ABC News' Martha Raddatz on 'The Hero Next Door,' her collection of veterans’ stories

Summary

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NPR’s Book of the Day

Episode Summary: ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on ‘The Hero Next Door’

Date: June 1, 2026
Host: Alyssa Nadworny
Guest: Martha Raddatz (ABC News Correspondent), Interviewed by Steve Inskeep

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Overview

In this episode, NPR’s Steve Inskeep interviews seasoned war correspondent Martha Raddatz about her new book, The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose. The discussion centers on the often-overlooked, deeply human stories of American veterans—ordinary people performing extraordinary acts, sometimes living just next door. Raddatz recounts one particularly memorable veteran’s story and reflects on the challenges and rewards of telling these narratives amid changing access to military coverage.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Martha Raddatz as a Storytelling Bridge

• Raddatz identifies herself as a bridge between the military and the general public, working to humanize soldiers and their families:
  • “I have always considered myself kind of a bridge. I can help those people who do not understand the military, who don't understand that these are the guys next door who, four days before they were in a war zone, were in a minivan taking their kids to school.” (02:17–02:34)

The Story of Mark Little

A centerpiece of the episode is the account of Army Second Lieutenant Mark Little, illustrating both tragedy and resilience:

• First encounter (Iraq, 2007):

  • Mark survives an IED attack, suffers a severe concussion, and is sidelined from patrols.
  • “All he wanted to do was get back there...he just wanted to be out there, particularly because he was a leader.” (02:51–03:20)

• Second IED hit, catastrophic injury:

  • During a subsequent patrol, because he’d reassigned a struggling team member, Mark ends up in a different seat—the one that takes the brunt of a second explosion.
  • “He's sitting in the seat that took the brunt of the damage...And then he looks down, and he realizes that his lower legs are gone or about to be.” (03:40–04:12)
  • Despite his gruesome injuries, Mark organizes evacuation and applies a tourniquet to his own leg.

• Hospital, humor in crisis:

  • Mark remains upbeat and humorous, surprising the medical team and Raddatz:
    • "He just kept chatting away...He goes, but I've got to tell you, my mom is going to kill me. And that was the last thing I expected anyone to say who was being treated for a traumatic amputation…He genuinely thought his mom was going to kill him.” (05:14–06:38)
  • This moment of levity and his concern for his mother highlights the everyday humanity of soldiers even in crisis.

• Aftermath and resilience:

  • Mark is determined to heal, get prosthetic legs quickly, and continue his life.
  • When promoted, he chooses to stand on his new legs at the Iwo Jima Memorial:
    • “Mark was determined to get out of that bed, go back to work, and do whatever he could that he was doing before, on prosthetic limbs…It was a beautiful place. The Marines raising the flag behind him is kind of perfect for Mark Little's story.” (06:55–07:23)
  • Raddatz shares that Mark considers the day he lost his legs not the worst, but the best day of his life, because he survived.
    • "Mark will tell you it was the best day of his life because he didn’t die.” (07:28–07:41)

• Giving back:

  • Mark later founds a nonprofit to assist other wounded veterans with expenses. (07:41)

Changing Landscape of War Reporting

• Access challenges:
  • Raddatz discusses the increasing difficulty of reporting from war zones and the lack of direct storytelling from modern conflicts:
    • “We have not seen more. I’m trying. I know you’re trying as well. But it is important not only to find the truth of what is happening, but to know the people who are over there performing these duties for us. People need to make decisions about war, and I don’t think you can make clear decisions if you haven’t seen it and know the people who are fighting it.” (08:18–08:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On bridging civilian–military understanding:

  • Martha Raddatz: “I have always considered myself kind of a bridge...these are the guys next door who, four days before they were in a war zone, were in a minivan taking their kids to school.” (02:17–02:34)

• On Mark Little’s humor after his injury:

  • Martha Raddatz: “He goes, but I got to tell you, my mom is going to kill me...he genuinely thought his mom was going to kill him.” (05:41–06:38)

