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We all know that water is life. An average American household consumes over 300 gallons daily. 40% of Navajo families residing on a reservation the size of West Virginia struggle to survive on less than 10 gallons of water per day. Yearly St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School delivers over 1.5 million gallons of clean water to these families.
You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. Football is back. Let's go, baby. On July 26th and 27th, teams across the league take the field for Back Together Weekend, presented by YouTube TV.
With two full days of practices, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes access, it's a can't-miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV July 26th and 27th. Go to NFL.com slash Back Together Weekend for more information. This is Danielle Fischl from Pod Meets World. Parents, quick question: when is the last time you won snack time?
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Win-win! Make sure your kid wins snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more at Motts.com. Sack's off fifth, up to 70% off every day.
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You'll find Alice and Olivia, Valentino Garavani, Versace, Stuart Weitzman, and more. Head to saxofffifth.com or a saxoff5th store near you for up to 70% off every day. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people coming to you from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. Up next, a listener's story from Chuck Gisling. Chuck's uncle Charles was a B-24 bomber navigator in World War II, and today he shares the story of his uncle's service, fate, and and the visit separated by generations.
that changed his life. Take it away, Chuck. Early in the morning on July seventh, nineteen forty four. Forty two American B-24 bombers. took off from England, on a bombing run.
My uncle Charles was in one of those bombers, and he was the navigator. and he was in the bomber with the tail number five two five one seven. and the nickname Model T. The mission Was to bomb an aircraft manufacturing plant in Barenberg, Germany. As the forty two planes.
Approached, they began taking heavy flak from the enemy fire on the ground. The Model T plane carrying my uncle and his crew was badly damaged. with that flack. the formation of bombers. Got over target.
and they were able to drop their bombs. What has not happened yet, though? Was that the fighter escorts, the Allied fighter escort planes, have not shown up yet. But On the other hand, The bombing formation. had not run into enemy fighters either.
After passing over target and dropping the bomb successfully. The formation turned to the north, and then began a slow turn back to the west to head back to England. At that time They encountered head-on. Enemy fighter planes. And I've found two estimates.
Of the numbers of enemy fighter planes. One estimate said there were 175 enemy fighter planes against our 42 bombers. The other estimate said that there were 325 enemy fighter planes. Either way, our bombers were terribly outnumbered, And Had no fighter escorts. to help them fight off these enemy fighter planes.
The Model T Took More damage from the enemy fighter planes. Crew members were injured. The plane began losing altitude. The pilot decided that the plane. would not be able to make it back to England.
and he decided that The crew needed to bail out.
So he would have done three things. First, he would have rung. The bailout bell telling the crew. to bail out. Second, he would have put the plane on autopilot Just to try to keep the plane flying straight and level.
And third, he would have hit the switch to open the bomb bay doors. After doing those The pilot and the co-pilot and the radio man all dropped down out of the cockpit. into the bomb bay Upon getting to the bomb bay, They discovered they were the only ones there. None of the other crew members. made it into the bomb bay.
They also discovered that the bomb bay doors had been damaged. by the flak and by enemy fighter fire. And had failed to open. They were jammed. There was an explosion.
Blew a hole in the side of the plane. and the co-pilot was blown out of the plane. His parachute opened. And he landed successfully on the ground where he was captured. and was held captive for the rest of the war.
The plane.
Now continued with the hole in the side, Flying for a few more miles until it flew itself into the ground.
south of a town called Egelm, Germany. The townspeople from Egypt came out to the crash site. And they described what they found. They found maps. Books Charts and they found eight American bodies.
They took the bodies. Including my uncle. into their town and they buried them in their town cemetery in Egyll. within a couple days. My grandfather received uh a telegram telling him that his son Charles was missing in action.
For nearly two years, My mom and her dad Prayed and hoped. that Charles was somehow alive. That was not to be the case. In 1946, now almost two years later, They received a letter from the Army Air Force. Confirming that Charles was killed in action, And Now telling them That he is buried.
In the town cemetery, In Egel. After the war ended. The United States Sent grave recovery teams into Europe to try to recover. Missing Americans. And you've been listening to Chuck Kisling.
