Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage

Latest Episodes:

Jennifer Deluca: The Woman Making Sure No Veteran Heals Alone Aug 05, 2026

Show notes

When a veteran needs medical treatment far from home, where does their family stay? For 15 years, Jennifer Deluca has helped answer that question through Fisher House Boston. JR Martinez sits down with the recipient of the Citizen Honors Service Act Award, selected by Medal of Honor recipients themselves, to discuss her mission, the families she's helped, and why keeping loved ones together can make all the difference.

To learn more about Jen’s work at Fisher House Boston, or to make a donation to support them, visit Fisherhouseboston.org

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Faith on a Sinking Ship: The Immortal Four Chaplains Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

In the early hours of February 3, 1943, the USS Dorchester was hit by a German torpedo in the icy waters off Greenland. As soon as they realized there weren’t enough life jackets to go around, four Army chaplains – a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant ministers – took off their own and gave them to terrified soldiers, urging them to save themselves.

We end this season with one of the most moving stories in military history: the ultimate sacrifice of George Fox, Alexander Goode, John Washington, and Clark Poling, the immortal four chaplains.

Connect with the team:

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resource:

No Greater Glory: The Four Immortal Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester in World War II by Dan Kurzman (Random House, 2004)

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Bayonets! Joshua Chamberlain’s Famous Stand at Gettysburg Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Joshua Chamberlain had never planned to be a soldier; he wanted to be a minister or a teacher. And yet, when the Civil War began, he felt it was his duty to enlist. He soon became a commander. And in Gettysburg, on a rocky hill called Little Round Top, he gave the order that helped the Union win the battle and made him a legend. But the courage Chamberlain showed in the months and years after this famous moment may be even more impressive.

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resources:

On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Ronald C White (Random House, 2023)

Autobiography of Joshua Chamberlain: The Major Writings edited by Thomas Desjardin (DownEast Books, 2024)

Fanny & Joshua: The Enigmatic Lives of Frances Caroline Adams and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Diane Monroe Smith (University Press of New England, 2013)

The War Between the Union and the Confederacy: and Its Lost Opportunities by William C. Oates (The Neale Publishing Company, 1905)

Abraham Lincoln, Seen From the Field in the War for the Union by Joshua L. Chamberlain, 1909

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The Medic Who Gave Everything: Clarence Sasser’s Longest Night Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

In 1968, Clarence Sasser was a young combat medic thrust into a nightmare. During a reconnaissance mission in Vietnam, his company was ambushed in a rice paddy. Despite being shot in the leg and unable to walk, Sasser spent the next several hours crawling through the mud, doing his best to care for his fellow soldiers. It would be decades before he was ready to talk about what he saw and heard.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resource:

AMEDD Center of HIstory & Heritage interview with Clarence Sasser, 3/23/1987

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A Helmet Lined with Letters: Joseph Rodriguez’s Love Story Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

In 1951, Joseph Rodriguez and his unit were on a ridge in Korea, pinned down by gunfire. There was seemingly no way out. But Rodriguez had something to steady him. Tucked inside his helmet were letters from his girlfriend back home, Rose. He grabbed a handful of grenades and sprinted up the hill to take on the enemy himself. What happened next would change both his and Rose’s lives forever.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resources:

“A War Hero Speaks,” published in the California Civil Defense, February 25, 1952

Medal of Honor by Peter Collier et al (Artisan Books, 2011)

America’s Heroes, edited by James H Willbanks (ABC-CLIO, 2011)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Helmet Lined with Letters: Joseph Rodriguez’s Love Story Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

Binge the full season of Medal of Honor, ad-free, with a Pushkin+ subscription. Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts or at Pushkin. Use the code MOH25 for 25% off an annual subscription.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sneaking into the Corps: Richard Pittman, The One-Eyed Marine Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Richard Pittman was legally blind in his right eye—a condition that should have kept him away from the front lines of the Vietnam War. But Pittman wasn't a man who took "no" for an answer. After sneaking his way into the U.S. Marines, he found himself on a trail in the jungle, single-handedly trying to save his brothers in arms.

From a "medical disqualification" to a legendary stand with a machine gun, Richard Pittman’s story proves that true courage starts with the belief that you belong in the fight.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resources:

US Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War, 1966 by Jack Shulimson (Department of the Navy, 1982)

Operation Hastings website

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Sebastian Junger on Tribe, War, and the Cost of Coming Home Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

Malcolm Gladwell sits down with journalist and author Sebastian Junger to discuss his book “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging.” After spending years embedded with American soldiers in Afghanistan, Junger found himself wondering: why do so many veterans struggle most not during war, but after returning home?

Junger’s most recent book is “In My Time Of Dying.” He also has a substack called Tribe with Sebastian Junger.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eight Seconds in Afghanistan: The Quick Heroism of Florent Groberg Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

If you saw a suicide bomber moving toward your friends, would you have the courage to run toward him? That is the choice Florent “Flo” Groberg made on a dusty road in Afghanistan. In just eight seconds, he identified the threat, tackled the bomber, and saved countless lives. And yet, Flo says he still wishes he had run faster.

Connect with the team!

Follow Pushkin on social @pushkinpods
Follow JR Martinez @iamjrmartinez
Follow Meredith Rollins @meredithkrollins
Email the team: medalofhonor@pushkin.fm

Episode resource:

8 Seconds of Courage: A Soldier's Story from Immigrant to the Medal of Honor by Flo Groberg and Tom Sileo (Simon & Schuster, 2017)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A Scandal at the North Pole: The Legend of Richard Byrd Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

Admiral Richard Byrd was one of the most famous explorers of the 20th century. He received the Medal of Honor for a risky flight to the North Pole. But soon after his death, the whispers began. Did he actually make it there? Or did he turn back early?

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