In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we share the life and sacrifice of Corporal Thomas Steven Hickman, a young soldier from Loogootee, Indiana, who served with courage and heart during the Vietnam War. Told through the voice of his younger brother Scott Hickman, this story reflects the love, loss, and resilience of a family forever changed by war.

As time passes, stories like Steve’s risk being forgotten — but through Gold Star Stories, we’re making sure their names remain spoken and their legacies live on.

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AI & Visual Disclaimer

While this episode focuses on the audio story, accompanying visuals shared online include AI-assisted recreations used to enhance storytelling.

Some scenes may not be historically or visually accurate. With limited surviving photos and resources, these recreations help illustrate moments that would otherwise be lost to time.

Gold Star Stories operates on limited means, often working with only a few affordable AI generations and restored family photos to tell each story.

With your support, the quality of these episodes and documentaries can grow exponentially — helping us restore real images, capture new interviews, and preserve even more voices from America’s Gold Star Families.

🎖️ Support the mission:

Visit GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

Your tax-deductible donation through Veterans Collaborative helps us record, restore, and remember.

Say their name. Remember their story. Honor their sacrifice.

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Some stories begin long before a uniform. In this episode of Gold Star Stories, Kevin Graves remembers his son, Specialist Joseph A. “Joey” Graves—a California kid who loved golf, pranks, and looking out for the underdog. After 9/11, Joey chose the Army’s Military Police, earned his wings, served in Korea, then deployed from Fort Hood to Iraq. On July 25, 2006, during a convoy near Sadr City, a well-planned ambush took his life at 21.

You will hear the knock at the door no parent wants, a community lined in flags, and the long road from shock to purpose. Kevin shares the last hug before deployment, the procession to Golden Gate National Cemetery, and how grief became motion—a memorial golf tournament that is now in its 20th year, a foundation that gathers survivors and funds scholarships, and a gym that carries Joey’s name so students see it every day. This is not a story about how someone died. It is about how a father keeps love working in the world.

If this mission matters to you, please consider supporting our work so we can keep recording and preserving these stories. Donations are tax deductible through our partnership with Veterans Collaborative. Learn more at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.

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A mother’s love, a son’s calling. In this Gold Star Stories interview, Jill Stephenson shares the life and legacy of her only child, Corporal Ben Kopp—an athlete turned Army Ranger whose True North formed after 9/11. Jill walks us through three deployments in two years, the call no parent wants, the race from battlefield to Walter Reed, and the hard truth that followed. She also tells how Ben’s written wish to be an organ donor saved four lives, including a family friend’s—proof that courage can outlive the body. We talk about honoring final wishes, a Black Hawk flyover back home, and Ben’s resting place in Section 60 at Arlington. If this mission matters to you, help us keep these stories alive at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com.

Private Karl Jacob Sellner was the kind of son who lit up every room — a prankster, musician, and loyal friend with a heart for service. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Karl followed his grandfather’s footsteps into the U.S. Army as a Military Police officer. He trained hard, got married, and served proudly at Fort Riley, Kansas. But behind his smile were struggles with addiction, marital strain, and the weight of his own expectations.

Weeks away from an honorable discharge, under daily watch in the barracks, Karl died by suicide.

In this episode, his father Rad Sellner sits down with host Nick Letendre to share Karl’s story — the laughter, the love, and the loss that reshaped their family forever. Rad also opens up about his mission to bring a Gold Star Family Memorial Monument to Pittsburgh through the Woody Williams Foundation, giving families a sacred place to remember and be seen.

This is a story of resilience, grief, and purpose — a reminder that not all battles happen overseas, and not all heroes fall in war.

💛 Say Their Name: Private Karl Jacob Sellner

00:00 – Nick’s introduction & Gold Star Stories mission

00:47 – Remembering Private Karl Sellner

03:00 – Growing up in Pittsburgh

08:00 – The perfect storm: marriage, addiction, and pain

10:00 – The knock at the door

14:00 – How the family carried on

18:00 – Building the Gold Star Monument in Pittsburgh

25:00 – Life after loss: identity, healing, and awareness

38:45 – Remembering Karl’s laughter and love

Gold Star Stories is now fiscally sponsored by Veterans Collaborative, allowing your donations to be tax-deductible. Your support helps us continue recording, sharing, and preserving the legacies of fallen heroes and their families.

