The Real Man Behind “I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning”

Our American Stories

iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture, Documentary

4.3 • 737 Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of Our American Stories, Colonel David Hackworth was a soldier’s soldier. He fought in Korea, commanded in Vietnam, and earned more than 90 awards for valor, making him one of the most decorated military figures in American history. However, his legacy extends beyond citations. In Vietnam, Hackworth became known for his bold leadership, unconventional tactics, and outspoken criticism of military bureaucracy. Years later, some of his real-life exploits would inspire characters and lines in Hollywood films (Apocalypse Now, for instance), but Hackworth’s war was no movie. Major General “Mook” Mukoyama shares the story of the man, the myth, and the legend himself.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an IHeart podcast.
0:04.4	Summer's here and with the kids home and off to camp, it's easy for moms to get lost in the shuffle.
0:09.0	On good mom's bad choices, we're making space to center ourselves with joy, rest, and pleasure.
0:14.1	Take the kids to camp.
0:15.5	You know what?
0:16.3	It was expensive.
0:17.7	But I was also thinking, you have my kid.
0:20.0	This is kind of priceless. Take her, feed her,
0:23.3	make core memories. I don't have to do anything. Main thing, I don't have to do anything.
0:29.3	To hear this and more, listen to Good Mom's Bad Choices from Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart
0:34.4	Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.
0:38.3	Adventure should never come with a pause button.
0:40.9	Remember Movie Pass?
0:42.3	All the movies you wanted for just nine bucks?
0:45.0	I'm Bridget Todd, host of There Are No Girls on the Internet.
0:47.8	And this season, I'm digging into the tech stories we weren't told.
0:51.2	Starting with Stacey Spikes, the black founder of movie pass who got pushed out
0:55.0	of the company he built.
0:53.6	Everybody's trying to knock you down and it's not going to work and no one's going to like it. And then boom, it's everywhere. And that was that moment. Listen to there are no girls on the internet on the IHurt Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I also want to address the Tonys.
1:12.4	On a recent episode of Checking Game with Michelle Williams,
1:15.7	I open up about feeling snubbed by the Tony Awards.
1:19.3	Do I?
	...

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