Ep 357: The Fog of War and Humanity with Richard Acritelli and guest Miguel A. Logreira P1 on hmTv

Ep. 357: The Fog of War and Humanity

Host: Richard Acritelli
Guest: Miguel A. Logreira
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

In this riveting first chapter of Miguel A. Logreira’s journey, host Richard Acritelli sits down with a Bronx-born soldier whose life defied every expectation. Miguel grew up ten blocks from Yankee Stadium, hated school, dropped out in 10th grade — and yet became a multilingual U.S. Army intelligence operative serving across the world.

Miguel shares how witnessing violence, chaos, and the arrival of the National Guard during the New York blackout ignited his call to serve. He opens up about basic training at Fort Jackson, the discipline and unity forged at Fort Lee, and the transformative intensity of airborne school at Fort Benning — where humor and hardship often ran side by side.

A global childhood, rich in Lebanese, Portuguese, South American, and American influences, gave Miguel a unique ability to read cultures — a skill the Army recognized, sending him to Monterey for elite language training and eventually into intelligence work.

This episode explores resilience, mentorship, identity, trauma, and the discovery of purpose. Miguel’s story is a testament to how service can mold someone from lost teenager to warrior, linguist, and empathetic leader.

Stay tuned for Part 2, where Miguel reflects on deployments, intelligence missions, life overseas, and the human cost of service.

Transcript

Ep. 357 — The Fog of War and Humanity
Host: Richard Acritelli
Guest: Miguel A. Logreira
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

Richard:
Humanity.

Hello, and thank you for joining me today.
 I’m your host, Rich Acritelli, and on today’s episode of The Fog of War and Humanity, brought to you by hmTv, my special guest is Miguel Logreira. He’s here to talk about his more than two decades of service to this nation.

Miguel — let’s get started.
 Where did you grow up?

Miguel:
I grew up in the Bronx, New York.

Richard:
What were some things you enjoyed as a kid?

Miguel:
Well, one thing I didn’t enjoy was school — that’s part of why I joined the military.
But growing up ten blocks from Yankee Stadium — that was something I did love. That was the gift of growing up in the Bronx.

Richard:
You saw some great World Series moments in the late ’70s — the Bronx Zoo era, the Bronx Bombers?

Miguel:
Absolutely.

Richard:
Funny story — the first podcast I recorded here back in February featured Frank Tepedino — Yankee, Marine, and 9/11 fireman. Steinbrenner’s first traded player. He sat in the same seat you’re in right now.

Who was your favorite Yankee?

Miguel:
Rod — he was one of my favorites.

Richard:
Who else did you admire?

Miguel:
Many — though after a Humvee rollover that caused a traumatic brain injury, my memory for names and places isn’t always sharp. I went through speech retraining — so sometimes recalling people, languages, places takes work. Bear with me.

Richard:
Of course — we’re grateful you’re here and we’ll move with patience.

When did you graduate high school?

Miguel:
I didn’t.
I dropped out — wasn’t a good student.

And the Bronx… well, by age eleven, I’d already seen people stabbed, shot, lived through the blackout.

I remember the National Guard coming in — restoring order. I admired them. I thought, If I die someday, let it be for my country.

That’s why I joined the Army.

Richard:
So you saw the military firsthand, up close. When you entered a recruiting office, what were you hoping for?

Miguel:
Originally logistics. But once I was in, the Army looked at my background — multicultural exposure, language familiarity — and moved me into military intelligence.

Richard:
How many languages do you speak?

Miguel:
Five — and with the right training, I can learn more.

Richard:
Pretty impressive for a kid who says he wasn’t a great student.

Miguel:
The Bronx was my first basic training.
The Army refined it.

Eventually they sent me to night school in California to finish high school. I completed it in three months — and that built confidence. I realized I could do anything.

Richard:
That’s what the military does — puts you in places you think you can’t handle, and shows you that you can.

Where was basic?

Miguel:
Fort Jackson.

Richard:
What stands out?

Miguel:
Unity. Working together regardless of color, size, or background.

I remember a fire drill — ten degrees out. They threw us out with blankets and underwear — we huddled tight just to stay warm. That taught teamwork quickly.

Richard:
Then you went to Fort Lee — logistics training?

Miguel:
Yes — supply chain work. Making sure anything a soldier needs — from toilet paper to tank rounds — could be delivered anywhere in the world within 18 hours.

Richard:
My grandfather trained there in WWII — it made him incredibly organized.

Miguel:
Fort Lee does that.
Crossing T’s, slashing zeros — attention to detail matters.

Richard:
Then airborne training — Fort Benning.

Miguel:
Yes — and that taught me how far the human body and mind can be pushed. Pull-ups, heat, discipline — discovering capabilities I never knew I had.

And you had to keep a sense of humor — because sometimes joking about a parachute failure is the only way to stay sane.

It was brutally hot — they sprayed us with hoses to cool us down. But it built unity.

Richard:
Any instructors from Vietnam?

Miguel:
Yes — different kind of men. I didn’t have good father figures growing up — so I found fatherhood in the Army through mentors. That’s why I stayed in — I was learning how to be a man.

Richard:
Then you graduated, earned your jump wings — what did that feel like?

Miguel:
Pride. Accomplishment.
I even jumped in the civilian sector — and learned civilians don’t have the same safety culture. I’d never do a civilian jump again.

Richard:
Then you headed to Monterey — language training.

Miguel:
Yes — and I was shocked I made it there without a diploma.

Growing up in the Bronx gives one perspective — Monterey opened the world to me.

Richard:
I understand — my mother earned her diploma twenty years after emigrating.

Respect for education grows with time.

Miguel:
Absolutely — and exposure to different cultures shaped me. Lebanese, Portuguese, Venezuelan, Colombian, Brazilian family roots — that meant I understood people before I understood education.

The military saw that and put me into intelligence.

Richard:
So you were learning languages early, absorbing them as a kid — that’s not easy.

Miguel:
It’s a gift — and a burden.
Through VA PTSD and substance abuse programs, I learned something: I’m deeply empathetic and good at reading people. That made me effective in intelligence — seeing through masks.

It shaped how I raise my son. Today he studies Latin — so I see that legacy continuing.

Richard:
So you’ve gone airborne, you’re becoming a well-rounded soldier — physical and intellectual.

What struck you most at Monterey?

Miguel:
I realized you don’t learn language — you learn culture.
Immerse yourself in people, and the language follows.

Even with memory challenges, I can learn any language because the training taught me how to learn.

That helped me understand the world — and myself.

Richard:
And your instructors recognized your background — it made teaching you easier because you’d seen Lebanon, Portugal, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil before age ten.

Miguel:
Exactly — it made me open-minded without knowing it.

I didn’t know empathy was a skill — but it helped me understand people deeply. That made me enjoy the military — which is why I stayed and retired.

Richard:
Miguel, thank you.

We’ll be back for a second episode of The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv, where we’ll dive deeper into Miguel’s career, missions, and experiences.