1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,180 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:17,040 And welcome to Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,680 I am Jim Fossone with veteransradio.net. 4 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:26,200 We are recording today from the Legal Help for Veterans Studio in Northville, Michigan. 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,480 Legal Help for Veterans is a Veterans Disability Law Firm. 6 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:36,440 You can reach us at 800-693-4800. 7 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:44,160 We want to welcome to Veterans Radio today Kyle Carpenter, a Marine who as a result of 8 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:52,600 his actions in November of 2010 ultimately became the recipient of the Medal of Honor. 9 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,400 Kyle, welcome to Veterans Radio. 10 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:57,400 Thank you so much, sir. 11 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:03,200 I appreciate you having me and it's always an honor and a privilege to address veterans 12 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:04,760 and those who support veterans. 13 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:06,960 So thank you again. 14 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:11,880 Well Lance Corporal, we want to talk a little bit about your upbringing before we get to 15 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:18,200 your action in Afghanistan because you're a good old Southern boy. 16 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:22,480 Tell us where you grew up and how you grew up. 17 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:28,320 So I was born in Mississippi and spent a few years there. 18 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:34,400 My dad is in business and sales and as that goes kind of working up the ladder and in 19 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:35,600 the different positions. 20 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:45,960 I spent some time in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, but my family and I ended up in South Carolina 21 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:51,880 going on 13 years ago now, which we call home and we have a really great community here 22 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:52,880 and love it. 23 00:01:52,880 --> 00:02:00,560 But yes, my roots are kind of everywhere, but I have a soft spot for Mississippi as well. 24 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,800 Well I want to frame this a little bit because I think your upbringing for those first 20 25 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,920 years or so before you joined the Marine Corps really is the foundation in which you got 26 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:17,160 yourself through that eventful day, but more importantly through the surgeries and things 27 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:19,360 that followed. 28 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:27,400 You had the typical young kid in the South upbringing. 29 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:33,040 You played football, it was a passion, team sports, you had a couple of twin brothers 30 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,760 who were sort of looking up to you. 31 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,120 You grew up thinking you were Superman when you were a little kid. 32 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,840 I mean give us a little bit of that flavor. 33 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,760 Yeah, so you're right. 34 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:56,720 I mean you could say typical and with that said, I very much understand that many people 35 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:03,760 and many of my fellow veterans and just everyone does not get two loving, amazing parents and 36 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,720 don't have that tremendous upbringing. 37 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:13,520 So I am very thankful for that and like you already touched on, I very much believe and 38 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:22,680 know that that foundation gave me the tools that I was able to build on and employ through 39 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,600 later parts of my life. 40 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,760 But my parents are amazing. 41 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,880 They have been there since the moment I was born and they've been there since the moment 42 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:41,160 that in a way I was kind of reborn when I woke up five weeks after getting injured. 43 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:46,280 They were there the moment I woke up in the hospital and they haven't left my side since. 44 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:59,080 But growing up and just being taught simple yet profound lessons, take responsibility 45 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:01,000 for your actions. 46 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:09,600 I saw my mom day in and day out, address books and cards and anything you can send to people 47 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:18,560 all over our house and whether it was something small or something big, my mom would write 48 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,160 thank you notes herself to everyone. 49 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:27,960 If we got anything, any sort of gift, any holidays myself and my brothers would be sitting down 50 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:34,080 at the kitchen table and writing thank you notes as well just to say thank you and show 51 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:36,280 people appreciation. 52 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:43,160 And just little things like that that I've always carried with me and from thinking the 53 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:51,920 janitor at school to my teachers to the administration to all the people that had a small part in 54 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,760 helping me grow and learn and make it through life. 55 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:03,800 Well, I think it's important that everybody kind of reflect on their own upbringing and 56 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:10,120 see maybe how they're raising their own kids or their nieces or nephews because it is that 57 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:15,400 foundational development that's going to get you through the other things that come along 58 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:16,400 in life. 59 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:22,360 And we're talking to Kyle Carpenter who with co-author Don Yeager has written a book that's 60 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:23,800 coming out now. 61 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,200 You are worth it. 62 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,800 Building a life worth fighting for. 63 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:36,360 It's the story of Kyle's life and leading up to and through his being the recipient of 64 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,760 the Medal of Honor. 65 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:45,880 This is a William Morrill imprint book, Harper and Collins Publishers. 66 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,640 So we want to make sure we point that out. 67 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:53,240 And Kyle, one of the things that was kind of typical you were the kid who got out of 68 00:05:53,240 --> 00:06:00,360 high school and said, college or military service. 69 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:07,560 And you elected to go off to the Marines in about, was it 2009? 70 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:08,560 That is correct. 71 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:09,560 Yes, sir. 72 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,600 March of 2009, I went to boot camp at Parris Island. 73 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:21,200 What prompted you to head towards the military service? 74 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:33,560 I wanted to do something bigger than myself and regret and unfilled potential is I would 75 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:39,240 say besides hand grenades now, my only two fears in life. 76 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,520 And I just wanted to do something that was bigger than any one individual. 