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78 – Randy Burke & The Night Witches
42 Plays3 months ago
Sam shares the powerful survival story of Randy Burke, a man who endured an unimaginable medical battle and kept his promise to make it home.
Jeff tells the incredible World War II story of the Night Witches, the daring all-female Soviet pilots who terrorized Nazi forces with stealth, skill, and relentless bravery under cover of darkness.
Visit us on Linktree for the full collection of links, Instagram, or email us at jeffandsamshow@gmail.com.
🩺 Sam’s Sources — Randy Burke
- Davenport Man Keeps His Promise While Fighting COVID-19
https://qctimes.com/news/davenport-man-keeps-his-promise-while-fighting-covid-19/article_948fbacb-fc42-5a1c-9f6e-1610a830c71b.html?mode=nowapp - Home for Christmas: Iowa Man Who Battled COVID-19 for 163 Days Enjoys Emotional Homecoming
https://www.fox13memphis.com/news/trending/home-for-christmas-iowa-man-who-battled-covid-19-for-163-days-enjoys-emotional-homecoming/article_07138ca1-ca2f-5bde-aadc-95268c9cbc91.html
✈️ Jeff’s Sources — The Night Witches
- Night Witches — Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Witches - Meet the Night Witches: The Daring Female Pilots Who Bombed Nazis by Night — History.com
https://www.history.com/articles/meet-the-night-witches-the-daring-female-pilots-who-bombed-nazis-by-night - The Soviet Night Witches — Wright Museum of World War II
https://wrightmuseum.org - Marina Raskova and the Night Witches — Grey Dynamics
https://greydynamics.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Promotion
00:00:01
Jeff Rogers
Hello, Sam. hi
00:00:26
Jeff Rogers
Welcome to the Jeff and Sam show. I'm Jeff. And I'm Sam. Oh my, we just sounded so professional. We did. That'll never happen again.
00:00:35
Jeff Rogers
That will happen again.
Air System Misadventure
00:00:37
Jeff Rogers
okay so that sound that you may or may not have just heard was my neighbor, their central heating and air system is just about to stop working.
00:00:49
Jeff Rogers
And that was the sound that it started making at 1 o'clock this morning, 3 o'clock this morning, and 5 o'clock this morning. Woke me up. from a dead sleep and I thought it was an animal.
00:01:03
Jeff Rogers
Coming to get him. Maybe already inside my room. A demon. The demon. oh my God, they're here. They're finally here. The demons are finally here. And it wasn't, it was just that. Just in your head. So my sleep was shit.
00:01:16
Jeff Rogers
But we're here. We're queer. Get used to it, baby. Hell Get used to it. um What's new with you? Well, on the note of sounds,
00:01:27
Jeff Rogers
I love a note of sounds. So. Oh, hey, find us on Instagram. Email us if you want to email us. Rate and review us because it helps the algorithm.
00:01:38
Jeff Rogers
Somebody recently messaged me and they found our show because it was recommended buy their algorithm on Spotify. So every little bit helps. If you listen to the show.
00:01:50
Jeff Rogers
Yeah, you. whom You. Rate us. the Review us. Tell us how much you love us. Because we're kind of great. We're here for you. We're here to podcast to you in your head because you let us live in your brain for a little bit. At all hours of the day. At all hours of the day and night.
00:02:10
Jeff Rogers
Regardless of what you're doing. Some people walk their dog at 3 a.m. When the show comes out at midnight at 3 a.m., he's walking his dog. There you go. Listening to our voices.
00:02:22
Jeff Rogers
There you go. You see? terrifying thought terrifying thought i don't even want to hear my voice at 3 a.m m people used to no not gonna say it okay because you know when you say stuff on here yeah people yeah boy they come at you they do they really do um I don't like that lotion.
00:02:42
Jeff Rogers
Why? um so we just put lotion on before we recorded. And it it feels very, um like, you know, you use the bath and body work kind. And that feels very lotion-y.
00:02:54
Jeff Rogers
This feels very, like, ah watery. Oh, I like it. It's very soft. It's very, like, it's very soft. And it's not gunky. I would figure you would like that. Maybe I do.
00:03:05
Jeff Rogers
have to take a picture. Remind me to take a picture. Maybe they're not gunky. yeah it Sold me. yeah Not gunky. Because your hands feel soft and like not... It's not a strong scent. yeah The strong scent, I've learned. You left me alone a law alone within the room the other day and it was the scent of your lotion.
00:03:24
Jeff Rogers
I just started sneezing and sneezing and sneezing. And plus then when I'm like a alone in a room with a scent, I have this flashback of my mom in the 1980s.
00:03:36
Jeff Rogers
She would spray her hair in the car, and her Bath & Body Works, in the car, the windows rolled up, I'm like, mom, what are you doing?
00:03:48
Jeff Rogers
Spraying everything. so um i feel trapped with scents in a room like that. You know, funny that you mention that, because right now would be the perfect opportunity for me to mention your onions.
00:04:00
Jeff Rogers
Oh, i okay. Well, now that you mentioned that, now would be the time to stop talking. I'm just saying. Yeah, very fair point. No, I was just saying I sneeze. That's all.
00:04:12
Jeff Rogers
Well. I don't like my onions. So different. Potent. Potent. They are very potent. yeah oh What is new with you? the thing I don't think you've told me about is how your um craftsmanship is going.
Woodworking Journey and Dangers
00:04:28
Jeff Rogers
I was just going to bring that up.
00:04:31
Jeff Rogers
With So, ah for those of you who don't know, my brother, he has been doing like woodworking since he was a child. um And so, it's... I mean, they have...
