Echo Valor Podcast
The Echo Valor Podcast is where courage meets storytelling. Hosted by David Burnell—a U.S. military veteran, special operations team leader, and rescue operator—the show dives into the real stories of those who serve in the shadows and on the front lines. With a high-threat security and humanitarian response background, David brings raw insight and deep respect to each episode. Through powerful interviews, battlefield reflections, and original tribute music, Echo Valor honors the warriors, medics, and rescuers who risk everything for others. This podcast is part of the greater mission at EchoValor.com—to preserve legacy, inspire courage, and give voice to those who carry the weight of valor.
Episodes
54 episodes
The Black Sands of Iwo Jima (Valor Forged in Fire)
In February 1945, 70,000 U.S. Marines landed on the island of Iwo Jima—an eight-square-mile fortress defended by over 20,000 entrenched Japanese soldiers. What followed was one of the most grueling and iconic battles in American military histor...
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5:01
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Greater Love - The Story of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart
In this episode of the Echo Valor Podcast, we tell the gripping true story of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart—two Delta Force snipers who gave their lives during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu to prote...
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6:43
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Built by Fire - The Life and Legacy of David Burnell (Complete Audiobook)
Built by Fire: The Life and Legacy of David Burnell is more than a book—it’s a raw, unfiltered journey through war zones, disaster sites, rescues, faith crises, and personal redemption. In this complete 5-hour, 36-minute MP3 audiobook...
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5:36:33
Built by Fire - Chapter 25 - Epilogue (Audiobook)
In Epilogue: Still Standing, Still Burning, Still Becoming, David Burnell closes Built by Fire not with an ending, but with a call to rise. This chapter is for those who have walked through flames, carrying scars that the worl...
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2:16
Built by Fire - Chapter 24 - What We Leave Behind (Audiobook)
What We Leave Behind is a call to reflect on the quiet legacy we build through sacrifice, service, and the scars we carry. In this final chapter, David Burnell shares how the fire that refines us also clarifies what truly matters: the people we...
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6:07
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Built by Fire - Chapter 23 - Lessons From The Fire (Audiobook)
Lessons From The Fire is a distilled collection of hard-won truths forged in the heat of missions, failures, victories, grief, and service. David Burnell shares what the flames taught him about courage, faith, brotherhood, family, and ...
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3:40
Built by Fire - Chapter 22 - Thy Will Be Done (Audiobook)
Thy Will Be Done is the chapter where the warrior’s fight shifts from external enemies to internal surrender, discovering the most powerful transformation of all: letting God use your life, scars, and mission for His purposes. It explo...
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5:35
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Built by Fire - Chapter 21 - Reforged in Faith and Purpose (Audiobook)
In Reforged in Faith and Purpose, David Burnell steps into the most difficult mission yet—facing the quiet, internal fires of loss, divorce, shame, and despair, and allowing Christ to rebuild what was broken. It is a raw, unfiltered lo...
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8:33
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Built by Fire - Chapter 20 - Ashes and Aftermath (Audiobook)
Ashes and Aftermath is a raw, honest chapter exploring the hidden costs of a life spent in service. While missions and rescues leave visible scars, the deepest wounds often remain unseen—paid in missed moments, quiet distance, and rela...
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15:37
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Built by Fire - Chapter 19 - Brotherhood and Bonds (Audiobook)
Brotherhood and Bonds explores one of the greatest treasures service can give: the unbreakable connections formed in the heat of shared trials. This chapter honors the men and women who stand beside us in storms, who carry our packs wh...
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4:30
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Built by Fire - Chapter 18 - The Cost of the Mission (Audiobook)
The Cost of the Mission reveals the quiet truths hidden behind the missions and medals—the unseen price service demands in missed birthdays, heavy hearts, and scars that don’t always show on X-rays. It tells the story of a moment that ...
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7:41
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Built by Fire - Chapter 17 - Whispers in the Jungle (Audiobook)
Whispers in the Jungle takes you into the shadows of Burma’s forgotten war, where a quiet mission of courage, faith, and service unfolded far from the world’s eyes. This chapter follows a journey with David Burnell and a Special Forces...
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12:38
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Built by Fire - Chapter 16 - Into the Green (Audiobook)
"Into the Green: The Rama Mission" takes you deep into the jungles of Nicaragua, where muddy rivers are roads and the thick canopy becomes both teacher and test. Following a call from fellow warriors Maddog, KUDA, and the legendary Shi...
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23:40
Built by Fire - Chapter 15 - Into the Wave (Audiobook)
Into the Wave takes you into the heart of Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami, where over 20,000 lives were lost in moments, and entire cities were swept into the sea.Driven by a vivid, prophetic dream, David Burnell traveled al...
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9:12
Built by Fire - Chapter 14 - In the Path of the Storm (Audiobook)
"In the Path of the Storm" takes you into the heart of Alabama’s deadliest tornado outbreak in modern history. Over four days in April 2011, a super outbreak of tornadoes devastated communities across the South, with Alabama bearing the brunt o...
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5:51
Built by Fire - Chapter 13 - Haiti’s Silent Cry (Audiobook)
When a 7.0 earthquake shattered Haiti, David Burnell deployed as Chief of Security for the Utah Hospital Task Force, charged with protecting over 120 doctors, nurses, and volunteers in a lawless, devastated nation. This chapter takes you into t...
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35:56
Built by Fire - Chapter 12 - Close Protection, Global Mission (Audiobook)
When the call came to step into the world’s most dangerous environments, it wasn’t about prestige—it was about purpose. This chapter takes you inside David Burnell’s transformation from a warrior and rescuer into a protector on the global stage...
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9:45
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Built by Fire - Chapter 11 - The Fire That Followed (Audiobook)
When the world is burning, the mission doesn’t end. In Built by Fire - Chapter 11: The Fire That Followed, David Burnell shares the story of running toward a burning building in Las Vegas, pulling people and pets to safety, and returni...
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5:50
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Built by Fire – Chapter 10 - The Urban Warfare Center (Audiobook)
In 2002, David Burnell founded the Urban Warfare Center, driven by a relentless mission to prepare warriors for the chaos of real combat. For a decade, this facility op...
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13:36
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Built by Fire – Chapter 9 - The Business of Becoming (Audiobook)
In Built by Fire – Chapter 9: The Business of Becoming, David Burnell shares how the journey from battlefields to boardrooms was never about chasing profit—it was about becoming the person God was calling him to be. From launching a wi...
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3:18
Built by Fire – Chapter 8 - That Others May Live (Audiobook)
In Chapter 8 of Built by Fire, “That Others May Live,” David Burnell shares his powerful journey into Search and Rescue—a chapter marked by cold waters, high-angle cliffs, quiet prayers, and the weight of carrying others home. From bec...
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37:30
Built by Fire – Chapter 7 - Forged in Uniform (Audiobook)
In Chapter 7 of Built by Fire, Step inside the hidden corridors of Cold War missions, frontline deployments, and the silent sacrifices made by those who serve in Forged in Uniform. This chapter chronicles David Burnell’s decad...
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1:04:20
Built by Fire – Chapter 6 - Formidable Experiences (Audiobook)
In Chapter 6 of Built by Fire, David Burnell shares the raw, formative experiences that shaped his mindset for survival, service, and standing ready when the world turns dangerous. Growing up in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles where c...
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28:17
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