1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you so much for 3 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: tuning in. My name is Ben, my name is Nol 4 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: And today we are joined as always with our super producer, 5 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: Casey La Bouche Pegram. Give it up for in, folks, 6 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: I did it a weird thing, Ben, I said my 7 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: name the way I say it on our other show stuff. 8 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: They don't want you to know because you didn't start 9 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,279 Speaker 1: off with a pithy little scene like you usually do. 10 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,800 Speaker 1: That's right through me. Yes, well, it's a it's a 11 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: different recording time for us. You know, we've been doing 12 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: a lot out a weird scheduling shuffling and like I'm 13 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:06,240 Speaker 1: I'm not in my uh, I'm not in my afternoon 14 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: Bin yet in your history zone? Not not not quite, 15 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,479 Speaker 1: not quite, but we're in a bit of a spooky zone, 16 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: and we're talking about an adventure. I do have something 17 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: that does relate slightly. Today's show concerns a pivotal role 18 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: of women in aviation. And I don't know if I 19 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: ever mentioned this to you, but my grandmother, one of 20 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,479 Speaker 1: my grandmothers, was actually a pilot or trained as one 21 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: in World War Two. I did not know that. It's 22 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: a true story. All. It's a true story. She was 23 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: a teacher and in the part of the world where 24 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 1: she resided, one of the local programs that the government 25 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: was supporting was to train teachers, some teachers to be pilots. 26 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:52,480 Speaker 1: From World War Two. I don't think she ever shot 27 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: anyone out of the sky. No, that's that's okay. I 28 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: mean she's you can still be a badass and not 29 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: have any kills under your bell. I mean, being a 30 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: pilot in any kind of war, so situation is got 31 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: to be absolutely harrowing. Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean even 32 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: comparing World War Two to the modern day, the planes 33 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: are just so much more dangerous, and a dog fight, 34 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: it's kind of like a knife fight, you know. I 35 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: don't know if you guys have ever, Casey, if you 36 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:17,840 Speaker 1: ever been in a knife fight that you'd be willing 37 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 1: to talk about on air? Uh, None, that I'm willing 38 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: to disclose on air. That's yeah, not even in your 39 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: private life, is La Bouche? Well, like I said that 40 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: that I'm willing to disclose on air. So you can 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: think what you want to think, you know, you know 42 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: what they say though you guys. They say never bring 43 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: a knife to a dog fight, that is true, or 44 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: a dog to a knife fight, because that would just 45 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: be cruel. Yeah, that's that's no good. Now, it's definitely 46 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,880 Speaker 1: no good. Casey on the Case, Speaking of which I 47 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,760 Speaker 1: am absolutely thrilled to be wearing one of our patented 48 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: Casey on the Case t shirts right now, featuring a 49 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: delightful photo of young Casey Pegram in his Macy's catalog 50 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: modeling days. Yeah, MI like Macy's or J. C. Penny 51 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: one of those. You can get one for yourself by 52 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: going to t public dot com slash ridiculous, his sorry, 53 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: where we have an assortment of fine garments or mouse 54 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: pads or what have you available, Perhaps an Upton's ad 55 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: if anybody remembers Upton's. I remember Upton the department store 56 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: similar to Dillard's or Macy's. Yeah, it's just another one 57 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:16,639 Speaker 1: of those anchor stores at the mall, but I think 58 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: they went away. Also, also for anyone who's thinking, oh man, 59 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: I would love a shirt like that, why don't I 60 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: have one right now? Don't worry, folks, I'm thinking the 61 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: same thing. I I got a little snake, so I'm 62 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,519 Speaker 1: gonna have to find one for myself. I'm right there 63 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: with you. Today's story. The protagonist of today's story deserve 64 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: T shirts all their own. At the very least, our 65 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: story does take place in World War Two. It does 66 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: not take place in the US. It takes place in 67 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:49,640 