00:04:46
Jeff Rogers
some of the craziest
00:04:50
Jeff Rogers
machines, i guess they're machines, instruments. i don't know what they're called. um But he totes them all over the country whenever they get moved, and they always have to make sure that they have room for his really, really big, like, wood cutting, wood shaping, wood making stuff.
00:05:07
Jeff Rogers
And so he now is... I guess the proud owner of persance Perseverance Woodshop.
00:05:17
Jeff Rogers
Okay. And i don't know why he trusted me Or had faith in me. But was willing to start teaching me some of his stuff. And it's fucking great. Like, you know, my mind is just a chaos monster. Like, talk about vortex of fuckery. Because that's what's in this noggin. And it's constant and continuous.
00:05:44
Jeff Rogers
You know? So hobbies don't really sit well with me. Because I can't stay focused on them. i will try something, especially on the like the artsy sides of things. If I try and do anything like that, I just get bored or annoyed or like, ugh.
00:06:00
Jeff Rogers
And then I do it for maybe a minute and then I'm over it.
00:06:03
Jeff Rogers
I was in the zone. Completely unmedicated. Just fucking ADHD, magnificence, power of hyperfixation. And I was doing the damn thing. And I am loving it.
00:06:17
Jeff Rogers
But I tell you what, one of the... um tools that I have been using is what did he call it? Can't pull it right now because that's my brain.
00:06:30
Jeff Rogers
um It is
00:06:34
Jeff Rogers
what's it called?
00:06:35
Jeff Rogers
A draw knife and a slave, a shave horse. So the draw knife is a blade with two handles on it.
00:06:47
Jeff Rogers
And you sit on this shave horse. His is called Donkey Doug. And you have the piece of wood in front of you and you use this tool like this and you are pulling and cutting off pieces of wood. That's wild.
00:07:02
Jeff Rogers
But the claw hand that you get... from i using this. Like when I try and take it out my hand, my left hand doesn't cramp as much, but I have to like physically open my hand and take the knife out of my hand. And then my hands like this afterwards. called it up cla up yeah It's a, it's intense, but i tell you what, he makes it look so easy. He makes it look like it's nothing and doing it. I'm like working up a sweat and I like, I got to put a t-shirt on. I'm too hot. It's crazy.
00:07:34
Jeff Rogers
I mean, it's amazing. Yeah. I've seen the stuff that he's done. Yeah. It's incredible. It is. And he he really does make it all look so easy. But even just doing, like, I'm making a stool right now.
00:07:45
Jeff Rogers
So I'm, like, I'm making the legs. I cut i used a knife. No, a saw of some sort. Uh-huh. it's ah It's a really, really fast-moving electric. So you press the button, and it starts going like this up and down, and it like goes into a slot, and it's on this thing.
00:08:05
Jeff Rogers
Again, no idea why someone allowed me to do that. Oh, my God. Seems like a horrible idea. I mean, I got to tell you, working in the ER for as long as I have, the one consistent is woodshop injuries you know and I mean even from before working in the ER like my grandfather um big woodshop guy there was a time where he cut off like all four of his fingers on one hand because the wood just bit wrong and pulled his hand through and he's been doing it his whole life but like it's crazy and we see it all the time fingers I saw a guy took a
00:08:48
Jeff Rogers
circular saw to the leg a couple times it's bonkers what these people injure themselves doing so of course i step up to this wicked sharp knife i'm like i'm terrified yeah yeah but i didn't lose a finger yet you know what the second thing that comes to my mind when i think about cutting injuries is the mandolin yeah and yesterday i was kind of cleaning out the kitchen cabinet And i left the door open and I heard something shuffle around in there like it was just unsettled. And coming a mandolin fell off the very top shelf.
00:09:23
Jeff Rogers
That is final destin Three steps back, I went. Final destination. I don't even use it. I'm terrified to even use it. Well, it is. It is. I mean, and it's it's a kitchen instrument. It's not a wood shop device. But the number of people that come in, they're like, yeah, whoops.
00:09:40
Jeff Rogers
The tip of my finger is just in the mashed potatoes. I mean, it's not just a little tip. It's like their fingertip is gone, shaved off. Yeah. One fell swoop. Just. Yeah. I mean, I've done it. did it. Have you? Yeah. I was.
00:09:55
Jeff Rogers
Peeling potatoes and, um, or shaving potatoes, I guess. And just, you know, potatoes are like wet, right? So I'm doing it. And I look in the bowl and I'm like, Oh my God, there's so much blood because the blood just, and I looked at my fingers like mine luckily had not like completely separated. So I was able to like reattach, but these people come and you're like, well, you're just to have a shorter finger. Yeah.
00:10:24
Jeff Rogers
You're welcome. Nothing that can be done. Mandolins, man. So you need one of those a little Norwegian um potato slicers. cheese They use it for cheese and potatoes. It's like the, it's like a, i don't even know how to describe it on here, but just slices, thin layers off at a time. Oh, I think I've seen that for like a cheese knife. You have. Oh, damn it. I love my cheese at Kayla's. Hold on.
00:10:49
Jeff Rogers
Anyway, what's new with you? New with me. Here's the thing.
TV and Movie Debates
00:10:55
Jeff Rogers
Here's the deal, folks. We're doing this show right after we did another show.
00:11:00
Jeff Rogers
So you're getting us two times in a row. You don't know this because they're going to come out a week. I think this is going to come out on the 18th. Today is the 7th. So, you know.
00:11:11
Jeff Rogers
i got I think I said everything I was going to say on the last show. What did I watch last night? ah Lazarus. Oh. On Amazon. And? har Harlan Copen. Yeah.
