1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,640 All across America and around the world, this is Veterans Radio. 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,920 This is Veterans Radio. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,840 Welcome to Veterans Radio. 4 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,520 I am Jim Fossone. 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:22,840 I'm the officer of the deck today. 6 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:24,720 We've got some great programs for you. 7 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,520 We always want to remind you you can find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:35,240 site or at the web veteransradio.org where we're on the web 24-7. 9 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,360 You can find a lot of our podcasts there as well. 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:45,040 We post new ones every Tuesday so you can get a new story, a new interview, something 11 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:49,600 you didn't know before by going to veteransradio.org. 12 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,040 And before we get started we want to thank our sponsors. 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:01:00,880 Next up we want to thank National Veteran Business Development Council, NVBDC.org. 14 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:06,560 It was established to certify both service disabled and veteran owned businesses. 15 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:13,080 You'll find out how they can help your business by going to NVBDC.org. 16 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,600 We want to thank Legal Help for Veterans. 17 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:22,120 Legal Help for Veterans fights for veterans disability rights all across the nation. 18 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:33,240 You can reach them at 800-693-4800 or on the web at legalhelpforveterans.com. 19 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,040 And finally, PuroClean. 20 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,680 PuroClean is the paramedics of property damage. 21 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:44,560 It provides water damage remediation, flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation, 22 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,000 mold removal, biohazard cleanup. 23 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,280 It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. 24 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:58,840 You can learn more about them by going to puroclean.com. 25 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:04,680 We want to welcome today and it's a special privilege to have Medal of Honor recipient 26 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:09,080 Clint Romaché on the line with us. 27 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:10,880 Clint, welcome to Veterans Radio. 28 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:12,400 Hi, Jim. 29 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:14,240 Thanks for having me today. 30 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:19,240 So this is a real honor for us, we try to tell veteran stories and have been fortunate 31 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:25,000 over the 20 years we've been doing this to talk to a lot of Medal of Honor recipients. 32 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:31,880 And so we're going to talk with Clint today about himself, a little bit about the battle 33 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:39,680 where his heroics got recognized, but more about kind of what it means, what's involved 34 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,920 with being a Medal of Honor recipient. 35 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:50,000 And received his Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Kamdish in 2009 during 36 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,120 the war in Afghanistan at a place called Combat Outpost Keating. 37 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,360 We'll get into a little bit more of that, but Clint, let's start with how did a nice 38 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:05,480 guy like you end up in the U.S. Army? 39 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:11,080 So for me, I mean, you could partially say it was kind of a family business with my grandfather, 40 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,120 being an Army guy, combat engineer, World War II. 41 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:19,600 My dad was a Vietnam infantryman, did a couple of tours in Vietnam. 42 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,960 Both my older brothers had served, so when it kind of came time to graduation, you know, 43 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,840 part of me wants to say I did it because of the family tradition. 44 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,880 And that was part of it, but part of it too was it was, you know, 1999, there wasn't a 45 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:34,280 lot going on in the world. 46 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,520 And I just wanted to go out and kind of see the world. 47 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,520 I wanted to, you know, kind of get back to the country, do my time. 48 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:46,240 I think maybe I was thinking I'll do four years, I'll get some college money. 49 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,640 And we'll go from there, which has always kind of impressed me with the great men and 50 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,880 women that served after September 11th, because like I said, when I joined, we were at peace. 51 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,960 And all those kids that, like I said, put that uniform on afterwards, like they knew 52 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:00,800 what they were getting into. 53 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,360 And they willingly made that volunteer choice to go do that. 54 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:11,240 Well, you graduated high school in California, and I have a note here that you loved playing 55 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:12,240 ice hockey. 56 00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:19,520 I mean, you kind of had the regular upbringing of an American kid, it sounds like, right? 57 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:24,320 Yeah, we grew up, like I said, in a tiny little town in Northern California, where ranchers 58 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,120 and farmers, that's what he did going to school. 59 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,760 Before going to school every day was they had three cows to milk. 60 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:36,360 And that was just, we raised alfalfa, and that was just kind of the great thing about 61 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:37,360 being in the military. 62 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:42,640 My first exposure was meeting guys from like New York City and the big cities of, from 63 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:43,640 around our country. 64 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,400 And that's what I always kind of talk to the kids about is that the different, there's 65 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,520 so many different walks of life that you get exposed to in the military. 66 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,320 And this is a great and big country. 67 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,840 You kind of, as you're growing up, you think you're on that little island. 68 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,480 And that's the only thing there is out there. 69 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:08,120 But to get that exposure to us, it's one of those just processes of life that I think 70 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,480 everybody should be kind of privy to. 71 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,640 Well I think at times, Clint, people think those of you who's received the Medal of 72 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:25,360 Honor for the heroics under such combat situations must have grown up in with a Superman's cape 73 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:26,360 on. 74 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:30,280 You were just a superhero waiting for your time to come. 75 00:05:30,280 --> 00:05:32,680 But as I say, you were just sort of a regular guy. 76 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:37,480 You don't, you certainly never viewed yourself in that light, I suspect. 77 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,720 No, I wasn't like I grew up being the captain of a football team. 78 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,680 Shoot, when I graduated high school, I mean, I was all of five flick five and about 110 79 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:47,680 pounds. 