The Know Their Story Podcast

Father Mike Olsen, Colonel(R)

Father Mike Olsen served as a medevac pilot in Vietnam in 1970, until he had to be medevaced out himself when his helicopter had an unfortunate encounter with an enemy quad 50 machine gun. While the army wanted to give him a medical retirement, Father Mike worked his way back into shape, demanded a medical board and was able to return to Vietnam,,, where he was promptly shot down again two months later. While the was was done with him, Father Mike stayed in the Army, eventually retiring as a Colonel. Post military, he enjoyed a career as a contractor with NASA, and now serves a different calling as a priest in New Mexico.  Father Mike talks with us about the mental aspect of returning to war after injury, realizing the affect his military service had on his family, reconciling his faith in God after witnessing the horrors of war, and what we can do as a community to help our veterans.  We hope you enjoy

Specialist 5 Jack Schmitt

Jack Schmitt served as an artillery observer with the US Army in the Vietnam War. Jack talks about beating the cloud of PTSD that he carried with him, and we do mean it was a real cloud that he could see, the not so welcome home he received, reconnecting with friends later in life, and using the skills he learned in the army to transition into a successful civil engineering career after his service. He is also the author of the book, Potato People, about his time in the Army. It can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Potato-People-Tales-Trenches-Army-1967-ebook/dp/B07QMQCSZY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GNRHM72MI1FS&keywords=potato%20people%20jack%20schmitt&qid=1654725680&sprefix=potato%20people%20jack%20schmitt%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR1L5BuHeMpjVQ986AmL9qvn81N_BmbfO5Ar0ptwt1sIJDH0M2m3HyzPgnw

Rear Admiral(R) Bill Center

Admiral Center's naval career spanned multiple conflicts over his 35 years of service. Starting with a summer "internship" in Vietnam while at the Naval Academy, through Desert Storm, as well as as an arms negotiator with the Joint Chiefs of Staff that saw him in the middle of the nuclear negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.  Admiral Center talks about the long lasting malaise he felt after being on duty during the Fall of Saigon, his surprise to find out that the movies are actually pretty spot on when it comes to the sound of bullets coming at you, the plusses and minuses we have seen with the transition to an all volunteer military and advice for finding your career in the civilian world. It's an insightful conversation and we hope you enjoy.

CW3 Joe Wankelman

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joe Wankelman joined the US Army in 2000 and served as a Forward Observer with the 43rd ACR for six years before moving to the 1st of the 229th to be an apache helicopter pilot. During his time in the army, he served 3 tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.  CW3 Wankelman talks about what it feels to like to fly such an incredibly powerful weapon at a relatively young age, what it's like to hit rock bottom after you return home and how to pull yourself up from your lowest moments., as well as the best way we can "thank a veteran". Joe is also proud to now work with veteran owned and operated Bonefrog Coffee and Bonefrog Cellars. Learn more about them here as you enjoy this week's episode. Coffee: www.bonefrog-coffee.com [http://www.bonefrog-coffee.com/] Wine: https://bonefrogcellars.com/ [https://bonefrogcellars.com/]

Sergeant Keith Smithson

Sergeant Smithson served with the Army from 1987-2012 and was deployed to both Operation Just Cause in Panama as well as Operation Desert Shield in Iraq. Keith was a Logistics Quartermaster with 3rd Battalion 82nd Artillery and as an Army Recruiter. We talk about subjects like what it takes to deploy an army half way around the world, how just because Panama was seen by the media and many civilians as a walk in the park versus a small country, it doesn't make the bullets any less deadly when coming inbound, and and encouraging other veterans that it is okay to talk about your experiences. Please enjoy this week's episode and make sure to give us a like, follow, or review.