All across America and around the world, you're
listening to America's number one radio program
for veterans, Veterans Radio. And now, live from
the studios of WDEO in beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan,
here's your host for today's program. Former
Chief Warrant Officer, helicopter pilot with
the 195th Assault Helicopter Company, Republic
of Vietnam, 1969, Dale Throneberry. And good
morning America and welcome to Veterans Radio
as our good friend Matt Doerr introduced me.
Thank you so very much, Matt. My name is Dale
Throneberry and I did have the privilege of flying
with the 195th Assault Helicopter Company in
Vietnam. The sky cheese, good morning to all
you sky cheese and thunder chickens out there
that are listening. You're listening to Veterans
Radio and we're very, very excited to have you
here listening to us this morning and as Matt
pointed out, in beautiful downtown Ann Arbor.
Matt Durer is going to be running our board today.
Good morning, Matt. Good morning. And running
our webcam for those of you that are interested
and I don't know why you would want to do this
to see what we look like. Gary Lilley is running
that, the former CB. Good morning, Gary. Good
morning, CB. Can do. We hope so. We've got a
lot of interesting things and we're going to
start right off today. We're going to be, many
of you may remember I was in Pittsburgh a couple
of weeks ago at the Military Writer Society.
And I was privileged to meet an incredible amount
of authors, songwriters, poets, artists. It's
an amazing collection of very, very talented
people. And one award that we were not able to
give out that particular night was the Founders
Award. And joining me right now on Veterans Radio
is the founder of the Military Writers Society
of America. And that is Bill McDonald. And Bill,
welcome to Veterans Radio. Well, top of the morning
to you, young man. Top of the morning to you,
a very early morning out there in California.
Yeah, the sun ain't even up yet. I'm in the hills
of Los Angeles on my way to Pacific Palisades
to a spiritual retreat, and it's nice we connect
this morning. It is great to talk to you, Bill.
I know that you weren't able to make the conference,
but tell me a little bit, just briefly, of how
you came up with the idea for this organization.
Well, a number of years ago, I've been working
with PTSD veterans. And I was asked by the Veterans
Administration, since I've been working about
three decades with veterans, to come up with
a program to help them. And it involved working
with people in Kalamazoo, believe it or not,
in the Detroit area, on what we call the art
of healing. And we used writing memoirs, writing
poetry. painting, sculpting, writing music, playing
music, singing, all the arts that we took into
consideration as a way for people to have some
kind of therapy where they could get a grip and
a handle on what they've been through. And we
found it very successful and I developed a program.
We did a movie for public television which was
played in the Great Lakes and for armed forces
television network, Pentagon television network.
And that kind of started, I started with about
a group of about 12 writers, officially, and
our first public appearance as a group for the
military writers was in Austin, Texas, at the
premiere of the documentary film in the shadow
of the blade, which you may be familiar with,
which deals with a helicopter going 10 ,000 miles
across country and kind of a welcome home party.
And that small group expanded to today, it's
less than a thousand, but it's someplace between
800 and a thousand. My idea was to open the door
to all veterans and even non -veterans if they
had a patriotic fame where they could come together
in a collective group creatively and display
their works and talk to people of like mind.
So therefore memoirs, poetry, and then novels
and all kinds of stuff started flowing forth.
And then we've become that great big organization
we are now. Believe it or not, the military writers
has a reputation in Asia and Europe and even
it's widely read in India of all places. I know
because I just was there for 100 days this year.
So it's really expanded and it's reached the
levels that I wanted it to. I wanted a place
for people to come together for fellowship, but
also for them to hone their craft and to be recognized
through awards, which is what we're doing now
with this uncommon power. Right, and that's the
point that we have you on this morning, Bill,
is to bestow upon the authors of Uncommon Valor
the Founders Award. And right now we've got Dwight
Zimmerman on the line. Dwight, welcome back to
Veterans Radio. Thank you, Dale. It's a pleasure
to be here again. It is a pleasure. It's nice
to talk to you. It's nice to see you a couple
of weeks ago also. We had Dwight and John on
back in May to talk about Uncommon Valor. Unfortunately,
I had my little... emergency on that day, so
I didn't get to do that. So now, John, Bill,
I'll bring it back to you and let you tell people
about the Founders Award for Uncommon Valor.
Yeah, first off, the Founders Award for the Military
Writer's Society is the top award. There is no
award higher. It's the most prestigious award.
