Mid America Veterans Museum

Lt. Colonel Steve Brown, Vietnam Veteran, Pilot

Lt. Colonel Steve Brown served in the Air Force from 1968-1991, twenty-three years as a pilot.  Steve had a very distinguished career in the Air Force. As a new pilot he paid his dues flying a Caribou carrying everything from ammunition, supplies, troops to livestock in Vietnam.  He graduated to B-52’s flying bombing missions during Operation Linebacker II.  Negotiations for peace talks had bogged down, President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi.  Operation Linebacker II was important because it forced the communists back into serious peace negotiations.  After Vietnam, as the cold war intensified, Steve sat on the tarmac on alert in the cockpit of his B-52 armed with nuclear weapons.  From B-52’s Steve joined a very elite group of pilots flying the U2 reconnaissance plane.  Dressed in a astronaut suit, armed only with a camera, Steve would fly over cold war hotspots shooting pictures.

Join Us Next Week On The Dog Tag Podcast From The St. Charles County Veterans Museum

Join us next week on The Dog Tag Podcast from The St. Charles County Veterans Museum as we host in studio Lt. Colonel Steve Brown, Vietnam Veteran, Pilot. Steve served in the Air Force from 1968-1991, twenty-three years as a pilot.  Steve had a very distinguished career in the Air Force. As a new pilot he paid his dues flying a Caribou in Vietnam.  He graduated to B-52’s flying bombing missions during Operation Linebacker II.  After negotiations for peace talks bogged down, President Nixon ordered the bombing of Hanoi.  Operation Linebacker II was important because it forced the communists back into serious peace negotiations.  From B-52’s Steve joined a very elite group of pilots flying the U2 reconnaissance plane.  Armed with only a camera, Steve would fly over cold war hotspots shooting pictures.  It's a story, you won't want to miss.    

Jim David - The Veterans Assistance Office in St. Charles County

Today's podcast features Jim David from the Veterans Assistance Office in St. Charles County. The office is located in O'Fallon City Hall and is staffed by volunteers Mon-Thur 9-4. The volunteers are ready to assist you with your Veterans Assistance needs. Jim outlines what assistance the office can provide and how to utilize them. He shares how the office came together in St. Charles County and how the office works with the veteran/veteran family navigating the various veteran assistance resources or departments within the VA or branch departments.  He shares past stories on how the Veterans Assistance Office has helped Veteran/veteran families with issues they are facing. He discusses the training the volunteers receive and how they work with the local Veterans Service Officer. The Veterans Assistance Office is always looking for volunteers to assist our veteran community. 

Women Also Serve; A discussion with museum curator Marcia Higgins

Women have been serving in the military in one form or another for more than 200 years.  They have had to overcome decades of obstacles in order to be allowed to serve their country, and are now deployed in ever-increasing numbers, in combat roles and in leadership positions all around the world.  Today women make up 16% of the military and nearly 10% of veterans are women.  The SCCVM showcases the artifacts, uniforms, photos, and especially the stories, of numerous brave women from World War Two thru the present day. Our guest next week this week is the museum curator Marcia Higgins who will discuss highlights of the items on exhibit in the museum and tell stories about these women of valor. 

Matthew W. Sims - U.S. Army Combat Medic and Triple Purple Heart Recipient

Combat medics play a unique role in today’s modern military. Not only must they be experts in battlefield medicine, but they must also remain proficient in combat tactical skills. They frequently witness injuries and death and are often exposed to personal threat of trauma. Medics run towards the danger to render aid to those injured while exposing themselves to enemy fire. While under attack, medics must fight alongside their fellow soldiers. Combat medics and corpsman felt the best way to serve and save lives was alongside the troops.
While they can easily rationalize, they cannot save everyone, it causes high levels of stress. Because of this double-duty role, combat medics often face stressors that other military specialties do not. Military medics are at high risk for burnout, compassion fatigue, combat stress, and medic PTSD.
Tonight’s guest is Master Sergeant Retired, Matthew Sims. Matt served our country and his unit as a combat medic. In 2005, during his deployment to Iraq, Matt regularly placed himself in harm’s way. Matt was awarded three Purple Hearts. Though retired, Matt continues to serve today.