• On finding hope in survival:

  • Martha Raddatz: “Mark will tell you it was the best day of his life because he didn’t die.” (07:35–07:41)

• On the necessity of firsthand reporting:

  • Martha Raddatz: “It is important not only to find the truth of what is happening, but to know the people who are over there performing these duties for us. People need to make decisions about war, and I don’t think you can make clear decisions if you haven’t seen it and know the people who are fighting it.” (08:27–08:49)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:17 — Raddatz on bridging the civilian–military gap
• 02:51 — Introduction to Mark Little’s story
• 03:40–04:12 — The second IED hit and Mark’s traumatic injuries
• 05:41–06:38 — Mark Little’s humor and concern for his mother post-injury
• 06:55–07:41 — Mark’s recovery, determination, and standing at Iwo Jima
• 08:18–08:49 — Raddatz on the challenges of war reporting and the importance of knowing the people who serve

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Tone and Style

The conversation is poignant, empathetic, and direct. Raddatz’s storytelling brims with admiration for veterans’ resilience, humility, and humor amidst harrowing circumstances. The host and interviewee both convey urgency about the need for deeper public connection to—and understanding of—those who serve, and to the realities of modern warfare.

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Conclusion

In this episode, Martha Raddatz sheds light on the profound sacrifices and everyday heroics of American veterans, underscoring the value of their stories beyond headlines and political debates. Her account of Mark Little stands as a testament to resilience and the enduring human spirit—a central theme in The Hero Next Door. The episode serves as both homage and a call to recognize, understand, and support those who serve, while also raising critical questions about the visibility of war and those it affects.

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Transcript

[Alyssa Nadworny]

Hi, I'm Alyssa Nadworny, and this is NPR's book of the Day. ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz has had a long career covering wars, embedding with the US Military, seeing firsthand the dangers and the human stories behind the world's biggest headlines. In her latest book called the Hero Next Stories of Patriotism and Purpose, she tells the stories of veterans, everyday Americans who might be just live next door. In the book, there are examples of heroic acts, of sergeants risking their lives to save their teammates, and of families left with loved ones who are badly injured. She talks with NPR's Stevenskeep about some of the people that have stayed with her.

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[Stevenskeep]

Our former colleague Martha Raddatz has covered the US Military for decades. She did it here at NPR and then at ABC News all through the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and beyond. During all those years, Martha has kept track of veterans, meeting them on battlefields and following up often years later.

[Martha Raddatz]

I have always considered myself kind of a bridge. I can help those people who do not understand the military, who don't understand that these are the guys next door who, four days before they were in a war zone were in a minivan taking their kids to school.

[Stevenskeep]

Martha Raddatz tells the stories of veterans in a book called the Hero Next Door. She's going to share Just one story with us on this Memorial Day. It's the story of Mark Little. She first met him in 2007 when Mark Little was an army second lieutenant leading patrols in Iraq.

[Martha Raddatz]

Mark, in the Humvee he was in, had rolled over an improvised explosive device, an ied. And those are so deadly. So Mark rolls over it. Here's a tremendous boom. But checks out. He's fine, but was kind of loopy. It turned out he had a very extreme concussion. They told him he could not go anywhere. He could not do anything. He could not go back because of this inj. And all he wanted to do was get back there. And you see that all the time. I'm going back. I'm going to try to do it. He did paperwork for a month, which he hated, because he just wanted to be out there, particularly because he was a leader.

[Stevenskeep]

He goes back out eventually on patrol, one of his men, he decides, is not in the mental shape to go, tells him to stay behind. And as a result, Mark is sitting in a different seat in the Humvee.

[Martha Raddatz]

He's sitting in the seat that took the brunt of the damage.

