June 15, 2025 - The Political Cesspool - James Edwards
54:47
Radio Show Hour 3 – 2025/06/14
|
Time
Text
You're listening to the Liberty News Radio Network, and this is the Political Cesspool.
The Political Cesspool, known across the South and worldwide as the South's foremost populist conservative radio program.
And here to guide you through the murky waters of the Political Cesspool is your host, James Edwards.
So here's the thing, folks.
Even on the cusp, potentially, of World War III, I would not bump or reschedule Harry Cooper, the president of Shark Hunters.
He laughs.
Hey, a week ago today, a week ago today, seven days ago, we were together at a Cracker Barrel in central Florida.
Ocala, okay?
Ocala, Florida.
My wife, his wife, my daughter and son, my daughters and son, his son.
We were all together a week ago today, seven days ago.
But nothing, Harry, on this earth or thereafter would have made me bump this interview tonight.
And a lot has happened since last week.
Would you agree?
Harry Cooper, the president of Shark Hunters, is back with us tonight to discuss his fascinating friendship, his personal friendship with Hans George Hess, German U-boat commander during the Second World War.
We'll talk to you about that more in just a moment.
But Harry, you know, a lot's changed since the last week at a Cracker Barrel, has it not?
Yeah, things are getting a little crazy.
But I don't know if you've seen the one interview from one of the Florida sheriffs.
He said, if people want to come here and protest peacefully, you're welcome.
But if you start getting violent, you're going to jail right after you get out of the hospital.
And if you throw anything or point a weapon at one of our officers, we'll tell your next of kin where to pick up the body because we're going to kill you dead, cemetery dead.
Yes.
You know, we played a clip, a clip that I thought was the clip of that, which you just mentioned.
And he also went into that, that if you stand in front of a car, you'll be drugged underneath that car.
Yeah, that's Governor DeSantis.
Yeah, Governor DeSantis.
He said that.
If you're surrounded by a crowd, if you fear for your life, step on that gas.
And you know, I've got a big monster truck, and I just hope nobody steps in front of it because I ain't going to stop.
That's the free state of Florida where I have been for the last week.
You are kidding.
The free sunshine state of Florida.
But I have seen Harry's truck there and elsewhere last year at our 20th anniversary conference in South Carolina.
I saw it there.
I have not seen a protester under it yet, but he has the sanction of the governor to do that if they get in his way.
And that is, hey, we love Florida, do we not?
And we love Cracker Barrel, do we not, Harry?
Yeah, you betcha.
Hey, what'd you get to eat?
What'd you get to eat?
A few days ago, one of your friends, Steve Bedell, was there with me.
Well, you know, we have so many friends, and so many people are friends of yours, but I know him, and he was with us last year in South Carolina.
And Can't go wrong at Cracker Barrel.
Indeed.
But listen, at Cracker Barrel right now, in Ocala, which, by the way, a few years ago, Central Florida is basically an extension of California.
God knows.
Oh, no.
An extension of Alabama.
Of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
But it was in Ocala that they had the largest Confederate flag rally in the country in the wake of the Dylan Roof shootings and the backlash to that.
But no, no, I know the gentleman whom you met this week since our last meeting with you.
Hey, that Cracker Barrel is getting a lot of business as a result of, you know, people on the SPLC hate list and I'll put you to your end.
That's for sure.
And the manager, Andy, he told me he was going to get a time card for me and punch me in whenever I showed up.
Hey, let me tell you something, folks.
A week ago today, I was in Ocala, Florida.
Harry knew every employee by name, by name.
The five-star waitresses, the four-star waitresses, the manager, the assistant manager, whomever.
Hey, but we ate well, did we not?
And you had something.
I've never even seen what you had on the menu.
It was a campfire thing.
They couldn't even bring out a to-go box big enough to accommodate your needs, Harry.
Yeah, I ate the leftovers for two days after that.
But that's a campfire.
Yeah, that's a Cracker Barrel special.
It's called the Campfire Meal.
You get either beef or chicken or shrimp.
And it comes in a gigantic foil wrap thing.
And the beef, which is what I have, just falls off.
Falls doesn't fall off the bone because there ain't any bone there.
But I've been eating at Cracker Barrel since there was only one Cracker Barrel.
And I was in Lebanon, Tennessee, because I used to live.
And the girl I was seeing at the time there in Tennessee thought that was upscale dining at the Cracker Barrel.
Hey, she wasn't wrong.
Hey, as a native Tennessean, as a first-generation Tennessean, my grandparents from Mississippi on both sides settled in Memphis and had families.
And my mom and my dad met.
I am a second-generation Tennessean, and I am proud to craw Cracker Barrel, you know, my share Cracker Barrel with as a home state.
