Heroes Among Us

In this episode, Cydni and Sher discuss heartfelt and humorous stories about Memorial Day, highlighting their family's military service and historical tales of bravery. They shed light on the origins and evolution of Memorial Day and spotlight extraordinary figures like Virginia Hall and Elizabeth Van Lew. With personal anecdotes, sibling rivalry, and a few laughs along the way.  This episode is "Heroes Among Us", and we are so glad you're here!

This Week's Challenge
Even though Memorial Day has just passed, we challenge you to take a moment today: pause for one minute of silence to honor those who gave their lives in service of this country. 

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Show Notes

Drip-Drip Drop, Words and  Music by  Matt Hoiland
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Transcript

Episode 112 - Heroes Among Us

[00:00:00] 

Cydni: I was looking for a military story that I once shared on Facebook that I wanted to use for this episode. I've been searching for 48 hours. I searched military and my name and you know what I saw Cher. 

Sher: Oh, I'm so afraid of what you saw. 

Cydni: No, it's good. Post after post, praising my brothers, 'cause I have three brothers who serve in the military. that is awesome. it was a shout out to Levi, shout out to Duggan, shout out to Sam. So I always think about them, any military event. But then I was like, and shout out to Grady. He's been sober for a bit. And then shout out to me. Just because, I was the only girl in that family, so good job to me, I remembered a time when my dad shared how grateful he was for his children, but he only shared three out of five of us. As the military boys, and so I cropped myself and Grady, so I put his not sober face. In the picture with me flying through the sky and then I shared it in the comments and my dad never replied to it, but my brothers a lot. So shout out to my [00:01:00] brothers is how I wanted to start with this.

Sher: At least three of his five children were successful. 

Cydni: Shout out to my parents for three out of your five. 

Sher: so we know Memorial Day was yesterday, but we wanted to still talk about it anyway. Yeah, we did. We thought we would start by talking about how Memorial Day came about in the first place.

And by we we mean Sher you like that. Yeah. I thought you were in charge of it. Cydni 

Cydni: I did watch a whole documentary Four minutes I liked it. Did I remember anything? I don't know. , 

Sher: Well. Did you know that Memorial Day actually originated right after the Civil War, but it was called Decoration Day and it was to honor the Fallen Union soldiers. President Grant really supported this, but it was organized by General John, a Logan, who was a Union general and Grant presided over the first major national observance at Arlington Cemetery. I. And a lot of people attended, but it wasn't a federal holiday yet, [00:02:00] But it continued to be a way to honor the union soldiers after the Civil War. 

Cydni: Okay. I'm listening to you, Cher, but I just suddenly remembered your prayer before we got started you were like, please bless. There could be calm energy. And now I just suddenly felt very offended. I think that was personal. That's what I have to share. 

Sher: I just wanted you to stop jumping up and down. That's all I wanted 

Cydni: anyway, , I did wanna say one thing. From the video that I watched What my takeaway was is that before it becomes a holiday. a lot of people didn't want to unite because they were on different sides of wars and they didn't agree, so they didn't wanna honor the fallen men on the opposite side. it wasn't until, I think I said World War II to you, and you said, I think it's World War I. And I never looked it up to find out, but for those who are listening, they could look it up but I'm pretty sure it is World War One. Brought people together and then they united on the holiday. 

Sher: I was a little worried you wouldn't look it up. So Yeah, it is. After World War I, it expanded to honor all military [00:03:00] personnel who died in service. 

Cydni: You just took away that responsibility to those who are listening. But that's okay. 

Sher: Well, you're welcome everyone. But it wasn't declared an official holiday and named Memorial Day until 1971. And this was done by President Nixon he's the one who moved it just to be consistently the last Monday in May. And that way federal employees could always have a three day holiday., there's 

Cydni: that. Ben and I almost got married on Memorial Day, or we did, I don't remember. Did we Monday? We'll get back to this later. 