🎙️ Donate or learn more: GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

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In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we sit down with Lyndsey Theobald, widow of Air Force OSI Agent Brian Theobald.

Brian was a son of Pittsburgh, a dedicated Airman, and above all, a husband and father. He deployed twice to Iraq before he turned 20, served in Security Forces, and later cross-trained into OSI. On paper, his career was exemplary. But behind the uniform, Brian carried invisible wounds — from burn pits, combat, and years of pressure that the system never properly addressed.

Lyndsey shares who Brian truly was: a teammate, a gym rat, a sports fan, and a man full of love. She also speaks with heartbreaking honesty about the stigma he faced when he finally reached out for help, the week leading up to his death by suicide, and the devastating aftermath. Instead of support, she was met with blame, isolation, and judgment — and yet she chose to tell her story so others would not feel alone.

This episode is not about drama. It’s about courage, love, loss, and the silence families are often left to face. Lyndsey’s voice is powerful, painful, and necessary.

If Brian’s story moves you, please share this episode and remember his name.

Support our work at GoldStarStoriesUSA.com

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In this episode of Gold Star Stories, we sit down with Karry Birnley, widow of Petty Officer First Class Darrel Birnley. Karry opens her heart to share Darrel’s life, his Navy service, and the love they built together. She also speaks candidly about the unexpected battles she faced after his passing—including the shock of foreclosure and the struggle to navigate a system that too often leaves families behind.

Through it all, Karry’s resilience and her ability to still find happy remind us what true strength looks like. This is not just a story of loss—it’s a story of courage, love, and carrying forward a legacy.

Say their name—Petty Officer First Class Darrel Birnley.

In this deeply personal episode of Gold Star Stories, host Nick Letendre sits down with Bryan Philippon to remember his big brother, Lance Corporal Lawrence Robert “Larry” Philippon. Larry was larger than life—a 6’5” athlete, a prankster, and a devoted mentor who carried his strength and humor into the Marine Corps until his life was cut short in Iraq.

Bryan shares what it meant to grow up with Larry as both a hero and best friend, and how his loss reshaped the course of his own life—from joining the Marines to seeking healing in the wide-open spaces of America’s national parks. Together, Nick and Bryan reflect on carrying the weight of being Gold Star siblings, preserving their brothers’ legacies, and finding purpose in the face of grief.

This conversation ties two families together—Larry’s and Nick’s—through sacrifice, memory, and resilience. It’s a raw, honest look at love between brothers, the cost of war, and the enduring strength of Gold Star families.

Say their names:

Lance Corporal Lawrence Robert Philippon

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Gold Star Stories, we sit down with Georgia, wife of Staff Sergeant Edvin Franco, a U.S. Army tank mechanic whose life and legacy continue to shine through those who loved him most.

Edvin was known as the soldier who kept morale high, the one whose laughter carried teammates through long days, and the man whose recovery vehicle was trusted across his brigade. To Georgia, he was her perfect match in humor, spirit, and love. To their infant son, he was a devoted father—protective, gentle, and always present, even in the sleepless nights of early parenthood.

In March 2025, Edvin’s life was cut tragically short when the recovery vehicle he operated sank into a peat bog in Lithuania during a mission that should never have unfolded the way it did. What followed was days of agonizing uncertainty, an international recovery effort, and the devastating confirmation of his loss.

Through Georgia’s words, Edvin’s story comes to life—not just as a soldier, but as a husband, a father, a friend, and a man who lived unapologetically as himself. This conversation is about more than loss. It’s about pride in one’s craft, laughter in the face of hardship, the resilience of love, and the weight of carrying forward a legacy that should never be forgotten.

We honor Staff Sergeant Edvin Franco—his humor, his devotion, his courage—and we say his name.