Veterans Radio
by Veterans Radio America
Our mission is to see that the world appreciates what extraordinary things ordinary people have done to gain and preserve our freedom.
Podcast episodes
Season 21
Army Nurses in Vietnam & NVBDC Highlight
This week we share an interview from VVA Veteran “Dispatches” series, hosted by Marc Leepson. Marc Leepson interviewed author Kristin Hannah about “The Women,” her new novel, which shot to the top of all the bestseller lists when it came out February 6 and has remained there ever since. It’s the compelling story of a young woman who joins the Army Nurse Corps at twenty and within months finds herself in just about the worst that war can offer in an evac hospital in South Vietnam—as well as what she faced after coming home from the war. The full interview can also be found on the archive. In this episode, Vietnam War veteran Diane Carlson Evans, who served as a U.S. Army nurse in Vietnam and later was the driving force behind the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, discusses her intense tour of duty; her adjustment problems after she came home; the amazing story of her successful fight to have a memorial to the American women who served in the Vietnam War installed on the National Mall in our Nation’s Capital; and much more. For the full interview, visit the VVA Veteran Dispatches Archive. We thank VVA Veteran Dispatches for sharing these interviews for our Veterans Radio audience! Jim Fausone talks with Jim Cowper of the NVBDC for our monthly NVBDC Council Highlight.
July 14, 2024: Fleet Readiness & National Security
Join host Jim Fausone and our two guests for an episode on the Air Force and Navy fleet condition and effects on National Security. We hear from Heather “Lucky” Penney, former F-16 pilot and a Senior Resident Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. Penney talks about the aging air frames and needs of the Air Force. Jim also talks with VADM Kevin Green (USN, ret) about Naval fleet readiness. Our guests discuss how fleet readiness impacts National Security.
VETERANS BENEFITS – July 2024- Agent Orange, Toxic Exposure, and Camp Lejeune
Guests this week include two service nurses Brig. Gen. Carol Ann Fausone USAF (ret) – Legal Help for Veterans Lt. Col. Sandie Wilson USA (ret) – Director at Large, Vietnam Veterans of America and Chair of the VVA National Agent Orange and Toxic Exposure Committee. Topics covered in today program included: More presumptive conditions covered by the PACT ACT. Deadline for filing for benefits from Camp Lejeune-August 10th, 2024 Effects of Toxic Exposure on Veteran's Offspring And much more. The song at the end of the program is God Bless America and America the Beautiful performed by Brothers of the Heart
Ethics, Morality, and War
What are ethics? What is morality? How can one behave in a moral manner? These are among the most difficult and most interesting questions that face people of any age. What defines a “Warrior” today? We explore these important questions with our guest, Dr. Shannon E. French, (then) Assoc. Prof. Associate Chair, Department of Leadership, Ethics, and Law at the United States Naval Academy and author of The Code of the Warrior. More info on the book can be found here. About the book: Warrior cultures throughout history have developed unique codes that restrict their behavior and set them apart from the rest of society. But what possible reason could a warrior have for accepting such restraints? Why should those whose profession can force them into hellish kill-or-be-killed conditions care about such lofty concepts as honor, courage, nobility, duty, and sacrifice? And why should it matter so much to the warriors themselves that they be something more than mere murderers? The Code of the Warrior tackles these timely issues and takes the reader on a tour of warrior cultures and their values, from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Vikings and Celts, from legendary chivalric knights to Native American tribesmen, from Chinese warrior monks pursuing enlightenment to Japanese samurai practicing death. Drawing these rich traditions up to the present, the author quests for a code for the warriors of today, as they do battle in asymmetric conflicts against unconventional forces and the scourge of global terrorism.
Black Officer, White Navy by LCDR Reuben Keith Green (Ret.)
(Previously Aired on 10/13/2020) LCDR Reuben Keith Green (ret.) from Florida talks about his book "Black Officer, White Navy" (2017). It is likely the first memoir of a Black naval officer who rose from high school dropout to unrestricted line officer in the post-Vietnam War era. Reuben's unique career path/insightful analysis of personal experiences and others give a clear picture of what was happening in the service. Including how the forces of discrimination, institutional denial, and damage control efforts can make a career in the military fraught with obstacles. But there are also opportunities for well-qualified minorities of any gender, race, or ethnic origin. Reuben talks about what it was like being a minority sailor or officer between 1975 and the mid-1990s. Great opportunities and great challenges are explained and explored by LCDR Green with the host Jim Fausone.