1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,640 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:22,520 And now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 3 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:23,920 And welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,920 My name is Dale Throneberry and I'm really excited to have you here today. 5 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:34,640 You've got a kind of a mix and mash of programming that we're going to be presenting to you. 6 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:38,000 First off, we're going to be talking about a very dear friend of ours who recently passed 7 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,040 away and that is Guy Stern. 8 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,720 Guy passed away on December 7th at 101 years old. 9 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:48,040 And for those of you that are familiar with Veterans Radio, Guy was on our program a number 10 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:49,040 of times. 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,440 He was a participant in World War II. 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:59,040 He escaped the Holocaust, his family sent him out of Germany in 1935 and he came here 13 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:04,440 in America and ended up getting drafted. 14 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,720 That's kind of weird when you think about it. 15 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:11,520 But his story has been told and there's a film made about it called The Richie Boys 16 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,960 and I'll talk about that in just a second. 17 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:18,520 We're also going to be talking with Keith King of the NVBDC. 18 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,520 He's the CEO and kind of give us an update of what's going on there. 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,400 And then we're going to end the program with a short interview I just did recently with 20 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,400 a company called Leaf Home. 21 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:37,600 What Leaf Home does is they provide things like chairlifts and disabilities, safe bathrooms, 22 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,960 showers, and leaf guards, all kinds of different things. 23 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:46,240 But they have a program where they are giving away these in-home stairlifts. 24 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,880 So we're going to be talking with Nick Bussey on that in just a moment. 25 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:54,240 But first I want to make sure that we do thank all of our sponsors because we can't do this 26 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,920 program without them. 27 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,000 And first of all, we've got legal help for veterans. 28 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,720 Legal help for veterans specializes in veteran disability claims. 29 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:08,160 Give legal help for veterans a call at 800-69-34800. 30 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:13,080 The aforementioned National Veterans Business Development Council, better known as NVBDC, 31 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,240 the nation's leading third party authority for certification of veteran-owned businesses. 32 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:27,640 For more information, go to their website, NVBDC.org, or give them a call at 888-237-8433. 33 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:31,360 The Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center here in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 34 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,200 For more information, you can go to va.gov. 35 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,920 And Arbor Health Care. 36 00:02:37,920 --> 00:02:42,800 Also I can't forget our local veterans organizations for their longtime support of us. 37 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,400 The Irwin Prescorps and American Legion Post-46 and the Charles S. Kettles Vietnam Veterans 38 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:52,200 of America Chapter 310, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. 39 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:56,080 And of course, you, our listeners, we want to thank you so very, very much for your support 40 00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:01,160 over the last 20 years as we are coming up to the end of 2023. 41 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:02,520 And let's see, what have we done? 42 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:07,960 A little over a thousand programs, and we hope to get another thousand in there as we 43 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,640 continue into the future. 44 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:15,760 So if you'd like to support Veterans Radio, please just go to our website, veteransradio.org, 45 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:17,520 and click on the donate button. 46 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,280 We're kind of, you know, at the low end of your priority list, possibly. 47 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,880 But you know, $20 for 20 years. 48 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:26,360 That's all we're asking for right now. 49 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:31,200 Of course, you can feel free to donate more if you'd like to, but 20 bucks for 20 years, 50 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:32,200 please. 51 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:34,240 We do need your help on that. 52 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,480 So let me get right into this first interview. 53 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:42,840 Guy Stern, this was done in originally in 2021. 54 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:49,400 And we talked with Guy back in 2011, I think it was, as I mentioned before, he was part 55 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:50,400 of the Richie Boys. 56 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:56,760 And the Richie Boys were German immigrants who had been drafted and they ended up being 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,560 interpreters and interrogators back in Europe. 58 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:08,440 And so Guy went into World War II, went in on D-Day and finished out his thing there. 59 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:09,920 But this guy's got a great background. 60 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,040 I'll tell you here more about him, though. 61 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,760 So we're going to go right to that right now. 62 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:14,760 So here we are. 63 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:20,360 This is a, I had the opportunity to talk with Guy and here it is. 64 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:22,680 And my guest today is Guy Stern. 65 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,360 And let me talk to you a little bit about Guy's background. 66 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:31,560 During World War II, the United States formed an elite intelligence unit of mostly German 67 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,240 Jewish academics at Camp Richie in Maryland. 68 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:39,400 Their job was to devise ways to break the morale of the SS and the German troops that 69 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:40,760 were captured. 70 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,480 These men were also often credited with bringing an early end to the war. 71 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,400 And one of those heroes is joining us right now. 72 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:55,640 And that is Guy Stern, who is a distinguished professor emeritus of German literature and 73 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:57,920 cultural history at Wayne State University. 74 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:00,440 He is one of these Richie boys. 75 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:03,960 And we're very fortunate today to have him back on Veterans Radio. 76 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:06,120 So Guy, welcome back. 77 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:07,120 Thank you. 78 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,480 It's good to be back once more. 79 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:11,400 It's nice to have you again. 