80 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:52,800 Like I said, I can get fence line and I can melt cows. 81 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:54,720 And that's the background I came from. 82 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,280 It wasn't, so anything super spectacular. 83 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:04,560 So you did 12 years in the Army, came out as a staff sergeant. 84 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:11,320 Let's talk about a few of your, your deployments before the final deployment, if you will, 85 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:12,320 in Afghanistan. 86 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:20,480 Tell us a little bit about Kosovo and Iraq a couple of times and military life. 87 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,240 Because along the way, you get married and all of those other things happen as well. 88 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:33,120 So set this up for us about where you were experienced and mentally prepared for that 89 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:37,880 final campaign in Afghanistan. 90 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:42,200 You know, it's, it goes back to, yeah, if it didn't have, if it wasn't for all the 91 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:46,920 other things I'd went through prior to the Afghanistan deployment. 92 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:50,880 I mean, we can always play the who knows or what ifs, but I do think, like I said, my 93 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,040 first deployment was Kosovo back in 99. 94 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,640 I said, when I, when I graduated high school, went to my dad told him I was wanting to join 95 00:06:58,640 --> 00:06:59,640 the Army. 96 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,080 I was 17 at the time and he told me, no, because he's like, no, I'm not going to sign for you. 97 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:08,800 He wasn't smart enough to say go to the Air Force. 98 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:12,040 First thing he said was, you're going to join the military, go get a job. 99 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,600 It's not combat arms. 100 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,360 Get something that you can do after you take the uniform off because there's not, not a 101 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:25,000 lot of opportunities for combat arms guys with direct skilled transfers and stuff. 102 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,960 And once again, you didn't listen to dad. 103 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:28,960 Did you? 104 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,880 I don't think many of us, many of us kids really understand what our parents are truly 105 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:39,840 trying to tell us until we strike out on our own and, and kind of, I've always loved the 106 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:40,840 discipline of failure. 107 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:47,600 Nothing, nothing more than failing at something to teach you a good lesson. 108 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,880 But like the back then he told me, you know, I'm not going to sign for you because maybe 109 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,560 not tomorrow and maybe not in 20 years, but if you put the uniform on, you might have 110 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,440 to go and do and see things that you shouldn't have to go do and see. 111 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,520 I said, dad never, dad and grandpa never shared their kind of combat experiences when they 112 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:04,520 were in. 113 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:07,960 They were, all the stories they shared was always about their buddies and the camaraderie 114 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:13,040 and the shenanigans that get into, but, you know, they, they always kept very tight-lipped 115 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,520 and never would open up about their times in combat. 116 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:21,560 So as a young, you know, young kid, especially growing up in the 80s and 90s, you know, you 117 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:27,320 got this idea of what war is and kind of the exposure of Desert Storm, Desert Shield, you 118 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:32,680 know, that was in and out, you know, relatively quickly and our technology really kind of triumphed. 119 00:08:32,680 --> 00:08:39,480 So when I first got on my deployment, going to Kosovo, that's where it first kind of sparked 120 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,320 what my dad was talking about, going in, doing and see things that no one should have to 121 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:44,320 go do and see. 122 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:48,320 You know, at that time in Kosovo, you know, with the mass genocide going back and forth 123 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:53,760 between the Serbs and the Albanians and Milosevic and all that kind of chaos going on over there, 124 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:59,800 it really put in perspective for me, excuse me, like what I took for granted growing up 125 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:00,800 in this country. 126 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,960 I used to complain growing up in that tiny town in Northern California, like the nearest 127 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:06,760 McDonald was over an hour away. 128 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,600 Oh my God, how could you live, right? 129 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:10,600 I know. 130 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:11,600 How tragic. 131 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:18,560 So just, man, my life was so rough and tough and all of a sudden I'm 18 years old and I'm 132 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:23,640 in a foreign country where we literally are escorting either Albanian, Serbian towns or 133 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:30,160 Serbian, Serbian towns to go get fuel for their tractors so they can farm, so they can provide 134 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,800 enough food just to survive a winter. 135 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:36,280 Because if they didn't have a military escort, they typically get attacked and killed trying 136 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:42,240 to go from one town to the next that wasn't either Albanian or Serbian. 137 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,320 And I just put in perspective right away. 138 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,120 It's like, man, what kind of a punk kid have I been complaining about McDonald's is over 139 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,120 an hour away growing up. 140 00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:57,400 And there's literally people living on this earth that if you don't have a military escort, 141 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:03,200 you can't even go get fuel for your tractor to power your field to keep your family alive 142 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,200 for a winter. 143 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,320 So that's, you know, and a lot of that was peacekeeping operations back then too, so 144 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:11,640 it wasn't direct combat for us. 145 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:17,120 But like I said, without kind of that realization of, you know, I think we forget because we 146 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:21,720 do live pretty comfortable in America. 147 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:28,720 So it's very easy to forget how much evilness and nastiness and just suffering is going 148 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,240 on around the world. 149 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:36,280 Well, it had to replay itself when you went to a couple of deployments to Iraq. 150 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,120 Tell us about that. 151 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:47,040 So the two deployments to Iraq, my first one was that kind of 2004, 2005 timeframe. 152 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,440 So very much still very kinetic over there. 153 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:56,720 Just after kind of the initial initial shock and on this initial kickoff in 2003, things 154 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:03,240 had, you know, obviously settled down some by then, but, you know, we weren't fighting, 155 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,960 we weren't direct fighting at that time, you know, so the Anzar army that had been pretty 156 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:10,880 much disband, but there was still still very much hot and heavy. 157 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:16,160 And I was one of the lucky souls that I came out a second idea out of Korea that actually 158 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:23,000 put together a brigade and deployed us from Korea to Iraq on the first deployment that 159 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:24,800 I went on. 160 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:30,600 Like I said, that really was, you know, in my mind, it was like I was actually getting 161 00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:32,320 ready to get out of the army at that point. 162 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:37,440 I had a guaranteed return assignment coming back to Fort Irwin. 163 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:44,400 And I volunteered to go with the unit and my colonel, because I was a gunner on his 164 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,440 tank at the time, you know, he kind of told me, he's like, Clint, you got a guaranteed 165 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:48,440 return assignment. 166 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,240 Fort Irwin's trade-off, you can go back there and get out of the army in two years and you 167 00:11:53,240 --> 00:11:54,960 never have to see a day in combat. 168 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,200 But for me, it was like, well, that's what I signed up to do. 169 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:05,160 You know, I felt like I was kind of not checking all the blocks of military service that we 170 00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:09,520 had a war going on and how could I do, you know, how could I serve and not actually go 171 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:14,520 when I had buddies that I'd lost at that point from my previous units and guys that I knew 172 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:20,600 through basic training that were injured and it felt selfish not to volunteer to want to 173 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:21,600 go. 174 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:26,800 So that first deployment was still very kinetic, trying to take the fight to the enemy. 175 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:32,880 But yet it opened my eyes too, you know, like, you think you have an idea of what combat 176 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:33,880 is. 177 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:40,960 It's this, have this kind of fantasy that it's always heroic and just glorious and everything's, 178 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:45,320 you know, just over the top and good will always triumph. 179 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:50,840 And as long as you're, you know, the best and the best, no one will ever get hurt. 180 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:55,840 And the reality of war and combat on that first one very quickly sunk in, it's like, 181 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,560 nope, everybody's vulnerable. 182 00:12:57,560 --> 00:13:02,720 You can have the best list that the other, but sometimes it's not your day and the enemy 183 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:06,280 is kind of, they're going to be thinking and they're going to, they're trying to do bad 184 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:07,280 things to us. 185 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,480 So we got to be on our toes. 186 00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:14,680 And that's when I got into very quickly kind of got into the mindset that, you know, you, 187 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:18,240 you want to take, you're going to take your guys over and the reality is you can't bring 188 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:19,240 them all home. 189 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,880 But, but obviously that's what you're working at the goal on and you did a number of training 190 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:24,880 programs. 191 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:33,400 Again, this is all background has sort of set up the activities of that day at the outpost. 192 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:38,280 But you had training in long range reconnaissance courses, advanced leader course, air assault 193 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:48,080 training, cavalry scout, all of that building the blocks of the soldier that you were becoming 194 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,360 and we're going to need to be on that day. 195 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,320 Did it feel like you were adding building blocks? 196 00:13:55,320 --> 00:14:01,400 Every, I mean, every step of the way, I said, from the, even from the first I racked to 197 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,520 the second I racked deployment, those were two totally different deployments in the way 198 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,200 you had to have your mindset and the way your tactics worked. 199 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,920 I said, the first one was still very kinetic. 200 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:19,040 We were really going after the bad guys directly and then come the time of the second one. 201 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:23,800 Of course, that's the 2006 to eight and that's more of the surge and that's more hearts and 202 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,120 mind and more rebuilding. 203 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:30,480 So then you got to kind of ship gears that you still got bad guys wanting to want to take 204 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:31,480 you out. 205 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,440 But it's also about let's get these guys back on their feet so they can take care of their 206 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:41,160 own country so we don't have to be here for forever in eternity. 207 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:46,080 And so it gives you kind of the perspective of when you need to kind of come down on the 208 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:52,400 sledgehammer and then the perspective of sheathing your saber and having some restraint to understand 209 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:58,640 that you got to build things back up after you kind of tear them down and rip them apart. 210 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:03,880 And every time in between all the training between those deployments, all just are like 211 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:08,960 little Lego pieces that you continue to add on to make, you know, something more than just 212 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,680 scattered chaos. 213 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:20,320 As I say, all of this builds to who you were on that day in October of 2009 at Outpost 214 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,160 Keating in eastern Afghanistan. 215 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:31,240 To set this up a little bit, combat Outpost Keating may have been the worst location in 216 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:37,760 the entire Afghan theater for a base or an outpost. 217 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:39,960 It was down in a valley. 218 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:48,480 All the high ground looking down on it was just rife with being positioned so that the 219 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:55,520 Taliban could lob rockets, grenades, shots, what have you in. 220 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:01,920 And on that particular day, a force of 300 Taliban insurgents attacked the base, which 221 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:10,080 maybe had 50 guys in it, and quickly they infiltrated. 222 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:17,360 And surprisingly, this 12-hour battle is filmed, a lot of it's filmed by the Taliban. 223 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:23,440 So if you're interested in more of sort of what's going on and seeing some of the activity, 224 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,560 it's really replayed in a couple of places for our veteran radio listeners. 225 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:33,760 And we're talking to Clint Romashaw, who received the Medal of Honor for his activities on that 226 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,960 day at Camp Outpost Keating. 227 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:43,920 There's a movie, the Outpost, he wrote a book, The Red Pelatune. 228 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:49,840 There are YouTube really interesting interviews with Clint. 229 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:53,560 There's a CBS Sunday morning from an interview from about eight years ago. 230 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:59,400 So you can get a lot more about the actual battle itself. 231 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:04,400 And actually you'll see the changing beard of Clint Romashaw. 232 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:09,200 Clint, are you clean-shaven today or you have that great beard going? 233 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:13,520 I don't have the big beard going, but again, like I said, living up in North Dakota, I 234 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,600 grow those things for survival come wintertime. 235 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,160 They're not really a fashion statement. 236 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:30,600 But all joking aside, the U.S. Army ultimately closed Outpost Keating, considering it indefensible, 237 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:36,680 which was of no value to those of you who had to fight that day and got injured that 238 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:38,680 day. 239 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:41,520 Why don't you give us just a brief. 240 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:47,240 This is what I want people to know that happened in that battle on that day. 241 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:53,560 You know, the big things I always want people to know is it wasn't just me out there. 242 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:59,720 Like I said, I had 50 other guys, two Latvians, fighting right there to my left and right. 243 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,720 And eight of those great men gave up their life that day. 244 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:09,720 And if it wasn't for their sacrifice, one for the 50 other guys there, one for us working 245 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,640 together, we wouldn't have came out. 246 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,480 We would not have came out of that valley. 247 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:22,280 It goes back to that teamwork, that brotherhood, that camaraderie. 248 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:24,920 And the fight that day wasn't about politics. 249 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:28,120 It wasn't about whether we should be in Afghanistan or not. 250 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:34,600 It was literally about the love of your fellow warrior to your left and right, knowing that 251 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:39,080 they had your back and would do everything to include lay down their life to protect 252 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,960 you and you wanted to do the same for them. 253 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:46,880 And the enemy that we fought that day was very proficient. 254 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:49,400 They knew exactly what they were doing. 255 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:50,480 They were veteran. 256 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,080 They were seasoned. 257 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:57,360 They wanted to come in and kill us because they just hated everything we stood for. 258 00:18:57,360 --> 00:19:03,960 And we came out on top that day because of the great values that this country is instilled, 259 00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:10,160 I think in every red-blooded American of that loyalty, love, patriotism, duty, honor, respect, 260 00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:12,800 selfless service, courage, sacrifice. 261 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:18,440 That was because of all of those things that that love and selfless sacrifice encouraged 262 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:24,240 from the hatred that we faced in the Taliban fighters that day. 263 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:30,520 I want to highlight one example of those qualities that you've just mentioned. 264 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,400 And that is, as I said earlier, this is a 12-hour battle. 265 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:39,720 You guys are running out of ammunition, food, water, everything. 266 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:49,200 And you get to the point where the ammo depots some number of yards away, 100 yards away sort 267 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:50,200 of thing. 268 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:57,240 And you have to ask for volunteers to go with you and try to retrieve, get to that building, 269 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:59,560 get some ammo distributed. 270 00:19:59,560 --> 00:20:03,840 Is there anybody who's going to go with me and the guys stand up? 271 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:11,360 It's really got to be one of those spine-chilling moments in your life. 272 00:20:11,360 --> 00:20:16,760 You know, I've got a couple of very fond and just proud moments looking back on my life. 273 00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:22,320 And that hands down on one of them to sit there and, you know, essentially during the 274 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:26,640 course of everything that has gone on, I'm sitting there and I go into the barracks and 275 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,480 I'm asking for a group of volunteers. 276 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:32,160 And I said I had five guys that stood up. 277 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,280 It was Raz, Delaney, Danly, and Jonesy and Miller. 278 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,360 And then I told them what I was wanting them to volunteer for. 279 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,600 And essentially it was potentially a suicide mission. 280 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:49,600 We are going to attack the enemy that's got the high ground, that's got us outgunned, outnumbered. 281 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,160 They've got the initiative. 282 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,480 Everything is stacked against us. 283 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:59,440 And I, like I said, I just said, I just need volunteers and you don't have to come if you 284 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:00,440 don't want to. 285 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,000 I mean, every one of them just kind of looked at me and said, would follow you anywhere. 286 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:09,920 You know, and I, on a leader on a personal note that to have another human being tell, 287 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:15,040 literally tell you, not just tell you, but go out and actually didn't go do it by their 288 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,160 actions that I will follow you anywhere. 289 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:21,640 You know, it was a moment that is just always going to be forever in my heart. 290 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:26,800 The other spectacular thing that I got to be part of is that was month three into a 12-month 291 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:28,640 deployment. 292 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:33,960 And I got to watch for another nine months, those men from Red Platoon pull up their big 293 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:40,760 boy pants and continue the mission for nine more months in country. 294 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:44,320 Not a single one of the guys from Red Platoon said, you know, that day was too tough on 295 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,280 me, too, too much had happened. 296 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:51,520 They didn't kind of play the woe is me and the pity party. 297 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:56,240 Each one of those young men continued mission. 298 00:21:56,240 --> 00:22:00,080 And we didn't kind of take a knee and reflect truly on that day until we got back to the 299 00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:03,000 States nine months after that. 300 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,920 And that's another moment that is super proud of the leader that you can get those guys 301 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:13,840 after going through all of that to have the resiliency, the discipline and the strength 302 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,200 to sit there and say, you know what, we're going to finish this mission out and we're 303 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,360 going to finish it out right. 304 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:28,960 Now this battle resulted in nine soldiers, no, eight American soldiers who were killed 305 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:33,920 and nine soldiers were decorated with the Silver Star Medal. 306 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:42,160 And on another part of the camp in a whole different area that Clint had no idea what 307 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:44,320 was going on over there. 308 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:51,480 Our Army Staff Sergeant, Ty Carter was undergoing his own set of heroics, which resulted in 309 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,880 the award of the Medal of Honor. 310 00:22:55,880 --> 00:23:04,320 But in your instance, Clint, who advanced the package for you to receive the Medal of 311 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:05,320 Honor? 