But never has there been a Cracker Barrel experience better than I've shared with you, my friend, in Ocala, Florida.
A week ago tonight, does it seem like it's only been a week?
A lot has gone under the bridge at that time.
A lot of water.
Well, I'm not sure with your family.
We always have a great time.
My wife thinks the world of your family.
I think I do too.
You got a great family.
And we always have so much fun there whenever we get together.
And we always take pictures, and it's always wonderful.
I mean, and that is the thing about this show.
We don't just talk to each other.
We are not just, you know, host and interviewee on the radio.
We are family, and we're always family when we break bread.
And anyway, that being said, Harry, it's great to have you back tonight.
You have been with us so many times over the years.
I met you for the first time.
God, do you remember even, do you even remember, Harry, the first time I met you in 2004 in New Orleans, Louisiana?
Where we got off the plane and had to call a secret number to find out where the meeting was being held.
That was at one of the Duke conferences right when he first got out of prison, and it was his homecoming conference in 04.
And it was, if you can believe it, Harry, and we're going to get into the reason for having you on tonight in just a moment, but if you can believe it, that conference, I've got a picture.
Here in the studio tonight, a picture of me and you.
What year is this?
21 years ago.
A picture of me and you.
We were both a little younger then, but I got that picture.
I'm going to send it to you.
I'm going to text it to you when we get off the air.
Oh, that would be great.
Now, don't catch it.
There's a subject.
Email it.
I'll email it.
I'll email it.
Yeah, I'm too dumb to do text messages.
Me and you both.
I'll email it.
But me and you 21 years ago, it's just amazing how long these bonds, these ties that bind, bond.
And here we are now.
Well, we'll get to it at the top of the next segment.
But you're here tonight to talk about your friendship with a man who was perhaps the youngest, the youngest commander in submarine warfare history.
Young combat submarine commander, I believe.
So that's just incredible.
And the fact that you knew him, the fact that you knew him personally and got to know him and spent time in his home in Germany and elsewhere, it goes to the point why that while all of this is going on, why are we spending time on this tonight?
Well, number one, a week ago today, World War III wasn't on the brink of destruction.
I gave my word to Harry that he'd be on the show tonight.
And that's what we're going to do no matter what.
And I guarantee you this, it's going to be more fascinating than anything you could hear elsewhere.
Harry, we've got seconds remaining.
And when we come back, we're going to give you a quick rejoinder.
Why did you form shark hunters?
Sharkhunters.com.
Seconds remain.
Okay, because I hate lies.
And during a war, propaganda is a proper weapon.
You must have your soldiers hate the other ones.
Germans were all horrible Nazis have to kill them all.
That was what we were taught.
But when the war is over, you got to be honest.
And Germany has never been given an honest history after the war.
Except for by Harry Cooper.
So sharkhunters.com.
We're going to go through the shark hunters mission statement when we come back.
And the focus of this hour tonight, ladies and gentlemen, with my friend for a time beyond the show ever existed, Harry Cooper.
God tells us in Hebrews 10, 25 that we should gather together to worship him.
This isn't a request.
It is a command.
Going to church isn't an option.
It is your Christian duty.
With the hellish apostasy of mainstream churches, attending church these days can be difficult.
That is why your King James Only, traditional services in the ancient church of St. Mary Magdalene, are live online.
And I invite you to gather with our congregation to study God's Holy Word.
Join us every Sunday at the TemplarChurch.com and especially on the first Sunday of the month for Holy Communion.
This do in remembrance of me is also a command that all Christians must obey.
I'm Reverend Jim Dowson, ordained Puritan minister, nationalist, and a veteran pro-life campaigner.
Tune in to my weekly sermons at thetemplarchurch.com.
Beast and Islands, this old-famed religion is the faith that Delt America.
God bless you.
The Foundation for Moral Law is a non-profit legal foundation committed to protecting our unalienable right to publicly acknowledge God.
The Foundation for Moral Law exists to restore the knowledge of God in law and government and to acknowledge and defend the truth that man is endowed with rights not by our fellow men, but by God.
The Foundation maintains a twofold focus.
First, litigation within state and federal courts.
Second, education.
Conducting seminars to teach the necessity and importance of acknowledging God in law and government.
How can you help?
Please make a tax-deductible contribution, allowing Foundation attorneys to continue the fight.
You may also purchase various Foundation products as well at morallaw.org.
Located in Montgomery, Alabama, the Foundation for Moral Law is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501c3 founded by Judge Roy Moore.
Please partner with us to achieve this important mission.
Morallaw.org
Harry Cooper, the president of sharkhunters.com, returns to the broadcast to discuss his fascinating personal friendship with Hans George Hess, a German U-boat commander during the Second World War.
