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Episode 3157 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how Vietnam War hero MG Patrick Brady was honored in Texas. The featured story is titled: San Angelo scholarship founded to honor heroic veteran. It appeared on the GOSANANGELO website.  and was submitted by Rosanna Fraire.

Fraire reported that The San Angelo Area Foundation has launched a powerful new initiative honoring one of America’s most decorated heroes: Major General Patrick Brady, Medal of Honor recipient and legendary Vietnam War air ambulance pilot. Thanks to two anonymous $10,000 gifts, the Major General Patrick Brady Medal of Honor–Fort Chadbourne Scholarship has been established to support Concho Valley students who embody patriotism, citizenship, and service—values that defined Brady’s extraordinary life.

Brady served more than 34 years in the U.S. Army, completing over 2,500 combat missions during the Vietnam War and rescuing more than 5,000 wounded men, women, and children. His pioneering helicopter evacuation techniques set new standards for battlefield rescue and earned him recognition as one of the greatest helicopter pilots in military history. He remains the only living veteran to hold both the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross.

The new scholarship will help students pursuing trade and vocational education—an area Brady passionately champions. As he notes, real success grows from work ethic, character, and responsibility, traits he hopes this scholarship will foster in future generations.

To dive deeper into the astonishing heroics and leadership of MG Patrick Brady—and to better understand why the Vietnam Veteran Generation stands as one of the greatest in American history—listeners are encouraged to visit episode 2798 of the podcast. Brady’s story is not only a testament to courage under fire but also a reminder of the enduring strength, sacrifice, and patriotism that defined an entire generation of Vietnam Veterans. Their legacy continues to inspire, uplift, and guide the nation forward.

Listen to Episode 3157 and discover more about how Vietnam War hero MG Patrick Brady was honored in Texas.

Major General Patrick Brady, Medal of Honor Recipient-Ft Chadbourne Scholarship Fund

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Artist and Vietanm Vet Everett Carter doing his thing at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment in Huntsville.

Episode 3156 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about artist and Vietnam Vet Everett Carter. The featured story is titled: Vietnam veteran finds healing through art at Huntsville’s Lowe Mill. It appeared on FOX54 of Huntsville, Ala.  and was submitted by Jonathan Shelley and Valentina Chelala.

Shelley and Chelala reported that at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment in Huntsville, the energy of Small Business Saturday filled the historic mill, but inside Studio 117, visitors discovered more than colorful canvases — they encountered the remarkable story of Everett Carter, a Vietnam veteran whose art has become both testimony and therapy. Carter, one of the longest-standing studio owners at the mill, represents the greatness of the Vietnam Veteran Generation — a generation as noble, resilient, and selfless as any that has ever answered our nation’s call.

Carter’s artistic path began in childhood, when a neighborhood woman purchased one of his sketches for ten dollars — a moment that affirmed his talent and planted the seeds of a lifelong vocation. But that early promise was interrupted when, at 22, he was drafted into the Vietnam War. Like so many from that extraordinary generation, he set aside his dreams to serve, bearing both the visible and invisible wounds of combat. The mental toll of war lingered long after he returned home, mirroring the struggles faced by countless Vietnam veterans whose sacrifices were too often overlooked.

Art became Carter’s way back. Through vivid acrylics, landscapes, and heartfelt tributes, he channels memories of hardship, camaraderie, and survival. Each brushstroke reflects not only his personal healing but the enduring strength of the men and women who served beside him. Carter’s studio stands as a living reminder that creativity can mend what war fractures, and that the Vietnam Veteran Generation — courageous, steadfast, and profoundly human — remains one of the greatest cohorts ever to serve the United States.

Listen to Episode 3156 and discover more about artist and Vietnam Vet Everett Carter.

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Sandra van Bebber

Episode 3155 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Sandra Van Bebber, a special Vietnam Vet. The featured story is titled: Trading comfort for courage: The story of Sandra van Bebber. It appeared on WHNT of Huntsville, Ala.  and was submitted by Peyton Newman.

Newman reported that Sandra van Bebber’s story is a powerful reminder of the courage and quiet heroism shown by all who served in the Vietnam War—especially the often-overlooked women who stepped forward when their country called. Trading comfort for conviction, van Bebber volunteered without hesitation, launching herself into a life-changing journey that carried her from Denver’s snowy mountains to the war-torn landscapes of Vietnam in 1967.

A graduate of the Army-Baylor program and one of the very few physical therapists sent overseas, van Bebber found herself surrounded by young soldiers who depended on her strength more than she ever expected. Her first moments in Vietnam—walking off the plane ahead of dozens of anxious servicemen because they needed someone to follow—captured the essence of her service: steady, courageous, and selfless.

