WEBVTT 00:00:15.600 --> 00:00:18.480 From the studios of Ave Maria Radio in Ann Arbor, 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:21.780 this is Veterans Radio. And now here's your host, 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:28.480 Dale Throneberry. Good morning America and welcome 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.000 to Veterans Radio in our new home on Ave Maria 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.579 Radio here in Ann Arbor, Michigan and we're very 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:36.560 very excited to be back on the air after a three 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:39.579 -month hiatus and I want to just let you know 00:00:39.579 --> 00:00:42.820 a little bit about who we are, who we are. Again 00:00:42.820 --> 00:00:45.060 my name is Dale Throneberry and I am a former 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:48.000 armor aviator with 195th Assault Helicopter Company 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.039 in Vietnam in 1969. My wingman who will be joining 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.859 us later a little bit later on today is Bob Gould 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:56.939 he's in Russell Springs, Kentucky. right now 00:00:56.939 --> 00:00:59.240 and he's headed back to Michigan. He's a former 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:02.780 Airborne Medic with 101st Airborne Division and 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.879 in studio today is Gary Lilly in Navy CB in Chui 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:08.540 Lai, Vietnam in 1966 and welcome back on the 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:12.640 air Gary. Great to be back Dale, Ken and looking 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:15.459 forward to a lot of shows here from Ave Maria 00:01:15.459 --> 00:01:18.379 Network. That's right. And trying to keep us 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:20.579 on time and running all the equipment in the 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:22.579 control room is Ken Rogge, an Air Force veteran 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:25.920 of 28 years. Also worked with Armed Forces Radio 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:27.799 and with Armed Forces Television and everything 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:32.379 else. Hiya Ken. All right. All right. Now I'm 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:36.200 back on here. All right. Thanks, Steve. New control 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:39.280 room, new equipment. So hopefully things will 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:42.459 be all right today, but it's all new experience. 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:44.480 Well, it's going to be exciting, that's for sure. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:46.540 And we've got a couple of things I want to just 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:48.840 tell our new listening audience out there. Hopefully 00:01:48.840 --> 00:01:51.040 we've picked up some new people just listening 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:54.739 to us here in Ann Arbor on 990 AM. Veterans Radio, 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:57.019 as you hopefully know, is dedicated to all the 00:01:57.019 --> 00:01:58.760 men and women who have served or are serving 00:01:58.760 --> 00:02:01.049 in the Armed Forces of America. And our mission 00:02:01.049 --> 00:02:03.569 is to provide all veterans with a voice, and 00:02:03.569 --> 00:02:05.569 especially to educate veterans regarding their 00:02:05.569 --> 00:02:07.290 rights and privileges that they earned while 00:02:07.290 --> 00:02:09.530 serving their country, and finally to provide 00:02:09.530 --> 00:02:11.810 a forum for veterans to discuss all these issues. 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:14.689 Our ulterior motive, of course, is to educate 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:17.129 America regarding the history of our military 00:02:17.129 --> 00:02:19.110 and those who have served so honorably throughout 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:21.719 our history. As you heard earlier, Veterans Radio 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:24.580 is produced by veterans for veterans. Veterans 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:26.680 Radio provides a common place for veterans to 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:28.819 sound off about their issues and to share their 00:02:28.819 --> 00:02:31.060 experiences, good and bad. We're here to let 00:02:31.060 --> 00:02:32.840 you know that your buddies are still out there 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:35.120 to help you. So if you have any questions or 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:38.439 comments, just go to our website at veteransradio 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:41.020 .net, click on contact and let us know what you 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:43.080 want to know and what you think and we'll take 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:45.629 care of you from there. And we've got a couple 00:02:45.629 --> 00:02:47.710 of news stories. This is what we normally do 00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:50.189 at the beginning of our show as we talk about 00:02:50.189 --> 00:02:52.090 some issues that are going on out there in the 00:02:52.090 --> 00:02:54.509 world that affect people that are in the military, 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:57.629 veterans, and retired military personnel. One 00:02:57.629 --> 00:03:00.169 that I thought was rather interesting, Ken, was 00:03:00.169 --> 00:03:03.280 the committee votes to... give more help to the 00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:06.060 war wounded families. It says war wounded service 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:07.879 veterans and their families now have a stronger 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.020 team of advisors and advocates to guide them 00:03:10.020 --> 00:03:12.659 through care, recovery, and disability evaluation 00:03:12.659 --> 00:03:15.659 under a package of initiatives unanimously approved 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:18.520 on March 20th by the House Armed Services Committee. 