80 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:18,600 As I mentioned when we were talking earlier, that the Richie boys were this group of soldiers 81 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:23,520 and so forth that almost all of them were from Europe at one point or another. 82 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:28,440 You mentioned earlier that some of them were also Americans that were fluent in German 83 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:30,200 and other languages. 84 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:36,520 How did you get involved with them and how did you get to America in the first place? 85 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:37,880 Okay. 86 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:48,840 My parents, seeing the growing restrictions and she cancery against Jews in Germany knew 87 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,520 that we had to get out of there. 88 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,760 When did you arrive in the United States? 89 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:59,720 I arrived in 1937. 90 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,520 And you were how old at that time? 91 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:04,520 I was 15 years old. 92 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:05,520 Okay. 93 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:07,400 So we've got you here now. 94 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:12,800 And you continued living in the States and you graduated high school in St. Louis, Missouri. 95 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:14,520 Is that correct? 96 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:15,520 That is correct. 97 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,600 And then entered St. Louis University. 98 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:26,680 Okay, and while you were at St. Louis University, the war broke out Pearl Harbor and you decided 99 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:28,000 to go down and enlist. 100 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,000 How did that go? 101 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,000 Yes. 102 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:41,880 The first step was I tried to enroll in naval intelligence, which was trying to recruit 103 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:54,520 people proficient in the language of our enemies and they found me competent, but they also 104 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:56,800 deficient in one quality. 105 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,040 I was not a native born American. 106 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,720 My accent betrayed me. 107 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:10,920 So they said, no, we can't take you because we only take American born soldiers. 108 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:20,080 And then, however, the draft came and they apparently were less choosy and let me in. 109 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:21,080 But it wasn't the Navy. 110 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:22,560 It was the Army, wasn't it? 111 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:23,560 It wasn't. 112 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:24,840 It was the Army. 113 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:29,680 But when you got drafted into the Army, you went through your basic training and the next 114 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,840 thing you know, you're on your way to some special place. 115 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,000 Where was that special place? 116 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:36,200 Yes. 117 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:45,880 I got my basic training at Camp Barkley, Texas, and then was transferred on orders that I 118 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:52,920 could not open immediately as Lieutenant told me. 119 00:07:52,920 --> 00:08:03,720 But I found out quick enough I was headed for the military intelligence M-I-T-C training 120 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:18,440 camp and that started me on my career as a interrogator and interpreter of German written 121 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:24,400 material or printed material that I was able to get a hold of. 122 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:28,280 Well, one of the things that I learned about the Richie Boys for our listening audience 123 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,080 is a great documentary out there called The Richie Boys. 124 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,600 You can find it on YouTube and other places. 125 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:40,320 And Guy was a participant in that along with a number of his other buddies. 126 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:44,680 It's really a nice way of telling your story. 127 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:50,040 And the training was very intense there at Camp Richie. 128 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:56,320 And you were actually, they called it, you guys kind of renamed it to military Institute 129 00:08:56,320 --> 00:08:58,840 of Total Confusion. 130 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:00,840 That is correct. 131 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:02,720 We had a sense of humor. 132 00:09:02,720 --> 00:09:03,720 That is true. 133 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:07,920 So can you tell me a little bit about what your training involved? 134 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:09,280 Yes. 135 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:24,520 It was every aspect of intelligence work, ranging from the Morse code to reading aerial maps, 136 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:38,200 drawing maps on very limited, confined to limited territory and learning some of the methods 137 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:47,400 of interrogating, of methods of looking for hints that appeared, say, by some chance, 138 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:57,920 got through the censor in German newspapers and to be very watchful for information that 139 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:06,400 would be of strategic or tactical value to our armed forces. 140 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:19,600 I was eventually put in charge of answering all the various increase that came from units 141 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:28,760 from the quartermaster to the medics to the artillery who wanted to have certain specified 142 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:30,400 information. 143 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,640 And it was our job. 144 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:43,920 I was, in fact, the head of the survey section, and we gathered all the information we could. 145 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:55,520 And as I found out later, by from an American historian of American intelligence, that more 146 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:06,360 than 60% of the valuable information needed for warfare came from the Ritchie boys. 147 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,240 We were decorated as a unit for that. 148 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,680 And yes, it was a good fight. 149 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:15,240 It was a good fight. 150 00:11:15,240 --> 00:11:25,320 So after you were at Camp Ritchie and you were deployed, is the term, and ended up landing 151 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:29,800 on French soil at Normandy three days post initial invasion? 152 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:30,800 Is that correct? 153 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:31,800 That is correct. 154 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:43,840 Three days after, but of course we hadn't established more than a beachhead at that time. 155 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,560 How would you describe your feelings when you landed on Normandy? 156 00:11:48,560 --> 00:12:02,400 Yes, the feelings as we were going on a PT boat were in our jeep that we had waterproofed 157 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:12,280 was as everybody else, whatever unit you belong to, we had fears and anxieties. 158 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:13,760 And so did I. 159 00:12:13,760 --> 00:12:21,800 But in my case, two other anxieties came to the fore. 160 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:31,240 And one of them was that as a Jew, if captured, I did not think it would be a rosy future 161 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:34,880 for me in German captivity. 162 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:45,920 And the second private concern I had is that I was squeamish. 