Stationed at the 85th Evacuation Hospital in Quy Nhon, she treated grievously wounded soldiers, young men whose shattered bodies and uncertain futures weighed heavily on her heart. She remembers them still—the injuries, the faces, and the parents waiting at home—carrying their stories with the reverence of someone who witnessed both the brutality of war and the resilience of the human spirit.

Now 91, van Bebber’s pride in her service remains unwavering, and through her memories shines a deep appreciation for the flag and the nation she served. Her journey honors not only her own sacrifice but the greatness of every Vietnam Veteran. Each one—man or woman—answered a call that demanded extraordinary courage, and their legacy endures in every story like hers.

Listen to Episode 3155 and discover more about Sandra Van Bebber, a special Vietnam Vet.

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Elton John

Daniel   

Episode 3154 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how Elton John honored a Vietnam Veteran with his song. The featured story is titled: Who did Elton John write ‘Daniel’ about?. It appeared in the Far Out Magazine and was submitted by Guy Howie.

Howie reported that Elton John’s brilliance shines powerfully through “Daniel,” a song whose gentle melody and veiled sorrow conceal a profound tribute to a Vietnam War veteran. Released in 1973 on Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player, the track became John’s second consecutive top-two single, further cementing his reputation not just as a pop superstar but as an artist of rare emotional sensitivity. Though the lyrics seem deliberately opaque, that ambiguity is partly due to a final verse that was cut for radio length—a decision John accepted with the grace and professionalism that helped carry the song to massive success.

The removed verse, later found in John’s archives, makes explicit that Daniel is a war hero struggling to recover from trauma. With lines such as “War sure is hell when heroes can’t rest,” the verse frames Daniel as a veteran scarred by conflict—an insight that deepens the song’s poignancy even as its absence preserves the universal feel that John’s music so often achieves. Still, lyricist Bernie Taupin has insisted that the missing lines don’t radically change the meaning; the heart of the song was always intact.

What elevates “Daniel” beyond simple storytelling is the compassion that John brings to Taupin’s inspiration: a real blind Vietnam veteran profiled in Newsweek. This young man, celebrated as a hero, wanted nothing more than to return to the quiet life he had known before the war. Through John’s tender performance and melodic restraint, the song honors not only this individual but the countless veterans who returned home bearing invisible wounds.

By channeling the veteran’s experience through the voice of a loving younger brother—a rare emotional vantage point in rock music—Elton John transforms private struggle into universal resonance. “Daniel” endures as a testament to his greatness: the ability to turn a soldier’s pain into a timeless, compassionate anthem.

Listen to Episode 3154 and discover more about how Elton John honored a Vietnam Veteran with his song.

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Andy Pham

Episode 3153 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature an interview conducted by Andy Pham about the new book McNamara at War with the authors. The book was written by William Taubman and Philip Taubman. It is a revelatory portrait of Robert S. McNamara, informed by newly discovered diaries, letters, and interviews with those closest to him.

Marc Selverstone is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor, Director of Presidential Studies, and co-chair of the Presidential Recordings Program at the University of Virginia Miller Center of Public Affairs. He is the author of The Kennedy Withdrawal: Camelot and the American Commitment to Vietnam (Harvard, 2022), general editor of The Presidential Recordings Digital Edition (Virginia, 2010–), and co-editor of the Miller Center “Studies on the Presidency” series with the University of Virginia Press.

. A historian of the Cold War, he is the author of Constructing the Monolith: The United States, Great Britain, and International Communism, 1945-1950 (Harvard), which won the Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.

William Taubman is the Bertrand Snell Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Amherst College. His book, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of McNamara at War: A New History and Gorbachev: His Life and Times. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

His brother Philip Taubman, a former New York Times Washington Bureau Chief, is affiliated with Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. He is the author of In the Nation’s Service: The Life and Times of George P. Shultz

Robert S. McNamara was widely considered to be one of the most brilliant men of his generation. He was an invaluable ally of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson as U.S. secretary of defense, and he had a deeply moving relationship with Jackie Kennedy. But to the country, McNamara was the leading advocate for American escalation in Vietnam. He strongly advised Johnson to deploy hundreds of thousands of American ground troops, just weeks before concluding that the war was unwinnable, and for the next two and a half years, McNamara failed to urge Johnson to cut his losses and withdraw.

McNamara at War has been added to the recommended reading list of this podcast. You are encouraged to take advantage of the purchase link below where the book can be purchased online or by phone.

Listen to Episode 3153 and discover more about the new book McNamara at War from the authors.

Recommended Reading

Buy Now Online or by phone

800-233-4830

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Vietnam War veteran Mahlon Wood lives with his family in Lamoine

Episode 3152 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how Navy Vietnam Vet Mahlon Wood preserved his memories of the Vietnam War. The featured story is titled Vietnam veteran in Lamoine restores news story nearly five decades later. It appeared on WABI of Bangor, Maine. It was submitted by Colin Gallagher.

