WEBVTT 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:18.839 All across America and around the world, you're 00:00:18.839 --> 00:00:22.239 listening to America's number one radio program 00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:28.800 for veterans, Veterans Radio. And now, live from 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.659 the studios of WDEO in beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan, 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.390 here's your host for today's program. Former 00:00:36.390 --> 00:00:38.950 Chief Warrant Officer, helicopter pilot with 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:42.530 the 195th Assault Helicopter Company, Republic 00:00:42.530 --> 00:00:51.310 of Vietnam, 1969, Dale Throneberry. And good 00:00:51.310 --> 00:00:53.530 morning America and welcome to Veterans Radio 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:56.509 as our good friend Matt Doerr introduced me. 00:00:56.530 --> 00:00:58.740 Thank you so very much, Matt. My name is Dale 00:00:58.740 --> 00:01:01.119 Throneberry and I did have the privilege of flying 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:03.460 with the 195th Assault Helicopter Company in 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:05.340 Vietnam. The sky cheese, good morning to all 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.719 you sky cheese and thunder chickens out there 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.019 that are listening. You're listening to Veterans 00:01:10.019 --> 00:01:12.459 Radio and we're very, very excited to have you 00:01:12.459 --> 00:01:15.219 here listening to us this morning and as Matt 00:01:15.219 --> 00:01:17.280 pointed out, in beautiful downtown Ann Arbor. 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:19.560 Matt Durer is going to be running our board today. 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:23.049 Good morning, Matt. Good morning. And running 00:01:23.049 --> 00:01:25.090 our webcam for those of you that are interested 00:01:25.090 --> 00:01:27.329 and I don't know why you would want to do this 00:01:27.329 --> 00:01:30.109 to see what we look like. Gary Lilley is running 00:01:30.109 --> 00:01:32.689 that, the former CB. Good morning, Gary. Good 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:37.930 morning, CB. Can do. We hope so. We've got a 00:01:37.930 --> 00:01:39.430 lot of interesting things and we're going to 00:01:39.430 --> 00:01:41.709 start right off today. We're going to be, many 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:43.989 of you may remember I was in Pittsburgh a couple 00:01:43.989 --> 00:01:47.049 of weeks ago at the Military Writer Society. 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.920 And I was privileged to meet an incredible amount 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:55.799 of authors, songwriters, poets, artists. It's 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.519 an amazing collection of very, very talented 00:01:58.519 --> 00:02:01.560 people. And one award that we were not able to 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:06.480 give out that particular night was the Founders 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.280 Award. And joining me right now on Veterans Radio 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:12.080 is the founder of the Military Writers Society 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:15.000 of America. And that is Bill McDonald. And Bill, 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:18.270 welcome to Veterans Radio. Well, top of the morning 00:02:18.270 --> 00:02:20.550 to you, young man. Top of the morning to you, 00:02:20.569 --> 00:02:22.469 a very early morning out there in California. 00:02:23.250 --> 00:02:25.610 Yeah, the sun ain't even up yet. I'm in the hills 00:02:25.610 --> 00:02:28.310 of Los Angeles on my way to Pacific Palisades 00:02:28.310 --> 00:02:31.430 to a spiritual retreat, and it's nice we connect 00:02:31.430 --> 00:02:33.669 this morning. It is great to talk to you, Bill. 00:02:33.689 --> 00:02:36.030 I know that you weren't able to make the conference, 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:39.169 but tell me a little bit, just briefly, of how 00:02:39.169 --> 00:02:41.009 you came up with the idea for this organization. 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.030 Well, a number of years ago, I've been working 00:02:44.030 --> 00:02:48.889 with PTSD veterans. And I was asked by the Veterans 00:02:48.889 --> 00:02:51.150 Administration, since I've been working about 00:02:51.150 --> 00:02:53.009 three decades with veterans, to come up with 00:02:53.009 --> 00:02:57.409 a program to help them. And it involved working 00:02:57.409 --> 00:02:59.909 with people in Kalamazoo, believe it or not, 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:05.129 in the Detroit area, on what we call the art 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:09.189 of healing. And we used writing memoirs, writing 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:14.250 poetry. painting, sculpting, writing music, playing 00:03:14.250 --> 00:03:17.389 music, singing, all the arts that we took into 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:21.370 consideration as a way for people to have some 00:03:21.370 --> 00:03:23.430 kind of therapy where they could get a grip and 00:03:23.430 --> 00:03:25.569 a handle on what they've been through. And we 00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:27.430 found it very successful and I developed a program. 00:03:27.490 --> 00:03:30.710 We did a movie for public television which was 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:33.189 played in the Great Lakes and for armed forces 00:03:33.189 --> 00:03:35.610 television network, Pentagon television network. 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:38.050 And that kind of started, I started with about 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:43.360 a group of about 12 writers, officially, and 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:45.939 our first public appearance as a group for the 00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:49.319 military writers was in Austin, Texas, at the 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:52.240 premiere of the documentary film in the shadow 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:54.560 of the blade, which you may be familiar with, 00:03:55.719 --> 00:03:58.159 which deals with a helicopter going 10 ,000 miles 00:03:58.159 --> 00:04:00.659 across country and kind of a welcome home party. 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:03.680 And that small group expanded to today, it's 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:06.400 less than a thousand, but it's someplace between 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.960 800 and a thousand. My idea was to open the door 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.919 to all veterans and even non -veterans if they 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:17.500 had a patriotic fame where they could come together 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:22.199 in a collective group creatively and display 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:24.459 their works and talk to people of like mind. 00:04:24.899 --> 00:04:28.420 So therefore memoirs, poetry, and then novels 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:30.519 and all kinds of stuff started flowing forth. 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:32.980 And then we've become that great big organization 00:04:32.980 --> 00:04:36.189 we are now. Believe it or not, the military writers 00:04:36.189 --> 00:04:39.470 has a reputation in Asia and Europe and even 00:04:39.470 --> 00:04:42.310 it's widely read in India of all places. I know 00:04:42.310 --> 00:04:44.329 because I just was there for 100 days this year. 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:48.509 So it's really expanded and it's reached the 00:04:48.509 --> 00:04:50.269 levels that I wanted it to. I wanted a place 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:52.449 for people to come together for fellowship, but 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:56.310 also for them to hone their craft and to be recognized 00:04:56.310 --> 00:04:58.470 through awards, which is what we're doing now 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:02.629 with this uncommon power. Right, and that's the 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:04.850 point that we have you on this morning, Bill, 00:05:04.990 --> 00:05:09.569 is to bestow upon the authors of Uncommon Valor 00:05:09.569 --> 00:05:11.610 the Founders Award. And right now we've got Dwight 00:05:11.610 --> 00:05:13.670 Zimmerman on the line. Dwight, welcome back to 00:05:13.670 --> 00:05:16.310 Veterans Radio. Thank you, Dale. It's a pleasure 00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:18.550 to be here again. It is a pleasure. It's nice 00:05:18.550 --> 00:05:20.189 to talk to you. It's nice to see you a couple 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:24.170 of weeks ago also. We had Dwight and John on 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:27.290 back in May to talk about Uncommon Valor. Unfortunately, 00:05:27.329 --> 00:05:30.170 I had my little... emergency on that day, so 00:05:30.170 --> 00:05:32.449 I didn't get to do that. So now, John, Bill, 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:35.250 I'll bring it back to you and let you tell people 00:05:35.250 --> 00:05:37.949 about the Founders Award for Uncommon Valor. 