Ep 358: The Fog of War and Humanity with Richard Acritelli and guest Miguel A. Logreira P2 on hmTv

Ep. 358 The Fog of War and Humanity

Host: Richard Acritelli
Guest: Miguel Laguerre
hmTv / Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center

In this powerful second installment of his multi-part conversation, host Richard Acritelli sits down with veteran Miguel Laguerre to explore a story of grit, service, identity, and transformation — from a rough childhood in the Bronx to more than 20 years serving the United States in military intelligence.

Miguel opens up about:

• Growing up ten blocks from Yankee Stadium amid violence and blackout riots
• Dropping out of school — and finding purpose in the Army
• How witnessing the National Guard inspired him to serve
• Moving from logistics to military intelligence because of language skills
• Learning five languages and discovering that “you don’t learn language — you learn people”
• The mentorship, discipline, and unity that shaped him in basic training and airborne school
• Surviving traumatic brain injury and rebuilding cognitive skills
• How empathy and cultural awareness became his greatest tools in service

Richard and Miguel also reflect on the deeper human lessons of military life — belonging, leadership, resilience, and the impact a good mentor can have on a young person searching for direction.

This episode is a testament to how the armed forces don’t just train soldiers — they reveal potential people never knew they had.

Stay tuned for Part 3, where Miguel shares frontline experiences, the realities of intelligence work, and how service shaped the man he is today.

Transcript

Humanity Matters.

Host (Richard Acritelli): Welcome back to The Fog of War and Humanity here on hmTv.
Miguel, sitting to my left, we just explored your childhood in the Bronx — being a Yankees fan — and some of the traveling you’ve done from South and Central America all the way to Lebanon. We touched on your language abilities, your airborne training, supply work at Fort Lane, your entry into the military at Fort Jackson, and then your schooling in Monterey, California — still one of the leading places to learn languages in or out of the military.

Let’s pick up there. What was the first language the military trained you in, and what’s that process like?

Miguel: The foundation is culture — the people, the religion, everything tied to identity. From there, you’re immersed in it almost nonstop — twenty-five hours a day, eight days a week.

Richard: Which language did they want you to learn more of? Arabic? Portuguese?

Miguel: Arabic. They foresaw what was coming in the next few years — and they were right. A lot of global hot spots demanded Arabic speakers.

Richard: Where were you in terms of ability before school versus when you graduated?

Miguel: With family, I had very limited language ability but a bit of a foundation. After graduation, I spoke fluently. Writing was harder — languages like Arabic or Chinese don’t use Western alphabet systems, so it’s a challenge.

Richard: This may sound like a dumb question…

Miguel: Never a dumb question.

Richard: Is Arabic universal, or are there different dialects?

Miguel: Different dialects — but they teach you the dialect you’ll need in country, including slang. Slang matters.

Richard: If they deploy you to a country, do they give you time to learn those dialects, or is it boots-on-the-ground learning?

Miguel: You have to be proactive. Before your boots hit the ground, you learn as much as you can — and then you keep learning on your own. You can’t depend on someone else to teach you everything.

Richard: So when the military is proactive, it preserves missions, saves lives, and produces results.

Miguel: Absolutely — good results. You prepare so you can blend in and move with locals without being detected.

Richard: When you graduated, how many languages did you cover?

Miguel: Four in total — Arabic and Portuguese were my main ones.

Richard: So they realized they had a diamond in the rough — a young guy moving from school to school who could pick things up quickly.

Miguel: Yes. People think the ASVAB is about intelligence. It isn’t. It’s about what the military needs — resilience, dedication, heart. If you have those, you’ll succeed.

They discovered something about me that I never knew — that I’m a “paper person.” And that I had empathy. That opened me up. So even though life was difficult, I became grateful. I kept raising my hand for more years of service because I discovered who I was.

Richard: So you conquer the intellectual training, you’ve got airborne wings — that’s a lot. Where do they send you next?

Miguel: Many places — into undercover operations I can’t talk about. I took an oath not to reveal details for 100 years. But yes, I had experienced people around me, and they taught me a lot.

It helped me learn more about people — cultures, accents, phonetics. Before the military, I lived in an illusion. When I joined, I entered real life.

Richard: You served in the U.S., but when did you go overseas?

Miguel: Two years later — 1982 — Frankfurt, Germany.

Richard: Did you pick up German?

Miguel: Yes. I wasn’t trained formally, but I learned enough to speak it. German is a harsher language — they’ve gone through a lot historically, and they sit at a crossroads in Europe. To learn their language, you have to understand that mindset.

Richard: Did you pick it up living among locals?

Miguel: Yes. I avoided living in barracks — exposure teaches you culture. Analyzing people became everyday life — that’s how I was trained.

Richard: Did you travel around Germany? See differences in dialect?

Miguel: Absolutely — Bavarian, Frankfurt, Stuttgart — many different regional styles. Just like here — soda vs. pop.

Richard: When you meet someone new, is your mind constantly analyzing?

Miguel: Always. If you met me right now, you’d judge my voice or behavior — but there’s more beneath. My training helps me observe deeply — down to clothing, expression, tone. Sometimes people feel intimidated by that, but it’s instinctive now.

Richard: So we only met this morning — how do you analyze me?

Miguel: First thing I saw — brown boots, matching shirt tones. Most people don’t notice details like that. The structure of your teeth, your wrinkles — that means you express emotion — you’re not a psychopath. You’re a nice guy.

Richard: Well, thank you.

Miguel: Just observations — not insults.

Richard: And meanwhile the Army realizes you’re useful during the Cold War. Reagan is investing heavily, sending people overseas with a strong deterrence signal.

Where did you end up?

Miguel: Germany — Rammstein, Stuttgart, Newm, Baumholder — lots of missions. Then Finland, Africa — five continents over my career.

Richard: Did being in Germany make the historian in you come out? You must have seen reminders of WWII — Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Bavaria, Dachau…

Miguel: I saw everything — in person. Dachau was part of our training — understanding where people died. It was sad, but it prepared me mentally before going into Desert Storm.

I learned this:
 Life is precious — but if I go to war, I must accept death, killing, and civilian casualties. The mission is for the oath — the Constitution — this country.

Richard: And today we see those same threats — terrorism, post-9/11 danger, Israel fighting terror — global insecurity remains.

Miguel: Yes — immigration concerns, cultural tensions — but I go beyond nationality. My exposure to cultures, my Indian ex-wife, my Mexican first wife — that shaped me. I learned cultures from the inside — far beyond academic theory.

Richard: How long did it take you to learn Hindi?

Miguel: Not fluently — civilian life changed priorities. My mission became raising my son — making him a good man. Because today, real men are disappearing — and that responsibility mattered more than mastering another language.

Richard: That role carries weight.

Miguel: Yes — absolutely.

Richard: Well Miguel, we’re going to return for a third episode — we’ll talk about the Gulf War, the end of the Cold War, and your work today.

Thanks for joining us on The Fog of War and Humanity on hmTv — stay tuned for a powerful Part 3.