00:11:26
Jeff Rogers
Do you know who talking about? yeah Great, great guy. It's one of his new shows. I guess it's based on a book that he wrote. He writes really good, like, thriller books. I have loved every one of them I've seen so far. I think you can watch them on Netflix mostly. Yeah. But now this one's on Amazon. Nice. And this one's really different than any of his other ones. It's like, on this one, you've got the psychiatrist. Okay. Okay. And you've got his father is also a psychiatrist.
00:11:52
Jeff Rogers
And his father... like kills himself right and this haunts the son lazarus lazarus just believes that that was not his father that did this and then there's all these dead people that come into play super interesting yeah there that's a good one do you know what you should watch tonight what to really get in the holiday spirit what violent night Didn't I watch that last year? i don't know. You recommended it to me last year. Because it is... Yes, so I've seen that. Okay, because what I was talking to Kayla about earlier was there is...
00:12:36
Jeff Rogers
age-old, never-ending debate about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And you will never convince me that it is not. It is one of the greatest Christmas movies of all times, and anyone who says it's not can go suck an egg because you're just wrong. Okay, plain and simple.
00:12:52
Jeff Rogers
That's how it is. But because of that debate, I believe, as I spoke with Ashley Nick about this last night, I think that they made Violent Night to just like cut out that bullshit because it is like Die Hard-esque, but there's no question that it's a Christmas movie because it's fucking Santa. you know so it's it is It's got the same like little quips and little one-liners, and then it's got the same... like
00:13:26
Jeff Rogers
brutal violence and all that kind of stuff but there's just no debate. I may watch it again tonight. It's just so good. Yeah. It's so good and you know I love me some Viking shit so like that just there's some stuff in there. It's just so good.
00:13:40
Jeff Rogers
So I asked Google. No. Is Die Hard considered a Christmas movie? What do you think Google said? Abso-fucking-lutely it is. Is that what you think Google said? I don't care what Google said.
00:13:56
Jeff Rogers
Google better have said that. She's getting very defensive. she's Because it's a Christmas movie. It's the best Christmas movie. She's covering herself up. Defensive pose. Google says What?
00:14:12
Jeff Rogers
I am so happy. says, yes, Die Hard is widely considered a Christmas movie by many fans and critics due to its setting on Christmas Eve. yeah Family reunion theme and numerous holiday references, even though it's primarily an action film and was released in the summer.
00:14:34
Jeff Rogers
The debate continues, not for Sam, not with some arguing it's just an action movie using Christmas as a backdrop. Well, those people are wrong. So you are in the majority.
00:14:46
Jeff Rogers
Thank you. Samantha. I've never been prouder to be part of a majority. what' Do you have a favorite um Christmas movie from when you were a kid or one that like you used to watch with your family?
00:14:58
Jeff Rogers
Yeah, I mean, all the classics and stuff, but i know how you feel about It's a wonderful life. Hated it. ah Fucking hated it. I know. You had such a violent reaction to talking about that the very first time we brought it up. It was visceral. Did you see me just now? Yes.
00:15:15
Jeff Rogers
Like, so Jess and I, we had this thing where we would do the chalice of choice. I have this beautiful red dish and we'd put like all these movies in the dish, top 100 AFI, American Film Institute's top or 100. And our top one hundred and So we would pick one out with Rupert yeah and Jess and me. And we'd have like, it was a democracy, right?
00:15:39
Jeff Rogers
We picked one out. If two of us didn't feel like watching it, then we could vote. Now let's choose another. The heart of democracy. And we ended up, Jess and i watched that movie, It's a Wonderful Life.
00:15:51
Jeff Rogers
And it was just so, like, the preview for it, which was two minutes long, is the best part about it. Yeah.
00:16:01
Jeff Rogers
And it um there was one point where they're at the bar and the bartender calls him. It's like early gay slur, like 1930s gay slur. What are you doing, you pixie?
00:16:18
Jeff Rogers
Me and Jess were like, was that a slur? is that a gay slur? No, indeed was a gay slur. You know what I mean? And now it's an honor. It's an Anna. You're my favorite, Pixie. It's like how ah queer yeah was in the 80s and the 90s when I was growing up was the worst. Fag, queer, those words.
00:16:40
Jeff Rogers
Now people should own them. Yeah, and I feel like we do and overall. We've taken it back and we're like, yeah, that's why we're here. Cheers, queers. Get used to it.
00:16:53
Jeff Rogers
um Okay, yeah, so yeah, not It's a Wonderful Life, you know. You know, we watched all the classics and stuff, um but I don't really think... and for us it was national lampoon's christmas vacation think i said this last year because i couldn't remember the name of it i can't remember the name of this fucking what's that christmas vacation movie something happens when you're on this microphone and you have these headphones on it's like another world and suddenly names you could normally think of you draw blanks right can i be honest that happens to me at baseline so like this is nothing new it just It's more so with me. I'll say something on here.
00:17:30
Jeff Rogers
Guarantee you I will not remember having said it. Somebody looked at me the other day and said they came out of a room. She looked at me and she said, sac la bleu. And I was like, where did you why did you just say that?
00:17:42
Jeff Rogers
Because I have this recollection of us or me may have said saying that. Me may have said that. Yeah, me may have said Yeah. Well, on that note, we are supposed to, apparently that's outdated and it's not used anymore. So we're supposed to say, kiss my ass.
00:18:02
Jeff Rogers
Kiss my ass. my ah Kiss my ass. um based on me coolor bi some monco Well, um on that note, I think one that I think you should watch that you'll probably absolutely loathe.