163 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:55,160 So if, let's say my mother cut her hand and when she was preparing a meal, I had to run 164 00:12:55,160 --> 00:13:00,920 out of there because the side of blood really bothered me. 165 00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:10,320 And so I thought that's not a good career, a characteristic coming ashore in on the bloody 166 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,160 shores of Normandy. 167 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:24,360 And but much to my surprise, the moment I set my foot on shore and saw some of the vestiges 168 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:29,280 of soldiers killed in battle. 169 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:35,280 I this whole concern went out the window. 170 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:37,360 And you got to you got to work right away. 171 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,280 Didn't you you mentioned that as soon as you hit the beach, somebody needed you to try 172 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:45,040 to interrogate somebody. 173 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:47,120 That is correct. 174 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:57,240 As I got ashore, I heard a familiar voice, one of our fellow soldiers who had arrived 175 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:06,240 in interrogate or where it arrived one or two days earlier than me shouted at me, Hey, 176 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:13,120 stern, get the heck over here, because we have too many prisoners. 177 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:14,600 I'm swamped. 178 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,880 I ran over there. 179 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:26,200 And a few minutes later, I was confronted by a German battle hardened artillery soldier 180 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:29,080 for my first interrogation. 181 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,480 I can only imagine how that felt. 182 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:36,440 Well, you know, the military, all your training kicks in, doesn't it? 183 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,840 Yes, all the training fell into place. 184 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:48,000 Camp Richie had superbly prepared us for what our assignment continued to be for the rest 185 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,000 of the war. 186 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,960 And when we're talking here with with guy Stern, who was one of the Richie boys and 187 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,400 he was sent back to Europe, he's originally from Germany, and he was sent back during 188 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,800 World War Two to act as an interrogator for captured German POWs. 189 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:09,160 So my question, I guess, is how long did you how long did it take you to get across France 190 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:15,640 or, you know, in back into Germany this June of 1944? 191 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,240 When did you finally get to Germany? 192 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:27,160 Well, I can pinpoint that, but any history book can tell us how we advanced through the 193 00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:41,840 battle of Falaise-Argonton in France, how we went on through Belgium, finally got to 194 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:55,720 Germany, and that must have been maybe I can't specify, but it was quickly, it wasn't quickly. 195 00:15:55,720 --> 00:16:07,000 So it was, and then we ended up in the setback by the Battle of the Bulge, the German counter 196 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:21,640 attack also, we had to retreat after that temporary defeat until our air force prevented 197 00:16:21,640 --> 00:16:29,840 before by bad weather could help us and mash the German advances. 198 00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:32,440 Yeah, and then you ended up back in Germany. 199 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:39,280 There is one story that you are well known for, and that is you're pretending to be a 200 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,160 Russian commissar. 201 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:47,000 And can you tell me how that came about and why would the Germans be afraid of you? 202 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:58,280 Yes, that's exactly was the premise that we could scare them in interrogation, which 203 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:08,240 otherwise they would see right through that we were trying to get vital information for 204 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:17,160 the air force on landmarks for targets on the movement of say one factory to another 205 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:25,440 place where we needed to locate it or the air force asked, we are not quite sure whether 206 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,120 we knocked out this factory completely. 207 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:35,240 Can you get some inside information from the prisoner? 208 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:40,040 So that all fell into place. 209 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:54,320 And I think the only real obstacle we had is when we used our various deceptive devices 210 00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:04,440 to get information on ordinary questions that we asked, we could disguise the questions 211 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:13,800 so that the Germans would still would be tricked into answer giving away valuable information. 212 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:22,960 On the other hand, when we asked about stuff for the air force, an assignment that fell 213 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:31,800 to my friend Fred Howard, then the Germans could write through the sea through it. 214 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:41,520 Because why would you ask for landmarks to an optic factory or whether a factory had 215 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:54,720 real connections to the main system of tracks and they knew immediately we asked that for 216 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,280 the purpose of bombing them. 217 00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:10,960 So they refused answering until we found a method of scaring them into answering. 218 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:23,200 And that was that we had known through the war that the Germans were deathly afraid of 219 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:31,240 being confined in a Russian pre-W camp because there were memories that they had of having 220 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:43,400 been rather brutal while attacking the Soviet Union. And so we found a way to exploit that 221 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:44,760 fear. 222 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:51,880 I after several we discussed all sorts of possibilities. 223 00:19:51,880 --> 00:20:10,280 And then I disguised myself as a Russian commissar and my tent was was identified as that of 224 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:18,080 commissar Krukov, liaison officer that sign was in three languages. 225 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:29,040 And inside the tent, the Fred brought every prison there was a picture, an autographed 226 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:36,280 to commissar Krukov by comrade Stalin. 227 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,600 And some of them saw that. 228 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:50,000 So they really believed or many believed, in fact, most believed that we were able to 229 00:20:50,000 --> 00:21:00,240 get a Russian there and that he would take them and ship them to the salt mines in Russia. 230 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:09,720 And that scared them or many of them sufficiently to give us even the information about your 231 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:14,040 first targets about landmarks and the like. 232 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:19,520 Well, you had you had to disguise yourself as this Russian commissar. 233 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:24,320 And the story of how you came up with your accent I found is interesting. 234 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:26,320 How did you do that? 235 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:38,320 Because that was my first of all my my I exchanged my GI uniform for those purposes by a Russian 236 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:46,320 uniform parts that came up in a fantasmagoric uniform. 