Perhaps the youngest commander in the history of submarine warfare.
He commanded a single U-boat from September of 1944.
Harry's going to get into this, but let me tell you something, folks.
If you're going down to U-port, a U-boat in September of 44, you were not likely to come back.
He sunk five enemy ships.
He survived until the end of the war and beyond.
This is an incredible history, an incredible story, the likes of which Harry Cooper of shockhunters.com could only provide.
I, you know, we have featured Harry and his content on now three different TPC fundraising appeals.
Nobody else can give you this history.
I hold in my hand now as we broadcast live the first volume of U-Boat, stories from the men of the U-Boat Waffa.
This was a Christmas incentive a couple of years ago.
A quick quote: The pages of U-Boat are fascinating reading.
They tell the gripping stories of the war at sea in the words of those who lived and died in submarines and those who hunted submarines.
That old enemies have become friends is the real story of this book.
Nobody and no one could have thought that 50 years ago this book would be printed or such mortal enemies would relate the grim stories of the war in a book written together.
I found the stories of great interest and recommend them to those who would like to know how the war was fought at sea.
It should be remembered that the life of Britain and Germany depended on the outcome of the U-boat conflict.
This book reveals how this took place scene by scene and the courage and bravery of the men who participated on both sides.
I recommend it to reading as a reminder never to get enveloped in such a conflict again.
Harry Cooper, that was a quote from Admiral Frank Kelso, CNO, United States Navy.
How in the world did you ever make that happen?
He was a member of Shark Hunters.
So was Ronald Reagan.
So was the commander-in-chief of the Soviet Navy.
Lots of other war members.
There you have it.
And to go back to your planks, the Shark Hunters mission statement, number one, to tell the honest, true, accurate history of the U-boat WAFA and the men who served honorably without propaganda, theories, guesses, fairy tales, or head-bake commentaries to restore the dignity and private of these brave, honorable soldiers.
Number three, to bring former enemies together as friends, as you have done, Harry, like none other alive or dead today.
No one has done it like you, my friend.
And that is something that we talk about tonight.
And so, again, to go back to your whole reason for constituting shark hunters as a member of the U.S. Navy yourself, give me a couple minutes on how that happened, and then we'll talk about the people you met, but especially Hans George Hess tonight.
Right.
And the one word out of our mission statement that is most important is dignity.
These brave warriors were not allowed dignity in their own country.
Here, I belong to the American Legion post.
There are people that belong to the Legion and VFW and everything.
And you've got a Huey helicopter out front, or you've got a tank or something.
You've got the American flag and all that stuff.
These guys couldn't.
They couldn't.
They had their Uberkamaradschaft of various different cities, Hamburg, Kiel, etc.
But they couldn't put up a flag.
They couldn't put up a sign out front.
At the one in Hamburg, they met in a rented house that was owned by a U-boat skipper, Otto Guermuth, Westfall.
I'm sorry, out of Westfall, nice crossholder.
And in Klagenfurt, Austria, those guys had to meet in a former coal bin in a big building.
So when just the look in their eyes, honest to God, we had a gathering in Florida, 1990 it was, yeah.
And a whole bunch of these guys came over and a bunch of Americans, and we went out on a 40-passenger airboat.
These guys were like kids at Disney World because people didn't look on them as the horrible Nazis that we were taught.
I was a kid during the war years.
And like I say, propaganda is a fair weapon during a war.
But when the war is over, you have to be straight with history.
And it still isn't straight.
The Germans are still looked down on in many respects.
And that's wrong as hell because they were honorable, decent people.
And we always heard the stories, and some people even still believe them today about U-boaters machine gunning survivors in the water.
And it just, it didn't happen.
It's a good story.
You got to hate the people because, you know, you can't machine gun helpless people, but it never happened.
It made good propaganda.
For instance, one of our members, Captain Peter Chalimedos, was skipper of a merchant ship crossing the North Atlantic.
He didn't make it.
They got sunk by a U-boat.
And he's out there with his crew bobbing around in the lifeboat.
And the U-boat surfaced alongside him.
I forget who the skipper was, but in English, he yelled down to Captain Chalamedos and asked if anybody needed medical help.
Chalamedos said no, everybody was okay.
So the skipper of the U-boat sent down a compass and gave him directions on which way to steer to find the closest land.
And then he yelled down, I'd like to give you some water, but our desalinator's down.
So will you take a couple cases of beer instead?
And there were other instances on the SS William Gaston.
Hal McCormick was the gunnery officer, and they got sunk by U-861.
And after the war, he hunted down that skipper and they became friends.
And they were both with us at our convention in Chicago some years ago.
And they were best buddies.
So that's what we do with shark hunters.
It's an incredible thing.
Folks, if you go to thepolitical suspicion.org and you type in the search bar, if you go to our archives, Harry Cooper, you'll find the appearances that he has made in the past during which we talk about the history of shark hunters,
why it came to be, how it came to be, the lives and experiences of Harry Cooper, former race car driver and explorer of the Bahamas, interested in U-boat history, and then the rest is history.
Harry, as I said to you last week, at the Cracker Barrel in Ocala, nobody alive or dead has done more to bring former enemies together as friends.
You have brought together, I mean, as we have promoted in our fundraising appeals over the last few years, members of the United States Navy and the U-boat WAFA, members of the United States Air Force and the Luftwaffe and elsewhere, these people together and together when they meet one another for the first time and you make it possible.
What is it like to see that?
What was it like to see that?
Oh, it was just heartwarming to the max.
And to see these guys, well, our first convention, this is a great one at Keylargo, Florida, because I lived in Chicago at the time and I wanted to get out of the snow.
So we were down at Key Largo in 1987, February.
And I used to drink back in those days.
I gave that up a long time ago.
But I'm sitting at the bar trying to wipe out a lot of piña coladas.
And on my right was Hans Georges, who later became my best friend in Germany.
And on the left was, what the heck was his name?
Anyhow, he was a U.S. Navy gunner on a destroyer.
And they were talking back and forth across my face.
And each one, you know, what was your AOA, AOR, your patrol area.
Well, that was my area.
And when were you there?
Well, that's when I was there.
And Hess said, the number on your sub or on your destroyer was such and such.
And the American guy says, yeah, how did you know that?
And Hess said, on such and such a day, I fired two torpedoes at your destroyer, but somebody must have seen them because you swerved and I missed.
And the American says, yeah, and he named the lookout and he said, and he got kind of arrogant.
He said, so you missed, Captain.
What do you think about that?
And Hess slammed his big fist down on the bar and said, well, I'm glad we missed.
We have more time for beer now.
And they became best friends.
Hey, and that would have never happened had it not been for your efforts at sharkhunters.com, endorsed by the former CNO of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Frank Kelso.
The fact that you, and in many instances, perhaps, in all instances, I don't know of anybody else who has done the work that you have done, Harry, to bring the German veterans of World War II together with the American veterans and the British veterans and to write books and to make DVDs and to bring them together in person.
The story you just shared, we're going to hear more tonight exclusively, though, about Hans George Hess.
Of all the interviews Harry has done with us, Hans George Hess is the focus tonight.
We'll tell you why.
How would you like to help this program reach more people and earn silver at the same time?
Call or text 801-669-2211 for complete details.
News this hour from townhall.com.
I'm Jason Walker.
Quite a show today in the nation's capital.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
The parade was all it was guaranteed to be, and then Sim as the Nation marked the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and of course, the annual celebration of Flag Day.
Festivities included tanks, cavalry, infantry, aircraft, skydivers, and many more.
All told, more than 6,000 soldiers taking part.
Also, at townhall.com, new polling indicates most Americans do support sending the National Guard to Los Angeles.
Here's correspondent Bernie Bennett with that story.
The majority of voters support President Trump's decision to use the National Guard to stop attacks on federal immigration agents in Los Angeles.
The latest Rasmussen reports national telephone and online survey finds that 57% approve of Mr. Trump's deployment of the Guard.
Meanwhile, federal officials want to know who is funding the anti-ICE riots.
The FBI is investigating the matter.
Bernie Bennett reporting.
Authorities in Minnesota continue searching for the suspected gunman who shot and killed former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband.
A second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded and remain hospitalized.
A 57-year-old suspect, identified as Vance Bolter, is still at large.
Well, the attorney who negotiated the $2.8 billion legal settlement for the NCAA says thousands of former athletes due to receive damages may have to wait months, maybe more than a year to get paid while the appeals process plays out.
Officials say they will delay payments due to nearly 400,000 athletes.
More on these stories, townhall.com.
Summer is all about making great memories.
Boy, I love getting out on the boat.
I admit that one of my little joys in life is to get on a boat and ride around on Tampa Bay.
But if you're living with pain, those future memories can be stolen from you.
Here's a thought.
Try Relief Factor.
Let's see if we can get you out of pain.
Relief Factor is a 100% drug-free daily supplement designed to help your body fight pain.
It's a doctor-developed formula made of natural ingredients.
The best part of all, Relief Factor never masks the pain.
It helps reduce or even eliminate it for good.
Whether it's doing what I do, whether it's kayaking on a lake, running around with the little ones, or just chilling in the hammock with a good book, Relief Factor can help you feel better, move better, and do more of the things you love all summer long.
