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.com. Today's broadcast is going to hear from
a couple of Medal of Honor recipients. And as
a host, I'm Jim Fossone. As mentioned, I think
Dale and I always find this an incredible honor
that Veterans Radio has had the opportunity to
talk to so many Medal of Honor recipients. There
aren't that many alive these days. I think it's
about 60 at the moment. But these men are humble
in recognizing that on a given day, They kind
of went above and beyond in the area of valor
and courage. We're going to talk to Clinton Romeshaw
and Earl Plumlee. Both have different stories.
But it's really interesting to hear these men.
And at the end of the program, we're going to
talk a little bit about the National Medal of
Honor Museum, which just opened up in Arlington,
Texas. It's April, but just last a couple of
weeks ago, a month ago. in March was Medal of
Honor Day. So kind of in honor of all of that
stuff going on, we thought we'd bring you these
two stories from Medal of Honor recipients. We
want to welcome today, and it's a special privilege
to have Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romache
on the line with us. Clint, welcome to Veterans
Radio. Hi, Jim. Thanks for having me today. Well,
this is a real honor for us. We try to tell veterans
stories and have been fortunate over the 20 years
we've been doing this to talk to a lot of Medal
of Honor recipients. And so we're going to talk
with Clint today about himself, a little bit
about the battle where his heroics got recognized,
but more about kind of what it means, what's
involved with being a Medal of Honor recipient.
Clint received his Medal of Honor for his actions
during the Battle of Kamdash in 2009 during the
war in Afghanistan at a place called Combat Outpost
Keating. We'll get into a little bit more of
that, but Clint, let's start with how did a nice
guy like you end up in the U .S. Army? So for
me, I mean, you could partially say it was kind
of a family business with my grandfather. being
an Army guy, combat engineer, World War II. My
dad was a Vietnam infantryman, did a couple tours
in Vietnam. Both my older brothers had served.
So when it kind of came time to graduation, you
know, part of me wants to say I did it because
of the family tradition. And that was part of
it. But part of it too was it was, you know,
1999, there wasn't a lot going on in the world.
And I just wanted to go out and kind of see the
world. I wanted to you know kind of give back
to the country do my time I think maybe I was
thinking I'll do four years I'll get some college
money and we'll go from there which has always
kind of impressed me with the great men and women
that served after September 11th because like
I said when I joined we were at peace and all
those kids that like I said put that uniform
on afterwards like they knew what they were getting
into and they willingly made that volunteer choice
to go do that. Well, you graduated high school
in California, and I have a note here that You
loved playing ice hockey. I mean you kind of
had the regular upbringing of An American kid
it sounds like right? Yeah, we grew up like I
said in a tiny little town in Northern, California.
We're ranchers and farmers It's what he did go
into school before going to school every day
was they had three cows to milk and that was
just we raised alfalfa and you know that was
just kind of the great thing about being in the
military you know my first exposure was meeting
guys from like New York City and the big cities
of from around our country and you know that's
what I always kind of talk to the kids about
is that the different there's so many different
walks of life that you get exposed to in the
military and this is a great and big country
you kind of as you're growing up you think you're
on that little island and that's the only thing
there is out there but to get that exposure to
it is one of those just processes of life that
I think everybody should be kind of privy to.
Well, I think at times, Clint, people think those
of you who's received the Medal of Honor for
the heroics under such combat situations must
have grown up with a Superman's cape on and you
were just a... superhero waiting for your time
to come. But as I say, you were just sort of
a regular guy. You don't, you certainly never
viewed yourself in that light, I suspect. No,
I wasn't. Like, I grew up being the captain of
a football team. Shoot, when I graduated high
school, I mean, I was all of five foot five and
about 110 pounds. Like I said, I can do fence
line and I can milk cows and that's the background
I came from. It wasn't anything super spectacular.
So you did 12 years in the Army, came out as
a Staff Sergeant. Let's talk about a few of your
deployments before the final deployment, if you
will, in Afghanistan. Tell us a little bit about
Kosovo and Iraq a couple of times and military
life, because along the way you get married and
all of those other things happen as well, so
set this up for us about where you were experienced
and mentally prepared for that final campaign
in Afghanistan. You know, it goes back to, yeah,
if it didn't happen, if it wasn't for all the
other things I'd went through prior to the Afghanistan
deployment, I mean, we can always play the who
knows or what ifs, but I do think, like I said,
my first deployment was Kosovo back in 99. I
said, when I graduated high school, went to my
dad, told him I was wanting to join the army.
I was 17 at the time, and he told me no, because
he's like, no, I'm not going to sign for you.
He wasn't smart enough to say, go to the Air
Force? Well, the first thing he said was, if
you're going to join the military, go get a job
that's not combat arms. get something you can
do after you take the uniform off because there's
not a lot of opportunities for combat arms guys
with direct skill transfers and stuff. And once
again, you didn't listen to dad, did you? I don't
think many of us, many of us kids really understand
what our parents are truly trying to tell us
until we strike out on our own and kind of...
I've always loved the discipline of failure.
