From War Zones To Flood Zones: Two Veterans Find A New Calling
Lt. Commander Michael Davidson grew up listening to his grandfather, who he called “Pipa,” tell stories from his time in the Navy. He was determined to follow in Peepaw’s footsteps, and spent 23 years on ships and submarines.
Windy Barton also followed her grandfather’s path into the Navy, and spent 4 years on ships—fighting engine fires and making major repairs while out to sea.
Both Windy and Michael struggled to feel fulfilled after leaving the military, until they discovered Team Rubicon: a special team of veterans who go into the fray when natural disasters strike.
They came to StoryCorps to reflect on what inspired their sense of duty, and the new calling they’ve found in helping others when they are most in need.
Top Photo: Windy Barton and Michael Davidson at their StoryCorps interview in Arlington, Texas on November 14, 2023.
This interview was recorded in collaboration with Team Rubicon.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired July 6, 2024, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.
“She Always Gave.” Remembering Shoshone Elder Lillian Pabawena Pubigee
Gwen Timbimboo Davis is a member of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation. But she didn’t grow up on a reservation. In the 1950s, her family was part of the Indian Relocation program, where the US government sought to assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society by placing them in bigger cities across the country.
Gwen’s family migrated from city to city across the Wasatch Front region in Utah. They had a brief stint in Washakie, another in Layton, and ultimately settled in Brigham City.
But Gwen continued to visit the tribe’s reservations for powwows, funerals, or basketball games, and during the summers she’d visit her grandparents. The time she spent with her maternal grandmother, Lillian Pabawena Pubigee, stands out the most.
Gwen came to StoryCorps with her daughter, Heather Timbimboo Jorgensen, to talk about those trips, and to honor the memory of Lillian.
Top Photo: Gwen Timbimboo Davis at her StoryCorps interview in Brigham City, Utah on August 9, 2007. By Rachel Falcone for StoryCorps.
Middle Photo: Gwen Timbimboo Davis (second from left to right) with the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation’s language preservation group at their tribal office in Ogden, Utah in May 2023. Photo courtesy of Heather Timbimboo Jorgensen.
Bottom Photo: Heather Timbimboo Jorgensen in Ogden, Utah in December 2021. Photo courtesy of Heather Timbimboo Jorgensen.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired June 09, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
“I Knew At That Moment That I Was Hooked:” Reflections On Love And Support
Julianne Larsen was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her early twenties, and she lived for a long time feeling alone in her struggle.
Until one evening, in 2008, when she walked into a support group for people living with mental illness in Logan, Utah. She laid eyes on Mar Fenix Nauta, who had been attending these meetings to manage her bipolar disorder and PTSD.
They came to StoryCorps in May 2023 to remember that night.
Photo: Julianne Larsen and Mar Fenix Nauta at their StoryCorps interview in Logan, Utah on May 3, 2023. By Delilah Righter for StoryCorps.
This broadcast is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Originally aired June 2, 2023, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
All I Had Was Hope And You
Ernesto Rodriguez enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2000. When he deployed to Iraq five years later, his first child, Sebastian, had just been born.
While Ernesto loved his time in the military, being away from home proved challenging — not just for him, but for his entire family. He left the military in 2009 as a result.
A few years later, Ernesto came to StoryCorps with his son Sebastian, who was 11 at the time, to talk about his service, his transition back to civilian life, and the importance of being a father.
For Ernesto and Sebastian, their StoryCorps conversation marked the beginning of an ongoing and open dialogue between father and son. So three years later, during Sebastian’s freshman year of high school, the pair came back to StoryCorps to record a second interview.
Next, we’ll hear from Army Staff Sgt. Papsy Lemus, who first came to StoryCorps in 2009 to talk about her 13-month deployment to Iraq. She sat down to have a conversation with her eldest child, Grizz, who was nine years old at the time.
Ten years later, Grizz, now 20, had more questions for Papsy (who is still in the military). So they came back to StoryCorps to continue the conversation.
Top photo: Artwork by Lindsay Mound.
Middle photo 1: Ernesto and Sebastian Rodriguez at their StoryCorps interview in New York, NY on April 1, 2016. By Morgan Feigal-Stickles for StoryCorps.
Middle photo 2: Sebastian and Ernesto Rodriguez at their StoryCorps interview in Bridgeport, CT on October 5, 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall for StoryCorps.
Middle photo 2: Grizz and Papsy Lemus at their StoryCorps interview in Salt Lake City, UT on April 30, 2009. By Jeremy Helton for StoryCorps.