312 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:10,720 I think the general public kind of doesn't understand how this comes about. 313 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:16,920 I'm still not 100% clear on that myself because I had, I said I'd gotten back from that deployment. 314 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:21,120 I used, that was going to be, like I said, my last enlistment in the Army. 315 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:25,920 I figured at that point I'd been in about 10 years or it was going on 10 years right 316 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:26,920 before that deployment. 317 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:32,080 And I thought to myself, well, this will be my last kind of hurrah and do this last one 318 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,960 and I'll get out and figure out what I'm going to grow up to be in life. 319 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:43,400 So my last year in the Army, I did my transitioning stuff just like every other soldier, you know, 320 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:47,120 tried to work on my resume, tried my networking. 321 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:53,840 And I stepped out, I stepped out the door on Terminal Eve in January 2011, going up to 322 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,520 North Dakota to chase oil fields. 323 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,000 And I worked up there for two years. 324 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,840 And in that two years, you know, I'd call and talk to some of my old troopers and stuff 325 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,800 that were still in and we'd have those conversations every so often like, hey, you know, so would 326 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:10,920 you ever get anything for that day on October 3rd? 327 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:11,920 And I'm going, I don't know. 328 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,800 I'm like, you know, Stony Porter said something the day after or so about putting me in for 329 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:18,800 a DSC, but I haven't heard a peep about it. 330 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,160 And, you know, Raz, you got your silver star. 331 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,480 Well, yeah, that's, you got your stuff. 332 00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:27,160 I made sure all the guys were taken care of before I took the uniform off. 333 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,120 And that's what I'd kind of just gravitate back to. 334 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:34,600 So it wasn't until I said, two years later, I'm sitting there in the oil field and I get 335 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,040 this call on my phone from a number I didn't recognize. 336 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,280 But I went ahead and answered it on the other end of the line. 337 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:45,960 All of a sudden it's, hey, this is Colonel Davis G1 from the Pentagon. 338 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:48,280 And immediately the first thought is like, oh crap. 339 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:49,280 What did I do? 340 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:54,320 Yeah, statue of limitation should be up for anything, you know, and it's very rare that 341 00:24:54,320 --> 00:25:00,240 you'll ever have a full bird colonel, you know, typically reaching directly out to a, you know, 342 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:06,040 a staff sergeant, little loan of former staff sergeant that had been out for two years. 343 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:11,640 And he just very quickly had me kind of identify myself and say, hey, we need you to come out 344 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:12,640 to DC. 345 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:13,640 We got something to tell you. 346 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,200 I'm sitting there trying to talk to him on the phone. 347 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,200 It's like, that's the great thing about cell phone, sir, is you can just tell me over the 348 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:19,200 phone. 349 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:20,200 I don't have to go anywhere. 350 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,040 I'm working six to seven days a week out in the oil fields here. 351 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:24,480 And I don't know if I'll get time off. 352 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:25,480 So just tell me. 353 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,680 And he's like, no, but something we got to do in person. 354 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:33,840 I was able to talk to my boss and got to find, they got a free weekend and I went out there 355 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:38,840 and it wasn't until I got to DC, went to the Pentagon for the first time. 356 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,360 They sent me down. 357 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:41,600 They started giving me the brief. 358 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:45,400 And I, as I looked down, there's three posters in front of me and ones of saljunta, the first 359 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:48,800 living recipient since Vietnam to receive the medal. 360 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:56,080 The next one is a Sergeant Leroy Petrie, Army Ranger, living recipient. 361 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:03,680 And the third one was a Sergeant Sabo, Vietnam Postamus and it's Medal of Honor, Medal of 362 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:04,680 Honor, Medal of Honor. 363 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:09,240 And I just kind of remember looking down at that kind of zoning out, just being bewildered 364 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:14,160 because like I said, in the back of my mind when I initially got the call, I said, I remembered 365 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,800 Stony Portis told me he was going to put me in for a DSC, but really what I was thinking 366 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:22,600 when I went out there is they probably downgraded it to maybe a silver star and it would just 367 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:27,200 be a handshake and maybe take a picture or something and I jumped back on the plane and 368 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:33,160 fly back to North Dakota after I've done my time there and just get back to where I left 369 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:34,160 off. 370 00:26:34,160 --> 00:26:37,760 But then all of a sudden I'm staring at Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor. 371 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:44,040 And I just kind of remember looking up and calling a tie knot and asking all the brass 372 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:46,040 and then it's like, what the heck is this? 373 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:50,040 Like I got told I got put in for a DSC, why is this Medal of Honor stuff in front of me? 374 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,320 And they go, well, you've been recommended for upgrade. 375 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:58,200 Sort of the president signing your award, you'll be receiving the Medal of Honor. 376 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:05,680 Like I said, I had no indication prior to that moment that there was a recommendation 377 00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:10,480 for upgrade that I mean, I didn't even, like I said, no, the status of what happened with 378 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:16,320 the DSC after I talked to Stony Portis just a couple of days after the battle. 379 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,000 Like I said, that was kind of the farthest thing in my mind. 380 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:26,880 So it was immediately just, you know, just shocking to hear that what I got credit for 381 00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,320 that day, I just thought to myself, well, that was just doing my job and I didn't do 382 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:32,320 it alone. 383 00:27:32,320 --> 00:27:36,800 I had other guys there to my left and right and I had those eight men that gave up their 384 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:38,400 life and aren't here. 385 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:42,200 Like it should have been any one of those guys, why me? 386 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:47,680 Yeah, I think I've, every Medal of Honor recipient I've spoken to has sort of said the same thing. 