WEBVTT 00:00:05.230 --> 00:00:09.029 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:09.029 --> 00:00:15.150 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good 00:00:15.150 --> 00:00:18.609 day. I'm Jim Fossone. I'm the Officer of the 00:00:18.609 --> 00:00:20.690 Deck today here on Veterans Radio and thanks 00:00:20.690 --> 00:00:23.460 for joining us. We've got some interesting stories 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:25.640 for you. We always want to remind you, you can 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.739 find more about Veterans Radio at its Facebook 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.420 site or at the web, veteransradio .org, where 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.259 we're on the web 24 -7. You can find a lot of 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:38.299 our podcasts there as well. We post new ones 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.479 every Tuesday, so you can get a new story, a 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.219 new interview, something you didn't know before 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:49.219 by going to veteransradio .org. 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It provides water 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:42.019 damage remediation, flood water removal, fire 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:45.840 and smoke damage remediation, mold removal, biohazard 00:01:45.840 --> 00:01:50.900 cleanup. It also has a focus on veteran franchisees. 00:01:51.299 --> 00:01:54.359 You can learn more about them by going to PuroClean 00:01:54.359 --> 00:01:59.019 .com. So this is a story about a Medal of Honor 00:01:59.019 --> 00:02:01.640 recipient from Vietnam that I think you'll find 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.040 of interest. We always like telling these stories 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:09.979 of these American heroes. So enjoy this one on 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:13.000 Medal of Honor recipient Brian Thacker. Alright. 00:02:13.129 --> 00:02:15.169 Welcome back everyone to the deep dive. We're 00:02:15.169 --> 00:02:18.349 diving into a story today The story of First 00:02:18.349 --> 00:02:21.449 Lieutenant Brian Miles Thacker Wow, so March 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:25.090 31st 1971 actions that earned him the Medal of 00:02:25.090 --> 00:02:28.650 Honor big day. Yeah big day for sure And we got 00:02:28.650 --> 00:02:31.289 a whole collection of sources here We really 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:34.110 want to dig deep into like what happened that 00:02:34.110 --> 00:02:39.509 day who Thacker was as a person and the lasting 00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:42.490 impact of this, like, incredible valor. The ripples. 00:02:42.669 --> 00:02:46.710 The ripples, yeah, exactly. And I guess our mission 00:02:46.710 --> 00:02:51.710 is really to go kind of beyond just the basic 00:02:51.710 --> 00:02:53.650 details of, like, you know, here's what he did 00:02:53.650 --> 00:02:55.449 and here's why he got the medal honor, but to 00:02:55.449 --> 00:02:57.409 really, like, zoom in on the specifics of what 00:02:57.409 --> 00:02:59.870 he faced, you know, the intensity of the situation 00:02:59.870 --> 00:03:03.270 and. the courage you showed. Yeah, absolutely. 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:04.870 I think for the listener, you know, we don't 00:03:04.870 --> 00:03:07.650 want to just read off a citation, right? We want 00:03:07.650 --> 00:03:09.830 to really like put you in the boots on the ground 00:03:09.830 --> 00:03:13.870 and really understand the human will that it 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:15.889 took to not just survive that, but to thrive 00:03:15.889 --> 00:03:18.409 and be recognized in that way. Yeah, sort of 00:03:18.409 --> 00:03:20.090 like set the stage for all this. You know, let's 00:03:20.090 --> 00:03:22.750 start with just like Thacker's background. seems 00:03:22.750 --> 00:03:24.870 like his journey to that remote fire base in 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:26.710 Canton province, like really started way before 00:03:26.710 --> 00:03:28.949 that. You know, shaped by his upbringing and 00:03:28.949 --> 00:03:31.069 then the realities of the Vietnam War. That's 00:03:31.069 --> 00:03:34.030 right. That's right. So he was the son of a career 00:03:34.030 --> 00:03:36.349 Air Force officer. So he kind of grew up in that 00:03:36.349 --> 00:03:39.449 military lifestyle, moving around a lot. Ended 00:03:39.449 --> 00:03:41.969 up graduating from Weber State College in Utah. 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:45.979 and through the ROTC program, he was commissioned 00:03:45.979 --> 00:03:50.180 as a second lieutenant in 1969. And the thing 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:52.039 that really stood out to me was just how quickly 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:55.719 he rose in rank. So by the fall of 1970, so just 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:57.539 a little over a year after joining the army, 00:03:57.719 --> 00:03:59.599 he was already a first lieutenant. Wow, yeah, 00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.039 that's quick. It was great. And the sources don't 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:05.199 shy away from why that happened. There's one 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:06.780 quote, I think it really kind of sums it up. 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:10.219 It says, the war in Vietnam was going through 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:12.139 first and second lieutenants at a rabid rate. 00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:14.500 Yeah. Really makes you think about the impact 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:17.839 on junior officers in that conflict. Absolutely. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:21.220 And it was a sad reality, right? The casualty 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:23.519 rate among junior officers was so high that these 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:26.040 leadership roles were opening up way faster than 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.879 they would in peacetime. And I think thinking 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:31.180 about that pressure that that puts on the guys 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:33.610 that are remaining. Yeah. You know, and I think 00:04:33.610 --> 00:04:36.129 it might have even contributed to Thacker's actions 00:04:36.129 --> 00:04:38.750 later on, you know, kind of that that no choice 00:04:38.750 --> 00:04:41.329 but to lead mentality. Right. So after a tour 00:04:41.329 --> 00:04:43.470 in Germany, which, by the way, he described as 00:04:43.470 --> 00:04:45.649 like a time to kind of make all his, quote, second 00:04:45.649 --> 00:04:49.129 lieutenant mistakes. That's good. Yeah. He's 00:04:49.129 --> 00:04:52.389 transferred to Vietnam in late 1970. All right. 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:55.589 So now he's there. Relatively young first lieutenant. 00:04:55.689 --> 00:04:59.589 By early 71 he's leading a six -man observation 00:04:59.589 --> 00:05:02.029 team stationed in Contra province. So what were 00:05:02.029 --> 00:05:03.850 they doing there? What was their mission in that 00:05:03.850 --> 00:05:06.329 area? So they were on a hilltop and it was a 00:05:06.329 --> 00:05:10.060 very strategically critical position. Okay They 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:13.199 were there to support the ARVN artillery, you 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:14.959 know, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, the 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.500 South Vietnamese forces. And their job was basically 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:20.860 to observe enemy activity, ID targets, and then 00:05:20.860 --> 00:05:23.980 direct that artillery fire onto the North Vietnamese 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:26.160 Army units that were operating in the valley 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:29.560 below. Oh, wow. Really dangerous job, but absolutely 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:31.819 vital. Like the eyes, the eyes for the artillery. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:33.439 I think it's on the target, yeah. OK, so then 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:35.870 comes March 31st. Yeah. This wasn't just some, 00:05:35.870 --> 00:05:38.089 you know, small firefight. This was a big coordinated 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:41.050 offensive. This was huge. Early morning hours, 00:05:41.310 --> 00:05:44.310 the North Vietnamese launched a huge offensive 00:05:44.310 --> 00:05:48.750 across a 60 -mile front. Oh, wow. And unfortunately, 00:05:49.230 --> 00:05:51.430 Facker's little hilltop position, known as Fire 00:05:51.430 --> 00:05:54.689 Base Six, was right in the path of this attack. 00:05:54.790 --> 00:05:57.230 Ooh. So they basically just woke up to, like, 00:05:57.529 --> 00:05:59.720 a huge assault. It was overwhelming, yeah. heavy 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:02.920 machine guns, RPGs, satchel charges, mortars, 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:05.339 recoilless rifles, like the whole, everything 00:06:05.339 --> 00:06:07.160 they had. Just like raining down on them. It 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:09.660 was, it was an intense barrage. Like from the 00:06:09.660 --> 00:06:12.620 get go, the enemy's intentions were clear. They 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:14.800 wanted that fire base. Take no prisoners, take 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:17.180 the base. Right. So how long did the defense 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:20.759 hold up? It's not long. Very quickly, the NBA 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:23.879 forces, they breached the perimeter and then 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.360 it just turned into brutal hand to hand combat. 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:30.959 Oh wow. So like just intense fighting from bunker 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:34.879 to bunker, American and ARVN forces just desperately 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.560 trying to hold their ground. And tragically, 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:40.620 three of Thacker's five men were killed in this 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:43.279 initial assault. Three out of five. Yeah. I mean, 00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:45.319 with those kind of losses, that intensity of 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:47.720 attack, it must have just felt completely hopeless. 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:49.779 Would be easy to just give up in that moment. 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:52.920 But Thacker didn't. So what did he do? He immediately 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:55.240 tried to rally the remaining forces, called in 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.300 air support, tried to do everything he could. 00:06:57.420 --> 00:06:59.939 Wow. It's incredible. So even while they're getting 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:02.639 just hammered, he's still trying to fight back, 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.220 protect whoever's left. Yeah, he took initiative. 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:07.819 He called for air support, hoping to kind of 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:10.139 disrupt the enemy advance and give his team a 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:12.459 little bit of breathing room. Did it work? Well, 00:07:12.660 --> 00:07:14.779 two U .S. helicopters tried to come to their 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:17.120 aid, but they were shot down. Yeah, it was a 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.540 huge blow. Both helicopters were hit. And to 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:22.639 make matters worse, the surviving crew members 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.060 actually joined Thacker's team on the ground. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:28.560 So now even more people to try and protect. Exactly. 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:30.980 The situation just became even more desperate. 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:35.259 So at this point, defenses are gone, heavy casualties, 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:38.879 rescue attempts, failing. I mean, what can you 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:41.100 even do in that situation? The Hacker made the 00:07:41.100 --> 00:07:44.040 call to withdraw. To try and reach Fire Base 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:48.160 6, which was six miles away. Six miles? Six miles 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.800 through Enfe territory. Oh, wow. It was a risky 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:54.160 move for sure, but staying put meant certain 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.290 death. Yeah, I mean, six miles, you're right. 00:07:56.449 --> 00:07:58.329 That's a tough call, but probably the right call. 00:07:58.410 --> 00:08:00.290 But I mean, that's where Thacker's actions go. 00:08:00.589 --> 00:08:03.589 Like, way beyond, you know, just doing your duty. 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:06.230 He didn't just order the retreat. He stayed behind 00:08:06.230 --> 00:08:08.329 to cover them, right? He did. He stayed there, 00:08:08.529 --> 00:08:11.009 exposed, laying down fire so his men could escape. 00:08:11.290 --> 00:08:14.269 Wow. I mean, talk about selfless. Yeah, complete 00:08:14.269 --> 00:08:16.129 disregard for his own safety. That's what the 00:08:16.129 --> 00:08:18.829 Medal of Honor citation says. Bought precious 00:08:18.829 --> 00:08:21.269 time for his comrades to get out of that immediate 00:08:21.269 --> 00:08:24.060 kill zone. So he's covering the retreat. But 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:25.759 then he does something even more incredible. 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:29.060 He called in artillery fire on his own position. 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:32.600 It's hard to even fathom, right? Yeah, I can't 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.080 imagine making that decision. What went through 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:38.399 his mind at that moment? Later he said, the only 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.759 coordinates that I could give the firing battery 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:43.019 that were valid were the coordinates of my own 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.679 position. Wow. So he knew what he was doing. 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:49.179 He knew the risk. But he also knew it was the 00:08:49.179 --> 00:08:51.779 best way to disrupt the enemy to buy his men 00:08:51.779 --> 00:08:54.700 more time. So this wasn't just a tactical decision. 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:57.340 It was almost like an acceptance, like, OK, I'm 00:08:57.340 --> 00:08:59.759 putting it all on the line here. Yeah, it speaks 00:08:59.759 --> 00:09:02.659 to a deep sense of duty. You know, the bonds 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:05.100 he had with his men, he was willing to sacrifice 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:07.909 himself for them. And what happened next? Well, 00:09:07.909 --> 00:09:10.210 with all the chaos of the artillery, Thacker 00:09:10.210 --> 00:09:12.289 got cut off from the rest of the friendly forces. 00:09:12.370 --> 00:09:15.110 So he's alone now, behind enemy lines. Wounded, 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:18.409 exhausted. He managed to find cover in a bamboo 00:09:18.409 --> 00:09:20.710 thicket. And he just stayed there. For eight 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:25.470 days. Eight days. With no food or water. Nothing. 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:28.610 He was completely alone, constantly having to 00:09:28.610 --> 00:09:31.549 hide, listening for enemy patrols. He talked 00:09:31.549 --> 00:09:34.389 about hearing them signaling nearby. He even 00:09:34.389 --> 00:09:37.090 got strafed by friendly fire at one point. Oh, 00:09:37.090 --> 00:09:40.200 wow. I mean, that takes incredible mental toughness 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:42.059 to survive something like that. Absolutely. Just 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:44.659 imagine the willpower, the resilience. Every 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:46.700 minute must have felt like an eternity. So how 00:09:46.700 --> 00:09:49.649 did he finally get rescued? Well, Firebase Six 00:09:49.649 --> 00:09:52.049 was eventually recaptured by friendly forces. 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:55.169 OK. And after eight days of hiding, Thacker, 00:09:55.330 --> 00:09:59.629 weak, dehydrated, emerged from that bamboo thicket. 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:02.029 Wow. What a moment that must have been. Yeah, 00:10:02.029 --> 00:10:03.889 they got him medical attention right away. He 00:10:03.889 --> 00:10:06.210 was evacuated to a hospital in Japan to recover. 