NO HOME FOR HEROES: Recent Episodes
Chief Rick Stone
No Home For Heroes explores history's military mysteries regarding Americans who are missing in action from past wars.
TODAY’S EPISODE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN TITLED “WHEN IS A SLAM DUNK NOT A SLAM DUNK”? OR : “NOTHING IS EASY WHEN IT COMES TO RETURNING OUR MIA’S TO THEIR FAMILIES?
Listen to a litany of clues that should have resulted in the identification and return home of a Marine lost in World War II many decades ago.
See if you agree with the conclusion that there is no reason why Jack can't come home...finally.
CAN A SNIPPET FROM A 78 YEAR OLD NEWSPAPER ARTICLE HELP SOLVE THE CASE OF A MISSING MARINE THAT HAS BAFFLED INVESTIGATORS FOR DECADES? IS IT THE BREAK IN THE CASE THAT ALL INVESTIGATORS DREAM ABOUT?
Today’s case on No Home for Heroes is holds a clue that has baffled us for years. The clue should have been a great lead in a tough case but has turned out to be a big giant dead end for almost 80 years for every investigator who has ever worked the case of Unknown X-37.
HAVE WE FINALLY SOLVED THE SECRET? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT...
Perhaps a case only Jack Webb from the old TV series "DRAGNET" could solve. An airplane designed to transport nuclear weapons crashes in Alaska in 1952 with 52 souls on board, according to the official flight manifest. The crash site is lost for 60 sixty years and when finally found, the airplane has moved 14 miles and an ID card is found for someone who is NOT supposed to be on the airplane! This is just one of several strange twists to this latest of "History's Military Mysteries" on NO HOME FOR HEROES.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS AN INCREDIBLE TALE OF PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE IN THE FACE OF A SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TASK.
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE? THAT IT “CAN’T” BE DONE? OR BETTER YET, WHEN YOUR EMPLOYER INSISTS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT PUT MUCH EFFORT INTO YOUR JOB BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN THE ASSIGNED TASK?
ULTIMATELY SEVERAL GROUPS OF PEOPLE WORKED TOGETHER TO "SOLVE THE UNSOLVABLE CASE"...AND ANOTHER AMERICAN HERO WAS BROUGHT HOME!
FOR OVER SEVENTY YEARS THE REMAINS OF A MISSING AMERICAN SAILOR LAY IN A GRAVE MARKED ONLY WITH A HEADSTONE THAT READ “UNKNOWN."
BUT FOR OVER SEVENTY YEARS, EVERYONE OVERLOOKED A SMALL, ONE INCH BRONZE MEDALLION THAT IS LIKELY THE CLUE TO IDENTIFYING THIS HERO AND RETURNING HIM HOME TO HIS FAMILY.
STAY TUNED FOR AN INCREDIBLE TALE ABOUT SOLVING ONE OF PEARL HARBOR'S MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES.
IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE WILL STUFF YOU INTO A TINY CRAMPED AND CLAUSTROPHOBIC COMPARTMENT ABOARD A NAVY TORPEDO BOMBER. YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED AS THE RADIO OPERATOR AND REAR GUNNER OF A TBM AVENGER IN THE SKIES ABOVE A HISTORIC WORLD WAR TWO BATTLE IN THE PACIFIC. THIS EPISODE WILL GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT OVER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO DEPEND ON TWO OTHER CREWMEN FOR YOUR VERY SURVIVAL IN THE MIDST OF FIRE AND CHAOS.
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO REMEMBER AND HONOR A HOMETOWN HERO YOU HAVE PROBABLY FORGOTTEN WAS LOST ..
“SOMEWHERE OVER SAIPAN"
We start today's episode with some questions for you to ponder...DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE? WERE YOU 14, OR 15, OR MAYBE A LITTLE OLDER? DESPITE WHAT HAPPENED LATER IN LIFE, WILL YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE?
TODAY’S EPISODE IS ABOUT ONE SUCH LOVE BY TWO TEEAGERS WHO GREW UP ON TWO DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, INTERRUPTED BY A WORLD WAR AND A LOVE NEVER TO BE FULFILLED. Today's episode details the case of 19 year old Private First Class Harry Cronkhite of State Line, Illinois and even when he was declared missing and later dead, his first love refused to give up the search until the day she died 65 years later.
THE HERO IN TODAY’S EPISODE WAS AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS MEDAL FOR HIS ACTIONS IN THE SKIES OVER EUROPE BUT HE NEVER KNEW OF THE AWARD. HE SURVIVED INCREDIBLE ODDS IN EUROPE TO RETURN TO DUTY MONTH’S LATER IN THE PACIFIC AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST JAPAN BUT STRANGELY DISAPPEARED ON A ROUTINE FLIGHT SURROUNDED BY THREE SQUADRON MATES IN A CLEAR AND CALM SEA SKY.
THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING OUR PODCASTS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS KNOW THAT WE OFTEN FEATURE STORIES ABOUT THE MISSING MARINES AND AIRMEN FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA. WE THOUGHT TODAY MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO UPDATE YOU ALL ON THE STATUS OF THOSE MIA INVESTIGATIONS IN ADDITION TO PRESENTING AN EPISODE ABOUT ONE OF THOSE MARINES WHO ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR…SGT JOHN TERRY BRACKEEN FROM TIPTON, OKLAHOMA.
TODAY’S EPISODE IS THE TRUE TALE OF A REAL PRIVATE RYAN, NOT A MOVIE ACTOR…PRIVATE KENNETH JOHN RYAN FROM ARIZONA WHO WAS A MEMBER OF M COMPANY, THIRD BATTALION, SECOND MARINES. SADLY, NOTHING WE CAN DO WILL “SAVE” THE REAL PRIVATE RYAN FROM HIS FATE ON A LONG FORGOTTEN PACIFIC BEACHHEAD, BUT OUR MISSION AT THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION IS TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION WE HAVE LEARNED TO PRIVATE RYAN’S FAMILY AND, IF POSSIBLE, HELP FIND HIS REMAINS FOR RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND RETURN HOME TO HIS FAMILY AFTER BEING MISSING FOR OVER 78 YEARS.
IN THE FINAL COUNT, THERE WOULD BE ONLY 316 SURVIVORS OF THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS WHO ENDURED LONG HOURS IN THE CRUEL OCEAN WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER AND SWARMS OF HUNGRY SHARKS. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER 879 LOST SAILORS AND HOW THEY DIED BECAME ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST SERIES OF MILITARY MYSTERIES.
TODAY’S EPISODE IS THE TALE OF JUST ONE OF THOSE MYSTERIES AND IT HAS MORE CLUES, FALSE LEADS, AND DEAD END ALLEYS TO KEEP THE MOST ARDENT SHERLOCK HOLMES FANS SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS
THE DICTIONARY DEFINES A SNAFU AS “a situation marked by errors or confusion.”
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, BUT MULTIPLE SNAFU’S CONSPIRE TOGETHER TO PREVENT A LOST MARINE FROM BEING IDENTIFIED FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS?
MANY OF YOU MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE MILITARY ACRONYM “SNAFU”. SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression: Situation Normal: All FOULED Up. SINCE THIS IS A FAMILY APPROVED PODCAST I HAVE UTILIZED “FOULED” FOR A MORE WIDELY USED WORD IN THE MILITARY THAT STARTS WITH the letter “F”. The acronym is believed to have originated in the United States Marine Corps during World War Two AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE TODAY’S EPISODE TAKES US.
STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT HOW PERSISTENCE FINALLY CONQUERING THE SNAFU MONSTER.
TODAY WHEN WE SAY “FLIGHT 19” IN THE SAME SENTENCE WITH “THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE”, JUST ABOUT EVERYONE HAS SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE STORY…IT USUALLY GOES LIKE THIS…”A BUNCH OF AIRPLANES VANISHED AFTER BEING ABDUCTED BY SPACE ALIENS…OR EATEN BY SEA MONSTERS…OR FLEW INTO A TIME WARP…OR, WELL, JUST RAN OUT OF GAS AND CRASHED INTO THE SEA.”