00:18:18
Jeff Rogers
And I kind of hate it because it is just a
00:18:25
Jeff Rogers
disgusting representation of how ah horribly wrong that this person is. It's called Happiest Season.
00:18:36
Jeff Rogers
It's a lesbian Christmas movie. And and It's, I watch it every year because I have to, but every time I'm just like, God damn it.
00:18:48
Jeff Rogers
She's just wrong. Like, this is not okay. This is not a healthy relationship. This is toxic as fuck and so manipulative and it's bad. it is bad, but you just gotta watch. You should watch it. Okay. Okay.
00:19:02
Jeff Rogers
ah Well, now I'm thinking about National Lampoon's Christmas vacation. That was the image of my family. i could see that. the hu The uncle that is on the lawn saying, the shitter's full.
00:19:17
Jeff Rogers
My dad refusing to ask for directions to Wally World. That has happened, but not with Wally World. it just is was so us.
00:19:28
Jeff Rogers
I could see it. Absolutely. Entirely, yeah. No. Ours is more like... um
00:19:33
Jeff Rogers
You know that like the the opening of Home Alone where there's like 50 fucking kids running around, people yelling at each other, like oh just chaos ensuing? Food's being spilled. Drinks are being spilled. That's more accurately depicting my family. know. That was us. We were a National Lampoon's Christmas vacation. Mom having to kind of control dad a little bit Not in a bad way. Just like, don't lose your shit. Don't lose your shit. Even him out.
00:20:01
Jeff Rogers
Even him out. Even him out. Which today, by the way, he is. We've been begging him for so long. He is getting hearing aids. There you go. he Amen and hallelujah.
00:20:14
Jeff Rogers
He is getting hearing aids. Yay. Progress. Progress. We've been saying, Dad, turn the volume up. He can't hear. getting hearing aids. That was my, when my papa finally decided to get hearing aids.
00:20:32
Jeff Rogers
I think it was the most magical moment when you would look over at him and you would know for fucking fact that that man had turned it off because he'd just be sitting there like this. And like the kids, kids would be causing mayhem. Nana be like yelling at him. Take your pills, take your pills. Right. And he'd just be sitting there.
00:20:54
Jeff Rogers
Yeah. I know that my dad will take him off when he doesn't want to hear what's going on. like i know. Papa, you turn, you turn your head, you're, you're, you'rere What are they called? Hearing aids. Hearing aids. And then he will, um he was telling me that they're like either artificial intelligence with Bluetooth. I don't even know what kind of hearing aids they have out now, but dear God, and they should be simple.
00:21:20
Jeff Rogers
They should be simple. God, that sound. Like, you know when you take out a patient's hearing aids and like, because they have to CAT scan something and it's like. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. It just like squeaks and you put them in, so you have to hold them in two separate hands. Yeah.
00:21:34
Jeff Rogers
Oh God. So good. Okay. So that was, you ready? Yeah. Flip a coin. I didn't, we have literally forgot that we're on a microphone, I think, because we've been sitting here for 21 minutes. Oh shit. Talking.
00:21:47
Jeff Rogers
Okay. I was way too heavy flip. That would hurt me badly. oh Okay.
00:21:54
Jeff Rogers
I just... Why don't you pick a big one? pence. It's your girl, QE. I'll be the queen.
00:22:04
Jeff Rogers
Duh. Well, and I'm like clearly the warrior goddess with the shield and the lion. Yeah, that's me. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. I am on a roll.
00:22:19
Jeff Rogers
Also, something is wrong in the universe. It is me. Again. go Do your thing. Okay.
00:22:29
Jeff Rogers
Yes. Yes. Kathy and Randy Burke. I love them. We're high school sweethearts. They had gone to the same school just one year apart. He was one year above. um The other girls in school were always jealous of Kathy because she had managed to win the heart of the handsome Randy and took him off the market.
00:22:44
Jeff Rogers
She was known for a laugh that resonated across rooms and just lit up those around her. And Randy had a personality to match. On their wedding day, he promised to never leave her.
00:22:56
Jeff Rogers
But by mid 2020, that promise was put to the test.
Inspirational Stories of Survival and Bravery
00:23:00
Jeff Rogers
The couple had been married for 40 years. Together, they had three daughters, Alice and Amber and Abby, who they referred to as the A-Team.
00:23:08
Jeff Rogers
Because, yeah. I love that. Yeah. And two girl grandchildren. They were the life of the party and just genuinely happy. However, the happiness and laughter stopped with the start of a cough.
00:23:22
Jeff Rogers
Oh, no. Kathy had developed a persistent cough, and then she lost her sense of taste and smell. And then Randy started coughing too. They didn't think much of it and they expected to get over it.
00:23:35
Jeff Rogers
Kathy started getting better, but Randy got a little bit worse. And then after a few days of working through it and coming home just dead tired and exhausted, he developed fevers and headaches. They went to go get COVID tested and then they were waiting for the results. So this is still early, like mid 2020. So this is early in COVID.
00:23:53
Jeff Rogers
Before they found out his results, he got a little bit better until one morning he woke up and everything was much worse. His headache was so severe that he said that he felt like there were knives in his skull.
00:24:04
Jeff Rogers
His breathing had turned ragged and he could barely make it down the stairs without panting and almost passing out. Kathy had just had so shoulder surgery and couldn't drive yet, so she called 911.
00:24:15
Jeff Rogers
When EMS arrived, his oxygen saturation was 63%.