00:05:38.329 --> 00:05:41.129 Yeah, first off, the Founders Award for the Military 00:05:41.129 --> 00:05:45.990 Writer's Society is the top award. There is no 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:48.430 award higher. It's the most prestigious award. 00:05:49.009 --> 00:05:52.569 And if a book is not good enough, and I go through 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:54.949 thousands a year, then I don't give the award. 00:05:55.329 --> 00:05:58.139 In fact, this year, I was at that position where 00:05:58.139 --> 00:05:59.899 I wasn't looking at anybody getting the word 00:05:59.899 --> 00:06:01.660 and there were some great books out, I mean really 00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:04.899 good books, but they weren't at that level that 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:08.740 I was looking for. Until I read Uncommon Valor 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:11.519 and as soon as I read that I sent a message out 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:14.360 and said this is it, this has to be recognized. 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:19.040 Not only is the book very well written, I mean 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.980 it's entertaining, it's also a resource guide 00:06:22.980 --> 00:06:26.750 and background on the history of these individuals 00:06:26.750 --> 00:06:29.449 in Iraq and Afghanistan, these six warriors who 00:06:29.449 --> 00:06:31.670 are in the medal. There's also a history of the 00:06:31.670 --> 00:06:34.370 award itself and the politics involved into it 00:06:34.370 --> 00:06:39.149 and what the award's all about. It's a fascinating 00:06:39.149 --> 00:06:44.529 study of human nature, of battle, of valor, of 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:48.129 heroes, and you find out the common ground is 00:06:48.129 --> 00:06:50.189 there is no common ground. It's a whole bunch 00:06:50.189 --> 00:06:53.990 of different individuals and as unique as a snowflake. 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:57.199 And that's what makes the book that much more 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:00.639 enthralling. I mean, it's literally a book that 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:04.860 you can pick up and read non -stop. I mean, it's 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:06.639 also a book I'm finding this morning as I sit 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:10.079 here waiting. As I'm going through it another 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:14.019 time after reading it initially, there's things 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:16.819 I'm rediscovering. I mean, there was real subtle 00:07:16.819 --> 00:07:19.560 things in the book that you read it and you read 00:07:19.560 --> 00:07:22.699 it, but then you go, wow, that really is, it's 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:24.519 really kind of neat. So it's one of those books 00:07:24.519 --> 00:07:28.660 of the kind that you can read over and over again 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:33.180 and share and it's obviously a work of love and 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:36.180 joy by the authors. I mean Dwight Zimmerman and 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:39.180 John Grisham have really put together, it can 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:43.759 only be described as a masterpiece. A lot of 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.740 people out there that aren't military, this is 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:51.360 a good book for them. Just for military minded 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.480 people and people like to read military genre 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:56.579 This is about human interest and they talks about 00:07:56.579 --> 00:07:59.060 these guys when they were growing up and and 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:01.959 their family life and and what the battles were 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.399 like and what motions they went through it the 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:07.300 politics and Probably some of the things that 00:08:07.300 --> 00:08:09.860 would might interest some people when they talk 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:12.060 about General Douglas MacArthur and how he got 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:14.740 his award the politics involved in that and the 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:18.300 politics of of Charles Wimberg flying across 00:08:18.300 --> 00:08:21.279 the Atlantic and getting his award. So it's a 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.959 really phenomenal book. It's written very well. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.680 The pros in this thing is it flows, it makes 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:32.590 sense, the research is outstanding. and plenty 00:08:32.590 --> 00:08:34.289 of footnotes for people to go back to if they 00:08:34.289 --> 00:08:36.730 want to do more. I can't say enough about it. 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:00.230 Mr. McDonald, I'll continue talking. I loved 00:09:00.230 --> 00:09:03.850 your... It makes your day, doesn't it? Oh boy, 00:09:04.029 --> 00:09:08.649 I tell ya. Excuse me. Well, John and I are both 00:09:08.649 --> 00:09:12.850 non -veterans, and so one of the things that 00:09:12.850 --> 00:09:20.090 we feel is very uppermost in our mind is that 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:24.779 we really work hard to tell the story. not just 00:09:24.779 --> 00:09:28.159 Uncommon Valor, we've done other pieces, obviously, 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.879 to act as a bridge between both the military 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.399 communities and the civilian community to help, 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:40.139 particularly civilians, understand what it's 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:44.100 like. With Uncommon Valor, we had the additional 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:49.419 burden of talking about or writing about these 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:54.799 extraordinary men. young men, actually, and to 00:09:54.799 --> 00:10:00.440 be honest and true to what they did, and certainly 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:04.779 since in all cases these were posthumous, you 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:06.600 really had to make sure that you did right by 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:12.580 these people. What was so fascinating was the 00:10:12.580 --> 00:10:16.759 diverse backgrounds. On one side you had a kid 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:19.980 from a broken home, never knew his biological 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:23.250 father. abandoned by his mother and then on the 00:10:23.250 --> 00:10:26.149 other side you had someone who grew up in a stable 00:10:26.149 --> 00:10:30.350 middle class, upper middle class family, graduated 00:10:30.350 --> 00:10:33.889 from Ivy League College and had the potential 00:10:33.889 --> 00:10:36.850 of becoming a hot shot lawyer. Instead he decided 00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:42.629 to become a SEAL. Their only common link is that 00:10:42.629 --> 00:10:45.129 they all had a desire to serve their country 00:10:45.129 --> 00:10:47.750 and then ultimately of course they won the Medal 00:10:47.750 --> 00:10:53.179 of Honor. It was tough to try and make sure that 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:57.580 you did right by these guys and that we got the 00:10:57.580 --> 00:11:00.940 Founders Award. Talk about being blindsided by 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:03.820 a Mack truck. John and I were just absolutely 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:05.879 stunned. It's a nice truck to get hit by on that 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.639 case for the Founders Award. We are talking with 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:10.600 Dwight Zimmerman and also Bill McDonald from 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:13.980 the Military Writers Society of America. So for 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:15.500 people that want to know more about the book, 00:11:15.620 --> 00:11:17.639 the book is Uncommon Valor. You can get it at 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:20.740 Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble. I actually can 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:23.159 go onto the Military Writers website, which is 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:26.059 militarywriters .com, and you find out all kinds 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:27.960 of information. If you want to know more about 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:30.799 the conversation that Dwight had with the Veterans 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.159 Radio crew, you can go back to, I believe it's 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:36.500 the end of May was the program, and it's in our 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.100 archives, and you can hear the whole thing. Gentlemen, 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.639 I want to thank both of you so very much. for 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:42.980 being on Veterans Radio today and congratulations 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:45.019 to Dwight and John and Bill I'm glad you're feeling 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:47.159 so much better and hope to see you next year 00:11:47.159 --> 00:11:49.940 wherever the conference is. I hope to be there. 