June 26, 2025 • 40 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
Is Your Pet Having a Midlife Crisis? With Dr. Kelly Fishman - Veterinary Sports medicine Rehab Expert, founder of Strut Animal Mobility Specialists.
Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U. S. Marine Corps Tragedy. With Chas Henry – Author & Former Journalist.
5 Tips to Keep Your Phone from Overheating. With Peter Nixon - Director of Retail Sales in the Northeast for AT&T.
Last weekend a new Miss Massachusetts was named – Khailah Griffin plans to spend her year of service advocating for the unhoused in the Commonwealth! With Khailah Griffin – Newly crowned Miss Massachusetts.
Is Your Pet Having a Midlife Crisis? With Dr. Kelly Fishman - Veterinary Sports medicine Rehab Expert, founder of Strut Animal Mobility Specialists.
Fuji Fire: Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten U. S. Marine Corps Tragedy. With Chas Henry – Author & Former Journalist.
5 Tips to Keep Your Phone from Overheating. With Peter Nixon - Director of Retail Sales in the Northeast for AT&T.
Last weekend a new Miss Massachusetts was named – Khailah Griffin plans to spend her year of service advocating for the unhoused in the Commonwealth! With Khailah Griffin – Newly crowned Miss Massachusetts.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice eyes with Dan Ray. I'm gugging easy Boston's
News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you very much, Madison. As we reach the midpoint
of the week and hopefully the end of the warm
days or the hot days and the hot nights, good evening, everyone,
and welcome on into a night side. I promise you.
As the program goes on for the next four hours,
the temperature will drop in some form of fashion. So
(00:26):
maybe maybe by midnight you can turn off the air conditioning,
you can open up the windows and allow God's good
cool ear to float through your home. Boy, it's been
a tough couple of days. We at some point we'll
talk about that this week for certain, But tonight, in
the first hour, we have four very interesting guests and
(00:49):
they really range the spectrum. Going to talk with you
about a disaster that hit the US Marine Corps back
in nineteen seventy nine, a much forgotten disaster. We'll explain
how it correlates with what's going on in a run
right now. Also, we will talk with Miss Massachusetts and
we're going to give you some tips on a keep
(01:11):
how to keep your phone from overheating. At nine o'clock,
we originally thought would be ten o'clock. At nine o'clock,
we're going to talk with former United States Senator Scott Brown,
who announced today that he is running for the United
States Senate seat being vacated by Jean Shaheen due to
Hampshire Democrat, who Brown not lost to actually in twenty fourteen,
so he is now going to basically compete for an
(01:34):
open seat since Shen announced she will retire from the
US Senate after she finishes this term, so we have
lots to do. We're also going to talk about the
call by the jury foreman of the Karen Reid case
to open a new investigation into what happened to John O'Keeffe.
I have some strong thoughts on that. I suspect you
(01:55):
might as well. But we are first going to start
off tonight and talk with doctor Kelly Fisherman, a veterinary
sports medicine rehab expert, founder of the Strut Animal Mobility Specialists.
And the question, doctor Fishman, is how can we tell
if our pets are having a midlife midlife crisis? And
(02:16):
why would that question even arise?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Good evening, how are you good?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Eavening? So they haven't stolen your credit card to go
buy a Corvette. That's not the sign.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Tell you I appreciate that. I'll tell you my late
grade dog, Charlie, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was
I could describe me as a wonder dog. If any
dog could have been able to steal my credit card
to buy a corvette, it would have been Charlie. But
Charlie has based on a few years ago. So it
(02:49):
sounds to me like this is this is somehow related
to what happened with COVID, but not necessarily medically.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
So basically what happened is at all, Hello COVID puppies.
So that puppy boom that we had and so much
for ave, you know, cares focused on those puppies. Now
they're all mid life and what does that mean. They're
about the human age of fifty years old. Things are
starting to slow down, aging is starting to set in,
(03:20):
and they're going to just transition into some of their seeingior.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Years at five years of age. I've always thought that
dogs correlated one year to seven years, so I would
I'm assuming that dogs would be I don't know, thirty
five years old if they're five years have I been misled?
My entire life?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Well, the one to seven years things, unfortunately is a myss.
And then it also I do have to tell you
because you had a cavalier, so your dog actually didn't
reach midlife as young. So a dog under fifty pounds
or cavaliers are Frenchies, they're reaching their midlife around ten,
so they reached it a little bit later because of
(04:05):
the different aging rates between our big dogs and our
smaller dogs. So I'm talking about when our middle You know,
our dogs are bigger than fifty pounds, Our labs are
great gains. Those dogs are starting to reach the human
efuivalent of fifty at five to seven. And then I
can't forget it about my cats. They're also really reaching
(04:28):
mid life about seven years old.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, so let's talk generally then, because my great dog
Charlie only lived ten years, and because calves have a
relatively shorter lifespan, they have, as I'm sure you as
a vetinaria no better than I, they have a number
of problems that hit them, particularly heart issues impact just
(04:49):
as you know German shepherds have problems with their hips.
I mean, all of these dogs they are best friends
and they don't live long enough. And we know that,
But what would people see what they is? It simply
a question of slowing down and as opposed to being
that puppy that what we call runs around the house
and does zoomis up and down the stairs and just
(05:10):
seems to be inexhaustible. Now they kind of move it
a little bit of a slower pace like some of
us do as we age gracefully.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah, that's right. So the big signs are less, you know,
less playful. Maybe they're gaining a little bit of weight,
slowing down on walks, sleeping more. Those are some of
the changes that I see in their behavior. Our cats
are wanting to jump up less, or maybe they're taking
doing little modifications to avoid doing those big jumps that
(05:40):
they did when they're kittens, or maybe they're not playing
as much. So certainly one of those bigger, biggest signs
is slowing down. And why I get nervous as a
rehab that is because dogs lose muscle and as they
age and as they reach midlife, and losing muscle means
losing strength. Just like us when we're in our fifties,
(06:01):
we're losing muscle. It's harder to stay fit and stay strong,
and that's the same thing with our dogs and cats.
So huge issue.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
So what is there anything that we can do or
is this just part of the natural aging process? And
you just want us to be more aware of what
our dogs and cats. I'm a dog guy, but what
our pets? All dogs, all pets, pets, they all go
to heaven. What they're doing in their later years before
they head off to heaven.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, so first of all, be aware because and again
that's why I love the midlife crisis, calling a midlife
crisis because we haven't actually reached senior yet or not
a frail dog or not a frail kitty. We're not
so painful. But right now in this midlife period, I
want people to know, first of all, it happens. Second
(06:51):
of all, there are things you could do for it.
You can smart supplement to actually make that easy change
a little bit better. So I kind of have a
couple suggestions if you want to hear them for people
who can, you know, do things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I have all ears. I am all ears, as as
is my audience. You have divided all.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Right, so you know everybody thinks about joint subblements. You
go to the dog food aisle, it's packed. You know,
glucosemine conjoint and fish oil. It's confusing. So the most
evidence we have for joint subblements is omega three fatty acids,
fish oils from a marine source. A lot of the
other stuff we don't have great evidence for, so fit
(07:33):
something like salmon oil great for the joints. All my
midlife dogs should be on it. The other thing is
muscle health. They're losing muscles because they're older, or maybe
they're slowing down because they have issues like a cavalier.
Sometimes they get back issues, they start to lose muffle
because of that. Our cats get kidney disease losing muscle.
So I suggest somebody called portotropin, which has been proven
(07:57):
in dogs and cats to maintain muscle loss associated with
aging and injury. And it's someone you could find in
a mios pet settlement, but it's called portotropin. That's number two.
The third one is actually probiotics. I think that our
aging animals need a little bit of digestive support. So
you know, when they're young, they got to the trash,
(08:18):
no problems, you know, stomach of steel. And in these days,
you know they kind of look at a tree the
wrong way or it's not their favorite treat, and you
know it's bad news. So I love doing probiotics. And
my only tip for the probiotics out there, because there
are a couple of good brands, is make sure it's
the one that's made for a dog or a cat.
