Know Their Story Podcast

18/06/2023

As Andrew Muller prepares for his Dad's birthday, he comes to realize just how much he learned from his father.Starring Raffael Pompeo, Kregg Jorgenson, Dave...

25/04/2023

The time is now. Please enjoy our new episode with Father Mike Olsen by clicking this link:

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/father-mike-olsen-colonelr/

We hope you enjoy the episode.

24/04/2023

Season four is upon us with a new episode premiering tomorrow. Join as we talk with retired Colonel, Father Mike Olsen. Father Mike was a medevac pilot and served two tours in Vietnam. Unfortunately both were cut short due to unfortunate collisions with the ground due to enemy caused malfunctions (he was shot down). But he lived to tell the tale, which is exactly what he will be doing with us tomorrow. Make sure you don't miss out.

03/01/2023

09/06/2022

Today's episode is here for your pleasure. Please enjoy our conversation with Specialist 5 Jack Schmitt. An Army artillery observer in the Vietnam War.

Due to Facebook's algorithm not liking links in posts, you can find the link in the comments below.

08/06/2022

Tune in tomorrow for another great episode talking with Specialist 5 Jack Schmitt. Jack served with the Army as an artillery observer 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+people+jack+schmitt&qid=1654725680&sprefix=potato+people+jack+schmitt%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1

05/05/2022

Check out our latest episode with Rear Admiral(R) Bill Center:

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/rear-admiralr-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.

04/05/2022

Tune in tomorrow for our latest episode. We're going big with retired Rear Admiral Bill Center. A fascinating conversation.

28/04/2022

Check out an incredible episode with apache helicopter pilot Joe Wankelman. https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/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
Wine: https://bonefrogcellars.com/

23/03/2022

Our next episode is scheduled to record this Saturday and will be out next week. In the meantime, check out our last episode with Sergeant Keith Smithson. https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/sergeant-keith-smithson/

A thoroughly enjoyable conversation.

11/03/2022

This week's episode is here: https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/sergeant-keith-smithson/

Sergeant Keith 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.

10/03/2022

New episode coming tomorrow. Check out last week's episode on the link below while you wait.
https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/jim-betthauser/

07/03/2022

For those who may have missed last week's episode.

Jim served as a combat medic in Vietnam with the 93rd and 24th Evacuation Hospital units. He also holds the very distinct "honor" of being drafted in the very first draft lottery of the Vietnam War. We talk about the horrors faced on an everyday basis by doctors and nurses at war, the support he had...

04/03/2022

This week's podcast is out for your listening enjoyment:

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/jim-betthauser/

This week's guest, Jim Betthauser, served in the Vietnam War as a combat medic with the 93rd and 24th Evacuation Hospitals. He also has the distinct "honor" of being drafted in the very first draft lottery.

We talk about the horrors faced on an everyday basis by doctors and nurses at war, the support he had when leaving the army (spoiler alert... not much), and talking about your experiences.

We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

02/03/2022

New episode coming tomorrow. Make sure to check out last week's episode while you wait.

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/mike-schindler/

25/02/2022

Please enjoy this great conversation with Mike Schindler.

Mike Schindler is a Navy veteran, CEO of Operation Military Family, and surprise (even to him) filmmaker. Mike talks with us about what it's like to find your true self and your purpose in a civilian world after having a job like monitoring nuclear weapons. His film, It's VUCA, explores how lessons....

24/02/2022

Season 3 is upon us! The first episode drops tomorrow with Navy veteran and CEO of Operation Military Family, Mike Schindler. Tune in tomorrow.

04/01/2022

While everyone is saying, "New Year, New You", we're announcing, "New Year, New Season". After a very truncated second season as we focused a lot of time towards finishing the documentary (more on that in the near future), we are ready to jump in with both feet for a content filled third year. Which means we are actively recruiting guests to be on the show this year.

If you are a veteran who has been deployed (any service, any conflict, any country, any MOS), we would love to have you on the podcast. Also, if you are the spouse or partner of a veteran, child, parent, or Gold Star family member please contact us about being a guest on the show.