He's a listener. And we love listeners' stories here on our American stories and do them often. And this is a story about Chuck's uncle Charles, who was a B-24 bomber navigator, and his family didn't learn until 1946. that he had died in combat. They were praying and praying against prayer.
that he'd come back home and that did not happen. And that was the story for many families through countless wars in this great country, including my own. My mom lost her brother her. her father's only son. John Lapadula.
in combat as well a parachuter. who was shot down out of the sky around E Day. and whose body and remains were discovered months later. When we come back, more of the story of Chuck Kissling's Uncle Charles. Here on Our American Stories.
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Add a little... to your life. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. You heard it before many times. Water is life.
But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo Reservation do not have clean, running water? With your support, St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is ready to give water to Navajo families.
So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. Not all meals are created equal.
For instance, breakfast has a spicy egg with muffin for a limited time. And lunch does it. McDonald's breakfast. I already love same-day delivery with shipped, but it's so much better since I signed up for Target Circle 360. Why?
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Parents, let's talk snacks. If your mornings look anything like mine, one kid's trying to pile drive a pillow and the other is trying to zip themselves into a backpack.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to sign a permission slip with an eyeliner pencil because that's all I could find. That's why Mott's no-sugar-added applesauce pouches are perfect to have nearby. These things are clutch and are perfect for moments of stress. Made with real apples, no sugar-added, and the pouch? Genius!
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calm. He had a tiny apple-powered moment of zen. Trust me, your future self will thank you. Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce.
Learn more at motts.com. This is Lee Habib, host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we tell stories of history, faith, business, love, loss, and your stories. Send us your stories, small or large, to our email, oas at ouramericanstories.com. That's oas at ouramericanstories.com.
We'd love to hear them and put them on the air. Our audience loves them too. Yeah. And we return to our American stories, and with Chuck Kisling's story of his uncle. a World War two bomber navigator named Charles.
When we last left off, We learned that Charles's family learned. In 1946, years after he'd been killed in action. that they had lost their son. Let's return to the story. After the war ended.
The United States Sent grave recovery teams into Europe to try to recover. Missing Americans. And there were plenty of missing Americans. When the war ended, there were Americans who were officially listed as missing in action still. Finding the body's.
Of These eight men who had been on the Model T. B24 that went down. near Egeln, was relatively easy Because the German townspeople had made written records of what they had done, and they had turned those records over to the International Red Cross, who then passed them on. to American forces. And so my uncle's body, was recovered.
And He was re-identified. And then my grandfather was given the choice of bringing him back? to the United States for reburial here. Or Leaving him in Europe, where he would be buried in one of the American cemeteries. that were being established in Europe.
My grandfather decided to leave Charles in Europe.
Now, he never really communicated this well. to my mom who spent the rest of her life Confused and really wondering where her brother was buried. After my mom died, I became. Interested in this and began researching and trying to sort out. Where is my uncle Charles?
Buried.
Well, I came across that letter from 1946 saying that he was buried in. Ego. In addition to researching, I discovered online that I could actually type his name in to the American Battlefield monuments. A website. And I did, and they indicated that he was buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium.
So now I have. Two conflicting bits of information. One saying Egil in Germany, one saying The Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium.
So I wrote. To the people at the Ardennes American Cemetery, and I explained my dilemma and I asked them. I just want to know. Where is my uncle? And they wrote back the nicest letter to me.
They explained. What had occurred after the war? and how the grave recovery teams had gone into Europe and recovered bodies. and how families were given the choice. And They said apparently your grandfather decided to leave.
Your Uncle Charles Here in Europe, and he is now buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery. And then they closed. With these words, Your uncle is here with us. And we are taking good care of him.
So from that point on, it became my mission to go visit his grave. Knowing that no other family member had been to his grave, His dad never went to his grave. His mom had died when he was just a little baby. His other brother had had never been there. And I made it my mission to go visit his grave in the Ardennes American Cemetery.
And in 2016, I was finally able to do that. Mm-hmm. That was quite a trip. Because as we were driving around trying to find the cemetery, We were within 10 miles of it. For almost two hours driving around, not able to find the road.