00:11:49.940 --> 00:11:53.860 I hope to be alive. Yeah I know. Thank you both 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:56.659 so very much for being on Veterans Radio. Thank 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:59.409 you. We're going to do our little welcome home 00:11:59.409 --> 00:12:01.370 segment in just a second, but first I want to 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:03.509 remind everybody that during the next segment 00:12:03.509 --> 00:12:05.429 of the program, we've got another Military Writer 00:12:05.429 --> 00:12:09.389 Society Award winner coming up. His name is Father 00:12:09.389 --> 00:12:12.750 Ron Moses Camarda and he wrote an incredible 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:15.909 book that I find. It's called Tear in the Desert 00:12:15.909 --> 00:12:18.710 and it's about his experience as a chaplain. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.940 at a MASH hospital unit near Fallujah in 2004 00:12:22.940 --> 00:12:25.159 and five. And I think that you're going to find 00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:27.379 this a fascinating story and I encourage you 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:30.539 to stay tuned to listen to that interview. It's 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:34.100 a great story of his experiences working in a 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:37.960 hospital over there. Each week on Veterans Radio 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:39.980 we welcome home servicemen and women who have 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:41.759 been stationed around the world in the service 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:43.980 of our country, and we do this to let them know 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:46.080 that we honor their service and commitment to 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:48.799 our country. This week we don't have any specific 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:50.600 units that we're going to welcome home, but we 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.399 are going to welcome home all of those men and 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:55.840 women who have served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:57.860 and anywhere else in the world. Thank God for 00:12:57.860 --> 00:13:01.750 what you do. We could not exist without your 00:13:01.750 --> 00:13:04.350 protection and we want to thank you so very much 00:13:04.350 --> 00:13:07.309 and so on behalf of a grateful nation and Veterans 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:12.289 Radio we want to say welcome home. You have honorably 00:13:12.289 --> 00:13:14.269 served the United States and the Marine Corps 00:13:14.269 --> 00:13:16.529 in times of peace and war. Now we would like 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:19.470 to serve you. The Marine Scholars Program covers 00:13:19.470 --> 00:13:22.009 the total cost of attending Ave Maria University 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:25.070 by combining resources from the Ave Maria University 00:13:25.070 --> 00:13:28.419 Marine Scholars Funding. federal financial aid 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:31.580 entitlements, and the GI Bill. The benefits are 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:33.460 granted for the duration of the recipient study 00:13:33.460 --> 00:13:36.360 at Ave Maria University contingent upon good 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.620 conduct and good academic standing. The Marine 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:42.379 Scholars Program is open to all reserve and active 00:13:42.379 --> 00:13:45.299 component Marines and other combat veterans of 00:13:45.299 --> 00:13:47.700 Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 00:13:47.700 --> 00:13:49.820 Freedom who have honorably served our country. 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:55.480 Please visit us online at www .avemaria .edu. 00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:58.049 or call the Assistant Director of Admissions 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:05.070 at 239 -280 -2552. You helped us, now let us 00:14:05.070 --> 00:14:34.870 help you. Semper Fi. We're back on Veterans Radio 00:14:34.870 --> 00:14:38.870 and joining me on the air right now is Father 00:14:38.870 --> 00:14:42.070 Ron Moses Camarda, who's the author of a book 00:14:42.070 --> 00:14:45.230 entitled, Tear in the Desert. And Father Ron, 00:14:45.389 --> 00:14:48.490 welcome to Veterans Radio. Oh, Dale, it's great 00:14:48.490 --> 00:14:51.309 to be here with you. It's pretty exciting stuff, 00:14:51.409 --> 00:14:54.250 isn't it, what's going on on the radio today. 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:58.500 Life is great. You are also an award winner with 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:01.519 the Military Writers Society and I had the honor 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.720 of meeting you in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:06.539 ago and you were kind enough to give me a copy 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:09.360 of your book and in all honesty I could not put 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:14.539 it down. You have told an amazing story and we're 00:15:14.539 --> 00:15:17.200 going to talk about it a little bit today. I 00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:20.080 don't want to give the whole thing away. But 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:22.320 tell me how you became first of all how you became 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.200 a priest that I thought that was a fascinating 00:15:24.200 --> 00:15:30.120 story Actually, I was in the I went to the US 00:15:30.120 --> 00:15:32.299 Merchant Marine Academy and Kings Point, New 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:37.159 York and While I was there we sail six months 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:40.820 a year out on the ships and then while I was 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:43.799 there I start I fell in love with this young 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:48.059 lady and beautiful woman and When I was getting 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:50.259 ready to graduate instead of sailing on merchant 00:15:50.259 --> 00:15:53.500 ships, I took a job with the U .S. Coast Guard. 00:15:53.740 --> 00:15:57.559 And when I took the job in Jacksonville, Florida, 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:00.840 close to where I grew up in Daytona Beach, and 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:03.740 as soon as I got down here, I usually just say, 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:08.340 well, she dumped me. Oh, how cruel. That's not 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:11.960 what it is really. It's more like that's what 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:14.179 God was calling me to. I just didn't know what 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:19.320 God was calling me to. Later I applied and I 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:22.720 went to the seminary from the Coast Guard. I 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.460 got out on August 24th, and August 25th I was 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:28.960 in the seminary at St. Meinrad, Indiana for a 00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.559 year. And then the following year, I always said 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:35.019 to God, I'll give you two years. Because God 00:16:35.019 --> 00:16:36.240 said to me, I'm not going to tell you if you're 00:16:36.240 --> 00:16:37.759 going to be a priest. He just wanted me to go 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:41.320 into the seminary. And after the two years, I 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:43.820 was almost like I didn't want to return, but 00:16:43.820 --> 00:16:47.529 it was like a five -year program. And I got like 00:16:47.529 --> 00:16:51.429 six years for good behavior. But when I was ordained 00:16:51.429 --> 00:16:55.110 in 1990, I had already switched over from the 00:16:55.110 --> 00:16:58.429 Coast Guard Reserves to the Navy Chaplain Candidate 00:16:58.429 --> 00:17:03.269 Reserve Program. So in 1991, I became a full 00:17:03.269 --> 00:17:05.789 chaplain, but I kind of delayed putting my papers 00:17:05.789 --> 00:17:07.930 in because the Gulf War was going on and I didn't 00:17:07.930 --> 00:17:10.990 want to go to the Middle East. Okay, reluctant 00:17:10.990 --> 00:17:15.869 warrior. So I three years after being ordained, 00:17:16.049 --> 00:17:19.750 Bishop Snyder, the bishop who ordained me, called 00:17:19.750 --> 00:17:21.410 me in the office and said, I'd like you to go 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:23.089 active duty. And I said, no, I don't want to 00:17:23.089 --> 00:17:26.190 go active duty. He says, but I want you to go. 00:17:27.589 --> 00:17:32.549 You know how obedience is. But he asked me, like, 00:17:32.569 --> 00:17:34.650 Ron, why don't you want to go? I said, well, 00:17:35.390 --> 00:17:38.589 they always put the new priests with the Marines. 