237 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:55,960 And we exchanged that with Russian prisoners or liberated prisoners who got in exchange 238 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,960 some of our discard clothes. 239 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:10,760 And I put medals around that uniform that we took away from from memorabilia that the 240 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:19,680 Germans had hunted down and now had brought as trophies to them. 241 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:28,720 And so I was a medal behind soldier for the Russian cause. 242 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:39,520 And then the accent about which you asked that was a curious coincidence. 243 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:48,760 Every Sunday my aunt and uncle and I and their son and son and his occasional daughter listened 244 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:55,800 to a radio program by Eddie Cantor. 245 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:06,520 And he had a had a minor role for one of his actors who played the mad Russian and he had 246 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:12,840 found a way of suggesting a Russian accent in his English. 247 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:22,000 I did the same imitating him and put it into my German when interrogating the hapless 248 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,600 German who came to my attention. 249 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,080 I am sure that you scared them witless. 250 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:32,920 Let's put it that way. 251 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:46,160 The moment they came into my tent I was absolutely charging with anger at the particular prisoner 252 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:51,480 for any reason that I could find and that scared them even more. 253 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:59,600 And that's a new was a way we broke those prisoners frequently as well. 254 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:00,600 Not all of them. 255 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:06,120 But I want to point out to our audience that you mentioned that the the Richie boys always 256 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:07,920 adhere to the Geneva Convention. 257 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:13,240 You never touched a prisoner, never hit one or anything along those lines. 258 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:21,200 Yes we did not touch that was one of the first items of training at Camp Richie. 259 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,000 We have a convention. 260 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:32,920 They said we have a treaty among nations called the Geneva Convention that you can use pressure 261 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:42,720 but no ever corporal corporal real touching them or doing physical violence. 262 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:48,920 Okay and it's nice to know that we at least we adhere to that most of the time. 263 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,600 I think that's important. 264 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:58,800 When you were in Germany and the war finally ended were you able to go back to your hometown? 265 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:07,920 Yes I got special permission from my superior officer to go in my to my hometown in the 266 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,360 north of Germany. 267 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:19,720 And the reason he had to get clearance for that northern Germany or big parts of it were 268 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,840 under British occupation. 269 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:30,200 And so we got permission from the commandant in my particular city. 270 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:37,640 And so if a buddy of mine and I he had also relatives in northern Germany. 271 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:51,400 We could drive to Kildesheim and thereby I could go there and make inquiries about my 272 00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:58,040 parents who unfortunately were lost in the Holocaust. 273 00:25:58,040 --> 00:25:59,040 That is correct. 274 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:06,200 That's correct and that's kind of the the transition I wanted to go to is that the remainder 275 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,640 of our program today is going to be about the Holocaust Memorial here in Michigan and 276 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:15,600 I know that you are involved in it and I wanted you to tell our audience a little bit why 277 00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:20,720 that particular organization is so important to you. 278 00:26:20,720 --> 00:26:35,640 It is important to me because I admire the people who actually survived the camps even 279 00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:45,160 the designated death camps and I admired them and I thought if I did any civic voluntary 280 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:59,960 service I could help and the Rabbi our founding Rabbi Rabbi Rosenzweig asked me to yes he 281 00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:06,000 could use me first as liaison to universities. 282 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:23,240 I coming out of the war I continued my education and he then I got into various roles at his 283 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:35,440 early unfortunately early death I was put in as temporary director of the Holocaust Museum. 284 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:47,400 I've served in various capacities currently I have been assigned a very satisfying piece 285 00:27:47,400 --> 00:28:00,600 of work and that is the so-called Institute of the Righteous which put differently is 286 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:11,840 both the spread of altruism the service to others who was to strangers as an ideal and 287 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:20,920 implanted in high schools as a worthwhile cause and secondly to find out what prompts 288 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:32,520 people to do this heroic and dangerous service helping the suppressed in despite orders from 289 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,080 the Nazi powers. 290 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,520 And I know that you're involved with the educational program that you mentioned when 291 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:47,640 we talked before about putting the Holocaust into the curriculum in all of Michigan's public 292 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:48,640 schools. 293 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:59,880 Yes I said that not about myself so much no not at all in at the moment but rather we 294 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:06,160 were given a very important assignment we meaning the Holocaust the staff of the Holocaust 295 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:23,240 Museum because about a year nine months ago the law was passed that Holocaust education 296 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:33,800 became compulsory in Michigan high schools and so we needed so Michigan needed new staff 297 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:44,680 or staff proficient in other disciplines but had to acquire the additional skill of being 298 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:52,240 proficient in teaching Holocaust history and service. 299 00:29:52,240 --> 00:30:05,800 So that keeps me still connected and employed by the Holocaust Museum it also keeps me in 300 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:14,120 keeps my wife and me in bagels. 301 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:25,520 So I'm still an employee at a fairly advanced age of a highly respected organization. 302 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:30,400 Well you certainly are and Geistern I want to thank you very much for your patience and 303 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:36,600 for being on Veterans Radio again today and I want to make sure that you and your wife 304 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:42,400 stay safe and take care of yourselves I mean you're only 99 years young there's plenty 305 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,640 more to go right. 306 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:54,000 That's highly optimistic but what I still want to say is that the Holocaust Museum is 307 00:30:54,000 --> 00:31:06,600 open again and has showed us that additional responsibility beyond being showing our exhibits 308 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:16,760 and thereby help meet or for informing the public what happened in the Holocaust. 