77 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:51,120 And I wanted to do it and not have the fear of waking up one day when I had missed my 78 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:58,800 opportunity and have regret about not joining and not committing myself and now my body 79 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:06,400 and my life to something greater than myself or any one person or individual. 80 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:11,720 Well the book goes through all the training that you and the unit does to get through 81 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:17,160 boot camp and trained up and ultimately you find yourself in Afghanistan. 82 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:24,760 And since you brought up grenades, we'll move to November 21st of 2010. 83 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:30,120 Tell us about that fateful day. 84 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:37,840 So roughly a day and a half to two days before on November 19th, myself and the rest of my 85 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:47,120 squad moved to a village and a location south of the small patrol base that we had been 86 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:53,960 living and operating out of for the first four months so far of our deployment. 87 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:59,560 Looking ahead, we were over the halfway point and for anyone not completely familiar for 88 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:05,320 how things work on combat zones or when other units are coming to relieve you, you know, 89 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:16,920 before those next units come in and you go home, what you want to do is expand your presence 90 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:22,640 from how you found it and took it over from the unit that you relieve. 91 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:31,800 So you know, we went into Marjah, we relieved 36, another Marine Corps infantry unit and 92 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:41,400 nearing that next rep we call it, we wanted to push out and expand our presence and that 93 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:49,200 helps not only continue to push the enemy further out, but also with pushing the enemy 94 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:54,640 further out, making things safer and more comfortable for the locals. 95 00:08:54,640 --> 00:09:00,680 Then once you know the threats are gone, people start coming out more, you know, they want 96 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:06,680 to take advantage and hopefully one day be able to send their children to school and 97 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,160 have, you know, paved roads and running water. 98 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:15,240 So just pushing out that presence more to create more and more stability. 99 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:22,320 And so we had pushed down to a village south of our position and, you know, within the 100 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:29,880 hour, very soon after we took over that compound, the first grenade attack came. 101 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:40,320 And for the next 24 to 36 hours, we were attacked constantly by AK-47, small-arm fire, snipers 102 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,240 and multiple attacks with hand grenades. 103 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:50,720 And you know, when all was kind of said and done and it was time a few days later for 104 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:57,600 my squad after myself and many of my fellow Marines were injured to go back to the base 105 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:04,040 where we had initially started out at, we were almost at 50% casualties and we had barely 106 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:08,880 left our four walls of safety of the base that we were currently occupying. 107 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:17,600 But the day I was injured, November 21, 2010, myself and a fellow Marine, one of the most 108 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:23,600 amazing and greatest Marines that I have ever had the pleasure of serving with and someone 109 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:27,560 I'm thankful to call a best friend, Nick Euphrasio. 110 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:36,200 We are on top of a roof together on post and post is essentially, for those not familiar 111 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,080 with military terminology, it's a lookout position. 112 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:46,000 And we're on this roof looking out for any, you know, more hand grenade attacks, any attacks 113 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:52,560 that might injure the Marines who aren't vigilant and on watch and either cleaning their weapons, 114 00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:55,960 eating, resting inside the compound. 115 00:10:55,960 --> 00:11:02,880 We were at the end of our four hour shift, which was the afternoon of November 21st. 116 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:09,320 And unfortunately, I don't remember anything in the moments leading up to that daylight 117 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:11,200 grenade attack. 118 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:19,640 The only thing I remember from the entire day before is that morning, rolling out of 119 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:24,000 my sleeping bag around 745 or 8am. 120 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,000 We were getting attacked. 121 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:29,880 It was a daybreak attack with AK-47s. 122 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,600 And it was, you know, that had kind of become our alarm clock over there. 123 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:39,480 So I remember unzipping my sleeping bag and rolling out and kind of thinking, well, you 124 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,760 know, here we go another day in Afghanistan. 125 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:44,240 Fast forward to that afternoon. 126 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:51,960 And really the only thing I remember from the day and the attack is after the grenade 127 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:54,760 exploded. 128 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:59,240 I remember physically how I felt at first. 129 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:06,920 I was extremely disoriented and I was reeling from the blast. 130 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:12,040 I just felt like I got really hit hard in the face. 131 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:15,000 And I was trying to put the pieces together. 132 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,560 I was thinking, you know, okay, I was in Afghanistan. 133 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:24,440 The last thing I remember, I was on a roof, but what could have possibly injured me this 134 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,360 bad on a roof? 135 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:32,000 Maybe I got off and went on patrol and I stepped on IED and maybe this is just the last thing 136 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,200 I can remember. 137 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:42,560 And those thoughts and me trying to put those pieces together was interrupted by the feeling 138 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:47,880 of what I was thinking in the moment at the time to be warm water. 139 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:53,040 And just shows you how much Marines love each other and how much we pick on each other because 140 00:12:53,040 --> 00:13:01,720 I was thinking, man, in this banged up, like terrible shape and state that I'm in, my buddies 141 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,160 are still messing with me. 142 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:10,200 But you know, the pieces unfortunately and quickly fell into place and gave me this surreal 143 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:16,400 realization that what I was feeling was not warm water and it was blood and I was bleeding 144 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:17,400 out very quickly. 