00:17:39.450 --> 00:17:41.549 And in this case, I know it's going to be Okinawa, 00:17:41.549 --> 00:17:44.630 Japan. And they go out in the field a lot. And 00:17:44.630 --> 00:17:46.210 the bishop said, What's wrong with that? I said, 00:17:46.410 --> 00:17:48.630 Bishop, my idea of roughing it is a Motel 6 rather 00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:51.470 than a Hyatt Regency. He said, get out of my 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:57.789 office. And he smiled. And I went out to, in 00:17:57.789 --> 00:18:01.150 1994, for a year and a half, I was with the Marines 00:18:01.150 --> 00:18:04.670 in Okinawa. And they asked me if I wanted the 00:18:04.670 --> 00:18:06.670 air side or the grunts. And I said, let me swing 00:18:06.670 --> 00:18:08.990 with the wing. So they put me with the stinger 00:18:08.990 --> 00:18:11.210 battery. And if any Marines are listening, they 00:18:11.210 --> 00:18:13.869 know that that's the grunts of the air. Right. 00:18:14.450 --> 00:18:16.589 And then I followed, and about a year later, 00:18:16.789 --> 00:18:18.170 I mean a year and a half later, they asked me 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:21.309 where I wanted to go, and I said, how about Puerto 00:18:21.309 --> 00:18:23.109 Rico? And they said, why Puerto Rico? I said, 00:18:23.150 --> 00:18:27.029 because there's no Marines there. But they, I 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:29.490 mean the Marines, I love them, but once I got 00:18:29.490 --> 00:18:31.970 to Puerto Rico, I was there for less than a month, 00:18:31.990 --> 00:18:34.250 I was on vacation, and they gave me orders to 00:18:34.250 --> 00:18:37.069 go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the Cuban - 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:51.119 I think 28 Cuban refugees, full immersion, the 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.359 CBs and everybody. It was just a beautiful occasion. 00:18:55.059 --> 00:18:58.400 And I returned three months later to Puerto Rico, 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:00.400 and I got passed over for Lieutenant Commander. 00:19:00.700 --> 00:19:03.259 And they said, since you got passed over twice, 00:19:03.259 --> 00:19:05.019 you have to get out. But you're a priest, so 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:06.720 you can stay. I said, well, I don't want to stay. 00:19:06.980 --> 00:19:10.380 So I left. And I stayed with the reserve, the 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:13.059 VTU. And a year later, they promoted me anyways 00:19:13.059 --> 00:19:17.289 to Lieutenant Commander. By that time I was out 00:19:17.289 --> 00:19:19.950 for seven years. I was a pastor at St. Patrick's 00:19:19.950 --> 00:19:21.609 on the north side of Jacksonville. It's an inner 00:19:21.609 --> 00:19:24.470 -city parish. And we were doing some marvelous 00:19:24.470 --> 00:19:26.990 things and I got a phone call from New Orleans 00:19:26.990 --> 00:19:31.230 that said to me, I was a captain. It was at the 00:19:31.230 --> 00:19:32.569 time the reserve unit in New Orleans, this was 00:19:32.569 --> 00:19:36.670 before Katrina, in 2004, July 5th. I'd qualified 00:19:36.670 --> 00:19:40.049 for 20 good years in the reserves. I get this 00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:42.069 phone call and it says, Padre, do you have experience 00:19:42.069 --> 00:19:47.299 with Marines? I said, no. And then they said 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:49.480 pack your bags. You're going to Fallujah Iraq. 00:19:49.720 --> 00:19:54.380 Oh my I said you are no way. This is a joke and 00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:56.640 He says no. No. No, this is serious. We need 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.079 someone over there. I said listen, I can't go 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:03.180 I'm 45 years old I I can qualify to retire they 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:05.000 said well, but did you put your papers in I said 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:10.400 no You've been extended oh they well actually 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.799 And so now I'm retired reserves eventually, but 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:19.519 then they said, I said, listen, I have season 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:22.759 tickets to the NFL Jaguar games with my dad. 00:20:23.859 --> 00:20:26.279 They said, now that's good, but that won't work. 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:31.539 And then a year, a few minutes, then I said, 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:34.240 well, what if I had my bishop remove my endorsement? 00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:36.079 Because as a chaplain, I have to be endorsed 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:40.059 by my bishop. It's like being licensed. And he 00:20:40.059 --> 00:20:42.019 said, well, two priests have already done that. 00:20:42.089 --> 00:20:45.630 And I said, thank you. And I said, goodbye. I 00:20:45.630 --> 00:20:48.970 hung up the phone, didn't tell a soul. On July 00:20:48.970 --> 00:20:52.349 15th, I got orders to report the first week of 00:20:52.349 --> 00:20:56.589 August, two weeks later. And I took the orders, 00:20:56.650 --> 00:20:58.849 and I walked over to the church, and I placed 00:20:58.849 --> 00:21:04.470 my orders on the altar. And I said, Jesus, I 00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:06.130 know you don't want me to go, so I'm going to 00:21:06.130 --> 00:21:07.890 ask the bishop to remove my endorsement. I know 00:21:07.890 --> 00:21:11.420 you need me here to work in this parish. not 00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:14.400 for any glory or anything. And it was like Jesus 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:17.599 caught my bluff and that internal voice like 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.819 tapped me on the shoulder and said, Ron, I want 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:22.819 you to go. I said, no, you don't. Yes, I do. 00:21:22.819 --> 00:21:27.160 No, you don't. And I was struggling. I said, 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:30.460 you can't be serious. And he said, Ron Moses, 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:32.880 which is my confirmation name, my grandfather's 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:38.740 name. And I said, you can't send me. I complained 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:44.990 too much. And Jesus said, yep, you do. So he 00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:48.369 put it in my heart that I was supposed to go. 00:21:48.509 --> 00:21:50.049 I even said, well, send the other two priests. 00:21:50.069 --> 00:21:53.089 He said, no, I need you. And I didn't know what 00:21:53.089 --> 00:21:56.589 this was all about, the typical call that most 00:21:56.589 --> 00:22:00.630 of us have. Sometimes we resist things and some 00:22:00.630 --> 00:22:03.430 of the most beautiful things happen. So then 00:22:03.430 --> 00:22:09.690 I ended up in Fallujah, Iraq. And who were you 00:22:09.690 --> 00:22:14.509 with over there? I was with the Bravo Surgical 00:22:14.509 --> 00:22:16.650 Unit, which was a Marine unit, which was sort 00:22:16.650 --> 00:22:20.150 of like MASH. Okay, if anyone knows the television 00:22:20.150 --> 00:22:22.390 show or the movie MASH, I was just like Father 00:22:22.390 --> 00:22:26.430 Mulcahy. There was about a hundred of us. The 00:22:26.430 --> 00:22:29.670 first 50 went over, I went over on September 00:22:29.670 --> 00:22:32.049 2nd, and then we went all the way through Alta 00:22:32.049 --> 00:22:34.779 Codem, then went through a... It was just a horrific 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:37.319 journey, I tell you. They were shooting at us 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.319 as we were landing. That gives you an idea on 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:46.799 a C -130. And then we were in the convoy, which 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:49.539 the first convoy for anyone is just so horrible. 00:22:49.720 --> 00:22:52.500 And I think that's part of what the book actually 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:55.700 helps a little bit for family members. When we 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:57.859 go through it, once you get through it, then 00:22:57.859 --> 00:23:01.460 you get used to it. Family never gets used to 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:03.960 the dangers that are implying for those that 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:09.559 they love. The Bravo Surgical includes about 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.960 20 Marines, and then there's doctors, surgeons, 00:23:14.819 --> 00:23:18.259 nurses. We have a combat stress team. And I was 00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:21.180 the only Catholic priest on the camp of Fallujah, 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:24.299 which had about over 10 ,000 people at the height 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:26.940 of the Fallujah, the battle for Fallujah. This 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:31.380 was shortly after the Abu Ghraib incident. In 00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:33.500 fact, I actually had an opportunity to go over 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:40.180 there in October of 2004. So I was actually in 00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:42.599 Camp Fallujah, and everybody knew that I wasn't 00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:45.960 going off anywhere, so I, my family did, but 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.099 then they started asking me to go out into the 00:23:48.099 --> 00:23:52.420 city, especially during the Battle for Fallujah, 00:23:55.420 --> 00:23:59.400 and I said at first, no, no, no, and I was complaining 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:05.460 a lot. So from September 6th until December 23rd, 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:10.559 we had casualties every single day from IEDs, 00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:13.839 amputations, shrapnel to all parts of the bodies. 