This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years, and now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint.
It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. I turned off news altogether.
I hate to say it, but I don't trust much of anything. It's the rage bait. It feels like it's trying to divide people. If we got clear facts, maybe we can calm down a little. NBC News brings you clear reporting.
Let's meet at the facts. Let's move forward from there. and BC News reporting for America. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in American history. It's more than just fireworks. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party tickets now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash LA. What's up, y'all? Summer's got a different tempo.
Everything's a little looser, brighter. One plan turns into another. You hear something, you stay a little longer.
Next thing you know, you're somewhere you didn't plan to be. It's those in-between moments. That's where the ideas hit. conversations stretch out, little memories sneak up on you.
Sometimes it's just about what's in your hand. that color. That chill, the new tropical butterfly refresher from Starbucks. guava and passion fruit flavors with ango pineapple flavored pearls. Yeah.
That feels like summer before you even taste it. Funny how one small stop becomes the best part of the day. Start your summer rhythm. with Starbucks. Try the new Tropical Butterfly Refresher from Starbucks.
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Switch to the $25 a month unlimited wireless plan. No contracts, no price hikes, and you keep your phone. Stop being locked into their games. Unlock the savings at boostmobile.com/slash unlock. Based on average annual single line of payment of ATT Verizon and T-Mobile customers compared to 12 months on the Boost Mobile Unlimited Wireless Plan as of January 2026.
For full offer details, visit boostmobile.com. And we return to our American stories. One of our nation's most symbolic grave sites is in Arlington National Cemetery. just outside of Washington, D.C. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors three unidentified service members today, one from World War I.
One from World War II, and one from the Korean War. But it used to be four. here to tell the story of the identified unknown soldier, is Craig Dumae. of the Grateful Nation Project. Let's get into the story.
On the morning of May 11, 1972, 1st Lieutenant Blassey took off from the Benh Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam in his Dragonfly A37. Just four months after arriving in Vietnam, he'd already flown 137 combat missions. On this day he was targeting an enemy artillery position outside of Anlok, 60 miles north of Saigon. Blassey graduated from high school in Florescent, Missouri in 1966. He trained as a pilot and qualified to fly the Cessna A37 Dragonfly, a small, light, jet-powered attack aircraft nicknamed the Super Tweet.
These planes were relatively inexpensive, and because they could fly low and slow, they could deliver firepower more accurately than heavier conventional bombers. That accuracy. Came at a price. The dragonfly was also more vulnerable to enemy ground fire. Blassey's flight commander, Major James Connolly, described the attack in a letter to Blassey's parents.
Mike's aircraft was hit and began streaming fuel. He must have been killed instantly because he did not transmit a distress call of any kind. The aircraft flew a short distance on its own and then slowly rolled over, exploding on impact in enemy-held territory. Mike Blassey, aged 24, was declared killed in action. One of the consequences of warfare has been large numbers of unidentified dead.
Sometimes unidentified remains resulted from poor record keeping. the damage that weapons of war inflicted on bodies, or the haste required to bury the dead and mark gravesites in a battlefield environment. While exact numbers are unattainable, estimates indicate that nearly half of the Civil War dead were never identified. Unidentified remains were often buried in mass graves. In December 1920, New York Congressman and World War I veteran Hamilton Fish, Jr., proposed legislation providing for the interment of one unknown American soldier at a special tomb to be built in Arlington National Cemetery.
The purpose of the legislation was, quote, to bring home the body of an unknown American warrior, who in himself represents no section, creed, or race in the late war, and who typifies, moreover, the soul of America and the supreme sacrifice of her heroic dead. On November 11, 1921, a horse-drawn caisson carried the remains of an unknown soldier through Washington, D.C. and over the Potomac River to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The inscription on the west side of the tomb's sarcophagus reads, Here rests in honored glory An American soldier known but to God. Following World War II, some Americans supported the idea of interring and honoring an unknown from that war.
