The Warrior Next Door Podcast

Join us as Sammy L. Davis shares his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam who would earn the Medal of Honor for his actions as a cannoneer during Operation Cudgel on November 18th, 1967.  His accounts are captured vividly in his book "You Don't Lose 'Til You Quit Trying: Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient" Support the show

Join us as Sammy L. Davis shares his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam who would earn the Medal of Honor for his actions as a cannoneer during Operation Cudgel on November 18th, 1967.  His accounts are captured vividly in his book "You Don't Lose 'Til You Quit Trying: Lessons on Adversity and Victory from a Vietnam Veteran and Medal of Honor Recipient" Support the show

Welcome to the final episode of the Jack Hamlin series. In this episode Jack describes his participation in the rescue of survivors from the sinking of the SS Leopoldville on Dec 24, 1944 which was stricken by a German sub. Then 2 nights later the same sub sank the HMS Capel where he also mustered for that rescue. Support the show

Welcome to Episode 3 of the Jack Hamlin series. In this episode Jack describes the aftermath of the DDAY invasion as well as some post DDAY action he participated in from his Cutter #23. Support the show

Welcome to Episode 2. In this episode Jack describes his training in England and the action he saw on DDAY off Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944 Support the show

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Jack Hamlin series: the story of a young man from Springfield, Missouri who would serve as a rescue swimmer aboard USCG Cutter #23 just off Omaha Beach on DDAY. In this episode, we meet Jack as he tells us the  circumstances that led to his enlistment in the US Coast Guard during WWII. Support the show

Hello Everybody! We have been promising an episode about interviewing veterans for a while now. In fact we have had a few listeners request (remind) us that we promised this! Well here it is! In this entertaining episode we cover everything you will need to get started interviewing a veterans or someone interesting in your life.  If you do a veteran interview, let us know how it goes. Maybe we wil...

Steve Bichler served with a military transition team (MiTTs) during the last year of US occupation as a communications officer in the US Air Force.  During this time, Steve worked closely with Iraqi government officials and, by extension, interpreters from Iraq who signed up to help with the transition. One of these interpreters was Azeez "Simon" Alrifaie, who was featured in an earlier...

Steve Bichler served with a military transition team (MiTTs) during the last year of US occupation as a communications officer in the US Air Force.  During this time, Steve worked closely with Iraqi government officials and, by extension, interpreters from Iraq who signed up to help with the transition. One of these interpreters was Azeez "Simon" Alrifaie, who was featured in an earlier...

Steve Bichler served with a military transition team (MiTTs) during the last year of US occupation as a communications officer in the US Air Force.  During this time, Steve worked closely with Iraqi government officials and, by extension, interpreters from Iraq who signed up to help with the transition. One of these interpreters was Azeez "Simon" Alrifaie, who was featured in an earlier...

Steve Bichler served with a military transition team (MiTTs) during the last year of US occupation as a communications officer in the US Air Force.  During this time, Steve worked closely with Iraqi government officials and, by extension, interpreters from Iraq who signed up to help with the transition. One of these interpreters was Azeez "Simon" Alrifaie, who was featured in an earlier...

This series features an interview TWND conducted with Lucky Luckadoo, a B-17 co-pilot in the 100th BG, along with the author of his biography, Kevin Maurer, titled "Damn Lucky". This interview took place while Masters of the Air was being broadcast on Apple TV where Lucky was featured in the coda to Masters of the Air: The Bloody Hundredth, narrated by Tom Hanks.  Listen in as Lucky, who...

This series features an interview TWND conducted with Lucky Luckadoo, a B-17 co-pilot in the 100th BG, along with the author of his biography, Kevin Maurer, titled "Damn Lucky". This interview took place while Masters of the Air was being broadcast on Apple TV where Lucky was featured in the coda to Masters of the Air: The Bloody Hundredth, narrated by Tom Hanks.  Listen in as Lucky, who...

This series features an interview TWND conducted with Lucky Luckadoo, a B-17 co-pilot in the 100th BG, along with the author of his biography, Kevin Maurer, titled "Damn Lucky". This interview took place while Masters of the Air was being broadcast on Apple TV where Lucky was featured in the coda to Masters of the Air: The Bloody Hundredth, narrated by Tom Hanks.  Listen in as Lucky, who...

Welcome to Episode 3, the final episode of the George Menkoff series: the story of a B-17 bomb ordnance officer stationed in Great Ashfield England as part of the 385th BG during WWII. We rejoin him in this episode as he tells us about the danger of arming the bombs mid-flight as well as the ever present danger of mid air collisions.  Support the show

Welcome to Episode 2 of the 3 part George Menkoff series: the story of a B-17 bomb ordnance officer stationed in Great Ashfield England as part of the 385th BG during WWII.  In this episode we follow him to Great Ashfield England where he describes the daily routine of loading the bombs and ammunition on his B-17’s sometimes several times per day. Support the show

Welcome to the George Menkoff series: the story of a B-17 Bomb Ordinance officer of the 385th BG stationed in Great Ashfield England during WWII. In episode 1 we meet George Menkoff as he enters military service and trains as an ordnance officer literally all over the US. We also meet his son David Menkoff who is our guest co-host for the series.  Support the show

TWND is honored to have the granddaughter of Leo Westerholm, Sarah Westerholm, as a guest on our podcast!  For those new to our show, Leo was featured on TWND podcast in 2023. He was an 101st Airborne trooper who was captured on D-Day and suffered terribly in the POW camps. Sarah's google search to learn more about her grandfather brought her to our website, thewarriornextdoor.com where she w...

This series features clips from an interview we conducted with author Donald L. Miller. His book, Masters of the Air, has been made into a mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and is being aired on Apple TV. This interview was conducted on Jan 17th, 2024, just a week before the series premiered! It covers a host of topics including his use of oral histories in his books, why he b...

This series features clips from an interview we conducted with author Donald L. Miller. His book, Masters of the Air, has been made into a mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and is being aired on Apple TV. This interview was conducted on Jan 17th, 2024, just a week before the series premiered! It covers a host of topics including his use of oral histories in his books, why he b...

This series features clips from an interview we conducted with author Donald L. Miller. His book, Masters of the Air, has been made into a mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and is being aired on Apple TV. This interview was conducted on Jan 17th, 2024, just a week before the series premiered! It covers a host of topics including his use of oral histories in his books, why he b...

This series features clips from an interview we conducted with author Donald L. Miller. His book, Masters of the Air, has been made into a mini-series produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks and is being aired on Apple TV. This interview was conducted on Jan 17th, 2024, just a week before the series premiered! It covers a host of topics including his use of oral histories in his books, why he b...

In this fourth and final installment, Azeez reflects on the chaos he and the Iraqi people faced when the US Forces pulled out of Iraq and whether is was worth it. He also details the two years of purgatory (and danger!) he endured in Iraq as he waited to get his green card, to becoming a US citizen.  Support the show

Azeez served as an Iraqi interpreter during Operation Iraqi Freedom during the "Surge" as sectarian strife erupted during the US occupation of Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the Baath party. In Episode 3, you'll hear what it was like for Azeez to be imbedded as an interpreter with a MiTT (e.g., Military Transition Team) whose role was to help transition Iraq from an...

Azeez served as an Iraqi interpreter during Operation Iraqi Freedom during the "Surge" as sectarian strife erupted during the US occupation of Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the Baath party. In this episode, you'll hear Azeez talk about the tragedy his family endured due to sectarian violence and this path to becoming an interpreter for the US Armed forces.  Support...