145 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:23,280 So let me set this Kyle because you've acknowledged that, you know, when it happened, you don't 146 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,600 have a lot of memory of it, but it's in the book. 147 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:30,720 It's been pieced together by your comrades and the other Lance Corporal who was up on 148 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,720 the roof on post with you. 149 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:41,560 So there was a grenade thrown up on the roof and instinctually you covered the grenade 150 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:45,520 to protect your body. 151 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:57,160 And your body took the brunt of this grenade explosion, which blew through a lot of you 152 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,000 and through the roof. 153 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:08,000 And then there was this amazing effort by your squad and the medics and everybody else 154 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:14,320 to save your life because as you say, you're feeling all this quote unquote water. 155 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:20,720 It really is, is you're bleeding out, but they're able to apply tourniquets and save 156 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:25,920 you in the moment and get you on to greater medical care. 157 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:34,320 Do you remember the flights to the various steps along the way to get ultimately to the 158 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,320 medical hospital? 159 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,680 No, sir, I do not. 160 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:42,480 And you're absolutely right. 161 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:48,320 I mean the incredible Navy Corbin and my fellow Marines that were with me, you know, I still 162 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:54,640 don't know what to say to people that save your life nine years later now, but I am forever 163 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,160 grateful and indebted to them. 164 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:01,440 But no, sir, to answer your question, you know, once I realized that I was bleeding 165 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:06,440 out, I thought about my family very quickly, how devastated they were going to be that 166 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:08,280 I did not make it home. 167 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,160 And I said a quick prayer for forgiveness and for anything that I had done wrong. 168 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:13,800 You know, my life. 169 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:20,160 And once I went unconscious in that moment, I did not wake up again for almost five weeks. 170 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:21,160 And I did. 171 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:22,280 And I did wake up. 172 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:27,560 It was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center right outside of Washington, DC, in 173 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:29,720 Bethesda, Maryland. 174 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:35,880 And veteran radio listeners were talking to Marine Kyle Carpenter, who was a Lance Corporal 175 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:38,440 in Afghanistan. 176 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:45,480 His phrase is he cuttle the grenade, which I thought was a great turn of phrase, which 177 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,800 I don't recommend what she does not recommend. 178 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,160 And the book you are worth it, which is a great saying. 179 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:58,640 I hope we have time to talk about a little bit really walks us through from piecing the 180 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:06,520 story together of the miraculous saving of his life right after this instance where he 181 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,640 cuttles the grenade. 182 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:15,920 And you've got to pick it up and read it because it's going to not only make you feel that 183 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:20,760 man, this carpenter guy is a, you know, he is Superman, but you're going to see that 184 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:25,040 the medics and the other Marines who jump into action here. 185 00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:31,160 Boy, it's really inspiring and great to know that these great Americans are out there. 186 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,920 But in your instance, it, you know, you're in a coma. 187 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:35,760 You don't wake up. 188 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:45,240 It's weeks and weeks and weeks before you even get to some sort of semblance of a prognosis 189 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:46,800 of being able to move forward. 190 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:52,800 And I think I read somewhere you had like 24 different surgeries. 191 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:59,960 That might be around the way we lost me and mom lost count, but I think I got up to, you 192 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,000 know, 40 or so. 193 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:08,260 You know, many of those, they would put me to sleep and do multiple life saving operations 194 00:17:08,260 --> 00:17:11,040 and limb saving surgeries during that time. 195 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:17,880 But overall, you know, it took about 40 surgeries in three years to put Humpty Dumpty back together 196 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:18,880 again. 197 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,560 Well, they've did, they've done a great job with you. 198 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:28,640 And I want to talk a little bit about the support network that allowed this for you 199 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:29,640 to get through this. 200 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:37,560 The amount of pain, emotional, physical hallucinations through this recovery process, again detailed 201 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,280 in the book, making it definitely worth reading. 202 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:47,920 But what I don't want to concentrate on that, I want to concentrate on mom, dad and Sadie. 203 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,200 Talk to us, talk to us about those three. 204 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:52,200 Wow. 205 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:56,720 Where to start? 206 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:05,720 Just, you know, to wake up in the physical state that I was in and to mentally have left 207 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,560 off on a hot dusty rooftop in Afghanistan. 208 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:17,360 And now there is inches of snow building outside of my window pane in a military hospital over 209 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:22,320 7,000 miles away. 210 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:28,040 You know, I was in bad shape any way you cut it, and I was very disoriented. 211 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:35,760 I didn't, I wasn't, you know, as a young Lance Corporal, first combat deployment, I wasn't 212 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:41,000 versed or an expert in any way as military, as the military medicine. 213 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:48,080 So to see doctors who I've always seen in white, white lab coats, you know, wearing camouflage 214 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:52,880 now, it was just so bizarre and I was so disoriented. 215 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:57,320 The only thing that wasn't injured on me was my left ankle. 216 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:02,800 And you know, from the second I woke up, the first thing I saw was Christmas stockings. 217 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,960 My mom had decorated my room for the holidays. 218 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:09,560 My family was there, my two brothers. 219 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:14,720 And just, you know, from that moment on, just to have, whether it's beside your hospital 220 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:20,520 bed or beside you in life, or beside you while you're receiving the melavon in the White 221 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:29,360 House, you know, at the foundational level, just to have someone beside you that says, 222 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:33,000 hey, I support you and I love you and I'm here for you. 223 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:39,200 No, you know, veteran or not, military or not, injured or not, just as a person and 224 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:47,880 as a human being to have people and my family, yes, the amazing staff at Walter Reed, you 225 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:54,200 know, just from the moment I woke up to have the love and support I did, it was, you know, 226 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,480 hard for me almost to not stay positive. 227 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,320 You know, I woke up and I was alive. 228 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:04,280 You know, incredible, amazing step number one. 229 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:09,680 I just could not believe it because I truly thought when I felt myself bleeding out that 230 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:10,680 that was it. 231 00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:13,240 And then I wake up to this bonus round. 232 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,840 Yes, I'm in, I've been fighting for my life. 233 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:23,440 It was so hard and terrible to breathe through a tube for months and it took me a long, hard 234 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,320 road to recovery to get back on my feet. 235 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:31,960 But at the foundation of it all, to just be loved and supported and have a helping hand 236 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:38,080 around my shoulder, you know, was enough to help me be able to continue to knock out the 237 00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:44,200 baby steps and, you know, strive to reach that full potential in whatever step of recovery 238 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:45,200 I was in. 239 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:47,800 Now, Kyle, you've got to talk about Sadie. 240 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:49,480 I gave it a teaser here. 241 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:54,160 You've got to bring her back in. 242 00:20:54,160 --> 00:21:03,440 Sadie is our ferocious guard dog, white and fluffy and about nine and a half pounds. 243 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,480 But you got to say, no, I want my veteran radio listeners to picture this. 244 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:11,080 Here's this bad ass Lance Corporal. 245 00:21:11,080 --> 00:21:16,280 The guy jumps on a grenade and one of the things that really helps you get through some 246 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,000 down times is this fluffy white dog Sadie. 247 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:27,240 Well, thankfully, I know there's a lot of dog lovers out there, so I don't feel like 248 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:28,640 I'm being judged. 249 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:35,560 But, you know, Sadie, she was like any just great dog. 250 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:43,040 She, because after I spent my initial kind of life saving inpatient three months at Walter 251 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:51,960 Reed, you know, at the time, the casualty rate coming in was astronomical. 252 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:58,320 So at one point there were hospital beds in the hallways at Walter Reed. 253 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:05,840 So when it came time for me to, you know, still need to be taken care of medically. 254 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:11,600 But also I didn't have to stay inpatient every second of every day. 255 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:18,200 I was allowed by the military and the staff at Walter Reed to go home and recover until 256 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,280 that following September. 257 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:25,080 And I got done with Walter Reed at the end of, end of January, but I got to go home for 258 00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:27,440 about seven months and recover. 259 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:32,240 And all I could do was lay on the couch and, you know, I had the tough job of eating mom's 260 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:36,040 amazing homemade Southern cooked food all the time. 261 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:42,440 But, you know, I just laid on the couch and she likes her personal space and doesn't love 262 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,120 to be bothered all the time if she's in nap mode. 263 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:51,160 But you know, she, I think she knew and she sat there with me every second of every day 264 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,760 for those seven months and helped me get better. 265 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,160 And, you know, she's the best. 266 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:05,640 Well, those of us who are dog lovers and most the United States really understand the 267 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:11,920 therapeutic value of, and the, that you get from having your own dog right there with 268 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:12,920 you. 269 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:18,200 But I want to talk about two other things as we continue to move along here. 270 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:22,720 You went through all of those things that we would expect somebody who lost an eye and 271 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:28,920 had their arm, you know, messed up and their legs messed up. 272 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:32,320 You really felt at one point like, hey, I'm damaged goods. 273 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,120 Who's going to love me? 274 00:23:34,120 --> 00:23:39,240 You were emotionally, your emotions, you felt a lot of hopelessness and doubt. 275 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:43,400 How did, how did you face that and work through that? 276 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,280 Yeah, you know, that's a great question. 277 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:52,920 And I'm glad you brought that up because really that out of everything I talk about 278 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:59,560 in the book, this one extremely low moment was not only a defining moment in my recovery, 279 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:01,040 but my life. 280 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:08,360 And it was very shortly after I had left the hospital in the February. 281 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:11,720 So this was spring 2011. 282 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:18,120 And you know, I think up until that point through all of the pain, the time that Walter 283 00:24:18,120 --> 00:24:27,960 Reed just surgeries, I think that, you know, I was strong and I was as good as I was and 284 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:36,800 I pushed as hard as I did because, you know, aside from all of my physical stuff and my 285 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:46,280 injuries, it was equally as much, if not more, an emotional and mental burden on me, knowing 286 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:54,880 that my family and my parents who, you know, birth me and love me and, you know, I knew 287 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:59,800 as a parent, I couldn't even imagine, but I knew how just heart wrenching it had to 288 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:00,800 be for them. 289 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:06,720 So I tried not to show anything, but positivity, you know, my dad says he'd never believed 290 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:12,400 me, but I always would say I wasn't in pain because I didn't want to hurt them anymore. 291 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:18,800 But I was at home in the spring of 11 and I was, it was about 10 o'clock at night. 292 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,920 It was almost very movie like setting. 293 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:23,720 The lights were kind of dim. 294 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:29,960 You know, mom was the only one still up and I was in the kitchen by myself and I hadn't 295 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,960 had any of my nerve surgeries on my arms. 296 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:40,480 You know, I could barely operate enough or well enough to make a bowl of cereal. 