The Breakfast Club - IDKMYDE: Charles Jackson French

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

On today’s episode of IDKMYDESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What would you do if mysterious drones appeared over your hometown? I started asking questions. What do you remember happening on that night of December 16th? It actually rotated around our house, looking as if it was peering in each window of our home. I'm Gabe Lenners from Imagine, I Heart Podcasts and Lenners Entertainment. Listen to Obscurum, Invasion of the Drones, wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli. The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. This podcast is based on my co-host Mark Seale's best-selling book of the same title. Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Cobola,

Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. Yes, that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The OGs of uncensored motherhood are back and badder than ever. I'm Erica.

And I'm Mila. And we're the hosts of the Good Moms Bad Choices podcast, brought to you by the Black Effect Podcast Network every Wednesday. Yeah, we're moms, but not your mommy. Historically, men talk too much. And women have quietly listened. And all that stops here. If you like witty women, then this is your tribe.

Listen to the Good Moms Bad Choices podcast every Wednesday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you go to find your podcast. Calling all Yellowstone fans. Let's go to work. Join Bobby Bones on the official Yellowstone podcast for exclusive cast interviews, behind the scenes insights,

and a deep dive into the themes that have made Yellowstone a cultural phenomenon. On today's episode of I Didn't Know, maybe you didn't either, I want to tell you about a hero you probably won't find in most history books. His name was Charles Jackson French. And in 1942, during World War II, he did something that movies are made of. But the crazy thing is, most people don't even know his name. Now before I get into it, let me ask y'all, who remembers the Montgomery brawl? Yeah, y'all remember that viral moment when Buddy was on the dock in Montgomery, threw his hat up in the air and did the black signal and then black

folk came through with them chairs and beat the wheels off them white folk. Y'all remember that one black dude they call Aquaman because he swam across the water ready to throw them hands. Well imagine a real-life version of that except there was no chairs and instead of swimming to a fight the man was swimming to save lives. Well Charles Jackson French, he was the original black Aquaman. Picture this he was just 20 years old. He was a US Navy sailor on a ship called the USS Gregory and then the Japanese forces attacked it. They towed that ship up. Sailors were left stranded in the middle of the ocean. Some of them wounded floating on a life raft. Now this is

where French's story gets legendary. He didn't panic, he didn't run, he grabbed a rope, tied it around his waist and then started swimming. And I'm not talking about for a couple of minutes, I'm talking hours. He pulled that life raft full of injured men through dangerous open water. And to make it even more insane, these waters were known for having sharks hell of a. Think about that. Imagine swimming in the dark, exhausted,

your arms and legs burning, knowing at any moment, something could be lurking right up under you. And still, he kept going. French wasn't just fighting off sharks, he was dodging the enemy too. Japanese forces were patrolling, searching for survivors to capture or kill.

The men on the life raft were telling them, stop! Begging them to let them go, but he refused. He swam until they made it to safety. Now you'd think someone that brave, that selfless, would be celebrated like a hero, right? But back then America wasn't exactly handing out medals to black men, no matter how heroic they were. His story almost got drowned, but we're here

today to make sure his name is remembered. Charles Jackson French showed us what real courage looks like. He ain't wait for someone to save him. Nah, he became the savior. And if there's anything you can take from this story, let it be this. When it's your time to step up, don't hesitate. Be the hero. Even if nobody's watching, even if it's hard, even if you don't hesitate be the hero even if nobody's watching even if it's hard even if you don't get the credit do what's right because history may not always recognize you at first but the truth never fades so today let's remember Charles Jackson French a real one a legend a hero someone that I didn't know

maybe you didn't either. I didn't know What would you do if mysterious drones appeared over your hometown? I started asking questions. What do you remember happening on that night of December 16th? It actually rotated around our house, looking as if it was peering in each window of our home. I'm Gabe Linners from Imagine, iHeart Podcasts and Linners Entertainment. Listen to Obscureum, Invasion of the Drones, wherever you get your favorite podcasts. I'm Mark Seale. And I'm Nathan King. This is Leave the Gun, Take the Canole.

The five families did not want us to shoot that picture. This podcast is based on my co-host Mark Seale's bestselling book of the same title. Leave the Gun, Take the Canole features new and archival interviews with Francis Ford Kobla, Robert Evans, James Kahn, Talia Shire, and many others. Yes, that was a real horse's head. Listen and subscribe to Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Calling all Yellowstone fans. Let's go to work. Join Bobby Bones on the official Yellowstone podcast for exclusive cast interviews, behind the scenes insights, and a deep dive into the themes that have made Yellowstone a cultural phenomenon. Our family legacy is this ranch.

And I protect it with my life. Listen to the official Yellowstone podcast now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Why would you do that to me? Los Angeles 2021. A friendly neighbor appears out of nowhere and promises to make all my dreams come true. Let's not forget that David Blum was a professional con artist. So you didn't stand a chance. But my dreams soon turned into a nightmare. I'm Caroline

Demore. Listen as I take down my scammer on Once Upon a Con on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.