And if a book is not good enough, and I go through
thousands a year, then I don't give the award.
In fact, this year, I was at that position where
I wasn't looking at anybody getting the word
and there were some great books out, I mean really
good books, but they weren't at that level that
I was looking for. Until I read Uncommon Valor
and as soon as I read that I sent a message out
and said this is it, this has to be recognized.
Not only is the book very well written, I mean
it's entertaining, it's also a resource guide
and background on the history of these individuals
in Iraq and Afghanistan, these six warriors who
are in the medal. There's also a history of the
award itself and the politics involved into it
and what the award's all about. It's a fascinating
study of human nature, of battle, of valor, of
heroes, and you find out the common ground is
there is no common ground. It's a whole bunch
of different individuals and as unique as a snowflake.
And that's what makes the book that much more
enthralling. I mean, it's literally a book that
you can pick up and read non -stop. I mean, it's
also a book I'm finding this morning as I sit
here waiting. As I'm going through it another
time after reading it initially, there's things
I'm rediscovering. I mean, there was real subtle
things in the book that you read it and you read
it, but then you go, wow, that really is, it's
really kind of neat. So it's one of those books
of the kind that you can read over and over again
and share and it's obviously a work of love and
joy by the authors. I mean Dwight Zimmerman and
John Grisham have really put together, it can
only be described as a masterpiece. A lot of
people out there that aren't military, this is
a good book for them. Just for military minded
people and people like to read military genre
This is about human interest and they talks about
these guys when they were growing up and and
their family life and and what the battles were
like and what motions they went through it the
politics and Probably some of the things that
would might interest some people when they talk
about General Douglas MacArthur and how he got
his award the politics involved in that and the
politics of of Charles Wimberg flying across
the Atlantic and getting his award. So it's a
really phenomenal book. It's written very well.
The pros in this thing is it flows, it makes
sense, the research is outstanding. and plenty
of footnotes for people to go back to if they
want to do more. I can't say enough about it.
Mr. McDonald, I'll continue talking. I loved
your... It makes your day, doesn't it? Oh boy,
I tell ya. Excuse me. Well, John and I are both
non -veterans, and so one of the things that
we feel is very uppermost in our mind is that
we really work hard to tell the story. not just
Uncommon Valor, we've done other pieces, obviously,
to act as a bridge between both the military
communities and the civilian community to help,
particularly civilians, understand what it's
like. With Uncommon Valor, we had the additional
burden of talking about or writing about these
extraordinary men. young men, actually, and to
be honest and true to what they did, and certainly
since in all cases these were posthumous, you
really had to make sure that you did right by
these people. What was so fascinating was the
diverse backgrounds. On one side you had a kid
from a broken home, never knew his biological
father. abandoned by his mother and then on the
other side you had someone who grew up in a stable
middle class, upper middle class family, graduated
from Ivy League College and had the potential
of becoming a hot shot lawyer. Instead he decided
to become a SEAL. Their only common link is that
they all had a desire to serve their country
and then ultimately of course they won the Medal
of Honor. It was tough to try and make sure that
you did right by these guys and that we got the
Founders Award. Talk about being blindsided by
a Mack truck. John and I were just absolutely
stunned. It's a nice truck to get hit by on that
case for the Founders Award. We are talking with
Dwight Zimmerman and also Bill McDonald from
the Military Writers Society of America. So for
people that want to know more about the book,
the book is Uncommon Valor. You can get it at
Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble. I actually can
go onto the Military Writers website, which is
militarywriters .com, and you find out all kinds
of information. If you want to know more about
the conversation that Dwight had with the Veterans
Radio crew, you can go back to, I believe it's
the end of May was the program, and it's in our
archives, and you can hear the whole thing. Gentlemen,
I want to thank both of you so very much. for
being on Veterans Radio today and congratulations
to Dwight and John and Bill I'm glad you're feeling
so much better and hope to see you next year
wherever the conference is. I hope to be there.
