This July 4th marks the 250th anniversary of America, 250 years of rebellion and innovation,

of struggle and survival, of liberty and courage and sacrifice. As many times over the past

quarter millennium, our American experiment looked like it could fall apart at the seams. When you

look closely at those moments, though, it wasn't politicians who held us together. It was ordinary

people. People who spoke up, who protested, who fought. Regular people in times of

great strife grabbed at the frayed fabric of this country and pulled it together. In this season

of Medal of Honor, as America celebrates its semi-quincennial, we're telling the stories of some of

those people, because bravery is in all of us.

And because the same qualities that carried us through the first 250 years,

courage, honor, and loyalty will help us endure the next 250.

This is Season 3 of Medal of Honor, Stories of Courage.

Thank you for listening.

Here's host J.R. Martinez with the first episode.

Find Medal of Honor wherever you get podcasts and binge the full season ad-free with a Pushkin Plus subscription.

Sign up and save on the Medal of Honor show page on Apple Podcasts

or at pushkin.fm slash plus.

Use the code M-O-H-25 for 25% off an annual subscription.

The helicopter made its way up the river. The rotor blade was humming against the sky. There

was thick jungle on both sides of the riverbank, bright green against the rushing brown water.

It was November 26, 1968, and that river separated Cambodia from South Vietnam.

The pilot of the chopper followed its path, heading towards the sound of gunfire, towards the battle.

The mission had started with five helicopters, but three of them were already gone.

...