A mother and a grandfather. One loss. Two vantage points.

In this first-ever dual-interview episode of Gold Star Stories, Nick Letendre sits down with Kristen Giordano and Joe Giordano to honor Private First Class Joseph Marquez — known to the people who loved him as "Dimps." Joey was killed in a training accident in Yakima, Washington on April 25th, 2022. He was 19 years old and had been in the Army less than a year.

Kristen — Joey's mother — shares the dimples that gave him his name, the boy who'd rather watch the Yankees with her than go out with friends, the migraine call the night before he died, and the work she's doing now to make sure no Gold Star family feels alone.

Joe — Joey's grandfather, twenty years in the Army with twelve of them at West Point, and the man Joey was named after — remembers the day an eight-year-old boy stood on a riverbank watching helicopters and decided he was going to fly. He walks us through the rollover, the notification, and what it means to be a Gold Star grandfather standing quietly behind his daughter.

Say his name: Private First Class Joseph Marquez.

🎖️ HONORING:
PFC Joseph "Dimps" Marquez
U.S. Army, 88M / 92F cross-trained
KIA April 25, 2022 — Yakima, Washington

⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
02:25 Meet Kristen — the dimples, the light
03:49 A family of service
04:32 Joe's story — the West Point helicopter day
05:41 The shattered leg that almost stopped him
06:08 Basic, AIT, and the BWI airport surprise
07:02 "Kez, get off your phone"
09:09 The last call — "Love you too, mama"
15:40 Joe explains what happened in the desert
17:14 Telling Alexis
21:51 The secret-mission denial
23:29 The funeral and the unit that came home with him
24:10 TAPS, the 5K, and the JM 42 Foundation
29:18 The Woody Williams Memorial
30:48 Why Joe doesn't lead with "Gold Star grandparent"
31:40 The toast
33:00 Thank you

💛 SUPPORT THE MISSION:
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💵 Cash App: $GoldStarStories

🎗️ LEARN MORE / GET INVOLVED:
JM 42 Foundation — supporting active duty service members, first responders, and their families
Woody Williams Foundation Gold Star Families Memorial Monument — Millsboro, Delaware

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A special thank you to our supporters: June Letendre, Jackie Mullins, Danielle Metal, Terry Mullins, Edie Howard, Bob and Pat Scott, Mary Jo Stoy, and Helen Krupp.

If this episode moved you, share it. Tell someone his name. That's how he stays here.

I'm Nick Letendre — check in on your people, live with purpose, and always, always say their names.

#GoldStarStories #SayTheirNames #JosephMarquez #GoldStarFamily #GoldStarMom #GoldStarGrandparent #ArmyStrong #FallenHero #MilitaryFamily #VeteranSupport #Yakima #ArmyAviation #TrainingAccident #LegacyOfService #RememberTheFallen #MilitaryPodcast #GriefAndLove

Episode Title: Kim LaShomb | A Gold Star Sister’s Story

Featuring: Kim LaShomb

Honoring: Cpl Nicholas Nick Arvanitis, U.S. Army (KIA Iraq, October 2006)

Kim LaShomb is a Gold Star sister and a veteran who has carried her brother’s loss for nearly two decades. In this episode, she shares who Nick was before the uniform, what changed after deployment, how the notification unfolded, and what it looks like when a sibling becomes the point of contact and the steady one in the moment that breaks a family.

This is Nick’s story through the voice of the person who knew him best.

Topics Covered

• Nick’s life before service: sports, music, wrestling, and personality
• Why he chose the 82nd Airborne
• The impact of deployment and the silence that followed
• Notification and the weight placed on siblings
• Community response, remembrance, and keeping a legacy alive

Important Note About Audio

Due to an error in Riverside, there are moments where it may sound like Kim is being cut off or talked over. This is not intentional. We edited the episode as carefully as we could, and we’re working to prevent this issue in future releases.

Thank you for listening, and thank you for honoring Nick.

In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we share the life and sacrifice of Corporal Thomas Steven Hickman, a young soldier from Loogootee, Indiana, who served with courage and heart during the Vietnam War. Told through the voice of his younger brother Scott Hickman, this story reflects the love, loss, and resilience of a family forever changed by war.

As time passes, stories like Steve’s risk being forgotten — but through Gold Star Stories, we’re making sure their names remain spoken and their legacies live on.

⚠️

AI & Visual Disclaimer

While this episode focuses on the audio story, accompanying visuals shared online include AI-assisted recreations used to enhance storytelling.

Some scenes may not be historically or visually accurate. With limited surviving photos and resources, these recreations help illustrate moments that would otherwise be lost to time.

Gold Star Stories operates on limited means, often working with only a few affordable AI generations and restored family photos to tell each story.

With your support, the quality of these episodes and documentaries can grow exponentially — helping us restore real images, capture new interviews, and preserve even more voices from America’s Gold Star Families.

🎖️ Support the mission:

Visit GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

Your tax-deductible donation through Veterans Collaborative helps us record, restore, and remember.

Say their name. Remember their story. Honor their sacrifice.

