🎙️ EPISODE #748 — FireSide Chat w/ Jeff Newton & the Crew | 15 October 2026

🇺🇸 VA HOME LOANS: UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFITS YOU'VE EARNED! 🏡

Did you know that VA home loan benefits may offer veterans more opportunities than simply purchasing an existing home? What about building a new house, purchasing land, renovating a property, or refinancing your current mortgage?

In this episode of The Lost Art Project, host Andrew "AJ" Cox and the Crew welcome Jeff Newton, founder of National VA Loans, for an informative, entertaining, and eye-opening conversation about VA home loan benefits and the opportunities many veterans may not realize are available to them.

Jeff has worked in the mortgage industry since 2002. Inspired by conversations with his brother Josh, a 21-year U.S. Air Force veteran, Jeff recognized that many veterans were not receiving the information they needed to fully understand their earned home loan benefits. That realization helped shape his mission of educating and assisting veterans through National VA Loans.

Throughout the conversation, Jeff breaks down several important aspects of VA home financing, including:

🏠 VA Home Purchases — Understanding the VA home loan benefit and how veterans can use it to purchase a home.

🔨 VA Construction Loans — Exploring the possibility of purchasing land and building a new home through a one-time-close construction loan.

🛠️ VA Renovation Loans — How certain financing options may allow eligible borrowers to purchase and improve an existing property.

💰 Refinancing and Financial Decisions — Understanding available options and making informed decisions about homeownership.

📋 The VA Loan Process — Qualifications, appraisals, contractors, and why working with knowledgeable professionals matters.

🇺🇸 Veteran Education — Why understanding earned benefits is just as important as having access to them.

Of course, it wouldn't be FireSide Chat without plenty of laughs, friendly banter, and a few conversations that take unexpected turns! From the frustrations of homeownership and changing weather to the housing market, financial history, and movie recommendations, the Crew keeps the conversation entertaining while Jeff delivers valuable information.

📚 WORDS OF WISDOM

The episode concludes with our traditional Words of Wisdom segment, including a book recommendation for The Big Short, a reminder about protecting your personal peace, and Jeff's message encouraging veterans to understand and make informed use of the benefits they've earned through service.

🎙️ ON THIS EPISODE:

• Andrew "AJ" Cox — Host, Founder & Executive Director of The Lost Art Project; USMC Master Gunnery Sergeant (Ret.)

• Jeff Newton — Special Guest, Founder of National VA Loans

• Mike — FireSide Chat Crew

• Jess — FireSide Chat Crew

🔗 CONNECT WITH OUR SPECIAL GUEST

National VA Loans

🌐 Website: https://www.nationalvaloans.com

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nationalvaloans

📞 Phone: 855-956-4040

🇺🇸 ABOUT THE LOST ART PROJECT

The Lost Art Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing the firsthand experiences of our nation's veterans. Through Veteran Stories, FireSide Chats, and historical archiving, we work to ensure these voices and experiences remain accessible to future generations.

🌐 https://www.thelostartprojectveteransvoices.org

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheLostArtProject

❤️ SUPPORT THE MISSION

Your support helps us continue recording, preserving, and archiving the stories of those who served.

Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies.

Collect • Preserve • Educate • Inspire

#TheLostArtProject #VeteransVoices #FireSideChat #JeffNewton #NationalVALoans #VALoans #VeteransBenefits #VeteranHomeownership #MilitaryVeterans #MarineCorps #VeteranStories #PreservingHistory

🔥 #747 FireSide Chat w/ the Crew — Leadership: Military Lessons That Still Work Today Recorded October 11, 2026

The uniform comes off, but the leadership lessons—and the friendships—stay with us.

Join Andrew “AJ” Cox, Vick Ney, and Jess Kindelspire for an honest, often hilarious conversation about carrying military experience into civilian life. From workplace disagreements to accepting uncomfortable feedback, the Crew explores what happens when direct military communication meets a world with different expectations.

