Our American Stories

On this episode of Our American Stories, Karl Marlantes, a Vietnam War veteran and the award-winning author of  Matterhorn  and  What It Is Like to Go to War , received the Navy Cross after leading an assault during a brutal battle in Vietnam. Long after the fighting ended, he found himself thinking less about the medal and more about the young Marines who fought alongside him. Marl...

On this episode of Our American Stories, The  USS Indianapolis  left Guam in July 1945 after delivering critical cargo connected to the Manhattan Project. But before she could make it to her next destination, a Japanese submarine would strike the cruiser, leaving hundreds of sailors and Marines sinking in shark infested waters. While the story gained popularity from  Jaws , the deta...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Arlington National Cemetery is the nation’s most iconic military burial ground, but its origins are more surprising than many Americans realize. Elliott Drago of the  Jack Miller Center  shares the little-known story behind the founding of Arlington Cemetery, from its roots on the former estate of Robert E. Lee and the Custis family to its t...

On this episode of Our American Stories, as a boy growing up in Ogden, Utah, John Moses Browning worked beside his father in a small gunsmith shop along the pioneer trails of the American West. Decades later, the rifles, pistols, and machine guns he designed would appear in the hands of soldiers around the world. From the legendary M1911 pistol to the weapons carried by American troops during two...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in a world that moved a little slower, one little girl found her freedom on four wheels. Joy Neal Kidney, author of  Leora's Dexter Stories  and a regular contributor to  Our American Stories , takes us back to her childhood home just outside Dexter, Iowa, where a pair of roller skates and an open farmhouse created memories that stayed with h...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time Teri Neal became pregnant at sixteen, she had already dropped out of school and fallen deep into drug culture. She had grown up watching addiction consume nearly everyone around her and expected her own life would end the same way. Then her son gave her a reason to believe something else was possible. Teri shares the remarkable story of her life...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for decades after the founding of the United States, the presidency remained in the hands of polished Virginia statesmen and political insiders. Then came Andrew Jackson, a frontier fighter who built his reputation at the Battle of New Orleans and carried his popularity straight into the election of 1828. To his supporters, Jackson represented the “co...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Peter Braxton’s first day as a military pilot began in the skies above September 11 attacks on 9/11. But that was just one of several first jobs that helped shape his life. From high-stakes military missions to everyday roles in civilian life, Braxton reflects on the early experiences that defined who he became and the lessons he carried with him alon...

On this episode of Our American Stories, at an age when most kids were still in school, John Clem was marching into battle. He joined the Union Army as a drummer boy at just 12 and quickly became a symbol of bravery. Wounded at Chickamauga and promoted on the field, he was known across the country as “Johnny Clem.” Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of  John Lincoln Clem: Civil...

On this episode of Our American Stories,  Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, during World War II, thousands of young Americans volunteered to fly dangerous bombing missions over Europe in the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, one of the most heavily produced aircraft of the war. Many of the men climbing into those freezing aluminum bombers were barely out of high school and had never traveled far from home before joining the United State...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for years, Lex Ginger was told pregnancy might never happen because of PCOS and a blood-clotting disorder that made miscarriage far more likely. Then, after becoming pregnant, doctors discovered she was carrying mono-mono twins, a rare and dangerous condition in which identical twins share the same sac and placenta. Some warned the babies had only a 50 perc...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Tom Lyons and Lillian Lyons married in 1946 and spent a lifetime together on the South Side of Chicago. Lillian’s opera career began before their marriage, and it was her voice that first captured Tom’s heart. Through decades of family life, music remained at the center of their love. When Lillian died, Tom thought he would never hear her sing a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Wild Bill Hickok. Doc Holliday. Billy the Kid. None of them ever matched Bob Munden’s speed. Known around the world as the fastest gun who ever lived, Munden could draw, fire, and hit a target before anyone else had even cleared leather. Our own Greg Hengler, along with the late Bob Munden himself, shares the story. Support the show ( https://www.oura...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Traci Huguley was still a child when she learned she had been adopted. Years later, she discovered that two younger sisters had also been placed with other families. For decades, she carried their birthdays in her mind and quietly searched for them everywhere she went. Then, in 2018, an Ancestry DNA test connected her with a half-sister who had spent years...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by 1967, Johnny Cash had become one of the biggest names in country music, though his addiction to amphetamines had pushed him into a vicious cycle of hospital visits and arrests. After days without sleep and hundreds of pills, Cash wandered into Nickajack Cave believing he would never come back out. But inside that dark cavern, Cash found God and began a l...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before World War II, factory work remained largely closed off to American women. That changed after the attack on Attack on Pearl Harbor, when millions of men shipped overseas to fight and wartime production created an urgent need for workers in America’s factories and shipyards. Millions of women stepped into industrial jobs across the country, and &...

On this episode of Our American Stories, by the time the Jazz Age arrived in the 1920s, Louis Armstrong had already begun transforming American music. Raised in New Orleans and shaped by the streets, dance halls, and neighborhoods surrounding Storyville, Armstrong developed a revolutionary jazz sound that audiences had never heard before. His trumpet playing, gravelly voice, and improvisational st...

On this episode of Our American Stories, home cooking relied on instinct and improvisation until Fannie Farmer. With the release of  The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book , she introduced standardized measurements that revolutionized American kitchens. Her push for precision brought consistency to everyday meals and gave home cooks the confidence to follow reliable, repeatable recipes. Our own...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Taco Bell became one of America’s biggest fast-food chains, founder Glen Bell was searching for a way to stand out in Southern California’s crowded burger market. While running a hamburger stand in San Bernardino, Bell noticed long lines forming outside Mitla Cafe across the street and became fascinated by the tacos the restaurant was ser...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before she became First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a lifelong New Yorker who deeply believed America’s historic landmarks were worth saving. So when developers threatened to demolish Grand Central Terminal in the 1970s, much like they had already destroyed the original Penn Station, Jackie stepped into the fight to preserve one of New York C...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before modern televangelists, Aimee Semple McPherson used radio, stage productions, and Hollywood-style spectacle to bring Christianity to mass audiences across America. After arriving in Los Angeles during the 1920s, McPherson built Angelus Temple into one of the country’s first megachurches, drawing thousands each week with illustrated sermons, live...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before Mars became one of the most powerful private companies in America, it was a struggling family candy shop. Frank Mars had failed time and time again before his son, Forrest, stepped in with a bold vision and zero interest in playing by industry rules. With names like M&M’s, Snickers, and Pedigree under its belt, Mars would go on to quietly o...

On this episode of Our American Stories, former Duncan Scott quickly learned that an “educated monkey” could have occupied his New Mexico Senate seat with little effect on the direction of state politics. So instead of writing another bill destined to die in committee, Scott decided to make his point another way. The result was the infamous “Pointy Hat Amendment,” one of th...

On this episode of Our American Stories, sports betting has existed since the days of the Roman Colosseum, but for most Americans, legal sports gambling was largely confined to Las Vegas casinos. That changed in 2018 when, at the urging of New Jersey, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, clearing the way for legalized sports betting across the c...