Unsung Heroes, The Merchant Marine Sailors of World War II

The United States entered World War II when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. But American Merchant Marine sailors were dying months before America entered the war!  During the war, 733 American cargo ships were lost.  There were 243,000 mariners that served and 9,521 perished while serving.  Roughly four percent of those who served were killed.  This was a higher casualty rate than that of any of the American military branches during World War II.  Merchant mariners were the lifeline for our fighting troops supplying virtually everything our armies needed. 
When they enlisted, they were promised all the benefits of the other military branches. The reality was that mariners received no government benefits, paid income taxes, and earned money only when their ships were at sea. If their ships were torpedoed, they stopped getting paid the moment when they hit the water!  They were off the clock when swimming for their lives. And when they returned to civilian status, they were withheld a lifetime of military benefits including health care, money for college and low-interest loans.  Merchant marine seamen possessed an unusual variety of courage and gave their lives for their country as valiantly as those in the armed forces did without benefits.
The Merchant Marine was our unsung heroes!  This is the story of Charles Hoffman who served in the Merchant Marine from 1943-1945. 

Angela Peacock -Medicating Normal

Angela Peacock joined the Army immediately after high school in 1998. Angie was strong, tough and a born leader. She was ready, willing, and able to do anything a man could do. After a stint in Korea where she was assaulted, Angie was deployed to Iraq in May 2003. She began driving supply convoys in an area known as the Triangle of Death. The routes in the Triangle were very dangerous and solders got killed there all the time. They said, No woman in combat?No front lines for women? Baghdad was the front lines!

”The Forgotten War” - Korea, The Battle of the Chosin Reservoir

The Korean War was fought from 1950 until 1953 and pitted the United States, South Korea, and their U.N. allies against North Korea and the Chinese Communists. The invading North Korean troops were able to capture Seoul within three days-the first of four times that city would exchange hands-and quickly pushed their opponets back to the so called Pusan Perimeter in the extreme southeastern portion of the peninsula. The tide turned that September due to a surprise amphibious landing that General MacArthur executed behind enemy lines at Inchon, the port for Seoul. When U.N. troops then pushed deep into North Korea, rumors began to swirl that they would be home by Christmas. 
When China entered the war in October on the side of North Korea, American troops began the longest retreat in U.S. military history. The U.S. troops were never able to recover. The Korean War was one of the deadliest wars in modern history with nearly 40,000 U.S. soldiers killed and another 100,000 were wounded.
Tonight our guests are Terry C. Bryant the State Korean War Association Commander and United States Marine Veteran Harry Hope who was at the Chosin Reservoir.

Gateway Blue Star Mothers

Nearly 200,000 U.S. Troops are deployed around the world, many in harm’s way. For every troop deployed, there are multiple family members including mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers and foster mothers trying their best to support and comfort the troops. Blue Star Mothers concentrate on providing emotional support to its members. Even when we are not at war, military families often deal with stresses such as frequent moves or the absence of a parent. Deployment to war creates additional issues for a family to handle. A Blue Star Mother knows, “the hardest battles” are often fought on the home front and are emotional, and much harder to win. And any parent will tell you, there are no safe places to be deployed. 
Our guests today are Kathy Schulte and Tracy Lee, the local Blue Star President. Tracy and Kathy know first-hand what emotions and stress our troops and their families experience while serving.

“Missing Names on the Wall” Story of the U.S.S. Frankie Evans - Joe Mulitsch

On 2-JUN 1969 the Navy destroyer U.S.S Frank E. Evans was cruising through the calm, moonlit waters of the South China Sea.  Just days before, the Evans was on the gun line, throwing countless shells at targets in South Vietnam supporting ground troops.  The Evans had just earned its second Vietnam Service Medal for combat operations in 1969. 
On this night, the Frank E. Evans joined forces with SEATO naval forces to conduct war games and a show of force in the South China Sea.  It is normal practice to run dark and zigzag during war games.  Sailors are highly trained for these types of maneuvers. 
During the mid-watch, at 0315 hours, the Australian aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne a much larger ship collided, with the Evans.  The smaller, Frank E. Evans was literally cut in half.  The bow section of the ship would sink beneath the waves in ten minutes. 
This is the story of the collision as told by a survivor.  Joe Mulitsch was a fireman, and the Evans was his first ship.  Joe escaped, but 74 of his shipmates, perished that night 53 years ago.