Speaker 1: the Nazi occupied Soviet Union, where German soldiers had a 68 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: very real and very profound fear of witches. But maybe 69 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: not the kind of witches you might automatically imagine, right, Well, no, 70 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: maybe not, but it certainly was maybe tying in to 71 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: kind of a cultural fear, uh you know, which is 72 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: loom large in German culture, right, Hansel and Gretel, surely others, 73 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: you know, Germans are notoriously afraid of, which is everybody 74 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:13,560 Speaker 1: knows that. But you're right. They were afraid of a 75 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 1: very particular type of witches who were members of the 76 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: all female Night Bomber Regiment, which was part of the 77 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: Soviet Air Forces. And these women um flew over thirty 78 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: thousand missions over the course of three years, dropped twenty 79 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,360 Speaker 1: three thousand tons of bombs on the Nazis um and 80 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: they did all of their flights under the cover of night, 81 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: earning them the nickname the Night witches. And this name 82 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: did not arrive entirely because of the time during which 83 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: they chose to to make these bomb runs. It also 84 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: came about because of their approach. They were very difficult 85 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: to detect because they used a very dangerous strategy. Their 86 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: planes were made of plywood in envis and the best 87 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:06,840 Speaker 1: way that the German soldiers could know there was a 88 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: night which in the area or scouting them out, was 89 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: they would hear the soft whoosh of ap plywood and 90 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: canvas plane. So it's it's literally like someone silently flying 91 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: and then hearing a whoosh followed by a cavalcade of explosions. 92 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: So each of these planes had a pilot and a navigator, 93 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: all female. Let's let's talk a little bit about how 94 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: they came to be. So June of nine marks the 95 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: seventy seven anniversary of the beginning of the night, which 96 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: is and there's a lot of context that pours into 97 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: this because in June of one, access Powers pushed into 98 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 1: the USSR, using the largest invading force in the history 99 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: of war, not the history of Russian war, not the 100 00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: history of European war, the history of human war. It's 101 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: like saying the history of the world exactly exactly. For example, 102 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:10,040 Speaker 1: the infamous Operation Barbarossa saw about four million troops invade 103 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: Russia from the west, and because of this operation, Russian 104 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,159 Speaker 1: leaders began to worry that Moscow itself might be overtaken. Yeah, 105 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: it's true. And this was in fact one of the 106 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: most bloody and violent, terrible military actions considered atrocities, known 107 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: for its atrocities in World War two. Um, these atrocities 108 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: were perpetrated against the Russians by the Nazis and the soldiers, 109 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: the male soldiers of the Soviet Union were heading up 110 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: the front lines when the forces from the Axis Powers 111 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:49,480 Speaker 1: invaded and overtook the capital of Russia. Right. World War 112 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,480 Speaker 1: two losses of the Soviet Union from all related causes 113 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: were about twenty seven million people. And that's a that's 114 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: a ballpark estimate, counting civilian and military. And they were 115 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,279 Speaker 1: essentially treated like cannon fodder. Right. They were treated as 116 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: utterly expendable by the Allied forces. Right. Right. So the 117 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: U s s R. Had several big things going for 118 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:16,880 Speaker 1: it in World War Two. One, the terrain is notoriously, 119 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:21,200 Speaker 1: notoriously dangerous and inhospitable. And second, they had a lot 120 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: of manpower, So the idea is maybe they could overwhelm 121 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: opponents through the sheer force of numbers alone. But this, really, 122 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: this is where we get into things like scorched earth strategies, 123 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: the kind of mentality that says, I will I like 124 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: sort of like what's similar to the people in Fukushima 125 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: or Chernobyl who killed themselves committed suicide to save the 126 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: greater population. Because people are fighting for what they see 127 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: is the greater good. Everyone is involved. No one is 128 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:56,760 Speaker 1: not at war in Russia at this time, and from 129 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: the very beginning of the U. S s r. Involvement 130 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: in the war, there is already an active female Soviet pilot. 