I hope to be alive. Yeah I know. Thank you both
so very much for being on Veterans Radio. Thank
you. We're going to do our little welcome home
segment in just a second, but first I want to
remind everybody that during the next segment
of the program, we've got another Military Writer
Society Award winner coming up. His name is Father
Ron Moses Camarda and he wrote an incredible
book that I find. It's called Tear in the Desert
and it's about his experience as a chaplain.
at a MASH hospital unit near Fallujah in 2004
and five. And I think that you're going to find
this a fascinating story and I encourage you
to stay tuned to listen to that interview. It's
a great story of his experiences working in a
hospital over there. Each week on Veterans Radio
we welcome home servicemen and women who have
been stationed around the world in the service
of our country, and we do this to let them know
that we honor their service and commitment to
our country. This week we don't have any specific
units that we're going to welcome home, but we
are going to welcome home all of those men and
women who have served overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan
and anywhere else in the world. Thank God for
what you do. We could not exist without your
protection and we want to thank you so very much
and so on behalf of a grateful nation and Veterans
Radio we want to say welcome home. You have honorably
served the United States and the Marine Corps
in times of peace and war. Now we would like
to serve you. The Marine Scholars Program covers
the total cost of attending Ave Maria University
by combining resources from the Ave Maria University
Marine Scholars Funding. federal financial aid
entitlements, and the GI Bill. The benefits are
granted for the duration of the recipient study
at Ave Maria University contingent upon good
conduct and good academic standing. The Marine
Scholars Program is open to all reserve and active
component Marines and other combat veterans of
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi
Freedom who have honorably served our country.
Please visit us online at www .avemaria .edu.
or call the Assistant Director of Admissions
at 239 -280 -2552. You helped us, now let us
help you. Semper Fi. We're back on Veterans Radio
and joining me on the air right now is Father
Ron Moses Camarda, who's the author of a book
entitled, Tear in the Desert. And Father Ron,
welcome to Veterans Radio. Oh, Dale, it's great
to be here with you. It's pretty exciting stuff,
isn't it, what's going on on the radio today.
Life is great. You are also an award winner with
the Military Writers Society and I had the honor
of meeting you in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks
ago and you were kind enough to give me a copy
of your book and in all honesty I could not put
it down. You have told an amazing story and we're
going to talk about it a little bit today. I
don't want to give the whole thing away. But
tell me how you became first of all how you became
a priest that I thought that was a fascinating
story Actually, I was in the I went to the US
Merchant Marine Academy and Kings Point, New
York and While I was there we sail six months
a year out on the ships and then while I was
there I start I fell in love with this young
lady and beautiful woman and When I was getting
ready to graduate instead of sailing on merchant
ships, I took a job with the U .S. Coast Guard.
And when I took the job in Jacksonville, Florida,
close to where I grew up in Daytona Beach, and
as soon as I got down here, I usually just say,
well, she dumped me. Oh, how cruel. That's not
what it is really. It's more like that's what
God was calling me to. I just didn't know what
God was calling me to. Later I applied and I
went to the seminary from the Coast Guard. I
got out on August 24th, and August 25th I was
in the seminary at St. Meinrad, Indiana for a
year. And then the following year, I always said
to God, I'll give you two years. Because God
said to me, I'm not going to tell you if you're
going to be a priest. He just wanted me to go
into the seminary. And after the two years, I
was almost like I didn't want to return, but
it was like a five -year program. And I got like
six years for good behavior. But when I was ordained
in 1990, I had already switched over from the
Coast Guard Reserves to the Navy Chaplain Candidate
Reserve Program. So in 1991, I became a full
chaplain, but I kind of delayed putting my papers
in because the Gulf War was going on and I didn't
want to go to the Middle East. Okay, reluctant
warrior. So I three years after being ordained,
Bishop Snyder, the bishop who ordained me, called
me in the office and said, I'd like you to go
active duty. And I said, no, I don't want to
go active duty. He says, but I want you to go.
You know how obedience is. But he asked me, like,
Ron, why don't you want to go? I said, well,
they always put the new priests with the Marines.
And in this case, I know it's going to be Okinawa,
Japan. And they go out in the field a lot. And
the bishop said, What's wrong with that? I said,
Bishop, my idea of roughing it is a Motel 6 rather
than a Hyatt Regency. He said, get out of my
office. And he smiled. And I went out to, in
1994, for a year and a half, I was with the Marines
in Okinawa. And they asked me if I wanted the
air side or the grunts. And I said, let me swing
with the wing. So they put me with the stinger
battery. And if any Marines are listening, they
know that that's the grunts of the air. Right.
And then I followed, and about a year later,
I mean a year and a half later, they asked me
where I wanted to go, and I said, how about Puerto
Rico? And they said, why Puerto Rico? I said,
because there's no Marines there. But they, I
mean the Marines, I love them, but once I got
to Puerto Rico, I was there for less than a month,
I was on vacation, and they gave me orders to
go to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the Cuban -
I think 28 Cuban refugees, full immersion, the
CBs and everybody. It was just a beautiful occasion.