Bottom Photo: Papsy & Grizz Lemus at their StoryCorps interview in Salt Lake City, UT on October 29, 2019. By KUER for StoryCorps.
Released on January 14, 2020.
Like the music in this episode? Support the artists:
“Heat and Memory” by Jarrett Floyd
“Surly Bonds” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Aeronaut
“Sage the Hunter” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Landsman Duets
“NirvanaVEVO” by Chris Zabriskie from the album Undercover Vampire Policeman
“Elegiac” by Bryan Copeland (StoryCorps Commission)
This podcast is brought to you by supporters of StoryCorps, an independently funded nonprofit organization, and is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
Max Hanagarne and Josh Hanagarne
StoryCorps gives people the chance to talk to each other about the events that have helped shape who they are. Josh Hanagarne did just that with his nine-year-old son in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Josh has an extreme form of Tourette’s syndrome, in which his tics — or involuntary movements and noises — have been so severe, they’ve put him in the hospital. He first started showing symptoms of Tourette’s when he was around the age his son is now.
One thing that helps Josh minimize his tics is when he is talking to someone. At StoryCorps, he sat down for this conversation with his son, Max.
Originally aired September 1, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Fatuma Abdullahi, Annie Johnson, and Maryan Osman
Even though they’re only teenagers, Fatuma Abdullahi and her sister, Maryan Osman, have undertaken a long, complicated journey to get to where they are today.
When they were very young, the girls lost their parents during the civil war in Somalia, the country in which they were born. They were taken in by their grandmother until she was resettled in Australia. Fatuma and Maryan were to follow her there, but in the interim, Australia closed its borders to Somali refugees. The were shuffled between family members in Kenya until they were eventually left on their own.
Then, in 2014, Fatuma and Maryan were resettled in the United States through Catholic Community Services of Utah. There they found a stable, loving home with a young couple, Annie and Randall Johnson, near Salt Lake City. They also live with their little brother, Roscoe, and their dog, Maddox.
Fatuma and Maryan recently sat down with Annie to talk about what it’s been like — for all of them — to become a family.
Originally aired April 7, 2017, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Bottom photo: Randall Johnson, Maryan Osman, Fatuma Abdullahi, Roscoe Johnson, and Annie Johnson at their home in Murray, UT.
Saboor Sahely and Jessica Sahely
Saboor Sahely grew up in eastern Afghanistan’s Laghman province. He remembers the village in which he was raised as being like a big family, with neighbors coming and going freely from each other’s homes, sharing food, and attending one another’s celebrations. On hot summer nights they would sleep on their roofs entertaining each other with stories late into the night. That is also where he first heard about America, planting a desire to one day come to the United States.
In 1978, a long Afghani civil war began, and Saboor’s family, fearing that he would be unable to soon leave the country, urged him to go to the United States. He had already been accepted to Utah State University, and when he arrived in New York City, he only had with him a suitcase, the phone number of a relative he had never met, and a few hundred dollars. He used the money to purchase a bus ticket to Logan, Utah.
In Logan, he got a job as at a restaurant as a dishwasher and quickly moved up to cook, eventually becoming a district manager. But the restaurant ran into financial problems and closed. Saboor used the money he had saved to purchase the building, and in 1983 he opened Angie’s Restaurant—named after his then 2-year-old daughter.
Starting 26 years ago, Angie’s Restaurant began offering free meals to the Logan community on Thanksgiving. Saboor came to StoryCorps with his younger daughter, Jessica, to talk about his life in Afghanistan, and how the lessons he learned continue to inspire him.
Originally aired November 25, 2016, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
James Sargent and Don Sargent
James Sargent (left) enlisted in the Army in 1966 and fought in the Vietnam War, his younger brother Don (right) attempted to join the Air Force but was rejected because he has diabetes. At StoryCorps they discuss their admiration for each other and the separate battles they have each fought.
Originally aired August 14, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Griselda Lemus and Papsy Lemus
Nine-year-old Griselda Lemus asks her mother, Sgt. Papsy Lemus, about the 13 months she spent at war serving in Baghdad, Iraq, and the difficulty of leaving her family in the United States.
Originally aired on May 29, 2009, on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Jean Thackeray and Susan Thackeray
Jean Thackeray (left) tells her daughter-in-law Susan about a German POW who worked on her father’s Utah farm during World War II. She recounts coming across him crying over his lost Bible one day, and after she found it for him in the field, he carved her a necklace which she still has today as a thank-you.
Originally aired October 12, 2007, on NPR’s Morning Edition.