(08:40):
So you can't use anything for humans. So just make
sure it's a dog or cat probiotic and it works
for your pet.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Well, those are all great suggestions. I know with my cavalier,
I used to have him bench press a little bit
and it worked out. Not heavyweights, to do about fifty pounds,
you know, and you know, ten reps at a time
and I'd spot him and it was fine. He enjoyed
that they only getting only getting bill.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
You listen, you also don't forget the core. That's the
most important part.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Oh. Absolutely, the sit ups were terrible anyway. Doctor Kelly Fishman,
veterinary sports medicine rehab expert. What's your website and folks,
in case folks want to check in with you, give
us a website.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, Dan, So it's strut. So I always think of
a happy dog or cat strugging, so st r ut
animal dot com. I have a couple of recommendations for
the supplements that I talked about today, fish oil, Forto,
tropen probiotics, all of them on my website. And yeah,
that's it.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Perfect, Doctor Fishman, Thank you very much. I think veterinarians
are special people because they take care of the most
special people in our lives. Our pets do become members
of the family, there's no question about it. Thanks so much,
doctor Fishman. Appreciate your time.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
All right, good night. When we get back, we're going
to talk about a horrific event that occurred in nineteen
seventy nine and it's a fascinating book. I talked with
the author today and I have him on tonight because
the book has just come out. It's called The Fuji Fire,
Sifty Ashes of a Forgotten Newest Marine Corps Tragedy. Where
(10:15):
do you hear this story? I think many of you
are going to want to purchase this book or order
it from Amazon. We'll be back on Nightside right after
this with Chas Henry, a former marine by the way,
who wrote this book and has chronicled this tremendous and
unnecessary loss of young US marines back in nineteen seventy nine.
(10:37):
And I will connect it to what's going on in Iran,
in Iraq and all of that in the Middle East.
Right after this break.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Forty five years ago is a long time, obviously, it
was forty five years ago in November that the US
Embassy was taken captive by followers of the Ayatola Homeni.
That story dominated the news for four hundred and forty
four days as our hostages were held in captivity in Tehran.
(11:17):
There was a tragedy that occurred just a couple of
weeks before that at a marine base in near Mount Fuji,
a marine training camp near Mount Fuji on October nineteenth,
nineteen seventy nine. It was a huge story, took the
lives of some young marines and badly scarred and burned others.
(11:42):
And to refresh your recollection, this is what Walter Cronkite
reported on CBS Evening News October twenty second, nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Friday, a typhoon toppled a huge fuel storage tank at
the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The resulting fire
swept the US Marines barracks there. One marine died instantly,
but to day, it turns out the tragedy was greater
than it first reported. Thirty seven badly burned Marines nineteen
have less than a fifty to fifty chance of survival.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Joining me is the author of a book Fuji Fire,
Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US Marine Corps Tragedy. Chas Henry,
an author, also a journalist, but even more importantly, a
twenty year Marine Corps veteran, and in an article that
was written by Jim Webb himself a former Marine who
(12:31):
served in the Vietnam, former US Secretary of the Navy,
and a US Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb Webb wrote,
the complexity of this story makes it exceedingly difficult to
tell till now. It has been little remembered and in
frequently taught in our military academies. Mister Henry's scholarly rigor
knowledge of the military and storytelling skill may at last
(12:54):
change that. Delighted to introduce to all of you, Chas Henry, Chas,
Welcome to Night Side.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
How are you so, I'm well, Dan, Thanks so much
for the opportunity to talk about something that may well
be the US Marine Corps worst ever peacetime tragedy, but
is largely forgotten.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Yeah. Well, of course we often think of the US
Marines who are killed in the Beirut bomb blast, but
that was something that was man made. This was finally
determined to be an act of God. But there may
have been some judgments that were made by the higher
ups in the Marine for having these these fuel facilities
(13:32):
higher than the base camp set the stage for as
you know more about this story, probably than anyone, So
I want to listen. And by the way, we will
probably revisit this in longer form sometime in the next
a week and a half or so. Go right ahead, Chazz.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Sure. So this is a lower sloping land. This is
near the base of Mount Fuji, and they are about
twelve hundred marines of this training camp. They'd come up
from units in Okinawa to train big open spaces and ranges.
Fuel bladders in rubberized fabric bladders were placed uphill of
where these marines were living in ramshackle quantt huts. And
(14:11):
a storm here, not just any storm, but this is
the still standing record the largest most intense typhoon ever,
Typhoon Tip in nineteen seventy nine if you had taken
it and places over the continental United States at its height,
it would have covered between half and two thirds of
the nation. It goes over the mainland. Japan drops more
(14:33):
rain in a day than they typically would get in
a month, and this created a breach in a berm
that had been built up around these fuel bladders. One
of the bladders, filled with gasoline flows into the berm.
Pumps that are still attached by hoses fall in and
they slice a five foot slice in this bladder. Ballons
(14:56):
of gasoline flows downhill on top of this flood that's
already going into the quantu huts that are heated by
open flame kerosene heaters, and as you might imagine, vapors
rise and fire breaks out. In the end, seventy three
people were injured, of whom fifty four were burned, and
over the next several weeks, thirteen died from those injuries.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
And you've been in touch with a lot of these
You've dedicated. I believe it was four years of your
life to writing this book, right.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I fell into it during the pandemic in twenty twenty.
I was looking for something to do. I just retired
from daily journalism and I never would have imagined it
became what it did. But it involved interviewing more than
one hundred and thirty people with direct firsthand experience of
the events, and a continuum that included describing the storm,
(15:48):
the events of the day at the camp, and then
a long range of heroic and dedicated medical evacuation and
treatment provided to these marines, and meeting many of these marines,
and hearing quite a number of really phenomenal, inspiring survivor stories.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
How difficult was it to track these men down? Obviously,
this is in nineteen seventy nine. You start out on
your pursuit of this story forty years later, so I
assume many of them may have passed away. Above and
beyond those who were killed in this horrific event. Was
(16:29):
the Marine Corps? Was the Defense Department cooperative with you
and said, oh, yeah, this is where these folks now live.
How did you track them down? That's a journalist question
to another journalist.
Speaker 6 (16:38):
It was.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
A challenge, and that made it kind of exciting. So
there was a copy of the investigation that was done
that was sort of floating around. It was highly redacted.
I got a copy of that early on, but I came.
Within the first few months of starting the research. I
realized that a friend of mine in nineteen eighty six
had filed the freedom of in act request thinking that
(17:02):
he might write something about this, and he received about
three quarters of an inch worth of photocopied materials to
include a mostly non redacted version of the investigation. Well,
between the two that I had, I was able to
page by page reconstruct a completely non redacted investigation. What
that allowed me was names names were not crossed out,
(17:24):
and fortunately not everybody's name was John Jones or Bob Smith.
There were some that had sufficiently unique names that using
search engines now people searches online, I would find perhaps
five or six people that seemed to have that name,
maybe were about the right age. And I spent a
lot of money. My wife complained about all the stamps
I bought sending out letters probably for the first year,
(17:46):
and eventually I started to get letters back, and that
led me to conduct the interviews, and then sometimes people
would say, well, I'm still in touch with this.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Other person who was there.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
But it was a slow start, but very encouraging as
it's sort of you know, the number of recipients to
those letters grew well.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I assume that a lot of these men not only
wanted the story told for themselves and to have a
record of it, but also in memory of the young
Marines who died or were severely injured in this this disaster.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
It's true. So this is largely forgotten, and you know,
the principal reason is because you know, just two weeks
later the hostage is taken and around the national attention shifts.
There was also some reticence on the part of the
Marine Corps to talk about it. So this hasn't appeared
in you know, many histories of the Marine Corps and such.
(18:44):
I had an email just the other day from someone
who was not involved. I didn't interview for the book,
but I had an email through my website from a
fellow who said that because we never read about this,
we feel almost ashamed and asking themselves, you know, did
we do something wrong? And it was this motivation over
time that inspired me to keep going with this project.
(19:08):
These guys were all about my age, the younger guys.
It was really amazing. There were certainly people who had
passed on subsequently, but I was able to interview even
one guy who was a brigadier general in nineteen seventy nine.