131 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: You may have heard her called the Russian Amelia Earhart. 132 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: Her name is Colonel Marina Raskolva. And while she was 133 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: an active pilot, she started receiving letters from women all 134 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: across Russia who said, look, I want to join the war. 135 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,600 Speaker 1: I want to help anyway I can. Let's fight these Nazis, 136 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: Let's get these Germans off our land. And many of 137 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: them would say, you know, I work as in a 138 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,480 Speaker 1: support role, right like I work at a factory making armaments, 139 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: or I work at a hospital or something but I 140 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: want to be on the front lines. They didn't end 141 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,000 Speaker 1: up being quite on the front lines because those male 142 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: Soviets sold as we talked about who were on the 143 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:50,959 Speaker 1: front lines, we're getting creamed. So the Red Army UM 144 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: commanders were absolutely desperate and needed something to help turn 145 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,439 Speaker 1: the tide of battle. So in October of ninety one, 146 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: Stalin himself UM posted Raskova to head up an all 147 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: female squadron, air squadron to be specific. And this is 148 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,520 Speaker 1: a historical thing because this was the only air squadron 149 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: that was, according to records, all female, and it was 150 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: the five hundred and eighty eight Night Bomber Regiment. And 151 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: the pilots weren't the only women in the regiment. Everyone 152 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: in was female, from the pilots to the commanders to 153 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,800 Speaker 1: the mechanics. That's right. So this team began to assemble 154 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty two. Their ages ranged from seventeen to 155 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: twenty six years old, and they took up residents in 156 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: a small village by the name of Ingles, where they 157 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: started training. Um Raskova personally headed up this training and 158 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: she did not take any uh any crap from from anybody. 159 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: She was very hard nosed instructor and commander. Yes, there's 160 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: a gre article about this called The Little Known Story 161 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: of the Night, which is an all female force in 162 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,200 Speaker 1: World War Two published in Vanity Fair as well as 163 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,920 Speaker 1: Atlas Obscura by author Eric Grindhauser, and in this he 164 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: depicts the way that Riskova immediately immersed her trainees into 165 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 1: the program. They had to shave their heads right, They 166 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,640 Speaker 1: had to wear size forty two boots. Supply chain issues 167 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: were already in full effect at this time in Russia's 168 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:36,079 Speaker 1: military history, so they didn't have custom uniforms. They had 169 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: to wear these bulky, ill fitting uniforms that were made 170 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:44,200 Speaker 1: for dude soldiers. And one of the pilots said it 171 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: was it was kind of a rough landing for on 172 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: the first stage. She said, we didn't recognize ourselves in 173 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:58,560 Speaker 1: the mirror. We saw boys there. And the problems with 174 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: adjust thing to the pre existing supplies didn't stop with 175 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: the uniforms, unfortunately, it continued onto the planes they were flying. 176 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: These planes called pull It Carpoff PO two's. These are 177 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 1: two seated open cockpit by planes. These are the plywood 178 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 1: ones I was mentioning earlier with the canvas stretched over them. 179 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: They have absolutely no armor. They're already obsolete by the forties. 180 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: These are the kind of things that really incentivize you 181 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: to fly quietly and in a sneaky way, because one 182 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,559 Speaker 1: shot and boom, you're gone, kind of like my old 183 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: Saturn sc car I had. Yeah, wrapped that one around 184 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: a tree? Really, yeah? Are you okay? Yeah? Okay, that's fair. 185 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: These are probably unrelated though, right, these are unrelated. This 186 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: had nothing to do world to World War two, that's 187 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,360 Speaker 1: fair now. But I remember the Red Baron, Yes, it was, 188 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: it was. He was he exclusively a Peanuts character? Or 189 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: was that actually a historical fighter pilot guy makes great pizza. 