00:10:06.490 --> 00:10:09.929 All right, so two years later, 1973, Brian Thacker 00:10:09.929 --> 00:10:12.210 receives the Medal of Honor. Rightfully so. It's 00:10:12.210 --> 00:10:14.450 a testament to his courage, his leadership, his 00:10:14.450 --> 00:10:16.289 self -sacrifice. What does the citation actually 00:10:16.289 --> 00:10:19.440 say? While it highlights his conspicuous gallantry 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:21.840 and intrepidity, it talks about his leadership, 00:10:22.279 --> 00:10:24.899 how he rallied the troops, directed airstrikes, 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:27.820 artillery fire for hours under intense enemy 00:10:27.820 --> 00:10:30.840 fire. It mentions how he organized and directed 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:33.139 the withdrawal, how he stayed behind to provide 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:36.059 cover, and then that incredible decision to call 00:10:36.059 --> 00:10:38.779 artillery on his own position. Yeah. It's not 00:10:38.779 --> 00:10:40.679 just about his bravery, but like you said, his 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:43.379 leadership, the impact he had on everyone around 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:45.720 him. Absolutely. It says he was an inspiration 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.740 to his comrades. His actions save lives. You 00:10:49.740 --> 00:10:51.720 know, reading through these sources, it's amazing 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:54.259 how aware Thacker was of the situation, even 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:57.259 from the beginning. He said, we knew early on 00:10:57.259 --> 00:10:58.659 that we weren't going to be able to hold the 00:10:58.659 --> 00:11:01.799 firebase. We didn't have enough people or the 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:04.740 right weaponry to fight off the attack, but they 00:11:04.740 --> 00:11:07.649 fought anyway. for hours. They held on as long 00:11:07.649 --> 00:11:10.029 as they could. And he described how their perimeter 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:12.529 just shrunk throughout the day under constant 00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:15.169 enemy pressure. He said, our little oval that 00:11:15.169 --> 00:11:17.389 we called the Firebase just kept shrinking and 00:11:17.389 --> 00:11:19.769 shrinking throughout the day. And then that one 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:22.190 and a half mile retreat through enemy territory. 00:11:22.750 --> 00:11:24.590 I mean, it's a miracle anyone made it out alive. 00:11:24.690 --> 00:11:26.490 It really is. And that's where his leadership 00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:28.929 comes in, you know. Organizing that withdrawal, 00:11:29.269 --> 00:11:31.169 providing cover, making those tough decisions. 00:11:31.450 --> 00:11:33.330 Yeah, and then that quote about calling in the 00:11:33.330 --> 00:11:36.049 artillery on himself. The only coordinates that 00:11:36.049 --> 00:11:38.610 I could give the firing battery that were valid 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:41.850 were the coordinates of my own position. It's 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:45.970 just so matter of fact, but so powerful. It really 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:48.850 shows the impossible situation he was in and 00:11:48.850 --> 00:11:51.330 the incredible courage it took to make that call. 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:54.539 And those eight days hiding, constantly on alert, 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:58.240 no food, no water, the fear of being discovered, 00:11:58.440 --> 00:12:00.980 the friendly fire incident. It's hard to comprehend 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:02.899 how he endured that. He talked about how he grew 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.559 weaker each day, how even short distances felt 00:12:05.559 --> 00:12:08.679 like miles. And then finally, emerging from that 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.080 thicket, being found by U .S. troops. Many of 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.080 whom thought he was dead. Yeah, it must have 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:15.620 been like seeing a ghost. And even then, the 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:17.840 danger wasn't over. The extraction was delayed 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:20.460 because the enemy was monitoring radio communications, 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.019 and there was heavy anti -aircraft fire in the 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:25.000 area. So it wasn't until the next morning that 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:27.120 he was finally evacuated. But the important thing 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:29.700 is he learned later that everyone who withdrew 00:12:29.700 --> 00:12:32.460 with him made it to safety. Everyone. Everyone. 00:12:32.539 --> 00:12:35.679 His actions saved their lives. It's crazy to 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:38.779 think that while all this was happening, Thacker 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:41.379 was nearing the end of his tour. Yeah. He was 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:43.120 actually in his first week of graduate school 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:44.980 back in the States when he got the news about 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:48.059 the Medal of Honor. Wow. From the jungles of 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:50.100 Vietnam to the classroom. That must have been 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:52.399 a wild transition. And he received the medal 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.740 from President Nixon on October 15th, 1973. In 00:12:56.740 --> 00:12:59.179 a ceremony at the White House with eight other 00:12:59.179 --> 00:13:01.980 recipients. And even after all that, he continued 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:04.039 to serve. Yeah, he worked at the Tabor Rubin 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:07.659 VA Medical Center for 26 years, retired in 2002. 