He since passed away, but I was able to interview
him a couple of years ago and got some very
interesting useful.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Was that General Robert Barrow.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
No, General Barrow had passed away some time before. This
was Joe mcmonagall, who was an assistant division commander in Okinawa,
who came up the day after the fire to sort
of see what was happening, and so to get his
perspective on what he saw was very useful. And his
observations about the leadership and what marines were asking him
(19:54):
and such a lot of guys were about my age,
and so I called it, in fact, my first two
years of of doing these interviews, my two years of
crying with other men in their sixties.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you the military often what do
they say, you know, victory has a thousand mothers and
defeat or disasters an orphan. One of my closest friends
in the world was the commander of the U. S. S. Pueblo,
Pete Booker Lloyd Right. And someday when we talk as
(20:26):
we did earlier today, I will tell you the story
of they tried to court martial Commander Booker. That was
prevented by the Secretary of Navy John Chafey, and then
they tried to prevent giving POW medals to the crew
of the Preblo. I got involved in that as a
lawyer back in the nineteen eighties, and the story of
(20:48):
what happened to the crew of the Preblo for eleven
months in captivity in North Korea. The Preblo is now
the only US naval warship in the hands of the enemy,
is on display in peong Pang, North Korea. But as
I was reading the materials that you said me, there
(21:09):
were a lot of similarities to what happened to the
men of the Pueblo. They were promised air support which
never came, and they as a results, spent eleven months
in very tough captivity. So it was also about ten years.
January twenty third to December twenty third of nineteen sixty
eight became a big issue in the sixty eighth presidential campaign.
(21:33):
But there should have been some heads that rolled on
this one, and I'm looking forward. The book has just
come out. It's published by Nebraska Press. I believe is
that the public publisher.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
University of Nebraska Press, it's on their Potomac Books in print.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Okay, so Amazon easy to get. I assume at this
point came out just this month, yes, but not mistaken.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
In fact, there's a hard hardcover kindle and an audiobook.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Really an audiobook as well. Okay, that is fabulous. Give
us the title one more time. I've read it a
couple of times. I want to hear it from you.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Thank you. It's Fujifire Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US
Marine Corps Tragedy.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Boy, that is a perfect, perfect title, Chas. We will
do a longer interview on this, but I wanted to
get something on the air, and I appreciate you being
available tonight in such short notice. Thank you so much.
We're talking the next couple of days.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I'm so grateful for your time and interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Thank you all right, Chas Henry the author of Fujifire
Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US Marine Corps Tragedy. When
we get back, we're going to talk. Some of you
might have experienced this today. As a matter of fact,
I think Chas actually experienced when I was talking with
five tips to keep your phone from overheating. We will
be right back on night's side, Keep with us, Stay
(22:52):
with us. We've got a very interesting show coming up
for you tonight. Scott Brown will join us at after
nine o'clock and then we're going to talk about the
call and the jury foreman of the Karen Reid trial
for a complete from from just from the get go
investigation of the death of the tragic death of John O'Keefe.
(23:12):
I'm not sure that that is doable legally, and I'm
not even sure that it's wise, but I suspect all
of you have some different points of vie. Owner. Here
comes the news at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It's Night Side with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Like to welcome Peter Nixon. He's the director of retail
sales in the North Northeaster for AT and T, and
Peter has five tips to keep your phone from overheating. Peter,
where were you two nights ago? Only kiddy.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Dan, I know you cover some pretty heavy subjects, So
this this you gotta pay attention going into this one.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
I will, I promise I pay attention to all the subjects,
trust me.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
So here's some simple facts to help you with your phone.
Number one, Like, let let's use common sense and keep
it out of direct sunlight. So a lot of times
if we're in the car and we take it, we
throw our phone on the dashboard, that sun comes in,
heaps up your phone. Next thing you know, your phone's
making funny noises and it's telling you that you know
(24:16):
it's not gonna work. It's gonna shut down because it's
too hot. So if you have your phone in the car,
keep it in a shaded spot whenever possible.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
By the way, kids, sunlight and heat like we've experienced
the last couple of days, could that actually kill a phone.
Speaker 6 (24:33):
It can damage it, meaning it'll shut down, and who
knows what damage it does to the phone it shuts down. Okay,
so we always Another thing we say is avoid overuse
in the heat. And what do I mean by overuse gaming?
I know you and I are probably very big gamers,
but our kids are.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
There sadly, sadly, but no, I'm not. Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
Yeah, So as the game it heats up the processors,
it makes it hotter. Video streaming, if you're on there
checking Facebook video streams, that also makes it hotter. And then,
believe it or not, if you're in the car using GPS,
A lot of times can can make the phone hot,
and we'll limit you know, limit the the way that
(25:16):
it works. So you got to giff on that and
watch it. So watch your high temperatures outside.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
Then if it does start to heat up and you
start to see warnings on it, because most phones will
give you a little warning, some simple things you can do,
like take it out of the case because the case
acts like a blanket and it keeps the warmth and
the phone. So if you take it off, it should
start to cool down a little bit.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
One thing you should never do is put it in
ice water. Correct, I just want to make make it
make it clear on that, right.
Speaker 6 (25:48):
Yeah, don't put it in the freezer, put it in
a refrigerator, don't put it in nice water.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Okay, what else?
Speaker 6 (25:57):
Yeah, so we say let it cool naturally. Right, if
your phone overheats, power it down, let it rest in
a cool spot. And we always say never put it
in the fridge or a freezer. Let it return to
its natural state naturally. So some common sense tips, but
I think it's happened to all of us that our
phone is overheated.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I think also there was some tips to disable Bluetooth,
Wi Fi and background apps when not in use to
reduce strain on your device. We have all become so
dependent upon our phones, and we I I like everyone else.
Probably you don't. You don't realize the miracle you You
(26:41):
take it for granted that you can be standing in
so many different places. I mean, I'm old enough to
remember pay phones. I'm old enough to remember rotary dial phones.
And yes, I know you you should look. I should
look at my phone every day and say, this is
a miracle that in my hand I have all the
(27:04):
phone numbers. Remember, I had no idea how old you are, Peter,
but I suspect that you probably used to be able
to remember phone numbers. Yeah, that was not uncommon. I
would have like probably fifty numbers in my head of
my friends and all of that. I still remember, you know,
the work numbers, businesses that you're called. Now, I have
(27:28):
a tough time, right, we've trained ourselves not to remember.
Or is that just the process of getting older?
Speaker 6 (27:35):
Do you think? Oh? No, I think you're right on
the money. You remember, you hear the phone number when
you put it into your memory in your phone, and
then you never think of it again. You look up
Dan Ray Nightside and I hit send, and that's how
I get you. I don't look up I don't look
up your phone number.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
So that's why it's important to have cloud backup because
we probably all lost phones too, and how devastated we
are when we lose a phone and all those numbers,
all those pictures go with it unless you use some
sort of storage or some sort of backup.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah. I've had that experience, unfortunately. But what is amazing
to me is I have been in Europe and have
called friends of mine in the middle of the country,
meaning in Kansas, from Europe, and it sounds like they're
(28:27):
standing next to you.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
And I can remember as a as a young television reporter,
having to find payphones to go through your pocket with
dimes so you could call the desk and let them
know that you were, you know, and then all of
a sudden you had some phones in the in the vans,
and again we just become so used to it. It's
(28:50):
almost like refrigeration during the summer. You know, most of
us are lucky enough to have a refrigerator. So you
go down and you want to have a hold, can't
a twelve hours refreshment watching the ball game, and you know,
you just you know, in the old days when people
didn't have refrigerators, they had to walk all the way
(29:13):
down to the corner right.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
It's you think about a lot of times. I've kept
this in my mind before you even walk out the
door in the morning. A lot of us don't realize
how much we depend on our phone. It wakes us
up as an alarm clock. If you have a home alarm,
you can shut it off right from your handset. So
you shut off the home alarm in your house, you
(29:37):
may go get a cup of coffee and use it
at your favorite establishment to buy that cup of coffee.
It's just endless. If you leave your phone at home,
it's a tough day.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh or if you if you do misplace it and
and you're and you're in a panic. I'm always trying
when did when did I last use my phone? Where
was I? Was I in the car? Was I downstairs?
Was I down cellarted? I just think that they are
(30:07):
a modern miracle. There's a lot of things that are miraculous.
