Gold Star Stories

About Gold Star Stories

Gold Star Stories shares powerful, unfiltered conversations with the families of fallen service members—spouses, siblings, parents, and children. These are stories of love, loss, and legacy told by those who carry them. We don’t skip the hard parts. We honor them.🎙️ Hosted by a Gold Star sibling📲 Follow us on TikTok: @GoldStarStoriesUSA📅 New episodes every weekGold Star Stories is empowered by Veterans Collaborative, making your donation tax-deductible. Help us grow this mission by visiting GoldStarStoriesUSA.com and clicking “Donate.”If you’ve lost someone—or want to understand what service and sacrifice truly mean—this podcast is for you.

Publisher

GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Apr 2025

Latest episode

23 May 2026

Latest episodes

23 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 May 2026

   Honoring PFC Joseph "Dimps" Marquez

   A mother and a grandfather. One loss. Two vantage points.In this first-ever dual-interview episode of Gold Star Stories, Nick Letendre sits down with Kristen Giordano and Joe Giordano to honor Private First Class Joseph Marquez — known to the people who loved him as "Dimps." Joey was killed in a training accident in Yakima, Washington on April 25th, 2022. He was 19 years old and had been in the Army less than a year.Kristen — Joey's mother — shares the dimples that gave him his name, the boy who'd rather watch the Yankees with her than go out with friends, the migraine call the night before he died, and the work she's doing now to make sure no Gold Star family feels alone.Joe — Joey's grandfather, twenty years in the Army with twelve of them at West Point, and the man Joey was named after — remembers the day an eight-year-old boy stood on a riverbank watching helicopters and decided he was going to fly. He walks us through the rollover, the notification, and what it means to be a Gold Star grandfather standing quietly behind his daughter.Say his name: Private First Class Joseph Marquez.🎖️ HONORING:PFC Joseph "Dimps" MarquezU.S. Army, 88M / 92F cross-trainedKIA April 25, 2022 — Yakima, Washington⏱️ CHAPTERS:00:00 Intro02:25 Meet Kristen — the dimples, the light03:49 A family of service04:32 Joe's story — the West Point helicopter day05:41 The shattered leg that almost stopped him06:08 Basic, AIT, and the BWI airport surprise07:02 "Kez, get off your phone"09:09 The last call — "Love you too, mama"15:40 Joe explains what happened in the desert17:14 Telling Alexis21:51 The secret-mission denial23:29 The funeral and the unit that came home with him24:10 TAPS, the 5K, and the JM 42 Foundation29:18 The Woody Williams Memorial30:48 Why Joe doesn't lead with "Gold Star grandparent"31:40 The toast33:00 Thank you💛 SUPPORT THE MISSION:🌐 GoldStarStoriesUSA.com☕ BuyMeACoffee.com/GoldStarStories💵 Cash App: $GoldStarStories🎗️ LEARN MORE / GET INVOLVED:JM 42 Foundation — supporting active duty service members, first responders, and their familiesWoody Williams Foundation Gold Star Families Memorial Monument — Millsboro, Delaware🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW GOLD STAR STORIES:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music📲 FOLLOW US:TikTok: @USAGoldStarStoriesWeb: GoldStarStoriesUSA.comA special thank you to our supporters: June Letendre, Jackie Mullins, Danielle Metal, Terry Mullins, Edie Howard, Bob and Pat Scott, Mary Jo Stoy, and Helen Krupp.If this episode moved you, share it. Tell someone his name. That's how he stays here.I'm Nick Letendre — check in on your people, live with purpose, and always, always say their names.#GoldStarStories #SayTheirNames #JosephMarquez #GoldStarFamily #GoldStarMom #GoldStarGrandparent #ArmyStrong #FallenHero #MilitaryFamily #VeteranSupport #Yakima #ArmyAviation #TrainingAccident #LegacyOfService #RememberTheFallen #MilitaryPodcast #GriefAndLove

2. 

   28 Feb 2026

   Honoring CPL. Nick Arvanitis - Kim LaShomb's Story

   Episode Title: Kim LaShomb | A Gold Star Sister’s StoryFeaturing: Kim LaShombHonoring: Cpl Nicholas Nick Arvanitis, U.S. Army (KIA Iraq, October 2006)Kim LaShomb is a Gold Star sister and a veteran who has carried her brother’s loss for nearly two decades. In this episode, she shares who Nick was before the uniform, what changed after deployment, how the notification unfolded, and what it looks like when a sibling becomes the point of contact and the steady one in the moment that breaks a family.This is Nick’s story through the voice of the person who knew him best.Topics CoveredNick’s life before service: sports, music, wrestling, and personalityWhy he chose the 82nd AirborneThe impact of deployment and the silence that followedNotification and the weight placed on siblingsCommunity response, remembrance, and keeping a legacy aliveImportant Note About AudioDue to an error in Riverside, there are moments where it may sound like Kim is being cut off or talked over. This is not intentional. We edited the episode as carefully as we could, and we’re working to prevent this issue in future releases.Thank you for listening, and thank you for honoring Nick.

3. 

   27 Oct 2025

   Gold Star Stories Vietnam - Honoring CPL Thomas Steven Hickman - Scott's Story

   Scott Hickman recounts the life and service of his brother, Corporal Thomas Steven Hickman, who died in the Vietnam War, highlighting the impact of war on families in this interview.

Who has been a guest on Gold Star Stories

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Scott Hickman
• Kevin Graves
• Jill Stephenson
• Rad Sellner
• Lyndsey Theobald

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

81

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Gold Star Stories