And I returned three months later to Puerto Rico,
and I got passed over for Lieutenant Commander.
And they said, since you got passed over twice,
you have to get out. But you're a priest, so
you can stay. I said, well, I don't want to stay.
So I left. And I stayed with the reserve, the
VTU. And a year later, they promoted me anyways
to Lieutenant Commander. By that time I was out
for seven years. I was a pastor at St. Patrick's
on the north side of Jacksonville. It's an inner
-city parish. And we were doing some marvelous
things and I got a phone call from New Orleans
that said to me, I was a captain. It was at the
time the reserve unit in New Orleans, this was
before Katrina, in 2004, July 5th. I'd qualified
for 20 good years in the reserves. I get this
phone call and it says, Padre, do you have experience
with Marines? I said, no. And then they said
pack your bags. You're going to Fallujah Iraq.
Oh my I said you are no way. This is a joke and
He says no. No. No, this is serious. We need
someone over there. I said listen, I can't go
I'm 45 years old I I can qualify to retire they
said well, but did you put your papers in I said
no You've been extended oh they well actually
And so now I'm retired reserves eventually, but
then they said, I said, listen, I have season
tickets to the NFL Jaguar games with my dad.
They said, now that's good, but that won't work.
And then a year, a few minutes, then I said,
well, what if I had my bishop remove my endorsement?
Because as a chaplain, I have to be endorsed
by my bishop. It's like being licensed. And he
said, well, two priests have already done that.
And I said, thank you. And I said, goodbye. I
hung up the phone, didn't tell a soul. On July
15th, I got orders to report the first week of
August, two weeks later. And I took the orders,
and I walked over to the church, and I placed
my orders on the altar. And I said, Jesus, I
know you don't want me to go, so I'm going to
ask the bishop to remove my endorsement. I know
you need me here to work in this parish. not
for any glory or anything. And it was like Jesus
caught my bluff and that internal voice like
tapped me on the shoulder and said, Ron, I want
you to go. I said, no, you don't. Yes, I do.
No, you don't. And I was struggling. I said,
you can't be serious. And he said, Ron Moses,
which is my confirmation name, my grandfather's
name. And I said, you can't send me. I complained
too much. And Jesus said, yep, you do. So he
put it in my heart that I was supposed to go.
I even said, well, send the other two priests.
He said, no, I need you. And I didn't know what
this was all about, the typical call that most
of us have. Sometimes we resist things and some
of the most beautiful things happen. So then
I ended up in Fallujah, Iraq. And who were you
with over there? I was with the Bravo Surgical
Unit, which was a Marine unit, which was sort
of like MASH. Okay, if anyone knows the television
show or the movie MASH, I was just like Father
Mulcahy. There was about a hundred of us. The
first 50 went over, I went over on September
2nd, and then we went all the way through Alta
Codem, then went through a... It was just a horrific
journey, I tell you. They were shooting at us
as we were landing. That gives you an idea on
a C -130. And then we were in the convoy, which
the first convoy for anyone is just so horrible.
And I think that's part of what the book actually
helps a little bit for family members. When we
go through it, once you get through it, then
you get used to it. Family never gets used to
the dangers that are implying for those that
they love. The Bravo Surgical includes about
20 Marines, and then there's doctors, surgeons,
nurses. We have a combat stress team. And I was
the only Catholic priest on the camp of Fallujah,
which had about over 10 ,000 people at the height
of the Fallujah, the battle for Fallujah. This
was shortly after the Abu Ghraib incident. In
fact, I actually had an opportunity to go over
there in October of 2004. So I was actually in
Camp Fallujah, and everybody knew that I wasn't
going off anywhere, so I, my family did, but
then they started asking me to go out into the
city, especially during the Battle for Fallujah,
and I said at first, no, no, no, and I was complaining
a lot. So from September 6th until December 23rd,
we had casualties every single day from IEDs,
amputations, shrapnel to all parts of the bodies.
