ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) – It’s a new way to tell some very old stories. A Colorado man and his friend have launched a podcast about veterans. And because they’re honoring our nation’s heroes, we’re honoring them as the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve “Heroes of the Month.”
Tony Lupo and Ryan Fairfield are the first to admit, they’re not veteran podcasters. But veterans are why they’re podcasting. From Lupo’s Arvada basement, they’re working on their latest podcast season. The show is called “The Warrior Next Door” podcast.
They got the idea a while back, when they realized they were already sitting on a trove of compelling content: first-person accounts of war, from those who fought nearly 80 years ago in World War II.
“And we started to become volunteers for the Library of Congress back in 2003, and (Ryan) and I have interviewed about 200 veterans in the past 15 years, all across the country. One of the things that we always talked about is, how can we share this with a wider audience?” Lupo told FOX31.
“What we try to do is make the podcast as engaging as possible,” Fairfield said.
Easy to do, when you’re sharing stories like the one told by World War II veteran Harvey Hunt.
“Big white bushy eyebrows, six foot tall, Marine. Was on, essentially, the first wave of four islands including Iwo Jima, was horribly wounded by getting shot in the mouth retrieving some wounded men,” Lupo said.
“I got shot first. I had this wound in the mouth and my tongue was about the size of a golf ball, or bigger. A baseball I guess,” Hunt said, in an excerpt from the podcast.
Hunt, 97, lives in Colorado Springs. And because of the podcast, his story will live on long after he does. Along with the stories of dozens of other servicemembers.
“You hate to see that generation pass. I feel like they were the adults in the room for the 20th century. I feel like they’re the ones who really gave our country direction and kept us going in the right path,” Fairfield said.
Because Lupo and Fairfield found a way to honor our heroes, we decided to honor them with a little surprise. We presented them with a plaque naming them the FOX31 Serving Those Who Serve “Heroes of the Month” for October.
“Whoa, this is the look of unadulterated surprise. Thank you very much for this!” Lupo said, holding up the plaque.
Along with the award comes a $500 Visa gift card from our Serving Those Who Serve sponsors, Plumbline Services, Ford, and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust.
To nominate a veteran, active duty service member, military family member or volunteer for our Hero of the Month honors, visit the Serving Those Who Serve nomination page.