01/20/2026 Mary Jo Starnes & Chuck Bickel - 'Hitch in Hell; Joe Hightower's story of WW2 based on his own personal journals'

Simon has a fascinating conversation with Iowa Mother & Son, Mary Jo Starnes and Chuck Bickel, about the incredible way their father/grandfather was not only a part of history but also documented one of the greatest days in American history. Joe Hightower was serving aboard the USS JEROME COUNTY, a LST-542 class tank landing ship, on Sept 2, 1945. He witnessed history that day in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed their surrender to the United States on the deck of the USS MISSOURI. Joe kept journals during his time in the military and decades later his daughter, Mary Jo, discovered and read them. With the help of her son, Chuck, they turned Joe's personal journals into an amazing book of his first-person account of history. Iowans - part of history, witnessing history, documenting history so history is never forgotten.