Vick shares a real challenge from his work as a music educator, opening a discussion about boundaries, tone, and the difference between what we intend and what someone else hears. Can you stand your ground while recognizing that your approach needs a “rudder adjustment”? And does being an effective leader require being liked?

The conversation also examines the friendships veterans build through service, why those connections can feel harder to find afterward, and the value of people who care enough to tell you when you’re getting something wrong.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a FireSide Chat without a few detours! Football banter leads into military rugby memories and honoring fallen teammates. Old computer games spark a conversation about teaching history honestly, while military movies, questionable uniforms, and exaggerated service claims bring plenty of laughs.

AJ and Vick also share their experiences with tinnitus and hearing loss, reflecting on habits they wish they had changed earlier. The evening closes with Words of Wisdom about taking action, embracing uncertainty, and getting out of your own head—and a reminder to check on the people you served beside.

🎙️ ON THIS EPISODE

Andrew “AJ” Cox — Founder / Executive Director / Host Retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant.

Vick Ney — FireSide Chat Crew / President, The Lost Art Project Retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sergeant and music educator.

Jess Kindelspire — FireSide Chat Crew Recurring Crew member sharing veteran perspectives, personal stories, and candid humor.

🤝 Thank you to our sponsors and supporters: Saddleback Leather Company • Tinker Federal Credit Union • Honor Dog Designs • AllCoin / BRAV

🇺🇸 Every Veteran Has a Story. Every Story Is a Piece of History.

The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices preserves veterans’ lived experiences through recorded conversations, oral histories, and historical archiving.

🌐 Learn more: https://thelostartprojectveteransvoices.org

❤️ Become a monthly supporter: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/preserving-veterans-voices-protecting-their-legacy

📺 Join our live FireSide Chats Sundays and Thursdays at 7 PM Central / 8 PM Eastern on YouTube @TheLostArtProject.

Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies. Collect · Preserve · Educate · Inspire

In this episode of The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices, host Andrew “AJ” Cox sits down with James Walsh, a United States Air Force veteran whose lifetime of service, education, and leadership took him from the enlisted ranks to the officer corps and ultimately to decades of continued service supporting Airmen and their families.

James entered the Air Force in 1966 at just 19 years old, choosing to enlist while facing the possibility of being drafted. His journey would take him far from his home in Hartford, Connecticut, beginning with an assignment to Taiwan and continuing through assignments and experiences in places including Korea and Greece.

Throughout the conversation, James reflects on his transition from enlisted Airman to commissioned officer and the responsibilities that came with leadership. As a young lieutenant, he found himself responsible for approximately 500 people, experiences that helped shape a leadership philosophy centered on listening, understanding people, earning their trust, and having the courage to make decisions.

That philosophy eventually earned James a description that followed him throughout his career:

“Tough, but fair.”

Education also became a defining part of James’ life. What began with taking college courses while serving overseas grew into a lifelong commitment to learning and teaching. His experiences in uniform eventually allowed him to pass those lessons on to others through leadership and management education.

James’ service to the Air Force continued long after his active-duty career ended. He returned as a Department of Defense civilian, eventually spending more than two decades working at the Pentagon. His work included personnel policy, benefits and entitlements, Airmen and Family Readiness, and programs directly affecting service members and their families. He ultimately retired from federal civilian service in February 2025.

AJ and James also discuss the lessons behind James’ book, You’re a Leader, Now What? Build Trust, Inspire Teams, Drive Results, including communication, collaboration, conflict management, situational leadership, and the importance of understanding the people you lead.

The conversation even turns to artificial intelligence and its place in modern leadership. James explains why leaders should embrace useful tools while never allowing technology to replace their own responsibility to think, evaluate information, and make decisions.

And, of course, James takes on the rapid-fire questions, including a memorable zombie-apocalypse combination involving a bazooka and the National Anthem, and why a German Shepherd best represents his military career.

When asked whether he would do it all again, James doesn’t hesitate:

Absolutely. No regrets.

After a lifetime dedicated to service, leadership, education, and helping others, James leaves listeners with a simple but powerful message:

“Be kind. Gain trust.”

🎙️ Host: Andrew “AJ” Cox — U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant (Ret.) 🇺🇸 Guest: James Walsh — U.S. Air Force Veteran

The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies. Collect • Preserve • Educate • Inspire

In this episode of The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices, host Andrew “AJ” Cox and the FireSide Chat crew welcome Barry Morris, Marine Corps veteran and Communications Director for Mission Roll Call, for a conversation about something that should matter to every veteran: making sure our voices are actually heard.

Barry begins by sharing his own journey—from growing up in a military family and enlisting in the Marine Corps, to becoming a Staff Sergeant, earning a commission through MECEP, serving as a Public Affairs Officer, and deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. That background eventually led him into communications and veteran advocacy and, today, his work with Mission Roll Call.

The heart of this episode focuses on what Mission Roll Call actually does and why it matters.

Barry explains how the organization regularly goes directly to veterans through polling and surveys to find out what issues are affecting them—not what someone assumes veterans need, but what veterans themselves say is important. Mission Roll Call then takes that information, along with veterans’ testimonials and experiences, and puts it in front of decision-makers.

As Barry explains during the conversation, the goal is to collect that information and present it so leaders can make better decisions “for the greater good of our veteran community.”

The discussion covers issues facing veterans across the country, including care for service-connected conditions, disability compensation, military retirement, VA healthcare, mental health and suicide prevention, education benefits, civilian employment, housing and home-loan assistance, caregiver support, survivor benefits, long-term care, and veteran homelessness.

The crew also digs into the importance of identifying the gaps between what veterans need and the services available to them, and how many issues that appear to be local problems are directly connected to larger national challenges.

One of the biggest takeaways from the conversation is the importance of participation. If organizations like Mission Roll Call are going to carry the veteran community's priorities forward, veterans have to be willing to speak up, complete the surveys, share their experiences, and make their voices part of the data being presented to those making decisions.

This episode is also a reminder of how much stronger the veteran community can be when organizations work together instead of operating in isolation. Whether the mission is advocating for veterans today or preserving their stories for tomorrow, it begins with listening to the people who served.

And, as always with a FireSide Chat, AJ, Barry, and the crew mix an important conversation with plenty of camaraderie, Marine Corps stories, humor, and the unscripted back-and-forth that makes these episodes what they are.

🎙️ Host: Andrew “AJ” Cox — U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant (Ret.) 🇺🇸 Special Guest: Barry Morris — U.S. Marine Corps Veteran | Communications Director, Mission Roll Call 🔥

• Andrew “AJ” Cox — Host
• Jess — FireSide Chat Crew
• Mark O’Loughlin — FireSide Chat Crew
• Mike — FireSide Chat Crew
• Vic — FireSide Chat Crew

The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies. Collect • Preserve • Educate • Inspire

🎙️ Episode #743 — FireSide Chat w/ the Crew | Saddleback Leather Raffle Drawing

This episode of FireSide Chat w/ the Crew brought plenty of laughs, current events, veteran conversation, and one moment everyone had been waiting for — the LIVE drawing for our Saddleback Leather Co. Flight Bag raffle!

The crew covered a wide range of topics, from unusual stories making headlines and military news to COVID, flu shots, movies, history, and the kind of good-natured back-and-forth that has become a regular part of the FireSide Chat. The conversation even wandered into George Washington, the Sons of the American Revolution, information-age warfare, and the importance of understanding history.

But the big event of the evening was the raffle.

With AJ's sister Sheila doing the honors, the winning ticket was pulled LIVE — and Mike Francis was announced as the winner of the Saddleback Leather Co. Flight Bag! Mike even called back during the show and got the news live from AJ and the crew.

The episode also introduced the next quarterly raffle, featuring a Vortex Triumph HD 10x42 binocular and Vortex Triumph HD 850 laser rangefinder, along with additional Vortex gear.