297 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,080 I mean, a huge task, one that I couldn't have even done a month before that. 298 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:49,520 So I finally get this bowl of cereal made and I try to start eating it. 299 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,320 And I can barely hold the spoon, even that's a challenge up until a couple weeks before 300 00:25:54,320 --> 00:26:02,600 this point, my mom was still brushing my teeth, putting on my underwear, tying my shoes. 301 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:08,040 And I'm sitting here trying to eat this bowl of cereal and the grenade, my doctors, I can't 302 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:13,880 even express how amazing they rebuilt and put my face and my jaw back together. 303 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:21,440 But the grenade blew most of my teeth out on the bottom and some on the top and really 304 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:28,080 just completely destroyed my entire lower jaw and part of my upper jaw. 305 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,120 Pretty much everything from my eye sockets down. 306 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:36,280 And so I'm sitting here trying to eat this bowl of cereal with no teeth and you know, 307 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:42,280 milk, I can't feel my chin because my nerves are severed and I noticed milk is all over 308 00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:49,520 my face, dribbling off my chin and something inside me completely broke. 309 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:57,840 And I started crying harder and harder until I was borderline point of hysterically crying 310 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,720 and mom rushes in and you know, her first thought is of course, you know, I'm in pain, 311 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:04,160 what's wrong? 312 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:10,440 And I just looked at her and I just said, you know, who's ever going to love me again? 313 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:16,760 And yes, it was a low moment and it was so hard and at the time I regretted saying it 314 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:22,160 because I could see that I absolutely tore her in two. 315 00:27:22,160 --> 00:27:32,520 But and you know, my book is essentially lessons that over time and reflection and personal 316 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:39,120 growth, I realized a life lesson that I wanted to convey to people. 317 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:46,360 And now looking back, I'm so thankful for that moment, that low terrible moment at the 318 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:58,000 kitchen counter because I realized as upset and down and out as I was that I could either 319 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:06,080 get up, take one small step and put one foot in front of the other and continue to push 320 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:12,640 through not only my recovery, but the rest of my life and make the best with the cards 321 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:21,040 that I have been dealt or the only other option that I had and that we have in life is when 322 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:29,000 you did not down, you know, I could have sat at that kitchen counter for the rest of my 323 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,000 life. 324 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:38,800 I mean, that was my only now I realized that and I'm thankful I made the choice I did. 325 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,040 And I didn't really know exactly what I was doing at the time. 326 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:50,000 All I knew was that, you know, I could have got up and made the best of it and push forward 327 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:58,960 or I would have stayed right there down and out crying, you know, trying to eat that bowl 328 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,960 of cereal for the rest of my life. 329 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:09,680 And so really the turning point in my recovery and really where I've decided that I was always 330 00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:14,700 going to move forward and never look back and what happened happened is right there sitting 331 00:29:14,700 --> 00:29:15,700 at that kitchen counter. 332 00:29:15,700 --> 00:29:21,360 And it's really those sorts of life lessons that we try to bring here on Veterans Radio 333 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:23,800 to our listeners who might be having their own struggles. 334 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:28,920 And we're talking to Kyle Carpenter, who's a Medal of Honor recipient, Marine Lance 335 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:36,320 Corporal who cuttle the grenade and lived to tell about it, which is amazing. 336 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:41,560 That's why he refers to his life now as part of the bonus round and his book, You Are Worth 337 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,760 It, Building a Life Worth Fighting For is so extraordinary. 338 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:52,520 Kyle, I want to talk to you about some of the other life lessons you've learned that 339 00:29:52,520 --> 00:30:00,280 maybe you can pass along you're 30 years old, but you've lived through a lot at this point. 340 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,400 You say don't hide the scars. 341 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,560 Can you talk to us a little bit about that? 342 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:15,480 So don't hide your scars, Captain, the book. 343 00:30:15,480 --> 00:30:27,560 You know, at one point in my recovery, I tried scar revision therapy. 344 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:33,280 And the doctors after I got out of surgery, they kind of said, hey, we have this laser 345 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:34,280 treatment. 346 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:38,080 We can smooth a lot of these scars out on your face. 347 00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,360 And I was there for three years. 348 00:30:41,360 --> 00:30:43,880 It was there available. 349 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,520 So I just kind of said, you know, why not? 350 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:46,920 I'll try it. 351 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,280 And I came out of that and my face was swollen. 352 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,800 I mean, it literally looked like I just stuck my head in a beehive. 353 00:30:54,800 --> 00:31:02,600 And so I got back to my room and I was looking at myself in the mirror and I kind of had a 354 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,000 like, what am I doing type moment? 355 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,520 And I asked myself that for two reasons. 356 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:14,880 I'm trying to smooth out the scars on my face, would that be possible? 357 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:21,360 Yeah, with a certain number of treatments, probably might make me look a little prettier. 358 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:24,720 It'd be hard, but it might make me look a little prettier. 359 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:33,360 But you know, then you go, you know, down and you get to a massive scar on my neck that 360 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:38,560 goes from my ear all the way to the other side of my neck, my trach scar. 361 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:43,840 And then we don't have enough time the rest of the day to talk about the scars from neck 362 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:44,840 down. 363 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:50,760 But, you know, it's kind of how I refer to it in the book, it would be, you know, smoothing 364 00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:51,760 the scars out on my face. 365 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:56,800 It would be trying to buffer out a dent in a car that's been totaled. 366 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:05,160 And so, you know, kind of evolving from that thought process, you know, I speak when I 367 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,160 go and publicly or motivationally speak to people. 368 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:12,120 You know, and I wrote this book and I tell people to own their scars. 