Ghosts of Arlington Podcast

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Bob Dole continues to hold out hope that he will be made whole again until a respected doctor helps him most past dwelling on what he has lost and focus on what he still has - that is the moment Dole truly comes back form the war and moves on to a life full of love and public service. Today's Ghost of Arlington is US Army Captain Robert...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Bob Dole returns home to Kansas, but aside from actual moment of injury, it is twice in the states - once in Kansas and once in Michigan - that he comes closest to death during his long road to recovery.

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Bob Dole and his platoon are part of the larger effort of the Allies to take Hill 913 from its German defenders. Little does Dole know, that fight will just be the beginning of his struggle to survive.

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here World War II continues in Europe and the Pacific, while Bob Dole continues to train on the home front and wonders if he will ever make it overseas, like his younger brother Kenny who is an experienced combat veteran by summer 1944. When Dole gets another chance to attend OCS and become an officer, he jumps at it - and this time he gets a cla...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Bob Dole finishes the 1942-1943 school year at Kansas University and is almost immediately called up for active duty. His training timeline is changed multiple times - as does the military job he is training for - but once the Allies successfully land at Normandy on D-Day, he know that his time is coming. After being afraid that the war woul...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here The Pre-World War II history of  my 10th Mountain Division. Today's Ghosts of Arlington are: Army Technical Sergeant Torger Tokle - Lokken Veck, Norway Army Private First Class Tony Ragazinne - Sicily-Rome American Cemetery

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Since my unique military career only saw serve in one true division, and given that I was a company commander in that division AND deployed with it to Afghanistan, the 10th Mountain Division has a special place in my heart. Because of that, I have wanted to tell the story of arguably the division's most famous soldier for some time now,...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This is a replay of Episode 13, originally posted on August 30, 2021. While it was originally used as a story of establishing Arlington National Cemetery, it also fits well as the conclusion of the JFK story arc. This week’s Ghost of Arlington are, once again: President John F. Kennedy (Section 45, Grave S-45) Jacquelin Kennedy Onassis (Sect...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here The other men involved in the PT 109 lived very different lives and had many different fates. One didn't survive the war, two more failed to outlive their skipper, and the rest had lives as varied and one should expect - but they were all connected by two things, their trauma bonding about their survival epic in the waters around the So...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here After Jack's rocky years in the House, he runs for Senate and beats a guy who hasn't lost an election in years... and he does it with the endorsement of an old adversary who has become a new friend. He really settles into life as a senator and, as you probably know, he goes on to become the second youngest president in US history....

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here While the PT 109 survivors's saga comes to an end, it is not the end of the story. In this episode we learn why JFK decides to get into politics after the war - it was NOT his decision - and when his political career plateaus, we'll see the insane thing Joe, Sr. has his son do to take his political career to the next level. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here After PT 109 is ripped in two, the eleven men who miraculously survive spend the next four days looking for rescue before they die of dehydration and before the thousands of Japanese troops surrounding them become aware of their presence.  This is also why JFK will have a coconut paperweight on his desk in the oval office.

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here In the chaos following PT 109's collision with IJN  Amagiri , Jack Kennedy does everything he can to rescue his shipmates and when it becomes obvious that no one is coming to rescue them, he choses an island deep inside enemy territory and hopes it is small enough to be of no strategic value to the Japanese; but only time will tell if i...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Jack Kennedy finally takes command of a PT boat in a combat zone and begins to settle in to what turns our to be a fairly rough existence is a place that turns out to be less of a paradise than thought at first glance. His commander, not a PT man himself, comes up with a plan to attack a Japanese convoy but the plan isn't great to start...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here After graduating from Harvard, JFK isn't sure of his next steps. He knows that he needs to find a way to serve - the world is at war and everyone is sure the US will soon join the fight. With the help of his father, he follows his brother's footsteps and joins the navy, but soon both Kennedy boys realize their dad is likely pulling...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here JFK's collegiate path was never in doubt - his application essay is evidence of that - but after he begins university, his father's new senior position in the US government gives Jack a front row seat to the collapse of peace in Europe and leaves him struggling with how and why that happened. Fortunately for him, that gives him a g...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Waayyyyy back in Episode 13 (which apparently was nearly four and a half years ago even though it feels  much longer than that), I covered the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. At that time I said that I would probably get around to telling the story of how he became eligible for burial at Arlington (I'm talking about his military s...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Today's story is about a man considered the only SS officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but also a many who was a US Special Forces Officer - a Green Beret... oh, and he was actually from Finland. How did all that happen?! This week's Ghosts of Arlington are: Army Major Larry Alan Thorne, Section 60, Grave 8136 South Vie...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here During the Civil War, there were many legends surrounding young drummer boys on the battlefield. Arguably, the most famous of these was about Johnny Shiloh who gave the ultimate sacrifice on that Tennessee battlefield. The problem with this legend is that it was probably based on a young boy named John Clem, who not only didn't die in b...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Today we wrap up the sotry of Smith and Waller with a court martial for war crimes, but the man charged is probably not the one you think it will or should be. This week's Ghosts of Arlington are: Army Brigadier General Jacob Hurd Smith; Section 3, Grave 1924 Marine Corps Major General Littleton "Tony" Waller; Section 3, Grave...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Today we continue this tale of two sldiers and learn more about Marine Corps officer Littleton "Tony" Waller who rose through the ranks fighting in Africa, Cuba, and China before leading troops in The Philippines. It was Waller who tried to countermand his boss's order to kill everyone ten and older his troops came across, but...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Today we begin a tale of two soldiers - one a general, who, if he had his way would have had his troop comitted genocide up and down the island of Samar in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th Century - and the other, a lieutenant colonel who did what he could to prevent unecessary bloodshed. The introduction and transition music heard on...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here After several months off due to a cross-country move, I am FINALLY back with a new episode. While I was gone, astronaut and and Navy Captain James Lovell, Jr., the storied commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission (and veteran of three previous Gemini and Apollo missions) passed aw...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here Just a quick update on where I'm at with the move that has forced the podcast into its current hiatus.  The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music...

I'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text here This week we finally see the end of the Mayaguez Incident play out but not before a chaotic evacuation causes Marines to be abandoned on the battlefield. An incident that still causes embarrassment today. The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest...