RAISING MEN: LETTERS FROM WAR

In this moving episode of Raising Men, host Shaun sits down with Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling (Ret.) to explore the "letters he hoped would never be read." Mark reflects on the nearly four decades he spent commanding soldiers and the private journal entries he wrote to his young sons while preparing for combat during the first Gulf War.

These handwritten reflections, now the foundation of his book If I Don’t Return, offer a rare look at the intersection of military leadership and fatherhood. Mark shares what a lifetime of service taught him about raising boys to become thoughtful, resilient men, and why true masculinity is built on character, humility, and the example we live every day.