309 00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:30,400 We have a website and the anybody who wants to contact us and bring anybody with him or 310 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:44,280 himself that is important taking parts in our rounds of leadership by our docents who 311 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:54,520 take the people through the museum inform them and we are only too happy to serve as 312 00:31:54,520 --> 00:32:05,160 that purpose and just call us and I'll be happy to help anybody who came as a result 313 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:06,720 of your fine program. 314 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:13,760 Okay well thank you very much Guy again and we've been talking with Geistern of the Holocaust 315 00:32:13,760 --> 00:32:20,400 Museum here in Michigan and also his history and his story with the Richie Boys German immigrants 316 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,720 who ended up going back to Germany during World War II to act as interrogators again 317 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:31,200 I encourage you to go to watch their documentary on the Richie Boys there's also a number of 318 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:36,520 books out there about the Richie Boys I think you'll find them to be great stories about 319 00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:41,960 great men and women in the service of their country so Guy thank you very much and we'll 320 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:45,640 be in touch again hopefully in the near future. 321 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:47,080 Thank you for having me. 322 00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:48,080 Thanks again. 323 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:55,000 That interview was with Guy Stern from February of 2021 kind of sad and kind of ironic really 324 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:01,320 when you think about it that Guy was 101 years old and died on December 7th kind of appropriate 325 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:02,320 don't you think? 326 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:08,040 Well he is a true American and he will be missed by so many. 327 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,960 The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in combat given a member of the armed 328 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:13,800 forces of the United States. 329 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:18,680 There have been over 3400 recipients of the nation's highest award. 330 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:20,000 This is one of them. 331 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,640 Walter Ellers of his brother were in the first wave to hit Omaha Beach on D-Day. 332 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:27,760 Details after this. 333 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,640 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals contact legal help for 334 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:35,880 veterans at 1-800-693-4800. 335 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,880 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 336 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:43,960 Your number again 1-800-693-4800. 337 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:47,880 Staff Sergeant Ellers' brother was several hundred yards away on the beach and they didn't 338 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:48,880 see each other. 339 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:54,180 Ellers' unit ran into a decimated unit of Bangalore torpedo men and provided cover 340 00:33:54,180 --> 00:33:59,040 for them as they used their explosives to blow a hole in the German fortifications. 341 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:01,280 This allowed an American break out. 342 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:05,240 On June 9th, Ellers' platoon came under heavy fire. 343 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,080 He climbed a hedge row and called his men to follow. 344 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,680 He spotted a German patrol and killed four of the enemy. 345 00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:17,280 Ordering his men to fix bayonets and firing from his hip, he destroyed a machine gun nest. 346 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,160 He then attacked a second machine gun, killing three more. 347 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:25,680 The platoon moved out the next morning and came under intense fire from both sides. 348 00:34:25,680 --> 00:34:28,360 The commander ordered a withdrawal. 349 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,560 Ellers realized that someone had to provide cover. 350 00:34:31,560 --> 00:34:36,280 He motioned his automatic rifleman to follow him, scrambled to the top of a mound of earth 351 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,720 that provided a vantage point. 352 00:34:38,720 --> 00:34:43,400 They began firing on the Germans, drawing fire away from the rest of the platoon. 353 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:47,600 Ellers was hit in the back, but was able to kill the sniper that shot him. 354 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:51,840 When his rifleman was wounded, Ellers dragged him to safety. 355 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:56,440 Ellers was treated at a field station and insisted on returning to action. 356 00:34:56,440 --> 00:35:01,320 Unable to strap on a backpack, he strapped on two bandoliers of ammunition, picked up 357 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:04,520 a rifle, and went to find his men. 358 00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:09,560 A month later, he was informed that his brother was killed on Omaha Beach. 359 00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:15,000 Ellers was presented the Medal of Honor by Lieutenant General John Lee on December 19, 360 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,000 1944. 361 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:22,400 The Medal of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio. 362 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,960 This message is from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 363 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:31,120 If you were exposed to toxic substances in the military, a new law called the PACT Act 364 00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:34,560 may make you eligible for extra benefits and care. 365 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:40,760 The PACT Act benefits veterans of the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-911 eros. 366 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,120 Learn more at va.gov. 367 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:58,640 Call 1-800-MY-VA-411. 368 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:05,520 Coming up next is Jim Faustone's interview with NVVDC's founder and CEO, Keith King. 369 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,240 Here we go. 370 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:08,240 Welcome. 371 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:13,240 I am Jim Faustone, and this is a Veterans Radio spotlight on the National Veteran Business 372 00:36:13,240 --> 00:36:18,240 Development Council, commonly known as NVVDC.org. 373 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:24,000 We have the opportunity today to talk to its CEO and founder, Keith King, about NVVDC, which 374 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:29,320 is the nation's leading third-party authority for certification of veteran-owned businesses, 375 00:36:29,320 --> 00:36:30,520 really of all sizes. 376 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,000 This nonprofit started in 2013. 377 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:39,040 We're going to talk about some of the really amazing things that NVVDC has been able to 378 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:46,240 do here in 2023, validating what's been going on in this space. 379 00:36:46,240 --> 00:36:49,000 Keith, welcome back to Veterans Radio. 380 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:50,680 Thank you, Jim. 381 00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:52,640 It's good to be back. 382 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,320 Well, yeah, exactly. 383 00:36:54,320 --> 00:37:02,500 You're coming off a great 2023 year with a couple of national events, one down in Louisville 384 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:05,840 in particular. 