00:24:14.559 --> 00:24:16.640 And what I started doing is I had this little 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:20.400 green notebook that I started writing the names 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:25.640 of all the people there. There was over 2 ,000 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:29.200 names that I had written in there, 1 ,500 casualties. 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:33.980 in my seven months over there and 81 deaths in 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:37.660 which 12 died in front of me. I want to get to 00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:38.920 that. I want to tell our audience again we're 00:24:38.920 --> 00:24:41.519 talking with Father Ron Moses Camardi who's the 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:44.299 author of Tear in the Desert which is taken from 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:46.579 his journal that we were just mentioning here 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:49.920 on Veterans Radio and Father Ron I want you to 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:52.940 talk a little bit about what it was like with 00:24:52.940 --> 00:24:55.019 all those casualties coming in because in your 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:57.700 previous life as a you know as a priest you weren't 00:24:57.700 --> 00:25:00.539 exposed to that kind of horrific damage to a 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:07.240 human being? Exactly. I found out a journal entry 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:10.319 that I had written after I had returned that 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:14.700 I was sitting back reflecting and I wrote, in 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:17.660 a sense each tear that I witnessed in the desert 00:25:17.660 --> 00:25:21.319 was in a sense my tear. I'm incapable like God 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:24.660 to experience the tear as a gift. I was crying 00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:28.059 also. I struggle. The heart of some was pierced 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:31.549 and drained The only relief would or could be 00:25:31.549 --> 00:25:35.069 the creator of blood and heart. My being was 00:25:35.069 --> 00:25:37.849 parched. Only one drop, one tear, would be needed 00:25:37.849 --> 00:25:40.869 to flood the dryness and emptiness. And with 00:25:40.869 --> 00:25:43.710 that rejuvenation, as in all storms, there is 00:25:43.710 --> 00:25:47.869 a genuine danger. As we take in tear in the desert, 00:25:48.410 --> 00:25:51.829 there is a blessing and a grave danger. In the 00:25:51.829 --> 00:25:55.089 storm, Jesus is coming to you. Don't be afraid. 00:25:55.430 --> 00:25:58.420 He is your love and source of being. Don't be 00:25:58.420 --> 00:26:02.700 afraid and go to Him. Walk on the flood of tears 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:06.279 and don't look away. Have faith and if you do, 00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:10.400 receive His hand. And Jesus will grab me and 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:12.519 say, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt? 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:17.619 And move on. Focus on Jesus. Follow Him through 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:22.000 the tear. As the people followed Moses, only 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:24.539 the desert is blooming and flowing with life 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:28.019 eternal. i was over there when the people would 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:31.180 come in the first thing that i did i said okay 00:26:31.180 --> 00:26:34.000 buddy the marines are stripped down to the city 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:37.660 walking come into bravo surgical my i have a 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:39.619 bodyguard that was with me we were like a religious 00:26:39.619 --> 00:26:43.279 ministry team so patrick was a methodist and 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:45.740 he was from ohio state had twin boy there about 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:48.859 five years old and a little daughter about nine 00:26:48.859 --> 00:26:51.359 and he was supposed to defend me and i'm the 00:26:51.359 --> 00:26:54.430 only military people Chaplain's the only ones 00:26:54.430 --> 00:26:59.210 without a weapon out there. And he said, so he 00:26:59.210 --> 00:27:01.369 would strip them down. We'd look at the dog tags, 00:27:01.529 --> 00:27:03.690 look and find out what their faith would be if 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:05.970 we knew anything. Sometimes I would just have 00:27:05.970 --> 00:27:08.250 to ask them because maybe their dog tags had 00:27:08.250 --> 00:27:10.089 no preference. Like the Jewish people always 00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:12.130 put no preference because you don't want that 00:27:12.130 --> 00:27:15.430 on your dog tags if you get caught. Right. So 00:27:15.430 --> 00:27:17.809 when they would come in, I would say, okay, buddy, 00:27:17.910 --> 00:27:20.279 breathe in through your nose. Exhale and they're 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:22.099 all like shaking and they were trying to get 00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:24.039 the morphine and the nurses and the doctors at 00:27:24.039 --> 00:27:26.240 first I didn't know what I was doing there So 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:28.059 I said breathe in and breathe out and if you 00:27:28.059 --> 00:27:30.740 can ask to everybody ask you just look if everybody 00:27:30.740 --> 00:27:33.119 of your listeners would just Do that if everyone 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:35.599 please just breathe in through your nose really 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:42.240 deeply And exhale through your mouth I feel like 00:27:42.240 --> 00:27:45.440 I'm already yeah, it's just amazing calmness 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:47.829 and that's about All I did, I was teaching people 00:27:47.829 --> 00:27:49.190 how to breathe. It's sort of like when you're 00:27:49.190 --> 00:27:50.970 lifting weights, sometimes you need someone to 00:27:50.970 --> 00:27:53.069 remind you, breathe. You can lift some more. 00:27:53.549 --> 00:27:56.390 So I said, breathe in and breathe out. And one 00:27:56.390 --> 00:27:59.289 time, this Marine, he was 19 years old, you know, 00:27:59.410 --> 00:28:01.390 shaken a little. I mean, we had to get him over 00:28:01.390 --> 00:28:03.230 to the surgery. And I said, Marine, I want you 00:28:03.230 --> 00:28:05.009 to breathe in and breathe out. And he looked 00:28:05.009 --> 00:28:07.309 at me and said, Padre, I'm not Catholic. I said, 00:28:07.309 --> 00:28:09.809 you're not? What are you? He said, I'm non -denominational. 00:28:09.829 --> 00:28:11.250 I said, what the hell does that mean? Do you 00:28:11.250 --> 00:28:13.769 believe in Jesus? Because I believe in Jesus. 00:28:14.210 --> 00:28:18.180 I'll breathe in Jesus. and exhale crap. He's 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:19.680 going to get you calmed down so we can get you 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:22.779 over to the surgery. And he looks at me and he 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:26.400 breathes in and he says, Padre, it works. And 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:28.599 we got the morphine into him and sent him off. 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:31.299 That's a great story. And we're going to be taking 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:32.880 a break. I'm going to ask you to hold on to that. 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:35.200 We're talking with Father Ron Moses Camardi, 00:28:35.339 --> 00:28:37.200 the author of Tear in the Desert. It's something 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:40.579 that all of you need to read. It's got some great 00:28:40.579 --> 00:28:43.119 stories in there, Nathan. As you just read earlier, 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:45.039 it sounds like you were writing letters to God 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:47.640 or writing letters to yourself. We'll be right 00:28:47.640 --> 00:28:50.079 back after this message. The Medal of Honor is 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.220 the highest award for valor in combat given a 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:54.119 member of the Armed Forces of the United States. 