In August 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the selection and internment of unknowns from both World War two and Korea. Before the Vietnam War ended, Arlington National Cemetery made preparations to add a third crypt. On Memorial Day, May 28, 1984, remains designated X-26 were interred as the Vietnam Unknown in a ceremony at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. The Unknown Soldier.
who is returned to us today and whom we lay to rest is symbolic of all our missing sons. About him we may well wonder as Others have. Did he play on some street in a great American city? When did he work with side his father on a farm out in America's heartland? Did he marry?
Did he have children? Did he look expectantly to return? To a bride. We'll never know the answers to these questions about his life. We do know though Why he died.
He saw the horrors of war. I bravely faced them. Certain his own cause and his country's cause was a noble one. that he was fighting for human dignity. for free men everywhere.
However, at that time, many people believed that advances in technology would mean that all remains from Vietnam could eventually be identified. This brings us to Vietnam Air Force pilot Michael Joseph Blassey. In the early 1990s, reports began to surface that the Vietnam unknown could possibly be the fallen pilot. Mike Blassey's family was not informed that the crash site had been accessed or that remains were recovered. the Allied South Vietnamese Army recovered Blassey's personal belongings and six bone fragments.
All were sent to the Saigon Mortuary and finally to Hawaii's Central Identification Laboratory. With Blassey's remains being separated from the personal belongings and other items from the crash site, a series of mistakes and flawed procedures led to his remains being reclassified as designated unknown. Stored at the Central Identification Laboratory in a file with the label X26. The Blassey family visited the tomb in the following years, unaware that their son and brother was buried there. After years of political and media pressure from the Blassey family, In the middle of the night soldiers of the old guard stood watch and blocked the view, the Vietnam unknown.
would be disinterred. and DNA tested. DNA test results confirmed a perfect match with Michael Glassie's older sister Judy. Twenty-six years after his dragonfly was shot down, First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassey's remains were returned to his family in St. Louis.
where he was laid to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. As of today the crypt that once held the remains of the Vietnam War unknown is empty. The slab over that crypt has been replaced, changing the Vietnam War inscription. It now reads honoring and keeping faith with America's missing servicemen. A reminder of the commitment of the United States Armed Forces to the fullest possible accounting, for our missing heroes.
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery. And a special thanks to Craig Dumae of the Grateful Nation Project. to find out more about the great work they do. Go to hero cards.us. That's herocards.us.
And if you're ever visiting Washington, D.C., make sure you make a stop at Arlington National Cemetery. It's just outside of Washington, D.C. It's got its own dedicated metro stop. and be prepared to stay a while. Be prepared not to speak.
What a story was told about First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassey. He graduates from a suburban high school in St. Louis in 1966, qualifies as a pilot. And the next thing you know, he's flying the Super Tweet, the Dragonfly, low and slow. Which of course led to his untimely and tragic death.
the age of 24, killed in action. and then all the work of the family to find out. what they found out. the story of the tomb of the unknown soldier's known soldier. And that would be Lieutenant Blassey, first Lieutenant Blassey, Here on Our American Stories.
Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage.
Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. This July 4th, come celebrate at America's Block Party, hosted by America 250. America's Block Party is a camp miss 4th of July concert happening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Experience music performances by major artists, patriotic tributes, and the kickoff to Giving Forth, helping to make July 4th the largest day of giving in America's history. History. It's more than just fireworks. Join this landmark celebration and get your America's Block Party Tickets Now for $17.76 at America250.org/slash LA. Hi, it's Karen in Georgia from My Favorite Murder.
We cruised around LA in the Hyundai Ionic 5 and dove into the fascinating life of actress and inventor Hedi Lamar. Want the full story? Take a listen. She starts dating Howard Hughes. And in fact, she helps him design a faster plane.
So she finds the fastest bird and the fastest fish and sketches out a drawing of what the two would look like as a plane. And that becomes the plane that we know today. And he calls her a genius. Check out our new episode, Spotlighting Groundbreaking Innovators like Hedi Lamar and Billie Jean King. Presented by the Hyundai Ionic 5.
Goodbye. Paramount Plus is now the home of all your BET favorites. What? Yeah. With all new episodes of Tyler Perry's Divorce Sisters.
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New home, same family. Your BET favorites are now on Paramount Plus. Subscribe now. Running a business shouldn't feel like surviving a software group project. One app for accounting, another for inventory, another for sales.
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