Colonel Robert Howard was a very distinguished member of the top-secret MACV-SOG units that fought during the Vietnam War in America’s secret war in Laos and Cambodia. Comprised of only one to a few U.S. special force team members plus a cadre of native Vietnamese, Montagnard, Cambodian (Khmer Krom), and Nung fighters, these recon units operated deep behind enemy lines recovering downed pilots and attempting POW rescues, destroying enemy fuel dumps and caches, conducting wiretaps, gathering intelligence and spreading propaganda which forced Hanoi to divert 40,000 troops—about four divisions—to rear security missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Surrounded by heroes, Bob distinguished himself among his peers, becoming the most decorated Green Beret ever. His medal include the Medal of Honor–for sheer valor and heroism even as he suffered multiple wounds himself defending his men. Today’s guest, historian Stephen L. Moore shares Bob Howard’s story in his book “Beyond the Call of Duty: The Life of Colonel Robert Howard, the Most Decorated Green Beret.”

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Right after the U.S. dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, Victoria Kelly’s grandfather was sent there as part of the U.S. forces sent to occupy the city after its destruction. Victoria grew up curious about her grandfather’s experience there, as he’d died before she was born. Victoria has partnered with Karen Tanabe, whose family survived the bombing, to make “Atomic Echoes”: A documentary that details what it was like for the locals and the U.S. soldiers on the ground, and how they came together to help the afflicted, as they all struggled with the fallout of radiation.

Victoria joins HBH today, to share some of the amazing stories and people she and Karen discovered in their journey to make a filmed record of what it was like after an atomic bomb goes off.

Patrick Naughton’s father served in Vietnam when he was a child, and shared accounts of his experiences and adventures – from infantry to serving in Special Forces as part of the MACV-SOG teams doing recon and battling across the fence” in America’s secret war with Northern Vietnam forces in Laos and Cambodia.

Patrick felt the only path to truly earn his larger-than-life’s father’s respect was to enlist in the military himself, and he likewise joined the infantry and served in Iraq. His book “Born From War,” is a fascinating account of the parallel experiences father and son had, and the lessons about generational impact of military service learned by both.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

The second half of this two-part interview from 2023 with one of our favorite Americans, in celebration of Memorial Day:

A living legend of MACV-SOG and the Green Berets, John "Tilt" Stryker Meyer shares some of the most daring first-person stories of combat ever told! Inserted by Kingbee helicopter into the dense jungle along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos and Cambodia during the height of the Vietnam War, Tilt and the US and indigenous members of Strike Force Idaho deployed on one impossible top-secret mission after another, spying on, harassing and taking it to the North Vietnamese and Vietcong despite a casualty rate of over 100%.

Top-secret, all-volunteer SOG teams soon became the bane of the NVA's and Vietcong's existence, and despite overwhelming odds and sometimes having to face battalion-size enemy detachments, Tilt describes how these small US-indigenous units bravely soldiered on achieving a combined kill ratio of 158 to 1 – the highest in US military history.

Bravery like that described by Tilt is not only inspiring, it changes the way we perceive the Vietnam War.

We're re-airing this two-part interview from 2023 with one of our favorite Americans, in celebration of Memorial Day:

A living legend of MACV-SOG and the Green Berets, John "Tilt" Stryker Meyer shares some of the most daring first-person stories of combat ever told! Inserted by Kingbee helicopter into the dense jungle along the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos and Cambodia during the height of the Vietnam War, Tilt and the US and indigenous members of Strike Force Idaho deployed on one impossible top-secret mission after another, spying on, harassing and taking it to the North Vietnamese and Vietcong despite a casualty rate of over 100%.

Top-secret, all-volunteer SOG teams soon became the bane of the NVA's and Vietcong's existence, and despite overwhelming odds and sometimes having to face battalion-size enemy detachments, Tilt describes how these small US-indigenous units bravely soldiered on achieving a combined kill ratio of 158 to 1 – the highest in US military history.

Bravery like that described by Tilt is not only inspiring, it changes the way we perceive the Vietnam War.




Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Karen Holt didn’t realize her childhood was anything other than normal--whether it was her father’s absence every Monday to Friday; their odd moves from town to town without any warning; the FBI arresting her father; seeing Detroit mafioso Peter Licavoli on his ranch; or even visiting her father in his ‘country club’ prison.

One of the most unusual figures in recent memory, Chauncey served as accountant and money manager for mobster Meyer Lansky, he was also an off-the-books CIA operative and specialist in forged documents and credentials, a ballistics expert, a circus performer and fine artist.

He was also present at Dealey Plaza the day JFK was assassinated, November 22, 1963. In fact, Holt was pictured in Life Magazine as one of the three hobos detained as witnesses.

Chauncey's outrageous life, which also included bootlegging, gunrunning, and maintaining multiple aliases, is captured in his autobiography “Self-Portrait of a Scoundrel,” which reads like a CIA thriller.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Born on a U.S. airbase in London of American parents, Geoffrey Gilson began his career writing speeches for Margaret Thatcher, leveraging his dual British-US citizenship to navigate elite political circles. With decades of front-row access to senior UK and U.S. officials, Gilson served as a key operative for the British Conservative Party, gaining unparalleled insight into global power structures. In 1988, when his friend and business partner Hugh Simmonds turned up dead in the woods near where they lived with seven million dollars were missing from his law firm’s account, Geoff launched his own investigation into this friend’s death, which eventually revealed a complex web of money laundering, arms deals and political collusion and connections between high-level political leaders, intelligence organizations, and money launderers and arms dealers.

The result is detailed in his riveting book, "Maggie’s Hammer," a meticulously researched and gripping exposé.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Former U.S. Army Ranger, Barry Todd, was out celebrating a professional milestone with his wife and several friends at a local watering hole in Yuma, Arizona, when he was attacked by a drunken patron along with some buddies. Barry was slammed headfirst into a cement wall, incurring a concussion and other bodily injuries until his gun went off and shot the man who’d insisted on attacking him.

The police were called and incomprehensibly arrested Barry, who explains how self-defense and stand your ground laws don’t always protect you as they should. Police in his case didn’t actually know the law in Arizona, and elected DAs often pursue charges & convictions rather than the truth, as is their legal obligation. Barry also discovered that one friend of his attackers was linked to the local police.

Barry walks us through his battle of five years to get his case dismissed, and his record cleared, and how he feels a calling to help anyone unfairly charged with a crime. All proceeds from his book, “Stand Your Ground: One Man’s Self Defense Nightmare,” go to his foundation that helps the charged person and their attorney successfully get their case dismissed.

The original culprit was never charged.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com