And what I started doing is I had this little
green notebook that I started writing the names
of all the people there. There was over 2 ,000
names that I had written in there, 1 ,500 casualties.
in my seven months over there and 81 deaths in
which 12 died in front of me. I want to get to
that. I want to tell our audience again we're
talking with Father Ron Moses Camardi who's the
author of Tear in the Desert which is taken from
his journal that we were just mentioning here
on Veterans Radio and Father Ron I want you to
talk a little bit about what it was like with
all those casualties coming in because in your
previous life as a you know as a priest you weren't
exposed to that kind of horrific damage to a
human being? Exactly. I found out a journal entry
that I had written after I had returned that
I was sitting back reflecting and I wrote, in
a sense each tear that I witnessed in the desert
was in a sense my tear. I'm incapable like God
to experience the tear as a gift. I was crying
also. I struggle. The heart of some was pierced
and drained The only relief would or could be
the creator of blood and heart. My being was
parched. Only one drop, one tear, would be needed
to flood the dryness and emptiness. And with
that rejuvenation, as in all storms, there is
a genuine danger. As we take in tear in the desert,
there is a blessing and a grave danger. In the
storm, Jesus is coming to you. Don't be afraid.
He is your love and source of being. Don't be
afraid and go to Him. Walk on the flood of tears
and don't look away. Have faith and if you do,
receive His hand. And Jesus will grab me and
say, oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?
And move on. Focus on Jesus. Follow Him through
the tear. As the people followed Moses, only
the desert is blooming and flowing with life
eternal. i was over there when the people would
come in the first thing that i did i said okay
buddy the marines are stripped down to the city
walking come into bravo surgical my i have a
bodyguard that was with me we were like a religious
ministry team so patrick was a methodist and
he was from ohio state had twin boy there about
five years old and a little daughter about nine
and he was supposed to defend me and i'm the
only military people Chaplain's the only ones
without a weapon out there. And he said, so he
would strip them down. We'd look at the dog tags,
look and find out what their faith would be if
we knew anything. Sometimes I would just have
to ask them because maybe their dog tags had
no preference. Like the Jewish people always
put no preference because you don't want that
on your dog tags if you get caught. Right. So
when they would come in, I would say, okay, buddy,
breathe in through your nose. Exhale and they're
all like shaking and they were trying to get
the morphine and the nurses and the doctors at
first I didn't know what I was doing there So
I said breathe in and breathe out and if you
can ask to everybody ask you just look if everybody
of your listeners would just Do that if everyone
please just breathe in through your nose really
deeply And exhale through your mouth I feel like
I'm already yeah, it's just amazing calmness
and that's about All I did, I was teaching people
how to breathe. It's sort of like when you're
lifting weights, sometimes you need someone to
remind you, breathe. You can lift some more.
So I said, breathe in and breathe out. And one
time, this Marine, he was 19 years old, you know,
shaken a little. I mean, we had to get him over
to the surgery. And I said, Marine, I want you
to breathe in and breathe out. And he looked
at me and said, Padre, I'm not Catholic. I said,
you're not? What are you? He said, I'm non -denominational.
I said, what the hell does that mean? Do you
believe in Jesus? Because I believe in Jesus.
I'll breathe in Jesus. and exhale crap. He's
going to get you calmed down so we can get you
over to the surgery. And he looks at me and he
breathes in and he says, Padre, it works. And
we got the morphine into him and sent him off.
That's a great story. And we're going to be taking
a break. I'm going to ask you to hold on to that.
We're talking with Father Ron Moses Camardi,
the author of Tear in the Desert. It's something
that all of you need to read. It's got some great
stories in there, Nathan. As you just read earlier,
it sounds like you were writing letters to God
or writing letters to yourself. We'll be right
back after this message. The Medal of Honor is
the highest award for valor in combat given a
member of the Armed Forces of the United States.
There have been over 3 ,400 recipients of the
nation's highest award. This is one of them.
Specialist Ross McGivis threw his back against
a grenade thrown into his Humvee, saving the
lives of his crewmates. Details after this. On
December 4, 2006, McGinnis was manning the turret
in the last Humvee of a six -vehicle patrol in
northeast Baghdad when an insurgent threw a grenade
from the roof of a nearby building. As he stood
up to get ready to jump out of the vehicle, as
he'd been trained to do, officials say McGinnis
realized the other four soldiers in the vehicle
did not know where the grenade had landed and
did not have enough time to escape. He threw
his back against the radio mount and smothered
the explosive with his body. McGinnis was killed
instantly while the other four men survived.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously
by President Bush on June 2nd, 2008. The Medal
of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio.
