WEBVTT

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All across America and around the world, this

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is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. Good

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day. I'm Jim Fossone. I'm the Officer of the

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Deck today here on Veterans Radio and thanks

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for joining us. We've got some interesting stories

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You can learn more about them by going to PuroClean

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.com. Today's broadcast is going to hear from

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a couple of Medal of Honor recipients. And as

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a host, I'm Jim Fossone. As mentioned, I think

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Dale and I always find this an incredible honor

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that Veterans Radio has had the opportunity to

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talk to so many Medal of Honor recipients. There

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aren't that many alive these days. I think it's

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about 60 at the moment. But these men are humble

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in recognizing that on a given day, They kind

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of went above and beyond in the area of valor

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and courage. We're going to talk to Clinton Romeshaw

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and Earl Plumlee. Both have different stories.

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But it's really interesting to hear these men.

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And at the end of the program, we're going to

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talk a little bit about the National Medal of

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Honor Museum, which just opened up in Arlington,

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Texas. It's April, but just last a couple of

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weeks ago, a month ago. in March was Medal of

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Honor Day. So kind of in honor of all of that

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stuff going on, we thought we'd bring you these

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two stories from Medal of Honor recipients. We

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want to welcome today, and it's a special privilege

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to have Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romache

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on the line with us. Clint, welcome to Veterans

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Radio. Hi, Jim. Thanks for having me today. Well,

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this is a real honor for us. We try to tell veterans

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stories and have been fortunate over the 20 years

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we've been doing this to talk to a lot of Medal

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of Honor recipients. And so we're going to talk

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with Clint today about himself, a little bit

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about the battle where his heroics got recognized,

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but more about kind of what it means, what's

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involved with being a Medal of Honor recipient.

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Clint received his Medal of Honor for his actions

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during the Battle of Kamdash in 2009 during the

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war in Afghanistan at a place called Combat Outpost

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Keating. We'll get into a little bit more of

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that, but Clint, let's start with how did a nice

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guy like you end up in the U .S. Army? So for

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me, I mean, you could partially say it was kind

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of a family business with my grandfather. being

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an Army guy, combat engineer, World War II. My

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dad was a Vietnam infantryman, did a couple tours

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in Vietnam. Both my older brothers had served.

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So when it kind of came time to graduation, you

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know, part of me wants to say I did it because

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of the family tradition. And that was part of

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it. But part of it too was it was, you know,

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1999, there wasn't a lot going on in the world.

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And I just wanted to go out and kind of see the

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world. I wanted to you know kind of give back

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to the country do my time I think maybe I was

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thinking I'll do four years I'll get some college

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money and we'll go from there which has always

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kind of impressed me with the great men and women

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that served after September 11th because like

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I said when I joined we were at peace and all

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those kids that like I said put that uniform

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on afterwards like they knew what they were getting

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into and they willingly made that volunteer choice

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to go do that. Well, you graduated high school

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in California, and I have a note here that You

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loved playing ice hockey. I mean you kind of

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had the regular upbringing of An American kid

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it sounds like right? Yeah, we grew up like I

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said in a tiny little town in Northern, California.

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We're ranchers and farmers It's what he did go

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into school before going to school every day

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was they had three cows to milk and that was

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just we raised alfalfa and you know that was

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just kind of the great thing about being in the

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military you know my first exposure was meeting

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guys from like New York City and the big cities

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of from around our country and you know that's

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what I always kind of talk to the kids about

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is that the different there's so many different

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walks of life that you get exposed to in the

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military and this is a great and big country

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you kind of as you're growing up you think you're

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on that little island and that's the only thing

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there is out there but to get that exposure to

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it is one of those just processes of life that

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I think everybody should be kind of privy to.

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Well, I think at times, Clint, people think those

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of you who's received the Medal of Honor for

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the heroics under such combat situations must

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have grown up with a Superman's cape on and you

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were just a... superhero waiting for your time

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to come. But as I say, you were just sort of

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a regular guy. You don't, you certainly never

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viewed yourself in that light, I suspect. No,

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I wasn't. Like, I grew up being the captain of

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a football team. Shoot, when I graduated high

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school, I mean, I was all of five foot five and

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about 110 pounds. Like I said, I can do fence

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line and I can milk cows and that's the background

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I came from. It wasn't anything super spectacular.

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So you did 12 years in the Army, came out as

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a Staff Sergeant. Let's talk about a few of your

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deployments before the final deployment, if you

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will, in Afghanistan. Tell us a little bit about

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Kosovo and Iraq a couple of times and military

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life, because along the way you get married and

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all of those other things happen as well, so

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set this up for us about where you were experienced

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and mentally prepared for that final campaign

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in Afghanistan. You know, it goes back to, yeah,

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if it didn't happen, if it wasn't for all the

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other things I'd went through prior to the Afghanistan

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deployment, I mean, we can always play the who

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knows or what ifs, but I do think, like I said,

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my first deployment was Kosovo back in 99. I

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said, when I graduated high school, went to my

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dad, told him I was wanting to join the army.

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I was 17 at the time, and he told me no, because

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he's like, no, I'm not going to sign for you.

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He wasn't smart enough to say, go to the Air

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Force? Well, the first thing he said was, if

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you're going to join the military, go get a job

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that's not combat arms. get something you can

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do after you take the uniform off because there's

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not a lot of opportunities for combat arms guys

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with direct skill transfers and stuff. And once

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again, you didn't listen to dad, did you? I don't

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think many of us, many of us kids really understand

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what our parents are truly trying to tell us

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until we strike out on our own and kind of...

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I've always loved the discipline of failure.

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Nothing motivates you more than failing at something

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to teach you a good lesson. But back then he

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told me, you know, I'm not going to sign for

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you because maybe not tomorrow and maybe not

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in 20 years but if you put the uniform on you

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might have to go and do and see things that you

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shouldn't have to go do and see. I said dad and

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grandpa never shared their kind of combat experiences

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when they were in. all the stories they shared

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was always about their buddies and the camaraderie

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and the shenanigans that get into but you know

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they they always kept very tight -lipped and

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never would open up about their times in combat

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so as a young you know a young kid especially

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growing up in the 80s and 90s you know you got

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this idea of what war is and you know the exposure

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of desert storm desert shield you know that was

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in and out you know relatively quickly and our

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technology really kind of triumphed so When I

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first got on my deployment, going to Kosovo,

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that's where it first kind of sparked what my

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dad was talking about, going and doing and see

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things that no one should have to go do and see.

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You know, at that time in Kosovo, you know, with

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the mass genocide going back and forth between

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the Serbs and the Albanians and Milosevic and

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all that kind of chaos going on over there. It

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really put in perspective for me, excuse me,

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like what I took for granted growing up in this

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country. I used to complain growing up in that

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tiny town in northern California like the nearest

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McDonald's was over an hour away. Oh my god how

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could you live right? I know how tragic how just

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man my life was so rough and tough and all of

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a sudden I'm 18 years old and I'm in a foreign

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country where we literally are escorting either

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Albanians through Serbian towns or Serbians through

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Albanian towns to go get fuel for their tractors

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so they can farm, so they can provide enough

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food just to survive a winter. Because if they

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didn't have a military escort, they typically

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get attacked and killed trying to go from one

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town to the next that wasn't either Albanian

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or Serbian. like so that I just put into perspective

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right away. It's like, man, what kind of a punk

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kid have I been complaining about? McDonald's

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is over an hour away growing up. And there's

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literally people living on this earth that if

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you don't have a military escort, you can't even

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go get fuel for your tractor to plow your field

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to keep your family alive for a winter. So that's,

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you know, and a lot of that was peacekeeping

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operations back then too. So it wasn't direct.

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you know, combat for us. But like I said, without

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kind of that realization of, you know, I think

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we forget because we do live pretty comfortable

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in America. So it's very easy to forget how much

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evilness and nastiness and just suffering is

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going on around the world. Well, it had to replay

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itself when you went to a couple of deployments

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to Iraq. Tell us about that. Two deployments

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to Iraq. My first one was at kind of 2004, 2005

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timeframe. So very much still very kinetic over

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there just after kind of the initial shock and

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awe on this initial kickoff in 2003. Things had

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obviously settled down some by then, but we weren't

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fighting. We weren't direct fighting at that

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time. you know, Saddam's army that had been pretty

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much disbanded, but there was still very much

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hot and heavy. And I was one of the lucky souls

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that I came out a second ID out of Korea that

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actually put together a brigade and deployed

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us from Korea to Iraq on the first deployment

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that I went on. Like I said, that really was

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you know, in my mind, it was like, I was actually

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getting ready to get out of the army at that

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point. I had a guaranteed return assignment coming

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back to Fort Irwin. And I volunteered to go with

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the unit. And my Colonel, because I was a gunner

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on his tank at the time, you know, he kind of

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told me, he's like, Clint, you got a guaranteed

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return assignment. Fort Irwin's TRADOC. you can

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go back there and get out of the army in two

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years and you never have to see a day in combat.

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But for me, it was like, well, that's what I

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signed up to do. You know, I felt like I was

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kind of not checking all the blocks of military

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service that we had a war going on and how could

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I do, you know, how could I serve and not actually

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go when I had buddies that I'd lost at that point

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from my previous units and then guys that I knew

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through basic training that were injured and

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it felt selfish not to volunteer to want to go.