Galagher reported that Vietnam War veteran Mahlon Wood of Lamoine has uncovered a remarkable piece of personal and national history—footage of himself filmed during a 1970 CBS News report in Saigon. For decades, the silent 16-millimeter reel sat tucked away in drawers and boxes as Wood, like so many Vietnam veterans, tried to move past a painful homecoming marked by misunderstanding and mistreatment. His daughter, Shannon Byers, explains that although the family had the film digitized years ago, they never had the accompanying audio, which had been recorded separately. What they could see but never hear remained an emotional reminder of an era overshadowed by silence.

That changed last spring, when an old tape surfaced in Wood’s office closet. After careful remastering, the long-lost audio was reunited with the footage. At last, the complete broadcast emerged—an exchange ceremony in which U.S. Navy river patrol boats were handed over to Vietnamese forces, with Wood himself answering questions on camera for reporter Ed Rabel.

For Wood and his family, the restored broadcast brings long-awaited clarity, pride, and healing. More importantly, it shines a light on the courage, dignity, and enduring strength of all Vietnam veterans. These men and women served with honor in a war that divided a nation, and too often returned home without the welcome or respect they deserved. Wood hopes that sharing this rediscovered history will not only provide closure for his family but also help other veterans feel seen, valued, and understood. His story stands as a powerful reminder of the greatness of every Vietnam veteran and the importance of finally giving them the recognition they earned.

Listen to Episode 3152 and discover more about how Navy Vietnam Vet Mahlon Wood preserved his memories of the Vietnam War.

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Lois Gay [Courtesy Photo]

Episode 3151 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Vietnam Vet Lois Gay who served in the Air Force as both a nurse and a pilot. The featured story is titled A flight nurse remembers the Vietnam War. It appeared in the Fairfax County Times website. It was submitted by Kristin Johnson / Farifax County Times.

Johnson reported that Lois Gay’s story offers a powerful window into the courage, skill, and unwavering commitment of Air Force Vietnam Veterans—men and women whose service often unfolded far from the spotlight but was indispensable to saving lives. Gay entered the Air Force in 1966 hoping to work in pediatrics, and her first assignment at Maxwell Air Force Base allowed her to fulfill that wish while forming friendships that lasted a lifetime. After flight school, she deployed to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, beginning a remarkable two-year mission that highlighted the extraordinary professionalism of Air Force medical evacuation teams.

As a flight nurse with the 6485th, Gay logged more than 1,000 flight hours while shuttling wounded service members—including U.S. Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Korean troops, and even Vietnamese POWs—through a network of bases spanning Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines. Operating from rugged four-engine propeller aircraft, Gay’s team could reach locations off-limits to larger planes, demonstrating the adaptability and resolve that defined Air Force crews in the Vietnam era. Despite clearly marked Red Cross symbols, their aircraft still came under occasional fire, a reminder that medical personnel faced real danger while carrying out their lifesaving missions.

Gay’s stories show the ingenuity and compassion that Air Force veterans brought to the war. Whether improvising feeding tools from tongue blades or comforting devastated patients, she and her fellow Air Force personnel embodied resourcefulness under pressure. After returning to the United States, Gay served two more years, began a family, and remained deeply connected to her Air Force roots through the Society of Air Force Nurses. Her participation in memorial tributes and the Women’s Memorial dedication speaks to her enduring pride—pride shared by all who recognize the greatness of Air Force Vietnam Veterans, whose service, sacrifice, and humanity continue to inspire.

Listen to Episode 3151 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Lois Gay who served in the Air Force as both a nurse and a pilot.

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Cherokee Nation At-Large Tribal Councilor Johnny Jack Kidwell addresses a crowd of veterans and their families Nov. 12 at the tribe’s first Veterans Summit held in Roland, Oklahoma. Kidwell served 20 years in the U.S. Coast Guard.
CHAD HUNTER/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

Episode 3150 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how the Cherokee Nation honored its Veterans. The featured story is titled Cherokee Nation hosts first Veterans Summit in Roland. It appeared on the Cherokee-Phoenix website. It was submitted by CHAD HUNTER Senior Reporter.