00:24:21
Jeff Rogers
At the hospital, he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and extensive bilateral pneumonias. Because of his COVID-19 diagnosis. Guarantee you that CT said ground ground glass opacities. Yep, 100%. And, you know, it's weird because, again, you like we have to think back on it, right? Because...
00:24:40
Jeff Rogers
Now people have COVID and it's just, it's just another flu. You know, most of the people have mild viral and symptoms, but in this part of 2020, it was still killing people like dropping like flies.
00:24:54
Jeff Rogers
And typically when you saw the bilateral pneumonias, it was a death sentence. Um, So no visitors allowed. They were still enforcing that.
00:25:05
Jeff Rogers
Kathy and the girls were frantic for news and to see him, but they couldn't. The nurses and doctors had very little hope for his recovery. He was quickly admitted to the ICU, and after just a few days, he was intubated and then on all sorts of medications and drips.
00:25:19
Jeff Rogers
Even Kathy began to lose faith that he would keep his wedding day promise. After five weeks in the hospital, Kathy was finally able to visit. She donned all the protective gear and entered his room.
00:25:30
Jeff Rogers
She found the machines beeping and keeping him just barely alive. Desperately, she reminded Randy of his promise. Randy remained in the ICU for 15 weeks, intubated.
00:25:44
Jeff Rogers
During his hospitalization, complications arose that required surgery to remove his gallbladder and such significant muscle atrophy from the prolonged immobilization.
00:25:56
Jeff Rogers
The family never gave up, though, and friends who had known Randy since the first grade and from all the years in between it came out of the woodwork to show that they supported him and the family and that they were fighting for him.
00:26:09
Jeff Rogers
Somehow, Randy began to recover. Against all odds, he started showing signs of improving. None of the medical team knew how or why it was possible. He was able to be removed from the vent that had been breathing for him for months. And again, prolonged intubation in itself is fucking bonkers.
00:26:29
Jeff Rogers
He continued to progress and then was downgraded from the ICU. Upon his eventual discharge from the hospital, he spent an additional five weeks in an intensive rehabilitation facility.
00:26:40
Jeff Rogers
He had to be hospitalized a couple times in addition to that. So 15 weeks in the ICU, a total of five weeks in this rehab facility, four more weeks in and out of the hospital.
00:26:51
Jeff Rogers
And if you're in ICU for 15 weeks and then somewhere else after that and not walking, you're going to atrophy. Yeah. so And Randy's a big guy. bunch of other stuff that goes with that. Yeah.
00:27:04
Jeff Rogers
So in rehab, Randy had to relearn how to walk with his horribly atrophied legs. And again, big dude, you know. um He had to relearn to talk some because his voice was raw from disuse and the trauma of being intubated for so long. His spirits were in shambles because of the physical struggles and from just missing his family. I mean, they were very, very close. The kids were always around. He had Kathy, but It just wasn't happening. Still COVID, right?
00:27:32
Jeff Rogers
After six months, Randy was finally released from medical care and sent home. He returned to his family just a few days before Christmas.
00:27:43
Jeff Rogers
To welcome him home, friends, family, and neighbors did a drive-by with a line of cars miles long. There were horns honking, lights flashing, and signs to show how much they loved him and to show him that they never gave up.
00:27:58
Jeff Rogers
To the news reporters present for the emotional drive by homecoming, Randy said, quote, this is the greatest Christmas that we will ever have. And that's for sure. Oh, that was good.
00:28:10
Jeff Rogers
Right? I figured could give you a little something happy. Sam did a happy story. did. And a Christmas story. You did a happy one. I did. That's impressive. Thank you. And so rare. True. And so, so rare.
00:28:25
Jeff Rogers
Give it to me. All right. I'm going to World War II. You do love that, don't you? World War II. After reading um The Nightingale by Kristen Hanna, you see like heroic World War II stories everywhere.
00:28:44
Jeff Rogers
Yeah. There was just that produced so many people that did such heroic things. I'm a little obsessed with it. It's crazy. i never knew until I started recording the show that I liked anything to do with history.
00:28:55
Jeff Rogers
Because in high school, I didn't. Well, it's different. You're forced to learn and memorize. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So it's April 1942 and it's World War and it's world war two Pilots stand by their aircraft preparing for a bombing mission.
00:29:13
Jeff Rogers
The air is cool and it is in the middle of the night. They're chatting but there's like an edge of seriousness, a feeling of uncertainty mixed with strong emotion.
00:29:24
Jeff Rogers
Their Russian YouTube planes were converted to bombers by simple and first improvised attachments. A bomb load of up to 300 kilograms was slung under the wings of the plane.
00:29:38
Jeff Rogers
This was not enough to inflict significant damage, but that wasn't the main purpose of the night bombers. They were to constantly harass the enemy, to deprive them of sleep, and to wear them down to grant them no rest periods.
00:29:56
Jeff Rogers
For that, the Germans hated them. Because of the whooshing noise as the wind rushed through the struts of their wooden planes. It was a whooshing noise, right? Once they were almost at their target, the pilots would turn their planes' engines off and glide to the point of attack before releasing the bombs.
00:30:17
Jeff Rogers
To the soldiers on the ground, it sounded like a sweeping broom, like a whoosh. Weird. The subtle noise was all the Germans heard before the bombs fell on them.
00:30:28
Jeff Rogers
The planes were too small to show up on German radar, so the broom sound became the only soldier's warning. It was almost like they were ghosts in the planes.
00:30:40
Jeff Rogers
This is no ordinary mission, though. No ordinary squadron. This is the Soviet Union. And the pilots, these are all women. women prepared to die for their motherfucking country in their own battle against Germany's advancing army.
