This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected.
That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. This is a Michelin message. And generally in Michelin messages, you hear some.
And some But not this time. This time, you will just hear this. Because at Michelin, we innovate on the road and beyond by creating a prosthetic strap designed to improve the mobility of people with prosthetics. Just a few more steps, and John will reach the summit of Mount Rainier. Right now, at the Home Depot, you can stock up on storage solutions to fit your needs, like the husky, heavy-duty shelving with weight capacity up to 2,500 pounds per shelf, so it can handle all of your garage organization needs.
Your power tools, or your weightlifting set, if that's what you're into. Because the right storage system for you should fit what you need it to. Right now, get up to 15% off select storage solutions that can handle anything you throw at them, on them, or in them at the Home Depot: How Doers Get More Done. Hey there, I'm Kat. I'm a college athlete.
I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, which caused back pain and stiffness every day. With Cosentics, I'm able to stay active. Cosintic secukinumab is prescribed for adults with active psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, available in both IV infusion and self-injection. Don't use if allergic tochosentics. Get checked for TB before starting.
Increased risk of infections and lowered ability to fight them may occur. like TB or other serious bacterial, fungal, or viral infections.
Some were fatal. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or cough, had a vaccine or plan to, or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen. Serious allergic reactions and severe eczema-like skin reactions may occur. Learn more at 1-844-COSENTIX or COCENTIX.com. Move and feel better.
Ask a rheumatologist about COSENTIX. This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories. For 11 seasons, Alan Alder wore the same set of dog tags as Captain Hawkeye Pierce on MASH. Most viewers assumed they were Hollywood props, but they weren't. He used journalist Andy Lewis with the tale of how a smash hit show, a black man from the South, and a Jewish man from New York connect.
I discovered MASH in middle school. I was a dedicated watcher. When the show came to an end, I remember making a big deal about it and talking to my friends about it and thinking about how sad I was that it was going off the air. I have probably seen every MASH episode four or five times. I love it.
to death and Yeah. I get regular press releases from auction houses. I noticed that Alan Alda, the lead character on MASH for all 11 seasons, was auctioning off. His MASH memorabilia. And I thought that's pretty cool.
When something comes up like that, it's pretty rare. Alan Alda had kept only two mementos from the show: the boots he wore in every episode and the dog tags that he also wore in every episode. I guess it's the things that meant the most to me. I can't think of anything else I would have kept. But the funny thing is, there happened to be a photograph of the dog tags, and I assumed they would say the fictional character's name.
Hawkeye Pierce. and his fictional hometown. But they were the names of two real soldiers, one. Morris Levine and the other. Hercy Davenport.
They weren't fictional people, they were real people, and I wondered about that. I thought, I. would love to know Their story. They were constant for me, connecting with the people who wore these objects. Every day for 11 years, putting the mind over eight.
Head and wearing them, I started, at some point, I had a very close connection with them. They meant a lot to me. I called up the auction house and asked if they would tell me more. I was told only that they sold for $125,000. And all we know about them is when they were born and when they died.
One was buried on the west coast and one was buried on Long Island, not far from where Alan Alda lives, but they didn't know anything else about them. I decided it was a challenge that I could solve. The only information I had was what was on the dog tags, which is their name, their hometown, and when they were born. I asked a friend of mine who's a historian and also a former Army captain if he could help with the Army record. One problem with Army records is there was a big fire in the early 1970s and a lot of records burned.
Turns out, Hersey was pretty easy to track down for him because the name is unique. And she I learned when I called his daughter that he was from Mississippi. He was thirty three when he enlisted and he was assigned to be an engineer. He didn't see any frontline combat. He helped do behind the line stuff like build bridges.
But as Alan Aldous said to me, it takes an army to get an army to war. And most servicemen did things like that to help soldiers on the front line fight. Yeah. After the war, he moved to Oakland. where he worked in shipbuilding.
until he died about two years before the TV show MASH debuted on the air. Paula, she was flabbergasted. She had no idea that her father's dog tags were a bit player in MASH. And one of the first things that was interesting to me is that the dog tags listed him as black. She immediately told me that that actually wasn't totally true.
Her grandfather was Irish and her grandmother was Choctata Indian, but they identified as Black. And then she told me about her father's childhood in Mississippi. He had been so poor that he couldn't afford shoes. She told me about how smart he was, but he didn't get a chance to finish school because he had to go earn money. How he had a couple of kids, bought a house in Berkeley on a corner lot with a little chicken coop in the back.
How he used to like to hold a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. She told me one of his favorite things to do was to put jazz records on and dance with her mother in the house. As most people probably know, the army was segregated. and black soldiers weren't always given the best jobs. Hercy always thought he could have done more.