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And so that first deployment was still very kinetic,

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trying to take the fight to the enemy. But yet

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it opened my eyes too, you know, like you think

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you have an idea of what combat is. It's this

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you have this kind of fantasy that it's oh it's

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always heroic and just glorious and everything's

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you know just over the top and good will always

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triumph and as long as you're you know the best

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and the best you'll no one will ever get hurt

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and the reality of war and combat on that first

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one very quickly sunk in it's like nope everybody's

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vulnerable you can have the best with that the

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other but Sometimes it's not your day and the

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enemy is kind of they're they're gonna be thinking

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and they're gonna they're trying to do bad things

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to us though we got to be on our toes and that's

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when I got into very quickly kind of got into

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the mindset that You know you you want to take

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you're gonna take your guys over and the reality

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is you can't bring them all home But obviously

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that's what you're working at the goal on and

00:14:33.429 --> 00:14:36.090
you did a number of training Programs again,

00:14:36.090 --> 00:14:38.889
this is all background to sort of set up the

00:14:38.889 --> 00:14:44.539
activities of that day at the outpost, but you

00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:47.059
had training in long -range reconnaissance courses,

00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.000
advanced leader course, air assault training,

00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:55.120
cavalry scout, all of that building the blocks

00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.600
of the soldier that you were becoming and were

00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.779
going to need to be on that day. Did it feel

00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:07.980
like you were adding building blocks? I mean,

00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.480
every step in the way. I said, even from the

00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.980
first Iraq to the second Iraq deployment, those

00:15:13.980 --> 00:15:16.419
were two totally different deployments in the

00:15:16.419 --> 00:15:19.799
way you had to have your mindset and the way

00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.600
your tactics worked. Like I said, the first one

00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:25.299
was still very kinetic. We were really going

00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:29.080
after the bad guys directly. And then come the

00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:30.919
time in the second one, of course, that's...

00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:33.740
the 2006 to eight, and that's more of the surge

00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:36.159
and that's more hearts in mind and more rebuilding.

00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.759
So then you got to kind of shift gears that yeah,

00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:41.480
you still got bad guys wanting to want to take

00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:44.019
you out. But it's also about let's get these

00:15:44.019 --> 00:15:46.139
guys back on their feet so they can take care

00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:48.059
of their own country. So we don't have to be

00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:52.100
here for, you know, forever and eternity. And

00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:54.960
so it gives you kind of the perspective of when

00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.659
you need to kind of come down on the sledgehammer.

00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:01.299
and then the perspective of sheathing your saber

00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:03.720
and having some restraint to understand that

00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:06.419
you got to build things back up after you kind

00:16:06.419 --> 00:16:09.980
of tear them down and rip them apart. And every

00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:13.360
time in between all the training between those

00:16:13.360 --> 00:16:15.740
deployments all just are like little Lego pieces

00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:18.539
that you continue to add on to make something

00:16:18.539 --> 00:16:23.279
more than just scattered chaos. As I say, all

00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.000
of this builds to who you were on that day in

00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:32.340
October of 2009 at Outpost Keating in eastern

00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:38.779
Afghanistan. To set this up a little bit, Combat

00:16:38.779 --> 00:16:41.519
Outpost Keating may have been the worst location

00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:47.240
in the entire Afghan theater for a base or an

00:16:47.240 --> 00:16:51.409
outpost. It was down in a valley. All the high

00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:55.830
ground looking down on it was just rife with

00:16:55.830 --> 00:17:02.269
being positioned so that the Taliban could lob

00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:06.490
rockets, grenades, shots, what have you in. And

00:17:06.490 --> 00:17:09.730
on that particular day, a force of 300 Taliban

00:17:09.730 --> 00:17:13.569
insurgents attacked the base, which maybe had

00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:19.970
50 guys in it. And quickly, they infiltrated

00:17:20.359 --> 00:17:24.099
And surprisingly, this 12 -hour battle is filmed,

00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.779
a lot of it's filmed by the Taliban. So if you're

00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.299
interested in more of sort of what's going on

00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.700
and seeing some of that activity, it's really

00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:36.960
replayed in a couple of places for our veteran

00:17:36.960 --> 00:17:40.539
radio listeners. And we're talking to Clint Romeshaw,

00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:43.460
who received the Medal of Honor for his activities

00:17:43.460 --> 00:17:48.980
on that day at Camp Outpost Keating. There's

00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:53.279
a movie, The Outpost. He wrote a book, The Red

00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:58.539
Platoon. There are on YouTube really interesting

00:17:58.539 --> 00:18:02.140
interviews with Clint. There's a CBS Sunday Morning

00:18:02.140 --> 00:18:04.660
interview from about eight years ago. So you

00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:09.720
can get a lot more about the actual battle itself.

00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:14.119
And actually, you'll see the changing beard of

00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:17.779
Clint Rocha. Clint, are you clean shaven today

00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:20.859
or you have that great beard going? I don't have

00:18:20.859 --> 00:18:22.839
the big beard going, but again, like I said,

00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:25.119
living up in North Dakota, I grow those things

00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:27.359
for survival come winter time. They're not really

00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:33.299
a fashion statement. But all joking aside, the

00:18:34.370 --> 00:18:39.369
The U .S. Army ultimately closed outpost Keating,

00:18:39.950 --> 00:18:43.450
considering it indefensible, which was of no

00:18:43.450 --> 00:18:46.130
value to those of you who had to fight that day

00:18:46.130 --> 00:18:49.930
and got injured that day. Why don't you give

00:18:49.930 --> 00:18:54.190
us just a brief, this is what I want people to

00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:57.269
know that happened in that battle on that day.

00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.700
The big things I always want people to know is

00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:05.400
it wasn't just me out there. Like I said, I had

00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:08.980
50 other guys, two Latvians fighting right there

00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:11.400
to my left and right. And eight of those great

00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:14.700
men gave up their life that day. And if it wasn't

00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.960
for their sacrifice, one for the 50 other guys

00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:23.619
there, one for us working together, we wouldn't

00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:26.119
have came out. We would not have came out of

00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:31.049
that valley. It goes back to that teamwork, that

00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:33.630
brotherhood, that camaraderie, and the fight

00:19:33.630 --> 00:19:36.869
that day wasn't about politics. It wasn't about

00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:39.069
whether we should be in Afghanistan or not. It

00:19:39.069 --> 00:19:43.190
was literally about the love of your fellow warrior

00:19:43.190 --> 00:19:45.970
to your left and right, knowing that they had

00:19:45.970 --> 00:19:48.109
your back and would do everything to include

00:19:48.109 --> 00:19:51.450
lay down their life to protect you, and you wanted

00:19:51.450 --> 00:19:55.859
to do the same for them. The enemy that we fought

00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:58.559
that day was very proficient. They knew exactly

00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.400
what they were doing. They were veteran. They

00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:04.019
were seasoned. They wanted to come in and kill

00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:06.759
us because they just hated everything we stood

00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:11.779
for. And we came out on top that day because

00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:14.819
of the great values that this country has instilled,

00:20:14.940 --> 00:20:18.319
I think, in every red -blooded American of that

00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:20.940
loyalty, love, patriotism, duty, honor, respect,

00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:23.740
selfless service, courage, sacrifice. And it

00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.420
was because of all of those things that that

00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:29.680
love and selfless sacrifice and courage brought

00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:33.900
the hatred that we faced in the Taliban fighters

00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:38.740
that day. I want to highlight one example of

00:20:38.740 --> 00:20:41.500
those qualities that you've just mentioned and

00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:44.200
that is, as I said earlier, this is a 12 -hour

00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.029
battle. you guys are running out of ammunition,

00:20:48.269 --> 00:20:51.750
food, water, everything, and you get to the point

00:20:51.750 --> 00:20:58.910
where the ammo depots some number of yards away,

00:20:59.089 --> 00:21:01.849
100 yards away sort of thing, and you have to

00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:05.690
ask for volunteers to go with you and try to

00:21:05.690 --> 00:21:08.750
retrieve, get to that building, get some ammo

00:21:08.750 --> 00:21:11.549
distributed. Is there anybody who's gonna go

00:21:11.549 --> 00:21:15.230
with me and the guys stand up? That's really

00:21:15.230 --> 00:21:18.950
gotta be one of those spine -chilling moments

00:21:18.950 --> 00:21:23.650
in your life. You know, I've got a couple of

00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:26.869
very fond and just proud moments looking back

00:21:26.869 --> 00:21:29.950
on my life and that hands down is one of them.

00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:33.150
Just sit there and, you know, essentially during

00:21:33.150 --> 00:21:35.450
the course of everything that has gone on, I'm

00:21:35.450 --> 00:21:37.569
sitting there and I go into the barracks and

00:21:37.569 --> 00:21:41.579
I'm asking for a group of volunteers. And like

00:21:41.579 --> 00:21:43.319
I said, I had five guys that stood up. It was

00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:46.299
Raz, Delaney, Dan Lee, and Jonesy and Miller.

00:21:46.980 --> 00:21:49.339
And then I told them what I was wanting them

00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:53.059
to volunteer for. And essentially it was potentially

00:21:53.059 --> 00:21:56.259
a suicide mission. We are going to attack the

00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:57.819
enemy that's got the high ground, that's got

00:21:57.819 --> 00:22:01.400
us outgunned, outnumbered. They've got the initiative.