[Stevenskeep]

When there was another ied, another ied,

[Martha Raddatz]

another IED for Mark Little, the Humvee blew up. Mark immediately started barking orders, you know, we gotta go, we gotta go. What time? So he's leading his men at the same time, he's trying to raise himself up out of the seat because it's on fire and his door is smoking hot, and he just can't push himself up. And then he looks down, and he realizes that his lower legs are gone or about to be. He still manages in this bloody mess, to push that door open and drag himself out and put a tourniquet on one of his own legs to stop the bleeding. Once he got back to the forward operating base, then they medevaced him and. And sent him to the combat support hospital. I'd been at that combat support hospital all day. And we get the word in the hospital that there's a soldier. Traumatic amputation. Helicopter lands, and out comes this soldier. You could even see then that the legs were gone, or there's no chance they could save those lower legs. So we trailed him inside. They put him on the gurney, and he just starts talking to everybody. The nurse, he's like, ah, Nurse White. And Nurse White, a male, is kind of checking Mark in and saying, hey, man, sorry, how you doing? Keeping him talking. And Mark was just as if it was a comedy routine. It was amazing. And I just said, mark, I'm from abc. We don't want to get in your way, if you don't mind. We're going to film you. No problem. No problem. He goes, but I got to tell you, my mom is going to kill me. And that was the last thing I expected anyone to say who was being treated for a traumatic amputation. And he just kept chatting away. I'm like, why is your mom going to kill you? And he said, because I told her I kind of had a job. I wasn't in danger. I'd never be in danger. Obviously hadn't told her about the previous times he'd been blown up. And he said, you know, I'm going to have to explain this. He genuinely thought his mom was going to kill him. I mean, but he was, I hate to use this word, adorable. He was so charming. And there he was on what's supposed to be the worst day of his life. And I spent the rest of the day with him. And he went into the operating room, came out. By then, he was obviously unconscious. He was sleeping. His unit came and put a Purple Heart by his pillow. And the whole day, all I could think of was, I have a son. That whoever was Mark's relative needed to hear that story. That mom that was going to kill him, which I knew would not happen. Sure needed to hear those details.

[Stevenskeep]

You include a photograph of him later standing.

[Martha Raddatz]

Mark was determined to get out of that bed, go back to work, and do whatever he could that he was

[Stevenskeep]

doing before on prosthetic limbs, we should

[Martha Raddatz]

say on prosthetic limbs. But Mark rushed the process as much as he could getting his prosthetic legs, and when he was promoted, stood on his legs in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was a beautiful place.

[Stevenskeep]

The Marines raising the flag.

[Martha Raddatz]

The Marines raising the flag behind him is kind of perfect for Mark Little's story. But it is that kind of spirit that you are not going to let that be the worst day of your life. Mark will tell you it was the best day of his life because he didn't die.

[Stevenskeep]

Mark Little went on to found a nonprofit that helped other wounded veterans with their expenses. Martha Raddatz wrote the Hero Next Door while continuing to cover just about everything for ABC News. Abc, like other news organizations, has faced lawsuits and pressure from the Trump administration. Though Raddatz says her work has not changed.

[Martha Raddatz]

We are still doing the work. I'll tell you, it's a lot harder covering the Pentagon. You have intimate stories of all these people in this book you have not seen in the war right now. In the war in Iran.

[Stevenskeep]

Yeah, I've been watching for that story with the reporter on the aircraft carrier or at the base in Kuwait that gets hit and it just doesn't come.

[Martha Raddatz]

It does not come. I mean, we've seen the occasional press conference at the Pentagon and that is it. So I think that is a shame that we have not seen more. I'm trying. I know you're trying as well. But it is important not only to find the truth of what is happening, but to know the people who are over there performing these duties for us. People need to make decisions about war, and I don't think you can make clear decisions if you haven't seen it and know the people who are fighting it.

[Stevenskeep]

The new book from Martha Raddatz of ABC News is the Hero Next Door. Martha, it's good to see you again.

[Martha Raddatz]

It's great to see you, Steve.

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