This episode is about the standoff with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and the threat of its drone attack to the global economy.

And I know what some of you may be wondering.

What does Iran have to do with the True Crime Reporter® podcast?

My answer is simple.

For more than forty years, the Iranian regime has been linked to the killing of Americans, sometimes directly, sometimes through proxies, and often with little lasting consequence.

This is not an abstract foreign policy debate for me.

During my thirty years in television news, I saw the human cost of that shadow war up close.

I covered the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, where 241 American service members were killed in 1983.

Federal court records have described Hezbollah as the perpetrator and Iran as a source of political, financial, and operational support tied to the attack.

I was an embedded reporter during the invasion of Iraq, where American troops faced roadside bombs and armor-piercing explosives supplied or supported by Iranian networks.

In more than a dozen attacks, Iran has killed Americans without putting Iranian soldiers in the fight.

It used terror groups, militias, mines, missiles, and now drones.

When a regime uses proxies to kill Americans and destabilize the world, that is not merely geopolitics. It is state-sponsored crime.

The world is focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow strip of water off Iran’s coast where the global oil supply and American military power now face one of the most dangerous choke points on earth.

To help understand what this conflict means now, I turned to retired Army Colonel John Antal, a 30-year veteran soldier, historian, leadership expert, and best-selling author.

Antal is here to help us see the battlefield clearly.

Timeline of Iranian or Iranian-backed Attacks on U.S. Military Personnel

Click here to purchase my “Texas Crime Stories” audiobook. It downloads into your podcast app.

Click here to purchase the Paperback & Kindle editions on Amazon.

Schedule me to speak at your social meeting or corporate event.

My presentation, “Evil Walks Among Us,” features stories about serial killers and notorious criminals and personal safety tips.

Step into the storied halls of the Texas Prison Museum and uncover the gripping tales of infamous inmates, daring escapes, and the history of justice in the Lone Star State.

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As I watched the daring rescue of the two airmen shot down over Iran in early April of 2026, I found myself thinking of John Bagwell.

John’s story is not a true-crime saga you’d expect to hear on this podcast, but it is gripping, timely, and no less dramatic.

I learned about his military service when he wore a Purple Heart ribbon to a search engine marketing group meeting here in Dallas many years ago.

John had never talked about his time in the Vietnam War, and we were surprised.

We learned that in 1968, Bagwell escaped from behind enemy lines during a surprise attack dubbed the Tet Offensive.

He was wounded and alone, moving through deadly, unfamiliar territory while trying to avoid enemy fire and, at times, bullets from his own side.

His harrowing fight for survival began at a radio station in Vietnam with a scene that could have been lifted straight from a Hollywood movie.

See Vietnam Era Photos of Army Disc Jockey John Bagwell Blasting Out Popular Sixties Rock Music To Troops

Popular Songs Among Bagwell’s Listeners In Vietnam

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place by The Animals

Something’s Happening Here by Buffalo Springfield

Hue 1968- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam is my favorite book about the Tet Offensive by Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

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Click here to purchase my “Texas Crime Stories” audiobook. It downloads into your podcast app.

Click here to purchase the Paperback & Kindle editions on Amazon.

Schedule me to speak at your social meeting or corporate event.

My presentation, “Evil Walks Among Us,” features stories about serial killers and notorious criminals and personal safety tips.

Step into the storied halls of the Texas Prison Museum and uncover the gripping tales of infamous inmates, daring escapes, and the history of justice in the Lone Star State.

Burned with lit cigarettes. Impaled with a fishhook. Staples fired into his hip. Deadly drugs forced up his nose.

It sounds like a brutal regime’s methods from a torture chamber.

But these are the homegrown means of hazing that the Alpha Nu Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity allegedly used on pledges at the University of Texas at Austin.

The sadistic practices detailed in a wrongful death lawsuit raise questions about whether fraternity members derive pleasure from inflicting pain.

It allegedly caused 18-year-old Sawyer Updike to end his life under the influence of mind-bending drugs he was forced to take.

If you are sending a son or daughter off to college, you want to hear this story about Brothers of Brutality.

Get The Facts About Hazing On Your College Campus at HazingInfo.org

University of Texas at Austin Hazing Report Required by the Federal Stop Campus Hazing Act

Sawyer Updike Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Sigma Chi Fraternity

41% Off Cozy Earth Sheets, Pajamas and More

20% Off Eric Javits Designer Hats Worn by True Crime TV Detectives

20% Off HyperNatural Men’s Polo Shirts

15% Off TONA Activewear Designer Gym Leggings

15% Off STAND+ Comfort Shoes For Extended Standing

10% Off AKILA Sunglasses and Eyewear

Click here to purchase my “Texas Crime Stories” audiobook. It downloads into your podcast app.

Click here to purchase the Paperback & Kindle editions on Amazon.

Schedule me to speak at your social meeting or corporate event.

My presentation, “Evil Walks Among Us,” features stories about serial killers and notorious criminals and personal safety tips.

Step into the storied halls of the Texas Prison Museum and uncover the gripping tales of infamous inmates, daring escapes, and the history of justice in the Lone Star State.