Nothing motivates you more than failing at something
to teach you a good lesson. But back then he
told me, you know, I'm not going to sign for
you because maybe not tomorrow and maybe not
in 20 years but if you put the uniform on you
might have to go and do and see things that you
shouldn't have to go do and see. I said dad and
grandpa never shared their kind of combat experiences
when they were in. all the stories they shared
was always about their buddies and the camaraderie
and the shenanigans that get into but you know
they they always kept very tight -lipped and
never would open up about their times in combat
so as a young you know a young kid especially
growing up in the 80s and 90s you know you got
this idea of what war is and you know the exposure
of desert storm desert shield you know that was
in and out you know relatively quickly and our
technology really kind of triumphed so When I
first got on my deployment, going to Kosovo,
that's where it first kind of sparked what my
dad was talking about, going and doing and see
things that no one should have to go do and see.
You know, at that time in Kosovo, you know, with
the mass genocide going back and forth between
the Serbs and the Albanians and Milosevic and
all that kind of chaos going on over there. It
really put in perspective for me, excuse me,
like what I took for granted growing up in this
country. I used to complain growing up in that
tiny town in northern California like the nearest
McDonald's was over an hour away. Oh my god how
could you live right? I know how tragic how just
man my life was so rough and tough and all of
a sudden I'm 18 years old and I'm in a foreign
country where we literally are escorting either
Albanians through Serbian towns or Serbians through
Albanian towns to go get fuel for their tractors
so they can farm, so they can provide enough
food just to survive a winter. Because if they
didn't have a military escort, they typically
get attacked and killed trying to go from one
town to the next that wasn't either Albanian
or Serbian. like so that I just put into perspective
right away. It's like, man, what kind of a punk
kid have I been complaining about? McDonald's
is over an hour away growing up. And there's
literally people living on this earth that if
you don't have a military escort, you can't even
go get fuel for your tractor to plow your field
to keep your family alive for a winter. So that's,
you know, and a lot of that was peacekeeping
operations back then too. So it wasn't direct.
you know, combat for us. But like I said, without
kind of that realization of, you know, I think
we forget because we do live pretty comfortable
in America. So it's very easy to forget how much
evilness and nastiness and just suffering is
going on around the world. Well, it had to replay
itself when you went to a couple of deployments
to Iraq. Tell us about that. Two deployments
to Iraq. My first one was at kind of 2004, 2005
timeframe. So very much still very kinetic over
there just after kind of the initial shock and
awe on this initial kickoff in 2003. Things had
obviously settled down some by then, but we weren't
fighting. We weren't direct fighting at that
time. you know, Saddam's army that had been pretty
much disbanded, but there was still very much
hot and heavy. And I was one of the lucky souls
that I came out a second ID out of Korea that
actually put together a brigade and deployed
us from Korea to Iraq on the first deployment
that I went on. Like I said, that really was
you know, in my mind, it was like, I was actually
getting ready to get out of the army at that
point. I had a guaranteed return assignment coming
back to Fort Irwin. And I volunteered to go with
the unit. And my Colonel, because I was a gunner
on his tank at the time, you know, he kind of
told me, he's like, Clint, you got a guaranteed
return assignment. Fort Irwin's TRADOC. you can
go back there and get out of the army in two
years and you never have to see a day in combat.
But for me, it was like, well, that's what I
signed up to do. You know, I felt like I was
kind of not checking all the blocks of military
service that we had a war going on and how could
I do, you know, how could I serve and not actually
go when I had buddies that I'd lost at that point
from my previous units and then guys that I knew
through basic training that were injured and
it felt selfish not to volunteer to want to go.
And so that first deployment was still very kinetic,
trying to take the fight to the enemy. But yet
it opened my eyes too, you know, like you think
you have an idea of what combat is. It's this
you have this kind of fantasy that it's oh it's
always heroic and just glorious and everything's
you know just over the top and good will always
triumph and as long as you're you know the best
and the best you'll no one will ever get hurt
and the reality of war and combat on that first
one very quickly sunk in it's like nope everybody's
vulnerable you can have the best with that the
other but Sometimes it's not your day and the
enemy is kind of they're they're gonna be thinking
and they're gonna they're trying to do bad things
to us though we got to be on our toes and that's
when I got into very quickly kind of got into
the mindset that You know you you want to take
you're gonna take your guys over and the reality
is you can't bring them all home But obviously
that's what you're working at the goal on and
you did a number of training Programs again,
this is all background to sort of set up the
activities of that day at the outpost, but you
had training in long -range reconnaissance courses,
advanced leader course, air assault training,
cavalry scout, all of that building the blocks
of the soldier that you were becoming and were
going to need to be on that day. Did it feel
like you were adding building blocks? I mean,
every step in the way. I said, even from the
first Iraq to the second Iraq deployment, those
were two totally different deployments in the
way you had to have your mindset and the way
your tactics worked. Like I said, the first one
was still very kinetic. We were really going
after the bad guys directly. And then come the
time in the second one, of course, that's...
the 2006 to eight, and that's more of the surge
and that's more hearts in mind and more rebuilding.