The automobiles a miracle. We used to have horse and buggy,
but we take phones for granted. And thank you for
what you guys, do you know keeping keeping those phones
working for us at AT and T, Verizon or whomever
your phone service happens to be provided by. Thanks for
(30:29):
the suggestions I had one other questions. First, was set
up through a public relations manager named Karen Toomey at
AT and T Corporate Communications. Is that the same Karen
to me here?
Speaker 6 (30:40):
It sure is?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Well. Please give her my best.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
Will Dan. And one funny story when she said started
working for us. We're in a meeting and I said
to her, Karen, can you do me one favor before
we leave the meeting? Can you just say and this
is Karen Toomey for w b Z And she.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Did, Dad. Well, she's she's a great reporter, great colleague.
Our losses as AT and T's gain. And if she's
not listening, please let her know that she's remembered well
in the busy newsroom.
Speaker 6 (31:12):
Okay, I sure will, Dan. Thanks your nice talking.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You, thank you very much, Talk soon, all right, good night?
All right. We got one more guest coming up, and
I wish this was television. It's Miss Massachusetts, the newly
crowned Miss Massachusetts. Will join us on the phone and
we will talk with her about becoming Miss Massachusetts. Her
(31:35):
name is Kayla Griffin, and we'll talk with Kayla Griffin
and some causes that she is working. She works hard
on behalf of Right after this quick break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
It's Night Side with Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
All right, I am delighted to introduce to my audience
the you, Miss Massachusetts, Cayla Griffin, Miss Massachusetts, Kyla Griffin,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you hi?
Speaker 5 (32:09):
I'm good.
Speaker 7 (32:10):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I'm wonderful. So tell us a little bit about how
you were. You were named Miss Massachusetts, I believe as
recently as last weekend.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Yes, well, firstly, thank you for having me. I'm excited
to be here, Miss Massachusetts.
Speaker 6 (32:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Miss Massachusetts was this past weekend and I was crowned
on Saturday. So it's still very very fresh for me.
And it was a long week, but it was so
worth it and I had a great time.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Now you will serve as Miss Massachusetts for a year.
And I guess one of the issues that you're very
concerned about is homelessness here in Massachusetts. How did you
get interested in that issue in the first place? I said,
give us an idea about what you hope to do.
Speaker 7 (33:04):
Yeah, So, like you said, I will be serving as
Miss Massachusetts for an entire year. And in the Miss
America Opportunity Organization, we have something called a Community Service Initiative,
and mine is the Purple Blueprint creating solutions for unhoused Americans.
So I'm currently a healthcare worker and it kind of
started during covid Era when I was working at the
(33:26):
hospital and a lot of our unhoused community members would
come in and I really dawned on me how vulnerable
this population is and the little platforms that they have,
and I just figured, you know, if I have a
voice and I have the means, I should do something
about this. So that's kind of what got me started.
And ever since then, I've been trying to figure out
(33:48):
ways to help our housing crisis and our homelessness crisis.
And once I was crowned Miss Cambridge first this year,
I decided I really wanted to start that because there's
a lot going on in Cambridge and Boston with this,
and now that I am in Massachusetts, my hope is
that I can further elevate my platform really work with
(34:08):
a lot of organizations. When I volunteer with weekly right
now as horizons for homeless children. They are amazing and
my goal is to make some change and work with
policy leaders and local and state officials as well.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Now you're a graduate of Northeastern University and you said
you work in the healthcare industry.
Speaker 7 (34:30):
Yes, so, go Huskies. I graduated from Northeastern in twenty
twenty two and now I work at mass General Hospital
in downtown, So that's kind of been my shift since
post graduation.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
And great facility. What do you do there? If I could,
Are you on the floor, are you work What exactly
do you do at Mass General?
Speaker 7 (34:52):
Yes? Yeah, so I used to work on the floor
at Beth Israel as a patient care technician, and now
I do cardio vascular research through the Cardio Center at
Mass General. So I do a lot of lab works.
It's really exciting and interesting, and I've partnered with the
American Heart Association through both my job and as a
(35:13):
titleholder now is miss Massachusetts. So I'm an advocate for
heart health and we do a lot of cool nerdy
stuff figuring out.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
Ways to you.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
That's greatcation comes helps all of us. And by the way,
I noticed that you were crowned last Saturday at the
Hanover Theater, which is a beautiful facility in Worcester. You
said at one point you would miss Worcester. Did you
grow up in Worcester?
Speaker 7 (35:38):
No, I didn't, But Worcester was actually the first title
I've ever had, So sometimes you can go to different
pageants in the state even if you're not from there,
as long as you're a resident of Massachusetts. Yeah, but
Hanover is incredible.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
I love everyone there, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Great facility. I remember being there for a program helping
kids with autism. Back this is going to be be
pre pandemic. So tell me a little bit more about yourself.
Did you grow up obviously in Massachusetts.
Speaker 7 (36:13):
Actually it didn't. I was a military kid, so I
grew up everywhere. Okay, yeah, my dad was in the
Air Force, so I grew up all over the place.
But Massachusetts, I always say, is a state that raised
me because I came here when I was seventeen, eighteen
years old, and I've been here ever since. Itce the
longest place I've ever been consecutively, and it's been home
(36:34):
for a near a decade now. So I love Massachusetts
and it's given.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Me so much.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Does your dad still active duty?
Speaker 7 (36:42):
No, he retired, so he is a veteran now and
my parents currently are in Virginia.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Well, when you talk to you dad, thank him for
his service to our country. I must tell you that
I am always so impressed. I know the word is
military brats, and I know that's not a nice him necessarily,
but I am so impressed with young people like yourself
who not only come from families with the military background,
(37:10):
because I'm sure the dad is still a lot of
discipline in the home. But in addition to oh yeah,
you have to when you're a member, your mom and
your dad is in the military, and you're moving around,
making new friends, adjusting to new places, new climates, sometimes overseas,
sometimes back here in the States. It's a great challenge,
(37:30):
and I think that it's real blessing for someone to
experience that, because you've already seen large a large swath
of this country, and you've all probably also seen a
little bit of the world that most kids who are
your age, young people who are your age, have yet
to have a chance to see. Now you're going to
be competing in the Miss America competition in September. I'm
(37:56):
in Orlando, Florida. Tell us about that because I know
that that that's I hope it's still published televised nationally
and then we'll be able to watch this competition. Tell
us how how much of what? What do you have
to do and prep for that other than I guess
show up and be smart, smart and look sharp.
Speaker 7 (38:17):
Well, yes, I'm so excited. It's going to be in Orlando,
Florida in September. And yeah, the preparation is just a
lot of activism in my community because I just want
to show the country what Massachusetts is made of, Like
this is who we are. And of course, you know,
like making sure your mind is right and you've got
(38:37):
your style down and your dresses and your talent and
and all of that. So there's interview proportions as well.
So just being fully prepared and going to have a
good time and meet a bunch of really incredible women.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
What when you when you talk about you have to
do some sort of a musical instrument if I'm not correct,
or sing or dance or something. What?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
Yes, what is that's?
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Is that called the talent? I just don't want to
misname it. What is that called?
Speaker 7 (39:05):
Yeah, no, you got it? Yeah, that's the talent portion.
So we have different sections. We have on stage question talent, fitness,
evening gown, and then we do a private interview. Okay,
so talent, I play the piano.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
You play it. Oh my god, you do it all,
you do it all.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
Oh my gosh, no, I love piano.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Miss Massachusetts, twenty twenty five. Congratulations, Kaylae. You sound obviously
you are a very beautiful young woman, but you also
seem to exude all the qualities of someone who's both
beautiful externally but also internally.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
And oh, thank you you you.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Are bright as a north star. So thank you so
much for and best of luck. Not to much, no,
but you have a great time and have fun and
bring home one more crown.
Speaker 7 (39:59):
Okay, I'll do it all right, Thank you guys so
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
You're very welcome, Kayla Griffin, Miss Massachusetts, with a platform
focused on solutions for homelessness, or as they are currently called,
the unhoused. My name's Dan Ray. We're going to be
back with former Massachusetts senator now Republican candidate for the
US Senator in New Hampshire, Scott Brown, and he'll be
taking your phone call, so line up your questions. Coming
(40:25):
back on night side right after this
It's nice eyes with Dan Ray. I'm gugging easy Boston's
News Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you very much, Madison. As we reach the midpoint
of the week and hopefully the end of the warm
days or the hot days and the hot nights, good evening, everyone,
and welcome on into a night side. I promise you.
