Podcast
Ghosts of Arlington Podcast
Hosted by Jackson Irish · EN
If you've ever walked the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, you've heard the voices of the past. Even if you haven't, you can still hear them in podcast form. A history podcast about Arlington National Cemetery and the stories of those buried there, with new episodes available first thing every Monday morning.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
#162: The Other Survivors of PT 109; JFK, Part VIII
Apr 1300:29:28Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereThe other men involved in the PT 109 lived very different lives and had many different fates. One didn't survive the war, two more failed to outlive their skipper, and the rest had lives as varied and one should expect - but they were all connected by two things, their trauma bonding about their survival epic in the waters around the Solomon Islands, and their love for Jack Kennedy.This week's Ghosts are Arlington are:Navy Seaman First Class Raymond Albert - Bet Olam Cemetery, Beachwood, OHNavy Lieutenant Leonard Thom - Calvary Cemetery, Youngstown, OHNavy Ensign Leon Drawdy - Drawdy Rose Cemetery, Orlando, FLNavy Motor Machinist's Mate First Class William Johnston - Wildwood Cemetery, Seabrook, NHNavy Torpedomen's Second Class Ray Starkey - ashes scattered at seaNavy Ensign George "Barney" Ross - St. Luke's Episcopal Church Cemetery, Bethesda, MDNavy Motor Machinist's Mate First Class Patrick McMahon - Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, CANavy Radioman Second Class John Maguire - H. Warren Smith Memorial Cemetery, Jacksonville Beach, FLNavy Motor Machinist's Mate Second Class Ed Drewitch - Locus Grove Cemetery, Philo, ILNavy Chief Engineman Gerard Zinser - Arlington National Cemetery; Section 54, Grave 4089Australian Royal Navy Lieutenant Reginal Evans - Northern Suburbs Memorial Garden, Ryde, New South Wales, AustraliaNative Coastwatcher Biuku Gasa - Vavuvu Village, Kauvi Island, Western SolomonsNative Coastwatcher Eroni Kumana - Kumana Family Cemetery, Gizo, Western, Solomon Islands
Transcribe →#161: The Rest of the Story, JFK, Part VIII
Apr 600:37:49Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereAfter Jack's rocky years in the House, he runs for Senate and beats a guy who hasn't lost an election in years... and he does it with the endorsement of an old adversary who has become a new friend.He really settles into life as a senator and, as you probably know, he goes on to become the second youngest president in US history. But I promise, there are probably a few things you don't know about the rest of the story, so I hope you listen.
Transcribe →#160: Jack's War is Over; JFK, Part VII
Mar 1600:32:31Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereWhile the PT 109 survivors's saga comes to an end, it is not the end of the story. In this episode we learn why JFK decides to get into politics after the war - it was NOT his decision - and when his political career plateaus, we'll see the insane thing Joe, Sr. has his son do to take his political career to the next level.
Transcribe →#159: Castaway; JFK, Part VI
Mar 200:27:58Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereAfter PT 109 is ripped in two, the eleven men who miraculously survive spend the next four days looking for rescue before they die of dehydration and before the thousands of Japanese troops surrounding them become aware of their presence. This is also why JFK will have a coconut paperweight on his desk in the oval office.
Transcribe →#158: Forged in Fire; JFK, Part V
Feb 2300:26:49Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereIn the chaos following PT 109's collision with IJN Amagiri, Jack Kennedy does everything he can to rescue his shipmates and when it becomes obvious that no one is coming to rescue them, he choses an island deep inside enemy territory and hopes it is small enough to be of no strategic value to the Japanese; but only time will tell if it is garrisoned or not.
Transcribe →#157: Ripped in Two; JFK, Pat IV
Feb 900:29:51Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereJack Kennedy finally takes command of a PT boat in a combat zone and begins to settle in to what turns our to be a fairly rough existence is a place that turns out to be less of a paradise than thought at first glance.His commander, not a PT man himself, comes up with a plan to attack a Japanese convoy but the plan isn't great to start with and after it's implementation, everything that can go wrong, seems to; which will nearly cost Jack his life.The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music on bandcamp.com under the names Caladrius and Bloodfeather.For more information about the podcast visit: · The GoA website: https://www.ghostsofarlingtonpodcast.com · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofarlingtonpodcast· Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArlingtonGhosts· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostsofarlington/
Transcribe →#156: In the Navy; JFK, Part III
Feb 200:27:30Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereAfter graduating from Harvard, JFK isn't sure of his next steps. He knows that he needs to find a way to serve - the world is at war and everyone is sure the US will soon join the fight. With the help of his father, he follows his brother's footsteps and joins the navy, but soon both Kennedy boys realize their dad is likely pulling strings to keep them out of harms way... and having raised children taught to figure out how to take what they want, both eventually go behind their father's back and get into the fight.The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music on bandcamp.com under the names Caladrius and Bloodfeather.For more information about the podcast visit: · The GoA website: https://www.ghostsofarlingtonpodcast.com · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofarlingtonpodcast· Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArlingtonGhosts· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostsofarlington/
Transcribe →#155: Harvard, London, and a World War; JFK, Part II
Jan 2600:19:02Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereJFK's collegiate path was never in doubt - his application essay is evidence of that - but after he begins university, his father's new senior position in the US government gives Jack a front row seat to the collapse of peace in Europe and leaves him struggling with how and why that happened. Fortunately for him, that gives him a great idea for his senior thesis which then becomes a best-selling book, but also leaving him grappling with what his role will be when the United States inevitably enters World War II.The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music on bandcamp.com under the names Caladrius and Bloodfeather.For more information about the podcast visit: · The GoA website: https://www.ghostsofarlingtonpodcast.com · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofarlingtonpodcast· Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArlingtonGhosts· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostsofarlington/
Transcribe →#154: Brookline to Hyannis Port - Growing Up Kennedy; JFK, Part I
Jan 1200:23:42Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereWaayyyyy back in Episode 13 (which apparently was nearly four and a half years ago even though it feels much longer than that), I covered the funeral of President John F. Kennedy. At that time I said that I would probably get around to telling the story of how he became eligible for burial at Arlington (I'm talking about his military service, not his election to President of the United States) and that time has finally come. But before we get to his service in the Navy, here is a little bit about his childhood; while it may have seemed idyllic from the outside, it was anything but.The introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music on bandcamp.com under the names Caladrius and Bloodfeather.For more information about the podcast visit: · The GoA website: https://www.ghostsofarlingtonpodcast.com · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofarlingtonpodcast· Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArlingtonGhosts· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostsofarlington/
Transcribe →#153: A Soldier of Three Armies
Dec 2200:30:59Tap to summarizeI'd love to hear your thoughts - send me a text hereToday's story is about a man considered the only SS officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but also a many who was a US Special Forces Officer - a Green Beret... oh, and he was actually from Finland. How did all that happen?!This week's Ghosts of Arlington are:Army Major Larry Alan Thorne, Section 60, Grave 8136South Vietnamese Air Force First Lieutenant The Long PhanSouth Vietnamese Air Force First Lieutenant Bao Tung NguyenSouth Vietnamese Air Force Sergeant Van Lanh BuiThe introduction and transition music heard on the podcast is composed and recorded by the eldest Ghosts of Arlington, Jr. While the rest of his catalogue is quite different from what he's performed for me, you can find his music on bandcamp.com under the names Caladrius and Bloodfeather.For more information about the podcast visit: · The GoA website: https://www.ghostsofarlingtonpodcast.com · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofarlingtonpodcast· Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArlingtonGhosts· Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghostsofarlington/
Transcribe →