So then you got to kind of shift gears that yeah,
you still got bad guys wanting to want to take
you out. But it's also about let's get these
guys back on their feet so they can take care
of their own country. So we don't have to be
here for, you know, forever and eternity. And
so it gives you kind of the perspective of when
you need to kind of come down on the sledgehammer.
and then the perspective of sheathing your saber
and having some restraint to understand that
you got to build things back up after you kind
of tear them down and rip them apart. And every
time in between all the training between those
deployments all just are like little Lego pieces
that you continue to add on to make something
more than just scattered chaos. As I say, all
of this builds to who you were on that day in
October of 2009 at Outpost Keating in eastern
Afghanistan. To set this up a little bit, Combat
Outpost Keating may have been the worst location
in the entire Afghan theater for a base or an
outpost. It was down in a valley. All the high
ground looking down on it was just rife with
being positioned so that the Taliban could lob
rockets, grenades, shots, what have you in. And
on that particular day, a force of 300 Taliban
insurgents attacked the base, which maybe had
50 guys in it. And quickly, they infiltrated
And surprisingly, this 12 -hour battle is filmed,
a lot of it's filmed by the Taliban. So if you're
interested in more of sort of what's going on
and seeing some of that activity, it's really
replayed in a couple of places for our veteran
radio listeners. And we're talking to Clint Romeshaw,
who received the Medal of Honor for his activities
on that day at Camp Outpost Keating. There's
a movie, The Outpost. He wrote a book, The Red
Platoon. There are on YouTube really interesting
interviews with Clint. There's a CBS Sunday Morning
interview from about eight years ago. So you
can get a lot more about the actual battle itself.
And actually, you'll see the changing beard of
Clint Rocha. Clint, are you clean shaven today
or you have that great beard going? I don't have
the big beard going, but again, like I said,
living up in North Dakota, I grow those things
for survival come winter time. They're not really
a fashion statement. But all joking aside, the
The U .S. Army ultimately closed outpost Keating,
considering it indefensible, which was of no
value to those of you who had to fight that day
and got injured that day. Why don't you give
us just a brief, this is what I want people to
know that happened in that battle on that day.
The big things I always want people to know is
it wasn't just me out there. Like I said, I had
50 other guys, two Latvians fighting right there
to my left and right. And eight of those great
men gave up their life that day. And if it wasn't
for their sacrifice, one for the 50 other guys
there, one for us working together, we wouldn't
have came out. We would not have came out of
that valley. It goes back to that teamwork, that
brotherhood, that camaraderie, and the fight
that day wasn't about politics. It wasn't about
whether we should be in Afghanistan or not. It
was literally about the love of your fellow warrior
to your left and right, knowing that they had
your back and would do everything to include
lay down their life to protect you, and you wanted
to do the same for them. The enemy that we fought
that day was very proficient. They knew exactly
what they were doing. They were veteran. They
were seasoned. They wanted to come in and kill
us because they just hated everything we stood
for. And we came out on top that day because
of the great values that this country has instilled,
I think, in every red -blooded American of that
loyalty, love, patriotism, duty, honor, respect,
selfless service, courage, sacrifice. And it
was because of all of those things that that
love and selfless sacrifice and courage brought
the hatred that we faced in the Taliban fighters
that day. I want to highlight one example of
those qualities that you've just mentioned and
that is, as I said earlier, this is a 12 -hour
battle. you guys are running out of ammunition,
food, water, everything, and you get to the point
where the ammo depots some number of yards away,
100 yards away sort of thing, and you have to
ask for volunteers to go with you and try to
retrieve, get to that building, get some ammo
distributed. Is there anybody who's gonna go
with me and the guys stand up? That's really
gotta be one of those spine -chilling moments
in your life. You know, I've got a couple of
very fond and just proud moments looking back
on my life and that hands down is one of them.
Just sit there and, you know, essentially during
the course of everything that has gone on, I'm
sitting there and I go into the barracks and
I'm asking for a group of volunteers. And like
I said, I had five guys that stood up. It was
Raz, Delaney, Dan Lee, and Jonesy and Miller.
And then I told them what I was wanting them
to volunteer for. And essentially it was potentially
a suicide mission. We are going to attack the
enemy that's got the high ground, that's got
us outgunned, outnumbered. They've got the initiative.
Everything is stacked against us. And I, like
I said, I just said, I just need volunteers and
you don't have to come. You don't want to. And
each and every one of them just kind of looked
at me and said, would follow you anywhere. You
know, and I, on a leader, on a personal note,
to have another human being tell, literally tell
you, not just tell you, but go out and actually
then go do it. by their actions that I will follow
you anywhere. You know, it was a moment that
is just always going to be forever in my heart.
The other spectacular thing that I got to be
part of is that was month three into a 12 -month
deployment. And I got to watch for another nine
months those men from Red Platoon pull up their
big boy pants and continue the mission for nine
more months in country. Not a single one of the
guys from Red Platoon said, you know, that day
was too tough on me, too much had happened. They
didn't kind of play the woe is me and the pity
party. Each one of those young men continued
mission and we didn't kind of take a knee and
reflect truly on that day until we got back to
the States nine months after that. And that's
another moment that is super proud of the leader
that you can get those guys. after going through
all of that, to have the resiliency, the discipline,
and the strength to sit there and say, you know
what, we're gonna finish this mission out, and
we're gonna finish it out right. Now this battle
resulted in nine soldiers, no, eight American
soldiers who were killed, and nine soldiers were
decorated with the Silver Star medal, and on
another part of the camp, in a whole different
area that Clint had no idea what was going on
over there. Another Army Staff Sergeant, Ty Carter,
was undergoing his own set of heroics, which
resulted in the award of the Medal of Honor.
