Heroes Behind Headlines

Latest Episodes:

High-Echelon Human Trafficking Survivor Describes Her Childhood Recruitment Feb 17, 2025

Show notes

Our remarkable guest from Season One returns explaining how a small group of powerful men create celebrities out of abused children:

Anneke Lucas was only a small child growing up in a little town in Belgium, when her mother began taking her to adult parties, and trafficking her to be abused as part of an organized system. When she was nine, she was spotted at one of these events by none other than David Rockefeller, who made her his own special project, whisking her away to America and presenting her as his ‘niece.’ Presented to David’s superior in the group, Sir Evelyn Rothschild, Anneke was invited to “join the family,” pledge her soul, and began preparing for her designated role as a future singing star. This training included not only music and dance lessons, but mental conditioning during a stint in the MK Ultra program in Germany, where she was tortured in order to prep her for her ‘real’ career– spying on the powerful men with whom Rockefeller ‘shared’ her. Anneke ultimately rejected the plan that had been set for her, and had to endure the torture inflicted for her disobedience.

Anneke now enjoys a thriving life and her own podcast. She shares her story in hope that someday no child will endure this type of experience.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

WWII’s Most Infamous Survival Story: The U.S.S. Indianapolis Feb 10, 2025

Show notes

Re-airing a Season One fan favorite:

The most secretive mission of World War II ended in the largest scale shark attack of all time. The U.S.S. Indianapolis’ mission was so secret, the entire crew was unaware of their cargo: the components of the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ which was dropped on Hiroshima. Thus, when the cruiser was sunk by a Japanese torpedo, no one knew, and 900 sailors were left floating in shark-infested waters for four days. HBH is excited to welcome Doug Stanton, author of ‘In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors’.
On July 30, 1945, after delivering their top secret cargo which would would strike Japan only one week later, the USS Indianapolis was struck by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine. The 610-foot cruiser quickly sank, and the surviving sailors had to battle dehydration and hundreds of hungry sharks for over four days.
The crew of the Indianapolis was filled with incredible heroes, not all of whom survived this harrowing ordeal.
In addition to 'In Harm’s Way', Doug Stanton is the New York Times bestselling author of 'The Odyssey of Echo Company', as well as 'Horse Soldiers', which was the basis for the 2018 movie '12 Strong', starring Chris Hemsworth.

CIA Pilot Describes School Of Illusionary Warfare With Lee Harvey Oswald Feb 03, 2025

Show notes

This is the first part of a series of interviews with 87-year-old CIA contract pilot William “Tosh” Plumlee in which he describes being recruited into a top-secret military intelligence unit with other juvenile delinquents at the age of 16. Among the colorful incidents he relates are supplying weapons to Fidel Castro in the mountains of Southern Cuba at age nineteen, and attending the School of Illusionary warfare with Lee Harvey Oswald.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

The Birth of Special Forces In The Civil War Jan 27, 2025

Show notes

Military historian Patrick O’Donnell puts a spotlight on America’s original Special Forces units:

Founded in Missouri by Major General John C. Fremont, (and ‘named’ after his wife) the Jessie Scouts were a valuable intelligence cadre for President Lincoln during the Civil War. On the other side were Mosby’s Rangers and the Confederate Secret Service. Created to infiltrate and disrupt, these groups operated behind enemy lines, sometimes disguised as women or opposing soldiers, taking huge risks to accomplish their missions. They also participated in combat, beginning at the Second Battle of Manassas (or Bull Run.) Patrick describes these remarkable groups, and the plot to assassinate President Lincoln in his book, “The Unvanquished.”

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Dropped Behind Enemy Lines: The Lost Paratroopers Of Normandy Jan 20, 2025

Show notes

A fantastic WWII adventure: On June 16, 1944, the storied 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions accidentally dropped U.S. paratroopers off-target behind enemy lines in France near the ancient town of Graignes, Normandy, as part of the D-Day offensive. At great risk to themselves, including penalty of death, the 900 townspeople of Graignes determined to protect the paratroopers and fight the Nazis as a combined force, using the weapons the paratroopers had brought with them.

What transpired could be the best WWII movie never made. Acclaimed U.S. military historian, Professor Stephen Rabe’s own father was a paratrooper in Graignes. While he grew up hearing the story and meeting other surviving solders, it took Stephen over 60 years to research and write the story in his book, “The Lost Paratroopers of Normandy: A Story of Resistance, Courage, and Solidarity in a French Village.”

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Part Two: 300 Huey Combat Missions in the "Secret War" in Vietnam Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

Part two of our interview with Don Haase: Don joined the U.S. Army in 1966, and ultimately became crew chief with the 195th Assault Helicopter Company in the 2nd Platoon (“Ghostriders”) that —beginning in December 1967 — supported top-secret MACV-SOG Recon teams during the deadly secret war fought during the Vietnam War. Don received 12 Air Medals over 300 combat missions, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Don and his unit participated in the defense of Plantation Airfield during the 1968 Tet offensive and the subsequent counterattack. Don shares some of his adventures.
Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Part One: 300 Huey Combat Missions In "The Secret War" In Vietnam Jan 13, 2025

Show notes

Don Haase joined the U.S. Army in 1966, and ultimately became crew chief with the 195th Assault Helicopter Company in the 2nd Platoon (“Ghostriders”) that —beginning in December 1967 — supported top-secret MACV-SOG Recon teams during the deadly secret war fought during the Vietnam War. Don received 12 Air Medals over 300 combat missions, and the Presidential Unit Citation. Don and his unit participated in the defense of Plantation Airfield during the 1968 Tet offensive and the subsequent counterattack. Don shares some of his adventures.
Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

U.S.C.G. Rescue Swimmers Adventures! Jan 06, 2025

Show notes

Prior guest Martha LaGuardia-Kotite is back with three U.S.C.G. Rescue Swimmer vets: John Whitten, Jason "Quitty" Quinn, and Ashley Ulbrich—who each share their adventures piloting helicopters over swimmers struggling to save people, leaping out of helicopters into the brink, or saving stranded folks in a hurricane. This lesser-known band of heroes are the brave people who come to our aid in often frigid or stormy seas, within 300 miles of the U.S. coastline, including Alaska.
Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

A Story Of Murder And Redemption Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

As a toddler, Quan Huynh came to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee. A few years later he lost his father to cancer, and as an angry teenager joined up with the Vietnamese gangs of Los Angeles. He quickly got into trouble, shooting three people and killing a fourth. Quan was sentenced to 15 years to life, and sent to prison.

Quan shares his story of redemption and inner discovery during his incarceration, built upon the principle of taking responsibility, as detailed in his book "Sparrow In The Razor Wire." He was ultimately paroled and now counsels those currently serving sentences and former inmates to create constructive lives after prison.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

A True Crime Case Solved By Defense Attorney's Son Dec 23, 2024

Show notes

A riveting account of a true crime, the criminal justice system, and unlocking a decades-old cold case: In 1964, David Miraldi's father Ray L. Miraldi was a prominent Ohio former city prosecutor and then a private attorney when he jumped at the chance to defend tavern keeper Caspar Bennett of the lurid bathtub murder of his wife, Florence Bennett, believing him to be innocent.
Attorney Miraldi won an acquittal but oddly never spoke of this professional triumph to his family. Years later while going through his father's papers, David found some important information about the crime and subsequent trial, and began his own investigation, discovering some darker truths as detailed in his book, "The Edge of Innocence."
Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

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