00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:57.039 There have been over 3 ,400 recipients of the 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:00.220 nation's highest award. This is one of them. 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:02.400 Specialist Ross McGivis threw his back against 00:29:02.400 --> 00:29:04.740 a grenade thrown into his Humvee, saving the 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:09.750 lives of his crewmates. Details after this. On 00:29:09.750 --> 00:29:12.430 December 4, 2006, McGinnis was manning the turret 00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:15.309 in the last Humvee of a six -vehicle patrol in 00:29:15.309 --> 00:29:18.170 northeast Baghdad when an insurgent threw a grenade 00:29:18.170 --> 00:29:21.089 from the roof of a nearby building. As he stood 00:29:21.089 --> 00:29:23.430 up to get ready to jump out of the vehicle, as 00:29:23.430 --> 00:29:26.190 he'd been trained to do, officials say McGinnis 00:29:26.190 --> 00:29:28.289 realized the other four soldiers in the vehicle 00:29:28.289 --> 00:29:30.769 did not know where the grenade had landed and 00:29:30.769 --> 00:29:33.470 did not have enough time to escape. He threw 00:29:33.470 --> 00:29:35.789 his back against the radio mount and smothered 00:29:35.789 --> 00:29:38.349 the explosive with his body. McGinnis was killed 00:29:38.349 --> 00:29:40.970 instantly while the other four men survived. 00:29:41.490 --> 00:29:43.529 He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously 00:29:43.529 --> 00:29:47.690 by President Bush on June 2nd, 2008. The Medal 00:29:47.690 --> 00:29:50.029 of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio. 00:30:07.180 --> 00:30:09.559 That 30 minute television special that was done 00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:12.619 by the director who's, we're actually in the 00:30:12.619 --> 00:30:15.200 process of making the book into a movie. It's 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.359 just a story to get out for the Marines. W. Keith 00:30:18.359 --> 00:30:21.339 Moore wrote the music for it. He actually wrote 00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:23.559 music for all of it. And if you ever get a chance 00:30:23.559 --> 00:30:26.599 to hear his music, he's just phenomenal. He has 00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:28.740 a great depth of the understanding. In fact, 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:31.859 he does some great work with our soldiers and 00:30:31.859 --> 00:30:34.259 troops out there. He sends out. music for them. 00:30:34.500 --> 00:30:36.660 Well, I want people to get the opportunity. You 00:30:36.660 --> 00:30:38.740 had mentioned that the television program had 00:30:38.740 --> 00:30:42.940 already been on ETWN Network. ETWN, yeah. Right. 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.319 And that it was coming up again on Veterans Day 00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:48.259 or the weekend of Veterans Day? Yes, I believe 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:50.480 it is going to be on. I don't know exactly the 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:52.180 time. I think it's about 6 p .m. on Veterans 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:55.579 Day, that they're going to rebroadcast it. It 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:58.420 was once on Catholic Television, Boston, and 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:01.740 it also is like a few clips on my website. Right. 00:31:01.900 --> 00:31:03.380 I was just going to tell everybody they need 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:07.319 to go to tierinthedessert .com. That's tierinthedessert 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:10.279 .com. And Father Ron has got a great bunch of 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:12.119 information on there, including some segments 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:14.900 from the program. And I think you'll find it 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:16.799 very interesting. As I mentioned, we are talking 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:20.119 with Father Ron Camarda, who's the author of 00:31:20.119 --> 00:31:22.980 Tier in the Desert. And if you'd like to get 00:31:22.980 --> 00:31:25.200 in and ask him a question, please feel free to 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.730 give us a call here at Veterans Radio. The number 00:31:27.730 --> 00:31:35.490 is 877 -573 -7825. That's 877 -573 -7825. I wanted 00:31:35.490 --> 00:31:37.730 to ask you a little bit about the Battle of Fallujah. 00:31:37.809 --> 00:31:40.250 You get into that in the book where you were, 00:31:40.849 --> 00:31:43.210 as I mentioned earlier, you sounded a little 00:31:43.210 --> 00:31:45.569 bit like a reluctant warrior. But once you got 00:31:45.569 --> 00:31:48.769 there, you went out and you were taking, you 00:31:48.769 --> 00:31:52.210 were performing mass for anybody and everybody 00:31:52.210 --> 00:31:55.369 who would come, weren't you? Yeah, sometimes 00:31:55.369 --> 00:31:58.910 I would like celebrate Mass 19 times, especially 00:31:58.910 --> 00:32:01.529 like at Christmas time and go to little places 00:32:01.529 --> 00:32:05.970 three times or 200 at the base. And it was just 00:32:05.970 --> 00:32:07.950 as a ministry of the Anointing of the Sick, which 00:32:07.950 --> 00:32:10.910 is a Catholic sacrament for people. About 40 00:32:10.910 --> 00:32:12.869 % of the people out there are actually Catholics. 00:32:12.930 --> 00:32:15.970 Some of them struggle, you know, but a lot of 00:32:15.970 --> 00:32:18.109 times when you're really injured it really changes 00:32:18.109 --> 00:32:20.490 when you come in, especially when you're recovering. 00:32:21.890 --> 00:32:24.440 But if I... I'll tell you the story that makes 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:27.180 it here in the desert and why this whole thing 00:32:27.180 --> 00:32:29.720 happened. I think you can celebrate pretty much. 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:33.079 It was November 12th, actually, and November 00:32:33.079 --> 00:32:36.519 11th here because of the time zone. But I was 00:32:36.519 --> 00:32:39.720 just with two Marines. One died in front of me, 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:41.980 and I eventually found out that one died six 00:32:41.980 --> 00:32:43.759 months later. But I was going back and forth 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:47.059 in the trauma. And it was just, I had been talking 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:50.420 to them, to this one guy, Gene, and then I experienced 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:54.579 his death. wonderful guys, I mean I get the last 00:32:54.579 --> 00:32:57.480 minute of their lives practically and then I 00:32:57.480 --> 00:33:00.660 find out later and I, a lot of times contact, 00:33:00.839 --> 00:33:03.200 get in contact with their families when I return, 00:33:03.480 --> 00:33:07.980 mothers, wives, even the children. And what happened 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:09.920 is, and even with the pictures you see there, 00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:12.160 you get an idea of the actual Bravo Surgical, 00:33:12.240 --> 00:33:15.700 but I was woken up early in the morning after 00:33:15.700 --> 00:33:18.559 I'd been out until about one in the dorm and 00:33:18.559 --> 00:33:20.619 the guys from Mortuary Affairs, which was right 00:33:20.619 --> 00:33:23.660 close by, came in and tapped me on the shoulder 00:33:23.660 --> 00:33:26.920 among all the guys I was sleeping with and said, 00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:29.819 Padre, we have another angel, which is someone 00:33:29.819 --> 00:33:31.880 who has died, and asked me if I would come over 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:35.640 quickly. And I said, where's your chaplain? Like 00:33:35.640 --> 00:33:37.880 5 .30 in the morning. They said, we can't find 00:33:37.880 --> 00:33:40.859 him. And it was for various reasons. But anyways, 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:44.599 I got up quickly, and I hadn't showered in four 00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:47.640 days. So I put my backpack on to go to the showers, 00:33:47.700 --> 00:33:50.839 which are about 50 meters away. And just as I 00:33:50.839 --> 00:33:54.400 was going to do that, I went over to Mortuary 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:57.140 Affairs, go inside, and there was this young 00:33:57.140 --> 00:34:00.220 man, Jonathan Shields, he was ruddy, he was handsome, 00:34:00.579 --> 00:34:04.579 he was Baptist, but the only thing is he was 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:08.059 dead. And I just was right with him, right there, 00:34:08.099 --> 00:34:09.900 and as soon as I folded my hands, all the Marines, 00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:12.139 with their tattoos and their struggles, because 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:14.579 I had known them a little bit, they folded their 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:17.590 hands and just wanted me to pray with them. And 00:34:17.590 --> 00:34:19.909 I basically prayed. I said, God, please be with 00:34:19.909 --> 00:34:23.289 the family. His family, he's Baptist. And so 00:34:23.289 --> 00:34:26.170 on the cross, Jesus said, Father, forgive them. 00:34:26.170 --> 00:34:28.230 They don't know what they do. And today you'll 00:34:28.230 --> 00:34:30.570 be with me in paradise. And as you welcome this 00:34:30.570 --> 00:34:33.670 man into eternity, we ask that you bless his 00:34:33.670 --> 00:34:36.090 family and those people who will be struggling 00:34:36.090 --> 00:34:40.289 for after this. And then I just started singing. 