Anyone interested in appearing, or know someone who would be a great guest, message here on the page and we will get right back to you.

Everyone has a story to tell, we want to hear yours.

12/11/2021

30/09/2021

Click here for our newest episode with Captain Toby Pugh: https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/captain-toby-pugh/

Captain Pugh served with the US Air Force, including four 6 month tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a navigator and counter electronics officer on B-52 bombers. In that time, he flew 180 arc light missions as well as four missions over Hanoi during Operation Linebacker 2. Captain Pugh talks about the power of working in a team environment and how that carries over to the public sector, as well as the power of being around others who have shared your experience.

29/09/2021

Another excellent episode coming your way tomorrow. Can't wait for you to hear it as we talk with Vietnam veteran, Air Force Captain Toby Pugh. Tune in to learn about what it was like to be in a B-52 during Operation Linebacker 2.

09/09/2021

As promised, here is today's episode:

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/lt-colonel-chris-lozano-and-sgt-jim-braun/

With Lieutenant Colonel Chris Lozano (Afghanistan and Iraq) and Sergeant James Braun (Vietnam). A fascinating, wide ranging discussion showing that even with decades of separation between their conflicts, many of the shared experiences are still the same among veterans.

09/09/2021

We recorded an incredible episode last night that will be coming out later this afternoon. We spoke with veterans from two different conflicts on a wide range of topics, one of which is rather timely. We won’t give it away but the picture is a pretty big clue. Tune in later today.

02/09/2021

Episode 202 is now available for your listening pleasure. This week we welcome Captain(R) Jim Messinger.

Click here for the full episode: https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/captainr-jim-messinger/

Captain Messinger served two tours in Vietnam flying Huey helicopters, gunships, and the Skycrane. Captain Messinger is a witness to history... literally. His gunship was in a certain area of the country at a certain time that led to him sitting in front of the Peers Commission on the My Lai Massacre. The fact that he did not see anything did not stop him from being, as he described it, interrogated in the bowels of Pentagon.

After retiring from the Army, Captain Messinger became a college professor and serves as the treasurer for the National Vietnam War Museum in Texas. We talk with Captain Messinger about his time in the Army, finding his way in the world after separating from the military, starting a museum from scratch, and the importance of getting other veterans talking about their experiences. We hope you enjoy today's episode.

Find out more about the National Vietnam War Museum: https://www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org/

26/08/2021

We are very pleased to announce the premiere episode of our second season of the podcast. Follow the link below to enjoy.

https://knowtheirstory.podbean.com/e/tiffany-and-laura/

On today's episode, we welcome Tiffany and Laura.* They had the distinct pleasure of serving in the Navy at Guantanamo Bay at the time it was transitioned into its role housing detainees of the War on Terror. We talk about what that transition was like in a pivotal time in our nation's history as well as what it is like to be a female in the military and how funny it was Dustin got knocked out of the episode by a lightning strike on the power supply in Taos.

*For personal reasons it has been asked that we not use last names this week

29/04/2021

Due to the whims of the internet and website building, it took a little longer than expected to bring you this info, but we're happy to announce our brand new website for the podcast is up and running.

https://knowtheirstorypodcast.com/

In even more good news, we are currently booking guests for Season 2 and will be bringing them to you soon.

29/04/2021

28/01/2021

Stolen valor, don't be one of those guys.

20/01/2021

We just saw the first draft mockup of our website and it's looking pretty darn cool. Season 2 is starting soon. In the meantime, marvel at how we're able to get anything done together at all.

04/12/2020

Well, that's a wrap. We've decided that we are putting a lid on the first season of the Know Their Story Podcast. We will be spending the next few weeks enjoying time with our families (possibly virtually depending on who's reading) as well as working on our official website.

That does not mean we won't be working on the podcast though. We want to be able to hit the ground running on the 2021 season. So, if you are a veteran who has been deployed, or know someone who may be a great guest, message our page and we would love to set up an interview for Season 2.