Honor. Thank. Inspire. An Honor Flight Chicago Podcast

Episode 66: The 2 Sides Project

On December 7, 1966, Air Force Captain John W. Carlson was shot down near Bien Hoa. To this day, he remains listed as Missing in Action. He left behind a wife and two young daughters, Margot and Kim, who struggled to grasp the depth of their loss. While they continue to search for his final resting place, Margot also founded the 2 Sides Project, which unites children whose fathers died fighting each other to bring about understanding and lasting healing. This is their story.

Episode 65: Donald Talbot's Fight to Live in Vietnam

As a teenager in Vietnam, Donald Talbot was involved in a firefight so intense that many of his fellow Marines were killed. Himself badly wounded, Talbot emerged from unconsciousness with the realization that his hands were being bound together. He quickly understood that to stay alive he would have to play dead -- and that was just the beginning of his fight for survival.

Episode 64: A Son's Career of Service Honors His Father

Russel McClintock served over three decades in the Navy, beginning during the Vietnam War and continuing through and beyond the first Gulf War. That service was -- in part -- meant to honor the father whose name he shares. Russel McClintock, Sr., was a B-26 gunner in WWII when his plane was shot down over Italy, leading to his capture and eventual incarceration in the infamous Stalag 17B. When Russel the son traveled on HFC112 last year, he did so to honor both McClintocks.

Episode 63: William Fireside, Korean War Psychological Warrior

Long after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, American service members were still fighting on the peninsula -- though their weapon of choice was not a firearm or a mortar but the power of the pen. William Fireside's mission in Korea was Psychological Operations (PsyOps for short), and the adventures he had in the execution of that mission make for an entertaining episode.

Episode 62: Cold War Spy John Lee

John Lee's Air Force basic training testing in 1955 revealed a hidden skill: an aptitude for foreign languages. His first assignment was a yearlong intensive study of Russian at Syracuse University. He then took those skills -- and a top-secret clearance -- to the border with East Germany where he and others listened in on Soviet pilots flying overhead.

Episode 61: Duane Buttell and the MiG-21 Victory

On July 14, 1966, Duane Buttell, Jr., was the "Guy in Back" of an F-4 fighter escorting F-105s to a target over North Vietnam. Suddenly, several enemy MiG-21s appeared. Buttell and his co-pilot, William Swendner, shot down the MiG in one of the first victories over that aircraft during the Vietnam War. The aerial battle made such an impact that Hanoi Hannah mentioned Duane by name on a subsequent broadcast.

Episode 60: Vietnam Veteran Jim Davidson, A Survivor

Army Sergeant Jim Davidson arrived in Vietnam in March of 1968 with the intensity of the Tet Offensive still at a fever pitch. Jim stepped into the 101st Airborne as a replacement troop and soon found out why that unit's casualty rate was so high. Jim was wounded three times, the last time by a booby-trapped grenade that left him hospitalized for weeks. Instead of going home, however, Jim was sent back to the fighting for a fourth time. Every day for 54 years since coming home, Jim was wondered why he survived when so many of his friends did not.

Episode 59: Tomb Guard Joe Varanauski and the Standard of Perfection

From late 1956 through the summer of 1957, Army veteran Joseph Varanauski held the esteemed position of Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Listen in as Joe details his journey to one of the most prestigious posts in the U.S. Armed Services and reveals what it means to live by the creed "my standard will remain perfection."

Episode 58: Every Hero Has a Story

Honor Flight Chicago has now flown over 10,600 senior war veterans to Washington, D.C., to celebrate their service and give them the proper Welcome Home they never received. That number is big -- possibly impenetrable -- but each one of those heroes has a story. Join Paul Meincke on September's HFC111 as he learns the stories of eight different heroes and the impact their HFC experience has had on them.

Episode 57: David Mann, Vietnam War Gold Star Son

David Mann's father was in Vietnam for only a short time when he was killed in a rocket attack months before his namesake son would be born stateside. The younger Mann has spent his life getting to know his dad, recently becoming involved with a group of Gold Star children called Sons and Daughters in Touch. David flew with us on HFC111 to honor his father's legacy and brethren, and share his own experience in this powerful episode.