1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

11/01/2025

Great WWII story…..

Darrell "Shifty" Powers is pictured in real life and as depicted by Peter Youngblood Hills in "Band of Brothers". Shifty was an expert marksman. His father had taught him how to shoot when he was a boy, and he became so good that he could throw a coin in the air and shoot it with a rifle. After high school, Shifty enrolled in a machinist course at a vocational school in Norfolk. It was there that he met his good friend Robert "Popeye" Wynn, who would also become a member of Easy Company. Powers had been given the nickname "Shifty" due to his ability to be quick and "shifty" on his feet on the basketball court.

While fighting in the Battle of the Bulge in late December 1944, Shifty spotted a tree almost a mile away that had not been there the day before. It was then that he discovered that the Germans had put up the tree to camouflage an anti-aircraft battery. Easy Company attacked the location with full battery fire and the area was quickly deserted.

During the attack on Foy, some of the men from Easy Company were pinned down by a German sniper. Shifty spotted him and quickly took him out with his rifle. When Carwood Lipton and Popeye Wynn located the deceased sniper, they observed that the bullet had struck the sniper square in the middle of his forehead, a perfect shot.

Amazingly, Shifty was never wounded while fighting with Easy Company, a rarity. Therefore, he did not have enough points to go home. However, he won the lottery that was held to allow one man from each company to return home early. Unfortunately, during the drive to the airfield, the vehicle he was in was involved in a crash and Shifty was badly hurt. He spent months recovering in hospitals overseas and eventually arrived home, long after his fellow soldiers from Easy Company.

12/12/2024

I would like to share this very humorous short story with you. I recently started a series of "Ask Jeeves" short stories at 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales podcast and this one kept me laughing throughout. Enjoy!

Get more from Jon Hagadorn and 1001 Stories Network on Patreon

10/11/2024

Jon Hagadorn interviews author Michael Paradis regarding his new besteller. Lots of stories & facts about the man who led us to victory in WWII

09/11/2024

Here is the link to 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries podcast on Apple Podcasts. If you open it on a laptop click anywhere on our image)-you'll see "Follow" out to the right. Click on Follow and you receive new episodes every time we release them. Your access to the greatest stories on earth!

History Podcast · 487 Episodes · Updated Weekly

29/09/2024

Introducing a brand new 1001 show- America's Best of Times: A Boomer Journal (1949-1969)- Check out Episode 1! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/2z4uaah9JeFka3po/

Listen to Jon Hagadorn and Guests's 1001 AMERICA'S BEST OF TIMES: A BOOMER JOURNAL (1949-1969) podcast on Apple Podcasts.

17/08/2024

It was March 21st, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio, at about 9pm, when the first 7,000 or more ticket holders streamed into the Cleveland Arena with high hopes of seeing 5 of their favorite Rhythm & Blues artists perform for a huge dance. By 9:30pm, the place was filled to capacity with over 9,000 teens- but there were still more than 10,000 more "Moondoggers" waiting outside. The doors broke down, glass shattered, seats were ripped from their moorings on the floor, and pandemonium ruled for the next hour. It was all the creation of a talented WJW radio DJ named Alan Freed, who, on his midnight shows, had been promoted The Moondog Coronation Ball for weeks. It was the first of many firsts that night- the first rock concert and dance, the first dance to which black teens were invited (although they made up 99% of the crowd), the first time "Rock and Roll" came to mean good music with a beat which could be enjoyed by all races, and the first time a concert had to be shut down by the police. Freed would go on to earn the title "The Father of Rock and Roll" and make 4 movies starring as himself, R&B would be recognized as the progenitor of Rock, and Cleveland, thanks to that seminal concert, would be chosen to host the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Story at 1001 Heroes, legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast beginning Sunday Aug 25th.

30/06/2024

It may not seem so but there is a lot going on here at my 1001 Stories Network.
First- my interview with Michel Paradis comes out today- The Light of Battle-the story of Dwight David Eisenhower and his actions leading up to D-Day. Don't miss this one! (And remember to share it with friends), https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836
Also I am working on the incredible story of a nearly forgotten American Naval Hero- John Paul Jones- who was buried like a pauper in a cemetery in Paris which was later flooded with sewage and developed over- until the US Ambassador to France, with the help of Theodore Roosevelt (US SECNAV), after 6 years of searching-exhumed Joneses' body and brought it back for honors.
Its a story of greed, politics, jealousy, and ignorance- stretching from the American Revolution to the French Revolution to Annapolis and a (finally) thankful nation.
Also- we have a massive website coming where (unlike podcasts) listeners can search for categories, certain authors, etc. for an easier listening experience. Want to check out movie backstories, O.Henry stories, H.P. Lovecraft stories, WWII stories, Unsolved Mysteries, Urban Legends, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes stories, etc, etc? It will all be there grouped for you.
I changed hosts in May (Megaphone to Libsyn) and that was a very involved process which will help us grow. We did over 5 million unique listens last year. All thanks to you listeners and fans. Thank you!

09/04/2024

Hello Listeners! As all of you know, I keep busy with other podcasts, and I have a story podcast called 1001 Classic Short Stories & Tales, where I share short stories. Next week's Sunday offer is titled "Prospect's Old Mother". I did some background research on the story and found to my surprise that Ronald Reagan starred as "Prosper" in a 1955 GE Theater presentation (shown below). That caught my eye because it was my dad, who was the manager for GE Large Lamps Division in southern California, who hired Reagan for that show to be the host, and sometimes Reagan starred in the episodes. You will also spot a young Charles Bronson playing Pike.
They changed some of the storyline and characters and added a family beyond the "mother" but some of the real story is there. My father and Reagan became good friends., and he supported Ronald Reagan through his rise in politics. Here is that episode:

"Prosper's Old Mother," 1955 TV drama starring Ethel Barrymore, Ronald Reagan and Joyce Holden.

22/03/2024

This Sunday March 24th we release 'THE KIDNAPPING OF N**I GENERAL KREIPE'-the true story of a daring British commando raid which succeeded in kidnapping the top N**i general in Crete- the last bit of Greece that Hi**er conquered- with hopes that the mission would lift the morale of the embattled Crete people, which it did- but at the cost of terrible retribution in terms of human butchery committed by the N**is. Hi**er DESTROYED GREECE so badly that they still feel the effects today. This is the story of Crete's brave resistance and the British raid which succeeded in capturing a much less valuable target than they had hoped.

11/02/2024

Enjoy "VALENTINE'S DAY ONLINE IN AMERICA" now at 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast- Follow and Share! Thanks https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836

16/12/2023

This was an interview and a story I will never forget.....

DEVIL DOGS: The story of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines as they lived, fought, and died during the four major Pacific campaigns leading to Japan's final surrender. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1001-heroes-legends-histories-mysteries-podcast/id956154836

16/12/2023

How many singers do you know of who revived their careers by performing in a prison? By 1968 Johnny Cash's career was at bottom- and he knew it, With the help of a good pastor, family, and friends, he pulled himself out of his dependency and turned it all around- starting with a recorded appearance at California's Folsom prison. You've all heard the quote "There but for the grace of God go I"- he saw himself as a common man and made it his mission to speak for the down and out. Our 4th story here in this episode tells how Johnny Cash went to Folsom Prison and how it worked out for him-I think you'll find all 4 stories interesting. Shares and likes appreciated! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4-great-stories-annegreenes-2nd-life-jackie-gleason/id956154836?i=1000637339882