On this episode of Our American Stories, Larry Spencer tells the story of being one of the first POWs of the Vietnam war and surviving until war's end in both "The Zoo" prison and in the infamous Hanoi Hilton. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Paul Monti drives his son Jared's truck, an act which inspired the hit country song "I Drive Your Truck" by Lee Brice...but the story is much more than that of a song. Here's the story of Jared Monti, a true hero who died in service of our country trying to save a fellow soldier in the mountains of Afghanistan. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in the late 1960s, Karl Marlantes was presented with a choice. Serve in a war that he saw as unjust, desert to Algeria or Sweden, or stay at Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship and hide behind that privilege as his high school friends fought and died in the jungle of Vietnam. Marlantes chose to serve. But why? Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Benedetto delivers the awe-inspiring story of our first president. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Joy Neal Kidney shares her uncle, Donald Wilson's, war story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, as big freighters go, she was bigger than most with a crew and captain well-seasoned...but on November 10th, 1975, she and her 29-man crew were sent to the bottom of Lake Superior. Ric Mixter of Lake Fury tells the story. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Mike Leven was President and Chief Operating Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. One of the great hoteliers of all time—a legend in his business. He is also what you would call a “wise man.” Here’s Mike with a story about what he learned from an uncaring college law professor. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Annie Oakley was a shooting star. In her personal life she was a sharpshooter as well. She was devoted to her marriage and to her faith. It’s no wonder that Annie Oakley inspired scores of books and movies and the Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Adam Jortner, the author of A Promised Land: Jewish Patriots, the American Revolution, and the Birth of Religious Freedom, sits down with Lee Habeeb to discuss the vital role Jews played in the fight for religious freedom in the formative years of the United States.  Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, we are about to hear the untold story of Hollywood legend Steve McQueen told by a McQueen expert, Marshall Terrill. Steve McQueen died this day in history in 1980. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Ralphie’s fantasy encounter with Black Bart in A Christmas Story leads one to believe that Black Bart was some desperado. In the 1870′s there was a dime novel that was loosely based on the true story. A Christmas Story author Jean Shepherd read this novel as a kid and included Ralphie’s reincarnation of Black Bart as a desperado. But Black Bart’s real story is far more fantastical than Ralphie’s imagination. Here to tell the story of America’s most...

On this episode of Our American Stories, if you want to know about the history of America, it is imperative that you know the role that the Bible played in shaping our country. Our Founding Fathers—both Christian and non-Christian—were heavily influenced by the Bible. Here to share another story is Robert Morgan, who is the author of 100 Bible Verses That Made America: Defining Moments That Shaped Our Enduring Foundation of Faith. Support the show...

On this episode of Our American Stories, Douglas was the greatest debater of his day. Lincoln was an unknown trial lawyer from Illinois. Allen Guelzo tells the story of how the days-long debates between them would lead Lincoln to the Presidency and make America what it is today. Allen is the author of Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates that Defined America. A special thanks to the Bill of Rights Institute for allowing us to use this audio, originally part of their Scholar Talks series. Support...

On this episode of Our American Stories, the team broke hearts and left its city under the cover of night in moving vans - but the memory of the Baltimore Colts, and legendary quarterback Johnny Unitas, burns bright in the hearts of its fans. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Matt Parker, a comedian and mathematician from Australia, tells the story of the time Michael Larson surprisingly beat the game show, Press Your Luck, and gives a look into why computers can’t be random. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Richard Gatling hoped that the tremendous power of his new Civil War weapon would discourage large-scale battles and show the folly of war. Here to tell the story is Ashley Hlebinsky. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, after the fall of the Philippines, over 70,000 Americans and Filipinos were taken captive by Japanese forces on the Bataan Peninsula. The death rate of these POWs was well over 30 percent. By contrast, the allies' POWs endured a death rate of three percent. Here to tell his harrowing story of surviving Japanese military savagery is Dr. Lester Tenney, author of My Hitch In Hell. A special thanks to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans for...

On this episode of Our American Stories, in 1966, an SR-71 "Blackbird" disintegrated at 78,000 feet. The pilot's first thought was "No one could live through what just happened". Therefore, I must be dead." Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, in this "Rule of Law" Story, James King and his lawyer Patrick Jaicomo from the Institute for Justice tell the story of an extreme case of mistaken identity that led them down a long road to achieve justice. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, The History Guy remembers the 16th President’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Because of his father, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Todd's life has been largely forgotten—but it deserves to be remembered. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, this is the story of Chuck Colson's Watergate fallout—told by Chuck himself, who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon. This was the last interview Chuck Colson granted before passing at 80 years of age in 2012. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, on June 6, 1944, FDR delivered a prayer to the nation at 9:57PM ET. It would last 6 minutes long and be heard by over 100 million Americans—and millions more in Europe. Written with help from his daughter and his daughter's husband, it was the largest mass prayer in American (and world) history. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Anne Claire tells the story of the Battle of Midway, America's "make or break" moment in World War II. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, when 85-year-old Lana Peters passed away in 2011 from complications due to colon cancer, the nation seemed to have forgotten the woman who had become a sensation during the Cold War. The History Guy recalls the extraordinary life of the woman whose defection to the United States represented a seminal moment in history. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.