387 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,120 I wasn't, I was just doing my job. 388 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,200 There were a lot more guys who were a lot braver than I was on that day. 389 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:56,680 But that's how you feel. 390 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:02,280 Obviously, the review boards, the brass all the way on up. 391 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,840 Saw this as something different and it's not just for you, right? 392 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:16,600 It's really a recognition that the country wants the whole community or all the communities 393 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:20,600 which you're a part of to be recognized in. 394 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:27,440 And there are a lot of communities that look at this and say, hey, that's my guy, whether 395 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:35,400 he was from a little town in Northern California or up in the oil fields of Minot, North Dakota 396 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:38,080 area. 397 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:43,240 It's sort of a recognition for a whole lot of people, isn't it? 398 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:44,240 Yes. 399 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,920 So it's something that, like I said, in that moment, I couldn't even begin to wrap my head 400 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:49,920 around. 401 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:54,200 But now it was, you know, time has gone by and I got to meet some of the first Medal 402 00:28:54,200 --> 00:29:00,000 of Honor recipient I ever got to meet was Major General Foley. 403 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:05,040 And before that, I'd never thought in a million years I'd ever meet a Medal of Honor recipient, 404 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,640 a little on the acknowledge for the award. 405 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:11,800 And then all of a sudden, I'm meeting a retired three star general that was awarded to his 406 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:12,800 back in Vietnam. 407 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,000 And that's one of those incredible things. 408 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:22,200 I still remember the first piece of advice General Foley gave me and he's like, you got 409 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:24,640 to learn how to say no. 410 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:29,000 Because after receiving the medal, he's like, you'll be asked to go and do a whole bunch 411 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,480 of things and they're really great. 412 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,080 But he's like, you always got to make sure you're true to yourself and take time for 413 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:35,080 your family. 414 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:36,080 Absolutely. 415 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,440 You are going to have to learn how to say no to certain things. 416 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:44,120 Well, we are certainly glad you didn't say no to Veterans Radio, Clint Romash out today. 417 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:52,080 Let me ask you to tell us a little bit about what's it like being in the White House on 418 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:55,200 the day you're to receive the award. 419 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:58,560 I know they put you in the back room before they all bring you out. 420 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:04,280 I mean, the real world doesn't get a chance to look inside that or get a feel for that. 421 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:06,920 Tell us about that day. 422 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,000 That day was just a whirlwind of emotions. 423 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:17,120 And I mean, I can only imagine it's like a bride at her wedding day, but on steroids, 424 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:18,120 right? 425 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:23,440 I remember getting to the White House and they brought me and my family in early. 426 00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,720 They gave us like a private tour and kind of gave us kind of the lay of the land on 427 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,360 how the ceremony and stuff should be. 428 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:37,560 And as we're doing that, the rest of everybody else is kind of going through the security 429 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,720 and they're going into the room the ceremony is going to be in. 430 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:49,280 And then it came time to go, I said, go into the Oval Office and meet President Obama. 431 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:54,360 I just remember prior to that, you know, spent about a decade ago. 432 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:59,840 So like my youngest, he's 13 now, but at that time, I think he was one and a half. 433 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:02,440 My middle daughter was, I think, three. 434 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:08,400 So of course, the back of our mind is like, not really a place to bring a three and a 435 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:15,440 one and a half year old, but you know, the White House and Michelle, first lady and the 436 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,600 president were just like, no, bring the kids. 437 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,100 We want the kids. 438 00:31:19,100 --> 00:31:23,640 So what I remember is being in the Oval Office, sitting there kind of talking to President 439 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:26,480 Obama and he's talking to my parents and stuff. 440 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:32,400 And I'm looking over and I got one kid running on the furniture and the other kid grabbing 441 00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:37,880 apples out of their little basket on the coffee table and just taking one bite and not liking 442 00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:38,880 it and showing it back. 443 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:45,400 I'm just sitting there kind of shaking my head thinking, man, the president and the 444 00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:50,280 first lady think I'm probably one of the worst dads ever that I got these unruly three and 445 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:55,800 one and a half year old kids just acting a fool here in the Oval Office. 446 00:31:55,800 --> 00:32:02,320 But they, no, they were very warm and welcoming and absolutely loved it that we brought the 447 00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:07,240 kids with and like my oldest daughter, who's now shoot 23, she was only 12 at the time 448 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,640 herself. 449 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,360 But we got done. 450 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:19,480 President Obama signed my award and then we were walking from the Oval Office to the ceremony 451 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:23,040 room kind of crossing through the lawn. 452 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:28,520 And I just remember sitting there just kind of having a quiet conversation with President 453 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:33,520 Obama like, you know, this is really weird for me. 454 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:41,040 This is, I appreciate the hospitality and unbeknownst to me at the time, me and the 455 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:46,520 president, we split to go into the final briefing room and the rest of our family, the rest 456 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,160 of my family went into the ceremony room. 457 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:55,040 I didn't realize that at the time, one to laugh at the fact that my one and a half year 458 00:32:55,040 --> 00:33:01,240 old son prior to us walking through the door as we'd had that tour earlier, he had known 459 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:06,240 there was a glass of water set behind the podium where the president was going to give 460 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:07,240 a speech. 461 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,760 So right before we came in, apparently he broke free. 462 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:12,480 He was running up on stage. 463 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:16,800 One of the Marines was trying to chase him down to get him out of the way of the podium, 464 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:20,840 knowing me and the president were about to walk in. 465 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,160 And there's this great picture of it. 466 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:24,160 Yes. 467 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,280 There's this picture of this little dude looking at the podium. 