Sebastian Junger on Tribe, War, and the Cost of Coming Home

The Medic Who Gave Everything: Clarence Sasser’s Longest Night

In 1968, Clarence Sasser was a young combat medic thrust into a nightmare. During a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam, his company was ambushed in a rice paddy. Despite being shot in the leg and unable to walk, Sasser spent the next several hours crawling through the mud, doing his best to care for his fellow soldiers. It would be decades before he was ready to talk about what he saw and heard.  Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/medal-of-honor-stories-of-courage/id1751303783] or at pushkin.fm/plus [http://pushkin.fm/plus]. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.  Connect with the team!  * Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/]  * Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez [https://www.instagram.com/iamjrmartinez/]  * Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins [https://www.instagram.com/meredithkrollins/] * Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm [medalofhonor@pushkin.fm]  Episode resource:  AMEDD Center of HIstory & Heritage interview with Clarence Sasser [https://achh.army.mil/regiment/moh-bios-sasserint], 3/23/1987 See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

A Helmet Lined with Letters: Joseph Rodriguez’s Love Story

In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever.  Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/medal-of-honor-stories-of-courage/id1751303783] or at pushkin.fm/plus [http://pushkin.fm/plus]. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.  Connect with the team!  * Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/]  * Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez [https://www.instagram.com/iamjrmartinez/]  * Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins [https://www.instagram.com/meredithkrollins/] * Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm [medalofhonor@pushkin.fm]  Episode resources: “A War Hero Speaks,” published in the California Civil Defense, February 25, 1952 Medal of Honor by Peter Collier et al (Artisan Books, 2011) [https://www.amazon.com/Medal-Honor-Peter-Collier/dp/1579654622] America’s Heroes, edited by James H Willbanks [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/americas-heroes-james-h-willbanks/1137325448](ABC-CLIO, 2011) See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

A Helmet Lined with Letters: Joseph Rodriguez’s Love Story

In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever.  Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/medal-of-honor-stories-of-courage/id1751303783] or at Pushkin [https://www.pushkin.fm/join-pushkin]. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.  Connect with the team!  * Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/]  * Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez [https://www.instagram.com/iamjrmartinez/]  * Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins [https://www.instagram.com/meredithkrollins/] * Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm [medalofhonor@pushkin.fm]  See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Sneaking into the Corps: Richard Pittman, The One-Eyed Marine

Richard Pittman was legally blind in his right eye—a condition that should have kept him away from the front lines of the Vietnam War. But Pittman wasn't a man who took "no" for an answer. After sneaking his way into the U.S. Marines, he found himself on a trail in the jungle, single-handedly trying to save his brothers in arms. From a "medical disqualification" to a legendary stand with a machine gun, Richard Pittman’s story proves that true courage starts with the belief that you belong in the fight. Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/medal-of-honor-stories-of-courage/id1751303783] or at pushkin.fm/plus [http://pushkin.fm/plus]. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.  Connect with the team!  * Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods [https://www.instagram.com/pushkinpods/]  * Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez [https://www.instagram.com/iamjrmartinez/]  * Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins [https://www.instagram.com/meredithkrollins/] * Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm [medalofhonor@pushkin.fm]  Episode resources: US Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War, 1966 by Jack Shulimson (Department of the Navy, 1982) [https://www.usmcu.edu/Portals/218/US%20Marines%20in%20Vietnam%20An%20Expanding%20War%201966%20%20PCN%2019000308600.pdf]  Operation Hastings website [https://www.operationhastings.com/thecreek.htm] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Sebastian Junger on Tribe, War, and the Cost of Coming Home

Malcolm Gladwell sits down with journalist and author Sebastian Junger [https://www.sebastianjunger.com/] to discuss his  book “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging [https://www.sebastianjunger.com/tribe-by-sebastian-junger].” After spending years embedded with American soldiers in Afghanistan, Junger found himself wondering: why do so many veterans struggle most not during  war, but after returning home?  Junger’s most recent book is “In My Time Of Dying. [https://www.sebastianjunger.com/in-my-time-of-dying]” He also has a substack called Tribe with Sebastian Junger. [https://substack.com/@sebastianjunger] See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.