That 30 minute television special that was done
by the director who's, we're actually in the
process of making the book into a movie. It's
just a story to get out for the Marines. W. Keith
Moore wrote the music for it. He actually wrote
music for all of it. And if you ever get a chance
to hear his music, he's just phenomenal. He has
a great depth of the understanding. In fact,
he does some great work with our soldiers and
troops out there. He sends out. music for them.
Well, I want people to get the opportunity. You
had mentioned that the television program had
already been on ETWN Network. ETWN, yeah. Right.
And that it was coming up again on Veterans Day
or the weekend of Veterans Day? Yes, I believe
it is going to be on. I don't know exactly the
time. I think it's about 6 p .m. on Veterans
Day, that they're going to rebroadcast it. It
was once on Catholic Television, Boston, and
it also is like a few clips on my website. Right.
I was just going to tell everybody they need
to go to tierinthedessert .com. That's tierinthedessert
.com. And Father Ron has got a great bunch of
information on there, including some segments
from the program. And I think you'll find it
very interesting. As I mentioned, we are talking
with Father Ron Camarda, who's the author of
Tier in the Desert. And if you'd like to get
in and ask him a question, please feel free to
give us a call here at Veterans Radio. The number
is 877 -573 -7825. That's 877 -573 -7825. I wanted
to ask you a little bit about the Battle of Fallujah.
You get into that in the book where you were,
as I mentioned earlier, you sounded a little
bit like a reluctant warrior. But once you got
there, you went out and you were taking, you
were performing mass for anybody and everybody
who would come, weren't you? Yeah, sometimes
I would like celebrate Mass 19 times, especially
like at Christmas time and go to little places
three times or 200 at the base. And it was just
as a ministry of the Anointing of the Sick, which
is a Catholic sacrament for people. About 40
% of the people out there are actually Catholics.
Some of them struggle, you know, but a lot of
times when you're really injured it really changes
when you come in, especially when you're recovering.
But if I... I'll tell you the story that makes
it here in the desert and why this whole thing
happened. I think you can celebrate pretty much.
It was November 12th, actually, and November
11th here because of the time zone. But I was
just with two Marines. One died in front of me,
and I eventually found out that one died six
months later. But I was going back and forth
in the trauma. And it was just, I had been talking
to them, to this one guy, Gene, and then I experienced
his death. wonderful guys, I mean I get the last
minute of their lives practically and then I
find out later and I, a lot of times contact,
get in contact with their families when I return,
mothers, wives, even the children. And what happened
is, and even with the pictures you see there,
you get an idea of the actual Bravo Surgical,
but I was woken up early in the morning after
I'd been out until about one in the dorm and
the guys from Mortuary Affairs, which was right
close by, came in and tapped me on the shoulder
among all the guys I was sleeping with and said,
Padre, we have another angel, which is someone
who has died, and asked me if I would come over
quickly. And I said, where's your chaplain? Like
5 .30 in the morning. They said, we can't find
him. And it was for various reasons. But anyways,
I got up quickly, and I hadn't showered in four
days. So I put my backpack on to go to the showers,
which are about 50 meters away. And just as I
was going to do that, I went over to Mortuary
Affairs, go inside, and there was this young
man, Jonathan Shields, he was ruddy, he was handsome,
he was Baptist, but the only thing is he was
dead. And I just was right with him, right there,
and as soon as I folded my hands, all the Marines,
with their tattoos and their struggles, because
I had known them a little bit, they folded their
hands and just wanted me to pray with them. And
I basically prayed. I said, God, please be with
the family. His family, he's Baptist. And so
on the cross, Jesus said, Father, forgive them.
They don't know what they do. And today you'll
be with me in paradise. And as you welcome this
man into eternity, we ask that you bless his
family and those people who will be struggling
for after this. And then I just started singing.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. It saved
and set me free. and then I saw his soul rise.
It was absolutely amazing. It was like the room
filled with angels, and it's hard to explain.
I'm sure people can doubt what I was experiencing,
but it was so beautiful. It was, you know, once
someone's about to die, it's the most beautiful
thing in the world. It's also the poorest person
in the world because they can't breathe. Doesn't
matter how much money you have, once you can't
breathe anymore, then you leave. And then I was
filled with and I walk outside and then the weight
of the world came back on to me and then I walked
down the 50 meters to the Showers and as I was
just getting ready to put shaving cream on my
face The the door opened and it's no one else
around but the commanding officer came in says
Padre you got to come quick to the trauma We're
losing another one and the doors slammed and
all I could think of I just want to go to bed
I had 28 deaths already and countless And it
was in the middle of the battle for Fallujah.