So if you're ready to reclaim your summer and make some amazing memories, head over to ReliefFactor.com or give them a call at 8004 Relief, 800 the number 4 Relief.
Do it now and get their three-week quick start for just $19.95.
The number again, 1-800, the number 4, relief.
800-4 relief.
Fight pain naturally with Relief Factor.
Hey, y'all.
Do you enjoy great tasting coffee but are tired of supporting companies that hate you?
If so, let me tell you about Above Time Coffee.
Above Time Coffee is a privately owned and operated small business.
They hand-roast coffee and ship it to customers throughout the United States and abroad.
Above Time Coffee was launched because they saw a need for more pro-white businesses serving our people.
The time has come to take our own side.
And did I mention their coffee tastes great?
It's the best coffee I've ever tasted.
When James brought home a sample from a conference, I was hooked and threw out all the other brands.
I think you will too after you make an order at abovetimecoffee.com.
Living a healthy and active lifestyle is important to us.
And I appreciate the effort Above Time Coffee invests in keeping its products organic.
And there are so many flavors to choose from.
Check it out for yourself by visiting above TimeCoffee.com.
It's the only coffee we drink at the Edwards Home.
Delicious Coffee, a company that serves the interests of our people.
Check out their selection today at abovetimecoffee.com.
The Occidental Quarterly is a journal for people who dare to think for themselves and refuse to accept the current liberal orthodoxies and media-fueled delusions.
Edited by Dr. Kevin McDonald, TOQ fearlessly discusses race, culture, the future of the Western world, and other subjects that our enemies consider taboo and want to outlaw.
TOQ writers give no quarter to political correctness or other modern methods of suppression.
Four times a year, right to your mailbox, TOQ delivers thoughtful analysis and commentary on current events, new perspectives on history, interviews, reviews of important books, and so much more.
Do you have the courage to subscribe to the next four issues of TOQ for just $60 per year?
If so, you can subscribe today by visiting www.toqonline.com.
You might be surprised how much you already agree with our fearless contributors.
Subscribe to the Occidental Quarterly, edited by Kevin MacDonald, today at www.toqonline.com.
Ladies and gentlemen, I can't tell you, I can't remember.
I'm ashamed that I can't remember what I had to eat a week ago today with Harry at the Cracker Barrel at Ocala, but I know what he had.
And it was too big to put in a to-go box.
They had to bring out three or four different offerings of to-go boxes to make that happen.
But I can tell you, whatever I ate, it was good.
But the company was even better because there is no man alive like Harry Cooper, sharkhunters.com.
Harry, no one has done the work you have done to bring, as you put it, former enemies together as friends, but to shed a light on the true heroism of the other side.
Yeah.
Our side, not our side?
I mean, it depends on how you look at it.
I mean, they weren't Americans, but what side should we have been on?
That's a debate for another day.
But you got to know all sides.
You got to know all sides.
Hans George has.
This is, if you Google his name, a lot of things come up.
This wasn't some obscure soldier that happened to have clocked a few hours in World War II.
This was a major combatant.
Hans George has.
You got to know him and know him well.
He became your best friend on the other side.
Tell us all about Hans George Has.
Well, when the first meeting, that was at Keylargo.
And like I say, I used to drink in those days.
And I was down there a few days early, and I had a couple of friends with me.
One was a huge big guy that I used when I was collecting hard debts for the guys with the broken noses.
And we were drinking and drinking and drinking.
And so I came back to the hotel that one evening, about 10 o'clock at night, and I'm walking through, just not ashamed to admit it.
I was drunk.
That's the Irish in me, but I gave that up a long time ago.
I'm going through the lobby, and I see this crowd of people at the front desk, and I can hear them speaking with German accents.
And I thought, oh, just let me get to my room.
I want to die in my room.
And I heard the desk clerk say, oh, there's Mr. Cooper now.
And who turns around?
It was Hans Georges.
Herr Cooper, Joe Bill, joined us for a drink.
Oh, why would I do this?
But then we got going and we had a wonderful tour there.
And as everybody was saying goodbye, he says, and you must come next year to old Germany.
And I'm thinking, oh, God, I've never been out of America except to Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas.
I can't do that.
Then I thought, why not?
So we put the gathering together and we went over there.
Oh, my God.
We were in a hotel that was run by Otto Westcotton, a Knights Cross-winning U-boat skipper.
And for our farewell dinner, there were hundreds of people there, about 50, 60 Americans and German U-boat veterans and their wives.
They were so happy that the Americans were there.
And it just sunk in.
That was February of 87.
And no, that was, I'm sorry, next year, 88.
And I surprised my wife some days later, came home early from work.
