NO HOME FOR HEROES

TODAY’S EPISODE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN TITLED “WHEN IS A SLAM DUNK NOT A SLAM DUNK”? OR : “NOTHING IS EASY WHEN IT COMES TO RETURNING OUR MIA’S TO THEIR FAMILIES?Listen to a litany of clues that should have resulted in the identification and return home of a Marine lost in World War II many decades ago.See if you agree with the conclusion that there is no reason why Jack can't come home...finally.

CAN A SNIPPET FROM A 78 YEAR OLD NEWSPAPER ARTICLE HELP SOLVE THE CASE OF A MISSING MARINE THAT HAS BAFFLED INVESTIGATORS FOR DECADES? IS IT THE BREAK IN THE CASE THAT ALL INVESTIGATORS DREAM ABOUT?Today’s case on No Home for Heroes is holds a clue that has baffled us for years. The clue should have been a great lead in a tough case but has turned out to be a big giant dead end for almost 80 years for every investigator who has ever worked the case of Unknown X-37.HAVE WE FINALLY SOLVED THE SECRET? STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT...

Perhaps a case only Jack Webb from the old TV series "DRAGNET" could solve. An airplane designed to transport nuclear weapons crashes in Alaska in 1952 with 52 souls on board, according to the official flight manifest. The crash site is lost for 60 sixty years and when finally found, the airplane has moved 14 miles and an ID card is found for someone who is NOT supposed to be on the airplane! This is just one of several strange twists to this latest of "History's Military Mysteries" on NO HOME FOR HEROES.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS AN INCREDIBLE TALE OF PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE IN THE FACE OF A SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE TASK.WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN SOMEONE TELLS YOU THAT SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE? THAT IT “CAN’T” BE DONE? OR BETTER YET, WHEN YOUR EMPLOYER INSISTS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT PUT MUCH EFFORT INTO YOUR JOB BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN THE ASSIGNED TASK?ULTIMATELY SEVERAL GROUPS OF PEOPLE WORKED TOGETHER TO "SOLVE THE UNSOLVABLE CASE"...AND ANOTHER AMERICAN HERO WAS BROUGHT HOME!

FOR OVER SEVENTY YEARS THE REMAINS OF A MISSING AMERICAN SAILOR LAY IN A GRAVE MARKED ONLY WITH A HEADSTONE THAT READ “UNKNOWN."BUT FOR OVER SEVENTY YEARS, EVERYONE OVERLOOKED A SMALL, ONE INCH BRONZE MEDALLION THAT IS LIKELY THE CLUE TO IDENTIFYING THIS HERO AND RETURNING HIM HOME TO HIS FAMILY.STAY TUNED FOR AN INCREDIBLE TALE ABOUT SOLVING ONE OF PEARL HARBOR'S MOST ENDURING MYSTERIES.

IN TODAY'S EPISODE, WE WILL STUFF YOU INTO A TINY CRAMPED AND CLAUSTROPHOBIC COMPARTMENT ABOARD A NAVY TORPEDO BOMBER. YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED AS THE RADIO OPERATOR AND REAR GUNNER OF A TBM AVENGER IN THE SKIES ABOVE A HISTORIC WORLD WAR TWO BATTLE IN THE PACIFIC. THIS EPISODE WILL GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT OVER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO DEPEND ON TWO OTHER CREWMEN FOR YOUR VERY SURVIVAL IN THE MIDST OF FIRE AND CHAOS. HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO REMEMBER AND HONOR A HOMETOWN HERO YOU HAVE PROBABLY FORGOTTEN WAS LOST ..“SOMEWHERE OVER SAIPAN"

We start today's episode with some questions for you to ponder...DO YOU REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE? WERE YOU 14, OR 15, OR MAYBE A LITTLE OLDER? DESPITE WHAT HAPPENED LATER IN LIFE, WILL YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST LOVE? TODAY’S EPISODE IS ABOUT ONE SUCH LOVE BY TWO TEEAGERS WHO GREW UP ON TWO DIFFERENT CONTINENTS, INTERRUPTED BY A WORLD WAR AND A LOVE NEVER TO BE FULFILLED. Today's episode details the case of 19 year old Private First Class Harry Cronkhite of State Line, Illinois and even when he was declared missing and later dead, his first love refused to give up the search until the day she died 65 years later.

THE HERO IN TODAY’S EPISODE WAS AWARDED THE NAVY CROSS MEDAL FOR HIS ACTIONS IN THE SKIES OVER EUROPE BUT HE NEVER KNEW OF THE AWARD. HE SURVIVED INCREDIBLE ODDS IN EUROPE TO RETURN TO DUTY MONTH’S LATER IN THE PACIFIC AIR CAMPAIGN AGAINST JAPAN BUT STRANGELY DISAPPEARED ON A ROUTINE FLIGHT SURROUNDED BY THREE SQUADRON MATES IN A CLEAR AND CALM SEA SKY.  

THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING OUR PODCASTS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS KNOW THAT WE OFTEN FEATURE STORIES ABOUT THE MISSING MARINES AND AIRMEN FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA. WE THOUGHT TODAY MIGHT BE A GOOD TIME TO UPDATE YOU ALL ON THE STATUS OF THOSE MIA INVESTIGATIONS IN ADDITION TO PRESENTING AN EPISODE ABOUT ONE OF THOSE MARINES WHO ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR…SGT JOHN TERRY BRACKEEN FROM TIPTON, OKLAHOMA.  

TODAY’S EPISODE IS THE TRUE TALE OF A REAL PRIVATE RYAN, NOT A MOVIE ACTOR…PRIVATE KENNETH JOHN RYAN FROM ARIZONA WHO WAS A MEMBER OF M COMPANY, THIRD BATTALION, SECOND MARINES. SADLY, NOTHING WE CAN DO WILL “SAVE” THE REAL PRIVATE RYAN FROM HIS FATE ON A LONG FORGOTTEN PACIFIC BEACHHEAD, BUT OUR MISSION AT THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION IS TO PROVIDE THE INFORMATION WE HAVE LEARNED TO PRIVATE RYAN’S FAMILY AND, IF POSSIBLE, HELP FIND HIS REMAINS FOR RECOVERY, IDENTIFICATION, AND RETURN HOME TO HIS FAMILY AFTER BEING MISSING FOR OVER 78 YEARS.

IN THE FINAL COUNT, THERE WOULD BE ONLY 316 SURVIVORS OF THE SINKING OF THE USS INDIANAPOLIS WHO ENDURED LONG HOURS IN THE CRUEL OCEAN WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER AND SWARMS OF HUNGRY SHARKS. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER 879 LOST SAILORS AND HOW THEY DIED BECAME ONE OF HISTORY’S GREATEST SERIES OF MILITARY MYSTERIES. TODAY’S EPISODE IS THE TALE OF JUST ONE OF THOSE MYSTERIES AND IT HAS MORE CLUES, FALSE LEADS, AND DEAD END ALLEYS TO KEEP THE MOST ARDENT SHERLOCK HOLMES FANS SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS

THE DICTIONARY DEFINES A SNAFU AS “a situation marked by errors or confusion.” SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, BUT MULTIPLE SNAFU’S CONSPIRE TOGETHER TO PREVENT A LOST MARINE FROM BEING IDENTIFIED FOR ALMOST 80 YEARS? MANY OF YOU MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH THE MILITARY ACRONYM “SNAFU”. SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression:  Situation Normal: All FOULED Up.  SINCE THIS IS A FAMILY APPROVED PODCAST I HAVE UTILIZED “FOULED” FOR A MORE WIDELY USED WORD IN THE MILITARY THAT STARTS WITH the letter “F”. The acronym is believed to have originated in the United States Marine Corps during World War Two AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHERE TODAY’S EPISODE TAKES US. STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT HOW PERSISTENCE FINALLY CONQUERING THE SNAFU MONSTER.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 0255 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. TODAY’S STORY HAS SO MANY UNIQUE ASPECTS THAT WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO START. THE SUBJECT OF OUR PODCAST WAS A VETERAN OF WORLD WAR ONE. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE CANADIAN ARMY. HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. HE JOINED THE UNITED STATES MARINES AND WAS STATIONED IN CHINA BETWEEN THE WARS, HENCE EARNING HIS UNOFFICIAL DESIGNATION AS A "CHINA MARINE."  HIS DEATH DURING WORLD WAR TWO ON TARAWA IN 1943 WAS WITNESSED BY MANY MEMBERS OF HIS COMPANY…AND HE IS THE OLDEST MARINE FROM THE BATTLE OF TARAWA WHO IS STILL MISSING IN ACTION OVER 75 YEARS LATER.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 484 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S THE STORY OF A YOUNG BOY EAGERLY AWAITING HIS 17TH BIRTHDAY SO HE COULD JOIN THE MARINES TO AVENGE THE LOSS OF HIS BIG BROTHER…ONLY TO BECOME A MIA HIMSELF.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 157 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S THE STORY OF ONE SOLVED MYSTERY AND SIX MYSTERIES THAT REMAIN UNRESOLVED. SO, WE DEDICATE THIS EPISODE TO THE FAMILIES OF SIX CREW MEMBERS OF THE “SWEEPY TIME GAL”, A WORLD WAR 2 B-24 LIBERATOR BOMBER, WHO HAVE NOT YET MADE IT HOME FROM THEIR LAST MISSION.