00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:05.980
Everything is stacked against us. And I, like

00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:08.779
I said, I just said, I just need volunteers and

00:22:08.779 --> 00:22:11.180
you don't have to come. You don't want to. And

00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:12.460
each and every one of them just kind of looked

00:22:12.460 --> 00:22:14.940
at me and said, would follow you anywhere. You

00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:16.980
know, and I, on a leader, on a personal note,

00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:21.420
to have another human being tell, literally tell

00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:24.200
you, not just tell you, but go out and actually

00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:27.539
then go do it. by their actions that I will follow

00:22:27.539 --> 00:22:29.700
you anywhere. You know, it was a moment that

00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:32.000
is just always going to be forever in my heart.

00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:34.579
The other spectacular thing that I got to be

00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.740
part of is that was month three into a 12 -month

00:22:37.740 --> 00:22:41.119
deployment. And I got to watch for another nine

00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:44.740
months those men from Red Platoon pull up their

00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:49.720
big boy pants and continue the mission for nine

00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.519
more months in country. Not a single one of the

00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:54.440
guys from Red Platoon said, you know, that day

00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:58.279
was too tough on me, too much had happened. They

00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:01.319
didn't kind of play the woe is me and the pity

00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:05.500
party. Each one of those young men continued

00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.539
mission and we didn't kind of take a knee and

00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:10.980
reflect truly on that day until we got back to

00:23:10.980 --> 00:23:14.200
the States nine months after that. And that's

00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:16.740
another moment that is super proud of the leader

00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:19.519
that you can get those guys. after going through

00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:22.599
all of that, to have the resiliency, the discipline,

00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:27.380
and the strength to sit there and say, you know

00:23:27.380 --> 00:23:29.059
what, we're gonna finish this mission out, and

00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:32.180
we're gonna finish it out right. Now this battle

00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:38.180
resulted in nine soldiers, no, eight American

00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:41.259
soldiers who were killed, and nine soldiers were

00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:45.099
decorated with the Silver Star medal, and on

00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:48.119
another part of the camp, in a whole different

00:23:50.439 --> 00:23:53.680
area that Clint had no idea what was going on

00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:58.339
over there. Another Army Staff Sergeant, Ty Carter,

00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:01.539
was undergoing his own set of heroics, which

00:24:01.539 --> 00:24:05.480
resulted in the award of the Medal of Honor.

00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:11.720
But in your instance, Clint, who advanced the

00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:15.529
package? for you to receive the Medal of Honor.

00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:18.269
I think the general public kind of doesn't understand

00:24:18.269 --> 00:24:23.470
how this comes about. I'm still not 100 % clear

00:24:23.470 --> 00:24:26.609
on that myself because I had, I said I'd gotten

00:24:26.609 --> 00:24:29.509
back from that deployment. I used, that was going

00:24:29.509 --> 00:24:31.789
to be, like I said, my last enlistment in the

00:24:31.789 --> 00:24:33.630
Army. I figured at that point I'd been in about

00:24:33.630 --> 00:24:37.069
10 years or was going on 10 years right before

00:24:37.069 --> 00:24:39.670
that deployment and I thought to myself, well,

00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:42.579
this will be my last kind of hurrah and do this

00:24:42.579 --> 00:24:44.559
last one and I'll get out and figure out what

00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:47.299
I'm going to grow up to be in life. So my last

00:24:47.299 --> 00:24:51.539
year in the army, I did my transitioning stuff

00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:54.339
just like every other soldier, you know, tried

00:24:54.339 --> 00:24:57.980
to work on my resume tried my networking. And

00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:00.400
I stepped out, I stepped out the door on terminal

00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.259
leave and January 2011 going up to North Dakota

00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:08.619
to chase oil fields. And I worked up there for

00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:12.359
two years. And in that two years, you know, I'd

00:25:12.359 --> 00:25:14.380
call and talk to some of my old old troopers

00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:16.319
and stuff that we're still in. And we'd have

00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:19.000
those conversations every so often, like, hey,

00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:20.700
you know, sir, would you ever get anything for

00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:22.440
that day on October 3? And I'm like, I don't

00:25:22.440 --> 00:25:24.940
know, like, you know, Stony Porter said something

00:25:24.940 --> 00:25:26.920
the day after or so about putting me in for a

00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:29.799
DSC. But I haven't heard of people about it.

00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:31.799
And, you know, you know, Raz, you got your Silver

00:25:31.799 --> 00:25:34.339
Star. Well, yeah, that's you got your stuff.

00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:36.839
I made sure all the guys were taken care of before

00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:39.519
I took the uniform off. And That's what I'd kind

00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:42.819
of just gravitate back to. So it wasn't until

00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:44.579
I said two years later, I'm sitting there in

00:25:44.579 --> 00:25:47.119
the oil field and I get this call on my phone

00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:50.000
from a number I didn't recognize. But I went

00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:51.880
ahead and answered it. And on the other end of

00:25:51.880 --> 00:25:53.859
the line, all of a sudden, it's, hey, this is

00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:57.400
Colonel Davis, G1 from the Pentagon. And immediately,

00:25:57.660 --> 00:25:59.720
first thought is like, oh crap. What did I do?

00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:03.420
Statue of limitations should be up for anything.

00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:06.579
And it's very rare that you'll ever have a full

00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:10.250
bird colonel. typically reaching directly out

00:26:10.250 --> 00:26:12.470
to a, you know, a staff sergeant, let alone a

00:26:12.470 --> 00:26:15.089
former staff sergeant had been out for two years.

00:26:16.630 --> 00:26:20.230
And he just very quickly had me kind of, I didn't

00:26:20.230 --> 00:26:22.450
find myself and say, Hey, we need you to come

00:26:22.450 --> 00:26:24.630
out to DC. We got something to tell you. I'm

00:26:24.630 --> 00:26:25.970
sitting there trying to talk to him on the phone.

00:26:26.109 --> 00:26:27.430
It's like, that's the great thing about cell

00:26:27.430 --> 00:26:29.250
phones, sir, is you can just tell me over the

00:26:29.250 --> 00:26:31.549
phone. I don't have to go anywhere. I'm working

00:26:31.549 --> 00:26:33.730
six to seven days a week out in the oil fields

00:26:33.730 --> 00:26:35.349
here. And I don't know if I'll get time off.

00:26:35.349 --> 00:26:36.930
So just tell me. And he's like, no, it's something

00:26:36.930 --> 00:26:41.160
we got to do in person. I was able to talk to

00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:44.279
my boss and finally got a free weekend and I

00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:46.920
went out there and it wasn't until I got to DC,

00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:49.859
went to the Pentagon for the first time. They

00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:52.359
sent me down. They started giving me the brief

00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:54.559
and as I looked down, there's three posters in

00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:56.319
front of me and one's of Sal Junta, the first

00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:59.440
living recipient since Vietnam to receive the

00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:02.880
medal. The next one is Sergeant Leroy Petrie,

00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:07.349
Army Ranger. Living Recipient, and the third

00:27:07.349 --> 00:27:13.630
one was a certain Sabo, Vietnam Postumus. And

00:27:13.630 --> 00:27:15.309
it's Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor, Medal of

00:27:15.309 --> 00:27:17.869
Honor. And I just kind of remember looking down

00:27:17.869 --> 00:27:20.150
at that, kind of zoning out, just being bewildered.

00:27:20.849 --> 00:27:22.329
Because like I said, in the back of my mind when

00:27:22.329 --> 00:27:25.470
I initially got the call, I remembered Stoney

00:27:25.470 --> 00:27:27.369
Portis told me he was going to put me in for

00:27:27.369 --> 00:27:29.950
a DSC. But really what I was thinking when I

00:27:29.950 --> 00:27:31.690
went out there is they probably downgraded it

00:27:31.690 --> 00:27:33.910
to maybe a silver star and it would just be a

00:27:33.910 --> 00:27:36.109
handshake and maybe take a picture or something

00:27:36.109 --> 00:27:38.650
and I'd jump back on the plane and fly back to

00:27:38.650 --> 00:27:41.369
North Dakota after I've done my time there and

00:27:41.369 --> 00:27:44.089
just get back to, you know, where I where I left

00:27:44.089 --> 00:27:46.769
off. But then all of a sudden I'm staring at

00:27:46.769 --> 00:27:48.569
Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor.

00:27:49.109 --> 00:27:50.869
And I just kind of remember looking up and calling

00:27:50.869 --> 00:27:55.259
a time out asking the all the brass in there.