Hunter reported that The Cherokee Nation held its first-ever Veterans Summit on Nov. 12 in Roland, Oklahoma, bringing together dozens of Cherokee veterans to honor their service and reaffirm the deep military tradition of Native Americans. Former U.S. Army military police officer Billy Bryant, who usually avoids public events due to anxiety and depression, said he felt compelled to attend because only fellow veterans truly understand the experiences they share. Among the attendees was 82-year-old Marine Corps veteran Jamie Cochran of Tahlequah, who served two years in Vietnam before the draft era, proudly volunteering for duty.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. delivered the keynote address, stressing that the summit—and a second event planned for Nov. 19 in Vinita—reflects the tribe’s commitment to engaging and supporting its veterans. He reminded attendees that Cherokee service members, like other Native Americans, have long defended the United States, forming what he described as an “unbroken chain of service” dating back to the Civil War. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Native Americans serve in the armed forces at a higher rate per capita than any other ethnic group, a testament to their enduring patriotism and dedication to the nation’s founding principles.

The summit offered veterans a meal, music, door prizes, and direct access to Cherokee Nation services. It also highlighted ongoing tribal programs such as the Cherokee Medal of Patriotism and Warrior Flights to Washington, D.C. For many like Bryant, participation was both healing and a reminder of the pride Native veterans carry for defending their country.

Listen to Episode 3150 and discover more about how the Cherokee Nation honored its Veterans.

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Photo credit: Military.com / Daniel L. Hernandez

Episode 3148 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about the bravery of Marine Vietnam Vet Danny Hernandez. The featured story is titled Forgotten Vietnam Marine’s Daring Rescue: The Fight for His Overdue Medal of Honor. It appeared on the Military.Com website. It was submitted by Robert Billard.

Billard reported that Operation UTAH in March 1966 stands as one of the earliest and fiercest clashes between U.S. Marines and a regimental-sized North Vietnamese Army force. In the chaos of Quảng Ngãi Province, 19-year-old PFC Danny Hernandez of M Company, 3/1 Marines exemplified the extraordinary courage that has come to define the Vietnam Veteran Generation—an often under-recognized cohort whose grit, sacrifice, and unbreakable loyalty remain among the greatest in American military history.

Having already lost 17 Marines from his company in a single day, Hernandez repeatedly risked his life to save others. Under relentless fire, he sprinted across open terrain to rescue PFC Joel Rodriguez, taking a bullet in the back but refusing evacuation. Moments later, seeing wounded Marines targeted by advancing NVA soldiers, he again charged forward, drawing fire onto himself and killing the enemy in a furious exchange. Shot once more—this time in the head—he continued fighting until he collapsed and was eventually evacuated. After recovery, he returned to Vietnam to rejoin his unit, embodying the indomitable spirit shared by so many of his generation.

Despite such heroism, Hernandez’s Silver Star paperwork was lost for decades. Not until 2009—43 years later—was he formally recognized. Yet those who served alongside him believed his valor merited even higher distinction. Led by the late Hubert Yoshida, a dedicated committee undertook the exhaustive effort to upgrade his Silver Star to the Congressional Medal of Honor. Yoshida, even while battling cancer, pursued the mission with unwavering devotion, determined to see Hernandez’s actions honored at the level they deserved.

Today, the committee to upgrade Sgt. Danny Hernandez continues that fight. For Hernandez, the recognition would stand not for himself alone but for Mike Company, for Operation UTAH, and for the enduring greatness of the Vietnam Veteran Generation.

Listen to Episode 3149 and discover more about the bravery of Marine Vietnam Vet Danny Hernandez.

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Veterans Day – Weatherford, Texas

Episode 3148 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about how they celebrated Veterans Day at Weatherford, Texas in 2025. The featured story was titled A Saturday to Remember – Inaugural Veterans Day event brings community together. It appeared in the Community News of Weatherford, Texas. It was submitted by Melissa Winn.

Winn reported that the Weatherford community turned South Main Street into a sea of flags, cheers, and gratitude on Nov. 8 as the American Legion’s annual Veterans Day parade marched proudly toward the Parker County Courthouse and back. But the celebration didn’t end there. Immediately afterward, the newly formed Weatherford Chamber Veterans Business Council launched its inaugural event around the Square and down York Avenue, creating a spirited extension of appreciation for those who served.

Mayor Paul Paschall set the tone by reading a proclamation officially recognizing Nov. 11 as Veterans Day, reminding the crowd that supporting veterans is a year-round responsibility. Local students lifted their voices in honor of the Armed Forces, vendor booths lined the streets, and the Weatherford Police Department’s K-9 unit drew eager spectators. The day showcased a community deeply committed to the men and women who defended the nation.

A central focus of the event was raising funds for the National Vietnam War Museum in Mineral Wells. Several of the museum’s military vehicles were on display, symbolizing the enduring legacy of the Vietnam Veteran generation—a generation defined by resilience, sacrifice, and unwavering service despite returning home to a divided nation. Event organizers expressed pride in the turnout, noting that proceeds would support the museum’s mission to preserve and honor this remarkable generation.

Listen to Episode 3148 and discover more about how they celebrated Veterans Day at Weatherford, Texas in 2025.