385 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:13,280 Talk about some of the cool things that you're able to do now with your NVVDC team and the 386 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:18,680 certified veteran-owned businesses and folks who are helping out. 387 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,880 One of the companies everybody knows. 388 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:28,960 Well, that company is, of course, one of our corporate supporters and what we call corporate 389 00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:29,960 members. 390 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:37,280 We're talking about Denny's, in the sense of Denny's restaurants. 391 00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:43,320 As the event was coming up, we were talking to them and we started brainstorming because 392 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:50,520 I laugh about it, but they asked me if I knew that they had a food truck. 393 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:55,280 Now, when somebody says food truck, I'm thinking one of these little food trucks. 394 00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:56,800 Tacos and burgers, yeah. 395 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:59,800 Yeah, I mean, come on, big deal, really seriously. 396 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,600 And he goes, no, no, no. 397 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:04,320 We have an 18-wheeler. 398 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:11,720 We have a five-star restaurant inside the, I went, what? 399 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:17,880 In other words, the more we talked about it, it became a situation in which we were in 400 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:18,880 Louisville. 401 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:27,160 And just a little bit south of Louisville is a place that I knew very well back in 1969 402 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,520 because I did basic training at Fort Knox. 403 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:36,840 Anyways, General Miller reached out to the commanding officer down there and said, hey, 404 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:45,080 we can bring in Denny's, we hate to keep calling it a food truck, so we'll call it the 405 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:46,080 trailer. 406 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:53,840 We're going to bring in Denny's and serve the family's breakfast. 407 00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:56,920 And they said, oh, we would love that. 408 00:38:56,920 --> 00:39:04,600 And I got to tell you, anyone who's ever been in a restaurant, anybody who's ever seen 409 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:12,760 food being produced, I mean, those live on the spot cooking and they would cook it, pack 410 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:17,200 it into a go box and then hand it out. 411 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:21,480 We set it up to where it was like a drive-through. 412 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:29,640 But the people from that base, Fort Knox has kind of been turned into an education center. 413 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,600 And so we literally had people from all over the country. 414 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:37,680 We had people from all the different branches of the military. 415 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:39,440 And the news had spread. 416 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:44,200 And then, of course, once we started serving and people got the food, then the word really 417 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:56,840 spread because we ended up serving 975 meals to the active duty military on that base and 418 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,000 their children and their families. 419 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,240 And I mean, it was just such a great day. 420 00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:07,400 It was just to walk and see the impact of that. 421 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,640 And Denny's had enough. 422 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:16,600 They had 200 people extra that we wouldn't deliver down to the Red Cross who immediately 423 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:18,200 started putting those to use. 424 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:24,000 So it was something that when we talk about the military, we talk about our vets, we start 425 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,400 talking about military families. 426 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:32,640 We had a chance to not only do that firsthand and see that. 427 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:41,600 It was a very heartwarming, very sophisticated program in the sense of how it was all handled. 428 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:48,160 And I got to tell you, we were looking forward to working with Denny's in our next national 429 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:49,160 event. 430 00:40:49,160 --> 00:40:58,720 And this is the kind of things that we hope that people understand that, yes, we certify 431 00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,920 veteran-owned businesses and they're disabled veteran-owned businesses. 432 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:13,440 But the impact of what we do and, frankly, what our corporations are now willing to do 433 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:15,640 with us and the ideas we share. 434 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:24,000 All I can tell you is that was one of the best days for us in to be able to sit back 435 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,160 and say, hey, thank you to a corporate partner and they did an outstanding job. 436 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:30,160 Absolutely. 437 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:36,800 And it's just really inspiring to see the results of this kind of networking. 438 00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:42,440 It's the networking between, which is what NVBDC is so good at while it is a certifying 439 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:48,680 company entity, what it's really good at in my opinion is this networking you do with 440 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:57,480 your 175 corporate members and your over 2,000 certified veteran-owned businesses. 441 00:41:57,480 --> 00:42:05,400 And it's that result, which is, hey Denny's, would you like to feed a bunch of military 442 00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:12,000 service members and their families down by Fort Knox and you get them to say yes and 443 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:18,480 they show up with the semi-trailer full of sausage, hash browns and eggs for breakfast. 444 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:23,280 It's really, and I think there's a, I want your reaction to this. 445 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:28,760 My sense is there are a lot of companies out there who want to do more than just say, 446 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:30,280 thank you for your service. 447 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:35,880 And this is a good example of Denny saying, hey, we want to do more than just lip service. 448 00:42:35,880 --> 00:42:38,760 We want to actually help people. 449 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:44,720 And is it your sense there's a lot of corporations out there who want to do more than just give 450 00:42:44,720 --> 00:42:45,720 lip service? 451 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:52,160 Yeah, one of the things that, you know, we don't get a chance to talk about very often 452 00:42:52,160 --> 00:43:00,920 is the employee resources groups at these corporations, which really is the veterans, 453 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:05,200 if you will, that were hired as employees. 454 00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:11,120 And these, what they call employee resource groups, they pull all their veterans together. 455 00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:17,320 And one of the things that we have been offering now for several years is for either myself 456 00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:22,320 or General Miller to come in and sit down and talk to these groups about what are they 457 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:24,440 actually doing? 458 00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:31,360 And can we plug in, use our networking experience to their efforts? 