Honoring Vietnam Veterans and Defending American Lands

On December 2, 2024, Doyle Glass and Josh Lowenstein joined the show. Author and historian discusses his book Swift Sword, documenting the September 4, 1967 battle where 160 Marines faced 4,000 North Vietnamese soldiers Founder of Our American Lands discusses federal land grabs, conservation easements, and proposed national monuments threatening private property and public land access in Colorado The Untold Story of Vietnam Marines Start listening at 16:27 – Hour 1 Doyle Glass recounts the harrowing September 4, 1967 battle where 160 Marines of Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines walked into a massive ambush by 4,000 North Vietnamese soldiers in the Khe Sanh Valley. The point man, Lance Corporal Jack Swan, spotted a camouflaged enemy soldier just in time to trigger the ambush early, giving the Marines a slim chance of survival. Glass, who interviewed approximately 50 survivors and family members of the fallen, explains how the Marines faced impossible odds with malfunctioning M16 rifles that jammed after every shot. Despite being outnumbered four-to-one and fighting with effectively single-shot weapons, the Marines held their perimeter through sheer determination and teamwork. The engagement produced two Medal of Honor recipients: Sergeant Larry Peters, who sacrificed his life manning a machine gun to help his fellow Marines identify enemy positions, and Father Vincent Capodano, a Catholic priest who disobeyed orders to stay behind and was killed providing aid on the battlefield. “But due to the camaraderie and the grit and the teamwork of these Marines, they were able to survive.” Doyle Glass, Author of Swift Sword Federal Land Grabs Threaten Property Rights Start listening at 34:46 – Hour 1 Josh Lowenstein, founder of Our American Lands, exposes the coordinated campaign to lock up American lands through conservation easements and national monument designations. His organization, formed to fight a proposed National Conservation Area in Conejos County, has connected with resistance movements across the country facing similar threats to their property and access rights. Lowenstein reveals that eco-activists refuse to specify what additional protections they seek beyond existing federal safeguards. The proposed Dolores River National Monument would close hundreds of roads, blocking ranchers from their grazing allotments and shutting down uranium mining operations. He connects these land grabs to the Biden administration’s 30×30 agenda, warning that promises of unchanged grazing contracts are hollow when road access disappears. Kim Monson draws parallels to COVID-era playground closures, noting the pattern of promising public access while systematically restricting it. “One of the reasons for starting the organization was to quit playing defense and start playing offense with these people that are attacking our freedoms for our private property rights and public ground access for multi-use.” Josh Lowenstein, Founder of Our American Lands