But in your instance, Clint, who advanced the
package? for you to receive the Medal of Honor.
I think the general public kind of doesn't understand
how this comes about. I'm still not 100 % clear
on that myself because I had, I said I'd gotten
back from that deployment. I used, that was going
to be, like I said, my last enlistment in the
Army. I figured at that point I'd been in about
10 years or was going on 10 years right before
that deployment and I thought to myself, well,
this will be my last kind of hurrah and do this
last one and I'll get out and figure out what
I'm going to grow up to be in life. So my last
year in the army, I did my transitioning stuff
just like every other soldier, you know, tried
to work on my resume tried my networking. And
I stepped out, I stepped out the door on terminal
leave and January 2011 going up to North Dakota
to chase oil fields. And I worked up there for
two years. And in that two years, you know, I'd
call and talk to some of my old old troopers
and stuff that we're still in. And we'd have
those conversations every so often, like, hey,
you know, sir, would you ever get anything for
that day on October 3? And I'm like, I don't
know, like, you know, Stony Porter said something
the day after or so about putting me in for a
DSC. But I haven't heard of people about it.
And, you know, you know, Raz, you got your Silver
Star. Well, yeah, that's you got your stuff.
I made sure all the guys were taken care of before
I took the uniform off. And That's what I'd kind
of just gravitate back to. So it wasn't until
I said two years later, I'm sitting there in
the oil field and I get this call on my phone
from a number I didn't recognize. But I went
ahead and answered it. And on the other end of
the line, all of a sudden, it's, hey, this is
Colonel Davis, G1 from the Pentagon. And immediately,
first thought is like, oh crap. What did I do?
Statue of limitations should be up for anything.
And it's very rare that you'll ever have a full
bird colonel. typically reaching directly out
to a, you know, a staff sergeant, let alone a
former staff sergeant had been out for two years.
And he just very quickly had me kind of, I didn't
find myself and say, Hey, we need you to come
out to DC. We got something to tell you. I'm
sitting there trying to talk to him on the phone.
It's like, that's the great thing about cell
phones, sir, is you can just tell me over the
phone. I don't have to go anywhere. I'm working
six to seven days a week out in the oil fields
here. And I don't know if I'll get time off.
So just tell me. And he's like, no, it's something
we got to do in person. I was able to talk to
my boss and finally got a free weekend and I
went out there and it wasn't until I got to DC,
went to the Pentagon for the first time. They
sent me down. They started giving me the brief
and as I looked down, there's three posters in
front of me and one's of Sal Junta, the first
living recipient since Vietnam to receive the
medal. The next one is Sergeant Leroy Petrie,
Army Ranger. Living Recipient, and the third
one was a certain Sabo, Vietnam Postumus. And
it's Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor, Medal of
Honor. And I just kind of remember looking down
at that, kind of zoning out, just being bewildered.
Because like I said, in the back of my mind when
I initially got the call, I remembered Stoney
Portis told me he was going to put me in for
a DSC. But really what I was thinking when I
went out there is they probably downgraded it
to maybe a silver star and it would just be a
handshake and maybe take a picture or something
and I'd jump back on the plane and fly back to
North Dakota after I've done my time there and
just get back to, you know, where I where I left
off. But then all of a sudden I'm staring at
Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor.
And I just kind of remember looking up and calling
a time out asking the all the brass in there.
It's like, what the heck is this? Like, I got
told I got put in for a DSC. Why is this Medal
of Honor stuff in front of me? And they go, well,
you've been recommended for upgrade. Short of
the president signing your award, you'll be receiving
the Medal of Honor. Like I said, I had no indication
prior to that moment that there was a recommendation
for upgrade that, I mean, I didn't even, like
I said, know the status of what happened with
the DSC after I'd talked to uh stony portis just
a couple of days after the battle like i said
that was kind of the farthest thing in my mind
uh so it was immediately just you know just shocking
to hear that what what i got credit for that
that day i i just thought to myself well that
was just doing my job and i didn't do it alone
and i had other guys there to my left and right
and i had those eight men that gave up their
life and aren't here like it should have been
any one of those guys why me Yeah, I think I've,
every Medal of Honor recipient I've spoken to
has sort of said the same thing. I wasn't, I
was just doing my job. There were a lot more
guys who were a lot braver than I was on that
day, but that's how you feel. Obviously the review
boards, the brass all the way on up saw this
as something different and it's not just for
you, right? It's really a recognition that the
country wants the the whole community or all
the communities which you're a part of to be
recognized in. And there are a lot of communities
that look at this and say, hey, that's my guy,
whether he was from a little town in Northern
California or up in the oil fields of Minot,
North Dakota area. It's sort of a... A recognition
for a whole lot of people isn't it? Yes that's
so it's something that like I said in that moment
I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around
but now it was you know time has gone by and
I got to meet some of you know the first Medal
of Honor recipient I ever got to meet was uh
uh Major General Foley you know and before that
I never thought in a million years I'd ever meet
a Medal of Honor recipient. you know let alone
be acknowledged for the award and then all of
a sudden I'm meeting a retired three -star general
that was awarded his back in Vietnam and you
know and that's one of those incredible things.
