Special Programming
WAMC is observing Veterans Day, Wednesday November 11th. Here's what you can look forward to.
9am – 10am
Heroes of the Vietnam War
Focusing between 1964 through 1975, The Heroes of the Vietnam War covers media coverage of the war, U.S. political leaders of the day and the music and entertainment of the era. The Vietnam War touched all elements of American life during those years. Listeners will hear the voices of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley and the protests of the 1968 DNC Convention in Chicago and the shocking events at Kent State University in 1970. The changes in the entertainment scene are highlighted with performances by Tom Lehrer, interviews with Tommy and Dick Smothers discussing their comedic Presidential run of Pat Paulsen. It’s a fast-paced look at the events of the Vietnam War, Watergate, the end of a Presidency of Richard Nixon and the crisis of confidence that affected the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.
10am – 11am
How Veterans Find Healing After War
Soldiers face danger every day in the service, ranging from physical injury to emotional trauma — but for a lot of veterans, the hardest part comes when they return to civilian life. That’s when many vets end up struggling the most, finding themselves battling with depression, isolation, and PTSD. On this Veterans Day episode, we explore the different paths veterans take to heal their invisible wounds. We talk with a Marine Corps vet-turned-ceramics artist about how working with clay helped him process the trauma of combat and reconnect with civilian life, find out how psychedelic-assisted therapy changed the life of a retired Navy SEAL, and hear the story of a Vietnam vet who found peace in an unexpected place after decades of guilt.
11am -12pm
From the Vault – Veteran’s Day Edition
This is a special episode celebrating Veteran’s Day. Morton Gould's Fanfare for Liberty opens the program. This was one of the 18 fanfares commissioned by Eugene Goossens for the Cincinnati Symphony for a patriotic concert in 1943. Then George Antheil’s portrayal of Washington’s army marching on Trenton in McKonkey’s Ferry. David Holsinger was commissioned to write music for the USAF Tactical Air Command Band to celebrate the airmen who challenge the skies. Finally, Roy Harris created a symphony based on Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. This was his Symphony No. 6.
2pm – 3pm
Reel Music: Patriotic Films
Film music for America on this edition of Reel Music. You’ll hear themes from some of cinema’s most patriotic films: Independence Day, Air Force One, Apollo 13, Captain America, and more.
3pm – 4pm
Students & Soldiers: Captivating Stories From Montana Veterans
Although this collection of veterans' experiences comes from Montana, the recalled experiences of conflict and military service are universal. Through days and weeks of boredom interspersed with moments of sheer terror, through camaraderie and loyalty, exhaustion and fear, military service changes anyone who serves. During a tour of duty in a foreign country, the patriotism carried into basic training by a new inductee becomes more nuanced, as surprising and sobering impressions of day-to-day life outside the first world sink into the soldier's consciousness.
With recollections of the Bataan Death March and the Doolittle Raids of WWII, of the Navy base romance that led to a decades-long marriage, of guerrilla-style mortar attacks in the highlands of Vietnam and roadside IEDs in the deserts of Iraq, these twelve veterans share some of the most influential experiences of their lives with their teen-aged interviewers.
"Students and Soldiers" is a collaboration between Montana Public Radio, Willard Alternative High School in Missoula, Montana, the Veterans History Project, and the AmeriCorps Vista program