190 00:11:56,400 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: That's also true. But seriously, I really don't know. Oh of, 191 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: I mean, there's Pepperoni. No, the Red Baron he was. 192 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: He was a Prussian fighter pilot. Um. The idea of 193 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: a plane being made of wood and canvas is unusual, 194 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,280 Speaker 1: But it wasn't that unusual, right, because this was like 195 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,040 Speaker 1: cheap material, It was lightweight. Again, it was quiet, right exactly, 196 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: And in previous conflicts something like this, this style of 197 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,680 Speaker 1: biplane aircraft would have been fine. It's just so many 198 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: years had passed and there was already better technology out there. 199 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: These planes were also pretty slow, and because they had 200 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: a slower stall speed than the standard German fighters at 201 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: the time, it made it tough for the Axis or 202 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: the German forces to actually shoot them. It's kind of 203 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,600 Speaker 1: like when there are two cars racing and one of 204 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: them maybe let's say, as a truck with a big 205 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: block engine, and it can pick up speed, but once 206 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,560 Speaker 1: it gets up to a high speed, it has a 207 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 1: tough time slowing down. So what would have ordinarily been 208 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 1: a disadvantage for these aircraft actually made them tougher to hit. Also, again, 209 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:09,319 Speaker 1: these are exposed cockpits and this is Russia. Oh my god, 210 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: I can only imagine that. Again, that's why I picture 211 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 1: the red baron. There's also a detail about these planes 212 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: that did not give them a particularly good advantage. They 213 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:19,720 Speaker 1: had to fly pretty low, which would make sense for 214 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,280 Speaker 1: them to be flying at night. Um, but gosh, during 215 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: a regular dogfight during the day, it seems very very challenging. 216 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,080 Speaker 1: You'd be kind of like a sitting duck. Um. But 217 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,480 Speaker 1: here's a question to ben these open cockpits, like they 218 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: wore some kind of like protection over their faces right 219 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 1: to keep them from sure, God, googles and probably the 220 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:43,440 Speaker 1: probably the whole nine the leather skull cap thing right 221 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: with the strap that you would buckle under your chin. Yeah, 222 00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: I would imagine so. But here's the thing. The women 223 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: of the fight were unafforded. They were absolutely ready to 224 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,160 Speaker 1: go and do whatever it took to pitch into the 225 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: war effort. So after their first bomb run, which took 226 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: place on June ninety two, they absolutely not obliterated, but 227 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: definitely slowed down the Nazi forces with these overnight bombing 228 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: runs um and continued until the end of the war. Yeah. Yeah, 229 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:17,400 Speaker 1: at their height. So it started first bombing at June, 230 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: and at the height of their strength, they had forty 231 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,640 Speaker 1: two person crews each which were flying get this, multiple 232 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: runs as soon as the sun set. The record would 233 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 1: be like eighteen runs a night. Why would you make 234 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: eighteen incredibly dangerous bombing runs, you may ask. It's because 235 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:40,400 Speaker 1: the planes could only carry six bombs at a time, 236 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,800 Speaker 1: so as soon as they dropped those six, provided they survived, 237 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: they flew back, got another six bombs, and then flew 238 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: back again. This meant that there was also a tightly 239 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: controlled weight limit. That's part of why they flew at 240 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: lower altitudes. But that's also the reason they could not 241 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: bring parachutes. That is, that is pretty bold and using 242 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: that cover of night was crucial. There was no way 243 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 1: around it. Um the three planes would leave at one time, 244 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:14,520 Speaker 1: and then two would kind of act as almost decoys 245 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,120 Speaker 1: or they would draw fire enemy fire, and then the 246 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: last one would would do the bomb run. And they 247 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: also had to like pre a style like kill their 248 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 1: engines so that they could they would just glide over 249 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 1: it before they dropped their their payload and then start 250 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,880 Speaker 1: the engine and then start the engine and get out 251 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,760 Speaker 1: of there. Absolute