As the program goes on for the next four hours,
the temperature will drop in some form of fashion. So
(00:26):
maybe maybe by midnight you can turn off the air conditioning,
you can open up the windows and allow God's good
cool ear to float through your home. Boy, it's been
a tough couple of days. We at some point we'll
talk about that this week for certain, But tonight, in
the first hour, we have four very interesting guests and
(00:49):
they really range the spectrum. Going to talk with you
about a disaster that hit the US Marine Corps back
in nineteen seventy nine, a much forgotten disaster. We'll explain
how it correlates with what's going on in a run
right now. Also, we will talk with Miss Massachusetts and
we're going to give you some tips on a keep
(01:11):
how to keep your phone from overheating. At nine o'clock,
we originally thought would be ten o'clock. At nine o'clock,
we're going to talk with former United States Senator Scott Brown,
who announced today that he is running for the United
States Senate seat being vacated by Jean Shaheen due to
Hampshire Democrat, who Brown not lost to actually in twenty fourteen,
so he is now going to basically compete for an
(01:34):
open seat since Shen announced she will retire from the
US Senate after she finishes this term, so we have
lots to do. We're also going to talk about the
call by the jury foreman of the Karen Reid case
to open a new investigation into what happened to John O'Keeffe.
I have some strong thoughts on that. I suspect you
(01:55):
might as well. But we are first going to start
off tonight and talk with doctor Kelly Fisherman, a veterinary
sports medicine rehab expert, founder of the Strut Animal Mobility Specialists.
And the question, doctor Fishman, is how can we tell
if our pets are having a midlife midlife crisis? And
(02:16):
why would that question even arise?
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Good evening, how are you good?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Eavening? So they haven't stolen your credit card to go
buy a Corvette. That's not the sign.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Tell you I appreciate that. I'll tell you my late
grade dog, Charlie, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was
I could describe me as a wonder dog. If any
dog could have been able to steal my credit card
to buy a corvette, it would have been Charlie. But
Charlie has based on a few years ago. So it
(02:49):
sounds to me like this is this is somehow related
to what happened with COVID, but not necessarily medically.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
So basically what happened is at all, Hello COVID puppies.
So that puppy boom that we had and so much
for ave, you know, cares focused on those puppies. Now
they're all mid life and what does that mean. They're
about the human age of fifty years old. Things are
starting to slow down, aging is starting to set in,
(03:20):
and they're going to just transition into some of their seeingior.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Years at five years of age. I've always thought that
dogs correlated one year to seven years, so I would
I'm assuming that dogs would be I don't know, thirty
five years old if they're five years have I been misled?
My entire life?
Speaker 4 (03:43):
Well, the one to seven years things, unfortunately is a myss.
And then it also I do have to tell you
because you had a cavalier, so your dog actually didn't
reach midlife as young. So a dog under fifty pounds
or cavaliers are Frenchies, they're reaching their midlife around ten,
so they reached it a little bit later because of
(04:05):
the different aging rates between our big dogs and our
smaller dogs. So I'm talking about when our middle You know,
our dogs are bigger than fifty pounds, Our labs are
great gains. Those dogs are starting to reach the human
efuivalent of fifty at five to seven. And then I
can't forget it about my cats. They're also really reaching
(04:28):
mid life about seven years old.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Okay, so let's talk generally then, because my great dog
Charlie only lived ten years, and because calves have a
relatively shorter lifespan, they have, as I'm sure you as
a vetinaria no better than I, they have a number
of problems that hit them, particularly heart issues impact just
(04:49):
as you know German shepherds have problems with their hips.
I mean, all of these dogs they are best friends
and they don't live long enough. And we know that,
But what would people see what they is? It simply
a question of slowing down and as opposed to being
that puppy that what we call runs around the house
and does zoomis up and down the stairs and just
(05:10):
seems to be inexhaustible. Now they kind of move it
a little bit of a slower pace like some of
us do as we age gracefully.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Yeah, that's right. So the big signs are less, you know,
less playful. Maybe they're gaining a little bit of weight,
slowing down on walks, sleeping more. Those are some of
the changes that I see in their behavior. Our cats
are wanting to jump up less, or maybe they're taking
doing little modifications to avoid doing those big jumps that
(05:40):
they did when they're kittens, or maybe they're not playing
as much. So certainly one of those bigger, biggest signs
is slowing down. And why I get nervous as a
rehab that is because dogs lose muscle and as they
age and as they reach midlife, and losing muscle means
losing strength. Just like us when we're in our fifties,
(06:01):
we're losing muscle. It's harder to stay fit and stay strong,
and that's the same thing with our dogs and cats.
So huge issue.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
So what is there anything that we can do or
is this just part of the natural aging process? And
you just want us to be more aware of what
our dogs and cats. I'm a dog guy, but what
our pets? All dogs, all pets, pets, they all go
to heaven. What they're doing in their later years before
they head off to heaven.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Yeah, so first of all, be aware because and again
that's why I love the midlife crisis, calling a midlife
crisis because we haven't actually reached senior yet or not
a frail dog or not a frail kitty. We're not
so painful. But right now in this midlife period, I
want people to know, first of all, it happens. Second
(06:51):
of all, there are things you could do for it.
You can smart supplement to actually make that easy change
a little bit better. So I kind of have a
couple suggestions if you want to hear them for people
who can, you know, do things.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
I have all ears. I am all ears, as as
is my audience. You have divided all.
Speaker 4 (07:12):
Right, so you know everybody thinks about joint subblements. You
go to the dog food aisle, it's packed. You know,
glucosemine conjoint and fish oil. It's confusing. So the most
evidence we have for joint subblements is omega three fatty acids,
fish oils from a marine source. A lot of the
other stuff we don't have great evidence for, so fit
(07:33):
something like salmon oil great for the joints. All my
midlife dogs should be on it. The other thing is
muscle health. They're losing muscles because they're older, or maybe
they're slowing down because they have issues like a cavalier.
Sometimes they get back issues, they start to lose muffle
because of that. Our cats get kidney disease losing muscle.
So I suggest somebody called portotropin, which has been proven
(07:57):
in dogs and cats to maintain muscle loss associated with
aging and injury. And it's someone you could find in
a mios pet settlement, but it's called portotropin. That's number two.
The third one is actually probiotics. I think that our
aging animals need a little bit of digestive support. So
you know, when they're young, they got to the trash,
(08:18):
no problems, you know, stomach of steel. And in these days,
you know they kind of look at a tree the
wrong way or it's not their favorite treat, and you
know it's bad news. So I love doing probiotics. And
my only tip for the probiotics out there, because there
are a couple of good brands, is make sure it's
the one that's made for a dog or a cat.
(08:40):
So you can't use anything for humans. So just make
sure it's a dog or cat probiotic and it works
for your pet.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Well, those are all great suggestions. I know with my cavalier,
I used to have him bench press a little bit
and it worked out. Not heavyweights, to do about fifty pounds,
you know, and you know, ten reps at a time
and I'd spot him and it was fine. He enjoyed
that they only getting only getting bill.
Speaker 4 (09:03):
You listen, you also don't forget the core. That's the
most important part.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Oh. Absolutely, the sit ups were terrible anyway. Doctor Kelly Fishman,
veterinary sports medicine rehab expert. What's your website and folks,
in case folks want to check in with you, give
us a website.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Yeah, Dan, So it's strut. So I always think of
a happy dog or cat strugging, so st r ut
animal dot com. I have a couple of recommendations for
the supplements that I talked about today, fish oil, Forto,
tropen probiotics, all of them on my website. And yeah,
that's it.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Perfect, Doctor Fishman, Thank you very much. I think veterinarians
are special people because they take care of the most
special people in our lives. Our pets do become members
of the family, there's no question about it. Thanks so much,
doctor Fishman. Appreciate your time.