That the cemetery was on. Once we finally found it and we got to the cemetery. I walked inside the gates. And the caretaker was taking down the American flag, getting ready to close the gates for the day. I spoke to him.
and I told him that I was there to see my uncle's grave. He asked if I knew where it was located. I told him only that I knew it was in Section D Row 11. Grave 49. He pointed to where Section D was.
And he said, once you get there, just start counting rows forward. And would you when you reach 11 turn right and begin walking down the row. and counting the graves until you get to forty-nine. and then he told me, even though it was closing time, He said. Don't worry.
Just take as much time as you need.
So I proceeded with my wife behind me. And upon reaching row 11 in section D, We turned inward and began to walk counting the cross on each grave one at a time. At some point, I must have lost count. I reached what I thought was number 49. and I turned to look at the cross.
It was not Charles, name on that cross. And in my tired, emotional state, I broke down in tears, saying It's not him. Walking behind me, my wife had also been counting. She calmly said, Two more. Go two more.
Moving forward, two more graves. I was finally standing with my uncle Charles. The emotions that I felt, the joy, the sadness, the relief. They're all beyond my ability to put into words. I wish so much that my mom's could have visited her brother's grave.
With B. But then again, she is with him now. She was with him then, watching me visit him. She, Charles, and their brother Harold, all standing there with me. All saying thank you.
On our way out of the cemetery that afternoon, I spoke once again to the cemetery manager who had been so gracious to me, allowing me to stay beyond closing time. I told him that I was the only member of my uncle's family to have visited his grave. He responded. Most of the men here I've never had any family member visit. Your uncle is lucky.
Engraved on a granite wall inside the entrance to the cemetery are the words To the silent host you endured all, and gave all. That mankind might live in freedom and peace. I think that the 5,000 men in this cemetery The 90,000 plus men in all of the World War II American cemeteries that lie on foreign soil. In fact, all who endured all and gave all. that mankind might live in freedom and peace.
Only ask one thing of you and I. Just one thing. That we not forget. This story is my effort to not forget. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Nathaniel Gallagher.
And a special thanks to Chuck Kisling. He's a listener. And we're so grateful he shared his story. and the story of his uncle Charles. who was a World War II bomber navigator.
Who paid the ultimate price for his service to his country, along with over 400,000 others? Plus, including my own uncle, the uncle I never met. or new. And that happened to so many families across this great country. And what a heartbreaking thing to hear.
From that person in charge of taking care of that cemetery in Europe. that most of the men here, he said, have never had any Family visit. And that's heartbreaking. and heartbreaking but also beautiful that Chuck took that visit to honor his uncle. and to honor his uncle's memory.
The story of loss, love, and sacrifice here on our American stories. Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? WashableSofas.com has your back, featuring the Anibay Collection, the only designer sofa that's machine-washable inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices. That's right, sofas started just $699. Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabrics.
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Water is life. But do you know that almost half of the homes on the Navajo Reservation do not have clean running water? With your support, St. Bonaventure Indian Mission and School is ready to give water to Navajo families.
So we invite you to help provide this precious gift of life to those in need. Contrary to many average Americans, Navajo families survive on just 10 gallons of water per day. You can help support St. Bonaventure's water delivery program by going to stbonaventuremission.org. Football is back.
Let's go, baby. On July 26th and 27th, teams across the league take the field for Back Together Weekend, presented by YouTube TV. Let's do it there. With two full days of practices, player interviews, and behind-the-scenes access, it's a can't-miss NFL reunion. Back Together Weekend presented by YouTube TV July 26th and 27th.
Go to nfl.com/slash backtogether weekend for more information. This is Danielle Fischel from Pod Meets World. Parents, quick question. When is the last time you won snack time? The other day, I handed my son a perfectly portioned Pinterest-level snack and And he traded it for a Mott's applesauce pouch.
I'm not mad, just impressed. And that's why Mott's no-sugar-added applesauce pouches are perfect to keep on hand. They're made with real apples, packed in a super easy pouch, perfect for tossing in a lunchbox, keeping in the car, or grabbing as you're running out the door. Plus, they're a good source of vitamin C, and kids love them. Win-win!
Make sure your kid wins snack time with Motts. Real apples make real good applesauce. Learn more at Motts.com. This is an iHeart podcast. Yeah.