00:34:40.969 --> 00:34:44.889 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. It saved 00:34:44.889 --> 00:34:48.179 and set me free. and then I saw his soul rise. 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:53.119 It was absolutely amazing. It was like the room 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:55.659 filled with angels, and it's hard to explain. 00:34:56.420 --> 00:34:58.860 I'm sure people can doubt what I was experiencing, 00:34:58.900 --> 00:35:02.420 but it was so beautiful. It was, you know, once 00:35:02.420 --> 00:35:04.420 someone's about to die, it's the most beautiful 00:35:04.420 --> 00:35:06.840 thing in the world. It's also the poorest person 00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:08.780 in the world because they can't breathe. Doesn't 00:35:08.780 --> 00:35:11.780 matter how much money you have, once you can't 00:35:11.780 --> 00:35:15.880 breathe anymore, then you leave. And then I was 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:18.050 filled with and I walk outside and then the weight 00:35:18.050 --> 00:35:21.449 of the world came back on to me and then I walked 00:35:21.449 --> 00:35:26.210 down the 50 meters to the Showers and as I was 00:35:26.210 --> 00:35:29.030 just getting ready to put shaving cream on my 00:35:29.030 --> 00:35:32.730 face The the door opened and it's no one else 00:35:32.730 --> 00:35:34.769 around but the commanding officer came in says 00:35:34.769 --> 00:35:36.789 Padre you got to come quick to the trauma We're 00:35:36.789 --> 00:35:39.949 losing another one and the doors slammed and 00:35:39.949 --> 00:35:42.309 all I could think of I just want to go to bed 00:35:42.309 --> 00:35:48.139 I had 28 deaths already and countless And it 00:35:48.139 --> 00:35:49.980 was in the middle of the battle for Fallujah. 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:53.840 And I just said, I just want to go to bed. And 00:35:53.840 --> 00:35:56.199 I took the shaving gear out. And I'm not proud 00:35:56.199 --> 00:35:58.900 of it, but I started shaving slower than I've 00:35:58.900 --> 00:36:01.980 ever shaved before in my entire life. And when 00:36:01.980 --> 00:36:09.079 I finished shaving, I didn't shower. But had 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:11.139 I not taken this delay, the rest of this story 00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:12.639 doesn't happen. I wouldn't be talking to you, 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:15.739 Dale. That's how amazing. And so it's but by 00:36:15.739 --> 00:36:19.530 a thread. back to the hospital where I've seen 00:36:19.530 --> 00:36:22.510 bombs hit the hospital once coming out of the 00:36:22.510 --> 00:36:24.510 head and I could say all I could say was thank 00:36:24.510 --> 00:36:29.789 God I took a dump. But when I got there I went 00:36:29.789 --> 00:36:35.429 inside and went down the hallway and I was too 00:36:35.429 --> 00:36:38.730 late so I had to go into the and I got shoved 00:36:38.730 --> 00:36:40.969 down the hallway. We didn't have enough corpsmen 00:36:40.969 --> 00:36:44.429 because we had been depleted because of everything. 00:36:44.769 --> 00:36:46.679 They started giving me orders. Padre, hold the 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:50.079 blood, squeeze out the plasma. They shoved me 00:36:50.079 --> 00:36:52.920 into the operating room, and they pulled out 00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:56.179 an 11 -inch cylindrical rocket mortar that had 00:36:56.179 --> 00:36:58.780 lodged in his abdomen. I said, how did this guy 00:36:58.780 --> 00:37:03.000 last this long? Why? And I knew that he was conscious 00:37:03.000 --> 00:37:06.260 when he came in, but he was out. And I helped 00:37:06.260 --> 00:37:09.179 put him up on the gurney, and I stretched him 00:37:09.179 --> 00:37:11.719 on the table. He looked like Jesus. And then 00:37:11.719 --> 00:37:13.420 they slid him open, and I could see his heart 00:37:13.420 --> 00:37:17.780 pumping. and everything inside. And I'm cramming 00:37:17.780 --> 00:37:20.559 myself up against the wall. And when Nourish 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:22.480 yells out, he's Catholic. And I can't think of 00:37:22.480 --> 00:37:24.420 any of the prayers. I mean, it was amazing. I 00:37:24.420 --> 00:37:26.199 could not think of any prayer whatsoever, not 00:37:26.199 --> 00:37:29.179 even the Hail Mary. And I'm just like, if I could 00:37:29.179 --> 00:37:32.460 get out of there, I would. It was just amazing. 00:37:32.980 --> 00:37:35.980 And then they looked at me and they said, my 00:37:35.980 --> 00:37:39.380 agnostic roommate, surgeon, he yells at me. He 00:37:39.380 --> 00:37:41.500 goes, Padre, set up the light. And I'm like ignoring 00:37:41.500 --> 00:37:43.320 him. And he says, Padre, please set up the light. 00:37:46.409 --> 00:37:48.590 And then he looked at me and he said, Padre, 00:37:48.670 --> 00:37:51.409 you're standing on it. So I had to get off this 00:37:51.409 --> 00:37:53.530 big light and I brought the light to the table 00:37:53.530 --> 00:37:56.269 and all of a sudden I felt like I could get a 00:37:56.269 --> 00:37:59.730 prayer like a basket. I would be like, I could 00:37:59.730 --> 00:38:01.769 be the professional prayer, get out, do my duty, 00:38:01.929 --> 00:38:05.489 have another notch on things. But just as I was 00:38:05.489 --> 00:38:07.909 feeling that comfort and I was about to do it, 00:38:08.250 --> 00:38:10.070 both of the surgeons looked at me and said, Padre, 00:38:10.150 --> 00:38:17.889 we can't do anything. over his body. The only 00:38:17.889 --> 00:38:20.130 place he didn't have blood was on his face. He 00:38:20.130 --> 00:38:23.949 had tattoos and everything. He had red, tight 00:38:23.949 --> 00:38:26.670 hair. He was an Army soldier. His name was Edward. 00:38:26.829 --> 00:38:28.769 And I just started brushing his hair. And I said, 00:38:28.849 --> 00:38:31.690 Edward, you're dying. Unless it's a miracle, 00:38:32.329 --> 00:38:35.670 it's right here. And I don't see that kind of 00:38:35.670 --> 00:38:38.170 a miracle. And I'm going to be your, so I'll 00:38:38.170 --> 00:38:41.349 be your family. And I said, when Jesus was on 00:38:41.349 --> 00:38:43.510 the cross, He just said seven things. Father, 00:38:43.650 --> 00:38:44.969 forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. 00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:48.920 be with me in paradise. And when I got to that 00:38:48.920 --> 00:38:51.239 point, it was just the thief. The thief said, 00:38:51.320 --> 00:38:53.000 Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 00:38:54.519 --> 00:38:58.179 And then the thief says, and then Jesus says 00:38:58.179 --> 00:39:00.260 to the thief, today you'll be with me in paradise. 00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:03.760 And I looked at him and I just, you know, Edward, 00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:05.659 I am sick and tired of this war. I'm jealous 00:39:05.659 --> 00:39:10.559 of you. I mean, you're going to be in heaven 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:13.179 and I don't want to be here anymore. I want to 00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:17.440 go with you. I'm jealous. Don't be afraid. I'll 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:20.639 let your family know everything." And so as I 00:39:20.639 --> 00:39:22.340 was praying, and then I didn't know what to do. 00:39:22.380 --> 00:39:24.340 He was just there breathing, you know, breathing 00:39:24.340 --> 00:39:26.960 in and out on his own. And I turned to the... 00:39:26.960 --> 00:39:28.420 I just looked at him and I said, I'm going to 00:39:28.420 --> 00:39:30.079 sing to you what I sang to my mother when she 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:32.699 was dying. And it's a song of birth. It's a song 00:39:32.699 --> 00:39:35.119 that people hear all the time. But when my mother 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:38.500 was dying, we sang this to her. So I started 00:39:38.500 --> 00:39:43.739 singing, Oh holy night, the stars are brightly 00:39:43.739 --> 00:39:48.719 shining. It is the night. of our dear savior's 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:51.019 birth. And I'm feeling unconscious, self -conscious 00:39:51.019 --> 00:39:54.260 because the Marines are all there and army and 00:39:54.260 --> 00:39:57.880 stuff. Long lay the world in sin and error pining 00:39:57.880 --> 00:40:27.780 till he appears. That's when I knew that God 00:40:27.780 --> 00:40:30.000 needed me to just come and just witness a tear. 00:40:30.199 --> 00:40:32.380 That's all I do. I mean, people have lots of 00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:34.360 things to do in their lives or special things, 00:40:34.800 --> 00:40:36.739 but all I was supposed to do was experience this 00:40:36.739 --> 00:41:01.670 tear. His love and mercy saved you and raised 00:41:01.670 --> 00:42:11.269 you up. And I did it on His hands. We'll be right 00:42:11.269 --> 00:42:14.090 back after this. We're back on Veterans Radio 00:42:14.090 --> 00:42:17.610 and we're talking with Navy Chaplain retired, 00:42:18.349 --> 00:42:22.530 Father Ron Moses Camarda. And Father Ron, I hope 00:42:22.530 --> 00:42:24.269 our listeners will go into our archives and listen 00:42:24.269 --> 00:42:27.610 to that last segment because I couldn't stop. 00:42:28.530 --> 00:42:31.070 I didn't want to stop you. I didn't even want 00:42:31.070 --> 00:42:33.349 to take a commercial break, but we had to, unfortunately. 