00:30:58
Jeff Rogers
These daring young women, some of them just teenagers, flew lightweight aircraft that dodged and darted and dropped bombs on enemy under cover of darkness.
00:31:09
Jeff Rogers
So feared were the Germans that they gave the night pilots the nickname Nachthexen, or the Night Witches. Oh, I love that. And I'm going to tell you the story of the Night Witches.
00:31:24
Jeff Rogers
i hate that. But Night Witches, how cool is that? That's so badass. Cheryl would love that. Maybe she'll listen to this, the story of the Night Witches. And who were these Night Witches? They were the all-women pilots of Russia's 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment in World War Hmm.
00:31:43
Jeff Rogers
American women, such as the Wasps, do you know what that is? had to Google that. Women Air Force server pilots supported the war by ferrying and testing planes. But the Night Witches were the first women in military...
00:31:58
Jeff Rogers
pilot history in the 20th century to directly engage an enemy in combat. The pilots weren't only women in the 588th. All the members of the 588th were women, including the navigators, ground crews, and support staff.
00:32:16
Jeff Rogers
The Night Witches were organized by Major Marina Raskova, who is essentially, do you know who we're talking about? No, but that's so cool. Who was essentially Russia's equivalent to our Amelia Earhart.
00:32:28
Jeff Rogers
Women pilots, though, weren't unusual in the Soviet Union. Flying was popular in the 1930s, and thousands of women belonged to flying clubs. But when Germany invaded Russia in 1941, Russian women weren't allowed in the Soviet Air Force, even though they were allowed on the front lines and the army.
00:32:49
Jeff Rogers
Raskova received a slew of letters from women protesting the prohibition. After all, if women were allowed to fight alongside men on the ground, why can't they do it in the air too?
00:33:00
Jeff Rogers
So Roskova is a national hero, and she had a lot of people who admired her. Joseph Stalin was one of those admirers. Good man. Good man to be admired by.
00:33:11
Jeff Rogers
She showed him for this, right? You have a good point. But for this particular situation, it worked out. All right. Okay.
00:33:21
Jeff Rogers
She showed him all these letters and convinced him to have the Soviet Air Force accept women as combat pilots. Women rushed to enlist. Some were integrated into regiments to fight alongside male pilots. Okay.
00:33:34
Jeff Rogers
Stalin also authorized the creation of three all-women fighting groups, the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, and the 588th Night Bomber a Aviation Regiment.
00:33:51
Jeff Rogers
Thousands of women enlisted. Around 400 were accepted for each regiment. more Most were university students in their late teens to mid-20s. They spent an intensive year of training, learning not just how to fly, but how to navigate and how to maintain their aircraft, too.
00:34:08
Jeff Rogers
Training that normally took several years to complete. These women were like, we got this, give us a year. Okay? And often they were bullied and harassed by the men.
00:34:21
Jeff Rogers
Don't be too sexual. Like, they weren't, you know? But men were like... bitches because now they were kind of men were like bitches yeah and marina roscova she knew this too right and she was like okay she had them all like cut their hair off short haircuts she was she was awesome Because the Soviet Air Force had no females up until then, the women were given old men's uniforms.
00:34:47
Jeff Rogers
The clothes were often too large and too baggy, and the boots were sometimes so oversized that the women tore up their bedding and stuffed it into the boots to make the boots fit better.
00:34:58
Jeff Rogers
Some also cut their hair short to appear like men, but painted flowers on their planes and used navigation pencils to color their lips to add a feminine touch to the war. Officially, the women were treated just like their male counterparts, except they were given more soap.
00:35:16
Jeff Rogers
hu After the training, the pilots deemed most qualified were assigned to the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the second most qualified, the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment, and the least qualified to the 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment.
00:35:34
Jeff Rogers
But in a very unique twist of fate, the least qualified became the most feared and the most famous. That's awesome. Unfortunately, there weren't enough modern planes to go around. So the 588th was given out of date Polakarpov PO2 biplanes, which were primarily used as crop dusters and training planes. The pilot sat up front as the navigator and also the person controlling the bombing sat in the rear of the plane.
00:36:03
Jeff Rogers
That's why it's a biplane, I think. Two-seater. The plane... I'm probably wrong about that. Just threw it out there, but it sounds right to me. Listen, you sounded right to me. Thank you. We're going with that.
00:36:16
Jeff Rogers
The plane was like a death trap waiting to spring. Some night witches likened it... the rickety PO2 to quote a coffin with wings because the plane was made of plywood and canvas.
00:36:29
Jeff Rogers
It was literally made out of plywood and canvas. It's amazing that that can fucking fly. Right? if a tracer bullet struck the plane it could easily burst into flames ha the plane's top speed was ninety miles per hour and it could carry only two bomb bombs one under each wing the weight of the bombs and the crew forced the plane to travel low which allowed it to be spotted easily by the enemy because of those handicaps the planes could only fly at night under the cover of darkness
00:37:00
Jeff Rogers
The Night Witches carried no parachutes because they flew so close to the ground and parachutes added extra weight. They also had no modern instruments and had to rely on maps. So wait, wait, wait, pause. Just time out.
00:37:12
Jeff Rogers
They didn't have parachutes because they were so close to the ground, but they were still high enough to be airborne and flying at a place where they could drop bombs.
00:37:24
Jeff Rogers
So what? Their goal was like tuck and roll? if If we go down, we're just spread your wings and fly. Right. Okay. Okay.
