Winter Soldier: Fort Laramie (June 17, 1956)

“Winter Soldier” is an episode of Fort Laramie, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 17, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

As spring arrives at Fort Laramie, Major Daggett worries about desertion from the ranks of "snowbirds"—soldiers who enlisted in winter just for shelter and now plan to slip away. Captain Quince volunteers to lead a patrol to the Clearwater, where he spots Private Blant, a discontented soldier suspected of harboring desertion talk, and orders him onto the patrol roster.

Fort Laramie, spring season, as the winter snow melts and soldiers begin considering desertion.

Characters: Major Daggett, Captain Quince, Mr. Cybridge, Sergeant Gorse, Private Blant, Lieutenant

Listen for: The tension between military discipline and the seasonal urge to flee; Private Blant's sullen attitude and poor uniform maintenance; Captain Quince's strategy to keep a suspected deserter under watch by bringing him along on patrol.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.