding to Enlist04:30 – Basic Training at Fort McClellan, Alabama08:00 – MOS School & Becoming a Military Policeman10:00 – Deployment to the Philippines (1986) | Guard Duty & Special Reactions Team15:00 – Hurricane Hugo Disaster Relief | Charlotte, NC17:30 – Border Operations in California | Watching, Not Acting19:00 – Honduras | Security for Special Operations20:30 – Desert Shield / Desert Storm | Arriving in Saudi Arabia25:00 – MREs, Food in the Desert & Keeping Morale Up28:00 – Crossing Into Combat | Convoy Escort & Manning the M6030:00 – Managing Iraqi POWs | Compassion Under Pressure33:00 – The Checkpoint Incident That Almost Became International35:00 – Sandstorms, Scorpion Wars & Surviving the Monotony37:30 – The Hardest Part: Coming Home43:30 – Reflections on Service & Advice for Veterans If you or a Veteran you know has a story that should be heard, we'd love to hear from you at humanographyproject@gmail.com. 👉 If you’re a Veteran struggling with VA benefits, click this link to schedule a free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFreeConsultationwithAskaVetMedGroup?rid=e9b38e78cb91065c1fe320a7ded78fbd8bba8f49d0461551777fc2994529c25a57fa5b8c5b5a0967c3c2b0d295b2b223gid8b25e599eed0bfe92c1438b980632c02b6ed9488ec5e11f8c6677be7ffc43cecDisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.
• 
  What They Don't Tell You About Being a Combat Medic in Vietnam 21.04.2026 2t 19min

  What does it really cost to serve? In this episode of Ask A Vet, we sit down with Patrick Dillon — a Hell's Kitchen-born, Irish-immigrant-raised combat medic who volunteered for the U.S. Army the day after his draft number was called. What followed was a lifetime defined by war, service, survival, and an unrelenting drive to help others.Patrick shares the raw, unfiltered story of serving as a 91B Combat Medic with the 498th Army Air Force: flying surgical C-130 missions to recover the wounded as the Vietnam Peace Treaty was being signed, performing emergency C-sections in the jungle, carrying out acts of mercy no one talks about, and coming home to rejection, shame, and silence. His story doesn't end in Vietnam. It continues through the Irish Troubles, the Peace Corps in Southeast Asia, the crack baby crisis in Harlem, Somalia, Kosovo, Ground Zero on 9/11, Iraq before the bombs fell, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, and COVID-19.Patrick is also an artist, screenwriter, and filmmaker whose work has been shaped, and sometimes defined, by everything he witnessed. Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories — in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever.🎙️ If you believe these stories matter, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served.👉 If you’re a Veteran struggling with VA benefits, click this link to schedule a free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFreeConsultationwithAskaVetMedGroup?rid=e9b38e78cb91065c1fe320a7ded78fbd8bba8f49d0461551777fc2994529c25a57fa5b8c5b5a0967c3c2b0d295b2b223gid8b25e599eed0bfe92c1438b980632c02b6ed9488ec5e11f8c6677be7ffc43cecDisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.✈️ Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight, part of the National Honor Flight Network — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. To learn more or donate, visit utahonorflight.org or find your local hub at honorflight.org.EPISODE CHAPTERS:00:52 – Growing Up in Hell's Kitchen09:00 – The Draft Lottery Night 14:00 – Volunteering & Becoming a Combat Medic 19:30 – Arriving in Okinawa: Stump Duty 22:00 – Flying Surgical Missions Over Vietnam 28:00 – Coming Home: San Francisco Airport 35:00 – The Peace Corps & Saigon Falling 43:00 – Somalia, Kosovo & Haiti 01:08:00 – Hitting Rock Bottom & Getting Sober 01:14:00 – The Babies of Harlem Hospital 01:40:00 – PTSD, Art & Finding a Reason to Stay