And I just said, I just want to go to bed. And
I took the shaving gear out. And I'm not proud
of it, but I started shaving slower than I've
ever shaved before in my entire life. And when
I finished shaving, I didn't shower. But had
I not taken this delay, the rest of this story
doesn't happen. I wouldn't be talking to you,
Dale. That's how amazing. And so it's but by
a thread. back to the hospital where I've seen
bombs hit the hospital once coming out of the
head and I could say all I could say was thank
God I took a dump. But when I got there I went
inside and went down the hallway and I was too
late so I had to go into the and I got shoved
down the hallway. We didn't have enough corpsmen
because we had been depleted because of everything.
They started giving me orders. Padre, hold the
blood, squeeze out the plasma. They shoved me
into the operating room, and they pulled out
an 11 -inch cylindrical rocket mortar that had
lodged in his abdomen. I said, how did this guy
last this long? Why? And I knew that he was conscious
when he came in, but he was out. And I helped
put him up on the gurney, and I stretched him
on the table. He looked like Jesus. And then
they slid him open, and I could see his heart
pumping. and everything inside. And I'm cramming
myself up against the wall. And when Nourish
yells out, he's Catholic. And I can't think of
any of the prayers. I mean, it was amazing. I
could not think of any prayer whatsoever, not
even the Hail Mary. And I'm just like, if I could
get out of there, I would. It was just amazing.
And then they looked at me and they said, my
agnostic roommate, surgeon, he yells at me. He
goes, Padre, set up the light. And I'm like ignoring
him. And he says, Padre, please set up the light.
And then he looked at me and he said, Padre,
you're standing on it. So I had to get off this
big light and I brought the light to the table
and all of a sudden I felt like I could get a
prayer like a basket. I would be like, I could
be the professional prayer, get out, do my duty,
have another notch on things. But just as I was
feeling that comfort and I was about to do it,
both of the surgeons looked at me and said, Padre,
we can't do anything. over his body. The only
place he didn't have blood was on his face. He
had tattoos and everything. He had red, tight
hair. He was an Army soldier. His name was Edward.
And I just started brushing his hair. And I said,
Edward, you're dying. Unless it's a miracle,
it's right here. And I don't see that kind of
a miracle. And I'm going to be your, so I'll
be your family. And I said, when Jesus was on
the cross, He just said seven things. Father,
forgive them. They don't know what they're doing.
be with me in paradise. And when I got to that
point, it was just the thief. The thief said,
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And then the thief says, and then Jesus says
to the thief, today you'll be with me in paradise.
And I looked at him and I just, you know, Edward,
I am sick and tired of this war. I'm jealous
of you. I mean, you're going to be in heaven
and I don't want to be here anymore. I want to
go with you. I'm jealous. Don't be afraid. I'll
let your family know everything." And so as I
was praying, and then I didn't know what to do.
He was just there breathing, you know, breathing
in and out on his own. And I turned to the...
I just looked at him and I said, I'm going to
sing to you what I sang to my mother when she
was dying. And it's a song of birth. It's a song
that people hear all the time. But when my mother
was dying, we sang this to her. So I started
singing, Oh holy night, the stars are brightly
shining. It is the night. of our dear savior's
birth. And I'm feeling unconscious, self -conscious
because the Marines are all there and army and
stuff. Long lay the world in sin and error pining
till he appears. That's when I knew that God
needed me to just come and just witness a tear.
That's all I do. I mean, people have lots of
things to do in their lives or special things,
but all I was supposed to do was experience this
tear. His love and mercy saved you and raised
you up. And I did it on His hands. We'll be right
back after this. We're back on Veterans Radio
and we're talking with Navy Chaplain retired,
Father Ron Moses Camarda. And Father Ron, I hope
our listeners will go into our archives and listen
to that last segment because I couldn't stop.
I didn't want to stop you. I didn't even want
to take a commercial break, but we had to, unfortunately.
You know what was so good about that, Dale? Yes?
I'm sitting here. I'm shaking a little bit, but...
That was the silence that sometimes I go ahead
you just try I think we get nervous with that
silence and when Edward died that was such a
beautiful Moment to cherish and we in our society
with so much information so much things going
on sometimes we just need to take the time to
just Be silent. I think that's even why taps
It's such a moving experience every night. The
military has that but with all its ups and downs,
good times, bad times, sickness and unhealth.