00:27:55.339 --> 00:27:57.339
It's like, what the heck is this? Like, I got

00:27:57.339 --> 00:27:59.819
told I got put in for a DSC. Why is this Medal

00:27:59.819 --> 00:28:01.559
of Honor stuff in front of me? And they go, well,

00:28:01.559 --> 00:28:03.880
you've been recommended for upgrade. Short of

00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.579
the president signing your award, you'll be receiving

00:28:06.579 --> 00:28:11.140
the Medal of Honor. Like I said, I had no indication

00:28:11.140 --> 00:28:16.500
prior to that moment that there was a recommendation

00:28:16.500 --> 00:28:19.480
for upgrade that, I mean, I didn't even, like

00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:21.359
I said, know the status of what happened with

00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:25.799
the DSC after I'd talked to uh stony portis just

00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:27.500
a couple of days after the battle like i said

00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.160
that was kind of the farthest thing in my mind

00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:33.920
uh so it was immediately just you know just shocking

00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:38.160
to hear that what what i got credit for that

00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:40.599
that day i i just thought to myself well that

00:28:40.599 --> 00:28:42.779
was just doing my job and i didn't do it alone

00:28:42.779 --> 00:28:45.799
and i had other guys there to my left and right

00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:47.799
and i had those eight men that gave up their

00:28:47.799 --> 00:28:51.059
life and aren't here like it should have been

00:28:51.059 --> 00:28:54.720
any one of those guys why me Yeah, I think I've,

00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:57.279
every Medal of Honor recipient I've spoken to

00:28:57.279 --> 00:28:59.819
has sort of said the same thing. I wasn't, I

00:28:59.819 --> 00:29:01.640
was just doing my job. There were a lot more

00:29:01.640 --> 00:29:04.059
guys who were a lot braver than I was on that

00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:08.880
day, but that's how you feel. Obviously the review

00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:13.559
boards, the brass all the way on up saw this

00:29:13.559 --> 00:29:16.160
as something different and it's not just for

00:29:16.160 --> 00:29:21.180
you, right? It's really a recognition that the

00:29:21.180 --> 00:29:24.799
country wants the the whole community or all

00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:30.119
the communities which you're a part of to be

00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:33.960
recognized in. And there are a lot of communities

00:29:33.960 --> 00:29:38.079
that look at this and say, hey, that's my guy,

00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:41.180
whether he was from a little town in Northern

00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:45.400
California or up in the oil fields of Minot,

00:29:45.740 --> 00:29:51.319
North Dakota area. It's sort of a... A recognition

00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:56.079
for a whole lot of people isn't it? Yes that's

00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:57.940
so it's something that like I said in that moment

00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:00.319
I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around

00:30:00.319 --> 00:30:02.579
but now it was you know time has gone by and

00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:05.160
I got to meet some of you know the first Medal

00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:07.799
of Honor recipient I ever got to meet was uh

00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.559
uh Major General Foley you know and before that

00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:14.539
I never thought in a million years I'd ever meet

00:30:14.539 --> 00:30:17.200
a Medal of Honor recipient. you know let alone

00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:19.099
be acknowledged for the award and then all of

00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:21.279
a sudden I'm meeting a retired three -star general

00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:24.680
that was awarded his back in Vietnam and you

00:30:24.680 --> 00:30:26.900
know and that's one of those incredible things.

00:30:27.880 --> 00:30:31.819
I still remember the first piece of advice General

00:30:31.819 --> 00:30:33.299
Foley gave me and he's like you got to learn

00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:37.660
how to say no because after receiving the medal

00:30:37.660 --> 00:30:39.720
he's like you'll be asked to go and do a whole

00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:42.059
bunch of things and they're really great. But

00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:43.740
he's like, you always got to make sure you're

00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:45.559
true to yourself and take time for your family.

00:30:46.059 --> 00:30:47.720
Absolutely. You are going to have to learn how

00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:49.980
to say no to certain things. Well, we are certainly

00:30:49.980 --> 00:30:52.559
glad you didn't say no to Veterans Radio Clint

00:30:52.559 --> 00:30:57.500
Romeshot today. Let me ask you to tell us a little

00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:02.799
bit about what's it like being in the White House

00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.359
on the day you're to receive the award. I know

00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:08.180
they put you in the back room before they all

00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:12.079
bring you out. I mean, the real world doesn't

00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:14.579
get a chance to look inside that or get a feel

00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:17.740
for that. Tell us about that day. You know, that

00:31:17.740 --> 00:31:21.579
day was just a whirlwind of emotions. And I mean,

00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:26.000
I can only imagine it's like a bride at her wedding

00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:30.400
day, but on steroids, right? I remember getting

00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:32.140
to the White House and they brought me and my

00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:35.500
family in early. They gave us like a private

00:31:35.500 --> 00:31:38.200
tour and kind of gave us kind of the lay of the

00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:41.059
land on how this ceremony and stuff should be.

00:31:41.640 --> 00:31:45.920
And as we're doing that, you know, the rest of

00:31:45.920 --> 00:31:48.480
everybody else is kind of going to the security

00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:50.900
and they're going into the room the ceremony

00:31:50.900 --> 00:31:54.359
is going to be in. And then it came time to go,

00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:58.299
they said, go into the Oval Office and meet President

00:31:58.299 --> 00:32:03.369
Obama. I just remember prior to that, you know

00:32:03.369 --> 00:32:06.289
spend about a decade ago so like my youngest

00:32:06.289 --> 00:32:09.170
he's 13 now but at that time I think he was one

00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:12.730
and a half. My middle daughter was I think three

00:32:12.730 --> 00:32:17.130
so of course the back of our mind is like not

00:32:17.130 --> 00:32:19.549
really the place you bring a three and a one

00:32:19.549 --> 00:32:23.470
and a half year old but you know the White House

00:32:23.470 --> 00:32:26.990
and Michelle first lady and the president were

00:32:26.990 --> 00:32:29.230
just like no bring the kids we want the kids.

00:32:29.640 --> 00:32:32.200
So what I remember is being in the Oval Office

00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:34.940
sitting there kind of talking to President Obama

00:32:34.940 --> 00:32:37.400
and he's talking to my parents and stuff and

00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:40.900
I'm looking over and I got one kid running on

00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:43.859
the furniture and the other kid grabbing apples

00:32:43.859 --> 00:32:46.299
out of their little basket on the coffee table

00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:49.259
and just taking one bite and not liking it and

00:32:49.259 --> 00:32:53.539
throwing it back. I'm just sitting there kind

00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:56.180
of shaking my head thinking. and the president

00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:57.940
and first lady think I'm probably one of the

00:32:57.940 --> 00:33:00.940
worst dads ever that I got these unruly three

00:33:00.940 --> 00:33:03.299
and one and a half year old kids just act in

00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:07.700
a fool here in the Oval Office but they know

00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:11.079
they were very warm and welcoming and and absolutely

00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:14.200
loved it that we brought the kids with and like

00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:16.759
said my oldest daughter who's now she's 23 she

00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:22.220
was only 12 at the time herself but We got done.

00:33:22.740 --> 00:33:26.039
President Obama signed my award. And then we

00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:30.400
were walking from the Oval Office to the Ceremony

00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:34.559
Room, kind of crossing through the lawn. And

00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:36.740
I just remember sitting there just kind of having

00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:40.660
a quiet conversation with President Obama, like,

00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:46.200
you know, this is really weird for me. I appreciate

00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:51.099
the hospitality. unbeknownst to me at the time,

00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:53.900
me and the president, we split to go into the

00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:56.960
final briefing room. And the rest of our family,

00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:59.099
the rest of my family went into the ceremony

00:33:59.099 --> 00:34:04.099
room. Didn't realize that at the time, until

00:34:04.099 --> 00:34:06.240
after the fact that my one and a half year old

00:34:06.240 --> 00:34:09.800
son, prior to us walking through the door, as

00:34:09.800 --> 00:34:12.260
we'd had that tour earlier, he had known there

00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:14.480
was a glass of water sent behind the podium.

00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:17.559
where the president was going to give a speech.

00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:20.599
So right before we came in, apparently he broke

00:34:20.599 --> 00:34:23.699
free. He was running up on stage. One of the

00:34:23.699 --> 00:34:26.559
Marines was trying to chase him down to get him

00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:28.119
out of the way of the podium, knowing me and

00:34:28.119 --> 00:34:31.960
the president were about to walk in. And there's

00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:36.099
this great picture of it. Yes. There's this picture

00:34:36.099 --> 00:34:38.340
of this little dude looking at the podium. He's

00:34:38.340 --> 00:34:41.000
got his suit coat on and he's looking sharp.

00:34:41.569 --> 00:34:45.309
But that, see, that's not told in many of the

00:34:45.309 --> 00:34:46.949
stories. I've seen the picture. I didn't get,

00:34:47.130 --> 00:34:49.409
you know, I wonder how that happened. So they

00:34:49.409 --> 00:34:51.610
finally corralled him and got him back in a seat.

00:34:52.530 --> 00:34:54.130
Yes, they corralled him, got him back in the

00:34:54.130 --> 00:34:56.789
seat. You know, the chaplain even told my family

00:34:56.789 --> 00:34:59.389
and stuff, hey, look, if Colin's my youngest,

00:34:59.550 --> 00:35:01.710
hey, he's one and a half year old. If he's going

00:35:01.710 --> 00:35:05.110
to get up, just let him do it. Like, so we kind

00:35:05.110 --> 00:35:07.469
of had permission from the chief of chaplains.