Sher: That was really a good story, Cydni but you know, something I learned from this is my parents always called Memorial Day, decoration Day, and I never knew why. And now I know why. It's because that was the name of it. Until pretty much 1971, which my parents were well into their adult years by that time. So to them it was always Decoration day.

Cydni: I loved learning that. I did not know until we've talked about this, 

Sher: now just one more little side note we don't wanna be confused with Veterans Day. So Memorial Day is about honoring the dead [00:04:00] and especially those who died in the service of our country. I then promptly chose people that none of them. Died in service of the country, but they served the country. So I kind of blew that one a little bit.

Cydni: That's okay. I honestly thought maybe that's why I couldn't find the story because the one I really wanted to share that I love, he lives as well. And I thought, well, maybe it's because it doesn't go with it. But You just powered through. I just talked, just powered 

Sher: through. I was just like, whatever. I like the story, so I'm gonna tell 'em. 

Cydni: I support that. The one I have, I only have one how many did I say I was gonna have?. 

Sher: You said you were gonna do at least two and she did one. 

Cydni: But it's accurate ' cause my soldier dies. 

Sher: So you did one on topic. I did three off topic 

Cydni: and that didn't sound nice, but I mean it Nice. 

Sher: I'm gonna go ahead and start, and I wanna talk about my Uncle Kenneth. My Uncle Kenneth served in the Korean War, or the Korean conflict. he was one of the only survivors that was caught behind enemy lines. he was shot in the foot, but he carried his commanding officer. Out to safety. He ran [00:05:00] four miles with this man over his shoulders. When he finally arrived back at his camp, he put the guy on the ground to get help from the medical personnel.

And once they looked at him, they said, well, it's too late for him, but we can help you. And my uncle was like, I don't know what you're talking about. He had no idea that he had been shot in the foot and he ran. Miles without even thinking about it. Now I know this is a very short story, but there is a point to it.

We never really knew about his bravery until after he died. We found out that my uncle had a Purple Heart and he had several awards, but nobody in the family knew about it because he never talked about it. He never talked about how he got all these awards and what he did to earn them.

And I think there's a valuable lesson that we can learn here from this I think it's important to serve for the right reasons. He did it not for the applause. He did it because that was his duty. And to me, that really is what heroism is all about, is it's just quiet and you do it. Not for the [00:06:00] ego but I will say, at least please write it down so your family knows the whole story after the fact. Because I don't even know if I got the story right because I just heard bits and pieces from like my mom. My brother found an article. I'm sure I messed it up somewhere. But that's the best I could do, considering that we only know bits and pieces of the story. 

Cydni: Maybe he wanted you to put a spin on it to make it sound flashier. I should have, right? I'll do that for the next episode. Well, if you're gonna talk about a family member, I'm going to go ahead and add a second story. My first has not been shared, but now I have two. Oh, you're just gonna go for it right now? I, I am. Oh, good. And he's like your uncle. We didn't even know what he's been through, but I'll just say, my little brother, Sam, he did receive a distinguished service cross, and it's a very high award and he did not tell us anything about it, but that boy was so brave and he pulled. People out of a suicide bombing situation and I just wanted to do a shout out for him on that. He's a good man, but he also was the same he didn't [00:07:00] seek applause.

Sher: I don't know how they did it. I think if I was there I would be like, Hey, you wanna know what I did? Look what I did. How would you not? 

Cydni: Right. Well, I asked my brother that once actually, and he said nobody wants any of those awards because it means someone died.

Sher: Oh, that's a fair point. 

Cydni: I know. 

Sher: Let's talk about another hero to honor Memorial Day. And that is Virginia Hall. She was a spy during World War ii and her code name was the Limping Lady. I like that name. 