00:37:36
Jeff Rogers
But they also had no modern instruments and had to rely on maps, compasses, and stopwatches, pencils, and flashlights to find their way to their objectives. she says Because the cockpits were open, the pilot and the navigator were exposed to the elements, including rain and freezing wind.
00:37:52
Jeff Rogers
In extremely cold weather, they could get frostbite. If they put their bare hand on the fuselage, the flesh might come off when they pulled their hand away. The night witches also carried pistols.
00:38:04
Jeff Rogers
to use if they crashed, but would save the last bullet for themselves so they wouldn't be captured alive. That's the most Russian ass thing ever heard. Right. The PO2 did have some advantages.
00:38:16
Jeff Rogers
i mean, we're stretching here, but it did have some advantages. However, its weight, the very lightweight of the plane made it more maneuverable than the German plane. There you go. Which made them harder to shoot down. Because it was made out of plywood. Absolutely. Being made out of wooden canvas, the plane didn't show up on German radars or infrared indicators. At the top speed of the PO2, the top speed of the PO2 was slower than the stall speed of the German fighter planes. So they were going so slow that the Germans would just blow right past them. Didn't even know they were there. Whoa.
00:38:54
Jeff Rogers
Tricks on you. Jokes on you The biplanes could also take off and land almost anywhere. There you go That quality was essential because the 588th had to operate very close to the enemy lines. I love this. You know, I love a story about a strong woman. Like, these women were doing the craziest shit. With the craziest supplies. Because the 588th was, like, the least... What did I say? The least...
00:39:23
Jeff Rogers
Qualified. Qualified. They're like scratching the bottom of the barrel. They're like, here, take this toy plane. Look at those men and their big fighter jets.
00:39:32
Jeff Rogers
I love that. The quality was essential because the five hundred and eighty eighth had to operate very close to the enemy lines, constantly moving during the day so the women could fight at night. Because of their combat schedule, the women slept and trained during the day, and they flew during the night.
00:39:49
Jeff Rogers
Hell yeah. understandably they did not get a lot of sleep but in that but right but neither did the germans and units nearby that had prepared for the nighttime air raids the psychological effect of the night witches's raids took a toll on the german troops hell yeah Because the planes could carry only two bombs, the Night Witches flew multiple bombing attacks from 8 to 18 in a single night. They had dropped two bombs, returned to their temporary base, refuel, and take on two more bombs and then fly off to do another attack.
00:40:24
Jeff Rogers
Each attack lasted 30 to 50 minutes. Sometimes the Night Witches would return with planes riddled with bullet holes. Nadezhapopova,
00:40:36
Jeff Rogers
one of the five one of the most famous night witches, once returned from an attack with 42 bullet holes in her plane, as well as in her helmet and in the map that she was holding.
00:40:47
Jeff Rogers
Another pilot lost the bottom of her plane to the enemy fire, but she kept on flying. Kept on planin'. She kept on planin' and she kept on flyin'. That's fuckin' bonkers. Right?
00:41:00
Jeff Rogers
each I knew you would love this story. Each attack was extremely dangerous because the Germans surrounded... what they thought would be likely targets with concentric circles of searchlight and flak guns that the night watches would have to fly through to reach their targets. But the night witches devised a strategy to foil the Germans. They would fly in groups of three.
00:41:25
Jeff Rogers
When they got close to their targets, two planes would fly through the circles and then veer off in different directions, which caused the searchlights and flak guns to target them.
00:41:36
Jeff Rogers
Then the pilot in the third plane would fly toward the objective. thank you When the navigator tapped on her shoulder, she would kill the engine and then drift and near silently near silently toward the target with only the faint whooshing sound of the wind through the struts signaling the impending attack. Then the navigator would drop her bombs and the pilot hopefully would restart the engine and fly off.
00:42:04
Jeff Rogers
<unk> This is some shit, isn't it? The three planes would switch places until they had dropped all of their bombs, and then they would return to the base for more. The ground crew, night witches and all, would repair any damage, refuel the planes, and load more bombs for the next attack.
00:42:22
Jeff Rogers
Question. I don't have an answer for you. I'm just picturing this, right? Like an old shed made out of plywood. When there's a hole in it, you just like nail up another piece of plywood.
00:42:36
Jeff Rogers
Nick, can you help us? This is wood. We have a plane. Nick could make a better plane than them. Nick could definitely make a better plane than this. Nick could make a better plane than them. um But life was difficult for the Night Witches for another reason. They often faced discrimination from their male pilots. The men viewed them as inferior. of course. And showed them little respect. Duh.
00:42:59
Jeff Rogers
The Night Witches weren't given similar similar equipment, such as radios and machine guns, to protect themselves from German german fighter pot planes. The discrimination strengthened their determination to succeed, though.
00:43:13
Jeff Rogers
Eventually, because of their high performance, many men did grow to respect them. But the women worked really hard to get that. Suck it. 32 night witches, including Colonel Roscova...
00:43:29
Jeff Rogers
Because they were after the war the soviet union held a massive victory parade but the night watchches witches couldn't participate in it cause they were napping Because their planes flew too slow. Serious? so After World War ii Soviet women were once again largely kept from combat roles, and eventually the Night Witch's achievements faded from memory until few people knew about them.
00:44:06
Jeff Rogers
But in February of 2019, author Kate Quinn helped revive interest in the Night Witches when she published her novel, The Huntress. in which one of the main characters, Nina Markova, becomes a night witch and fights the Germans.
00:44:21
Jeff Rogers
The night witches accomplished their mission, which was to disrupt the Germans' sleep and therefore morale, while bombing important targets. The women were referred to by the Germans as night witches, and this was meant to be derogatory term, but one which the women of the 588th adopted with pride. Hell fucking yes. And for a good reason. God, can you start calling me a night witch? Yes, you Yes.