badassery. Yeah, and there's some psy op 252 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: going on here as well, because the wooching sound we 253 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: already mentioned that freak the German soldiers out. But they 254 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: they are also the source of the name night, which 255 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: is once they had learned that this was indeed a 256 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:58,040 Speaker 1: crew of female combatants and bombers, the misogyny kicked in 257 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: and it was even more injury is to them on 258 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: some level that they were they were getting creamed by 259 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: female forces instead of Russian dudes. And the Germans started, 260 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: you know, in the fog of war, so much strange 261 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: speculation thrives. The Germans started saying that the Soviet forces 262 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: were changing the women, somehow, experimenting on them to give them, quote, 263 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: the night vision of a cat. That's right. The Germans 264 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,040 Speaker 1: would have referred to them natively as uh the knock 265 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,960 Speaker 1: Texan or or the night witches. And one of them, no, 266 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,800 Speaker 1: dadsya popova, I'm gonna go with that one. She flew 267 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: a hundred and fifty roughly a hundred fifty missions, and 268 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: she received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union 269 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 1: um and in Albert Axel's book Greatest Russian War Stories nine, 270 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: she's quoted as saying, this was nonsense. Of course, what 271 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: we had were clever, educated, very talented girl and fighting 272 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: against this. For some reason, tell me what you think 273 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,159 Speaker 1: about this, folks, for some reason, this gives me a 274 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,359 Speaker 1: league of their own vibe in a much in a 275 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 1: much more dangerous field, because they had to deal with 276 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:19,480 Speaker 1: fighting a war against ruthless opponents, but they also had 277 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: to deal with misogyny from people who should have been 278 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 1: supporting them. Members of the Soviet military were still very 279 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,440 Speaker 1: dismissive of the idea of women flying in general, let 280 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: alone in combat. They wouldn't give these soldiers, these pilots, 281 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:43,480 Speaker 1: these mechanics anyone on the credit they deserved at the time, 282 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: and the inspiring thing here, especially for any of us 283 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: listening who have been in a situation where you have 284 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 1: to confront institutionalized misogyny. Uh. These women doubled down. They 285 00:17:55,600 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: didn't care. They were not cowed. They did not say, 286 00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,879 Speaker 1: oh no, let's let the dudes fly the planes or whatever. 287 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,560 Speaker 1: They said, Yes, we're women, we're pilots, we're killers. We 288 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:09,280 Speaker 1: do what we want and if you have a tough 289 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: time with it, go pout somewhere else. Yeah. But unfortunately, 290 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: the the brass, you know, the Russian military brass, weren't 291 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 1: super kind to to these women. And I think there 292 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,400 Speaker 1: was even like a incentive in the among the Germans 293 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: to to uh any to give an Iron Cross, which 294 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,240 Speaker 1: I think was one of the highest awards you can 295 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,080 Speaker 1: get in the German army if you shot down one 296 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: of these women. So they were hated on both sides. 297 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,879 Speaker 1: Just kind of a kind of a rough situation to 298 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:43,720 Speaker 1: be in. Fortunately, while the wheels of justice grind slow, 299 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 1: they grind exceedingly fine, and the members of the Night 300 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:53,199 Speaker 1: which is were eventually recognized, such as the example you 301 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:57,159 Speaker 1: had mentioned earlier, Old Popova, who got the title of 302 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: Hero of the Soviet Union and the multiple met By 303 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 1: the end of World War two have flown around thirty 304 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: thousand bombing raids, which translates to twenty three thousand tons 305 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: of explosives or munitions. They also lost a lot of people. 