Welcome to Patriot to the Core Podcast

Patriot to the Core 2018

This podcast exists b/c of my little brother Mark Forester. While he was serving as a full-time missionary in California, our nation was attacked on 9/11. He felt the calling then to complete his service to God with his next mission being to serve his country. He knew God wanted him to help control the world's terrorists population.

On September 29, 2010, he was killed in action on his first deployment. From his death notification to my family, to the Dignified Transfer ceremony at Dover, to his viewing, funeral, and subsequent memorials, I was amazed at the new world of heroes and warriors we met. These men and women have become close to our family and been huge supports. But they also stood out because of their willingness to voluntarily fight evil. They believed in freedom and liberty. Because of their actions, I started this podcast to interview great Americans who serve their country and communities.

By supporting this podcast, you help support The Mark Forester Foundation and its cause.

I interview those from all branches of the military, serving multiple roles (combat controllers, PJs, Green Berets, SEALs, Rangers, Infantrymen, Marines, Pilots, etc) and the US government. In addition, I speak with your everyday mom who goes about doing good--from starting a non-profit to fighting for freedom in our communities and schools. I also get to talk with Gold Star Parents, Siblings and Spouses, and Medal of Honor recipients.

This provides an opportunity to learn about everyday Americans who go above and beyond to protect us and to help others. As a Gold Star brother, many of my guests have a military connection, but I still have a wide variety of people who answer the call to serve in various ways.

We talk fighting terrorism, self-protection, exercise, mental toughness, charity, parenting, fugitives and occasionally pop culture and politics (like government overreach).

Please follow and subscribe so we can have many episodes to come. Send suggestions and questions to me at thad@patriottothecore.com. Hope you enjoy!

You can also become a patron. Your support is not considered a donation--it's a way to get something in return for helping support my cause. See link below:

Become a Patron!

Ep 081 | Michael Andrew in Indonesia | Covid Vaccine Distribution

June 14, 2021 By Thad Forester

Michael Andrew (Michael the Maven) is back on the show to discuss why he’s in Indonesia and why UPS asked him to help them with logistical challenges in delivering vaccines.

If you don’t follow Michael, I encourage you to check out all his adventures–both as an entrepreneur and as a volunteer throughout the world. Today he explains the difficulty in getting the vaccines to the poor and to very remote areas. He’s not pushing it on anyone, rather providing logistics and supply chain help in making it available to those who desire the vaccine.

This isn’t a political, left or right, discussion. Mike merely explains why he feels compelled to help and why he’s lost some friends over his involvement with this project.

Visit his non-profit, Red Lightning here.

You can check out Mike’s first book here – 3 Weeks in Haiti

And this remarkable story of a man buried alive for 27 days. Mike captured his rescue here.

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Ep 080 – Three Wise Men

March 15, 2021 By Thad Forester

In 2010, Beau and Ben Wise buried their big brother Jeremy. Two years later, Beau buried his brother Ben. He went from the youngest son to the only son.

Their parents are the only known U.S. military family to lose two sons in Afghanistan during the 19+ year war.

In this interview, I’m privileged to have Beau Wise and his co-author of “Three Wise Men“, Tom Sileo.

After top U.S. officials realized that two Wise brothers had been lost, Beau, a Marine, was permanently pulled from the battlefield – becoming the only U.S. service member to be removed from combat as a result of such extraordinary events in Afghanistan.

Great Americans, sad and powerful story.

You can read more of Tom Sileo’s books here.

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Ep 079 | Rhonda Jimmerson – The Fight to Bring Her Brother Home

February 22, 2021 By Thad Forester

Rhonda Jimmerson’s brother, Major Troy “Trojan” Gilbert was an F-16 pilot with over 1000 flying hours.

On November, 27, 2006, his plane crashed in Iraq while he was protecting Americans whose helicopter had crashed. His body was ejected from the plane upon impact and immediately found and taken by al Qaeda–rolled up in a carpet and placed in a truck.

They made videos in celebration and kept his body as a trophy for 10 years.

Finally, on October 3, 2016, his body was returned home.

He was married with five children. Troy graduated from Texas Tech in 1993 with a degree in International Economics.

This interview with Rhonda is about her fight to get all of her brother’s remains home. She shares her struggles as a sister to support her parents and to support Troy’s wife Ginger, and children.

We finish up with her faith and how she persevered through one disappointment after another.

Note: since it became known that Troy had been killed, he was not considered “missing”. We discuss this but didn’t go into depth about what is considered “missing”.

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Ep 078 | Stan Staheli, Patton’s Third Army, WWII POW – Replay

January 11, 2021 By Thad Forester

Please enjoy this replay that originally aired in Feb of 2017.

J. Stanford (Stan) Staheli was only 18 years old when drafted. One year later he was a member of Patton’s Third Army, 4^th Armored Division, liberating France from the Nazi’s. It was here that he was captured in 1944 during a German counter-attack near Rimsdorf, France. The Germans immediately said “The war’s over for you.” Stan thought surely, they were going to be killed; but that wasn’t the case.

He and the other prisoners walked three days to the camp in Frankfurt. They then traveled by rail in a standing-room only conditions to East Germany. Then eventually to another location where they were held for five months. Even though he said he was treated humanely, he was stripped of his clothes each night and only had a small throw blanket for cover, during the coldest recorded winter in German history at the time.

Stan said life in the prison camp wasn’t that bad. The guards told them “if you don’t work, you don’t eat.” Having grown up in the depression, this wasn’t a new concept to him. He learned to love to work long before the Army. They built bomb shelters and repaired railroads for the German Army. However, many of the guards were disabled from the front lines and would show the prisoners pictures of their captors’ families when their superiors weren’t around.

Staheli said his mom never lost faith that her son was alive. Even though he was officially “missing in action”, many presumed he was dead. After being released, he was finally able to write his family and then surprised them on a Sunday morning in Cedar City, UT.

Today, Staheli is 91 years old (as of Feb 2017) and has a noble posterity – 10 children (2 have passed), 53 grandchildren, and 60+ great-grandchildren. Quoting Will Rogers, he said “I never met a man I didn’t like.”

This hero, with only an 8^th grade education, was presented an honorary diploma from Enterprise High School in May 2016.

Music courtesy of Soundroad – Believe.
Copyright 2021 Thad Forester
www.patriottothecore.com
email questions to thad@patriottothecore.com

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Ep 077 | My Interview on “The Game” | Throwback from 2012

November 9, 2020 By Thad Forester

Throwback to my interview with Mick Gillispie and Ryan Fowler on “The Game” radio show in February 2012.

Mick has been a big supporter of The Mark Forester Foundation since its inception. And in this interview we cover many topics surrounding Mark’s education, time in military, final battle, The American Fallen Soldiers Project, fundraisers and Mark’s foundation.

As you’ll hear in my intro, I’m having a difficult time interviewing lately, but have people with compelling stories lined up. It’s all a matter of time, and right now, our family is having to constantly “recalibrate”.

Here are links to what we discussed today:

Bama Gone but Not Forgotten – Thomas “Jake” Jaichner

An American Hero Comes Home – Major Troy Gilbert

The American Fallen Soldiers Project – Univ of Alabama

Lifetime’s “Coming Home”

Tennessee Smokies Honor Mark

JAG 28 Memorial Birthday Walk

Follow Mick at:

Bama Insider

Cubs TV