Surprised Again: Japan's Attack on America's Homeland

The Unknown Hero

Far more often than we might think our lives are shaped by people unknown to us. If we are fortunate, if somehow our journey through life offers the opportunity,  we might just get to spend one shining moment in the presence of these wonderful, anonymous benefactors.  On Episode 12 of Where Heroes Walked, the Podcast, I want to tell you a very ordinary story about two very ordinary men from two very ordinary places, men who shared an extraordinary experience in a land far away and in a terrible season known as World War II. I want to introduce you to The Unknown Hero.

Surprised Again: Japan's Attack on America's Homeland

For every well-known story from World War II there are thousands of stories few people ever hear. Today on the Where Heroes Walked Podcast we will explore Japan's surprising attempt at yet another surprise attack on the United States...and the tragic consequences it would create.

The Reluctant Architect

Before December 7, 1941 few Americans knew what Pearl Harbor was or where it was. After December 7th every American knew. What most Americans don't know, however, is that the Japanese commander who designed and commanded the attack was not all that keen about starting a war with the United States.  Episode 10 of the Where Heroes Walked podcast tells this unknown part of the Pearl Harbor story.

The Others

When we think of women and their role in World War II what most often comes to mind is “Rosie the Riveter”, symbolizing the women who went to work in the factories building the planes and ships and ammunition needed to wage war. There were more, however, those who served and sacrificed and even died for the cause of freedom. Episode 9 of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast tells the story of some of those women, some of the “Others”.

The Ordinary Heroes Story of Gordon Larsen

A small-town teenager leaves high school to join the Marines and soon finds himself in the brutal island-hopping campaign of the Pacific during World War II. He returns home physically unharmed. The scars of war, however, run much deeper. In this episode of the Ordinary Heroes Podcast we hear the story of one of the million of soldiers who lived through the war then fought another to return to a normal life after coming home. Join Ron Eckberg, host of the ORDINARY HEROES PODCAST, in episode 8, the ORDINARY HEROES story of Gordon Larsen.