I still remember the first piece of advice General
Foley gave me and he's like you got to learn
how to say no because after receiving the medal
he's like you'll be asked to go and do a whole
bunch of things and they're really great. But
he's like, you always got to make sure you're
true to yourself and take time for your family.
Absolutely. You are going to have to learn how
to say no to certain things. Well, we are certainly
glad you didn't say no to Veterans Radio Clint
Romeshot today. Let me ask you to tell us a little
bit about what's it like being in the White House
on the day you're to receive the award. I know
they put you in the back room before they all
bring you out. I mean, the real world doesn't
get a chance to look inside that or get a feel
for that. Tell us about that day. You know, that
day was just a whirlwind of emotions. And I mean,
I can only imagine it's like a bride at her wedding
day, but on steroids, right? I remember getting
to the White House and they brought me and my
family in early. They gave us like a private
tour and kind of gave us kind of the lay of the
land on how this ceremony and stuff should be.
And as we're doing that, you know, the rest of
everybody else is kind of going to the security
and they're going into the room the ceremony
is going to be in. And then it came time to go,
they said, go into the Oval Office and meet President
Obama. I just remember prior to that, you know
spend about a decade ago so like my youngest
he's 13 now but at that time I think he was one
and a half. My middle daughter was I think three
so of course the back of our mind is like not
really the place you bring a three and a one
and a half year old but you know the White House
and Michelle first lady and the president were
just like no bring the kids we want the kids.
So what I remember is being in the Oval Office
sitting there kind of talking to President Obama
and he's talking to my parents and stuff and
I'm looking over and I got one kid running on
the furniture and the other kid grabbing apples
out of their little basket on the coffee table
and just taking one bite and not liking it and
throwing it back. I'm just sitting there kind
of shaking my head thinking. and the president
and first lady think I'm probably one of the
worst dads ever that I got these unruly three
and one and a half year old kids just act in
a fool here in the Oval Office but they know
they were very warm and welcoming and and absolutely
loved it that we brought the kids with and like
said my oldest daughter who's now she's 23 she
was only 12 at the time herself but We got done.
President Obama signed my award. And then we
were walking from the Oval Office to the Ceremony
Room, kind of crossing through the lawn. And
I just remember sitting there just kind of having
a quiet conversation with President Obama, like,
you know, this is really weird for me. I appreciate
the hospitality. unbeknownst to me at the time,
me and the president, we split to go into the
final briefing room. And the rest of our family,
the rest of my family went into the ceremony
room. Didn't realize that at the time, until
after the fact that my one and a half year old
son, prior to us walking through the door, as
we'd had that tour earlier, he had known there
was a glass of water sent behind the podium.
where the president was going to give a speech.
So right before we came in, apparently he broke
free. He was running up on stage. One of the
Marines was trying to chase him down to get him
out of the way of the podium, knowing me and
the president were about to walk in. And there's
this great picture of it. Yes. There's this picture
of this little dude looking at the podium. He's
got his suit coat on and he's looking sharp.
But that, see, that's not told in many of the
stories. I've seen the picture. I didn't get,
you know, I wonder how that happened. So they
finally corralled him and got him back in a seat.
Yes, they corralled him, got him back in the
seat. You know, the chaplain even told my family
and stuff, hey, look, if Colin's my youngest,
hey, he's one and a half year old. If he's going
to get up, just let him do it. Like, so we kind
of had permission from the chief of chaplains.
Well, like I said, we didn't. me and the president
didn't know that so when the president's kind
of giving a speech he's talking about my son
then in the oval office grabbing those apples
so then everybody kind of had a good chuckle
because they got to see firsthand and kind of
we know what we know what yeah right we know
what he's up to did did a number of your red
platoon guys get to attend the ceremony yes uh
i think we ended up having It was almost 20,
what was it, 22 of them that had gotten out that
were there to attend. And then I think we had
another 12 or 15 that were still active. So they
were able to come in on the army side wearing
their uniform. That's going back to that day.
Like I said, it was just a whirlwind. There's
not a whole lot of things I remember specifically
about that day other than my kids acting a little
unruly in front of them. in front of the president
and the first lady. The thing I do really remember
vividly though is I just, I remembered being
up on stage and feeling just embarrassed and
not, I just felt like I wanted to disappear.
It was just weird to sit up there and hear all
these things being talked about and all these
heroics and this and that. In the back of my
mind, like I said, I just wanted to disappear.
So I was sitting there and I was thinking of
Kirk and Gallegos and Mace and Hart. thinking
like, those guys aren't here. Why am I getting
all this attention? And I'm just trying to pick
a spot out on the wall that I can focus on. So
I just don't totally lose it. And it comes to
a moment where I remember looking straight out
ahead. And then the first row was my family,
my mom and my dad, my brothers, my sisters, my
kids. And right behind them was the eight gold
star families. And we lost, the families were
there. And then just to the left, Was my army
family the guys I served with that day and I
had this moment Where it just kind of came over
me and it was like damn Clint this this really
sucks, but I'm not here alone. I've got all of
my family with me and That's pretty cool One
of the things that happens over time I think
you every Medal of Honor recipient to go through
this where they they I'm not I'm really not worthy
of even to the point of saying, I don't want
to accept this award, to where the Army says
you have to accept this award, you didn't read
the fine print. And the ceremony concludes, and
now a decade has passed, you've probably learned
a lot about yourself, the country, what it means
to be a Medal of Honor recipient. As you look
at this decade of having this, beautiful burden
of being a Medal of Honor recipient. Where does
that lead you? You know it's yeah it's reflecting
on that decade of what I could tell you know
what I thought the Clint of 2013 knew to the
Clint of 2024. Initially like I said it was tough
to almost overnight be recognized for something
like that. You know, and that took me a while
to, I wouldn't say get used to, but learn how
to kind of manage and refocus that. I said, because
initially it was, it was embarrassing to sit
there and I don't, why am I getting recognized
when these guys sacrifice so much more? And that
turned into though, you know, as we, you know,
coming up on especially the holidays and just
got through Veterans Day and you know, we'll
have Memorial Day coming up here in a few months.