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:10.820 But even then, he stayed involved with veterans, 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.779 Gold Star families, speaking to students, attending 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:16.659 events. It's amazing, really. And his alma mater, 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:19.120 Weber State University, they created a scholarship 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:22.019 in his name in 2019. A fitting tribute. Yeah. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:25.200 So the story of Brian Thacker. It's about more 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.320 than just one man's actions on a single day. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:30.840 It's about courage, leadership, self -sacrifice. 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:33.460 It's about the human spirit's ability to endure, 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:36.480 to overcome, even in the face of unimaginable 00:13:36.480 --> 00:13:39.759 adversity. It makes you think, you know? When 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:41.700 you consider what he went through, those split 00:13:41.700 --> 00:13:44.080 -second decisions he had to make, the physical 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:46.659 and mental toll of those eight days in hiding, 00:13:47.539 --> 00:13:51.000 what does it tell us about courage, about the 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:54.049 bonds forged in combat? Those are big questions. 00:13:54.230 --> 00:13:55.870 Big questions. And I think it's worth thinking 00:13:55.870 --> 00:13:58.269 about those questions long after we're done with 00:13:58.269 --> 00:14:00.429 this deep dive. Yeah, I agree. And I think it's 00:14:00.429 --> 00:14:02.750 worth checking out the stories of other Medal 00:14:02.750 --> 00:14:05.309 of Honor recipients and learning more about the 00:14:05.309 --> 00:14:07.389 Vietnam War and all the sacrifices that were 00:14:07.389 --> 00:14:09.789 made. There are countless stories out there of 00:14:09.789 --> 00:14:12.870 bravery and resilience that deserve to be remembered. 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:16.409 Absolutely. So dive in, explore and never forget 00:14:16.409 --> 00:14:19.529 the courage of those who served. That's it for 00:14:19.529 --> 00:14:23.029 this deep dive. Until next time. And I want to 00:14:23.029 --> 00:14:25.070 thank everybody for listening to Veterans Radio 00:14:25.070 --> 00:14:28.490 today. I am Jim Fossone. It's been a pleasure 00:14:28.490 --> 00:14:31.070 to be your host. I'm a Veterans disability lawyer 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:33.870 at Legal Help for Veterans and you can reach 00:14:33.870 --> 00:14:39.850 us at 800 -693 -4800 or legalhelpforveterans 00:14:39.850 --> 00:14:43.059 .com on the web. You can follow Veterans Radio 00:14:43.059 --> 00:14:46.360 on Facebook and listen to its podcasts and internet 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.960 radio shows by visiting us at veteransradio .org. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:54.480 That's veteransradio .org. We would again want 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:57.460 to thank our national sponsors, the National 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:01.419 Veterans Business Development Council, nvbdc 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:06.480 .org. Legal Help for Veterans, a veterans disability 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:10.490 law firm with a national practice before The 00:15:10.490 --> 00:15:14.190 VA can help you on your claims and your appeals. 00:15:15.289 --> 00:15:18.470 It can be reached at legalhelpforveterans .com 00:15:18.470 --> 00:15:25.929 or 1 -800 -693 -4800. And PuroClean, a leader 00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:30.129 in property emergency services. It's the paramedics 00:15:30.129 --> 00:15:33.889 of property damage, providing water damage remediation, 00:15:34.210 --> 00:15:37.450 flood water removal, fire and smoke damage remediation. 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:41.980 mold and biohazard cleanups. You can reach them 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:49.679 at puroclean .com or 800 -775 -7876. We also 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.639 want to thank our local sponsors. This would 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:58.440 include the Charles S. Kettles chapter of the 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:01.720 Vietnam Veterans of America. That's chapter 310. 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:06.720 VFW Graf O 'Hara Post 423, the American Legion. 00:16:07.100 --> 00:16:10.320 Erwin Preskin, Post 46 in Ann Arbor as well, 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.700 the VA Ann Arbor Health Care System, and certainly 00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:16.820 the National Vietnam Veterans of America Association. 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:20.100 You can be a sponsor by going to veteransradio 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:24.519 .org, clicking on the About Us and our sponsors, 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:27.799 and help us out. Keep this program alive for 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:32.360 the 21 and 22 years. Keep us going for another 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:33.559 20. Thank you.