The Soldier: Gunsmoke (April 25, 1953)

“The Soldier” is an episode of Gunsmoke, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 25, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Marshal Matt Dillon locks up two soldiers, Gallagher and Spear, for fighting in a Dodge City saloon. When Gallagher arrives drunk and causing trouble, Spear tries to get him back to the fort, but both end up jailed. Realizing he was too harsh on Spear, who was only trying to help, Dillon rides out to Fort Dodge to explain the situation to Captain Shaw and ask for leniency.

Dodge City and Fort Dodge, Kansas Territory in the 1870s

Characters: Matt Dillon, Gallagher, Spear, Chester, Captain Shaw, Colonel Doby, Larson

Listen for: Marshal Dillon's growing regret over his quick judgment and his attempt to make amends with the soldiers and their commanding officer; the tension between civilian law and military discipline.

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.