306 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: They lost thirty pilots during the war, which is an 307 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,360 Speaker 1: unbelievably low number when you consider what those planes were 308 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:32,160 Speaker 1: made of, their technical constraints, and the fact that these 309 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,440 Speaker 1: people were often using the same strategy repeatedly, not over 310 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,000 Speaker 1: the course of the war, but sometimes as much as 311 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,679 Speaker 1: eighteen times a night, you know what I mean? Like, 312 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: how many times if you're in charge of the searchlight 313 00:19:45,040 --> 00:19:48,440 Speaker 1: on the German side, how many times do you fall 314 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:52,960 Speaker 1: for that two planes fly in opposite directions without checking 315 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,520 Speaker 1: where the bombs are coming from? You know, Yeah, that's 316 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: a really good question. Um, they weren't even given their 317 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 1: own side uniforms. They had to take kind of tattered 318 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: hand me downs from other soldiers who I don't know 319 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:06,919 Speaker 1: if they had like died or what, but that'd be 320 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: pretty morbid. But now they were absolutely treated like second 321 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: class citizens. Yeah, this is it reminds me of something. 322 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: Have you seen that video that compares men's soccer and 323 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: women's soccer. And it's like a scene from American Sniper 324 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: where it's uh, Bradley Cooper as the sniper and it 325 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,000 Speaker 1: shows him like you know, cocking back the gun and 326 00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: like looking through the scope and then you see him 327 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: shooting at a male soccer player and they fall down 328 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: and like grab their knees and start like cringing and 329 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:42,359 Speaker 1: crying because apparently in male soccer, um, dudes are just 330 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: always taking dives because it's like it gives them an 331 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: edge or they're able to get like penalty. But I 332 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:49,440 Speaker 1: don't know on that because it's less unless the referee 333 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: absolutely sees what happened, they can't say you're faking. There 334 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: you go. It is technically, I think, and someone someone 335 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,840 Speaker 1: tells us more about this. I believe it's technically on 336 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: the books illegal to do that, but it's very tough 337 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: to prove it. There's lots of footage of it. And 338 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: then compare that with footage of women's soccer where they 339 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,000 Speaker 1: literally stand up and spit their teeth out and just 340 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 1: keep you know, marching forward. Um, there is absolutely an 341 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: element to that in this story. Uh So Popova, who 342 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: we spoke about earlier in an article from the Atlantic. 343 00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: There's a great, great quote from her talking about walking 344 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: away from a bombing raid with forty two bullet holes 345 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: in her little wooden plane. You would think that would 346 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: have just shredded the thing. Ben Like, I mean, God, 347 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: to to take a hit like that in the air, 348 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,159 Speaker 1: in a plane made of wood and like canvas, that 349 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: is just absolutely terrifying. I can't imagine having that level 350 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: of bravery, right. And let's also consider how young a 351 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: lot of these people were. They were not experienced soldiers. 352 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:52,320 Speaker 1: They were arranging the age from seventeen to twenty six. 353 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: And many of us who have had military service in 354 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,840 Speaker 1: the background may say, well, I've met some people in 355 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: their mid twenties who unfortunately have a ton of a 356 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: very very harrowing experience fighting domestically and abroad. That's true, 357 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: But at this time, until Stalin gave these orders, no 358 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: other nation officially allowed women to engage in combat. Previously, 359 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,000 Speaker 1: women could help transfer planes and ammunition, after which they 360 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,040 Speaker 1: would say, all right, it's to him for the boys 361 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,880 Speaker 1: to take over or whatever. And when when the night 362 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: which is did this again. We cannot over emphasize how 363 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: it was a crappy gig was a crappy gig. They 364 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:40,959 Speaker 1: didn't even get things like radar guns and radios. They 365 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,840 Speaker 1: had to use rulers, stop watches, flashlights, pencils well, and 366 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: you know, and not to poo poo the Soviet Union 367 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: or anything too much. That's not what we're here to do. 368 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,920 Speaker 1: But if you have read about the story of chernobyl Uh, 369 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:55,960 Speaker 1: you realize that a lot of the equipment that the 370 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,880 Speaker 1: folks had was were substandard. Um, they didn't have enough 371 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: aviation suits, they didn't have meters that even reached the 372 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: levels of contamination that were present in some of these situations. 