{"podcast":{"title":"Tango Alpha Lima Podcast","slug":"tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912","podcast_index_feed_id":28912,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/109a2df8c/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://www.legion.org/tangoalphalima","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/44466363/44466363-1758556926989-d1379cab11998.jpg","author":"The American Legion","episode_count":379,"summary":"Three Global War on Terrorism veterans interview military veterans and other influencers in the military community who share stories related to transitioning, valor and heroism, mental wellness and overcoming PTSD, accessing VA benefits and much more. Join us each week for vibrant camaraderie, playful joking and hot takes on current events, interesting trends and quirky stories of interest to the military and veteran community. This weekly podcast is produced by The American Legion. For more stories and videos please visit www.legion.org/tangoalphalima","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T22:18:00.799987+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912"},"episode":{"title":"Gold Star Father turns Abbey Gate tragedy into mission to heal veterans - Tango Alpha Lima","slug":"gold-star-father-turns-abbey-gate-tragedy-into-mission-to-heal-veterans-tango-alpha-lima","published_at":"2026-05-19T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912/gold-star-father-turns-abbey-gate-tragedy-into-mission-to-heal-veterans-tango-alpha-lima","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tangoalphalima/episodes/Gold-Star-Father-turns-Abbey-Gate-tragedy-into-mission-to-heal-veterans---Tango-Alpha-Lima-e3jijbe","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/109a2df8c/podcast/play/120195886/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-18%2F424428075-44100-2-167f3b40007a7.mp3","summary":"On Aug. 26, 2021, Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, age 20, was among 13 servicemembers killed at the Abbey Gate in Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He had wanted to be a Marine since he was 8. In the weeks after Jared's death, condolence checks from strangers filled more than a foot of mail. His father, Mark, couldn't bring himself to spend a single dollar of it. So he launched a nonprofit instead aimed at honoring the fallen and helping servicemembers with their mental health. On this Memorial Day episode of Tango Alpha Lima, Gold Star father Mark Schmitz joins hosts Adam Marr and Joe Worley to share the story of The Freedom 13, a mission to build therapeutic retreat camps for veterans and law enforcement on 100-plus acres in all 50 states, free of charge, with the first camp already under construction in Missouri. He also discusses the coalition of Abbey Gate families fighting for GI Bill reform and increased death benefits for fallen servicemembers. Also on this episode: Memorial Day events around the nation, the origin story of the Battle Buddy system, and Memorial Day fitness challenges honoring the fallen — including The Murph. SHOW LINKS Learn more about Armed Forces Vacation Club Visit The Freedom 13 website Learn more about the 2026 Angels of Abbey Gate Memorial Ride We Are The Mighty: Battle Buddies originated in the trenches of WWI Memorial Day Challenges: The Murph","meta_description":"On Aug. 26, 2021, Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, age 20, was among 13 servicemembers killed at the Abbey Gate in Kabul during the chaotic U.S. withd…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3712,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912/episodes/gold-star-father-turns-abbey-gate-tragedy-into-mission-to-heal-veterans-tango-alpha-lima/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/tango-alpha-lima-podcast-28912/gold-star-father-turns-abbey-gate-tragedy-into-mission-to-heal-veterans-tango-alpha-lima.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}