From Medal of Honor: James Fleming’s Impossible Vietnam War Rescue
Against the Rules with Michael Lewis
Pushkin Industries
4.4 • 9.9K Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1968, in the dense jungles of Vietnam, a team of Green Berets was pinned down by an overwhelming North Vietnamese Army force. Their last hope was a young Air Force pilot named James Fleming. Despite being low on fuel and facing a wall of enemy fire, Fleming refused to turn back. The rescue mission seemed destined to fail, but a split-second decision would earn Fleming the nation’s highest military honor.
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Episode resources:
Green Hornets: The History of the U.S. Air Force 20th Special Operations Squadron by Wayne Mutza (Schiffer Military History, 2007)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.6 | On Christmas Eve 1995, author Miguel Angel Hernandez's best friend murdered his sister and took his own life by jumping off a clip. |
| 0:13.4 | No one ever knew why. The investigation was closed and the crime forgotten. |
| 0:18.0 | Twenty years later, Miguel returns home in an attempt to reconstruct that tragic night that |
| 0:22.8 | marked the end of his adolescence, but revisiting the past will awaken personal ghosts. |
| 0:28.0 | Based on true events, the pain of others is a raw and moving novel that views a police thriller |
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| 0:44.0 | Hey, everyone, it's J.R. Martinez. |
| 0:46.2 | Before we get into this episode, |
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| 1:12.6 | Okay, now to the episode. |
| 1:15.2 | This July 4th marks the 250th anniversary of America, |
| 1:19.5 | 250 years of rebellion and innovation, of struggle and survival, of liberty and courage and sacrifice. |
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