She was the manager of the marina where we were living on my boat at the time.
And she said, what are you doing home at 11 o'clock?
I said, I just quit my job.
We're going to move to Florida and we're going to do shark hunters full-time.
And she says, are you nuts?
Have you forgotten I'm pregnant?
Where's the insurance?
Where's the security?
I said, I don't know, but this has to be done.
I walked off a job as a vice president of a company with no severance, no retirement.
Nobody gets paid from shark hunters.
Everybody's a volunteer, me included.
And it's just something I had to do.
I don't mean to sound sappy, but I believe this is the reason God put me here on earth.
I went through so many jobs when I was a young up-and-coming executive.
This wasn't right.
That didn't feel right.
Shark Hunters just celebrated our 42nd birthday, 42 years.
And there have been a lot of Johnny come latelies, and they plagiarize from us and pretend it's their own.
And then they make up fairy tales.
But we got the history right from the men who were there.
Hundreds of U-boat veterans were members, hundreds of American submarine veterans, flyboys from the Lufaffa and from the U.S. Army Air Corps of the day, and some Soviets, etc.
And I believe that's why God put me here.
And that's why, as you know, thank God, knock on wood, I'm closing in on birthday number 86, and I'm in better shape than most 60-year-olds.
Thank God for that.
I can testify to that, ladies and gentlemen.
I was with him a week ago today in Central Florida, and he's not going anywhere anytime fast.
And thank God for that because nobody has done the work that he has done.
Nobody.
Nobody.
I was so blessed.
I got to meet all those great guys.
Hess, for instance.
I've been in and out of his house humped a zillion times.
He retired.
I'm sorry, when he got out of POW camp, he became a lawyer, and then he became a doctor of law.
And he tried to fix me up with his beautiful blue-eyed, blonde, 21-year-old daughter.
And just so damn much fun, this guy was.
And we were, I think I told you, yeah, we were, we had our convention in Charleston in 1989.
And we were on a cruise boat with dining and dancing on our way out to Fort Sumter or whatever that Fort, yeah, Fort Sumter.
And he came over by where Kay and I were sitting, and he snapped his heels together.
Herr Cooper, may I dance with your wife?
So, yeah, okay.
So, Kay danced with her.
Oh, she was just, wow.
I mean, can you imagine, folks?
I mean, listen to what he's telling you.
This was not some obscure, he logged a couple of hours in the war, or he was alive during the war years.
No, no.
This man he's talking about, what Harry Cooper is talking about, his personal friendship with Hans George Hess.
This was a German U-boat commander during the Second World War.
He commanded a single U-boat from September of 1944 until the end of the war.
He sank five ships.
He sank five ships at a time when Harry, in late 1944, how many U-boats were coming back from a patrol at all, much less sinking five out of five?
One ship out of ten came home.
It was a one-way ride.
And those guys were the best of the best.
And they were the most oversubscribed group in the German military.
They were standing in line to get aboard.
And they knew they had a thin chance, but it was always the other guy's boat that was going to get hit, not mine.
That was their idea.
And when Hess took over this boat, you have to understand the skipper of that boat, U995, which is the only Type 7 left in the world.
They made like 800 and something of them.
They're all gone except U995.
It's a memorial display in a suburb of Kiel, Germany.
And the skipper, Walter Koentop, was accused of not being aggressive enough.
He wasn't accused of cowardice or they would have shot him for that.
But he was busted from Captain Leutnen, which is lieutenant commander, down to common sailor and put on a machine gun.
And because everybody knew they were close to death as soon as they leave harbor.
And so he never mixed it up.
You know, oh, there's a convoy off there to the west.
Let's go east.
But Hess took over after Koentop got busted.
And I got this from another member of mine who was on a submarine on the other side of the wharf from 995.
And Hess got his whole crew at attention on the foredeck.
He's up on the conning tower.
And you had to understand Hess.
He made a good lawyer, I'm sure, because he didn't talk.
He thundered.
And his first words out of his mouth to his new crew, you cowards, this will no longer be a yellow boat.
And these guys were all thinking, this guy's going to get us killed.
But they loved him after, you know, five war patrols, sinking five ships and brought everybody back alive.
Nobody was hurt.
Nobody got injured.
So they thought the world of him.
And he was a man among men.
He started out, I think he joined, he was 16 years old.
He joined the Navy, the Kriegsmarine, as a common seaman.
The German military is different from the U.S. For a guy to start out as a buck private, work on up and then get into the officers' ranks in the American forces is very difficult, very rare.
But it wasn't that way with the PICS marina.
He moved his way up and up and up, and then he became first watchkeeping officer on U466 under Gab Tater, who is another just wonderful, wonderful guy who's like an uncle to me, Dick Tater.