WHAT MOST SEEM TO OVERLOOK IS THAT THERE WERE 14 AMERICAN SERVICEMEN ON THOSE “BUNCH OF PLANES” WHO ARE THE REAL STORY.
IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE PICKED ONE OF THOSE HEROES WHOSE FINAL FLIGHT INTO OBLIVION WAS NOT AT ALL A FATE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN PREDICTED.
PFC RICHARD COURTLEIGH WAS THE HANDSOME SON OF A RENOWNED ACTOR AND A BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS WHO WAS DESTINED IN HIS OWN RIGHT FOR STARDOM IN HOLLYWOOD. WORLD WAR TWO INTERVENED AND PFC COURTLEIGH WAS LOST TO HISTORY ON AN OBSCURE SOUTH PACIFIC ISLAND IN 1943. HIS BODY HAS NEVER BEEN RECOVERED AND IDENTIFIED.
WILL AN ENORMOUS PAIR OF SHOES BE THE ONE CLUE THAT BRINGS PFC COURTLEIGH HOME AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
SEAMAN 1ST CLASS GEORGE STANLEY ABBOTT WAS A CREW MEMBER OF THE ILL FATED NAVY CRUISER USS INDIANAPOLIS WHEN IT WAS SUNK BY A JAPANESE SUBMARINE IN THE PHILIPPINE SEA DURING THE CLOSING MONTHS OF WORLD WAR 2. HE WAS PRESUMED LOST AT SEA AND IS OFFICIALLY LISTED AS “UNACCOUNTED FOR” UNTIL THIS VERY DAY.
BUT HE WAS NOT LOST AT SEA…HE WAS FOUND…AND A QUEST FOR CLOSURE FOR HIS FAMILY HAS TURNED INTO A CHRONICLE OF HIS HEROIC ACTIONS IN HIS FINAL MINUTES ON BOARD THE INDY.
MARINE CORPS PFC RAYMOND MILTON STEPHENS WAS KILLED IN ACTION DURING WORLD WAR 2. HIS BODY WAS RECOVERED, IDENTIFIED, AND BURIED AFTER THE WAR IN THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC IN HONOLULU, HAWAII.
BUT WHAT ONLY A VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW UNTIL TODAY’S PODCAST IS THAT PFC STEPHENS WAS NOT ALONE IN HIS COFFIN. HE HAD ANOTHER MARINE BURIED WITH HIM WHOSE IDENTIFY REMAINS A “BAFFLING MYSTERY.”
WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO OUR LOYAL LISTENERS IN SALEM, OREGON. STAY TUNED FOR AN EPISODE ABOUT ONE OF YOUR HOMETOWN HEROES THAT SHARED HIS HONOR EVEN AFTER HIS DEATH…ONE KNOWN AND ONE UNKNOWN…MAY GOD KEEP THEM BOTH IN HALLOWED GLORY.
ANYONE WHO KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT WORLD WAR 2 NAVAL HISTORY IN THE PACIFIC HAS HEARD OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS. SUNK IN THE CLOSING DAYS OF THE WAR AND SO FORGOTTEN BY THE NAVY’S COMMAND STRUCTURE THAT NO ONE NOTICED THE SHIP WAS MISSING WHILE OVER 900 OF ITS CREW FOUGHT A DEADLY BATTLE WITH SHARKS IN THE DEEP PACIFIC WHILE AWAITING A RESCUE THAT SEEMED TO NEVER COME.
EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING OF HISTORY, THERE ARE ENOUGH MOVIES THAT CITE THE INDY STORY TO HAVE CAUGHT YOUR IMAGINATION…NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH ARE THE FAMOUS QUOTES ABOUT THE INDY'S CREW FIGHT WITH SWARMS OF SHARKS IN THE MOVIE “JAWS”.
The CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TOOK ON THE TASK TO INVESTIGATE twelve World War II mysteries of as possible matches to deceased casualties that were previously recovered by United States naval forces, identified, and buried at sea in the aftermath of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in the Pacific Ocean on 30 July 1945 but who are officially still listed as "Unaccounted For."
TODAY’S EPISODE IS THE TALE OF SOLVING JUST ONE OF THOSE MYSTERIES.
IN 1992, AS THE POLICE CHIEF IN WICHITA, KANSAS, I SPENT A DAY WITH FORMER PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON AND HEARD THIS QUOTE “IF YOU CAN’T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT, WHO CAN YOU TRUST?” YES, THAT SAME RICHARD NIXON WHO HISTORY RECORDS AS THE ARCHITECT OF THE WATERGATE COVER-UP CONSPIRACY.
IN THE AFTERMATH OF WORLD WAR 2, AND LONG BEFORE WE CAME TO ROUTINELY QUESTION EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF WASHINGTON, DC; MOST PEOPLE SIMPLY ACCEPTED WHATEVER THE GOVERNMENT CONCLUDED ABOUT JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING…INCLUDING IDENTIFYING OUR WAR DEAD.
BUT TODAY, WE’RE GOING TO CALL INTO QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THAT TRUST.
CAPTAIN EDWARD GLENN WALKER, JR. WAS KILLED IN WORLD WAR 2 AND BURIED IN HIS HOMETOWN CEMETERY IN TENNESSEE...BUT NOW WE KNOW THAT THE PERSON BURIED IN CAPTAIN WALKER'S FAMILY PLOT WAS NOT CAPTAIN WALKER!
STAY TUNED FOR THIS INCREDIBLE TALE FROM HISTORY'S MILITARY MYSTERIES!
IN JULY 1945, THE CRUISER USS INDIANAPOLIS DELIVERED THE ATOMIC BOMB COMPONENTS TO TINIAN ISLAND THAT WOULD SOON BE THE INSTRUMENT TO END WORLD WAR II.
WITH A JOB WELL DONE (OR A “BRAVO ZULU” IN NAVY SPEAK) THE INDY SPED TOWARD HER NEXT ASSIGNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES BEFORE THE BOMBS WERE DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.
SHE NEVER MADE IT. TWO TORPEDOES FROM A JAPANESE SUBMARINE SENT THE INDY TO THE BOTTOM IN FIFTEEN MINUTES AND 900 AMERICAN SAILORS SPILLED INTO A DARK OCEAN FULL OF SHARKS AND NO DISTRESS SIGNAL ACKNOWLEDGED.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OUR PODCASTS OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” BEFORE AND SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW OF OUR FOUNDATION FOR OUR EFFORTS TO INVESTIGATE THE CASES OF OVER 500 MISSING AMERICAN SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN SINCE 2006. BUT HOW DO YOU INVESTIGATE CASES OF SAILORS WHO WERE LOST AT SEA?
HOLD ON AND WE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT A VERY LITTLE KNOWN ASPECT OF THE INDY STORY THAT WILL ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR YOU.
WHEN TWO BROTHERS ENLISTED IN THE NAVY IN 1938, THEY WERE THE EPITOME OF THE CLOSE KNIT FAMILY. THEY WERE SO CLOSE, THAT THE NAVY GAVE THEM SEQUENTIAL SERVICE NUMBERS...QUITE A RARITY FOR THE TIMES. AND THEN THE NAVY WENT ONE STEP FARTHER WHEN IT ASSIGNED BOTH BROTHERS TO THE SAME SHIP…THE ILL FATED USS WEST VIRGINIA SOON TO BE HOMEPORTED IN PEARL HARBOR HAWAII.
ONE BROTHER WOULD SURVIVE THE JAPANESE ATTACK ON DECEMBER 7, 1941 AND THE SINKING OF THE USS WEST VIRGINIA…AND ONE BROTHER WOULD BE FIRST LISTED BY THE NAVY AS LOST, AND THEN ALIVE AND WELL, AND THEN MISSING, AND FINALLY KILLED IN ACTION ... BUT NEVER FOUND.
BUT DON’T WORRY, THIS STORY IS GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY ENDING THANKS TO SOME PLAIN OLD FASHIONED DETECTIVE WORK!
TODAY’S STORY FEATURES THE SON OF A POLICE OFFICER BORN IN A SMALL COMMUNITY IN OKLAHOMA WHICH WAS SO SMALL THAT IT NO LONGER EXISTS. OUR HERO JOINED THE MARINES BEFORE WORLD WAR TWO TO SEE THE WORLD AND BOY, DID HE, AT LEAST UNTIL HE DISAPPEARED IN A SOUTH PACIFIC BATTLE ALONG WITH OVER 500 OF HIS FELLOW MARINES.