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM CASE NUMBER 471 IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT’S A REAL HEAD SCRATCHER THAT HAS DEFIED OUR BEST EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY THE MYSTERY BEGAN SO LONG AGO. WHETHER YOU ARE A POLICE DETECTIVE OR A MILITARY INVESTIGATOR OR JUST AN AVID FAN OF THE PLETHORA OF “WHODUNIT” MYSTERIES ON TELEVISION, THERE ARE JUST SOME CASES THAT YOU JUST SHAKE YOUR HEAD AND SAY “HOW THE HECK DID THAT HAPPEN?” TODAY, WE HAVE A CASE THAT FITS INTO THAT “HEAD SHAKER” CATEGORY..

TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS TAKEN FROM AN ACTIVE CASE IN THE FILES OF THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION BUT ONE THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN FULLY INVESTIGATED. WE HAVE NEVER DONE A PODCAST ON AN OPEN CASE BEFORE BUT WE NEED OUR LISTENER’S HELP TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF A NAVY SAILOR KILLED IN A BIZARRE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, BURIED AT A KNOWN LOCATION, AND THEN LOST TO HISTORY. C’MON EVERYONE, PUT ON YOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES SLEUTHING HATS, GRAB YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASSES, AND JOIN THE RESEARCH TEAM HERE AT THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TO HELP IDENTIFY A SMALL TOWN HERO FROM INDIANA..

  WHAT DOES THE ENTIRE CASUALTY LIST OF A WORLD WAR II RIFLE COMPANY OF COMBAT MARINES, THE 1960’S SITCOM “GREEN ACRES”, AND A LOST CEMETERY ON AN OBSCURE PACIFIC ISLAND ALL HAVE IN COMMON? WE ARE GOING TO PUT ALL THESE DOTS TOGETHER FOR YOU IN TODAY'S EPISODE 51 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES."  

The proverb “all things come to those who wait” means if people are persistent and patient, they will finally achieve their goal. In other words, it means a person must exercise patience when working on something close to his heart, even to reach the goal he/she desires. WHEN I WORKED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THERE WAS NOTHING CLOSER TO MY HEART THAN FINDING A WAY TO GIVE THEIR NAMES BACK TO THE PEARL HARBOR HEROES, WHO WERE BURIED AS SIMPLY “UNKNOWN” AND GETTING THEM HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES. TODAY’S CASE IS A SUCCESS STORY FOR THAT MISSION AND WE ARE PLEASED TO SHARE THE PROOF OF THE PROVERB WITH YOU ON “NO HOME FOR HEROES”…

WE CAN WARN YOU RIGHT UP FRONT THAT TODAY’S MYSTERY IS NOT YET SOLVED…BUT IT INVOLVES A YOUNG MARINE FROM A SMALL TOWN IN MISSISSIPPI WHO ACCEPTED HIS SERGEANT’S CHALLENGE TO CLIMB OVER A SEAWALL INTO WITHERING ENEMY FIRE, ONLY TO VANISH INTO HISTORY…DON’T GIVE UP JUST YET, WE ARE STILL ON THE CASE!

HERE’S TODAY’S RIDDLE FOR YOU TO SOLVE…HOW CAN A BOMBER PILOT BE LISTED AS LOST AT SEA IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR 2 ONLY TO BE FOUND IN NEW YORK ALMOST 75 YEARS LATER? STAY TUNED WHILE WE SPIN A STORY THAT IS JUST TOO STRANGE TO BE TRUE…BUT IT IS…

EPISODE 47 MARKS THE END OF THE YEARLY PODCAST BROADCAST SEASON BY THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION. IT ALSO HERALDS THE 78TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR ON DECEMBER 7, 1941. IN A SPECIAL PODCAST EPISODE COMMEMORATING THE BEGINNING OF WORLD WAR TWO FOR THE UNITED STATES, WE WILL TELL THE STORY OF THREE VERY YOUNG SAILORS WHO WERE TRAPPED INSIDE THEIR SUNKEN BATTLESHIP FOR SIXTEEN DAYS ON THE BOTTOM OF PEARL HARBOR. IT IS A HORRIFIC STORY. IT IS A NIGHTMARISH STORY.… BUT IT IS A HEROIC STORY.