00:44:47
Jeff Rogers
From June 1942 until October unit flew approximately combat attacks. collectively logged twenty eight thousand six hundred and seventy six flight hours dropped three thousand tons of bombs twenty six thousand incendiary shells they damaged over are destroyed 17 river crossings, 9 railways, 2 railway stations, 26 warehouses, 12 fuel depots, 176 armored cars, 86 prepared firing positions, and 11 searchlights.
00:45:21
Jeff Rogers
Plus, they also made 155 supply drops of food and ammunition to the Soviets. And that is the story of the Night Witches. That is so fucking cool. Badass women, right?
00:45:34
Jeff Rogers
Just everything about that. From the moment you said Nightwitches, I was hooked. God, that's awesome. That was a good one. That was good. That was a really good one. And, you know, ah we've we've been rushed to do these stories for while.
00:45:47
Jeff Rogers
Not Russian, though. Not Russian, but we've been rushed because we had to do two stories each today. And this one, i could have easily done it in not seven pages, but like a solid 15 because there's so much and it's worth it. You know what i mean?
00:46:07
Jeff Rogers
but else? What else you got? don't know. i think that's it. i have demolished a paperclip. Yeah, why? I don't know. stop fidgeting. Like I unravel it, then I... Ravel it in little rings.
00:46:20
Jeff Rogers
Mental health issues. That's good. That's good. Well, am going to see if I can stop by Kayla's and get my cheese. What kind cheese is it? Oh, also she didn't know about the chicken bandit, in case you were wondering.
00:46:36
Jeff Rogers
So you should tell her the full story. oh the chicken bandit. Also, do you know about the raccoon? Which one? They have been popping up. Oh, the drunk one in the bathroom? Oh, my God. In Virginia, we had a raccoon go into a... Break into a liquor store. a Virginia ABC store, which is the liquor store here.
00:46:58
Jeff Rogers
Broke into the liquor store. There is a trail of, like, broken bottles with fluid all over the floor, alcohol all over the floor. And then there's a picture of the raccoon spread out, all four straight out, sleeping between the trash can and the toilet. Honestly, i re that resonates in my soul.
00:47:17
Jeff Rogers
I love that raccoon. Hey, man, that was such... I don't know. We get you, raccoon. do. I feel that in my soul. We get you, boo-boo. We do. Because sometimes you just need to drink your way through a liquor store and pass out on the toilet floor. The raccoon was taken to the shelter, the animal shelter, where it... Sobered up. Slept it off. Sobered up.
00:47:38
Jeff Rogers
Well, I mean, if you're looking at that, then you should definitely look up the drunk squirrels because that is a video... Years old, but still gets me every time because these squirrels accidentally ate fermented pumpkins. oh no And when I tell you watching those poor little squirrels try and just function, you got to watch it because there are moments in it where you're like, oh, I know exactly what he's feeling. What is it about that that makes them?
00:48:09
Jeff Rogers
It's fermented. yeah Okay. So, yeah, this the squirrels just got just plowed drunk. That's amazing. And then just trying to climb the tree and it's like this. Okay.
00:48:22
Jeff Rogers
And then it gets down to the ground and it's standing still, but you can tell it's got the spins because it's going like this. a mate I'm trying to find like I literally had the story of the squirrel pulled. the raccoon pulled up. It was so funny because the thing was like and the squirrel like slept it off before it was questioned. Like talking about the squirrel like it was a real person.
00:48:47
Jeff Rogers
Is that all? Did we do good damage? Oh, also, the next two weeks, we're only going to have one show per one story per show because it's busy holiday season. it is indeed. And that's going to happen in January again. Why?
00:49:04
Jeff Rogers
Because you and i are going to Egypt. Yes, we are. i have a prediction. And if any of those Australian people listen to this right now and we're wrong, let me know.
00:49:16
Jeff Rogers
But we're going to be in a group. It's going to be me and you. Okay. And I'm going to go with eight Australian people. We're going to remember that I say this because I'm going how close to it I am. Okay. It's going to be eight Australian people and a British person.
00:49:31
Jeff Rogers
Just one? Yeah. Okay. And us. And us. you The old Americans. It's going to be so much fun, Sam. I'm so excited. I just bought some stuff. You know I've been struggling to figure out, like, what the hell am I going to wear in Egypt, right? Because it's a thing of respect to, like, kind of hide my tattoos and stuff. But it's really hard to hide my tattoos when they literally go from my fingertips up to my hairline and down to my toes. So...
00:50:02
Jeff Rogers
I just bought some stuff that will hopefully cover the majority. i bought some of those. My favorite kind of things to wear when I travel are the like pants that look a little bit dressy, but they're not at all. Like they're waterproof. They don't wrinkle. They stretch. you know rona Prana has a lot of those. Those are good pants. Yeah. I bought a couple of pairs of those.
00:50:24
Jeff Rogers
um And the travel things I showed you last night, the chargers. Yeah. I got to find mine. um Yeah, we're just having a regular conversation right now. We are. I guess we should hang up. Probably should end this. We're going to hang up on you, okay? We're very angry with you. If this were the 1980s, I'd slam the phone down in the receiver. It was so gratifying.
00:50:44
Jeff Rogers
ah Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for listening. We really, I mean, if you got to this point with us, we really appreciate the fact that you took the time to listen. We do this for you, and this is so much fun.
00:50:56
Jeff Rogers
And just remember, we're here for a good time. Not a long time. Bye.