Cydni: I like it too. It's like seductive, but persevering. At the same time, the limping lady is seductive. Oh my gosh. Check out her limp. No, 

Sher: it's. Too much information for me. All right, so she first started out as a spy for the British, but then she moved over to the American side. She was in the Office of Strategic Services. It was the forerunner of the CIA and she. Operated in France after the Nazis had taken it over. the reason she is so amazing is because she got the code name limping lady [00:08:00] because she had a wooden leg and the reason she had this wooden leg, it was due to a hunting accident and this obviously made her work a little bit more difficult because she did have a disability. But this is what her achievements were. She organized resistance networks. She coordinated sabotage, operations against German forces. She helped downed Allied Airmen and refugees Escape. She trained resistance fighters in preparation for D-Day, and the Gestapo called her the most dangerous of all Allied Spies, she was at the top of the most wanted list in France.

But despite that, she just kept going and she continued on with her mission. After the war she was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and it's one of the highest US military honors. is that what your brother got? That's 

Cydni: what my brother got. 

Sher: She got the same thing. 

Cydni: Look at that. Sam Matchy Mary. You're welcome. 

Sher: And then in 1945 when the CIA started, she joined that and she became one of the very first female officers and she [00:09:00] worked for the CIA for over 15 years. She was primarily in Washington DC but sometimes went overseas a little bit. when she retired she. Lived on a farm in Maryland and just lived a quiet, private life. And nobody really knew about her because she was a spy. So no one really knew what she was up to or what she did or about her past.

And it wasn't until after she died, that she started getting more recognition. And what I learned from this is, you don't need to be whole physically to be powerful spiritually and mentally. And there are so many examples of people that serve this country that even though they. Were hurt in some manner that they were able to overcome it because of their faith in God or because of their extreme mental capability of being able to power through hard things.

Cydni: That reminds me of a study I know I've told you about Cher. they told a group of women that they were gonna go do a job interview and they were going to put scars on their face and. They wanted feedback of how people [00:10:00] responded to how they looked.

So they decorated their faces with all these scars and sent them into the job interview. But right before they left for the job interview, they said, oh, let me touch up your makeup a little bit. And in that they took all of the makeup off. There was no scars on their face anymore. And so when they went into the interview, they didn't know the scars were gone.

They thought they were there and they were paying attention to how they were treated by somebody else. And nearly every single one of 'em said they were treated differently because of the scars on their face. Then they would find out later that they didn't have any scars on their face, but they thought they had a scar on their face.

The reason this is coming to my mind is, I think so often we live in a way where we think people perceive us a certain way. And I think we really hold ourselves back and our potential back because we're out there thinking people are staring at something that maybe isn't there.

And Virginia Hall, her heroism and her courage. It's such a beautiful example of seeing yourself as who you truly are. Understanding your true identity and knowing what you're [00:11:00] capable, despite the odds, , 

Sher: I agree. Because I think that speaking for myself I like to dwell on my weaknesses. So I think that other people are also dwelling on my weaknesses, and then that's how I perceive myself and think everyone else is looking at me the same way.

instead She was dwelling on what her strength was. Her strength was doing all of these amazing things like organizing a resistance against the Nazis, which is incredible. That was her strength, and that is what she chose to dwell on. 

Cydni: Right, and her example just shows, like you're saying, she didn't dwell on. What was wrong with her? She dwelled on a purpose, a God driven purpose, and we have to have that for ourselves. We do focus so often on our weaknesses and think people see us for what's happened to us or how we look, but these people, they show us that everyone who's ever been a hero or someone great has always been an average person to start off with, but they see a bigger picture.

She could have just welled on a limping leg [00:12:00] her whole entire life, and she was rejected for having a disability. She could have been done, had a ticket out Instead, she figured out a way to be all in. I think that's such a beautiful example of courage and perseverance. 

Sher: it truly is. it's easier said than done though. You know what I mean? Like we can talk about how Oh, we should, and you're right, we should, but easier said than 

Cydni: done. I would agree. 'Cause what we focus on grows, and sadly, some of those things are Such big mental blocks, they're near impossible to get through. But hopefully we learn from these people that you can and should and ought to. From my mother. From your mother. 