#GoldStarStories #Vietnam #GoldStarFamily #SayTheirNames #Veterans #Legacy #DocumentaryPodcast

Some stories begin long before a uniform. In this episode of Gold Star Stories, Kevin Graves remembers his son, Specialist Joseph A. “Joey” Graves—a California kid who loved golf, pranks, and looking out for the underdog. After 9/11, Joey chose the Army’s Military Police, earned his wings, served in Korea, then deployed from Fort Hood to Iraq. On July 25, 2006, during a convoy near Sadr City, a well-planned ambush took his life at 21.

You will hear the knock at the door no parent wants, a community lined in flags, and the long road from shock to purpose. Kevin shares the last hug before deployment, the procession to Golden Gate National Cemetery, and how grief became motion—a memorial golf tournament that is now in its 20th year, a foundation that gathers survivors and funds scholarships, and a gym that carries Joey’s name so students see it every day. This is not a story about how someone died. It is about how a father keeps love working in the world.

If this mission matters to you, please consider supporting our work so we can keep recording and preserving these stories. Donations are tax deductible through our partnership with Veterans Collaborative. Learn more at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.

#GoldStarStories #SayTheirNames #JosephAGraves #ArmyMP #SadrCity #IraqWar #ServiceAndSacrifice #LegacyLivesOn #California #MilitaryFamilies

A mother’s love, a son’s calling. In this Gold Star Stories interview, Jill Stephenson shares the life and legacy of her only child, Corporal Ben Kopp—an athlete turned Army Ranger whose True North formed after 9/11. Jill walks us through three deployments in two years, the call no parent wants, the race from battlefield to Walter Reed, and the hard truth that followed. She also tells how Ben’s written wish to be an organ donor saved four lives, including a family friend’s—proof that courage can outlive the body. We talk about honoring final wishes, a Black Hawk flyover back home, and Ben’s resting place in Section 60 at Arlington. If this mission matters to you, help us keep these stories alive at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.

Private Karl Jacob Sellner was the kind of son who lit up every room — a prankster, musician, and loyal friend with a heart for service. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Karl followed his grandfather’s footsteps into the U.S. Army as a Military Police officer. He trained hard, got married, and served proudly at Fort Riley, Kansas. But behind his smile were struggles with addiction, marital strain, and the weight of his own expectations.

Weeks away from an honorable discharge, under daily watch in the barracks, Karl died by suicide.

In this episode, his father Rad Sellner sits down with host Nick Letendre to share Karl’s story — the laughter, the love, and the loss that reshaped their family forever. Rad also opens up about his mission to bring a Gold Star Family Memorial Monument to Pittsburgh through the Woody Williams Foundation, giving families a sacred place to remember and be seen.

This is a story of resilience, grief, and purpose — a reminder that not all battles happen overseas, and not all heroes fall in war.

💛 Say Their Name: Private Karl Jacob Sellner

00:00 – Nick’s introduction & Gold Star Stories mission

00:47 – Remembering Private Karl Sellner

03:00 – Growing up in Pittsburgh

08:00 – The perfect storm: marriage, addiction, and pain

10:00 – The knock at the door

14:00 – How the family carried on

18:00 – Building the Gold Star Monument in Pittsburgh

25:00 – Life after loss: identity, healing, and awareness

38:45 – Remembering Karl’s laughter and love

Gold Star Stories is now fiscally sponsored by Veterans Collaborative, allowing your donations to be tax-deductible. Your support helps us continue recording, sharing, and preserving the legacies of fallen heroes and their families.

🎙️ Donate or learn more: GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

#GoldStarStories #SayTheirNames #GoldStarFamilies #RememberTheFallen #MentalHealthAwareness #VeteransSupport

In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we sit down with Lyndsey Theobald, widow of Air Force OSI Agent Brian Theobald.

Brian was a son of Pittsburgh, a dedicated Airman, and above all, a husband and father. He deployed twice to Iraq before he turned 20, served in Security Forces, and later cross-trained into OSI. On paper, his career was exemplary. But behind the uniform, Brian carried invisible wounds — from burn pits, combat, and years of pressure that the system never properly addressed.

Lyndsey shares who Brian truly was: a teammate, a gym rat, a sports fan, and a man full of love. She also speaks with heartbreaking honesty about the stigma he faced when he finally reached out for help, the week leading up to his death by suicide, and the devastating aftermath. Instead of support, she was met with blame, isolation, and judgment — and yet she chose to tell her story so others would not feel alone.

This episode is not about drama. It’s about courage, love, loss, and the silence families are often left to face. Lyndsey’s voice is powerful, painful, and necessary.

If Brian’s story moves you, please share this episode and remember his name.

Support our work at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

#GoldStarStories #SayTheirNames #MilitaryFamilies #MentalHealthAwareness #PTSD #NeverForget

In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we sit down with Karry Birnley, widow of Petty Officer First Class Darrel Birnley. Karry opens her heart to share Darrel’s life, his Navy service, and the love they built together. She also speaks candidly about the unexpected battles she faced after his passing—including the shock of foreclosure and the struggle to navigate a system that too often leaves families behind.

Through it all, Karry’s resilience and her ability to still find happy remind us what true strength looks like. This is not just a story of loss—it’s a story of courage, love, and carrying forward a legacy.

Say their name—Petty Officer First Class Darrel Birnley.