And she thought one of the reasons why he had gotten rid of his Army stuff and never talked about his experience was he felt bitter and didn't want to revisit those memories much later in life. But Morris Levine I was still pretty stumped. A Jewish guy named Morris Levine in New York City is basically John Smith. There's a lot of Morris Levins. One day, I found a paid death notice that listed some relatives.
And that was enough information for me to go on since now I knew who his relatives were. Most of the stories I learned came from his niece. who knew him very well into her twenties. Morris Levine was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was the second oldest of a family of six kids.
His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father died when he was very young. Like Hersey, all the kids had to leave school early to work to help support the family and. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 at The age of 35. The next of kin Listed.
On his dog tags was his wife. They got married a short time before the war, but while he was overseas in the Pacific, She sent him a classic dear John letter telling him that she was divorcing him. and marrying somebody who was still home. And that was the end of it. He never remarried after that.
The highlight and the only story his niece could remember clearly was he got to meet Pee Wee Reese. The Brooklyn Dodger baseball player, because Reese, like so many other major league players, served in the war. And he got a picture. of himself with Pee Ree Reese, and that was his favorite story. Mm-hmm.
The details of some of his service were fuzzy to her because. He didn't like to talk about it. And After the war, he got a job in the back office at Lehman Brothers. Everybody loved him. He helped organize the Lehman Brothers company baseball team.
His nickname was Chick. He loved rooting for the Dodgers more than anything else. and died. at 65 in June 1973. That would have been a few months after MASH.
wrapped up its first season. We don't know if he ever saw it or not. but it was on the air in the year before he passed away. The thing I loved about this story, it featured one man who grew up in the segregated South. and another who was a Jewish immigrant who grew up in New York.
My Jewish grandfather emigrated to the United States in the 1900s, lied about his age so he could enlist in the U.S. Navy in World War I, and this helped. Connect me to my own family history a little bit. Also, connect me to American history because we have a black man from the South, a Jewish man from New York City. Me with a Jewish grandfather who lied to serve in World War I.
It's the story of the 20th century in a handful of people. Ordinary men who were called up sometimes reluctantly. to serve their country, did their duty, and lived ordinary lives. to me The story of ordinary soldiers is the most American story we can tell. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by John Elfner.
He's a frequent contributor, and he's a high school history teacher in Illinois. And also producing and storytelling on that piece was our own Monty Montgomery. And a special thanks to Andy Lewis. Sharing this story of this black man from the South and a Jewish man from New York and how they connected through. The show MASH, which by the way, if people don't remember, was one of the big Smash hits of the 1970s and early 80s, 11 years, 11 seasons that is.
And on that last show, that last episode, a 2.5-hour episode in 1983, 106 million viewers tuned in, 77% of America's TV viewing audience. But those dog tags were actually Alan Aldus's special connection. To these ordinary men, and a terrific job by Andy Lewis to track down the stories of Maurice Levine. And Hersey Davenport, two men from very different parts of this great country, living very different lives, ordinary soldiers who did extraordinary things. in World War II.
The story of the secret history of Alan Alda's mashed dog tags. Here. on our American stories. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S.
and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at Let's Get RealaboutskinCancer.com. I'm U.
S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Mm-hmm. We all get distracted when we drive. whether it's from our phones, Or kids in the backseat bickering.
But how we handle these distractions can be a matter of life. or death. Before you get on the road for your next road trip, Please put your phones on silent. and take a mental note. to focus on driving.
Paid for by Nitza. When Kohler, global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, asked me to be their ambassador for timeless, elegant, durable cast iron, I said, I'm in.
Soon after, I was in their Kohler, Wisconsin foundry, watching molten iron poured, enamel applied by hand, and the beautiful finished pieces ready to ship. Since eighteen eighty three Kohler cast iron has been crafted by incredible artisans, and seeing it first hand gave me a whole new appreciation for their craftsmanship.
Now, I am proud to lend my stamp of approval to my favorite Kohler cast iron products for their durability, beauty, and enduring style. Shop my curated pics at Kohler dot com. As the Kohler cast iron ambassador, I say, Long live cast iron This is Lala Kent from Untraditionally Lala. Ready for a hot take? One thing the math really ain't mathing on lately is international travel.
Like why sit on a plane for fourteen hours to get to Lake Como when you could be having the time of your life at Caesar's Republic in beautiful Lake Tahoe? all the splendor of Lake Como without all the low vibe nonsense that comes with international travel. No long flights, no passport hassles, and no jet lag. Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe has it all incredible dining, amazing entertainment, gaming, fun on the lake, and more. It's right in your backyard.
Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe. Book today.