IF YOU KNOW WHERE CLOUD CHIEF, OKLAHOMA IS, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND…HMMM…I DON’T SEE ANYBODY WAVING THEIR ARMS. THAT’S REALLY NOT SURPRISING BECAUSE, CLOUD CHIEF, OKLAHOMA IS NO LONGER A RECOGNIZED TOWN…IT EVEN LOST ITS POST OFFICE IN 1964.
BUT TODAY, WE RECOGNIZE PROBABLY IT’S MOST HEROIC AND FORGOTTEN SON…SGT CLYDE CLAYTON MITCHELL BORN IN CLOUD CHIEF ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1916.
Clyde's father, Walter D. Mitchell, was employed as a Oklahoma State Highway Patrolman before he died in 1937 when Clyde was 21 years old.
BUT, AS YOU WILL SEE LATER ON IN THE EPISODE, THE FATHER MAY STILL HOLD THE CLUE TO SOLVING CLYDE'S DISAPPEARANCE.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0255 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
TODAY’S STORY HAS SO MANY UNIQUE ASPECTS THAT WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO START. THE SUBJECT OF OUR PODCAST WAS A VETERAN OF WORLD WAR ONE. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN ARMY. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. HE JOINED THE UNITED STATES MARINES AND WAS STATIONED IN CHINA BETWEEN THE WARS, HENCE EARNING HIS UNOFFICIAL DESIGNATION AS A "CHINA MARINE." HIS DEATH DURING WORLD WAR TWO ON TARAWA IN 1943 WAS WITNESSED BY MANY MEMBERS OF HIS COMPANY…AND HE IS THE OLDEST MARINE FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA WHO IS STILL MISSING IN ACTION OVER 75 YEARS LATER.
AT 0800 HOURS ON 10 MARCH 1942, CAPT JOSEPH POTTER McLaughlin EASED HIS 5 FOOT, 5 INCH FRAME INTO THE COCKPIT OF A P-40 E KITTYHAWK FIGHTER PLANE IN Canberra, AUSTRALIA on A PLANNED return flight TO HIS HOME BASE AT LAVERTON FIELD ABOUT 255 MILES AWAY. He did not inform anyone of the direction he was heading when he took off. HE ALSO DID NOT PLAN ON FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD ON THIS FLIGHT…BUT HE DID.
PILOTS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE A GRIM SAYING ABOUT AIRCRAFT CRASHES USUALLY CAUSED BY PILOT ERROR IN FLYING TOO LOW TO THE GROUND…PILOTS REFER TO IT AS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD.” HISTORY IS FULL OF FAMOUS DEATHS CAUSED BY PILOTS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD”…ACTRESS CAROLE LOMBARD, SINGER PATSY CLINE, AND EVEN MORE RECENTLY…KOBE BRYANT.
AFTER OVER 60 YEARS, CAPTAIN McLAUGHLIN WAS IDENTIFIED AS A THE VICTIM OF FINDING THAT INFAMOUS “ROCK IN A CLOUD” DURING WORLD WAR II. THE QUESTION IS "WAS IT REALLY CAPTAIN McLAUGHLIN THAT WAS FOUND?"
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0411 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
PILOTS ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE A GRIM SAYING ABOUT AIRCRAFT CRASHES USUALLY CAUSED BY PILOT ERROR IN FLYING TOO LOW TO THE GROUND…PILOTS REFER TO THESE TRAGEDIES AS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD.” HISTORY IS FULL OF FAMOUS DEATHS CAUSED BY PILOTS “FINDING A ROCK IN A CLOUD”…ACTRESS CAROLE LOMBARD (THE WIFE OF ACTOR CLARK GABLE), SINGER PATSY CLINE, AND EVEN MORE RECENTLY…KOBE BRYANT.
TODAY’S STORY HAS A TWIST…
AFTER OVER 60 YEARS, AN AMERICAN ARMY AIR CORPS OFFICER WAS FINALLY IDENTIFIED AS THE VICTIM OF FINDING THAT INFAMOUS “ROCK IN A CLOUD” DURING WORLD WAR II.
BUT WAS IT REALLY THE PERSON IDENTIFIED OR SOME OTHER UNFORTUNATE PILOT WHO FOUND THE ROCK?
STAY TUNED FOR PART ONE OF A TWO PART SERIES IN THIS AMAZING INVESTIGATION.
BY ALL DESCRIPTIONS, ED AULT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST UNLIKELY OF ALL CANDIDATES TO BECOME A MISSING MARINE HERO DURING WORLD WAR TWO. HE WAS A 33 YEAR OLD MARRIED BUSINESSMAN WHOSE PROFESSION WAS AS A WHOLESALE FLORIST. ED WAS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFICER WITH AN ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE IN HIS COMMUNITY WHEN HE CHOSE TO ENLIST…LITTLE DID HE KNOW THAT A JAPANESE BULLET AWAITED HIM THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY…AND LITTLE DID HIS FAMILY KNOW THAT HE WOULD REMAIN MISSING FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS.
CAN A MAP WE FOUND SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF ED AULT’S DISAPPEARANCE IN 1943?
STAY TUNED AS WE EXPLORE “THE CASE OF THE MISSING FLORIST.”
IN 1945, THE FAMOUS WRITER F. SCOTT FITZGERALD WROTE: "SHOW ME A HERO AND I’LL WRITE YOU A TRAGEDY."
WHICH MAKES US PONDER WHETHER OR NOT HIS FAMOUS QUOTE WAS INSPIRED BY A REAL NAVAL HERO IN 1945, CAPTAIN CHARLES BUTLER MCVAY III, WHOSE SHIP, THE USS INDIANAPOLIS, DELIVERED THE COMPONENTS OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB WHICH EFFECTIVELY ENDED WORLD WAR II. THE TRAGEDY THAT ENSUED WHEN THE INDIANAPOLIS WAS SUNK, WITH THE LOSS OF 879 SAILORS AND MARINES AND THE SUBSEQUENT COURTS MARTIAL OF CAPTAIN McVAY, IS ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES THAT PREVAILS TO THIS DAY.
WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO A BRYCE MATTESON OF HAVEN, KANSAS. BRYCE WAS A FORMER JOURNALIST WHO NEVER FORGOT THE IMPACT OF THE LINKAGE BETWEEN HEROES AND TRAGEDIES. A LIFE LONG BEST FRIEND, BRYCE PASSED AWAY JUST BEFORE EASTER 2021.
HE WAS A HERO IN MANY, MANY WAYS AND HIS PASSING IS A TRAGEDY FOR MANY, MANY PEOPLE WHO KNEW AND LOVED HIM.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
A YOUNG MARINE, ON THE EVE OF GOING INTO BATTLE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WROTE HIS MOTHER TO SAY:
"I AM THINKING OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO FOR MY COUNTRY...NO MATTER WHAT THE COST IS, IT IS WELL WORTH IT."
IT WASN’T THE FIRST TIME, THE YOUNG MARINE HAD TOLD HIS MOTHER THAT HE WOULDN’T BE COMING HOME. IN TODAY’S EPISODE, WE WILL LET YOU HEAR THE MOTHER’S ANGUISH IN HER OWN HANDWRITTEN LETTERS TO THE GOVERNMENT AFTER THE BATTLE WHEN THE SON FULFILLED HIS PREDICTION OF NOT COMING HOME.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0271 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SO SURE OF SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID “I’D BET THE HOUSE…” ON WHATEVER YOU THOUGHT WAS GOING TO BE A SLAM DUNK?
LIKE “I’D BET THE HOUSE THE RANGERS WILL WIN THE WORLD SERIES THIS YEAR. WELL, MAYBE THAT WOULD NOT BE A SMART BET. NOT EVEN MY MOM, THE MOST DIEHARD RANGERS FAN IN THE WORLD, WOULD HAVE SAID THAT!
BUT OCCASIONALLY, ALONG THE ROAD OF LIFE , COMES A SURE THING, A SLAM DUNK, A CAN’T MISS, DEFINITE, ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, IN THE BAG…WELL, YOU GET THE IDEA.
IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE’RE GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF THOSE KIND OF BETS THAT MY MOM WOULD HAVE MADE IN HER WORDS…”JUST AS SURE AS THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW…”
SOMETIMES, AS YOU WILL FIND OUT IN TODAY'S EPISODE, THE HOME TEAM DOES WIN!
YA' JUST GOTTA BELIEVE!
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0122 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. WE START TODAY’S PROGRAM WITH A TRIVIA QUESTION. WHERE IS FAMOUS WORLD WAR II GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON Jr. BURIED? IF YOU GUESSED ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY OR WEST POINT, YOU’D BE WRONG. IN FACT, IF YOU GUESSED ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES, YOU’D BE WRONG. HOW ABOUT NEAR A LONG FORGOTTEN BATTLEFIELD IN EUROPE? NOW YOU JUST MIGHT BE GETTING WARMER WITH YOUR GUESS.
WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO THE FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS AT WILLIAM F. HALLORAN SCHOOL NUMBER 22 IN ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY. AS YOU LISTEN TO THIS INCREDIBLE EPISODE OF NO HOME FOR HEROES, YOU WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHY WE MAKE THIS DEDICATION AND THE SCHOOL’S LINK TO GENERAL PATTON AND MANY OF HIS COMMAND WHO GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE TO INSURE OUR LIBERTY.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0487 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
IT’S A STORY THAT WAS PROBABLY REPEATED BY THE THOUSANDS DURING WORLD WAR II AND COULD EASILY BE TITLED, “COME HOME TO ME, JOHN”, “COME HOME TO ME, BOB”, OR JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER FIRST NAME OF A SCHOOL SWEETHEART GOING OFF TO WAR. IN FACT, OUT PRODUCTION ENGINEER CINDY SUGGESTED WE JUST NAME THE EPISODE “COME HOME TO ME.”
BUT TODAY’S STORY HAS A CLOSER AND MORE SPECIAL MEANING, AS YOU WILL SOON HEAR.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S AN INCREDIBLE TALE OF A FAMILY BEING INFORMED BY THE NAVY THAT THEIR SON WAS MISSING IN ACTION ONLY TO RECEIVE A PHONE CALL FROM THE SAILOR AFTER HE WAS SUPPOSEDLY LOST AT SEA.
INVESTIGATING THIS STRANGE CASE AND GETTING THE CONFUSING FACTS STRAIGHT, AND THE OFFICIAL RECORDS CORRECTED, ONLY TOOK 73 YEARS.
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO HISTORIAN RICHARD HULVER AND AUTHOR SARAH VLADIC, WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO OUR LOYAL LISTENERS IN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA. FOR IT IS THE FAMOUS WORLD WAR 2 CRUISER USS INDIANAPOLIS WHERE OUR AMAZING STORY BEGINS…
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 484 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S THE STORY OF A YOUNG BOY EAGERLY AWAITING HIS 17TH BIRTHDAY SO HE COULD JOIN THE MARINES TO AVENGE THE LOSS OF HIS BIG BROTHER…ONLY TO BECOME A MIA HIMSELF.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 157 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S THE STORY OF ONE SOLVED MYSTERY AND SIX MYSTERIES THAT REMAIN UNRESOLVED.
SO, WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO THE FAMILIES OF SIX CREW MEMBERS OF THE “SWEEPY TIME GAL”, A WORLD WAR 2 B-24 LIBERATOR BOMBER, WHO HAVE NOT YET MADE IT HOME FROM THEIR LAST MISSION.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 471 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S A REAL HEAD SCRATCHER THAT HAS DEFIED OUR BEST EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY THE MYSTERY BEGAN SO LONG AGO.
WHETHER YOU ARE A POLICE DETECTIVE OR A MILITARY INVESTIGATOR OR JUST AN AVID FAN OF THE PLETHORA OF “WHODUNIT” MYSTERIES ON TELEVISION, THERE ARE JUST SOME CASES THAT YOU JUST SHAKE YOUR HEAD AND SAY “HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?”
TODAY, WE HAVE A CASE THAT FITS INTO THAT “HEAD SHAKER” CATEGORY..
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM AN ACTIVE CASE IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION BUT ONE THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN FULLY INVESTIGATED. WE HAVE NEVER DONE A PODCAST ON AN OPEN CASE BEFORE BUT WE NEED OUR LISTENER’S HELP TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF A NAVY SAILOR KILLED IN A BIZARRE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BURIED AT A KNOWN LOCATION, AND THEN LOST TO HISTORY.
C’MON EVERYONE, PUT ON YOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES SLEUTHING HATS, GRAB YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASSES, AND JOIN THE RESEARCH TEAM HERE AT THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TO HELP IDENTIFY A SMALL TOWN HERO FROM INDIANA..
WHAT DOES THE ENTIRE CASUALTY LIST OF A WORLD WAR II RIFLE COMPANY OF COMBAT MARINES, THE 1960’S SITCOM “GREEN ACRES”, AND A LOST CEMETERY ON AN OBSCURE PACIFIC ISLAND ALL HAVE IN COMMON?
WE ARE GOING TO PUT ALL THESE DOTS TOGETHER FOR YOU IN TODAY'S EPISODE 51 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES."
The proverb “all things come to those who wait” means if people are persistent and patient, they will finally achieve their goal. In other words, it means a person must exercise patience when working on something close to his heart, even to reach the goal he/she desires.
WHEN I WORKED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THERE WAS NOTHING CLOSER TO MY HEART THAN FINDING A WAY TO GIVE THEIR NAMES BACK TO THE PEARL HARBOR HEROES, WHO WERE BURIED AS SIMPLY “UNKNOWN” AND GETTING THEM HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.
TODAY’S CASE IS A SUCCESS STORY FOR THAT MISSION AND WE ARE PLEASED TO SHARE THE PROOF OF THE PROVERB WITH YOU ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES”…
WE CAN WARN YOU RIGHT UP FRONT THAT TODAY’S MYSTERY IS NOT YET SOLVED…BUT IT INVOLVES A YOUNG MARINE FROM A SMALL TOWN IN MISSISSIPPI WHO ACCEPTED HIS SERGEANT’S CHALLENGE TO CLIMB OVER A SEAWALL INTO WITHERING ENEMY FIRE, ONLY TO VANISH INTO HISTORY…DON’T GIVE UP JUST YET, WE ARE STILL ON THE CASE!
HERE’S TODAY’S RIDDLE FOR YOU TO SOLVE…HOW CAN A BOMBER PILOT BE LISTED AS LOST AT SEA IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR 2 ONLY TO BE FOUND IN NEW YORK ALMOST 75 YEARS LATER? STAY TUNED WHILE WE SPIN A STORY THAT IS JUST TOO STRANGE TO BE TRUE…BUT IT IS…
EPISODE 47 MARKS THE END OF THE YEARLY PODCAST BROADCAST SEASON BY THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT ALSO HERALDS THE 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR ON DECEMBER 7, 1941.
IN A SPECIAL PODCAST EPISODE COMMEMORATING THE BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR TWO FOR THE UNITED STATES, WE WILL TELL THE STORY OF THREE VERY YOUNG SAILORS WHO WERE TRAPPED INSIDE THEIR SUNKEN BATTLESHIP FOR SIXTEEN DAYS ON THE BOTTOM OF PEARL HARBOR. IT IS A HORRIFIC STORY. IT IS A NIGHTMARISH STORY.… BUT IT IS A HEROIC STORY.
THERE WAS A PERSON WHO ONCE WORKED AT THE JOINT POW MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND KNOWN AS "COMMANDER ZERO." THE "ZERO" PART OF HIS NICKNAME WAS BECAUSE HE WAS BASICALLY WORTHLESS. ONE OF HIS SAYINGS WAS “I THOUGHT I MADE A MISTAKE ONCE, BUT THEN I FOUND OUT I WAS WRONG”.
TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS DEDICATED TO COMMANDER ZERO BECAUSE, AS YOU WILL HEAR, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES.
