GH Maurice Benard Hosts Josh Swickard’s 102-Year-Old Grandfather, A WWII Veteran

General Hospital (GH) fans were in for a treat on this Sunday’s State of Mind podcast because Maurice Benard hosted Josh Swickard’s 102-year-old grandfather, Art. Read on for some of the most interesting takeaways.

The Old Man Arrived With Josh

Maurice, best known for his role as Sonny Corinthos, and Josh Swickard (Harrison Chase) on the ABC daytime soap got together on his podcast a week ago. They chatted about anxiety, panic attacks, and the COVID pandemic.

Well, during their chat, Maurice told his followers that Grandpa Art would be joining the following week’s podcast. And he did, alongside Josh who accompanied him.

The podcast opened with an Instagram reel that showed the elderly man skiing on his one hundred and second birthday. Then, the real-life Sonny Corinthos told his viewers:

…he actually looks like he’s 70. And it’s unreal. It’s a miracle…it’s Josh’s grandfather…I’m bringing him in right now. His name is Art Stratton Brown.

The Early Years

After asking Art to tell him all about his younger years, the conversation with Josh Swickard’s dad got rather interesting. GH fans found out that he grew up in “Chicago.” He also said that his mom and dad and grandparents were wonderful folks.

Then, he related an incident when some bullies ripped up his “coloring book.” Well, he didn’t retaliate then. Instead, he became like the boss of a gang. He said, “So, I got a bunch of my first graders and friends in my area and I organized them into a gang and we would walk home as a gang. Nobody bothered us.”

Well, his version of being Joe Aiello didn’t last very long in Chicago, because they moved to Indiana. But, he always found strength as a leader, and he said that he never felt scared. However, he always found mutual protection in other gangs as he grew up. 

Discipline & Kids

Then, he talked about discipline.  Back in the day, if he misbehaved his mom would take him to his dad’s workplace where he’d be dealt a few wacks with “a belt.” When Maurice Benard asked if he felt bad about that, Art said that he felt very little.

Maurice Benard related how he talked to his dad about that sort of thing. And, he asked if Art ever hit his kids. Well, he never did. But for Maurice, he felt traumatized when his dad “whipped” him. However, Art agreed that beating kids was normal back in those days.

He said, “There were rules, and there were consequences.” With his own children, he would perhaps “ground them.” General Hospital fans also heard Art talk about “6 o’clock dinner” and that’s when they all had discussions.

But once, his daughter came home late for dinner, and asked for “a spanking,” because she didn’t want to be “grounded.” So, her mom gave her a few wacks, but his daughter was happy to escape grounding.

The Military Draft

Later, the conversation turned to Art Stratton Brown joining the military. He went straight into a combat training camp. Next, he told the ABC veteran, “saying goodbye was difficult. My mother took me down to the train station. And we got on the train and went to Rockford, the inductive place.”

Then he added, “And uh we were with a lot of other people on guys on the train. And I didn’t see people crying, but they were certainly hugging. Yeah. And I was I said to my mother, ‘Mother, I’m coming back.’ I remember saying that to her.”

Training & Faith

Next, he related how he trained for the war in languages and martial arts and bayonet work. At the time he was 19. But then he talked about how one night, he picked up a bible and read a verse. At the time, he didn’t get any instant feeling of being saved. But, later, when he got drafted, he never felt afraid.

He related, “I went through combat…[the] whole of my 20th year…I fought every day for four months in Italy from Anzio beach head and some really rough stuff.”

Next, Maurice Benard heard the old veteran talk about sneaking onto the beach and blowing up things. After that, ABC fans heard how he went to France but he lost his best friend there.

The Loss Of A Friend

Art described how the memory was vivid. They’d been following a tank destroyer and he recalled him and his friend reading mail. But suddenly, an anti-tank gun opened fire. He said, “Of course, we dive for the ditches.”

He described the chaos that followed, with his men moving up a hill and artillery shells exploding overhead. After two of his men were hit in the foot, he told them, “Come on, you’re fine,” and helped them to the road.

Running back, he spotted a medic and called out. Art said, “He just motioned come on.” Then a shot rang out. Seeing a culvert, he decided to use it for cover. He explained, “I start down the culvert to run up in the other side and I get shot.”

Art recounted the impact, saying, “The bullet from the sniper just slammed me against the wall of this ditch.” Finding no blood, he got out.

He made a startling discovery about twenty minutes later and said, “I discover it went through a can of pork and beans in my back. But I took all the pressure of that bullet in the pork and beans.” Still, sadly, he realized his friend was gone.

So Much More

There was so much more of interest during the podcast, that we can’t possibly fit it all in here. But you can watch the full interview below.

What are your thoughts? Did you know that Josh Swickard’s grandfather served in the war? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here for all your General Hospital news and updates.