logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
36m 42s

The Endless Fight of Macario Garcia

Pushkin Industries
About this episode

When President Harry Truman put the Medal of Honor around Macario Garcia’s neck, this heroic soldier wasn’t even an American citizen. Born in Mexico, Macario volunteered to serve in World War II– fearlessly running towards danger. But it’s the courage he showed when he returned to America that would cement his place in history.


Episode bibliography:

Bailey, Robert and Katherine Bailey. “Seize Occupy and Defend.” Lulu.com, May 19, 2014. https://www.amazon.com/Seize-Occupy-Defend-Robert-Bailey/dp/1312175680.  

Olivas, Michael A. The "Trial of the Century" that Never Was: Staff Sgt. Macario Garcia, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Oasis Cafè. University of Houston Law Center, 2008. https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=ilj

Rivas-Rodríguez, Maggie and Emilio Zamora. “Beyond the Latino World War II Hero: The Social and Political Legacy of a Generation.” University of Texas Press, Dec 1, 2009. https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Latino-World-War-Hero/dp/0292725809

Rush Robert S. “Hell in the Forest: The 22d Infantry Regiment in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.” The Army Historical Foundation. https://armyhistory.org/hell-in-the-forest-the-22d-infantry-regiment-in-the-battle-of-hurtgen-forest/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Aug 13
Carl Sitter: When Faith Led the Fight
The Chosin Reservoir was one of the most brutal battles of the Korean War, with overwhelming enemy forces and deadly weather. Into that fight came Captain Carl Sitter, a pudgy guy who wasn’t even supposed to be there. His inspiring leadership in the face of terrible odds came dow ... Show More
33m 14s
Aug 6
The Sailor Who Escaped Slavery
Enslaved on a plantation in South Carolina, Robert Blake had little chance for freedom. Then came a surprise battle, a bold choice, and a new mission in life: serving in the U.S. Navy. Robert’s heroism would make him the first Black sailor to receive the Medal of Honor. But what ... Show More
34m 19s
Jul 30
Salvatore Giunta Didn’t Want to Be a Hero
On a moonlit mountaintop in Afghanistan, Salvatore Giunta ran through a hailstorm of bullets to save a fellow soldier– his best friend– from capture. It was a heroic decision, but Sal didn’t see it that way. This is the story of an extraordinary band of brothers– and how Sal lear ... Show More
36m 53s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2025
Memorial Day, 2020 | Part 1
Five years ago the entire world watched Derek Chauvin murder George Floyd. What did we miss? Get ad-free episodes to Revisionist History by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts or Pushkin.fm. Pushkin+ subscribers can access ad-free episodes, full audiobooks, exclusive binges ... Show More
32m 58s
May 2025
Roosevelt and the Renegade (Panama Disaster 2)
Sixteen years have passed since Ferdinand De Lesseps' catastrophic failure in Panama and the dramatic collapse of the French Panama Canal company. Now, President Theodore Roosevelt has picked up the task. “No single great material work,” Roosevelt tells Congress, “is of such cons ... Show More
40m 33s
Feb 2025
Muhammad Ali vs. The Draft | Heavyweight | 1
As a young boxer in Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay begins to hone his brash, flamboyant persona while climbing the ranks. After winning the heavyweight championship and embracing the Nation of Islam in 1964, he becomes Muhammad Ali, a figure as polarizing as he is talented. B ... Show More
42m 20s
Aug 2024
Encore: Presidential Assassinations | Anarchist at the Exposition | 3
In September 1901, President William McKinley visited the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York to deliver a speech celebrating American achievements at home and abroad. But waiting in the crowd in Buffalo was an embittered Polish-American laborer seeking to prove his comm ... Show More
36m 22s
Apr 2024
World War I | The Yanks Are Coming | 2
In the spring of 1917 the U.S. moved closer to entering the Great War. German submarines resumed attacks against American ships, and a secret German telegram urging Mexico to wage war on the U.S. came to light, enraging the public. As he prepared to lead the nation into the confl ... Show More
40m 22s
Jul 2023
Third Reich: Attack on Russia, War with America…
The Führer’s deputy embarks on an astonishing secret mission. After baling out Mussolini in the Balkans, German troops finally march into the Soviet Union. Undeterred by the bloodshed, Hitler will sign off 1941 by declaring war on the United States…As featured on Real Dictators.A ... Show More
59 m
Dec 2024
Being a Soldier During the Thirty Years War: Interview with Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels
What was it like to be a soldier during the Thirty Years War? I spoke with Dr. Lucian Staiano-Daniels, author of the upcoming book The War People: A Social History of Common Soldiers during the Era of the Thirty Years War, about what we can know of the thousands of men who fought ... Show More
1h 5m
Oct 2
The Alabama Murders - Part 2: Coon Dog Cemetery Road
Florence, Alabama. 1988. After a horrifying murder takes place, an anonymous caller names three young men as suspects. But speculation swirls about the victim’s husband. Get early, ad-free access to the full season of The Alabama Murders by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcas ... Show More
33m 21s
Feb 2025
Muhammad Ali vs. The Draft | What’s My Name? | 2
In 1967, Muhammad Ali officially refuses induction into the U.S. military, standing firm in his religious objection to the Vietnam War. He is stripped of his heavyweight title, barred from boxing, and sentenced to five years in prison. Ali fights back with appeals while strugglin ... Show More
40m 13s
Nov 2024
Winston Churchill | The Unsinkable Politician | 2
The First World War sees Churchill as confident as ever in his role as First Lord of the Admiralty. But rash judgements – especially around the disastrous campaign in Gallipoli - cost thousands of lives. The UK press describes him as ‘a danger to the country’, he’s left out of Ll ... Show More
47m 23s