Hold on right there, Harry Cooper, sharkhunters.com, sharkhunters.com, Harry Cooper.
It is common for politicians, major media outlets, and nonprofits to hype white on black murders aggressively, or even claim that blacks are living in fear of white people.
Lynch for simply being black.
Hard to believe, but that's what was done.
And some people still want to do that.
This is why National Conservative launched the Interracial Homicide Tracking Project.
We have now documented well over 2,000 confirmed interracial homicides since January 2023 and created the most comprehensive overview of these killings anyone has ever made.
We plug the gaping holes in data left by other homicide trackers and government crime stats.
Rather than engaging in hyperbole and vitriolic rhetoric like everyone else, we are simply creating a massive sample size of empirical evidence so people can form rational and informed opinions about a sensitive and politically charged issue.
Visit natcon.life, n-a-t-c-o-n.l-i-f-e.
Introducing managed IT services from NPI.
We offer top-notch data backup and recovery, email spam protection, and network security tailored to your needs and budget.
With 20 plus years of experience in the medical field, our HIPAA certified consultants know what it takes to protect sensitive information.
Don't settle for less.
Give us a call at 801-706-6980 and experience the difference with managed IT services.
Remember, your IT support should be fast, efficient, and reliable.
Introducing PrepStartsNow.com, your ultimate guide to readiness and peace of mind.
We offer practical preparedness tools, training, and education to take your family's household readiness to the next level.
Browse the prep shop for essential products, check out our planning guides, and stay informed with our prep blog.
Visit prepstartsnow.com and subscribe to our emails for exclusive offers, new products, and future events.
Remember, preparedness begins with PrepStartsNow.com.
Folks, go to Google.com.
Type in Hans George Hess, G-E-O-R-G, Hans-George Hess.
What do you think it would have been like to know someone like that, to be able to call him a personal friend, to be a guest in his home, to have known him for years?
It would have been unlike any story you could ever tell.
I am honored and privileged to tell you that I know a man who can say he can say those things.
Just to know Harry Cooper.
First of all, Harry Cooper is one of a kind.
He's not even one of a million.
I mean, how many millions of people live in the United States?
Is he one of in a billion?
I mean, nobody, nobody alive has done the work that Harry has done in forming friendships and relationships with the German World War II veterans.
They could not celebrate a pride in their nationhood and their wartime achievements, their victories, their defeats.
They couldn't share that commonality as we could.
He documents that through Shark Hunters.
Nobody else has done that.
I love Harry, how you tell the story.
Tell it now in just 30 seconds because I want to go back to Hans George Hess.
But, you know, the whole wartime propaganda thing.
You know, these guys go to the same churches as we do.
These guys have wives and mothers and daughters and sons and sweethearts as we do.
But go kill them anyway because we say so.
I mean, you tell that story so much better than I.
Yeah.
If your sergeant was to tell all the guys, the people on the other side of the battlefield there in the other uniform, they love their country like you love yours.
They've got a wife and children they want to get home to.
They go to the same church you do.
Now, go kill them.
People are starting to think, hey, wait, let's think about this.
Also, Stalin said it best: when one man is killed, it's a tragedy.
When five million are killed, it's a statistic.
So we report on every single U-boat.
And, okay, if a submarine goes down, roughly 55 people go down with it.
Okay, that's a statistic.
55 men are dead, but there's 55 mothers and fathers who are brokenhearted.
I lost my son when he was 20.
55 sweethearts, wives, 55 brothers and sisters, 55 empty chairs at the Christmas table, multiplied by how many people are dead in a war.
There's no such thing as a good war.
And I'm military, four years U.S. Air Force, secret clearance, loading hydrogen bombs onto heavy bombers.
Later on, 12 years Coast Guard artillery, flotilla commander, and then from 1991 to 96, in and out of Moscow and St. Petersburg at the request of the CIA.
No war is a good war.
The only good war is one that never happens.
There it is.
And that's just tragic.
You just heard his wartime experience.
This is an American veteran.
This is an American patriot.
And no American knew more German veterans from World War II who brought them together as friends and as former enemies, today's friends.
He brought the fighting men of the American forces, the British forces, the German forces together.
And when they met together at all of these gatherings in Europe, in Germany, that Harry put on over the years through his work at sharkhunters.com, they became lifelong friends.
Can you imagine?
I mean, can you imagine, folks, seeing these people who were fighting to kill one another on behalf of their respective countries becoming lifelong friends?
Harry Cooper made that happen, and we're talking to him right now.
We also had a situation where the International Submariners Association was having their convention in Germany, and I was talking to some of their leadership six months before, and they were trying to get Soviet veterans to come, but the Soviets wouldn't even answer them.