You know, we always say, you know, never forget.
We're never going to forget the service, the
sacrifice. What I realized is in those two years
I was working in the Royal Field, I never talked
about Gallegos and Kirk to anybody. And it was
like, if I'm not talking about them, I'm not
letting people have the ability to never forget.
So as time has gone by and dealing with that,
that's what I realized receiving the medal gives
me the opportunity to tell those guys' stories.
that are no longer here to tell it themselves.
That's been one of the greater life lessons I've
kind of taken after receiving the medal that
the medal might get the attention and I might
be the one wearing it, but it gives me the opportunity
to shine that light, that spotlight that I don't
want shown on me, but I can take that and I can
redirect it and talk about the men we lost, talk
about issues our veterans are having today with
the with suicide and under employment and lack
of meaningful employment and issues with their
health care and coverage to the VA. It's given
me an opportunity to platform that so many others
that have worn the uniform will never get. As
I mentioned at the outset, these Medal of Honor
recipients are really good guys, humble guys.
You know, they all don't want this recognition,
but they learn how to use it. This ran a little
long. Let's hear from our sponsors and we'll
get you one more Medal of Honor story before
we get out of here. Military veterans touch everyone's
life. I'm guessing right now you're thinking
of a veteran, a close friend, relative. Maybe
it's you. Even the toughest of us sometimes need
help, but don't know where to turn for support.
You don't need special training to help a veteran
in your life. Even small actions can make a world
of difference. If you know a veteran in crisis,
please call the Veterans Crisis Line 800 -273
-8255. 800 -273 -8255. A message from the U .S.
Department of Veterans Affairs. Well, I don't
really have enough time to do the Medal of Honor
recipient Earl Plumlee's story, Proper Justice.
So what I'm going to do is drop in a short interview
that was created regarding a Medal of Honor recipient
from Alabama. That's kind of an interesting story
as well, Cecil Bolton. So listen to that and
we'll bring you the Plumlee story next month.
Welcome back everybody for another deep dive
and today we are going to look at the life of
Cecil H. Bolton. Okay. This guy led a seriously
double life. So our sources today tell a story
about a man who was both a really, really great
boxer and a total war hero. Wow. What made this
guy want to be so good at such different things?
That's what we are here to figure out today.
Right. Yeah, that is a good question. Like most
of us, we tend to think of boxing as, you know,
individual strength. and agility and speed, but
war often calls for a whole team to work together
and strategy and stuff like that. So how did
both of these experiences come together to form
the life of Cecil Bolton? It's interesting how
you wouldn't really think that those two things
would go together, but maybe they do. Yeah, maybe.
So let's see. Okay, so Cecil H. Bolton was born
in Crawfordville, Florida, way back in 1908.
Wow. Yeah, and his family, they ended up settling
in Huntsville, Alabama sometime in the late...
1920s. No, here's the thing. You ready for this?
Yeah. Before the war, Bolton was a boxer. Oh,
really? Yeah. And they called him Bushy Bolton.
Bushy Bolton. I love it. I know, right? That's
great. And get this, he wasn't messing around.
Oh. In 1928, he had 37 fights. What? 37. Wow.
That's a lot. That's a lot of fight. That's a
lot of punches. Yeah. And he was also a referee,
which I think is really cool. Yeah, absolutely.
He knew the boxing world like inside and out.
It really sounds like he was, you know, at the
heart of it all. Yeah, he was a real local sports
star. Yeah. His boxing career lasted 16 years.
Wow. Which is amazing. And he was like a hometown
hero in Huntsville. Yeah, well makes you think
maybe all those years he spent in the ring, you
know, facing different opponents all the time.
Yeah. Maybe that's where he got his mental toughness
from. Right. You know, like maybe that's where
he learned to be so resilient. Yeah, maybe that's
how he was able to do all the crazy stuff he
did on the battlefield later on. Right, like
a different type of training. Yeah, it's not
something you'd usually connect boxing and, you
know, being a war hero. Right. But you're right,
maybe all those years boxing really did get him
ready to be courageous. And, you know, Bolton
was also a really smart businessman. Oh, yeah.
He owned a nightclub, even. And he managed some
other boxers. He was a big part of the Huntsville
community. So not just a tough guy, but a real
leader, too. Exactly. And I bet all that experience
helped him become a great leader in the Army
later on. Yeah, you're right. Because leading
a bunch of boxers and running a business, you
have to inspire people and come up with plans
and make tough decisions. For sure. And those
are all things that are important in war, too.