My story comes from President Reagan's memorial speech. Given in 1981, He first says this, peace is the highest aspiration of the American people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it. We will not surrender for it now or ever. We are Americans. He then shares a story that I love so much. One, I loved it because the [00:13:00] name is not familiar. The story is not familiar. And once again, going back to the idea that any one of us should and could and ought to do our part to serve, to be willing.

And this story represents that message so well because this young man, private Reto, He was delivering a message between battalions in France when sadly he was killed they recovered his body and this young man had a diary. In his pocket he wrote, America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure. I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone. I feel impacted by this story. I thought of, how do I apply this to my everyday life, to my children, to the people I interact with, to my faith? And I thought, what if we all took on the idea that this whole struggle depended on [00:14:00] me alone?

How would we be different? How would we act different? How would we serve differently? Where would our urgency be? , I recently read a motivational quote that said, if someone followed you for seven days, would they think you were serious about your goals? I answered that and said, no, they would not.

They would be like, how are you surviving? But when I listened to his words, it's changed something in me from just going through a routine to an urgency and how I do the things that I am in control of. And I hope from this that we can also have the same urgency and the same determination that this young man had and remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Even though we face difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

It's a dream rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. As I have studied more of Dr. Martin Luther King, when he says [00:15:00] equal, he means that we all must do our part to serve and work and put forth effort and do our portion to live as if the struggle depended on me.

Sher: I love everything you just said. That Cydni I feel like a proud mom right now. You just made my old. Crusty history, teacher heart. So happy. 

Cydni: Thank you. I don't know if a teacher has ever said that to me before. Maybe my drama teacher. She said I did a good job once, thanks for listening, Pam. 

Sher: it was right on. And please, it's so important to study our history and know where we came from so we can keep this train going.

All right. I have one more story. Is it about me? Yeah, we've heard enough about you. Okay. This is about Elizabeth Van Lew. She was a wealthy. Southern lady, and she was from Richmond, Virginia, which was the capital of the Confederacy at the time. But she was staunchly for the north. She was pro-union. She operated a union spy ring during the civil war in the south.

She hoped [00:16:00] escape. Union prisoners. And she passed information to the Union Army, and she even planted one of her former slaves, Mary Bowser. So shout out to Mary Bowser for doing this as a spy inside the Confederate White House.

So the question I had when I was reading about her is how did she pull this off? This is what I think is really cool. First of all, she played the part. So a lot of the residents in Richmond, they considered her really strange or mentally unstable and they called her crazy bet, which helped deflect the suspicion that she was doing anything. 'Cause they just thought she was some crazy lady.

Cydni: I love it. I'm laughing so hard right now. 

Sher: I think you could pull that off, Syd. 

Cydni: I was just thinking, you know what I'm learning from Virginia and Elizabeth. Two spies. Listen, if your lady is going through your phone. It's in our DNA. It's true. We are spies. Mm-hmm. And if we're acting a little bit crazy, it's in our DNA. We're heroes. 

Sher: We're just trying to keep the country free. 

Cydni: That's, we're trying tore just doing our part. That's it i's. I'm a little bit crazy. I could spy a little bit if I need to. [00:17:00] I am from a long line of women who act this way too. 

Sher: Good connection there. All right. She also used really clever methods to communicate what she was learning. She used invisible ink coded messages and hiding places. She took eggs, hollowed it out, and put messages inside of the eggs. Before plastic eggs were a thing. Wow. What? This woman had it 

Cydni: going on, right? Dude, she had so much fun with this. Mm-hmm. Didn't she? She was like, this will not be simple. 

Sher: She was all in. And then she also used the soles of shoes and put messages inside of it to pass the information. 

Cydni: I'm gonna do this in my family from now on. I'm not talking to them through Instagram, like I do my 15-year-old anymore. I'm gonna leave messages in eggs and shoes. To I think he'll really like that a lot. I think he'll see the messages. He's still love that. Oh, that is the downfall. I know. When he's seen a message on text.

I, I 

Sher: know, I know, I know. You can fold it a certain way. Oh yeah. So once he opens it, then you know if he's read it or not. 'cause he won't be able to fold it back. 