Speaker 4 (09:53):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
All right, good night. When we get back, we're going
to talk about a horrific event that occurred in nineteen
seventy nine and it's a fascinating book. I talked with
the author today and I have him on tonight because
the book has just come out. It's called The Fuji Fire,
Sifty Ashes of a Forgotten Newest Marine Corps Tragedy. Where
(10:15):
do you hear this story? I think many of you
are going to want to purchase this book or order
it from Amazon. We'll be back on Nightside right after
this with Chas Henry, a former marine by the way,
who wrote this book and has chronicled this tremendous and
unnecessary loss of young US marines back in nineteen seventy nine.
(10:37):
And I will connect it to what's going on in Iran,
in Iraq and all of that in the Middle East.
Right after this break.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBZY, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:52):
Forty five years ago is a long time, obviously, it
was forty five years ago in November that the US
Embassy was taken captive by followers of the Ayatola Homeni.
That story dominated the news for four hundred and forty
four days as our hostages were held in captivity in Tehran.
(11:17):
There was a tragedy that occurred just a couple of
weeks before that at a marine base in near Mount Fuji,
a marine training camp near Mount Fuji on October nineteenth,
nineteen seventy nine. It was a huge story, took the
lives of some young marines and badly scarred and burned others.
(11:42):
And to refresh your recollection, this is what Walter Cronkite
reported on CBS Evening News October twenty second, nineteen seventy nine.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Friday, a typhoon toppled a huge fuel storage tank at
the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. The resulting fire
swept the US Marines barracks there. One marine died instantly,
but to day, it turns out the tragedy was greater
than it first reported. Thirty seven badly burned Marines nineteen
have less than a fifty to fifty chance of survival.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Joining me is the author of a book Fuji Fire,
Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US Marine Corps Tragedy. Chas Henry,
an author, also a journalist, but even more importantly, a
twenty year Marine Corps veteran, and in an article that
was written by Jim Webb himself a former Marine who
(12:31):
served in the Vietnam, former US Secretary of the Navy,
and a US Senator from Virginia, Jim Webb Webb wrote,
the complexity of this story makes it exceedingly difficult to
tell till now. It has been little remembered and in
frequently taught in our military academies. Mister Henry's scholarly rigor
knowledge of the military and storytelling skill may at last
(12:54):
change that. Delighted to introduce to all of you, Chas Henry, Chas,
Welcome to Night Side.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
How are you so, I'm well, Dan, Thanks so much
for the opportunity to talk about something that may well
be the US Marine Corps worst ever peacetime tragedy, but
is largely forgotten.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Yeah. Well, of course we often think of the US
Marines who are killed in the Beirut bomb blast, but
that was something that was man made. This was finally
determined to be an act of God. But there may
have been some judgments that were made by the higher
ups in the Marine for having these these fuel facilities
(13:32):
higher than the base camp set the stage for as
you know more about this story, probably than anyone, So
I want to listen. And by the way, we will
probably revisit this in longer form sometime in the next
a week and a half or so. Go right ahead, Chazz.
Speaker 3 (13:47):
Sure. So this is a lower sloping land. This is
near the base of Mount Fuji, and they are about
twelve hundred marines of this training camp. They'd come up
from units in Okinawa to train big open spaces and ranges.
Fuel bladders in rubberized fabric bladders were placed uphill of
where these marines were living in ramshackle quantt huts. And
(14:11):
a storm here, not just any storm, but this is
the still standing record the largest most intense typhoon ever,
Typhoon Tip in nineteen seventy nine if you had taken
it and places over the continental United States at its height,
it would have covered between half and two thirds of
the nation. It goes over the mainland. Japan drops more
(14:33):
rain in a day than they typically would get in
a month, and this created a breach in a berm
that had been built up around these fuel bladders. One
of the bladders, filled with gasoline flows into the berm.
Pumps that are still attached by hoses fall in and
they slice a five foot slice in this bladder. Ballons
(14:56):
of gasoline flows downhill on top of this flood that's
already going into the quantu huts that are heated by
open flame kerosene heaters, and as you might imagine, vapors
rise and fire breaks out. In the end, seventy three
people were injured, of whom fifty four were burned, and
over the next several weeks, thirteen died from those injuries.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
And you've been in touch with a lot of these
You've dedicated. I believe it was four years of your
life to writing this book, right.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
I fell into it during the pandemic in twenty twenty.
I was looking for something to do. I just retired
from daily journalism and I never would have imagined it
became what it did. But it involved interviewing more than
one hundred and thirty people with direct firsthand experience of
the events, and a continuum that included describing the storm,
(15:48):
the events of the day at the camp, and then
a long range of heroic and dedicated medical evacuation and
treatment provided to these marines, and meeting many of these marines,
and hearing quite a number of really phenomenal, inspiring survivor stories.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
How difficult was it to track these men down? Obviously,
this is in nineteen seventy nine. You start out on
your pursuit of this story forty years later, so I
assume many of them may have passed away. Above and
beyond those who were killed in this horrific event. Was
(16:29):
the Marine Corps? Was the Defense Department cooperative with you
and said, oh, yeah, this is where these folks now live.
How did you track them down? That's a journalist question
to another journalist.
Speaker 6 (16:38):
It was.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
A challenge, and that made it kind of exciting. So
there was a copy of the investigation that was done
that was sort of floating around. It was highly redacted.
I got a copy of that early on, but I came.
Within the first few months of starting the research. I
realized that a friend of mine in nineteen eighty six
had filed the freedom of in act request thinking that
(17:02):
he might write something about this, and he received about
three quarters of an inch worth of photocopied materials to
include a mostly non redacted version of the investigation. Well,
between the two that I had, I was able to
page by page reconstruct a completely non redacted investigation. What
that allowed me was names names were not crossed out,
(17:24):
and fortunately not everybody's name was John Jones or Bob Smith.
There were some that had sufficiently unique names that using
search engines now people searches online, I would find perhaps
five or six people that seemed to have that name,
maybe were about the right age. And I spent a
lot of money. My wife complained about all the stamps
I bought sending out letters probably for the first year,
(17:46):
and eventually I started to get letters back, and that
led me to conduct the interviews, and then sometimes people
would say, well, I'm still in touch with this.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Other person who was there.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
But it was a slow start, but very encouraging as
it's sort of you know, the number of recipients to
those letters grew well.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
I assume that a lot of these men not only
wanted the story told for themselves and to have a
record of it, but also in memory of the young
Marines who died or were severely injured in this this disaster.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
It's true. So this is largely forgotten, and you know,
the principal reason is because you know, just two weeks
later the hostage is taken and around the national attention shifts.
There was also some reticence on the part of the
Marine Corps to talk about it. So this hasn't appeared
in you know, many histories of the Marine Corps and such.
(18:44):
I had an email just the other day from someone
who was not involved. I didn't interview for the book,
but I had an email through my website from a
fellow who said that because we never read about this,
we feel almost ashamed and asking themselves, you know, did
we do something wrong? And it was this motivation over
time that inspired me to keep going with this project.
(19:08):
These guys were all about my age, the younger guys.
It was really amazing. There were certainly people who had
passed on subsequently, but I was able to interview even
one guy who was a brigadier general in nineteen seventy nine.
He since passed away, but I was able to interview
him a couple of years ago and got some very
interesting useful.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Was that General Robert Barrow.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
No, General Barrow had passed away some time before. This
was Joe mcmonagall, who was an assistant division commander in Okinawa,
who came up the day after the fire to sort
of see what was happening, and so to get his
perspective on what he saw was very useful. And his
observations about the leadership and what marines were asking him
(19:54):
and such a lot of guys were about my age,
and so I called it, in fact, my first two
years of of doing these interviews, my two years of
crying with other men in their sixties.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
Yeah. Well, I'll tell you the military often what do
they say, you know, victory has a thousand mothers and
defeat or disasters an orphan. One of my closest friends
in the world was the commander of the U. S. S. Pueblo,
Pete Booker Lloyd Right. And someday when we talk as
(20:26):
we did earlier today, I will tell you the story
of they tried to court martial Commander Booker. That was
prevented by the Secretary of Navy John Chafey, and then
they tried to prevent giving POW medals to the crew
of the Preblo. I got involved in that as a
lawyer back in the nineteen eighties, and the story of
(20:48):
what happened to the crew of the Preblo for eleven
months in captivity in North Korea. The Preblo is now
the only US naval warship in the hands of the enemy,
is on display in peong Pang, North Korea. But as
I was reading the materials that you said me, there
(21:09):
were a lot of similarities to what happened to the
men of the Pueblo. They were promised air support which
never came, and they as a results, spent eleven months
in very tough captivity. So it was also about ten years.