The crew wrapped things up with their usual Words of Wisdom, some final laughs, and an important reminder to veterans: if you're struggling, reach out. And if you're doing well, check on the men and women you served beside.

Andrew “AJ” Cox — Host, Founder & Executive Director, The Lost Art Project Mark O’Loughlin — FireSide Chat Crew Mike — FireSide Chat Crew Jess — FireSide Chat Crew Craig — FireSide Chat Crew Sheila — Joined AJ for the live raffle drawing Mike Francis — Saddleback Leather Co. Flight Bag raffle winner, who called into the show after the drawing

🎙️ ON THIS EPISODE

In this Veteran Story, The Lost Art Project Historical Archivist Christopher Campbell sits down with fellow Marine and Marine Corps League member Keith Wiesman to preserve the story of his service in the United States Marine Corps.

A Tulsa, Oklahoma native and 1975 graduate of Nathan Hale High School, Keith recalls how a summer job at a local foundry—and a buddy unexpectedly announcing that he had joined the Marine Corps—helped set him on a completely different path.

Keith entered the Marine Corps in 1975 and trained at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. In a remarkable coincidence, his platoon graduated on November 10, 1975—the 200th birthday of the United States Marine Corps.

After communications training at Twenty-Nine Palms, Keith served as a communications center Marine, MOS 2542, with assignments that took him to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Korea during Exercise Team Spirit, and eventually Camp Pendleton, California, where he served with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.

Keith shares memories of serving in the Pacific during the Cold War, visiting Hiroshima, participating in cold-weather training in Japan, and being placed on alert during the tensions surrounding Operation Paul Bunyan in Korea. He also remembers the friendships, motorcycles, liberty, field exercises, amphibious training, and everyday experiences that became some of the most enduring memories of his time as a Marine.

After leaving active duty in 1978, Keith attended Oklahoma State University using the GI Bill before beginning a career in financial services and eventually returning to the Tulsa area.

Throughout the conversation, Keith reflects on much more than duty stations and dates. He talks about the lessons the Marine Corps taught him about communication, leadership, perseverance, dealing with different personalities, and discovering that people are often capable of enduring far more than they think.

More than fifty years after stepping onto the yellow footprints, the influence of those experiences—and the Marines who shared them with him—remains.

Veteran: Keith Wiesman Branch: United States Marine Corps Years of Active Service: 1975–1978 MOS: 2542 — Communication Center Man Duty Stations/Assignments Discussed: MCRD Parris Island; Twenty-Nine Palms; MCAS Iwakuni, Japan; Korea/Exercise Team Spirit; Camp Pendleton; 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines Historical Archivist / Interviewer: Christopher Campbell

Every Veteran Has a Story. Every Story Is a Piece of History.

The Lost Art Project: Veterans’ Voices Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies.

Collect · Preserve · Educate · Inspire

September 27, 2026 | Live from the Oklahoma-Arkansas State Fair in Fort Smith, Arkansas

AJ joins the crew from The Lost Art Project’s booth at the fair for a conversation about why veteran stories matter—even the experiences veterans may think are too ordinary to tell.

The crew talks about the voices missing from military history, how oral histories preserve details that letters and official records leave out, and what families can learn when a veteran shares their experiences in their own words. They also reflect on how memories change with time, the importance of recording stories while people can still tell them, and the challenges some veterans face after returning home.

Between the deeper conversations, you’ll hear the crew’s usual humor, fairground moments, and stories about Marine Corps birthday traditions. AJ also looks ahead to Thursday’s FireSide Chat with Dave Munson and the Saddleback Leather raffle drawing.

On this episode:

🎙️ Andrew “AJ” Cox — Founder / Executive Director / Host 🎙️ Vick Ney — FireSide Chat Crew 🎙️ Mike McNany — FireSide Chat Crew 🎙️ Jess Kindelspire — FireSide Chat Crew

Every veteran has a story. Every story is a piece of history.

Learn more or share your story at thelostartprojectveteransvoices.org.

The Lost Art Project — Preserving Voices. Protecting Legacies.