468 00:33:27,280 --> 00:33:28,800 He's got his suit coat on. 469 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:34,760 He's looking sharp, but that's not told in many of the stories. 470 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:35,760 I've seen the picture. 471 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,280 I didn't get, you know, I wonder how that happened. 472 00:33:38,280 --> 00:33:41,320 So they finally corralled him and got him back in a seat. 473 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:42,320 Yes. 474 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:43,960 They corralled him, got him back in the seat. 475 00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:48,760 You know, the chaplain even told my family and stuff, hey, look, if Colin's my youngest, 476 00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:53,760 hey, he's one and a half year old, if he's going to get up and just let him do it. 477 00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:56,480 So we'd kind of had permission from the chief of chaplains. 478 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,680 But like I said, we didn't, me and the president didn't know that. 479 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:04,560 So when the president's kind of given a speech, he's talking about my son then in the Oval 480 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:06,400 Office grabbing those apples. 481 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:11,280 So then everybody kind of had a good chuckle because they got to see firsthand of kind 482 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:12,280 of. 483 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:13,920 We know what, we know what, yeah, right. 484 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:15,960 We know what he's up to. 485 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:20,720 Did a number of your red platoon guys get to attend the ceremony? 486 00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:21,720 Yes. 487 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:28,840 I think we ended up having, it was almost 20, what was it, 22 of them that had gotten 488 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,880 out that were there to attend. 489 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:36,520 And then I think we had another 12 or 15 that were still active. 490 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:41,160 So they were able to come in on the Army side wearing their uniform. 491 00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:42,680 That's going back to that day. 492 00:34:42,680 --> 00:34:44,040 Like I said, it was just a whirlwind. 493 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,520 There's not a whole lot of things I remember specifically about that day. 494 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:55,440 I remember my kids acting a little unruly in front of the president and the first lady. 495 00:34:55,440 --> 00:35:00,240 The thing I do really remember vividly though is I just, I remembered being up on stage 496 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:05,560 and feeling just embarrassed and not, I just felt like I wanted to disappear. 497 00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,840 It was just weird to set up there and hear all these things being talked about and all 498 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:11,320 these heroics and this and that. 499 00:35:11,320 --> 00:35:14,520 And in the back of my mind, like I said, I just wanted to disappear because I was sitting 500 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:21,400 there and I was thinking of Kirk and Geigos and Mace and Hart and thinking like those 501 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:22,400 guys aren't here. 502 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,280 Why am I getting all this attention? 503 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,760 And I'm just trying to pick a spot out on the wall that I can focus on. 504 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:29,600 So I just don't totally lose it. 505 00:35:29,600 --> 00:35:34,360 And it comes to a moment where I remember looking straight out ahead. 506 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,320 And then the first row was my family. 507 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:40,720 I'm all in my dad, but brothers, my sisters, my kids. 508 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:45,600 And right behind them was the eight gold star families from the eight and we lost. 509 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:46,600 Oh boy. 510 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:47,840 They're there. 511 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:53,200 And then just to the left was my army family, the guys I served with that day. 512 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:59,160 And I had this moment where it just kind of came over at me and it was like, damn, Clint, 513 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,800 this really sucks, but I'm not here alone. 514 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:06,840 I've got all of my family with me. 515 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:09,440 And that's pretty cool. 516 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:13,520 One of the things that happens over time, I think every Medal of Honor recipient goes 517 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:19,400 through this where they, I'm really not worthy, even to the point of saying, I don't want 518 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:23,760 to accept this award to the army, says you have to accept this award. 519 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:27,000 You didn't read the fine print. 520 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:28,480 And the ceremony concludes. 521 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,680 And now a decade has passed. 522 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:39,720 You've probably learned a lot about yourself, the country, what it means to be a Medal 523 00:36:39,720 --> 00:36:41,520 of Honor recipient. 524 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:50,040 As you look at this decade of having this beautiful burden of being a Medal of Honor 525 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:57,040 recipient, where does that lead you? 526 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:05,760 It's reflecting on that decade of what I could tell, what I thought the Clint of 2013 527 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:11,200 knew to the Clint of 2024. 528 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,520 Initially, like I said, it was tough to almost overnight be recognized for something like 529 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:16,520 that. 530 00:37:16,520 --> 00:37:21,880 And that took me a while to, I wouldn't say get used to, but learn how to kind of manage 531 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,160 and refocus that. 532 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:29,040 Because initially it was embarrassing to sit there and why am I getting recognized when 533 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:31,800 these guys sacrifice so much more? 534 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:37,080 And that turned into though, as we, coming up on especially the holidays and just got 535 00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:42,200 through Veterans Day and had Memorial Day coming up here in a few months. 536 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:43,920 We always say, never forget. 537 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,520 We're never going to forget the service, the sacrifice. 538 00:37:46,520 --> 00:37:51,600 What I realized is in those two years I was working in the oil field, I never talked about 539 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,160 Gallegos and Kirk to anybody. 540 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:59,640 And it was like, if I'm not talking about them, I'm not letting people have the ability 541 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:03,160 to never forget. 542 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:07,480 So as time has gone by and dealing with that, that's what I realized receiving the Medal 543 00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:12,840 gives me the opportunity to tell those guys stories that are no longer here to tell of 544 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:15,340 themselves. 545 00:38:15,340 --> 00:38:23,000 It's been one of the greater life lessons I've kind of taken after receiving the Medal, 546 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:27,240 that the Medal might get the attention and I might be the one wearing it, but it gives 547 00:38:27,240 --> 00:38:33,000 me the opportunity to shine that light, that spotlight that I don't want shown on me. 548 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,720 But I can take that and I can redirect it and talk about, hey, man, we lost. 549 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:45,160 Talk about issues our Veterans are having today with suicide and underacployment and 550 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:52,760 lack of meaningful employment and issues with their healthcare and coverage to the VA. 551 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:59,080 It's given me an opportunity to platform that so many others that have worn the uniform 552 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:00,160 will never get. 553 00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:05,480 Can I have you comment on that because I think it's expanded. 