January twenty third to December twenty third of nineteen sixty
eight became a big issue in the sixty eighth presidential campaign.
(21:33):
But there should have been some heads that rolled on
this one, and I'm looking forward. The book has just
come out. It's published by Nebraska Press. I believe is
that the public publisher.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
University of Nebraska Press, it's on their Potomac Books in print.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Okay, so Amazon easy to get. I assume at this
point came out just this month, yes, but not mistaken.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
In fact, there's a hard hardcover kindle and an audiobook.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Really an audiobook as well. Okay, that is fabulous. Give
us the title one more time. I've read it a
couple of times. I want to hear it from you.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Thank you. It's Fujifire Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US
Marine Corps Tragedy.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Boy, that is a perfect, perfect title, Chas. We will
do a longer interview on this, but I wanted to
get something on the air, and I appreciate you being
available tonight in such short notice. Thank you so much.
We're talking the next couple of days.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
I'm so grateful for your time and interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Thank you all right, Chas Henry the author of Fujifire
Sifting Ashes of a Forgotten US Marine Corps Tragedy. When
we get back, we're going to talk. Some of you
might have experienced this today. As a matter of fact,
I think Chas actually experienced when I was talking with
five tips to keep your phone from overheating. We will
be right back on night's side, Keep with us, Stay
(22:52):
with us. We've got a very interesting show coming up
for you tonight. Scott Brown will join us at after
nine o'clock and then we're going to talk about the
call and the jury foreman of the Karen Reid trial
for a complete from from just from the get go
investigation of the death of the tragic death of John O'Keefe.
(23:12):
I'm not sure that that is doable legally, and I'm
not even sure that it's wise, but I suspect all
of you have some different points of vie. Owner. Here
comes the news at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
It's Night Side with Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Like to welcome Peter Nixon. He's the director of retail
sales in the North Northeaster for AT and T, and
Peter has five tips to keep your phone from overheating. Peter,
where were you two nights ago? Only kiddy.
Speaker 6 (23:43):
Dan, I know you cover some pretty heavy subjects, So
this this you gotta pay attention going into this one.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
I will, I promise I pay attention to all the subjects,
trust me.
Speaker 6 (23:54):
So here's some simple facts to help you with your phone.
Number one, Like, let let's use common sense and keep
it out of direct sunlight. So a lot of times
if we're in the car and we take it, we
throw our phone on the dashboard, that sun comes in,
heaps up your phone. Next thing you know, your phone's
making funny noises and it's telling you that you know
(24:16):
it's not gonna work. It's gonna shut down because it's
too hot. So if you have your phone in the car,
keep it in a shaded spot whenever possible.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
By the way, kids, sunlight and heat like we've experienced
the last couple of days, could that actually kill a phone.
Speaker 6 (24:33):
It can damage it, meaning it'll shut down, and who
knows what damage it does to the phone it shuts down. Okay,
so we always Another thing we say is avoid overuse
in the heat. And what do I mean by overuse gaming?
I know you and I are probably very big gamers,
but our kids are.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
There sadly, sadly, but no, I'm not. Go ahead.
Speaker 6 (24:55):
Yeah, So as the game it heats up the processors,
it makes it hotter. Video streaming, if you're on there
checking Facebook video streams, that also makes it hotter. And then,
believe it or not, if you're in the car using GPS,
A lot of times can can make the phone hot,
and we'll limit you know, limit the the way that
(25:16):
it works. So you got to giff on that and
watch it. So watch your high temperatures outside.
Speaker 2 (25:21):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (25:23):
Then if it does start to heat up and you
start to see warnings on it, because most phones will
give you a little warning, some simple things you can do,
like take it out of the case because the case
acts like a blanket and it keeps the warmth and
the phone. So if you take it off, it should
start to cool down a little bit.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
One thing you should never do is put it in
ice water. Correct, I just want to make make it
make it clear on that, right.
Speaker 6 (25:48):
Yeah, don't put it in the freezer, put it in
a refrigerator, don't put it in nice water.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Okay, what else?
Speaker 6 (25:57):
Yeah, so we say let it cool naturally. Right, if
your phone overheats, power it down, let it rest in
a cool spot. And we always say never put it
in the fridge or a freezer. Let it return to
its natural state naturally. So some common sense tips, but
I think it's happened to all of us that our
phone is overheated.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
I think also there was some tips to disable Bluetooth,
Wi Fi and background apps when not in use to
reduce strain on your device. We have all become so
dependent upon our phones, and we I I like everyone else.
Probably you don't. You don't realize the miracle you You
(26:41):
take it for granted that you can be standing in
so many different places. I mean, I'm old enough to
remember pay phones. I'm old enough to remember rotary dial phones.
And yes, I know you you should look. I should
look at my phone every day and say, this is
a miracle that in my hand I have all the
(27:04):
phone numbers. Remember, I had no idea how old you are, Peter,
but I suspect that you probably used to be able
to remember phone numbers. Yeah, that was not uncommon. I
would have like probably fifty numbers in my head of
my friends and all of that. I still remember, you know,
the work numbers, businesses that you're called. Now, I have
(27:28):
a tough time, right, we've trained ourselves not to remember.
Or is that just the process of getting older?
Speaker 6 (27:35):
Do you think? Oh? No, I think you're right on
the money. You remember, you hear the phone number when
you put it into your memory in your phone, and
then you never think of it again. You look up
Dan Ray Nightside and I hit send, and that's how
I get you. I don't look up I don't look
up your phone number.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
So that's why it's important to have cloud backup because
we probably all lost phones too, and how devastated we
are when we lose a phone and all those numbers,
all those pictures go with it unless you use some
sort of storage or some sort of backup.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
Yeah. I've had that experience, unfortunately. But what is amazing
to me is I have been in Europe and have
called friends of mine in the middle of the country,
meaning in Kansas, from Europe, and it sounds like they're
(28:27):
standing next to you.
Speaker 6 (28:28):
It's crazy.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
And I can remember as a as a young television reporter,
having to find payphones to go through your pocket with
dimes so you could call the desk and let them
know that you were, you know, and then all of
a sudden you had some phones in the in the vans,
and again we just become so used to it. It's
(28:50):
almost like refrigeration during the summer. You know, most of
us are lucky enough to have a refrigerator. So you
go down and you want to have a hold, can't
a twelve hours refreshment watching the ball game, and you know,
you just you know, in the old days when people
didn't have refrigerators, they had to walk all the way
(29:13):
down to the corner right.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
It's you think about a lot of times. I've kept
this in my mind before you even walk out the
door in the morning. A lot of us don't realize
how much we depend on our phone. It wakes us
up as an alarm clock. If you have a home alarm,
you can shut it off right from your handset. So
you shut off the home alarm in your house, you
(29:37):
may go get a cup of coffee and use it
at your favorite establishment to buy that cup of coffee.
It's just endless. If you leave your phone at home,
it's a tough day.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Oh or if you if you do misplace it and
and you're and you're in a panic. I'm always trying
when did when did I last use my phone? Where
was I? Was I in the car? Was I downstairs?
Was I down cellarted? I just think that they are
(30:07):
a modern miracle. There's a lot of things that are miraculous.
The automobiles a miracle. We used to have horse and buggy,
but we take phones for granted. And thank you for
what you guys, do you know keeping keeping those phones
working for us at AT and T, Verizon or whomever
your phone service happens to be provided by. Thanks for
(30:29):
the suggestions I had one other questions. First, was set
up through a public relations manager named Karen Toomey at
AT and T Corporate Communications. Is that the same Karen
to me here?
Speaker 6 (30:40):
It sure is?