00:35:07.769 --> 00:35:09.780
Well, like I said, we didn't. me and the president

00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:11.400
didn't know that so when the president's kind

00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:14.019
of giving a speech he's talking about my son

00:35:14.019 --> 00:35:17.019
then in the oval office grabbing those apples

00:35:17.019 --> 00:35:19.500
so then everybody kind of had a good chuckle

00:35:19.500 --> 00:35:22.619
because they got to see firsthand and kind of

00:35:22.619 --> 00:35:25.119
we know what we know what yeah right we know

00:35:25.119 --> 00:35:28.079
what he's up to did did a number of your red

00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:32.860
platoon guys get to attend the ceremony yes uh

00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:37.000
i think we ended up having It was almost 20,

00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:41.239
what was it, 22 of them that had gotten out that

00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:43.639
were there to attend. And then I think we had

00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:47.679
another 12 or 15 that were still active. So they

00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:49.480
were able to come in on the army side wearing

00:35:49.480 --> 00:35:53.400
their uniform. That's going back to that day.

00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:55.059
Like I said, it was just a whirlwind. There's

00:35:55.059 --> 00:35:57.440
not a whole lot of things I remember specifically

00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:01.099
about that day other than my kids acting a little

00:36:01.099 --> 00:36:04.119
unruly in front of them. in front of the president

00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:07.900
and the first lady. The thing I do really remember

00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:10.480
vividly though is I just, I remembered being

00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:12.780
up on stage and feeling just embarrassed and

00:36:12.780 --> 00:36:14.920
not, I just felt like I wanted to disappear.

00:36:16.260 --> 00:36:19.139
It was just weird to sit up there and hear all

00:36:19.139 --> 00:36:21.000
these things being talked about and all these

00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:23.260
heroics and this and that. In the back of my

00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:24.820
mind, like I said, I just wanted to disappear.

00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:27.099
So I was sitting there and I was thinking of

00:36:27.099 --> 00:36:31.860
Kirk and Gallegos and Mace and Hart. thinking

00:36:31.860 --> 00:36:33.579
like, those guys aren't here. Why am I getting

00:36:33.579 --> 00:36:35.920
all this attention? And I'm just trying to pick

00:36:35.920 --> 00:36:38.699
a spot out on the wall that I can focus on. So

00:36:38.699 --> 00:36:41.539
I just don't totally lose it. And it comes to

00:36:41.539 --> 00:36:43.559
a moment where I remember looking straight out

00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:47.099
ahead. And then the first row was my family,

00:36:48.260 --> 00:36:50.880
my mom and my dad, my brothers, my sisters, my

00:36:50.880 --> 00:36:53.679
kids. And right behind them was the eight gold

00:36:53.679 --> 00:36:57.340
star families. And we lost, the families were

00:36:57.340 --> 00:37:01.750
there. And then just to the left, Was my army

00:37:01.750 --> 00:37:04.889
family the guys I served with that day and I

00:37:04.889 --> 00:37:07.489
had this moment Where it just kind of came over

00:37:07.489 --> 00:37:10.469
me and it was like damn Clint this this really

00:37:10.469 --> 00:37:15.449
sucks, but I'm not here alone. I've got all of

00:37:15.449 --> 00:37:20.349
my family with me and That's pretty cool One

00:37:20.349 --> 00:37:22.429
of the things that happens over time I think

00:37:22.429 --> 00:37:24.710
you every Medal of Honor recipient to go through

00:37:24.710 --> 00:37:28.550
this where they they I'm not I'm really not worthy

00:37:28.550 --> 00:37:30.340
of even to the point of saying, I don't want

00:37:30.340 --> 00:37:33.260
to accept this award, to where the Army says

00:37:33.260 --> 00:37:35.039
you have to accept this award, you didn't read

00:37:35.039 --> 00:37:39.440
the fine print. And the ceremony concludes, and

00:37:39.440 --> 00:37:44.699
now a decade has passed, you've probably learned

00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:49.820
a lot about yourself, the country, what it means

00:37:49.820 --> 00:37:53.099
to be a Medal of Honor recipient. As you look

00:37:53.099 --> 00:37:58.380
at this decade of having this, beautiful burden

00:37:58.380 --> 00:38:03.300
of being a Medal of Honor recipient. Where does

00:38:03.300 --> 00:38:10.579
that lead you? You know it's yeah it's reflecting

00:38:10.579 --> 00:38:14.019
on that decade of what I could tell you know

00:38:14.019 --> 00:38:18.280
what I thought the Clint of 2013 knew to the

00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:23.880
Clint of 2024. Initially like I said it was tough

00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:26.250
to almost overnight be recognized for something

00:38:26.250 --> 00:38:28.650
like that. You know, and that took me a while

00:38:28.650 --> 00:38:32.070
to, I wouldn't say get used to, but learn how

00:38:32.070 --> 00:38:36.090
to kind of manage and refocus that. I said, because

00:38:36.090 --> 00:38:38.090
initially it was, it was embarrassing to sit

00:38:38.090 --> 00:38:39.769
there and I don't, why am I getting recognized

00:38:39.769 --> 00:38:42.969
when these guys sacrifice so much more? And that

00:38:42.969 --> 00:38:45.929
turned into though, you know, as we, you know,

00:38:46.030 --> 00:38:47.849
coming up on especially the holidays and just

00:38:47.849 --> 00:38:49.849
got through Veterans Day and you know, we'll

00:38:49.849 --> 00:38:51.889
have Memorial Day coming up here in a few months.

00:38:52.429 --> 00:38:54.610
You know, we always say, you know, never forget.

00:38:54.809 --> 00:38:56.429
We're never going to forget the service, the

00:38:56.429 --> 00:38:59.170
sacrifice. What I realized is in those two years

00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:01.909
I was working in the Royal Field, I never talked

00:39:01.909 --> 00:39:05.230
about Gallegos and Kirk to anybody. And it was

00:39:05.230 --> 00:39:08.329
like, if I'm not talking about them, I'm not

00:39:08.329 --> 00:39:11.869
letting people have the ability to never forget.

00:39:13.630 --> 00:39:16.070
So as time has gone by and dealing with that,

00:39:16.190 --> 00:39:18.590
that's what I realized receiving the medal gives

00:39:18.590 --> 00:39:22.090
me the opportunity to tell those guys' stories.

00:39:22.349 --> 00:39:24.329
that are no longer here to tell it themselves.

00:39:25.889 --> 00:39:31.210
That's been one of the greater life lessons I've

00:39:31.210 --> 00:39:33.949
kind of taken after receiving the medal that

00:39:33.949 --> 00:39:35.829
the medal might get the attention and I might

00:39:35.829 --> 00:39:39.269
be the one wearing it, but it gives me the opportunity

00:39:39.269 --> 00:39:41.909
to shine that light, that spotlight that I don't

00:39:41.909 --> 00:39:45.650
want shown on me, but I can take that and I can

00:39:45.650 --> 00:39:48.690
redirect it and talk about the men we lost, talk

00:39:48.690 --> 00:39:51.070
about issues our veterans are having today with

00:39:51.070 --> 00:39:57.449
the with suicide and under employment and lack

00:39:57.449 --> 00:40:00.789
of meaningful employment and issues with their

00:40:00.789 --> 00:40:03.949
health care and coverage to the VA. It's given

00:40:03.949 --> 00:40:08.130
me an opportunity to platform that so many others

00:40:08.130 --> 00:40:12.349
that have worn the uniform will never get. As

00:40:12.349 --> 00:40:14.829
I mentioned at the outset, these Medal of Honor

00:40:14.829 --> 00:40:17.630
recipients are really good guys, humble guys.

00:40:18.659 --> 00:40:21.539
You know, they all don't want this recognition,

00:40:21.980 --> 00:40:24.539
but they learn how to use it. This ran a little

00:40:24.539 --> 00:40:27.840
long. Let's hear from our sponsors and we'll

00:40:27.840 --> 00:40:30.699
get you one more Medal of Honor story before

00:40:30.699 --> 00:40:33.860
we get out of here. Military veterans touch everyone's

00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:35.880
life. I'm guessing right now you're thinking

00:40:35.880 --> 00:40:38.920
of a veteran, a close friend, relative. Maybe

00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:41.679
it's you. Even the toughest of us sometimes need

00:40:41.679 --> 00:40:43.699
help, but don't know where to turn for support.

00:40:44.099 --> 00:40:45.820
You don't need special training to help a veteran

00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:48.719
in your life. Even small actions can make a world

00:40:48.719 --> 00:40:51.079
of difference. If you know a veteran in crisis,

00:40:51.360 --> 00:40:55.079
please call the Veterans Crisis Line 800 -273

00:40:55.079 --> 00:41:00.599
-8255. 800 -273 -8255. A message from the U .S.

00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:03.239
Department of Veterans Affairs. Well, I don't

00:41:03.239 --> 00:41:07.889
really have enough time to do the Medal of Honor

00:41:07.889 --> 00:41:11.829
recipient Earl Plumlee's story, Proper Justice.

00:41:12.349 --> 00:41:15.250
So what I'm going to do is drop in a short interview

00:41:15.250 --> 00:41:20.329
that was created regarding a Medal of Honor recipient

00:41:20.329 --> 00:41:23.269
from Alabama. That's kind of an interesting story

00:41:23.269 --> 00:41:25.849
as well, Cecil Bolton. So listen to that and

00:41:25.849 --> 00:41:28.150
we'll bring you the Plumlee story next month.