459 00:43:31,360 --> 00:43:39,280 And I tell the story of we did this with one of the corporate resources groups, and there 460 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:47,680 were three homeless programs in their headquarters area. 461 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:53,840 And we introduced them to one of the houses that really kind of needed a lot of repair 462 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:54,840 work. 463 00:43:54,840 --> 00:43:58,720 And, you know, when I was talking to them, I just asked them, hey, anybody knows how 464 00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:01,040 to swing a hammer? 465 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:02,040 And they went, what? 466 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:05,200 I said, anybody know how to do a paintbrush? 467 00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,600 You know, how about anybody know how to do a roof? 468 00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:13,160 And you know, these guys said, oh my God, we're going to want to meet these people who 469 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:14,160 have been on talk to them. 470 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:15,160 They did. 471 00:44:15,160 --> 00:44:20,400 And I call them about six months later, and all of a sudden that house became their house. 472 00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:21,800 And I went, what? 473 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:24,160 Oh yeah, we don't let anybody touch our house. 474 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:25,160 What do you mean? 475 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:26,160 Yeah, they're invested. 476 00:44:26,160 --> 00:44:28,280 They get invested in it. 477 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:29,280 Absolutely. 478 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:35,520 And that's where the networking is so important, which is what NVBDC does so well. 479 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:41,160 And we're talking to Keith King, who is the CEO and founder of NVBDC. 480 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:43,360 You can find it at NVBDC.org. 481 00:44:43,360 --> 00:44:44,360 Right. 482 00:44:44,360 --> 00:44:45,360 Here we are. 483 00:44:45,360 --> 00:44:47,120 We're back here on Veterans Radio. 484 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:51,080 And you know, we've all heard stories about toys for tots and clothes for veterans and 485 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,240 homeless veterans and so forth. 486 00:44:53,240 --> 00:44:57,280 But I got an email the other day about an organization that helps veterans to stay in 487 00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:58,680 their homes. 488 00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:00,600 And the organization is called Leap Home. 489 00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:06,240 And what they do is they provide in-home stair lifts so that veterans our ages can get 490 00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:07,640 from one floor to another. 491 00:45:07,640 --> 00:45:09,840 And I just thought this was so cool. 492 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,560 So we've got Nick Bussey on. 493 00:45:12,560 --> 00:45:16,240 He is the military engagement manager at Leap Homes. 494 00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:18,360 He's also a US Army veteran. 495 00:45:18,360 --> 00:45:20,840 And welcome to Veterans Radio, Nick. 496 00:45:20,840 --> 00:45:21,960 Thank you, Dale. 497 00:45:21,960 --> 00:45:22,960 Thanks for having me. 498 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:23,960 Okay. 499 00:45:23,960 --> 00:45:29,840 Tell me about this giveaway, basically, that you had for these in-home stair lifts. 500 00:45:29,840 --> 00:45:30,840 Yeah. 501 00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:34,040 This, in particular, means a lot to me. 502 00:45:34,040 --> 00:45:39,560 Being a veteran myself, but also having a lot of veteran friends and people I know within 503 00:45:39,560 --> 00:45:44,240 my city who are struggling with mobile issues through service and war. 504 00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:48,680 And what we really wanted to do is, you know, Leap Home, we're very well aligned when it 505 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:52,280 comes to safety and home improvement. 506 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:57,720 And we have a company, Leap Home Safety Solutions, that is dedicated to enhancing home accessibility 507 00:45:57,720 --> 00:46:01,840 and safety with stair lifts, walk-in tubs, and showers. 508 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:05,080 And you know, we said, you know, what this installing stair lift systems for our veterans 509 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:10,480 really does align with our commitment to supporting those who have served our country, ensuring 510 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:14,280 that they can maintain independence and mobility at home. 511 00:46:14,280 --> 00:46:18,920 And it's honestly a tangible way to express gratitude and enhance the quality of life for 512 00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:22,440 those who have sacrificed for our nation. 513 00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:26,160 So this is when we started to do our stair lift giveaway. 514 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,200 And we started it last year. 515 00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:35,840 We've had, I think, 700% increase of people who decided they wanted to opt into this. 516 00:46:35,840 --> 00:46:40,200 So 286 entries and 13 winners across 17 markets. 517 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:45,360 And we were able to run this program and offer a free stair lift system, including installation 518 00:46:45,360 --> 00:46:49,960 into these veterans' homes so they can live a better and mobile life. 519 00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:50,960 I think that's cool. 520 00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:55,640 I've got so many, unfortunately, I have so many veteran friends now who are not quite 521 00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:57,920 as mobile as we used to be. 522 00:46:57,920 --> 00:46:59,480 And they want to stay in their homes. 523 00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:06,120 And many of us live in two-story homes and everything is upstairs or downstairs. 524 00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:08,800 And you want to be able to get around. 525 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:13,760 So if I wanted to do this, how do I get involved? 526 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:17,760 I know we can't do it for this year, but how would I register and get involved with this 527 00:47:17,760 --> 00:47:19,920 program for next year, possibly? 528 00:47:19,920 --> 00:47:21,480 Yeah, absolutely. 529 00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:26,840 Every year that we create a certain timeframe for us to go ahead and get this ready and 530 00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:28,160 put out to the public. 531 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:34,160 And we publish this to all over different social media platforms, Facebook, LinkedIn. 532 00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:39,360 I believe X, which used to be considered Twitter, and we spread the word across the country 533 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:41,240 digitally. 534 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:46,840 And so if you come across our ad when it comes to doing the sterile system in 2024, all you 535 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:50,040 have to do is click the link and fill out the form. 536 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:53,840 Consider yourself a candidate from there and we will pick random winners and take care 537 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:55,480 of you if you were one of those winners. 538 00:47:55,480 --> 00:47:56,920 So it just kind of comes out of a hat. 539 00:47:56,920 --> 00:48:02,920 So can I just go to leave home and is there a link in there for that? 540 00:48:02,920 --> 00:48:03,920 Right, absolutely. 541 00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:06,280 We just can go leave home. 542 00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:09,000 And there's various different information about the company and the verticals we have 543 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:10,000 within the company. 544 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:13,880 But there will be an available link for that when the time comes next year and we'll make 545 00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:16,480 sure that we market out to all of our veterans. 546 00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:20,400 So they have the chance to be able to go in there and put their name in for 2024. 547 00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:22,640 I think that's great. 548 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:25,440 We're talking with Nick Bussey here. 549 00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,080 I wanted to also talk a little bit about the company itself. 