Speaker 2 (30:43):
Well. Please give her my best.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
Will Dan. And one funny story when she said started
working for us. We're in a meeting and I said
to her, Karen, can you do me one favor before
we leave the meeting? Can you just say and this
is Karen Toomey for w b Z And she.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Did, Dad. Well, she's she's a great reporter, great colleague.
Our losses as AT and T's gain. And if she's
not listening, please let her know that she's remembered well
in the busy newsroom.
Speaker 6 (31:12):
Okay, I sure will, Dan. Thanks your nice talking.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
You, thank you very much, Talk soon, all right, good night?
All right. We got one more guest coming up, and
I wish this was television. It's Miss Massachusetts, the newly
crowned Miss Massachusetts. Will join us on the phone and
we will talk with her about becoming Miss Massachusetts. Her
(31:35):
name is Kayla Griffin, and we'll talk with Kayla Griffin
and some causes that she is working. She works hard
on behalf of Right after this quick break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
It's Night Side with Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
All right, I am delighted to introduce to my audience
the you, Miss Massachusetts, Cayla Griffin, Miss Massachusetts, Kyla Griffin,
Welcome to Nightside. How are you hi?
Speaker 5 (32:09):
I'm good.
Speaker 7 (32:10):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (32:11):
I'm wonderful. So tell us a little bit about how
you were. You were named Miss Massachusetts, I believe as
recently as last weekend.
Speaker 7 (32:23):
Yes, well, firstly, thank you for having me. I'm excited
to be here, Miss Massachusetts.
Speaker 6 (32:28):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (32:29):
Miss Massachusetts was this past weekend and I was crowned
on Saturday. So it's still very very fresh for me.
And it was a long week, but it was so
worth it and I had a great time.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Now you will serve as Miss Massachusetts for a year.
And I guess one of the issues that you're very
concerned about is homelessness here in Massachusetts. How did you
get interested in that issue in the first place? I said,
give us an idea about what you hope to do.
Speaker 7 (33:04):
Yeah, So, like you said, I will be serving as
Miss Massachusetts for an entire year. And in the Miss
America Opportunity Organization, we have something called a Community Service Initiative,
and mine is the Purple Blueprint creating solutions for unhoused Americans.
So I'm currently a healthcare worker and it kind of
started during covid Era when I was working at the
(33:26):
hospital and a lot of our unhoused community members would
come in and I really dawned on me how vulnerable
this population is and the little platforms that they have,
and I just figured, you know, if I have a
voice and I have the means, I should do something
about this. So that's kind of what got me started.
And ever since then, I've been trying to figure out
(33:48):
ways to help our housing crisis and our homelessness crisis.
And once I was crowned Miss Cambridge first this year,
I decided I really wanted to start that because there's
a lot going on in Cambridge and Boston with this,
and now that I am in Massachusetts, my hope is
that I can further elevate my platform really work with
(34:08):
a lot of organizations. When I volunteer with weekly right
now as horizons for homeless children. They are amazing and
my goal is to make some change and work with
policy leaders and local and state officials as well.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
Now you're a graduate of Northeastern University and you said
you work in the healthcare industry.
Speaker 7 (34:30):
Yes, so, go Huskies. I graduated from Northeastern in twenty
twenty two and now I work at mass General Hospital
in downtown, So that's kind of been my shift since
post graduation.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
And great facility. What do you do there? If I could,
Are you on the floor, are you work What exactly
do you do at Mass General?
Speaker 7 (34:52):
Yes? Yeah, so I used to work on the floor
at Beth Israel as a patient care technician, and now
I do cardio vascular research through the Cardio Center at
Mass General. So I do a lot of lab works.
It's really exciting and interesting, and I've partnered with the
American Heart Association through both my job and as a
(35:13):
titleholder now is miss Massachusetts. So I'm an advocate for
heart health and we do a lot of cool nerdy
stuff figuring out.
Speaker 6 (35:20):
Ways to you.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
That's greatcation comes helps all of us. And by the way,
I noticed that you were crowned last Saturday at the
Hanover Theater, which is a beautiful facility in Worcester. You
said at one point you would miss Worcester. Did you
grow up in Worcester?
Speaker 7 (35:38):
No, I didn't, But Worcester was actually the first title
I've ever had, So sometimes you can go to different
pageants in the state even if you're not from there,
as long as you're a resident of Massachusetts. Yeah, but
Hanover is incredible.
Speaker 3 (35:52):
I love everyone there, so yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Great facility. I remember being there for a program helping
kids with autism. Back this is going to be be
pre pandemic. So tell me a little bit more about yourself.
Did you grow up obviously in Massachusetts.
Speaker 7 (36:13):
Actually it didn't. I was a military kid, so I
grew up everywhere. Okay, yeah, my dad was in the
Air Force, so I grew up all over the place.
But Massachusetts, I always say, is a state that raised
me because I came here when I was seventeen, eighteen
years old, and I've been here ever since. Itce the
longest place I've ever been consecutively, and it's been home
(36:34):
for a near a decade now. So I love Massachusetts
and it's given.
Speaker 3 (36:39):
Me so much.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
Does your dad still active duty?
Speaker 7 (36:42):
No, he retired, so he is a veteran now and
my parents currently are in Virginia.
Speaker 2 (36:48):
Well, when you talk to you dad, thank him for
his service to our country. I must tell you that
I am always so impressed. I know the word is
military brats, and I know that's not a nice him necessarily,
but I am so impressed with young people like yourself
who not only come from families with the military background,
(37:10):
because I'm sure the dad is still a lot of
discipline in the home. But in addition to oh yeah,
you have to when you're a member, your mom and
your dad is in the military, and you're moving around,
making new friends, adjusting to new places, new climates, sometimes overseas,
sometimes back here in the States. It's a great challenge,
(37:30):
and I think that it's real blessing for someone to
experience that, because you've already seen large a large swath
of this country, and you've all probably also seen a
little bit of the world that most kids who are
your age, young people who are your age, have yet
to have a chance to see. Now you're going to
be competing in the Miss America competition in September. I'm
(37:56):
in Orlando, Florida. Tell us about that because I know
that that that's I hope it's still published televised nationally
and then we'll be able to watch this competition. Tell
us how how much of what? What do you have
to do and prep for that other than I guess
show up and be smart, smart and look sharp.
Speaker 7 (38:17):
Well, yes, I'm so excited. It's going to be in Orlando,
Florida in September. And yeah, the preparation is just a
lot of activism in my community because I just want
to show the country what Massachusetts is made of, Like
this is who we are. And of course, you know,
like making sure your mind is right and you've got
(38:37):
your style down and your dresses and your talent and
and all of that. So there's interview proportions as well.
So just being fully prepared and going to have a
good time and meet a bunch of really incredible women.
Speaker 2 (38:50):
What when you when you talk about you have to
do some sort of a musical instrument if I'm not correct,
or sing or dance or something. What?
Speaker 6 (39:00):
Yes, what is that's?
Speaker 2 (39:01):
Is that called the talent? I just don't want to
misname it. What is that called?
Speaker 7 (39:05):
Yeah, no, you got it? Yeah, that's the talent portion.
So we have different sections. We have on stage question talent, fitness,
evening gown, and then we do a private interview. Okay,
so talent, I play the piano.
Speaker 2 (39:18):
You play it. Oh my god, you do it all,
you do it all.
Speaker 7 (39:21):
Oh my gosh, no, I love piano.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
Miss Massachusetts, twenty twenty five. Congratulations, Kaylae. You sound obviously
you are a very beautiful young woman, but you also
seem to exude all the qualities of someone who's both
beautiful externally but also internally.
Speaker 7 (39:42):
And oh, thank you you you.
Speaker 2 (39:45):
Are bright as a north star. So thank you so
much for and best of luck. Not to much, no,
but you have a great time and have fun and
bring home one more crown.
Speaker 7 (39:59):
Okay, I'll do it all right, Thank you guys so
much for having me.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
You're very welcome, Kayla Griffin, Miss Massachusetts, with a platform
focused on solutions for homelessness, or as they are currently called,
the unhoused. My name's Dan Ray. We're going to be
back with former Massachusetts senator now Republican candidate for the
US Senator in New Hampshire, Scott Brown, and he'll be
taking your phone call, so line up your questions. Coming
(40:25):
back on night side right after this
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