554 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:11,800 It is, I haven't heard somebody point it out that way, but it creates this opportunity 555 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:14,680 for you to advocate and spotlight things. 556 00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:19,720 And I know one of the things you've worked on is with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 557 00:39:19,720 --> 00:39:27,320 it's hiring of heroes, but I suspect there are a number of those kind of causes that 558 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:32,680 are close to your heart and you say, hey, I'm going to use my little bit of notoriety 559 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:35,600 here in this way. 560 00:39:35,600 --> 00:39:40,840 Did that take time to come around to and where have you tried to focus? 561 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:46,920 It did, going back to learning how to say no, because right away, it's, you know, everybody 562 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:49,760 wants you to be kind of part of their organization or. 563 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:54,560 Oh yeah, you didn't listen to your father, but you're listening to the Major General. 564 00:39:54,560 --> 00:39:57,120 Okay, I just want dad to know that on the record. 565 00:39:57,120 --> 00:40:00,240 I'm sorry, go ahead. 566 00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:04,400 So I mean, initially it was, I realized right away I was putting way too many irons in the 567 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:11,880 fire and I felt like I was trying to do good, but since I had so many irons in the fire, 568 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,520 that I wasn't really being effective. 569 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:20,040 I said I've been an ambassador now for right around two years with the U.S. Chamber of 570 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,600 Commerce and the hiring of heroes. 571 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:28,280 Because for me, having meaningful employment, you know, as we talk about the suicide issues 572 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:34,560 and the struggles that veterans kind of face, the thing I've realized it's not just one 573 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:36,760 or two things that cause that. 574 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:41,080 It's a whole litany of reasons and it's not just mental health and it's not just access 575 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:47,800 to care, but it's also relationships, it's financial burdens, it's, you know, so shortages. 576 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:53,680 It's all these other things and if we can find, you know, how to improve the quality 577 00:40:53,680 --> 00:41:00,600 of life and give veterans hope, the result of that is a decrease in veteran suicide. 578 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:04,800 And for me, especially being on with hiring our heroes and talk about, you know, meaningful 579 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:11,000 veteran employment, like I lived that for two years before I even put the metal, I was 580 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,480 recognized with the metal. 581 00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,560 I literally transitioned like every other veteran did. 582 00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:21,440 I went chasing oil fields, starting off as a low guy on the totem pole, working the wand 583 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:28,360 of a hydro excavator truck, got my CDL, started driving trucks, and then I was managing eight 584 00:41:28,360 --> 00:41:34,200 of them in about a year being up in the oil fields because my employer, which I took for 585 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:38,560 granted because I didn't know how to kind of interpret my time in the military into 586 00:41:38,560 --> 00:41:44,320 kind of civilian talk and what that really related to for employment, but they recognize 587 00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:48,640 right away the military skill sets that I brought that are kind of the intangibles that 588 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:52,800 you don't really, it's really kind of hard to describe them on a resume, like following 589 00:41:52,800 --> 00:41:57,200 rules and regulations, attention to detail, having initiative in the absence of orders. 590 00:41:57,200 --> 00:42:00,560 Those are the things employers are really looking for. 591 00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:06,320 And that made me successful after taking the uniform off when I pursued a career in the 592 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,040 oil fields. 593 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:12,640 So for me, this is one of those near and dear to my heart because I feel like I can, I 594 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:18,880 walk the walk so I can tell other veterans or transitioning soldiers, you know, that 595 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:23,000 I've got, I hope I've got the credibility because as a leader, that was always the thing 596 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000 I fell back on. 597 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:29,160 I never, ever wanted to ask one of my troopers to do something that I hadn't already done 598 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:31,720 or wasn't willing to do alongside them. 599 00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:38,520 Well, again, I really do appreciate Clint Romachau, the time you have taken. 600 00:42:38,520 --> 00:42:44,360 We've run a little longer than I promised you here for Veterans Radio today to get some 601 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:46,120 of these insights. 602 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:52,960 You received the Medal of Honor for your actions during the Battle of Kamdash in 2009, during 603 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:56,720 the Afghan war at combat post-peceding. 604 00:42:56,720 --> 00:43:01,800 As I said to our listeners, there's a lot of places you can learn more about the battle. 605 00:43:01,800 --> 00:43:07,200 I want our veteran radio listeners, Clint, to learn more about the man. 606 00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:11,280 So I appreciate you being willing to talk about those issues. 607 00:43:11,280 --> 00:43:18,640 As we close out, is there anything that you'd like to make sure that you communicate to 608 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:27,360 our listeners about your experiences and being a recipient of the Medal of Honor? 609 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:33,320 You know, it would be, here's one thing that I've taken away in the last 10 years and come 610 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:34,820 to realize. 611 00:43:34,820 --> 00:43:40,640 And I hope our listeners out there kind of listen to this message to know that in the 612 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:46,360 book of Clint and in the book of your life, you can't rewrite any chapter that has already 613 00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:47,680 been written. 614 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:51,480 Your past is your past and it is going to be what it's going to be. 615 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,320 You can always go back and you can reread it. 616 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:55,880 You can reflect on it. 617 00:43:55,880 --> 00:43:58,760 Hopefully, you can learn from it. 618 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:03,760 But the only thing you can dictate now is what the next chapter is going to be. 619 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:04,960 That's the one you can write. 620 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:10,360 And as long as we show up to continue writing our next chapter in life, life is going to 621 00:44:10,360 --> 00:44:11,840 be pretty damn good. 622 00:44:11,840 --> 00:44:13,320 Great advice. 623 00:44:13,320 --> 00:44:17,000 Clint, thanks for your time today. 624 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:18,000 Appreciate it. 625 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:21,840 And I want to thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio today. 626 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:23,480 I am Jim Fossone. 627 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:25,680 It's been a pleasure to be your host. 628 00:44:25,680 --> 00:44:30,440 I'm a Veterans Disability Lawyer at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach us at 629 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:38,000 800-6934800 or legalhelpforveterans.com on the web. 630 00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:42,880 You can follow Veterans Radio on Facebook and listen to 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