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A “SLAM DUNK” CASE WERE ALL THE CLUES POINTED TO JUST TWO MOST LIKELY MATCHES AND ONE FINAL “ABSOLUTE, HAS TO BE HIM” , "AH HA" MOMENT, LIGHT BULB GOING OFF OVER THE HEAD CLUE THAT TURNED OUT TO BE…WELL, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SAY THIS…WRONG.
STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 45 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A MISSING MARINE WHOSE CASE WAS SOLVED USING THE TINIEST OF CLUES ONLY GRUDGINGLY OBTAINED FROM THE GOVERNMENT BY USE OF A FEDERAL LAWSUIT AND ONE WHERE THE SOLUTION PROVED TO UNRAVEL NOT JUST ONE BUT TWO OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES.
THE CASE IS PERHAPS THE MOST STUNNING VALIDATION TO DATE OF THE INVESTIGATIVE WORK DONE BY THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INTO FINDING MISSING AMERICAN SERVICE MEN AND MISSING AMERICAN SERVICE WOMEN.
WORLD WAR ONE ENDED IN AN ARMISTICE ON THE ELEVENTH HOUR OF THE ELEVENTH DAY OF THE ELEVENTH MONTH OF 1918.
EXACTLY ONE YEAR LATER, THE WAR'S END INSPIRED THE CREATION OF VETERAN'S DAY ON NOVEMBER 11, 1919.
TODAY'S EPISODE IF OUR SPECIAL 2019 TRIBUTE TO VETERAN'S DAY. STAY TUNED TO EPISODE 44 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO GAVE HIS LIFE FOR HIS COUNTRY OVER A HUNDRED YEARS AGO BUT WHO IS STILL REMEMBERED IN HIS SMALL HOMETOWN OF DERIDDER, LOUISIANA, POPULATION 10,578.
EPISODE 43 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" IS A SPECIAL STORY ABOUT ONE OF THE 27 NAVY CORPSMEN WHO WERE KILLED IN ACTION DURING THE BATTLE OF TARAWA IN 1943. STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A LITTLE KNOWN GROUP OF MEN WHO WERE NOT WARRIORS BUT WHO WENT IN HARMS WAY TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THEIR MARINE BUDDIES…AND ONE CORPSMAN IN PARTICULAR WHO DIDN’T COME HOME TO TEXAS AFTER THE WAR. A VERY SPECIAL HERO INDEED!
THIS EPISODE GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIVE RIGHT INTO THE MIDDLE OF AN ACTIVE MIA CASE INVESTIGATION THAT IS FAR, FAR FROM COMPLETE…POLISH YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASS, PUT ON YOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES HAT AND FILL YOUR PIPE AS YOU PONDER QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS. WHO KNOWS? YOUR INSIGHT MAY HELP SOLVE A 76 YEAR OLD MYSTERY AND BRING ONE OR MORE MISSING AMERICAN HEROES HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU AN INCREDIBLE TALE ABOUT A MISSING MARINE WHO, DESPITE BEING FOUND FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES, TODAY STILL REMAINS ON THE LIST OF THOSE AMERICAN HEROES MISSING IN ACTION FROM WORLD WAR TWO.
STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 40 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" WHILE WE TELL YOU WHAT ATOMIC BOMBS, MISSING JEWELS, A HOLLYWOOD STAR, AND A GHOST’S IDENTIFICATION CARD HAVE TO DO WITH AN AIRPLANE BURIED IN A GLACIER FOR OVER 60 YEARS WITH 52 MISSING SERVICEMEN ON BOARD.
IT IS GUARANTEED TO BE A REAL "TWILIGHT ZONE" JOURNEY INTO “FINDING OLD SHAKY”.
PART ONE OF EPISODE 39 OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS PERHAPS OUR ALL-TIME WINNER IN THE “TWLIGHT ZONE” CATEGORY.
RARELY DO WE INVESTIGATE ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES THAT CONTAINS SO MANY BIZARRE COINCIDENCES AND ODD HEAD SCRATCHERS THAT WE HAVE TO NUMBER THEM JUST TO KEEP ALL THE STRANGE FACTS STRAIGHT.
WHAT DO ATOMIC BOMBS, MISSING JEWELS, A HOLLYWOOD STAR, A FAMOUS POLITICIAN'S RELATIVE, AND A GHOST’S ID CARD HAVE IN COMMON? STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE CASES WE HAVE EVER INVESTIGATED. AN AIRPLANE BURIED IN A GLACIER FOR OVER 60 YEARS WITH 52 MISSING SERVICEMEN ON BOARD AND ENOUGH MYSTERIES TO FILL A NOVEL.
SOMETIMES THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION RECEIVES THE STRANGEST AND SIMPLIEST REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE FAMILIES OF MIA’S, BUT EPISODE 38 IS REALLY IN A CATEGORY OF ITS OWN.
THINK ABOUT HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED WHEN YOU ARE GONE? A NICE GUY PERHAPS? MAYBE A GOOD WIFE AND MOTHER? AN AMERICAN HERO?…NOT A BAD EPITAPH. WELL, HOW ABOUT A GIRLFRIEND FROM 70 YEARS AGO WHO REMEMBERS YOU AS “THE LOVE OF MY LIFE?"
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT THE LEGACY LEFT BEHIND BY ONE OF OUR AMERICAN MIA HEROES THAT WAS REMEMBERED BY OVER SEVENTY YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH.
SOMETIMES THE MOST MUNDANE ITEMS LEFT BEHIND AT THE SCENE CAN SOLVE A MYSTERY. A PARKING TICKET SOLVED THE SON OF SAM MURDERS. A DISCARDED CIGARETTE BUTT HAS BEEN THE KEY CLUE TO MANY DNA IDENTIFICATIONS OF CRIMINAL SUSPECTS. AND IN TODAY'S EPISODE WE ARE GOING TO TAKE AN OFFICER’S UNIFORM CAP AND ADD IT TO MODERN FORENSIC INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES TO SOLVE A MILITARY MYSTERY THAT HAS BAFFLED THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR ALMOST 78 YEARS.
SO SIT BACK, RELAX, PUT YOUR FEET UP AND, YES, EVEN TILT YOUR CAP BACK ON YOUR HEAD AS WE TAKE A MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR THROUGH TIME ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES”. IT IS OUR MISSION TODAY TO HOPEFULLY BRING CLOSURE TO AN ENDURING MYSTERY FROM THE DARK DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR IN 1941.
IN EPISODE 36 WE WILL LEARN ABOUT A YOUNG ALABAMA BOY WHO LEFT THE FARM DURING WORLD WAR 2 TO SERVE HIS COUNTRY. WHEN HE ENLISTED IN THE MARINE CORPS, PRIVATE WILLIAM FRANKLIN COWART HAD PROBABLY NEVER BEEN FARTHER FROM HOME THAN MISSISSIPPI. BUT, IN A FAR AWAY LAND, HE BECAME A MAN, A HUSBAND, A FATHER, A HERO…AND A MIA.
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE TALE OF LOVE AND LOSS THAT CONTINUES TO THIS VERY DAY ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES.”
TODAY’S EPISODE ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS THE SECOND OF TWO EPISODES ABOUT A WORLD WAR 2 BOMBER GIVEN THE NAME “SILVER DOLLAR”, ITS FATEFUL END, AND THE FINDING ALL OF THE MISSING CREW MEMBERS WHO RODE IT INTO BATTLE OVER THE SKIES OF GERMANY.
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU HOW WE LEARNED AN INCREDIBLE TALE OF HEROISM THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TOLD, HOW WE INTERVIEWED A WITNESS TO THE CRASH OF THE "SILVER DOLLAR" AFTER OVER 67 YEARS, WHY NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD HIS STORY BEFORE… AND, IN THE END, DETAILS ABOUT ONE MYSTERY ABOUT THE "SILVER DOLLAR" THAT REMAINS TO THIS DAY. .
EPISODE 34 OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS THE STORY OF A WORLD WAR 2 BOMBER GIVEN THE NAME “SILVER DOLLAR”, ITS FATEFUL END, AND FINDING ALL OF THE MISSING CREW MEMBERS WHO RODE IT INTO BATTLE OVER THE SKIES OF GERMANY…IN THE END, ONE MYSTERY STILL REMAINS.
STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU HOW WE LEARNED AN INCREDIBLE TALE OF HEROISM THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TOLD AND HOW WE INTERVIEWED A WITNESS TO THE CRASH OF THE SILVER DOLLAR AFTER OVER 67 YEARS…AND WHY NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD HIS STORY.
SPOILER ALERT…THE LAST FLIGHT OF THE SILVER DOLLAR IS OUR FIRST TWO PART EPISODE…THE INTRIGUING TALE IS JUST TOO BIG OF A STORY TO FIT INTO ONE PODCAST!
THIS IS TRULY A SPECIAL EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO TAKE ON WHAT IS PROBABLY THE HOLY GRAIL OF ALL MIA CASE INVESTIGATIONS…JUST WHO IS BURIED IN THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER?
EVEN ATTEMPTING TO FIND THE ANSWER IS CONTROVERSIAL, BUT WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SHY ABOUT COURTING CONTROVERSY.
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL PUT ON OUR BEANIE WITH A PROPELLER ON TOP AND JOIN THE RANKS OF “PROPELLER HEADS” ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO PROPOSE WILD THEORIES ABOUT HISTORY’S MYSTERIES.
THIS PROMISES TO BE A WILD AND CRAZY EPISODE. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN FOR US TO PRODUCE...AND HOPEFULLY, A LOT OF FUN HISTORICAL INFORMATION FOR YOU TO LEARN TODAY ON "NO HOME FOR HEROES."
EPISODE 32 IS FROM CASE NUMBER 0378 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE CASE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
WE KNOW THAT TODAY IS NOT “MOTHER’S DAY” BUT ALMOST EVERYONE OF OUR MIA’S LEFT A MOTHER BEHIND WHEN THEY WENT OFF TO WAR…A MOTHER WHO WORRIED ABOUT THEIR SON FOR MONTHS WITHOUT KNOWING EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE OR WHAT KIND OF DANGER THEY WERE IN…UNTIL THAT FATEFUL TELEGRAM ARRIVED AT THE FRONT DOOR TELLING THE MOM THE WORST POSSIBLE NEWS.
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT THE CASE OF JUST ONE MOTHER’S SON WHO BECAME MISSING IN ACTION AND THE MOTHER SIMPLY REFUSED TO BELIEVE HE WAS GONE…RIGHT UP UNTIL THE DAY SHE DIED.
TODAY’S EPISODE IS FROM CASE NUMBER 0216 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE CASE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
SOMETIMES SOLVING ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES IS KINDA LIKE BAKING A CAKE…YOU ADD A LITTLE OF THIS, YOU FIND A LITTLE OF THAT IN THE PANTY, YOU SHAKE, YOU STIR, YOU BAKE AND…OUILLA, SOMETIMES IT ALL COMES TOGETHER IN ONE INCREDIBLE OUTCOME!
STAY TUNED WHILE WE FILL YOU IN ON HOW WE PUT TOGETHER A LOT OF DIFFERENT INGREDIENTS TO BAKE THE MASTERPIECE KNOWN AS “FINDING RABBIT” ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES”!
EPISODE 30 SHOULD PROBABLY HAVE A LONGER TITLE SUCH AS “EVERY BURIAL AS AN UNKNOWN IF REALLY A MIA…WAITING TO BE FOUND AND GIVEN HIS OR HER NAME BACK”. DID YOU KNOWN THERE ARE OVER 8,000 “UNKNOWNS” FROM WORLD WAR II BURIED IN AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERIES WORLDWIDE? TODAY’S STORY WILL FEATURE JUST ONE…OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED AS “SCHOFIELD MAUSOLEUM NUMBER ONE, UNKNOWN X-98.
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE DETAILS OF HOW A MISSING AMERICAN HERO CAN BECOME JUST A NUMBER. AND, IN A REAL SURPRISING SOLUTION TO THIS MYSTERY, WE'LL GIVE YOU THE EXACT NAME OF THE MISSING AMERICAN MARINE THAT SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED AS “UNKNOWN X-98.”
THE MARINE IN TODAY’S EPISODE WAS A MOST UNLIKELY CANDIDATE TO BE A HERO. HE WAS ASSIGNED AS A MACHINE GUNNER BUT HE WANTED TO BE A COOK…AND, WE SHOULD TELL YOU RIGHT UP FRONT THAT OUR HERO IN TODAY’S STORY DIED IN THE ARMS OF HIS SERGEANT BUT HE REMAINS MISSING IN ACTION AFTER OVER 75 YEARS.
STAY TUNED TO "NO HOME FOR HEROES" AND WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE DETAILS OF THIS INCREDIBLE TALE OF HEROISM AND COMRADERIE OF A MAN WHO REFUSED TO ALLOW HIS BUDDIES TO GO TO WAR WITHOUT HIM.
IN 1942 A CANDIDATE FOR THE PRIESTHOOD WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE LEFT THE SEMINARY AND JOINED THE MARINE CORPS AS A PRIVATE. LANDING ON A FIRE SWEPT PACIFIC ISLAND A YEAR LATER HE LOST HIS LIFE AND THEN HIS COUNTRY LOST HIM.
OUR HERO IN TODAY’S STORY REMAINS A MIA AFTER OVER 75 YEARS!
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE DETAILS OF THIS SPECIAL STORY…WITH AN EVEN MORE UNBELIEVABLE TWIST AT THE END!
EPISODE 27 IS ONE OF THE MOST UNUSUAL AND SAD CASES IN OUR FILES.
SOMETIMES THE FAMILY LORE PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION ABOUT AN AMERICAN HERO TURNS OUT TO BE JUST PLAIN WRONG. AND TRAGICALLY IN TODAY'S STORY, A SOLDIER'S FINAL RESTING PLACE IS LOST TO THE FAMILY EVEN WHEN THE HERO LIES JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE HOME TO WHICH HE NEVER RETURNED.
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH THE DETAILS OF A MYSTERIOUS STORY OF LOSS AND REMEMBERANCE.
EPISODE 26 IS FROM CASE NUMBER 0249 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE CASE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
THE MIA FEATURED IN OUR STORY TODAY IS ONE OF THE “LOST PHANTOMS OF TARAWA” THAT WERE FEATURED IN EPISODE 15…BUT TODAY, WE GET A CHANCE TO FOCUS IN ON A SPECIAL ONE OF OUR “PHANTOMS” IN OUR SPECIAL INDEPENDENCE DAY EPISODE…BECAUSE..
PRIVATE PAUL FRANKLIN HUFFMAN IS THE ONLY ONE OF 1,090 TARAWA CASUALTIES WHO WAS ACTUALLY BORN ON THE 4TH OF JULY…AND HE REMAINS…MISSING IN ACTION AFTER OVER 75 YEARS
STAY TUNED WHILE WE OFFER OUR ANALYSIS OF WHERE PRIVATE HUFFMAN CAN FINALLY BE FOUND, RECOVERED, AND IDENTIFIED...ALL ON TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES”!
EPISODE 25 IS FROM CASE NUMBER 0424 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE CASE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
THE MIA FEATURED IN OUR STORY TODAY WAS DROPPED FROM THE OFFICIAL LIST OF CASUALTIES FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA FROM 1945 TO 2018…HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
AND…HIS ACTUAL CRASH SITE REMAINS A MYSTERY EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WITNESSED, MAPPED, AND EVEN GIVEN LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES…HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?
STAY TUNED WHILE WE EXPLORE A SPECIAL “DOUBLE MYSTERY” ON TODAY’S “NO HOME FOR HEROES”!
TODAY’S STORY IS OUR FIRST EPISODE FEATURING A MIA WHO LOST HIS LIFE DURING THE KOREAN WAR’S FAMOUS BATTLE OF THE CHOSIN RESERVOIR. ALSO KNOWN AS THE “FROZEN CHOSIN."
OUR HERO IN TODAY’S EPISODE LOST HIS LIFE PROTECTING AN AIRFIELD SO THAT HIS WOUNDED BUDDIES COULD BE EVACUATED.