So I said, You want them here?
I'll get them here because I was friends with all those guys too.
And so at the next convention, International, about two dozen high-ranking Soviet veterans came, and it really pissed off the German guy that put it together.
And so he and I weren't buddies anymore, but he was not an old skipper.
He was from the new Navy.
But everybody puts on their pants one leg at a time.
And when I was in Moscow the first time meeting the Soviets, a bunch were asking me questions about submarine history.
And one old admiral said, Why are you here?
And I pointed at him.
I said, I'm told you're my enemy.
He got all huffy.
And I said, but you were told I was the enemy.
Yeah.
I said, I don't see an enemy.
I see a man like myself who wants his family to grow up in peace and prosperity.
He agreed.
I said, see, we're together already.
Let's drink Pepsi, a great American invention.
He says, no, great Russian invention.
I said, see, we're together already.
And James, like somebody threw a switch, they were all on their feet, smiling, ripping the metals off their uniforms, pinning them on my jacket.
Nobody wants to go to war and die.
Nobody should go to war at all.
Especially not people that have so much in common as the men of the West, too, whether they be from German or Germany or America or England or even Russia.
These are men of the West.
And I look at the clock right now, Harry.
I cannot believe it.
I cannot believe it.
We're 54 minutes past the hour.
We don't have any time.
We're just getting started.
We're going to have to have you back.
But I'll tell you this.
Anytime we get into a pinch, we have Harry on because a couple of years ago, we had a Christmas drive.
No, not at all.
But you're both.
You're going to tell people how to get a hold of shark hunters, too.
Let's do that.
But we've had your books.
The U-Boat, U-Boat, Volume 1.
I'm holding it in my hand right now.
U-Boat, Volume 1, Stories for the Men of the U-Boat Waffle.
Harry put together these handwritten eyewitness accounts of the war from both the American and the British and the German side.
Then we did when Eagles Soar, Volume 1, from the Flyboys.
And now we're talking about Hans George Hess.
But all of these came attendant with signed photos of German veterans as only Harry could collect.
Right now, ongoing as we speak, our summer fundraising second quarter drive.
You know, you have a chance to get Hans George Hess's signature.
How did you acquire that, Harry?
You knew him well.
He was a friend of yours, but these are hand-signed photos that we're talking about that you saw him sign in his own hand.
Right.
And before I forget it, your listeners can send me an email, sharkhunters at sharkhunters.com.
Say you heard the show tonight, and I'll send you electronically the current issue of the magazine.
One of our members suggested that we do the prints.
Like right now, you've got the prints rather than just the photos.
And I asked so many of our veteran members if they would hand sign either 500 or 1,000 prints of, and I had the prints all made up, beautiful prints.
You can find them in our catalog, sharkhunters.com.
Go to shop and then art prints.
And unlike so many people who sell these prints, they send them over, get them signed, and have them sent back.
I took them over.
I sat there and watched every single signature go on every single print.
And some of it was really funny on another print that Eric Topp and Rolf Tomson were signing.
I'd put a block in front of Thompson.
He'd sign it.
I'd slide it to Top and he'd sign it.
And Top was going 100 miles an hour.
And we asked him, why?
What was the hurry?
He was 82.
His 22-year-old girlfriend was coming to the airport and he wanted to get there before she got lost.
And next thing I know, we got all done.
And instead of having the coffee and cake like you do in a German home, no, okay, you guys let yourself out.
We heard his white BMW go thundering down the road.
Me and Thompson are standing there.
What the hell?
And Thompson said, well, Herr Cooper, will you give me a ride to this train station, please?
I said, no, I will give you a ride to your front door.
And we were just still laughing about it.
And sharkhunters at sharkhunters.com.
That's us.
That's the email address, sharkhunters at sharkhunters.com.
Harry, more than any American alive today, got to know the German veterans of World War II.
He knew them as men and as brothers and as common men of the West and as Christians.
And I mean, Hans George has, which we're offering as a premium incentive to support the work of this radio program, thanks to Harry Cooper.
This is a man who took command of U995 in August of 44.
August of 44, folks, it was bleak.
Nine out of 10, U-boat were not coming back from their first mission.
He brought all of his men back.
Five successful war patrols.
He sunk five enemy vessels.
His signature, as Harry watched it be put on this print, is available to you if you support the work of this program.
And by extension, sharkhunters.com.
We're in league together.
Harry's kitchen as he signed them.
That's always a pleasure, James.
Always a pleasure.
Nobody has done it like you, my friend.
Nobody.
Thank you.
Nobody knew more about German veterans alive today than Harry Cooper at sharkhunters.com.
I was listening to Cracker Barrel of Google Curve.