#43. Left Behind’s First Anniversary

Episode 43 -- BTS: 1 Year Anniversary – Episode Script
[Narrator] This episode marks the 1-year anniversary of the Left Behind podcast.
I can’t believe it’s been a year since I nervously and with great trepidation pushed publish on the very first episode. 8 people downloaded it the first week, and that was just pretty amazing to me.
Since then, listenership has grown by leaps and bounds. So thank you for tuning in each week and being part of this unprecedented journey.
I published that first episode of Left Behind on Monday, January 30, 2023. I chose this date for a very specific reason – it’s the anniversary of when the Cabanatuan POW camp was liberated on the night of January 30-31, 1945. Among those liberated men was my great-grandfather Alma Salm, who is the inspiration for this podcast.
Thus January 30th is an important date in the overall Philippines WW2 history -- and important to me specifically. Personally, I’ve always memorialized the liberation’s anniversary – so that’s why I chose it for the launch date of Left Behind. And now on that date, I also get to celebrate the podcast’s accomplishments in helping to tell these men’s stories.

So let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months.
- This is the 43rd episode, and that means if you’ve been with me from the beginning you’ve listened to 26.3 hours of the stories about the people left behind when the US surrendered The Philippines. That means, it would take someone more than a full day to binge the entire first year.
- And actually, just for curiosity sake, I looked up how many in-class hours a 3-credit, semester-long college course takes. And it’s 42-45 in-class hours. So, you’re about 60% of the way through an entire semester of a WW2 history class. (And I did all research and paper writing for you!)
- By the way, the average Left Behind episode script is 15-18 page, single spaced and include 112 footnotes from 42 sources. That’s a lot of research, but – and a researcher and historian – I think it’s important to document what I’ve found. So, no complaints. (Although, I don’t’ love writing footnotes. But…I’ve come up with a few hacks to alleviate the documentation drudgery so I can spend more time on the story.)
- Together we’ve learned the amazing and unbelievable WW2 stories of 66 people – 57 servicemen, 5 nurses, and even 4 civilians. Most of the people highlighted are Americans, but I have been able tell the stories of 9 Filipino servicemen. And that’s something I’m proud of, because researching the lives of Filipinos is not as fruitful, from a story-telling perspective, as researching the lives of Americans.
- The episodes have been downloaded by people in 39 countries, the top 5 being the US, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and The Philippines. Japan ranks #10 for downloads.
- And, we’ve covered the initial declaration of war, Japan’s first air and ground attacks on The Philippines, the Battle and fall of Bataan, and the siege of Corregidor. So, basically, the first 5 months of WW2 – condensed into 1 year. Ha ha.

So, what’s on the docket for year 2?
- Well, the next few episodes will focus on the Fall of Corregidor and, finally, include an episode focused on my great-grandfather – whose story I’ve wanted to tell for the past year, but have held off to fit it in the right place.
- We’ll get a detailed look at life in the Cabanatuan POW camps – which was the largest Japanese-controlled POW camp during WW2 -- and we’ll go inside some of the POW work camps in The Philippines
- I’m looking forward to telling you the story of my great-grandfather’s marching companion – Harry Whitman. Salm never knew what happened to the man, but I discovered his story. I’ll also tell you the tragic story of the POW who started this whole research project 15 years ago. I have a special place in my heart for these two brave men.
- I also intend to find stories about minority American servicemen. This is kind of tricky because few Asian and African American individuals were in the US Army’s Philippines units at the beginning of WW2.
o However, there were a few Japanese American servicemen in the US forces, whose stories I want to tell you.
o And I’m trying to track down lives of the handful of African American servicemen I’ve come across. At this time, African Americans could serve in very limited, non-battle positions. Their research has been tricky so far, but I’m pushing forward.
o Also, there were quite a few New Mexican servicemen in The Philippines, and many of those men have Hispanic or Native American ancestry. I know that they had to deal with prejudices from their own Allied comrades. So we’ll look into the unique and unfortunate dynamic.
I’ll continue publishing a new POW story every other week, as well as dropping these short Left Behind the Scenes episodes about once a month in a gap week. I’ve got some interesting topics to discuss and am working on some potential interviews that I think you’ll enjoy.

Well, that’s a quick look back at year 1 and some things to be excited about in year 2.
Now, could I ask you a favor to help me celebrate this 1-year milestone? Would you share your favorite episode of Left Behind with someone you know who is as into WW2 history, as we are. Thank you, very sincerely, for helping me spread the word.

Well, that’s Left Behind the Scenes for today. Be sure to like and subscribe to that you’re the first to know when I drop next week’s episode -- about the stalwart American Marines who faced down the Japanese landing forces on Corregidor Island.
Have a fantastic week.