00:42:33.750 --> 00:42:36.010 You know what was so good about that, Dale? Yes? 00:42:36.769 --> 00:42:39.269 I'm sitting here. I'm shaking a little bit, but... 00:42:40.289 --> 00:42:43.670 That was the silence that sometimes I go ahead 00:42:43.670 --> 00:42:45.809 you just try I think we get nervous with that 00:42:45.809 --> 00:42:48.449 silence and when Edward died that was such a 00:42:48.449 --> 00:42:53.190 beautiful Moment to cherish and we in our society 00:42:53.190 --> 00:42:54.849 with so much information so much things going 00:42:54.849 --> 00:42:56.829 on sometimes we just need to take the time to 00:42:56.829 --> 00:43:00.289 just Be silent. I think that's even why taps 00:43:00.289 --> 00:43:04.809 It's such a moving experience every night. The 00:43:04.809 --> 00:43:15.570 military has that but with all its ups and downs, 00:43:15.750 --> 00:43:17.849 good times, bad times, sickness and unhealth. 00:43:18.469 --> 00:43:20.590 I was trying to find in your book, there was 00:43:20.590 --> 00:43:22.590 a segment there where you were talking about 00:43:22.590 --> 00:43:29.070 a marine memorial service. I actually have it 00:43:29.070 --> 00:43:30.710 right in front of me. Okay, this is the one where 00:43:30.710 --> 00:43:33.590 they call out the names. Can I share it with 00:43:33.590 --> 00:43:37.909 you? Yes, please do. Get the Kleenex out. So 00:43:37.909 --> 00:43:43.619 moving. 15 October 2004. the mortar killed a 00:43:43.619 --> 00:43:45.699 Marine who arrived in Iraq less than a month 00:43:45.699 --> 00:43:49.280 ago. The memorial service was today at 4 p .m. 00:43:49.400 --> 00:43:51.480 I attended the service to support the Marines 00:43:51.480 --> 00:43:56.440 who knew him. Oscar was only 19 years old. When 00:43:56.440 --> 00:43:58.800 Oscar's mother was struck with cancer, he became 00:43:58.800 --> 00:44:00.840 the man of the house. He cared for his younger 00:44:00.840 --> 00:44:04.519 siblings. The Marine Corps likely provided the 00:44:04.519 --> 00:44:06.659 strength and discipline Oscar might have lacked 00:44:06.659 --> 00:44:09.880 in his family of origin. I gleaned a few things 00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:11.800 about Oscar from his friends who spoke spoke 00:44:11.800 --> 00:44:15.320 at the memorial service. Oscar smiled, laughed, 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:17.599 and thoroughly enjoyed the life given to him, 00:44:17.940 --> 00:44:21.880 but now his life was abruptly ended. Over 300 00:44:21.880 --> 00:44:24.599 Marines gathered to show gratitude for Oscar's 00:44:24.599 --> 00:44:28.099 sacrifice. In many ways, the whole ceremony reminded 00:44:28.099 --> 00:44:30.940 me of Good Friday services when we remember the 00:44:30.940 --> 00:44:34.159 death of Jesus of Nazareth. The scripture at 00:44:34.159 --> 00:44:36.400 the memorial service was the book of Kaheleth, 00:44:36.400 --> 00:44:39.820 Ecclesiastes, and spoke of vanity of vanities 00:44:39.820 --> 00:44:41.579 in which There's a time for everything, including 00:44:41.579 --> 00:44:45.280 a time to be born and a time to die. The gospel 00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:48.260 spoke of the many houses God will provide, one 00:44:48.260 --> 00:44:51.400 for each of us. Jesus loves us and assures us. 00:44:52.119 --> 00:44:55.440 A huge Marine Corps flag, approximately 30 feet 00:44:55.440 --> 00:44:59.960 by 20, draped the stage. The flag has a red background 00:44:59.960 --> 00:45:03.219 and a globe with an anchor in the center. Above 00:45:03.219 --> 00:45:06.949 the globe, an eagle touts Semper Fidelis. Underneath 00:45:06.949 --> 00:45:09.550 this motto is a banner of the United States Marine 00:45:09.550 --> 00:45:13.010 Corps. There were also seven Marine Corps flags 00:45:13.010 --> 00:45:16.110 and one US Navy flag on stands that fanned out. 00:45:17.150 --> 00:45:19.429 At the stage's center was the cross equivalent. 00:45:20.150 --> 00:45:23.269 There was no body. Oscar's boots were there. 00:45:23.510 --> 00:45:26.389 His rifle also stood beside the boots and supported 00:45:26.389 --> 00:45:29.889 his helmet and dangling dog tags. The words and 00:45:29.889 --> 00:45:33.650 benediction were spoken. The gunny sergeant then 00:45:33.650 --> 00:45:41.300 marched to the platoon were called. These Marines 00:45:41.300 --> 00:45:43.460 forcefully proclaimed with a trace of guarded 00:45:43.460 --> 00:46:51.940 grief. Present. Then the gunner yelled. remembering 00:46:51.940 --> 00:46:55.420 this service. Jesus had a cross rather than a 00:46:55.420 --> 00:46:58.539 rifle. Jesus has conquered and will eventually 00:46:58.539 --> 00:47:03.840 gather us all home. God is good all the time. 00:47:06.400 --> 00:47:08.900 I can't hardly breathe myself. I'm going to have 00:47:08.900 --> 00:47:10.980 to breathe in through my nose and out my mouth 00:47:10.980 --> 00:47:14.840 so I can continue. That's such a powerful segment 00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:16.880 of the book, Father Ron, and there are many, 00:47:16.960 --> 00:47:19.420 many others like that out there. It's such an 00:47:19.420 --> 00:47:23.820 inspirational story. of your journey through 00:47:23.820 --> 00:47:27.739 not only your faith, but also in what was going 00:47:27.739 --> 00:47:32.500 on over there and is still going on. I have to 00:47:32.500 --> 00:47:36.280 admit that I have a much higher regard. I'm not 00:47:36.280 --> 00:47:38.059 sure the word I'm looking for for chaplains. 00:47:39.119 --> 00:47:44.099 I didn't realize what work that you did. It's 00:47:44.099 --> 00:47:46.900 so impressive that you were able to do that and 00:47:46.900 --> 00:47:50.139 that you're coming back with your own baggage. 00:47:50.440 --> 00:47:52.980 that you have to work through. And you know what 00:47:52.980 --> 00:47:55.619 it is that I also find, Dale, it's the parents 00:47:55.619 --> 00:47:58.480 and the family. When I write, sign a book, sometimes 00:47:58.480 --> 00:48:01.639 I say, beloved, and I'll say, thanks for taking 00:48:01.639 --> 00:48:05.300 the service. And thanks for your service as being 00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:08.199 the mother of a Marine, the brother or sister 00:48:08.199 --> 00:48:12.820 or a cousin or a friend. And continue. And in 00:48:12.820 --> 00:48:16.420 the journey, it's like, I was just there. All 00:48:16.420 --> 00:48:19.380 I did was witness it. And you know, And I think 00:48:19.380 --> 00:48:21.920 God uses the weakest and the dumbest, and that's 00:48:21.920 --> 00:48:24.639 why I know that I was chosen for this, not because 00:48:24.639 --> 00:48:28.119 I do anything except that. You know, the Marines 00:48:28.119 --> 00:48:31.400 love it if you pitch your tent with them. And 00:48:31.400 --> 00:48:34.219 a lot of times, if I didn't go out some of the 00:48:34.219 --> 00:48:35.980 places, they wouldn't give me any credibility. 00:48:37.139 --> 00:48:39.059 But like, you see some of the pictures there, 00:48:39.099 --> 00:48:41.920 one of them is in the city of Fallujah, to accept 00:48:41.920 --> 00:48:46.260 them where they are, as they are. I have this 00:48:46.260 --> 00:48:48.059 gratitude at the end of the book that I'd like 00:48:48.059 --> 00:48:49.440 to share with you. you because I really think 00:48:49.440 --> 00:48:54.099 it puts it into perspective. I wrote this 12 00:48:54.099 --> 00:48:58.280 November 2007, which is like three years ago 00:48:58.280 --> 00:49:00.599 today. I held a man figuratively and literally 00:49:00.599 --> 00:49:07.159 as he died. He was stretched out in the operating 00:49:07.159 --> 00:49:09.639 room like a crucified man on his back, guts hanging 00:49:09.639 --> 00:49:12.559 out. I had overwhelming love for this man whom 00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:15.860 I had just met. I was exhausted from the war 00:49:15.860 --> 00:49:17.860 and battled depressed, belittled and frustrated. 00:49:19.500 --> 00:49:24.340 And in this darky moment, I have a sense of light. 00:49:24.880 --> 00:49:27.519 I can play Taps for you, one of the songs that 00:49:27.519 --> 00:49:30.360 I sang at some of the services when I was out 00:49:30.360 --> 00:49:34.219 there. And I do it even when I'm returning. And 00:49:34.219 --> 00:49:36.800 if you listen to the words, it's really powerful, 00:49:37.059 --> 00:49:39.960 if you don't mind. I'm going to ask you to just 00:49:39.960 --> 00:49:41.679 hold off on that for a second. We're going to 00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:44.699 go out on that. And I want to thank Father Ron 00:49:44.699 --> 00:49:47.679 Moses -Carmada for being on Veterans Radio today. 00:49:48.000 --> 00:49:50.099 And we'll have him back again, because he's so 00:49:50.099 --> 00:49:51.840 inspirational. It's such a great opportunity 00:49:51.840 --> 00:49:54.400 to talk with somebody who's been there. So I 00:49:54.400 --> 00:49:56.179 want to thank you very much, and then I'm going 00:49:56.179 --> 00:49:58.619 to let you go with taps, and we'll finish up 00:49:58.619 --> 00:50:00.300 the interview on that. Thank you very much for 00:50:00.300 --> 00:50:03.059 being on Veterans Radio. Thank you so much, Dale. 00:50:03.260 --> 00:50:05.400 We'll be talking to you soon. God bless you. 00:50:05.400 --> 00:50:08.719 OK. And I'll sing it first, then I'll play it. 00:50:08.780 --> 00:50:20.320 OK. Thanks and praise. beneath the sun, beneath 00:50:20.320 --> 00:51:54.320 the sky, as we go. Do not reflect the views of 00:51:54.320 --> 00:51:57.940 Veterans Radio or your local station. Veterans 00:51:57.940 --> 00:52:00.539 Radio is a production of Veterans Radio, LLC.