I was trying to find in your book, there was
a segment there where you were talking about
a marine memorial service. I actually have it
right in front of me. Okay, this is the one where
they call out the names. Can I share it with
you? Yes, please do. Get the Kleenex out. So
moving. 15 October 2004. the mortar killed a
Marine who arrived in Iraq less than a month
ago. The memorial service was today at 4 p .m.
I attended the service to support the Marines
who knew him. Oscar was only 19 years old. When
Oscar's mother was struck with cancer, he became
the man of the house. He cared for his younger
siblings. The Marine Corps likely provided the
strength and discipline Oscar might have lacked
in his family of origin. I gleaned a few things
about Oscar from his friends who spoke spoke
at the memorial service. Oscar smiled, laughed,
and thoroughly enjoyed the life given to him,
but now his life was abruptly ended. Over 300
Marines gathered to show gratitude for Oscar's
sacrifice. In many ways, the whole ceremony reminded
me of Good Friday services when we remember the
death of Jesus of Nazareth. The scripture at
the memorial service was the book of Kaheleth,
Ecclesiastes, and spoke of vanity of vanities
in which There's a time for everything, including
a time to be born and a time to die. The gospel
spoke of the many houses God will provide, one
for each of us. Jesus loves us and assures us.
A huge Marine Corps flag, approximately 30 feet
by 20, draped the stage. The flag has a red background
and a globe with an anchor in the center. Above
the globe, an eagle touts Semper Fidelis. Underneath
this motto is a banner of the United States Marine
Corps. There were also seven Marine Corps flags
and one US Navy flag on stands that fanned out.
At the stage's center was the cross equivalent.
There was no body. Oscar's boots were there.
His rifle also stood beside the boots and supported
his helmet and dangling dog tags. The words and
benediction were spoken. The gunny sergeant then
marched to the platoon were called. These Marines
forcefully proclaimed with a trace of guarded
grief. Present. Then the gunner yelled. remembering
this service. Jesus had a cross rather than a
rifle. Jesus has conquered and will eventually
gather us all home. God is good all the time.
I can't hardly breathe myself. I'm going to have
to breathe in through my nose and out my mouth
so I can continue. That's such a powerful segment
of the book, Father Ron, and there are many,
many others like that out there. It's such an
inspirational story. of your journey through
not only your faith, but also in what was going
on over there and is still going on. I have to
admit that I have a much higher regard. I'm not
sure the word I'm looking for for chaplains.
I didn't realize what work that you did. It's
so impressive that you were able to do that and
that you're coming back with your own baggage.
that you have to work through. And you know what
it is that I also find, Dale, it's the parents
and the family. When I write, sign a book, sometimes
I say, beloved, and I'll say, thanks for taking
the service. And thanks for your service as being
the mother of a Marine, the brother or sister
or a cousin or a friend. And continue. And in
the journey, it's like, I was just there. All
I did was witness it. And you know, And I think
God uses the weakest and the dumbest, and that's
why I know that I was chosen for this, not because
I do anything except that. You know, the Marines
love it if you pitch your tent with them. And
a lot of times, if I didn't go out some of the
places, they wouldn't give me any credibility.
But like, you see some of the pictures there,
one of them is in the city of Fallujah, to accept
them where they are, as they are. I have this
gratitude at the end of the book that I'd like
to share with you. you because I really think
it puts it into perspective. I wrote this 12
November 2007, which is like three years ago
today. I held a man figuratively and literally
as he died. He was stretched out in the operating
room like a crucified man on his back, guts hanging
out. I had overwhelming love for this man whom
I had just met. I was exhausted from the war
and battled depressed, belittled and frustrated.
And in this darky moment, I have a sense of light.
I can play Taps for you, one of the songs that
I sang at some of the services when I was out
there. And I do it even when I'm returning. And
if you listen to the words, it's really powerful,
if you don't mind. I'm going to ask you to just
hold off on that for a second. We're going to
go out on that. And I want to thank Father Ron
Moses -Carmada for being on Veterans Radio today.
And we'll have him back again, because he's so
inspirational. It's such a great opportunity
to talk with somebody who's been there. So I
want to thank you very much, and then I'm going
to let you go with taps, and we'll finish up
the interview on that. Thank you very much for
being on Veterans Radio. Thank you so much, Dale.
We'll be talking to you soon. God bless you.
OK. And I'll sing it first, then I'll play it.
OK. Thanks and praise. beneath the sun, beneath
the sky, as we go. Do not reflect the views of
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