00:41:28.429 --> 00:41:31.230
Welcome back everybody for another deep dive

00:41:31.230 --> 00:41:34.670
and today we are going to look at the life of

00:41:34.670 --> 00:41:39.179
Cecil H. Bolton. Okay. This guy led a seriously

00:41:39.179 --> 00:41:42.659
double life. So our sources today tell a story

00:41:42.659 --> 00:41:45.900
about a man who was both a really, really great

00:41:45.900 --> 00:41:50.599
boxer and a total war hero. Wow. What made this

00:41:50.599 --> 00:41:53.139
guy want to be so good at such different things?

00:41:53.519 --> 00:41:55.179
That's what we are here to figure out today.

00:41:55.400 --> 00:41:58.840
Right. Yeah, that is a good question. Like most

00:41:58.840 --> 00:42:01.199
of us, we tend to think of boxing as, you know,

00:42:01.400 --> 00:42:04.650
individual strength. and agility and speed, but

00:42:04.650 --> 00:42:07.710
war often calls for a whole team to work together

00:42:07.710 --> 00:42:11.289
and strategy and stuff like that. So how did

00:42:11.289 --> 00:42:13.670
both of these experiences come together to form

00:42:13.670 --> 00:42:16.170
the life of Cecil Bolton? It's interesting how

00:42:16.170 --> 00:42:18.570
you wouldn't really think that those two things

00:42:18.570 --> 00:42:21.090
would go together, but maybe they do. Yeah, maybe.

00:42:21.429 --> 00:42:23.670
So let's see. Okay, so Cecil H. Bolton was born

00:42:23.670 --> 00:42:26.650
in Crawfordville, Florida, way back in 1908.

00:42:26.650 --> 00:42:29.309
Wow. Yeah, and his family, they ended up settling

00:42:29.309 --> 00:42:31.536
in Huntsville, Alabama sometime in the late...

00:42:32.309 --> 00:42:34.230
1920s. No, here's the thing. You ready for this?

00:42:34.630 --> 00:42:38.590
Yeah. Before the war, Bolton was a boxer. Oh,

00:42:38.590 --> 00:42:40.550
really? Yeah. And they called him Bushy Bolton.

00:42:40.929 --> 00:42:43.730
Bushy Bolton. I love it. I know, right? That's

00:42:43.730 --> 00:42:47.010
great. And get this, he wasn't messing around.

00:42:47.050 --> 00:42:52.909
Oh. In 1928, he had 37 fights. What? 37. Wow.

00:42:54.030 --> 00:42:56.650
That's a lot. That's a lot of fight. That's a

00:42:56.650 --> 00:42:59.230
lot of punches. Yeah. And he was also a referee,

00:42:59.230 --> 00:43:01.610
which I think is really cool. Yeah, absolutely.

00:43:01.630 --> 00:43:03.630
He knew the boxing world like inside and out.

00:43:03.829 --> 00:43:05.949
It really sounds like he was, you know, at the

00:43:05.949 --> 00:43:08.429
heart of it all. Yeah, he was a real local sports

00:43:08.429 --> 00:43:12.150
star. Yeah. His boxing career lasted 16 years.

00:43:12.570 --> 00:43:15.369
Wow. Which is amazing. And he was like a hometown

00:43:15.369 --> 00:43:17.429
hero in Huntsville. Yeah, well makes you think

00:43:17.429 --> 00:43:20.710
maybe all those years he spent in the ring, you

00:43:20.710 --> 00:43:22.949
know, facing different opponents all the time.

00:43:22.949 --> 00:43:25.050
Yeah. Maybe that's where he got his mental toughness

00:43:25.050 --> 00:43:27.449
from. Right. You know, like maybe that's where

00:43:27.449 --> 00:43:29.940
he learned to be so resilient. Yeah, maybe that's

00:43:29.940 --> 00:43:31.820
how he was able to do all the crazy stuff he

00:43:31.820 --> 00:43:33.739
did on the battlefield later on. Right, like

00:43:33.739 --> 00:43:36.480
a different type of training. Yeah, it's not

00:43:36.480 --> 00:43:39.679
something you'd usually connect boxing and, you

00:43:39.679 --> 00:43:42.179
know, being a war hero. Right. But you're right,

00:43:42.300 --> 00:43:44.360
maybe all those years boxing really did get him

00:43:44.360 --> 00:43:46.860
ready to be courageous. And, you know, Bolton

00:43:46.860 --> 00:43:49.780
was also a really smart businessman. Oh, yeah.

00:43:50.030 --> 00:43:53.170
He owned a nightclub, even. And he managed some

00:43:53.170 --> 00:43:55.570
other boxers. He was a big part of the Huntsville

00:43:55.570 --> 00:43:58.590
community. So not just a tough guy, but a real

00:43:58.590 --> 00:44:01.389
leader, too. Exactly. And I bet all that experience

00:44:01.389 --> 00:44:03.489
helped him become a great leader in the Army

00:44:03.489 --> 00:44:06.469
later on. Yeah, you're right. Because leading

00:44:06.469 --> 00:44:08.789
a bunch of boxers and running a business, you

00:44:08.789 --> 00:44:11.349
have to inspire people and come up with plans

00:44:11.349 --> 00:44:13.610
and make tough decisions. For sure. And those

00:44:13.610 --> 00:44:15.309
are all things that are important in war, too.

00:44:15.409 --> 00:44:18.900
Yeah. OK, so we've got Bushy Bolton. the hometown

00:44:18.900 --> 00:44:22.039
boxing hero, a successful businessman, and a

00:44:22.039 --> 00:44:26.260
leader in Huntsville. Then 1942 comes along and

00:44:26.260 --> 00:44:29.159
everything changes. World War II. Yep. And at

00:44:29.159 --> 00:44:32.280
33 years old, Bolton gets drafted into the army.

00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:34.900
Wow. Can you imagine going from boxing rings

00:44:34.900 --> 00:44:39.659
and nightclubs to boot camp? That is a huge change.

00:44:40.280 --> 00:44:43.219
Yeah. How do you think he dealt with that? It

00:44:43.219 --> 00:44:45.179
must have been really hard. Total. But I bet

00:44:45.179 --> 00:44:47.900
even though everything was different, Yeah. Something's

00:44:47.900 --> 00:44:50.860
probably stayed the same. Like what? Well, in

00:44:50.860 --> 00:44:54.980
boxing and war, there's one main goal. To win.

00:44:55.119 --> 00:44:57.980
To win, that's it. OK. And to do that, you need

00:44:57.980 --> 00:45:00.920
discipline and focus. Yeah. And you have to push

00:45:00.920 --> 00:45:03.159
yourself beyond your limits. Totally. And those

00:45:03.159 --> 00:45:06.039
are all things Bolton learned from boxing. Yeah.

00:45:06.280 --> 00:45:08.300
So maybe those years in the ring gave him, like,

00:45:08.659 --> 00:45:11.820
a mental model. Uh -huh. for dealing with challenges.

00:45:11.900 --> 00:45:14.059
Yeah, even if they're completely different challenges.

00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:16.840
Exactly. Like war instead of boxing. And don't

00:45:16.840 --> 00:45:19.420
forget about his leadership skills. Oh, right.

00:45:19.579 --> 00:45:22.320
From managing those boxers and running that nightclub.

00:45:22.340 --> 00:45:24.960
Yeah. I bet that helped him adjust to leading

00:45:24.960 --> 00:45:27.440
soldiers. Yeah, because in the army, it's not

00:45:27.440 --> 00:45:29.719
just about you anymore. You're part of a team

00:45:29.719 --> 00:45:31.840
and you're responsible for other people. Exactly.

00:45:32.340 --> 00:45:34.860
So Bolton goes through basic training. Then he

00:45:34.860 --> 00:45:36.699
does really well at officer candidate school

00:45:36.699 --> 00:45:39.400
and he becomes a second lieutenant. OK. And then

00:45:39.400 --> 00:45:42.000
they assign them as a weapons platoon leader

00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:46.940
in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 413th Infantry Regiment,

00:45:47.219 --> 00:45:50.739
104th Infantry Division. Wow. That's a lot. It

00:45:50.739 --> 00:45:53.300
is, isn't it? So for someone like me who doesn't

00:45:53.300 --> 00:45:55.820
know anything about the military, what does all

00:45:55.820 --> 00:45:58.280
that even mean? So basically, a weapons platoon

00:45:58.280 --> 00:46:01.039
is like a special unit within a bigger company.

00:46:01.159 --> 00:46:03.800
OK. And they're the ones with the big guns, like

00:46:03.800 --> 00:46:06.840
machine guns and mortars. Oh, wow. So in Bolton's

00:46:06.840 --> 00:46:08.900
case, that meant He was right there on the front

00:46:08.900 --> 00:46:11.639
lines leading his men into battle. Oh, wow. Yeah,

00:46:11.719 --> 00:46:14.500
the 104th Infantry Division. Get this. They had

00:46:14.500 --> 00:46:17.059
a nickname. What was it? The Timberwolves. Oh,

00:46:17.099 --> 00:46:19.579
that's cool. Yeah, I know, right? Those nicknames

00:46:19.579 --> 00:46:21.980
are kind of like taking that team spirit from

00:46:21.980 --> 00:46:24.079
boxing and bringing it to the battlefield. Right.

00:46:24.280 --> 00:46:26.179
It's all about having that feeling of being a

00:46:26.179 --> 00:46:28.840
part of something bigger. So Bolton, our boxer,

00:46:29.099 --> 00:46:31.500
is now Lieutenant Bolton leading a weapons platoon

00:46:31.500 --> 00:46:33.829
called the Timberwolves. Yep. What happens next?