369 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:16,920 You know, who am I if I'm sitting here trying to get scar revision therapy and trying to 370 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:22,400 get rid of the things that I'm telling people to be proud of and to own. 371 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:29,240 And through that thought process, you know, I kind of solidified in my thought process 372 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:40,560 that scars are, you know, really beautiful and, you know, people might see them as physically 373 00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:51,040 different or physically, you know, ugly, but scars show, you know, our physical representation 374 00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:59,960 that you have not only lived, but you've been knocked down or you've been, you know, injured 375 00:32:59,960 --> 00:33:07,400 or you've bled or you've had these hard times and scars can be absolutely just as much 376 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,440 mental and emotional as physical. 377 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:16,200 Now, those are much tougher, obviously, because people can't see those a lot of the times 378 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,240 and people might not want to talk about them. 379 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:25,360 But as far as my physical scars and people's physical scars, you know, be proud of those. 380 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:33,160 They show that you've lived the life and you've pushed through whatever gave you those scars. 381 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:42,520 And now, yeah, you might have a scar, but you have knowledge and experience and more 382 00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:49,720 resilience and perseverance when the next challenge or, you know, the next life obstacle 383 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:51,360 comes your way. 384 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:59,320 And above that, you know, not only for yourself, but you can connect with other people who 385 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:07,800 have struggled and, you know, struggle is was kind of my light bulb term and moment, 386 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:13,760 you know, when I realized I could write this book and focus it on struggle because I didn't 387 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:19,400 want to write another book about just strictly a military or combat focus. 388 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:27,120 I wanted something that transcended all boundaries and that, you know, anyone could pick up and 389 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:37,480 not only understand and process, but also take lessons from. 390 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:44,120 And when I realized that the angle I could take is struggle because everyone and every 391 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:49,240 person on this planet, you know, that's that common thread through us all. 392 00:34:49,240 --> 00:34:57,760 Mental physical or emotional scars, you know, own them and be thankful for them because 393 00:34:57,760 --> 00:35:03,320 you're still living and you're still breathing and you're better and stronger, you know, than 394 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:04,320 you were before. 395 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:11,200 That's what I think one of the real values of this book is you are worth it by Kyle Carpenter. 396 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:17,240 And I said to Kyle early on before we got on here that I read this book and immediately 397 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:20,600 wanted to talk to him, but they said, no, no, the book's not coming out yet until October 398 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:22,320 of 2019. 399 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:24,440 You can't talk to him yet. 400 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:26,600 And it's because it transcends. 401 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:34,280 This isn't just a typical military war story book or even a recovery from a brutal medical 402 00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:35,280 condition. 403 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:42,440 It's really got a lot of life lessons in it that apply to anybody in their circumstances 404 00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:46,320 if they read it and have an open mind in that regard. 405 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:52,960 So I think you've accomplished your mission, Kyle, in writing about the struggle and making 406 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,080 it available to others who may have different types of struggles. 407 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:00,040 But we all have struggles and we all have scars. 408 00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:05,240 Some are more prominent, some of them are earned while saving somebody else's life, 409 00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:08,520 but we've all got to work through our struggles, don't we? 410 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:09,520 Absolutely, absolutely. 411 00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:19,320 And just like that moment at the kitchen counter, you know, it's okay to not have a plan or 412 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:26,280 not know what the next step is or where you're going, you know, but you need to realize and 413 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:31,480 if you need to take time to heal, whether it's a month or a year, that's okay. 414 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:37,680 And that's completely fine and you're on your own time for your own healing purposes. 415 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:42,760 But one day, you know, as tough as a pill as it is to swallow, you're going to have 416 00:36:42,760 --> 00:36:52,480 to realize your only two options are to stay exactly where you are or take that one small 417 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,280 baby step and put one foot in front of the other. 418 00:36:55,280 --> 00:37:00,440 And you know, I think my favorite line from the book is, you know, even the smallest of 419 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,480 steps eventually completes the grandest of journeys. 420 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:08,240 And that's something that, you know, was a hard lesson I had to learn over many years 421 00:37:08,240 --> 00:37:12,720 and many dark nights in the hospital, you know, but it is true. 422 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:18,120 So you don't have to have a plan, you just have to just make that step. 423 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:24,480 Let me turn now if we can as we come to the close and talk a little bit about the absolutely 424 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,480 unique honor of being a middle of honor recipient. 425 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,800 No one ever seeks to be a middle of honor recipient. 426 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:33,800 Nobody ever expects to be such. 427 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:40,080 And I don't think most people can understand the level of scrutiny that goes into receiving 428 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:45,360 this highest honor that the military awards, the president awards. 429 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:50,200 Tell us a little bit about the lead up to it, the ceremony, and then I've got some questions 430 00:37:50,200 --> 00:37:52,200 for you after that. 431 00:37:52,200 --> 00:38:05,680 So, early on when I was still during my three initial months of inpatient care, a fellow 432 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:14,240 Marine had called me and kind of unofficially give me a heads up, you know, hey, we all saw 433 00:38:14,240 --> 00:38:15,720 what you did. 434 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:17,720 The evidence is there. 435 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:23,760 And essentially we believe, at least just my platoon and my fellow Marines on the ground 436 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:27,600 that, you know, they believe that I deserved it. 437 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:37,080 Well, you know, that's obviously just even in a healthy, not injured state, that is a 438 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:42,320 very difficult and big idea to even comprehend. 