Braided in Fire

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A new podcast about the WWII impass on the Gothic Line & how it relates to the present:

Episode 4 | May 20, 2025

U.S. Army African American soldiers fought two Gothic Line wars: one vs. the Nazis, the other vs. racist U.S. Army commanders. Author Solace Wales tells the story based on 30 years of research.
(33:24 min)

Author’s note | JULY 2025: There is a new podcast I am privileged to be part of, for now one of twelve interviewees. (More are being added.) Joe Kirwin, a recently retired Bloomberg journalist, living in Europe for 35 years, has been assembling a podcast about the Gothic Line in WWII Italy. This is where the Apennine Mountains reach across the Italian peninsula in the north creating a natural fortification which was enhanced by Nazi troops using local Italian slave labor to install machine gun nests and even cannons.

Many (over 17) nations fighting with the Allies got stuck for seven cold winter months in 1944–45 along this line in their effort to push the Germans northward, and out of Italy. I am interviewed about my research for my 2020 book: Braided in Fire: Black GIs and Tuscan Villagers on the Gothic Line. The interview is 33 minutes long.

Through his series of interviews, Kirwin not only explains the little-known history of the Gothic Line, but discusses how it relates to current world happenings: the rise of fascism & the censorship of historical events. You may access the podcast thru Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Amazon Music. (The podcast is a non-profit project and all revenue raised will be donated to the Save Ukraine charity.)

(Also available: 3 different hour-long interviews with me about my book on YouTube – just do a search for: Solace Wales.)

Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Season 2, Episode 1 | January 5, 2022

Author Solace Wales, Braided in Fire
(25 min)

Robert Child is a renowned military historian — he is an Emmy nominated screenwriter of films who explores history via compelling storytelling and chats with authors. His podcast Point of the Spear (accessible via Spotify & Apple Podcasts) has appeared weekly since early 2021.

In introducing Solace on his podcast interview which aired on 1/5/22, he said, “Your book was so invaluable to me in researching my book, Immortal Valor: The Black Medal of Honor Winners of WW II. The work you’ve done is just outstanding.”

(Child’s book was published in England by Osprey Press on 6/20/23.)

Apple Podcasts | Website

Season 1, Episode 1 | February, 1, 2022

Lt. John Fox: An All-American Hero
(44 min)

Dominic Lawson interviews author Solace Wales for the inaugural episode of the Black Is America podcast featuring little-known African American heroes.

Lawson, a podcaster from Memphis, found out about Lt. John Fox’s heroic action from an article on a friend’s Facebook page. He was instantly intrigued and thought how come I never heard of him? He then discovered Braided in Fire and learned more about Fox. He said, “As an African American I was always looking for heroes to read about. MLK and Fredrick Douglass are great but I heard those stories over and over again. Also, many times when we see black history content it’s mostly about us being enslaved or overcoming during the civil rights movement (which is important), but it’s also important for me and my community to see and hear more stories of us in a different light. You know, as heroes and victors and things outside the usual trope. I want this show to give little kids who look like me more heroes that look like us. So Lt. John Fox is not only an inspiration for an entire episode, he is in large part the inspiration for the entire show even existing.”

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Some of the details in this 2022 interview rely upon incorrect information included in John Fox's Medal of Honor award—a very common occurrence in this instance since we all expect that kind of Pentagon record to be accurate. Solace Wales was able to correct some information in the award because she consulted Italian sources: both people present in Sommocolonia during the battle and written historical sources in Italian. Pentagon investigators writing up the award 38 years after the action occurred clearly did not have access to these sources. Please see Braided in Fire’s note on “Beware of Misinformation” and the book’s Afterword on this site for more information. These errors have been addressed based upon new research which came to light after the Medal of Honor was awarded to Lt. Fox. You can read about them here. Rest assured that the new information shows equally the worthiness of John Fox to receive the award.