THERE WAS A PERSON WHO ONCE WORKED AT THE JOINT POW MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND KNOWN AS "COMMANDER ZERO."  THE "ZERO" PART OF HIS NICKNAME WAS BECAUSE HE WAS BASICALLY WORTHLESS. ONE OF HIS SAYINGS WAS “I THOUGHT I MADE A MISTAKE ONCE, BUT THEN I FOUND OUT I WAS WRONG”. TODAY’S EPISODE OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS DEDICATED TO COMMANDER ZERO BECAUSE, AS YOU WILL HEAR,  WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A “SLAM DUNK” CASE WERE ALL THE CLUES POINTED TO JUST TWO MOST LIKELY MATCHES AND ONE FINAL “ABSOLUTE, HAS TO BE HIM” , "AH HA" MOMENT, LIGHT BULB GOING OFF OVER THE HEAD CLUE THAT TURNED OUT TO BE…WELL, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO SAY THIS…WRONG.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 45 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A MISSING MARINE WHOSE CASE WAS SOLVED USING THE TINIEST OF CLUES ONLY GRUDGINGLY OBTAINED FROM THE GOVERNMENT BY USE OF A FEDERAL LAWSUIT AND ONE WHERE THE SOLUTION PROVED TO UNRAVEL NOT JUST ONE BUT TWO OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES. THE CASE IS PERHAPS THE MOST STUNNING VALIDATION TO DATE OF THE INVESTIGATIVE WORK DONE BY THE CHIEF RICK STONE AND FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION INTO FINDING MISSING AMERICAN SERVICE MEN AND MISSING AMERICAN SERVICE WOMEN.

  EPISODE 43 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" IS A SPECIAL STORY ABOUT ONE OF THE 27 NAVY CORPSMEN WHO WERE KILLED IN ACTION DURING THE BATTLE OF TARAWA IN 1943.  STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT A LITTLE KNOWN GROUP OF MEN WHO WERE NOT WARRIORS BUT WHO WENT IN HARMS WAY TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THEIR MARINE BUDDIES…AND ONE CORPSMAN IN PARTICULAR WHO DIDN’T COME HOME TO TEXAS AFTER THE WAR.  A VERY SPECIAL HERO INDEED!  

THIS EPISODE GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO DIVE RIGHT INTO THE MIDDLE OF AN ACTIVE MIA CASE INVESTIGATION THAT IS FAR, FAR  FROM COMPLETE…POLISH YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASS, PUT ON YOUR SHERLOCK HOLMES HAT AND FILL YOUR PIPE AS YOU PONDER QUESTIONS THAT NEED ANSWERS.  WHO KNOWS?  YOUR INSIGHT MAY HELP SOLVE A 76 YEAR OLD MYSTERY AND BRING ONE OR MORE MISSING AMERICAN HEROES HOME TO THEIR FAMILIES.

STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU AN INCREDIBLE TALE ABOUT A MISSING MARINE WHO, DESPITE BEING FOUND FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES, TODAY STILL REMAINS ON THE LIST OF THOSE AMERICAN HEROES MISSING IN ACTION FROM WORLD WAR TWO.

STAY TUNED FOR EPISODE 40 OF "NO HOME FOR HEROES" WHILE WE TELL YOU WHAT ATOMIC BOMBS, MISSING JEWELS, A HOLLYWOOD STAR, AND A GHOST’S IDENTIFICATION CARD HAVE TO DO WITH AN AIRPLANE BURIED IN A GLACIER FOR OVER 60 YEARS WITH 52 MISSING SERVICEMEN ON BOARD. IT IS GUARANTEED TO BE A REAL "TWILIGHT ZONE" JOURNEY INTO “FINDING OLD SHAKY”.

PART ONE OF EPISODE 39 OF “NO HOME FOR HEROES” IS PERHAPS OUR ALL-TIME WINNER IN THE “TWLIGHT ZONE” CATEGORY. RARELY DO WE INVESTIGATE ONE OF HISTORY’S MILITARY MYSTERIES THAT CONTAINS SO MANY BIZARRE COINCIDENCES AND ODD HEAD SCRATCHERS THAT WE HAVE TO NUMBER THEM JUST TO KEEP ALL THE STRANGE FACTS STRAIGHT. WHAT DO ATOMIC BOMBS, MISSING JEWELS, A HOLLYWOOD STAR, A FAMOUS POLITICIAN'S RELATIVE, AND A GHOST’S ID CARD HAVE IN COMMON? STAY TUNED WHILE WE TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE CASES WE HAVE EVER INVESTIGATED. AN AIRPLANE BURIED IN A GLACIER FOR OVER 60 YEARS WITH 52 MISSING SERVICEMEN ON BOARD AND ENOUGH MYSTERIES TO FILL A NOVEL.