Semper Try

In this episode of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with longtime friend and fellow Legion member Leroy, a U.S. Army veteran who served as a Military Police officer during the Cold War.

Leroy shares how his decision to join the Army in 1974 was inspired by his father—a World War II veteran who lost his leg in combat in the Philippines and earned a Purple Heart. From basic training at Fort Leonard Wood to MP school at Fort Gordon, Leroy takes us through his early days in uniform and the realities of Army life in the 1970s.

Much of the conversation focuses on Leroy’s time in Cold War Germany as an Army Military Police officer with the 1st Armored Division, where he patrolled off-base alongside German police, guarded missile sites, responded to bar fights downtown, and trained for a possible conflict with the Soviet Union. He describes Cold War tensions, NATO training exercises, riding with German police units, and being among the few soldiers authorized to carry live ammunition during field operations.

Leroy also recounts unforgettable moments, including responding to a Canadian military jet crash near a German town that happened to be the sister city of his hometown in Minnesota. He explains the difference between divisional and garrison MPs, crash investigation duties, and stepping into an acting sergeant role late in his enlistment.

After completing active duty in Germany, Leroy continued serving through the Army Reserves, training in South Korea, Pennsylvania, and Fort McCoy, Wisconsin—building a lifetime connection to service that continues today through the American Legion.

This episode is a powerful reminder that service doesn’t always happen in combat zones—but it always matters.

What does perseverance look like at 84?

In this episode of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with Ed Manley, a 21-year U.S. Navy veteran, former FMF Corpsman with the United States Marine Corps, educator, and author — recorded live at Podfest in Florida.

Despite a recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Ed is still creating, still teaching, and still moving forward. From joining the Navy at 17 in 1959, serving during the Cold War, working alongside Marines, rising from enlisted sailor to commissioned officer, and later educating thousands of military members, Ed’s story is a powerful example of perseverance, resilience, leadership, lifelong learning, and never quitting.

Because trying beats quitting.

In Episode 10 of the Semper Try Podcast, Bill sits down with Riley Jordan, USMC, a Marine veteran whose journey proves that trying really does beat quitting.

Riley shares his path from a small-town upbringing to Marine Corps boot camp, serving as a heavy equipment operator, and deploying overseas to Okinawa and beyond. Along the way, he learned hard lessons about leadership, discipline, camaraderie, and finding purpose after the uniform comes off.

But the heart of this episode is a story you can’t make up.

While still serving, Riley discovers that the father he never knew was also a Marine — a senior leader in the same Corps. What follows is a powerful story of timing, faith, reconciliation, and understanding why some answers only come when you’re ready for them.

Now back home, Riley continues serving his community as a volunteer firefighter, a husband, and a soon-to-be father — proving that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off.

This is a story about brotherhood, family, second chances, and the courage to keep moving forward.

Because trying beats quitting.

In this episode of Semper Try, the story turns from escorting fallen Marines home… to being interrogated while still in uniform.

After Vietnam, while stationed at a Naval Air Station in California, this Marine found himself under repeated investigation by the Naval Intelligence Division (NID). What started as questions turned into a sweeping probe of an entire barracks filled with decorated combat veterans — men with Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, and Gallantry Crosses.

One by one, 12 Vietnam Marines were interrogated, pressured, and discharged.

He was the only one who walked out with an honorable record.

Not because he turned on them.
But because he refused to.

In windowless rooms, NID officers read statements, applied pressure, and tried to force him to confirm accusations against fellow Marines. Instead, he warned the others, requested mast with his commanding officer, and even testified at a court-martial to help save one Marine from being destroyed.

This is a story about loyalty after war.
About a witch hunt few people have ever heard about.
And about what it really means to protect your own — even when the pressure comes from inside the military itself.

Why did Naval Intelligence target Marines after Vietnam?

Because trying beats quitting.

In Part 2, John Meade, a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran, continues his story with the chilling aftermath of the Christmas Eve 1966 perimeter incident—when his foxhole partner admitted, “I did it. I killed the other Marine.” John shares the unanswered questions that still haunt him: missing rounds, missing memory, and the six hours in the foxhole he cannot recall. That gap becomes a turning point in understanding combat trauma, moral injury, and how PTSD in veterans can form even without constant firefights.

John also explains what his Vietnam service was really like—nearly a full year in-country, never firing his rifle at the enemy, yet living in constant risk. He recalls tense moments on informal patrols through villages, the fear of hidden Viet Cong, and the deadly reality of convoy operations when a landmine blast killed multiple Marines. As a combat engineer in Vietnam, John describes the brutal scenes war leaves behind and the emotional toll of witnessing loss, violence, and survival so up close.

Part 2 shifts to John’s return from Vietnam—how a night of liberty in Da Nang turned into a life-changing moment when he learned his father was on the verge of death back home. Rushed stateside, John shares the raw reality of coming home from war, confronting family crisis, and discovering painful truths about his father’s past, including prison time, generational trauma, and a rare blood disorder (porphyria) that shaped his upbringing.

The episode then takes an unforgettable turn: John’s surreal stop in Las Vegas, where he’s unexpectedly taken under the wing of a powerful showgirl and introduced to a world of entertainers, high-profile rooms, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences—still carrying the mindset of a young Marine who survived Vietnam and wasn’t sure what came next.

Part 2 closes with John’s transition into post-Vietnam Marine life, special duty details, and the strange contrast between public ceremony and private scars—setting the stage for what comes next in his journey.

In Part 1 of this multi-part conversation, Bill sits down with John Meade, a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran and author of Confessions of a Surviving Alien.

John shares his early life growing up in Minnesota, the lessons learned from hard work at a young age, and the experiences that shaped his determination to always try. From boot camp and advanced Marine Corps infantry training to volunteering for Vietnam in 1966, John explains why he chose the toughest path and what it meant to serve during the Vietnam War.

This episode covers John’s journey to Vietnam, landing in-country, building base camps as a combat engineer, guarding perimeters, and witnessing the realities of war for the first time. John also opens up about a Christmas Eve 1966 incident that would leave lasting effects, introducing the early signs of combat trauma, moral injury, and PTSD in veterans—long before those terms were widely understood.

Part 1 sets the foundation for a powerful story about military service, Vietnam veteran experiences, survivor’s guilt, and the lifelong impact of war. It’s a raw, honest look at what happens when the fighting ends—but the memories don’t.

Sometimes the biggest moments in life happen when you least expect them.

In episode 8 of Semper Try, Bill shares a personal story from a freezing Friday night just before Christmas. What started as a simple dinner with family turned into a life-changing moment when he noticed a young man alone in a parking lot, clearly in distress.

What followed was a conversation between two strangers — one trying to hold everything together and one simply trying to help.

Days later, something unexpected happened that brought the entire story full circle.

This episode isn’t about veterans, rank, or service branches.
It’s about something just as important:

Showing up for someone when they need it most.

Because sometimes all it takes is stopping, listening, and reminding someone that life is still worth trying.

Because Trying Beats Quitting.

Navy Veteran Todd Wohl

USS INGERSOLL DD-990