THERE ARE ALMOST 8,000 AMERICAN SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN WHO REMAIN MIA’S FROM A WAR THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE ONLY VAGUELY AWARE OF AND IS KNOWN AS "THE FORGOTTEN WAR."
STAY TUNED FOR NOT ONLY A HISTORY LESSON BUT ALSO THE STORY OF SACRIFICE AND VALOR BY A VETERAN MARINE IN THIS EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES”
EPISODE 23 IS FROM CASE NUMBER 0381 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
WE ARE GOING TO RESPECTFULLY ASSUME SOME LITERARY LICENSE FROM A HERO MARINE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE SON HE NEVER MET.
HOPEFULLY, OUR OWN WORDS WILL CAPTURE THE KIND OF FACTS AND DETAILS THAT A FATHER WOULD WANT HIS SON TO KNOW IF HE WERE NOT AROUND TO TELL HIS OWN STORY.
YOU SURE DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO ATTEMPT TO CRAFT A NARRATIVE THAT TELLS THE STORY OF ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES IN WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN A LOST HEROES OWN WORDS.
STAY TUNED FOR A VERY INTRIGUING PERSPECTIVE ON TODAY’S “NO HOME FOR HEROES”
EPISODE 22 IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE WE START THE PROGRAM BY POSING A QUESTION RATHER THAN PROMISING TO PROVIDE AN ANSWER TO THE LOCATION OF A MISSING AMERICAN SERVICEMAN.
FROM CASE NUMBER 0421 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, LEARN HOW A MARINE WAS LATE REPORTING FOR DUTY AFTER A SHORT FURLOUGH WAS GRANTED HIM WHEN HE COMPLETED TRAINING TO BE A “BARAGE BALLOON CREWMAN”.
WE THINK HIS TARDINESS PROMPTED HIS TRANSFER TO A COMBAT UNIT WHERE HE BECAME AN MIA IN HIS VERY FIRST ACTION . IS IT POSSIBLE THAT SOMETHING SO SIMPLE AS MISSING A TRAIN RIDE COST THIS YOUNG MARINE HIS LIFE?
STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER ON THIS EPISODE OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES".
EPISODE 21 IS CAPTURED FROM CASE NUMBER 0322 IN THE INVESTIGATIVE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.
LEARN HOW A MEMBER OF THE FAMED GROUP OF BLACK FIGHTER PILOTS KNOWN AS THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN WENT MISSING ON AN ESCORT MISSION TO GERMANY IN 1944 AND WAS NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN.
WE THINK HIS CRASH SITE MAY HAVE BEEN FOUND BUT, AND THERE IS ALWAYS A BUT IN HISTORIES’ MILITARY MYSTERIES, THE REMAINS OF THE PILOT COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED AFTER THE WAR. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT MODERN DNA SCIENCE CAN PROVIDE THE KEY TO SOLVING THIS 75 YEAR OLD MYSTERY? MAYBE…BUT THERE ARE PROBLEMS EVEN MODERN SCIENCE WILL NEED TO OVERCOME.
STAY TUNED AND WE WILL TELL YOU THE FULL STORY ON TODAY’S “NO HOME FOR HEROES”
TODAY'S EPISODE WILL REVEAL THE LINK TO SEVEN MARINES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES TOGETHER IN THE WANING HOURS OF THE BATTLE OF TARAWA AND WERE BURIED SIDE BY SIDE WITH THEIR GRAVES CAREFULLY MARKED ON A MILITARY MAP AND THE GRID COORDINATES WERE LISTED IN EACH MARINE’S RECORDS.
BUT, THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY ASSIGNED TO FIND MIA’S CAN’T SEEM TO READ THE MAP. HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN? I’M NOT SURE WE’LL HAVE THE ANSWER TO BEING “ACUTELY DYSFUNCTIONAL” BUT STAY TUNED AND WE WILL TELL YOU THE FULL STORY ON TODAY’S “NO HOME FOR HEROES.”
Episode 19 of NO HOME FOR HEROES describes the case of a World War II American submarine that was listed as "Lost With All Hands" on her sixth war patrol in 1943. The details of the loss was officially listed as being under unknown circumstances. But today's episode will solve that mystery for you.
And, there is even more mystery in the loss of the USS Triton. Her ship's bell is today on display at the Navy's Great Lakes Naval Training Center, even though the ship has never been found. How did this happen? Stay tuned to learn the story of the USS Triton and the amazing discovery of her ship's bell decades after the loss of the ship.
EPISODE 18 IS ABOUT AN ACTIVE CASE INVESTIGATION BY THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION WHERE OUR RESEARCHERS NEED YOUR HELP TO LOCATE AN MIA'S FAMILY TO TELL THEM THE RESULTS OF OUR INVESTIGATION…AND OUR BELIEF OF WHERE THEIR MISSING MARINE LIES UNDISCOVERED TO THIS VERY DAY!
THE HERO WITHOUT A HOME WE WILL HIGHLIGHT TODAY IS A “NOT TOO PERFECT” MARINE WHO CHAFED UNDER MILITARY RULES AND REGULATIONS BUT TOLD HIS BUDDY THAT HE THOUGHT HE WOULD BE A “FIGHTING FOOL” IF JUST GIVEN THE CHANCE. DURING A FINAL JAPANESE BANZAI CHARGE ON TARAWA, THE SELF PROCLAIMED “FIGHTING FOOL FROM BOWIE TEXAS, GOT HIS CHANCE…
EPISODE 17 PROVIDES DETAILS OF THE FIRST “UNKNOWN” FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA THAT WAS RECOVERED AND IDENTIFIED FROM AN AMERICAN CEMETERY. THE FACTS OF THIS RECOVERY ARE STILL SHROUDED IN MYSTERY OVER 75 YEARS AFTER THE HERO WENT MISSING AND OVER TWO YEARS AFTER HE WAS OFFICIALLY IDENTIFIED!
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS JACK JUNIOR FOX CONTINUES TO AWAIT RETURN HOME TO HIS FAMILY FOR BURIAL OVER TWO YEARS AFTER HIS IDENTIFICATION WAS ANNOUNCED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. HIS REMAINS SIT IN A CARDBOARD BOX IN HONOLULU, HAWAII AND THE GOVERNMENT AGENCY THAT HAS CUSTODY OF HIS BODY REFUSES TO SAY EXACTLY WHERE HE WAS FOUND!
BUT THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION BELIEVES WE KNOW THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS SURROUNDING PRIVATE FOX AND WE WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWERS TO YOU IN THIS EPISODE!
EPISODE 16 EXPLORES HOW A WORLD WAR II GERMAN SUBMARINE EITHER DIDN’T GET THE MESSAGE THAT THE WAR WAS OVER or DECIDED TO IGNORE THE ORDER AND ATTACK AN AMERICAN MERCHANT SHIP OFF THE COAST OF RHODE ISLAND IN MAY 1945.
IN THE WORDS OF A JAPANESE ADMIRAL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR “I FEAR WE HAVE AWAKENED A SLEEPING GIANT AND FILLED HIM WITH A TERRIBLE RESOLVE”, THIS ATTACK CAUSED AN INCENSED AMERICAN NAVY TO PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS TO EXACT REVENGE ON THE GERMAN U-BOAT THAT CAUSED AMERICA TO SUFFER SOME OF ITS LAST MIA’S OF WORLD WAR 2!
Episode 15 on NO HOME FOR HEROES is not science fiction…it’s absolutely true, but it’s truly "Twilight Zone" spooky!
Fair warning that this episode is a little longer than our usual episodes as we explore the cases of 25 different CASUALTIES FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA. MIA's who WERE LISTED AS WOUNDED IN ACTION AND TRANSPORTED OFF THE INVASION BEACHES FOR TREATMENT ON A NEARBY SHIP…ONLY TO VANISH into the mists of history AND be LISTED AS “MISSING IN ACTION” for over 75 years.
THERE IS EVEN MORE TO THE MYSTERY…SOME OF THESE MIA PHANTOMS WERE ACTUALLY LISTED ON MILITARY HOSPITAL RECORDS LONG AFTER THE BATTLE BUT THEY NEVER MADE IT HOME AND ARE STILL LISTED AS MISSING IN ACTION…INCREDIBLE, BUT TRUE!