Yeah. OK, so we've got Bushy Bolton. the hometown
boxing hero, a successful businessman, and a
leader in Huntsville. Then 1942 comes along and
everything changes. World War II. Yep. And at
33 years old, Bolton gets drafted into the army.
Wow. Can you imagine going from boxing rings
and nightclubs to boot camp? That is a huge change.
Yeah. How do you think he dealt with that? It
must have been really hard. Total. But I bet
even though everything was different, Yeah. Something's
probably stayed the same. Like what? Well, in
boxing and war, there's one main goal. To win.
To win, that's it. OK. And to do that, you need
discipline and focus. Yeah. And you have to push
yourself beyond your limits. Totally. And those
are all things Bolton learned from boxing. Yeah.
So maybe those years in the ring gave him, like,
a mental model. Uh -huh. for dealing with challenges.
Yeah, even if they're completely different challenges.
Exactly. Like war instead of boxing. And don't
forget about his leadership skills. Oh, right.
From managing those boxers and running that nightclub.
Yeah. I bet that helped him adjust to leading
soldiers. Yeah, because in the army, it's not
just about you anymore. You're part of a team
and you're responsible for other people. Exactly.
So Bolton goes through basic training. Then he
does really well at officer candidate school
and he becomes a second lieutenant. OK. And then
they assign them as a weapons platoon leader
in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 413th Infantry Regiment,
104th Infantry Division. Wow. That's a lot. It
is, isn't it? So for someone like me who doesn't
know anything about the military, what does all
that even mean? So basically, a weapons platoon
is like a special unit within a bigger company.
OK. And they're the ones with the big guns, like
machine guns and mortars. Oh, wow. So in Bolton's
case, that meant He was right there on the front
lines leading his men into battle. Oh, wow. Yeah,
the 104th Infantry Division. Get this. They had
a nickname. What was it? The Timberwolves. Oh,
that's cool. Yeah, I know, right? Those nicknames
are kind of like taking that team spirit from
boxing and bringing it to the battlefield. Right.
It's all about having that feeling of being a
part of something bigger. So Bolton, our boxer,
is now Lieutenant Bolton leading a weapons platoon
called the Timberwolves. Yep. What happens next?
Well, August 27th, 1944, the Timberwolves sail
off to Europe. They arrive in France on September
7th. OK. And by October 23rd, they're fighting
in Vosvesel, Belgium. So things move pretty quickly.
Very quickly. And I bet the closer they got to
the fighting, the more intense things got. I'm
sure it was pretty stressful. Yeah. So that brings
us to a really important part of Bolton's story.
Yes, it does. November 2, 1944. OK. The Timberwolves
had just crossed the Mark River in the Netherlands,
and as soon as they do, they get hit with all
this enemy fire. Oh wow. Yeah, it was bad. Oh
no, it was really bad. So they're like trapped
and getting shot at from all sides? Yeah, it
was a tough spot. Two German machine guns had
them totally pinned down. Oh wow. And their mortars
weren't doing any good because they couldn't
see where the Germans were. Okay. So people were
getting hurt. Man, I can't even imagine what
that must have been like. It's hard to picture,
isn't it, all that chaos and the fear and the
noise? Yeah, definitely. And to make things even
worse, Bolton was already hurt. What? Yeah, he
had shrapnel in both legs, a bullet in his shoulder.
Oh my god. Another one that just grazed his mouth.
And he'd even been knocked unconscious for a
bit. Seriously? You think that would be enough
to make anyone give up? Yeah, you'd think. Right.
But not Bolton. Remember we were talking about
how tough he was from all that boxing? Right.
Yeah. Well, really came in handy here, even though
he was all messed up. His first thought was for
his men. So like a true leader. Yeah. He knew
they were stuck and needed to get out of there.
So what did he do? He crawled over to his guys
and asked for volunteers and get this. He waded
into this freezing cold water that was up to
his chest to try to take out those machine guns
himself. Well, he was already hurt and he's going
to go put himself in even more danger. He was,
it's pretty amazing when you think about it.
He wasn't worried about himself at all. Wow.
All he cared about was getting his men to safety.
That's incredible. It really is a crazy level
of selflessness. Okay, so how did he take out
the machine guns? We got to the first one using
grenades. Okay. Took it out. and then went back
to his bazooka team to get the second one. So
he's dodging bullets and freezing in this water
and he's still going. Oh yeah and he wasn't done
yet. There's more. After they took care of the
machine guns Bolton realized there was this big
88 millimeter artillery gun that was just hammering
the American lines. Okay. So he leads his bazooka
team over that thing braving all the enemy fire
and that ice -cold water again. Man this guy
is Unstoppable. I know, right? He had such courage,
and he was so strategic about it all, picking
out the biggest threats and taking them out one
by one. Uh -huh. And thanks to him and his bazooka
team, they destroyed that artillery gun, which
gave them a much better chance of surviving.
So he basically took out three major enemy positions
all by himself. Pretty much, yeah. And remember,
he was doing all this while he was seriously
wounded. Right. He actually got hit again during
all this, but he refused to get any help. Why?
