This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this?
Your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Ah!
Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyways. Only pay for what you need at LibertyMutual.com. Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty. Spring is starting at the Home Depot and bringing you everyday low prices so you can wake up your yard this season.
Shape up your lawn with top-brand outdoor power tools like Ryobi 40-volt mowers that have up to 50 minutes of runtime. Bring in a splash of color with spring blooms and fresh plants from the Home Depot Garden Center. Then refresh your garden beds and keep them clear of weeds with Earth Grow mulch. Five bags for $10 to make your yard feel like new. Start your spring with low prices now through April 2nd, only at the Home Depot.
Exclusions apply. See home depot.com slash pricematch for details. Shop now. Everyone deserves to be connected. T-Mobile and U.S.
Cellular are joining forces. Our networks are coming together, bringing more T-Mobile coverage all over the country. Switch to T-Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built-in benefits they leave out. Check the math at t-mobile.com slash switch. And now T-Mobile is available in the U.S.
Cellular store in Sevierville. Bigger network, the combination of T-Mobile's and US sellers' network footprints will enhance the T-Mobile Network's coverage. Savings versus comparable Verizon plans, plus the costs of options, benefits, plan features, and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three-plus lines include third three-line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines.
Qualifying credit required. Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high-free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work.
It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the SP 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com/slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com/slash podcast.
Paid for by Public Investing. Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Agency. Member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory Services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool.
Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com/slash disclosures. Uh And we continue with our American stories. And we spent some time at our great flagship station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa, a giant stick in the middle of this great country. And we decided to have a storytelling contest.
Asked folks to send in their stories. We drove up to Des Moines and, well, we did it in a beautiful restaurant with a few hundred people. We feature right now one of the women who submitted her story to that event. about her father. These oil wax.
who had a surreal encounter. During World War II, Here. is Marilyn Jensen. My dad, Cecil Wax, was the family storyteller. He had an endless supply of stories about scratching life from the muddy hills of southwest Iowa.
He passed on to my brother Bill and me the wisdom and laughter that can improve almost any situation. He sprinkled humour like salt throughout his tales. Dad rummaged through his memory for any scrap of wit from his months of service in World War two. He tagged that bleak era as Uncle Sam's all-expense paid trip to Europe. His blue eyes would twinkle.
and his dimples dance as he shared memories of times when he and his war brothers laughed together. Like the night a delayed fuse bomb went off. His buddy Hastings jumped into a ditch for protection. and later discovered it was a trench left over from World War One, which the Germans had been using. As hella dream.
Dad would grin and say, talk about odor. We asked him to sleep alone in the truck cab for the rest of the night. But this story. lacks that dash of comedy. This is the account of how a scared Farmer turned soldier conquered a dangerous mountain road.
at the height of one of the most decisive battles on the European continent. He referred to this as The night I found out there is a god. Clouds of dark memories would cover Dad's sparkling eyes. He clear his throat. stare deeply into the past, And then begin.
It was December of nineteen forty four. General George Patton's Third Army included a group of over 800 men. Called the eight eighteenth Tank Destroyer Battalion. the eight eighteenth was engaged in the bloody siege called the Battle of the Bulge. Dad would shiver at the very mention of those chilling words.
the scene of that epic bloodletting of the winter of 'forty four and 'forty five, when temperatures plummeted as low as six below zero. That nightmare battle which splattered pristine white snow drifts with the blood of over nineteen thousand American men. He'd shake off darkness like a layer of snow from his shoulders and continue All the tanks, trucks, and soldiers of the 818th were concealed in some mountain foothills. in the dense forest of the Ardan, in Luxembourg. Cecil's job.
was to drive one of the many supply trucks. providing rations for the hungry soldiers, gasoline for the thirsty tanks. and shells for their begging gun turrets. An officer approached Cecil late one afternoon. It was hard to tell what time it was.
The forest was thick, and light seldom broke through the trees umbrella with snow. Cecil recalled. He ordered me to drive down the mountain with supplies for Company A. They needed gasoline and ammunition. I asked.
When do we leave, sir? The commander looked me straight in the eye. Immediately, soldier. You're going alone. Just your truck.
and a lieutenant. As the truck's cold engine ground to a start, Cecil set out. The word alone was still blowing through his ears like the bitter wind swirling around the half ton truck. No tanks rumbling ahead. breaking the path and chewing up the ice.
just one solitary truck feeling its way along. clinging to the side of the mountain. The heaterless cab was frigid. Cecil drove down that winding mountain trail with the windows down, giving him at least a little visibility. The truck's cat eyed black outlights blinked helplessly against the swirling whiteness.