00:46:34.190 --> 00:46:37.550
Well, August 27th, 1944, the Timberwolves sail

00:46:37.550 --> 00:46:39.989
off to Europe. They arrive in France on September

00:46:39.989 --> 00:46:43.610
7th. OK. And by October 23rd, they're fighting

00:46:43.610 --> 00:46:46.610
in Vosvesel, Belgium. So things move pretty quickly.

00:46:47.010 --> 00:46:49.030
Very quickly. And I bet the closer they got to

00:46:49.030 --> 00:46:50.849
the fighting, the more intense things got. I'm

00:46:50.849 --> 00:46:53.550
sure it was pretty stressful. Yeah. So that brings

00:46:53.550 --> 00:46:56.309
us to a really important part of Bolton's story.

00:46:56.349 --> 00:47:00.809
Yes, it does. November 2, 1944. OK. The Timberwolves

00:47:00.809 --> 00:47:04.210
had just crossed the Mark River in the Netherlands,

00:47:04.969 --> 00:47:07.610
and as soon as they do, they get hit with all

00:47:07.610 --> 00:47:10.590
this enemy fire. Oh wow. Yeah, it was bad. Oh

00:47:10.590 --> 00:47:13.050
no, it was really bad. So they're like trapped

00:47:13.050 --> 00:47:15.269
and getting shot at from all sides? Yeah, it

00:47:15.269 --> 00:47:17.710
was a tough spot. Two German machine guns had

00:47:17.710 --> 00:47:20.889
them totally pinned down. Oh wow. And their mortars

00:47:20.889 --> 00:47:22.409
weren't doing any good because they couldn't

00:47:22.409 --> 00:47:24.349
see where the Germans were. Okay. So people were

00:47:24.349 --> 00:47:26.230
getting hurt. Man, I can't even imagine what

00:47:26.230 --> 00:47:28.269
that must have been like. It's hard to picture,

00:47:28.369 --> 00:47:30.690
isn't it, all that chaos and the fear and the

00:47:30.690 --> 00:47:33.329
noise? Yeah, definitely. And to make things even

00:47:33.329 --> 00:47:36.690
worse, Bolton was already hurt. What? Yeah, he

00:47:36.690 --> 00:47:40.110
had shrapnel in both legs, a bullet in his shoulder.

00:47:40.550 --> 00:47:44.030
Oh my god. Another one that just grazed his mouth.

00:47:44.949 --> 00:47:46.909
And he'd even been knocked unconscious for a

00:47:46.909 --> 00:47:49.369
bit. Seriously? You think that would be enough

00:47:49.369 --> 00:47:52.809
to make anyone give up? Yeah, you'd think. Right.

00:47:53.250 --> 00:47:54.929
But not Bolton. Remember we were talking about

00:47:54.929 --> 00:47:56.789
how tough he was from all that boxing? Right.

00:47:56.920 --> 00:47:59.039
Yeah. Well, really came in handy here, even though

00:47:59.039 --> 00:48:00.920
he was all messed up. His first thought was for

00:48:00.920 --> 00:48:03.940
his men. So like a true leader. Yeah. He knew

00:48:03.940 --> 00:48:06.039
they were stuck and needed to get out of there.

00:48:06.239 --> 00:48:08.460
So what did he do? He crawled over to his guys

00:48:08.460 --> 00:48:12.000
and asked for volunteers and get this. He waded

00:48:12.000 --> 00:48:15.039
into this freezing cold water that was up to

00:48:15.039 --> 00:48:17.519
his chest to try to take out those machine guns

00:48:17.519 --> 00:48:19.619
himself. Well, he was already hurt and he's going

00:48:19.619 --> 00:48:21.940
to go put himself in even more danger. He was,

00:48:22.059 --> 00:48:23.880
it's pretty amazing when you think about it.

00:48:24.099 --> 00:48:26.039
He wasn't worried about himself at all. Wow.

00:48:26.260 --> 00:48:28.280
All he cared about was getting his men to safety.

00:48:28.579 --> 00:48:30.760
That's incredible. It really is a crazy level

00:48:30.760 --> 00:48:33.760
of selflessness. Okay, so how did he take out

00:48:33.760 --> 00:48:37.139
the machine guns? We got to the first one using

00:48:37.139 --> 00:48:40.539
grenades. Okay. Took it out. and then went back

00:48:40.539 --> 00:48:42.579
to his bazooka team to get the second one. So

00:48:42.579 --> 00:48:45.340
he's dodging bullets and freezing in this water

00:48:45.340 --> 00:48:48.159
and he's still going. Oh yeah and he wasn't done

00:48:48.159 --> 00:48:50.300
yet. There's more. After they took care of the

00:48:50.300 --> 00:48:53.039
machine guns Bolton realized there was this big

00:48:53.039 --> 00:48:56.340
88 millimeter artillery gun that was just hammering

00:48:56.340 --> 00:49:00.519
the American lines. Okay. So he leads his bazooka

00:49:00.519 --> 00:49:03.800
team over that thing braving all the enemy fire

00:49:03.800 --> 00:49:07.500
and that ice -cold water again. Man this guy

00:49:07.500 --> 00:49:11.300
is Unstoppable. I know, right? He had such courage,

00:49:11.619 --> 00:49:13.420
and he was so strategic about it all, picking

00:49:13.420 --> 00:49:15.239
out the biggest threats and taking them out one

00:49:15.239 --> 00:49:17.760
by one. Uh -huh. And thanks to him and his bazooka

00:49:17.760 --> 00:49:20.659
team, they destroyed that artillery gun, which

00:49:20.659 --> 00:49:22.340
gave them a much better chance of surviving.

00:49:22.780 --> 00:49:26.119
So he basically took out three major enemy positions

00:49:26.119 --> 00:49:28.300
all by himself. Pretty much, yeah. And remember,

00:49:28.300 --> 00:49:30.079
he was doing all this while he was seriously

00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:32.500
wounded. Right. He actually got hit again during

00:49:32.500 --> 00:49:35.280
all this, but he refused to get any help. Why?

00:49:35.780 --> 00:49:37.730
All he cared about was his men. He wanted to

00:49:37.730 --> 00:49:39.949
make sure they got out of there safely. Man,

00:49:40.110 --> 00:49:43.170
that's just crazy. And as he told his guys to

00:49:43.170 --> 00:49:45.809
retreat while he covered them, he crawled back

00:49:45.809 --> 00:49:48.510
to their lines until he finally collapsed. I

00:49:48.510 --> 00:49:50.389
can't even imagine what that must have done to

00:49:50.389 --> 00:49:53.010
him, both physically and mentally. I know it's

00:49:53.010 --> 00:49:56.550
hard to fathom. By November 7th, the Timberwolves

00:49:56.550 --> 00:49:59.230
had accomplished their mission. Good. But it

00:49:59.230 --> 00:50:02.570
came at a huge cost. How huge? They lost almost

00:50:02.570 --> 00:50:07.179
1 ,500 men. 313 killed in action and 103 missing.

00:50:07.380 --> 00:50:11.179
Oh my god. I know it's a lot. Major General Terry

00:50:11.179 --> 00:50:14.199
De La Mesa Allen Senior, their commander, sent

00:50:14.199 --> 00:50:17.559
each one of his men a letter. Oh wow. Congratulating

00:50:17.559 --> 00:50:19.780
them and at the end of each letter he wrote his

00:50:19.780 --> 00:50:22.340
motto, nothing in hell must stop the Timberwolves.

00:50:22.500 --> 00:50:24.840
Oh man that gives me chills. It's pretty powerful

00:50:24.840 --> 00:50:27.699
isn't it? It really shows how tough and determined

00:50:27.699 --> 00:50:30.539
the 104th Infantry Division was, and it shows

00:50:30.539 --> 00:50:32.840
just how much they sacrificed. And what Bolton

00:50:32.840 --> 00:50:35.340
did that day perfectly represents that spirit.

00:50:35.599 --> 00:50:37.880
Absolutely. He was given a silver star for his

00:50:37.880 --> 00:50:39.960
actions, which was later upgraded to the Medal

00:50:39.960 --> 00:50:43.380
of Honor. Yeah. On September 4th, 1945, President

00:50:43.380 --> 00:50:45.599
Truman himself gave him the medal in this big

00:50:45.599 --> 00:50:47.800
ceremony at the White House. Wow. He was one

00:50:47.800 --> 00:50:50.440
of 28 heroes who got medals that day, including

00:50:50.440 --> 00:50:52.760
another guy from Alabama named Paul A. Bolden.

00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:54.579
That must have been an incredible moment for

00:50:54.579 --> 00:50:56.980
him. It must have been to receive that recognition

00:50:56.980 --> 00:50:58.960
after everything he'd been through. And he got

00:50:58.960 --> 00:51:01.400
other medals too. Yeah. What else did he get?

00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:05.179
Two bronze stars and two purple hearts. Wow.

00:51:05.380 --> 00:51:08.179
So what did the Medal of Honor Citation actually

00:51:08.179 --> 00:51:11.139
say about what he did that day? Well, it's a

00:51:11.139 --> 00:51:13.159
pretty powerful document that really captures

00:51:13.159 --> 00:51:16.880
his bravery and selflessness. I think it's worth

00:51:16.880 --> 00:51:18.900
reading a part of it here. OK, let's hear it.