All he cared about was his men. He wanted to
make sure they got out of there safely. Man,
that's just crazy. And as he told his guys to
retreat while he covered them, he crawled back
to their lines until he finally collapsed. I
can't even imagine what that must have done to
him, both physically and mentally. I know it's
hard to fathom. By November 7th, the Timberwolves
had accomplished their mission. Good. But it
came at a huge cost. How huge? They lost almost
1 ,500 men. 313 killed in action and 103 missing.
Oh my god. I know it's a lot. Major General Terry
De La Mesa Allen Senior, their commander, sent
each one of his men a letter. Oh wow. Congratulating
them and at the end of each letter he wrote his
motto, nothing in hell must stop the Timberwolves.
Oh man that gives me chills. It's pretty powerful
isn't it? It really shows how tough and determined
the 104th Infantry Division was, and it shows
just how much they sacrificed. And what Bolton
did that day perfectly represents that spirit.
Absolutely. He was given a silver star for his
actions, which was later upgraded to the Medal
of Honor. Yeah. On September 4th, 1945, President
Truman himself gave him the medal in this big
ceremony at the White House. Wow. He was one
of 28 heroes who got medals that day, including
another guy from Alabama named Paul A. Bolden.
That must have been an incredible moment for
him. It must have been to receive that recognition
after everything he'd been through. And he got
other medals too. Yeah. What else did he get?
Two bronze stars and two purple hearts. Wow.
So what did the Medal of Honor Citation actually
say about what he did that day? Well, it's a
pretty powerful document that really captures
his bravery and selflessness. I think it's worth
reading a part of it here. OK, let's hear it.
It says. As leader of the weapons platoon of
Company E, 413th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry
Division on the night of 2 November 1944, 1st
Lieutenant Bolton fought gallantly in a pitched
battle which followed the crossing of the Mark
River in Holland. So it starts by setting the
scene, you know, the craziness of the battle
and how hard it was to fight there. Exactly.
And that talks about how Bolton first tried to
use the mortars to take out the machine guns,
but they couldn't see where they were. OK. and
he kept directing the fire until he got hurt
so badly that he was knocked out. That's some
serious determination. It really is. He didn't
give up even after being wounded. And then the
citation goes on to describe how he took out
the machine guns and that 88 millimeter artillery
piece and talks about how brave he was and how
he was a great leader and how he was thinking
strategically the whole time. It really paints
a picture of what a hero he was, doesn't it?
It does. And it finishes by saying how he wouldn't
let anyone help him, and he made sure his men
retreated while he crawled back. It's such an
amazing story. It really is a story about sacrificing
yourself for the people you care about. So what
happened to Bolton after the war? How do you
go back to normal life after going through something
like that? I know. It's hard to imagine going
back to everyday life. Yeah. But Bolton, he stayed
in the army. Oh, really? Yeah, even through the
Korean War. Wow. He really dedicated his life
to serving his country. And he ended up becoming
a colonel before he retired. So from boxer to
war hero to colonel, that's pretty amazing. It
is. It shows how he could adapt to anything and
how committed he was. Yeah, he wasn't just one
thing. But his story, it doesn't have a happy
ending, does it? No. Sadly, Cecil Bolton died
pretty young, actually. Oh. Yeah, he was only
56. Wow. He passed away at Brooke Army Hospital
in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, January 22, 1965.
Man, that's a reminder that even the toughest
guys, they're still human. They are. So what
happened after he died? Well, he was buried with
full military honors at the Fort Sam Houston
National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. OK.
And his wife, Bessie, she was buried there with
him when she passed away in 1978. That's nice
that they're together. Yeah. It's a fitting tribute
to a man who spent his life helping others. Yeah,
and his legacy it lives on. How so? Well, in
Panacea, Florida, where he was born, they built
a monument for him. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's a permanent
reminder of his journey from that small town
to the battlefields of Europe and back again.
So we've gone from Bushy Bolton, this charismatic
boxer, to Lieutenant Bolton, the war hero, to
Colonel Bolton, who served his country his whole
life. It's quite a story, isn't it? full of twists
and turns. Yeah, it really is. And I think what
makes it so interesting is that it challenges
the way we think. How so? Well, we don't usually
think of a boxer becoming a war hero, but Bolton's
life shows us that those two things can actually
work together. Yeah. It's a reminder that people
are complicated. Yeah. They have hidden depths
and they can always surprise us. Exactly. And
I think there's something we can all learn from
this. What's that? Bolton's story teaches us
to look deeper than the surface. to see that
courage and leadership can pop up in unexpected
places. Yeah, I like that. His life shows us
the power of never giving up and putting others
first. And how strong the human spirit can be.
Yeah, it's a really inspiring story. I think
we've done a good job of exploring the life of
Cecil H. Bolton. I think so, too. From boxing
to war, his story is all about bravery, determination,
and always being there for the people around
him. It reminds us that heroes are everywhere,
even in places we might not expect. So keep your
eyes open and never stop looking for those incredible
stories of bravery and resilience. And on that
note, I think we'll wrap up our deep dive into
the amazing life of Cecil H. Bolton. Sounds good.
Thanks for joining us, everyone. We couldn't
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wanted to do this time. It goes real fast. We'll
be back next week with more stories, and I'll
be back next month with a Medal of Honor story.
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And until next time on Veterans Radio, When Dale's
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again as I said with more Medal of Honor stories,
but until next time you are dismissed.