373 00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:09,879 Speaker 1: So that seems to be sort of a legacy thing having, 374 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 1: you know, kind of substandard equipment. Yes. Oh, and I 375 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: want to clarify there. When we said six bombs a piece, 376 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,280 Speaker 1: that's six bombs perade, not six bombs per plane. The 377 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:24,040 Speaker 1: planes could each only carry two bombs at a time, 378 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: one under each ring. So when three planes flew out, 379 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: that was a total of six bombs they could drop 380 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 1: while the other two members of the flight or the 381 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,000 Speaker 1: raid were running, uh, running scrimmage or making a distraction there. 382 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: They also had this was really cool. This is something 383 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,960 Speaker 1: I couldn't find in full yet, and I'd love to 384 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: hear if someone else has found this. The commandments, the 385 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: twelve Commandments of the Night, which is the one that 386 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: we found, and the first one was be proud that 387 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:58,359 Speaker 1: you are a woman. Uh. There are eleven others we've 388 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,439 Speaker 1: we've got, we've got to find in them. The last 389 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 1: Flight of the Night, which has took place around May fourth, 390 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: nineteen five. At this time they flew within thirty seven 391 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,960 Speaker 1: miles or sixty kilometers to everybody in any country other 392 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,360 Speaker 1: than what the US and the MAYBEA and Myanmar. They 393 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: got thirty seven miles or sixty kilometers close to Berlin, 394 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:28,800 Speaker 1: and this was three days before Germany officially surrendered. We 395 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: do know that the Germans had two theories about why 396 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: these women were successful spoiler alert. Neither of those theories 397 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,879 Speaker 1: have anything to do with their ability as pilots or 398 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,359 Speaker 1: as professionals. The first theory is that they have been 399 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,120 Speaker 1: given these special injections and experiments that turned them into 400 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,879 Speaker 1: uh people with supervision. And the second was that they 401 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:56,919 Speaker 1: were all criminals who were masters at stealing, like the 402 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 1: idea of the Russian thief and law and had been 403 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:02,400 Speaker 1: said to the front line as punishments. So they were 404 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,400 Speaker 1: conscripted hardcore criminals. That's the only way they could get 405 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,320 Speaker 1: away with these cunning, breezing acts. And during that really 406 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:14,680 Speaker 1: pretty brief four year period the Night which is operated, 407 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,120 Speaker 1: they lost thirty pilots and then the twenty three pilots, 408 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,640 Speaker 1: not all of them, but twenty three of the remaining pilots, 409 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,960 Speaker 1: including Popova who we talked about earlier, were given that 410 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: very high honor of heroes of the Soviet Union. Interestingly enough, 411 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,919 Speaker 1: the squad was never disbanded UM, and it actually just 412 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:35,919 Speaker 1: was given a new name and continued on and it 413 00:25:35,960 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: was called the much less intriguing sounding forty six Taman 414 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:44,399 Speaker 1: Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment UM, which continued to be 415 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,720 Speaker 1: a mainstay in the Soviet Union's mixed gender forces. And 416 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: we should also mention that they weren't just reigning death. 417 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,119 Speaker 1: They also performed a hundred and fifty five supply drops 418 00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:00,200 Speaker 1: of food and AMMO to Soviet forces. And here's here's 419 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 1: one of the last facts. I found. Let's file this 420 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:07,919 Speaker 1: under under that's a kicker. Despite being the most highly 421 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 1: decorated unit in the Soviet Air Force during the war. 422 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:15,879 Speaker 1: After after they were disbanded and became part of this 423 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 1: other grouping. There was this big Victory Day parade in 424 00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: Moscow and the night which is were not included because, 425 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:30,439 Speaker 1: according to the management, their planes were too slow. But 426 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:32,719 Speaker 1: that's like the whole point, man, It's not their faults. 427 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: They were forced to use those planes. They were giving 428 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,960 Speaker 1: the leftovers. Maybe they should have had the parade at night. 