439 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:49,360 So probably my brain as a defense mechanism, I kind of forgot about it. 440 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:51,320 I told him, thank you, I appreciate it. 441 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:56,840 I was very honored that my fellow Marines and buddies thought that much of me. 442 00:38:56,840 --> 00:38:59,800 But you know, we hung up and that was really it. 443 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,520 And I focused on my recovery and I pushed forward. 444 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:05,160 I didn't think another thing about it. 445 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:11,960 And with anyone familiar with military awards process, you know, not in a negative way and 446 00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:17,640 not bashing anyone, but I just didn't think there was any possible chance that in a million 447 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:18,800 years this could happen. 448 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:20,960 So went on to recover. 449 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:28,920 Well, I was years into my recovery still at Walter Reed and a Marine called me and told 450 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:38,080 me essentially that they were officially gearing up and moving forward with a potential Medal 451 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:42,600 of Honor investigation and they wanted to talk to me about what I remembered and my 452 00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:44,520 actions that day on the roof. 453 00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:50,160 I apologized and told them, unfortunately, I couldn't contribute because I did not remember. 454 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:57,280 And they thanked me for, you know, just being a Marine and who I was. 455 00:39:57,280 --> 00:40:03,120 And they told me that no matter how it panned out that to nine, my unit was proud of me. 456 00:40:03,120 --> 00:40:04,840 And that was enough for me. 457 00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:11,760 So we hung up the phone and two years later, I had done my three years at Walter Reed. 458 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:19,480 I had since left the hospital and I was in the middle of my sophomore year at the University 459 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:22,080 of South Carolina. 460 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:28,640 And the Pentagon and Marines from the Pentagon started casually calling me and checking up 461 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:33,880 on me and seeing how I was doing and kind of where I was at in life. 462 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:49,480 The calls got more frequent until we got to a point early in 2014, maybe very late 2013. 463 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,760 You know, talks really started to become official. 464 00:40:53,760 --> 00:41:03,360 And then after six months of, you know, kind of preparation and PR training and all of 465 00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:11,960 these things, I finally got word that of the day and the exact minute that President Obama 466 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:13,760 would call me. 467 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:22,000 So I left class and I drove the 30 minutes home to my house outside of Lexington, South 468 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,000 Carolina. 469 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,800 And we had checked my two brothers out from school because they were still in high school 470 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:30,800 at the time. 471 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:34,320 And they wanted them to be there for that special moment. 472 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:38,040 And so my family, we were all sitting in the living room. 473 00:41:38,040 --> 00:41:44,520 My mom had already yelled at me because I walked into the house where I think 7% on 474 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:46,280 my cell phone battery. 475 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:51,000 She's like the president of the United States is about to call you in your phones on 7%. 476 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:54,040 But hey, you know, I'm a college student. 477 00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:55,520 This is so mom, right? 478 00:41:55,520 --> 00:41:56,520 Yeah. 479 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:03,040 And she yelled at me and got on to me for having yucky shoes on. 480 00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:04,160 But it was over the phone. 481 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:06,160 So you know, I wasn't too worried about it. 482 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:09,160 But yeah, definitely mom moves. 483 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:10,320 But I got plugged in. 484 00:42:10,320 --> 00:42:11,320 I was charging. 485 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:13,320 We were all good. 486 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:21,800 And the call came through and it was very, very surreal to talking to the president of 487 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:27,000 the United States on the phone and him asking me about life and how things were going. 488 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:33,440 And then he proceeded to tell me that based upon the recommendation from the secretary 489 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:40,200 of the Navy and the secretary of defense, he has approved for me to be awarded the Medal 490 00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:41,200 of Honor. 491 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:47,760 He said, you see me in DC and I wrapped up the call and went back to class. 492 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:52,880 It is an amazing experience, I'm sure. 493 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:56,760 And I've talked to a number of Medal of Honor recipients who've received that call. 494 00:42:56,760 --> 00:43:02,600 Some of them decades and decades, you know, as many as 50 years later that they've received 495 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:03,880 this call. 496 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:10,960 So for you to receive it as young as you were is kind of a surreal moment. 497 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:14,680 But as we wrap up, maybe my final question to you, because I think we could talk all 498 00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:16,680 afternoon. 499 00:43:16,680 --> 00:43:22,200 Let me ask you the final question here, which I've asked other Medal of Honor recipients. 500 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:29,200 Talk to us about the responsibility you feel as a Medal of Honor recipient. 501 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:33,920 Well, probably, you know, the best note to end on. 502 00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:43,440 So I appreciate you leaving a little time for this. 503 00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:47,920 It is a beautiful burden. 504 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:57,200 And you know, first and foremost, I'll say that I'm so honored and humbled and appreciative 505 00:43:57,200 --> 00:44:05,680 that my country, my government, you know, our military and Marine Corps recognized me 506 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:12,200 and my story, you know, therefore recognizing my unit, my fellow Marines and what we went 507 00:44:12,200 --> 00:44:17,480 through as a band of brothers. 508 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:26,000 You know, but to go deeper and I'm so glad I can relay this because, you know, with 509 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:34,840 the Medal of Honor, everyone sees the pictures and the interviews and David Letterman and 510 00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:35,840 ESPN. 511 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:41,880 And, you know, I got to go to the Super Bowl as a recipient and all of these amazing things. 512 00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:43,880 And it is incredible. 513 00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:51,880 And, you know, I'm a fun, loving life, tackling it full speed ahead, love football, sports, 514 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:57,400 like, of course, I am so enjoying these amazing opportunities. 515 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:11,800 But to really think about the Medal, you know, the Medal represents my story, my injury, 516 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:13,240 my recovery. 517 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:14,240 Yes. 518 00:45:14,240 --> 00:45:23,280 But then it also represents those long, hard nights and the darkness in my hospital room 519 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,080 that my parents sat through and my brother sat through. 