00:51:18.980 --> 00:51:21.980
It says. As leader of the weapons platoon of

00:51:21.980 --> 00:51:26.860
Company E, 413th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry

00:51:26.860 --> 00:51:30.940
Division on the night of 2 November 1944, 1st

00:51:30.940 --> 00:51:33.440
Lieutenant Bolton fought gallantly in a pitched

00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:35.460
battle which followed the crossing of the Mark

00:51:35.460 --> 00:51:38.219
River in Holland. So it starts by setting the

00:51:38.219 --> 00:51:39.579
scene, you know, the craziness of the battle

00:51:39.579 --> 00:51:42.099
and how hard it was to fight there. Exactly.

00:51:42.139 --> 00:51:44.079
And that talks about how Bolton first tried to

00:51:44.079 --> 00:51:45.840
use the mortars to take out the machine guns,

00:51:45.860 --> 00:51:47.929
but they couldn't see where they were. OK. and

00:51:47.929 --> 00:51:49.869
he kept directing the fire until he got hurt

00:51:49.869 --> 00:51:52.050
so badly that he was knocked out. That's some

00:51:52.050 --> 00:51:54.289
serious determination. It really is. He didn't

00:51:54.289 --> 00:51:56.889
give up even after being wounded. And then the

00:51:56.889 --> 00:51:59.369
citation goes on to describe how he took out

00:51:59.369 --> 00:52:02.210
the machine guns and that 88 millimeter artillery

00:52:02.210 --> 00:52:04.849
piece and talks about how brave he was and how

00:52:04.849 --> 00:52:06.949
he was a great leader and how he was thinking

00:52:06.949 --> 00:52:09.230
strategically the whole time. It really paints

00:52:09.230 --> 00:52:11.530
a picture of what a hero he was, doesn't it?

00:52:11.550 --> 00:52:14.530
It does. And it finishes by saying how he wouldn't

00:52:14.530 --> 00:52:17.090
let anyone help him, and he made sure his men

00:52:17.090 --> 00:52:19.230
retreated while he crawled back. It's such an

00:52:19.230 --> 00:52:21.849
amazing story. It really is a story about sacrificing

00:52:21.849 --> 00:52:24.289
yourself for the people you care about. So what

00:52:24.289 --> 00:52:26.590
happened to Bolton after the war? How do you

00:52:26.590 --> 00:52:28.610
go back to normal life after going through something

00:52:28.610 --> 00:52:30.769
like that? I know. It's hard to imagine going

00:52:30.769 --> 00:52:36.329
back to everyday life. Yeah. But Bolton, he stayed

00:52:36.329 --> 00:52:38.909
in the army. Oh, really? Yeah, even through the

00:52:38.909 --> 00:52:42.250
Korean War. Wow. He really dedicated his life

00:52:42.250 --> 00:52:45.570
to serving his country. And he ended up becoming

00:52:45.570 --> 00:52:48.210
a colonel before he retired. So from boxer to

00:52:48.210 --> 00:52:51.389
war hero to colonel, that's pretty amazing. It

00:52:51.389 --> 00:52:53.469
is. It shows how he could adapt to anything and

00:52:53.469 --> 00:52:55.429
how committed he was. Yeah, he wasn't just one

00:52:55.429 --> 00:52:58.670
thing. But his story, it doesn't have a happy

00:52:58.670 --> 00:53:01.130
ending, does it? No. Sadly, Cecil Bolton died

00:53:01.130 --> 00:53:03.480
pretty young, actually. Oh. Yeah, he was only

00:53:03.480 --> 00:53:06.559
56. Wow. He passed away at Brooke Army Hospital

00:53:06.559 --> 00:53:10.800
in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, January 22, 1965.

00:53:11.320 --> 00:53:13.159
Man, that's a reminder that even the toughest

00:53:13.159 --> 00:53:16.619
guys, they're still human. They are. So what

00:53:16.619 --> 00:53:18.900
happened after he died? Well, he was buried with

00:53:18.900 --> 00:53:21.920
full military honors at the Fort Sam Houston

00:53:21.920 --> 00:53:24.559
National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. OK.

00:53:24.719 --> 00:53:27.760
And his wife, Bessie, she was buried there with

00:53:27.760 --> 00:53:30.400
him when she passed away in 1978. That's nice

00:53:30.400 --> 00:53:32.659
that they're together. Yeah. It's a fitting tribute

00:53:32.659 --> 00:53:34.980
to a man who spent his life helping others. Yeah,

00:53:34.980 --> 00:53:37.400
and his legacy it lives on. How so? Well, in

00:53:37.400 --> 00:53:39.780
Panacea, Florida, where he was born, they built

00:53:39.780 --> 00:53:42.199
a monument for him. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's a permanent

00:53:42.199 --> 00:53:44.800
reminder of his journey from that small town

00:53:44.800 --> 00:53:47.019
to the battlefields of Europe and back again.

00:53:47.340 --> 00:53:51.099
So we've gone from Bushy Bolton, this charismatic

00:53:51.099 --> 00:53:56.159
boxer, to Lieutenant Bolton, the war hero, to

00:53:56.159 --> 00:53:58.659
Colonel Bolton, who served his country his whole

00:53:58.659 --> 00:54:01.420
life. It's quite a story, isn't it? full of twists

00:54:01.420 --> 00:54:03.719
and turns. Yeah, it really is. And I think what

00:54:03.719 --> 00:54:05.519
makes it so interesting is that it challenges

00:54:05.519 --> 00:54:08.139
the way we think. How so? Well, we don't usually

00:54:08.139 --> 00:54:11.280
think of a boxer becoming a war hero, but Bolton's

00:54:11.280 --> 00:54:13.699
life shows us that those two things can actually

00:54:13.699 --> 00:54:16.039
work together. Yeah. It's a reminder that people

00:54:16.039 --> 00:54:18.260
are complicated. Yeah. They have hidden depths

00:54:18.260 --> 00:54:20.500
and they can always surprise us. Exactly. And

00:54:20.500 --> 00:54:22.059
I think there's something we can all learn from

00:54:22.059 --> 00:54:25.699
this. What's that? Bolton's story teaches us

00:54:25.699 --> 00:54:28.780
to look deeper than the surface. to see that

00:54:28.780 --> 00:54:31.400
courage and leadership can pop up in unexpected

00:54:31.400 --> 00:54:34.539
places. Yeah, I like that. His life shows us

00:54:34.539 --> 00:54:37.579
the power of never giving up and putting others

00:54:37.579 --> 00:54:40.360
first. And how strong the human spirit can be.

00:54:40.679 --> 00:54:43.780
Yeah, it's a really inspiring story. I think

00:54:43.780 --> 00:54:46.119
we've done a good job of exploring the life of

00:54:46.119 --> 00:54:48.860
Cecil H. Bolton. I think so, too. From boxing

00:54:48.860 --> 00:54:53.239
to war, his story is all about bravery, determination,

00:54:54.059 --> 00:54:56.059
and always being there for the people around

00:54:56.059 --> 00:54:59.099
him. It reminds us that heroes are everywhere,

00:54:59.679 --> 00:55:02.420
even in places we might not expect. So keep your

00:55:02.420 --> 00:55:04.980
eyes open and never stop looking for those incredible

00:55:04.980 --> 00:55:08.230
stories of bravery and resilience. And on that

00:55:08.230 --> 00:55:10.610
note, I think we'll wrap up our deep dive into

00:55:10.610 --> 00:55:13.289
the amazing life of Cecil H. Bolton. Sounds good.

00:55:13.510 --> 00:55:15.230
Thanks for joining us, everyone. We couldn't

00:55:15.230 --> 00:55:18.050
really do this work without the help of our sponsors.

00:55:18.909 --> 00:55:23.389
They include the National Vietnam Veterans Association

00:55:23.389 --> 00:55:28.809
of America, VVA chapter, Charles S. Kettles chapter

00:55:28.809 --> 00:55:33.659
in Ann Arbor, the VFW chapter in Ann Arbor. the

00:55:33.659 --> 00:55:36.159
American Legion chapter in Ann Arbor, our friends

00:55:36.159 --> 00:55:40.820
at nvbdc .org, at Pure Clean, and at Legal Help

00:55:40.820 --> 00:55:43.760
for Veterans. So, didn't get to everything we

00:55:43.760 --> 00:55:47.079
wanted to do this time. It goes real fast. We'll

00:55:47.079 --> 00:55:49.780
be back next week with more stories, and I'll

00:55:49.780 --> 00:55:52.000
be back next month with a Medal of Honor story.

00:55:52.719 --> 00:55:56.559
Follow Veterans Radio on Facebook. Listen to

00:55:56.559 --> 00:55:58.860
our podcasts, which we post new ones every week.

00:55:59.679 --> 00:56:03.400
And until next time on Veterans Radio, When Dale's

00:56:03.400 --> 00:56:05.420
back with stories, and I'll be back next month

00:56:05.420 --> 00:56:08.500
again as I said with more Medal of Honor stories,

00:56:09.500 --> 00:56:13.159
but until next time you are dismissed.