Show Notes
Robert E. Bush is one of the youngest recipients of the Medal of Honor. At only 18, Bob found himself at the Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest and fiercest battle of World War II’s Pacific theater. But Bob wasn’t the only teenager at that battle. Both the Japanese and US military had young soldiers and medics in dangerous – and lethal – situations at the frontlines. Bob’s story is about what it means to fight when you are still so young. How it shapes the people who survive. And what their legacy is to their country and to future generations.
Special thanks to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
When a veteran needs medical treatment far from home, where does their family stay? For 15 years, Jennifer Deluca has helped answer that question through Fisher House Boston. JR Martinez sits down with the recipient of the Citizen Honors Service Act Award, selected by Medal of Honor recipients themselves, to discuss her mission, the families she's helped, and why keeping loved ones together can make all the difference. To learn more about Jen’s work at Fisher House Boston, or to make a donation to support them, visit Fisherhouseboston.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In the early hours of February 3, 1943, the USS Dorchester was hit by a German torpedo in the icy waters off Greenland. As soon as they realized there weren’t enough life jackets to go around, four Army chaplains – a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers – took off their own and gave them to terrified soldiers, urging them to save themselves. We end this season with one of the most moving stories in military history: the ultimate sacrifice of George Fox, Alexander Goode, John Washington, and Clark Poling, the immortal four chaplains. Connect with the team: Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins Email the team: [email protected] Episode resource: No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II by Dan Kurzman (Random House, 2004) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Joshua Chamberlain had never planned to be a soldier; he wanted to be a minister or a teacher. And yet, when the Civil War began, he felt it was his duty to enlist. He soon became a commander. And in Gettysburg, on a rocky hill called Little Round Top, he gave the order that helped the Union win the battle and made him a legend. But the courage Chamberlain showed in the months and years after this famous moment may be even more impressive. Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. Connect with the team! Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins Email the team: [email protected] Episode resources: On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Ronald C White (Random House, 2023) Autobiography of Joshua Chamberlain: The Major Writings edited by Thomas Desjardin (DownEast Books, 2024) Fanny & Joshua: The Enigmatic Lives of Frances Caroline Adams and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Diane Monroe Smith (University Press of New England, 2013) The War Between the Union and the Confederacy: and Its Lost Opportunities by William C. Oates (The Neale Publishing Company, 1905) Abraham Lincoln, Seen From the Field in the War for the Union by Joshua L. Chamberlain, 1909 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1968, Clarence Sasser was a young combat medic thrust into a nightmare. During a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam, his company was ambushed in a rice paddy. Despite being shot in the leg and unable to walk, Sasser spent the next several hours crawling through the mud, doing his best to care for his fellow soldiers. It would be decades before he was ready to talk about what he saw and heard. Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. Connect with the team! Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins Email the team: [email protected] Episode resource: AMEDD Center of HIstory & Heritage interview with Clarence Sasser, 3/23/1987 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever. Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription. Connect with the team! Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins Email the team: [email protected] Episode resources: “A War Hero Speaks,” published in the California Civil Defense, February 25, 1952 Medal of Honor by Peter Collier et al (Artisan Books, 2011) America’s Heroes, edited by James H Willbanks (ABC-CLIO, 2011) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.