520 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:34,760 You know, then it represents my fellow Marines that were there on the ground with me that 521 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:43,280 got my blood on their hands, keeping me alive and doing everything in their power to get 522 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:45,400 me back home to my family. 523 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:54,360 You know, and then it represents the Marines that were with us that at 19, 20 years old 524 00:45:54,360 --> 00:46:03,120 gave their last full measure of devotion for us and for our country that some people may 525 00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:05,640 never hear their story. 526 00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:12,160 And then you go beyond that and it represents, you know, all of the service members and women 527 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:17,520 from, you know, our war on terror generation. 528 00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:23,040 But to go further, you know, it represents previous generations, you know, those that, 529 00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:32,600 you know, died in a random field that most Americans will not only know, never know where 530 00:46:32,600 --> 00:46:38,920 it is, but can't pronounce in lush fields throughout Vietnam, you know, those Marines 531 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:47,600 that froze to death, you know, and died fighting for the liberties of people, you know, throughout 532 00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:56,000 Korea and the Marines and the troops that charged the beaches during World War II. 533 00:46:56,000 --> 00:47:01,080 And they were told, you know, if you're lucky, you're going to make it to the beachhead. 534 00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:05,280 And even if you make it to the beachhead, you're going to have probably 20 seconds to 535 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:12,440 live and still did it knowing that there was a bigger and greater cause than themselves 536 00:47:12,440 --> 00:47:17,200 or any one individual and that the Marines that were charging those beaches to the right 537 00:47:17,200 --> 00:47:21,960 and left of them, you know, their lives were just as important, if not more important than 538 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,840 their own and all of the campaigns before that. 539 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:32,200 So not only represents all the generations, but then you think about, you know, not only 540 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:42,160 are there those that gave their life, but there are those that 30, 40, 50, 60 years later, 541 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:43,760 they're still missing in action. 542 00:47:43,760 --> 00:47:49,840 We still can't tell their families and their loved ones how they gave their last breath 543 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:53,560 on earth for their country. 544 00:47:53,560 --> 00:47:59,760 So to know, yes, it's amazing and I'm so honored, but at the same time to know the 545 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:09,560 weight and the history it represents is still nine, well, 2014, you know, six years later 546 00:48:09,560 --> 00:48:18,240 now still almost too heavy and powerful to comprehend and, you know, outside the walls, 547 00:48:18,240 --> 00:48:20,920 outside the borders of our country. 548 00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:29,000 You know, the mellow honor in our military represents, you know, and is a beacon of hope 549 00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:31,280 for so many around the world. 550 00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:37,280 I mean, there's always big political reasons about going to war and doing this and doing 551 00:48:37,280 --> 00:48:45,120 that, but, you know, people need to realize there are tens of millions of people around 552 00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:47,600 the world every single day. 553 00:48:47,600 --> 00:48:51,240 You know, when you get up and you hit the button on your curate, there's people that 554 00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:58,560 wake up every day of every year of their life for their entire life. 555 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:05,520 They wake up and they just think, oh, wow, you know, I hope one day, one day I hope I 556 00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:13,800 can have the freedom to make my own choices or one day, you know, I hope I can get a big, 557 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:19,880 you know, cold, you know, glass of ice water and fresh water that I don't have to walk 558 00:49:19,880 --> 00:49:27,680 a mile down a hot, rocky, dusty road with no shoes on my feet just to draw dirty water 559 00:49:27,680 --> 00:49:31,880 out of a well to bring back to my mud hut home. 560 00:49:31,880 --> 00:49:39,000 You know, it's just to, you know, I hope one day that I can know what school is and I can 561 00:49:39,000 --> 00:49:42,840 maybe go to a classroom and be taught something. 562 00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:50,160 You know, just very simple things, but, you know, with all of that said, I'm honored as 563 00:49:50,160 --> 00:49:54,880 a representative of the Medal of Honor and as a recipient, but, you know, I'm just as 564 00:49:54,880 --> 00:50:00,680 honored to have had the privilege to serve in our military and to whatever capacity I 565 00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:07,200 did or we did, you know, help the people of Afghanistan who, you know, struggle under 566 00:50:07,200 --> 00:50:09,040 the Taliban every single day. 567 00:50:09,040 --> 00:50:14,000 And, you know, like I said, who one day hope to just have fresh, clean drinking water, 568 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:18,520 sure, to go to school and not worry about, you know, being blown up or killed. 569 00:50:18,520 --> 00:50:22,360 So sorry, I went a little off. 570 00:50:22,360 --> 00:50:26,920 But, you know, I've seen it. 571 00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:28,960 Oh, no, you've lived it. 572 00:50:28,960 --> 00:50:34,880 I'm passionate about it and I'm thankful to be a Marine and I'm thankful to be an American. 573 00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:41,360 Kyle Carpenter, Medal of Honor recipient, Lance Corporal, United States Marine Corps, 574 00:50:41,360 --> 00:50:47,480 author of You Are Worth It, Building a Life Worth Fighting For. 575 00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,080 And we didn't get to talk about the title, which I think is a great title. 576 00:50:51,080 --> 00:50:54,240 It's a William and Morrow imprint of Harper Collins Publishing. 577 00:50:54,240 --> 00:50:58,560 Kyle, thank you for spending some time with Veterans Radio today. 578 00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:00,480 Absolutely, sir. 579 00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:03,480 Thank you for this opportunity and to all the veterans out there. 580 00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:08,480 You know, thanks for raising your right hand when not many others would. 581 00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:10,640 It's an honor. 582 00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:13,560 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 583 00:51:13,560 --> 00:51:15,080 I am Jim Fawson. 584 00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:17,440 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 585 00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:22,160 I'm a Veterans Disability lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 586 00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:29,720 800-6934800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 587 00:51:29,720 --> 00:51:34,600 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet radio 588 00:51:34,600 --> 00:51:38,680 shows by going to veteransradio.net. 589 00:51:38,680 --> 00:51:41,920 And until next time, you are dismissed. 590 00:51:41,920 --> 00:51:46,320 If you have a VA claim denied by the Board of Veterans Appeals, contact Legal Help for 591 00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:50,560 Veterans at 1-800-6934800. 592 00:51:50,560 --> 00:51:54,560 They're experts in handling cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. 593 00:51:54,560 --> 00:51:58,560 Their number again, 1-800-6934800. 594 00:51:58,560 --> 00:52:00,320 Veterans Radio needs you. 595 00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:06,200 If you like our shows that are informative, surprising stories and relevant information 596 00:52:06,200 --> 00:52:10,880 on what's happening at the VA and the military, we'd like your support. 597 00:52:10,880 --> 00:52:18,080 Individual support of $5 to $50 a month or corporate 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