Episode Details

Medal of Honor: Telling Sammy Lee Davis’s Story in Cudgel with Nathan and Todd Tetreault | Ep 386

A harmonica playing Shenandoah. A vow to never leave a brother behind. A night in Vietnam when an ordinary soldier did something extraordinary and love carried him across a river under fire. We sit down with the Teacher Brothers—veterans turned filmmakers—to share the heart and vision behind Cudgel, their feature film about Medal of Honor recipient Sammy Lee Davis.

You’ll hear how a chance meeting became a mission: from a Veterans Day stage to time at Sammy’s Indiana home, fishing poles and old guitars giving way to interviews and a short documentary, For My Brothers. We walk through the defining moments of Sammy’s story—blast waves, shrapnel, a makeshift raft, and a rescue that echoes through generations. We also explore the quieter miracles: a Black infantryman’s blood saving Sammy in a 1967 hospital, a living bridge across division; a joyful veteran who plays for the fallen and invites others to share their own stories, letting light into locked rooms.

This episode doubles as a manifesto for telling the truth well. We reflect on how Hollywood often overlooks veterans or narrows them into clichés, why audiences are craving real heroes without superpowers, and how faith, grit, and redemption can live onscreen without preaching. We talk SEO-rich essentials—Vietnam veterans, Medal of Honor, military storytelling, faith-based filmmaking—and the practical path to getting a meaningful indie film made: grassroots support, community sharing, and relentless perseverance. If you care about honoring service, healing through story, and changing culture with courage, this conversation will stay with you.

Help bring Cudgel to life: visit cudgelmovie.com, donate if you can, and share the link with five friends. If this moved you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what real-life story you want the world to see next.

Chapter Markers

0:00 Setting The Stage And Big Mission

2:10 Meet The Teacher Brothers And Their Film

5:05 The Moment They Met Sammy Lee Davis

9:40 Why True Stories Of Veterans Matter

14:30 Vision: Light, Redemption, And Real Heroes

20:30 Film As Healing: Faith, Grit, And Purpose

26:40 Vietnam, Stigma, And Telling It Right

33:00 Sammy’s Night Of Courage In Detail

41:20 Brotherhood, Race, And A Life-Saving Transfusion

46:10 Music, Memorials, And Welcome Home

51:30 Industry Pushback And Building Alternatives

57:10 Story As Ministry: Reaching The Unreached

1:03:20 Faith, Culture, And Subtle Storytelling

1:10:20 Mobilizing Support: Website, GoFundMe, Social

1:16:30 Perseverance, Family Loss, And Calling

1:22:00 Closing Gratitude And Holiday Sendoff

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