429 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,760 Speaker 1: I don't know. To keep it on brands. Our parades 430 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:43,040 Speaker 1: pretty slow usually, though, I mean, I don't see how 431 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 1: that would be a detractor. Yeah, I don't know. I've 432 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,440 Speaker 1: never I've never organized a Victory Day parade after a war, 433 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: although I do want to go to New Orleans and 434 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: hire my own parade. Do you know you could do that? 435 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: I told you that, right, Yeah, I'm gonna next time 436 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:03,720 Speaker 1: I'm in New Orleans. Think parade prices are incredibly reasonable 437 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,440 Speaker 1: in New Orleans, and you can, especially in the off season, 438 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:11,680 Speaker 1: you can pay a group of people are not particularly princely, 439 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,080 Speaker 1: some and they'll just do a parade for you. How 440 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:19,080 Speaker 1: much are we talking Yeah? And did this include floats? 441 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:21,840 Speaker 1: H No, this would be that. I think we're talking 442 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,880 Speaker 1: a few hunter we're talking about just the musicians, which 443 00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 1: I think is great because it feels like a better parade. Yeah, 444 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:30,199 Speaker 1: that would be a lot more fun. I don't need 445 00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: a float that's in the shape of my giant head. No, 446 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: no custom flutes. You're getting into Marti Gras territory. I 447 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: don't know what about Casey, would you? Would you ever 448 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:43,000 Speaker 1: have a parade? Would you ever purchase a parade for yourself? No? Definitely, 449 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,080 Speaker 1: not for someone else that. Yeah, maybe for somebody else 450 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: they did something really really special. Maybe, yeah, Casey on 451 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:54,520 Speaker 1: the case I am gonna embarrass the hell out of 452 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,919 Speaker 1: you when we get to New Orleans. Casey, just forget 453 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:02,400 Speaker 1: about it and act surprised later. Well, do I think 454 00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 1: that's all we got for today? Right then? Yeah? Yes, 455 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:10,159 Speaker 1: So ends our tale of the Heroic Night, which is 456 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,840 Speaker 1: one of the chapters of World War two history that 457 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: I think is very familiar to a lot of our 458 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:19,879 Speaker 1: Russian listeners, but maybe news to some of us in 459 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: the West. We want to hear your stories of other 460 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:28,000 Speaker 1: World War two heroes or strange tales that you think 461 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 1: your fellow listeners would enjoy. You can find us on 462 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 1: Facebook at Ridiculous Historians. You can also find us on 463 00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: Twitter and Instagram. Yeah, and if you want to find 464 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,800 Speaker 1: us individually on Instagram, I hang out with my kid 465 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 1: and occasionally travel, mainly domestically, but um hoping to get 466 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: out of the country one of these days two so 467 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: I can match Ben's sick Instagram adventures. But my slightly 468 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: more underwhelming adventures are at how Now, Noel Brown, I 469 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: think you're beating yourself up there a little bit. It's 470 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: the thing I do. Circumstances will probably find uh find 471 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: both of us overseas sooner than you think. In the meantime, 472 00:28:59,320 --> 00:29:01,880 Speaker 1: you can find getting kicked into and out of various 473 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:04,960 Speaker 1: places at Ben Bowling named to what I would only 474 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 1: describe as a burst of creativity. But hey, guys, you 475 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: might be saying, I I don't really like the social 476 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,160 Speaker 1: meads Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Those aren't my cup of vodka 477 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:19,560 Speaker 1: and cup of meads. There we go, But I I 478 00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 1: do have an email. I got around to that, so 479 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,720 Speaker 1: can I just contact you guys that way? We have 480 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: good news for you. You can emails directly. We are 481 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,400 Speaker 1: ridiculous at my heart radio dot com. Big thanks to 482 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: our super producer Casey Pegrum, as always Alex Williams, who 483 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 1: composed our theme Christopher hasiotas Friend of the Show, friend 484 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 1: Inside of Our Hearts Gabe Louisier. Also Eve's Jeff Coach 485 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,320 Speaker 1: who will be on our show pretty soon spoiler alert. 486 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: And uh and we we'd like to welcome Ryan Barrish. 487 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to the family, Ryan Barriss, who will be helping 488 00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 1: us with some research moving forward. See you next time, 489 00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:06,280 Speaker 1: Fox Yeah. For more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit 490 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,920 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you 491 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,400 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.