The surface was so slick that if he even touched the brakes the front wheels would slide. The truck groaned under the load of ninety cans of gasoline and many rounds of three inch shells. It lost its footing a couple of times and skidded sideways, but saplings on either side of the road waved him back to the center. Cecil knew that the men were depending on him, his army buddies. Suddenly.
Loud, shrill howling ripped open the deathly quiet of the forest. Another German assault. Cecil believed he was going to die. He was praying every slippery inch of the way But as he said, Nothing was happening. Uh On one dangerous hairpin curve.
It happened. The heavily loaded truck skidded on a patch of black ice and slid out of control toward the void. Cecil believed then that he was about to die. The supply truck bearing two American soldiers was about to crash into oblivion. Time.
seemed to flow. in slow motion. He saw a vision of his mother Nora on her knees with her elbows sunk deeply into her patchwork quilt. Tears were flowing down her cheeks, and her lips were moving in fervent prayer. As he struggled to bring the truck out of its skid, Cecil realized that his mother was praying for him.
In terror Cecil prayed too. Please help me. The boys need ammunition. The second he said that, Something like a cool wind blew on the back of his neck. Through the blackness he heard a voice.
Just like someone said it aloud. Shut the switch off. Cecil didn't hesitate. He switched off the motor. Yeah.
The sudden change of momentum allowed him to guide the toboggan-like vehicle safely back onto the path. When he regained speech, he asked the young lieutenant. Did you hear that? The scared officer just stared blankly ahead. Cecil continued with assurance.
It was God. And suddenly there was the landmark. He'd been told Company A was concealed near a bomb hole on the road, just before a bridge. All nighty gas cans rattled as Cecil tiptoed the truck across that gaping hole. An incoming flash revealed an arched stone bridge.
Yeah, that's fine. They rolled across the bridge and pulled over. The expectant silence was shattered by the rumble of approaching vehicles. Cecil would say, I didn't know if they were Germans or what. He and the lieutenant breathed again only when they could make out that it was American equipment carriers approaching.
Cecil heaved a sigh of relief when the precious cargo was safely unloaded. He overheard one grateful tank driver state that they had been down to nine shells. The lieutenant of Company A barked out. Get the hell out of here. The Germans are everywhere.
and bring some more ammunition.
Okay. The trip back to the security of the base camp began. The tire tracks marking his recent arrival were quickly filling in with snow. But the truck gradually retraced the snakelike curves.
Soon weak lights from the rays of the dawning sun lit the rest of the journey. In amazement, Cecil could see that what he thought were young saplings marking the edges of the trail. were in actuality the tops of tall pine trees rooted in deep valleys below. He thought to himself. There was somebody who drove that truck besides me.
There's no way any human could drive a truck down this narrow, icy road in the dark. Cecil's life changed forever when the voice urged him to shut the switch off. He knew that God cared enough to guide him. One twenty eight year old farmer from Iowa. Down a frozen mountain road.
He was just one of over 16 million Americans fighting for freedom. But God loved him. and saved his life that night. Cecil Wax lived the remainder of his ninety-four years. depending on the knowledge that no matter how impossible the path, He never travelled alone.
And just a terrific piece of production. And a beautiful piece of writing. By Marilyn Jensen. And this is why we love doing this show, folks. to let you tell the stories and that night in Iowa.
There were six remarkable storytellers. Your stories make our American stories the show it is. The story of Cecil Wax The story of courage. And the story of God. Here on Our American Stories.
Woohoo! This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time. And one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate.
As a Jewish athlete my identity is something I am proud of. But I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted, even if you don't have the perfect words. And sometimes standing next to someone is enough.
And you can show support by sharing the blue square. Sink into affordable luxury. Annibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. With stain-resistant slip covers and a cloud-like frame duvet, everything goes right in the wash. Plus, the modular design lets you change the look of your space anytime.
Visit washable sofas.com to upgrade your home. Shop up to 60% off-site-wide, with sofas starting at just $699 and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Shop now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. This message is brought to you by Kohligard.
If you recorded songs off the radio for a mixtape, it might be time to screen for colon cancer. The Kohlaguard test is non-invasive, requires no special prep or time off, and you start screening right from your home. It's just three simple steps, setup, sample, and ship. If you're 45 or older and at average risk, ask your doctor about the Kohligard test, available by prescription only. Learn more or request a prescription at Cologuard.com slash podcast.
It's tax season, and by now, we're all a bit tired of numbers. But here's an important one you need to hear: $16 billion. That's how much money and refunds the IRS flagged for possible identity fraud. But it's not all grim news. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second and alerts you to threats you could easily miss on your own.
If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com slash iHeart. Terms apply.
Um