Episode 14 is a very unusual case In this case all of us will learn a very valuable lesson about the importance of family history and making sure that our legacies, whatever they may be, a passed down to future generations.
We LEARN HOW A B-24 BOMBER BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN SHOT DOWN OVER GERMANY IN 1944 REALLY WASN’T…AND HOW 8 MISSING CREWMEN OF THE BOMBER REALLY WEREN’T MISSING AT ALL.
In the end, we are able to help A FAMILY FIND OUT THE REAL FACTS THAT THEIR OWN FAMILY HISTORY HAD WRONG FOR ALMOST 75 YEARS… WHAT A STORY!
Episode 13 will walk you through a very difficult case, the type of which is known in law enforcement as a “whodunit”. You will get an actual feel for how MIA cases are investigated and how most of them are not simple “slam dunks” even in the age of sophisticated technologies, computers, and DNA comparisons.
Like most "whodunit" investigations, Episode 13 will take us down dead end paths, false leads, mistakes by the investigator, and host of other frustrations that left us scratching our heads until a minor adjustment in the investigative process produced a positive result…and yes, just as a spoiler, Episode 13 WILL have a happy ending.
In Episode 12 the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation examines the case of perhaps THE VERY FIRST AMERICAN CASUALTY OF THE INVASION OF SICILY IN World War II. Seaman First Class Paul Bernard Wilson WAS BURIED IN THE SAND ON THE BEACH WHERE HE DIED, ONLY TO BE LOST TO HISTORY SINCE THE DAY OF HIS DEATH on 10 July 1943.
Could TWO LONG FORGOTTEN FINGERPRINTS HOLD THE CLUE TO SOLVING THE CASE…A CASE FILE THAT HAD FBI DIRECTOR J. EDGAR HOOVER’S ORIGINAL SIGNATURE…COULD DIRECTOR HOOVER’S FBI LABORATORY ASSIST US AGAIN 70 YEARS LATER TO BRING HOME THE MISSING SAILOR FROM SICILY? Listen to this episode of NO HOME FOR HEROES to find out.
Episode 11 has all the components of a New York Times best seller. The friendship of two Marines who had the irony of being the last combat casualties AFTER the official end of a major battle. A lost cemetery for almost three quarters of a century that was full of missing American servicemen...An idiotic government policy that prevented their discovery...A map with the famous “X marks the spot” just like the old pirate stories of buried treasure...And a Marine’s help from beyond the grave to find his long lost buddy. All of that, and more, is included in today's episode, file number 0284, from the investigative case files of the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation.
Episode 10 begins with the seldom heard speech by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recorded live in its entirety when he addressed Congress the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. While you may have listened to the oft quoted 30 second snippet of President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech, the entire address tells a much more complete story.
One of the casualties of that attack was a sailor on the USS West Virginia, a battleship affectionately nicknamed by its crew as the "Wee Vee.". This sailor from New Jersey was listed a "Missing in Action" until he was determined to be a possible match to Unknown X-136 buried in the Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hear how his case was solved by a determined investigation after it had been closed for over 63 years...and how, Fireman First Class Angelo Michael Gabriele was identified as Unknown X-136 and finally returned home to his family in New Jersey in 2019.
Episode 9 is a very, very special edition of NO HOME FOR HEROES. It is our honor and our privilege to introduce you to a 97 year old Marine who describes in his own words how he helped bury a fellow Marine in the sand after the Battle of Tarawa. The buried Marine was lost for almost 75 years until our good friend, Sergeant Edward Gazel, provided the essential clue for investigators of the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation to identify the burial location of CPL Claire Eulin Goldtrap of Hobart, Oklahoma, Missing In Action.since 20 November 1943.
While the title of Episode 9 is "Goldy Goes Home", the title could easily be "We All Pray To the Same God, Son".
Listen to the podcast to find out exactly why this title would be equally appropriate.
Thanks to Sergeant Gazell, GOLDY GOES HOME...finally!
Episode 8 is part love story and part war story. We explore File Number 0191 from the investigative case files of the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation regarding a 25 year old lumber mill worker from Oregon who became a combat veteran in the steamy jungles of Guadalcanal in World War II.
After being shipped with his unit to New Zealand for a period of rest, refit, and retraining, our young Private First Class found love in this far off land. Not wanting to wait for the war to end, he married his 18 year old New Zealand sweetheart only a few weeks before shipping out again. PFC Victor Harold Feldner met his doom on the tiny island of Tarawa in the South Pacific.
Hear how a daughter has waited her whole life for her father's return and the Foundation's investigative conclusions about his loss and recovery location.
So what do John Dillinger, J. Edgar Hoover, and the Lindbergh Kidnapping have to do with a missing American sailor who was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941? Episode 7 features a special guest: United States Navy Captain Chris Stone, currently the commanding officer of the guided missile cruiser USS Normandy, to help explain a case that baffled the government's MIA investigators for over seventy years. It was an example of not being able to see the forest because everyone was focused on the tree until a simple law enforcement investigative technique was applied that solved one of history's military mysteries.
Episode 6 explores File Number 0414 from the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation's investigative case files of missing American service members. It is the case of Private Edwin William Jordan from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who convinced his father to go along with the desire of a fifteen year old boy to enlist in the United States Marine Corps and the tireless efforts of an aunt to seek his release from combat duty in the South Pacific. Private Jordan stormed the beach at Tarawa in November 1943 and vanished into history until his accidental discovery in the most unlikely of circumstances over seventy years after his loss...It's an amazing story with a surprising twist in another of history's military mysteries!
Episode 5 discusses of the case of Private First Class Alfred Edwards from Oklahoma. PFC Edwards was one of over 500 MIA's from the Battle of Tarawa in 1943. His family requested an investigation by the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation regarding his fate and, thanks to a federal lawsuit filed by the Foundation under the Freedom of Information, documents were found that provided the last remaining piece of the puzzle to solve the mystery. And, in an incredible surprise bonus, Foundation investigators can now pinpoint the exact location of PFC Edwards' remains...but you'll never be able to guess where!
This episode explores the case of Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare who was lost during a night fighter mission on 26 November 1943. LCDR O'Hare was a Medal of Honor recipient credited with destroying five Japanese aircraft in a single battle a year before he was lost. When O'Hare's Hellcat fighter was last seen he was over the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles from Tarawa; however, he is officially considered an "Unresolved" casualty from the Battle of Tarawa in the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency's database. Debate rages to this day whether LCDR O'Hare was shot down by a Japanese aircraft or he was a victim of "friendly fire". In any case, this hero is one of almost 73,000 MIA's from World War II.
Episode 2 described the Battle of Tarawa fought between Japan and the United States during World War II. Over 1,000 U.S. servicemen were killed during the battle but the bodies of only 532 were recovered from 41 different cemeteries on Tarawa after the war, including 282 who were initially unidentified and classified as "Unknown". The episode discusses the continuing efforts to locate, recover, and identify over 500 missing American servicemen from this battle including the efforts of the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation to help identify over 100 "Unknowns" from the Battle of Tarawa who are buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also known as the "Punchbowl") in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Episode 3 describes the investigations into eight Marines who were officially listed as "Missing In Action" by the Department of Defense from the Battle of Tarawa in 1943. The cases were resolved by Chief Rick Stone in 2011 by determining that the MIA Marines were never missing in the first place. One case involved a Marine who survived the battle and sought assistance by the Veteran's Administration in 1977 only to be told that he could not be helped because he had been killed in action in 1943! Unbelievable, but true!
Episode 1 describes Chief Rick Stone's appointment to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) as a member of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, Intelligence Directorate. JPAC's mission was to locate, recover, and identify missing American service men and women from our past wars. Other items of discussion in this podcast:
1) Use of the Random Incident Statistical Correlation System (RISC) to compare those buried as "Unknowns" with MIA's
2) Primary investigative responsibility for the Battle of Tarawa, Pearl Harbor, and other losses
3) Government investigations into JPAC managerial and leadership dysfunction
4) Whistleblower activities
5) Concept of Ethics
6) Continuing MIA investigations by the Chief Rick Stone and Family Charitable Foundation