The Chris Voss Show Podcast – If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling

The Chris Voss Show Podcast – If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling

From The Chris Voss Show by Chris Voss

April 22, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling discusses his wartime journal written for his sons during his deployment in Iraq.

If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Mark Hertling https://www.amazon.com/If-Dont-Return-Fathers-Wartime/dp/1966786727 “This journal was once a gift to our young sons. It is now a gift to anyone who cares to read it.” When Major Mark Hertling deployed to Iraq in 1990 as the operations officer of an armored cavalry squadron, his unit was told 50 percent of them would likely sustain casualties. To him, that meant he might not return home and may perhaps never see his family again. To prepare for that potential outcome, he began keeping a journal, hoping that one day, if he didn’t return, his stories and wisdom would be passed to his young sons. In an army-issued green notebook, Mark began recording his thoughts and hopes for his boys. He wrote of character, leadership, camaraderie, battles, cultural differences, religion, love, fear, and the things he wanted his boys to know about him and his experiences. In unfiltered, handwritten entries, Hertling captured the reality of combat in Operation Desert Storm: the waiting and missions, the chaos and courage, the brotherhood and grief, and the lessons of duty and humanity forged in war. What began…

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