Cydni: Good idea. 'cause I'll definitely remember how I folded it, 

Sher: [00:18:00] All right. Well, she also relied on like I said earlier, her former enslaved servant, Mary Bowser. She was placed as a spy in the Confederate White House. She recognized that Mary Bowser had an exceptional memory, and because she was in the Confederate White House, then she had access to all this high level information. You and I would not be able to do that based on the memory part.

Cydni: Yeah. I honestly don't remember what you just said right now, so I'm still thinking about the egg.

Sher: Well, after the war, when the union troops took over Richmond in 1865, general Ulysses S Grant personally visited her to thank her for her service. She did all of these wonderful things for the north. The South, when they found out what she was really up to, they all hated her guts and they shunned her. And she lived the rest of her life really quietly. And she died in poverty in the year 1900. But what I learned from, Elizabeth is this, this lady was willing to risk. Everything. Her wealth, [00:19:00] her safety, her high society life to do the right thing. That to me is amazing. She gave everything up in order to help free the slaves. That is a remarkable woman who was willing to do that.

Cydni: You know, share. Something I really love about doing a podcast with a history teacher is that I've had an opportunity and a reason to dig deeper into history, and I think a lot of us have a surface level appreciation for the freedom that we have for the sacrifices made for it.

But especially doing these episodes, that helps me to deepen my connection . To these everyday people who decided to do something more spectacular because of the sacrifices they were willing to make, to sacrifice their life and their comfort in hopes for a better future. And one thing you taught me, I did not know this, is that on Memorial Day there is a national moment of remembrance, and it's observed at 3:00 PM local time, and it encourages all [00:20:00] Americans to pause for one minute of silence, to honor those who have died in service to the United States.

. And our challenge this week, even though Memorial Day just happened, we challenge you to do this today. Pause for one minute in silence to honor those who have died in service. 

Sher: This brings us to our final thoughts, Sydney, and I just wanted to take a moment to pause and remember the men and women who gave everything for this country while we talked about a few people who survived their service to this country, their stories help us understand the kind of quiet courage and selflessness that defines true sacrifice, conviction, and /heroism. We hope their examples push us to be more grateful, more grounded, and more aware of the cost of freedom as we learned from private. Reto I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost as if the issue of the whole struggle depends on me alone. 

This is our prayer from Cydni and Sher 

Cydni: And Rudy [00:21:00] We know we have nothing together. Yes. And we just keep trucking along. That's right. You did wanna be a truck driver.

I remember. I did wanna be a truck driver. Driver. This is kind of like trucking along. I think he had the character and the bravery and the courage to do it. I dropped him off every day at school and I embarrassed him so deeply that he just was not afraid of anything.

So how did this come back to you? 

Sher: That's my 

Cydni: question. I don't understand. It just happens like that when it's meant to be, it's just a flow of truth. I just wanted to say again to myself I did a good job helping raise Sam. And then I was like, well, back to seeking applause to me. But maybe if my dad would've added me in that photo, I wouldn't be seeking applause elsewhere. But here I am. 

Sher: You know, I think maybe you should talk to your therapist about this photo. I think you've got a lot of issues. She's not 

Cydni: responding to me right now. Cher, Deanna, if you're listening, I'm [00:22:00] available next week. 

Sher: How do you say that name? Cobert. She nicknamed her leg. I should have learned more about the hunting accident, but I, I didn't, you can, you 

Cydni: can make this up too. You can make up whatever you want. But what am I saying? Actually, Sher you know, sir I don't know. I was gonna say share. I know your name. 

Sher: It's okay. Crazy bet. 

Cydni: What do I say? Sure. . 

Sher: Now for our final thoughts, Sydnee, and I mess up your name. Ha ha. 

Cydni: I guess you didn't make a big deal out of it. Me, I didn't. I didn't make a big deal out of it. I'm not dramatic like you, Cher. I am calm. Can I talk now? Have a great week.