550 00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:35,920 I mean, I know that this is a great prize, I guess, that some of us can get around our 551 00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:36,920 homes. 552 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:38,640 But tell me a little bit more about leave home. 553 00:48:38,640 --> 00:48:40,640 It seems like you're very veteran oriented. 554 00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:44,360 It seems like you have a number of veteran employees and so forth. 555 00:48:44,360 --> 00:48:50,240 Yes, leave home is actually considered and no pun intended is home for me. 556 00:48:50,240 --> 00:48:51,800 I was a veteran myself. 557 00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:54,920 I was transitioning out of the military in 2019. 558 00:48:54,920 --> 00:49:00,640 And this is when I found leave home and leave home as a brand is the nation's largest direct 559 00:49:00,640 --> 00:49:03,440 to consumer home improvement company. 560 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:08,400 And I like to tell a lot of my veteran friends and probably your audience to describe how 561 00:49:08,400 --> 00:49:10,760 leave home is. 562 00:49:10,760 --> 00:49:12,960 Think of leave home as the brigade. 563 00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:17,200 It is the parent company of multiple different home improvement companies. 564 00:49:17,200 --> 00:49:18,560 Leave home is the brigade. 565 00:49:18,560 --> 00:49:21,520 And what to say we have four battalions. 566 00:49:21,520 --> 00:49:25,240 Leave home safety solutions, which is dedicated to enhancing the home accessibility and safety 567 00:49:25,240 --> 00:49:29,560 with stair lift systems and walk in tubs and showers. 568 00:49:29,560 --> 00:49:31,360 We have leave home enhancements. 569 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:36,280 We have leave filter, which you may know is a very great gutter system that we offer to 570 00:49:36,280 --> 00:49:37,280 our nation. 571 00:49:37,280 --> 00:49:43,040 And of course, we have leave home water solutions, which works on our water systems within the 572 00:49:43,040 --> 00:49:44,320 homes. 573 00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:50,840 And so this is a large company that does everything around the house, every core inside and out. 574 00:49:50,840 --> 00:49:55,440 But what's most important about leave home to me personally is a company that's about 575 00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:58,640 its people and definitely its veterans. 576 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:05,040 And so since 2020, when we started to build our veteran initiative to bring in a veteran 577 00:50:05,040 --> 00:50:09,480 center, build a community, a community, a community, and of course, programs to bring 578 00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:15,520 veterans from the military into the company, we've have seen, I believe, a large increase 579 00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:20,960 into our employees who are now veterans to include, I think, 5% of our company now are 580 00:50:20,960 --> 00:50:21,960 veterans. 581 00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:24,040 And we didn't have many at the first place. 582 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:25,040 It's a great company. 583 00:50:25,040 --> 00:50:27,120 It does a lot for veterans. 584 00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:30,400 Philanthropy is one of our main objectives. 585 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:34,320 And every quarter, we plan to do something for veterans as well. 586 00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:35,480 I think that's great. 587 00:50:35,480 --> 00:50:40,120 We've been talking here with Nick Bussey is the military engagement manager at Leaf 588 00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:41,120 Homes. 589 00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:47,360 And we've been talking about their program to donate in-home stairlifts to veterans 590 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:48,360 as needed. 591 00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:53,760 So we encourage everybody to go to their website, which is leafhome.com. 592 00:50:53,760 --> 00:50:54,760 I'm right. 593 00:50:54,760 --> 00:50:55,760 That's right. 594 00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:56,760 Leave home.com. 595 00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:58,560 Okay, we got the right thing there. 596 00:50:58,560 --> 00:50:59,560 All right. 597 00:50:59,560 --> 00:51:01,960 So I think I think it's terrific. 598 00:51:01,960 --> 00:51:05,640 And I want to thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day. 599 00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:09,640 And also, I want to make sure you have a happy holiday with everybody at Leaf Homes. 600 00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:11,240 Thank you for being on Veterans Radio. 601 00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:12,240 Thank you. 602 00:51:12,240 --> 00:51:13,840 Thank you so much, Dale. 603 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:14,840 I appreciate it. 604 00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:19,920 We're going to have Nick back on in January to talk more about what the Leaf Company is 605 00:51:19,920 --> 00:51:21,520 doing to help veterans. 606 00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:26,040 They've got a lot of different programs out there that do help veterans and their families. 607 00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:33,080 Yes, Nick has a foundation or nonprofit of his own that goes above and beyond. 608 00:51:33,080 --> 00:51:35,200 So this is a really interesting young man. 609 00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:40,080 And I'm excited to talk to him again and introduce you to some of the things that he's doing 610 00:51:40,080 --> 00:51:41,080 across the country. 611 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:43,400 I hope you enjoyed today's program. 612 00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:49,040 Of course, when we talk about Guy Stern, it's always difficult. 613 00:51:49,040 --> 00:51:54,880 He was such an incredible man and really an American hero in my book. 614 00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:58,080 To leave home to come here and get drafted, no less. 615 00:51:58,080 --> 00:51:59,080 Go back to Germany. 616 00:51:59,080 --> 00:52:01,600 He's got some great stories about what he did. 617 00:52:01,600 --> 00:52:04,440 I encourage you to look him up on Google. 618 00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:06,880 Just Guy Stern, S-T-E-R. 619 00:52:06,880 --> 00:52:14,320 And you're going to find some great stories about him, about the Richie Boys, and check 620 00:52:14,320 --> 00:52:15,320 out the movie too. 621 00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:18,080 I think you'll find that to be pretty interesting too. 622 00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:23,800 We also want to thank Jim and Keith King for their little interview about what's going 623 00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:25,080 on with NVBDC. 624 00:52:25,080 --> 00:52:27,080 It's a great organization. 625 00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:32,640 If you are a veteran-owned business, these are the people that you need to talk to. 626 00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:36,560 Just listen to the interview and you'll see how involved they are, what they're trying 627 00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:43,600 to do to help young veteran-owned businesses become bigger and become more successful. 628 00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:48,360 So again, I encourage you to listen to that as well. 629 00:52:48,360 --> 00:52:50,760 So we're coming up on the end of today's program. 630 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:56,020 And next week is going to be a special Christmas program for kind of going to have some Bob 631 00:52:56,020 --> 00:53:01,600 Hope in there for you and some other things from the USO to talk about on Christmas. 632 00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:07,000 So until next week, this is Dale Throneberry for all of us here at Veterans Radio. 633 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,560 We encourage you to go to our website, hit the donation button. 634 00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:12,040 We greatly appreciate it. 635 00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:16,520 Have a very, very happy holiday season and Merry Christmas to all. 636 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:20,040 Today's God Bless America that we're playing is going to be the original. 637 00:53:20,040 --> 00:53:27,040 So let's sit back, relax and enjoy Kate Smith. 638 00:53:50,040 --> 00:53:57,040 Thank you. 639 00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:27,040 Thank you. 640 00:54:50,040 --> 00:54:57,040 Thank you. 641 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