00:03:19.050 --> 00:03:21.830 This is a result. It's called the Wounded Warrior 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:24.289 Assistance Act, and it's the first and unusually 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:27.110 swift legislation taken by the lawmakers to address 00:03:27.110 --> 00:03:29.849 a host of problems encountered by the outpatients 00:03:29.849 --> 00:03:31.949 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center that we've 00:03:31.949 --> 00:03:34.150 been seeing and hearing about on the news recently. 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:38.750 This is pretty exciting stuff, I think. The Full 00:03:38.750 --> 00:03:40.810 House is expected to vote on this package soon, 00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:43.430 even as an independent task force and various 00:03:43.430 --> 00:03:45.930 government investigations continue to study what 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:48.689 really went wrong at Walter Reed. I have no idea 00:03:48.689 --> 00:03:50.710 what went wrong there, but it's interesting. 00:03:50.909 --> 00:03:54.280 I have a... a quote here, if I can put my hands 00:03:54.280 --> 00:03:56.719 on it, that talks about, you know, George Washington 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.460 said long, long, many years ago that the willingness 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.479 with which our young people are likely to serve 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:05.699 in any war, no matter how justified, shall be 00:04:05.699 --> 00:04:08.099 directly proportional to how they perceive how 00:04:08.099 --> 00:04:10.680 veterans of earlier wars were treated by their 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:14.780 nation. That's George Washington, and I think 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:17.819 that's a very appropriate quote, don't you? It's 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:21.860 amazing how timely That is, how long it's remained 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:25.160 true. This country's had some great history of 00:04:25.160 --> 00:04:27.860 taking care of the vets, and it's had some very 00:04:27.860 --> 00:04:32.759 bad experience. The vets have. They were just 00:04:32.759 --> 00:04:34.720 treated horribly like after the Civil War and 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.379 so on. And again, after the Vietnam War, and 00:04:37.379 --> 00:04:40.959 now it's looking like our troops today are not 00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.959 being taken care of in some places as they should 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:46.790 be. In other places, the care is superb. Well, 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:50.769 we know that the VA does a great job, 99 % of 00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:54.269 the time, as far as treating veterans and people 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:55.910 that are coming back from overseas currently. 00:04:55.949 --> 00:04:58.209 And I know that with our local VA facilities 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:00.930 here in Ann Arbor, I really have had no problems 00:05:00.930 --> 00:05:04.129 whatsoever other than initially getting in. I 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:06.370 was at the emergency room of the VA hospital 00:05:06.370 --> 00:05:11.189 last night, as a matter of fact. The VA hospital 00:05:11.189 --> 00:05:13.379 here in Ann Arbor is terrific. I've been going 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:16.699 there for my care. I had outside insurance, but 00:05:16.699 --> 00:05:19.540 I still went to the VA hospital. Oh, you cannot 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:22.680 compare the, say anything bad about the medical 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:25.360 care at the VA facilities. They're absolutely 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:29.240 phenomenal. It's interesting that almost all 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:31.560 of, I think all of the VA hospitals are located 00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:35.519 with teaching universities. So you've got very, 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:38.879 very, very, very good practitioners there to 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.410 take care of you. I think some of the issues 00:05:41.410 --> 00:05:43.829 probably has to do with the number of personnel 00:05:43.829 --> 00:05:45.529 that are available to help out along the way. 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:46.970 I mean, the doctors and everything are great. 00:05:47.470 --> 00:05:49.850 It's some of the support personnel that the budget 00:05:49.850 --> 00:05:52.149 cuts and so forth have taken care of. One of 00:05:52.149 --> 00:05:54.470 the things we need to get done is Congress needs 00:05:54.470 --> 00:05:57.569 to pass the assured funding for the VA hospital 00:05:57.569 --> 00:06:00.230 systems. Right now, they have to renew it every 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:02.949 year, and veterans should be able to count on 00:06:02.949 --> 00:06:06.579 it being there every year. Hey, I got a story 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.339 here. I want to tell you guys about the Tuskegee 00:06:09.339 --> 00:06:12.339 Airmen are being recognized six decades after 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:14.860 their World War two mission and coming home to 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:16.759 account a country that discriminated against 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.459 them because they were black the Gratitude was 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:22.519 expressed Thursday when a group of the legendary 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:25.540 black aviators received congressional gold medals 00:06:25.540 --> 00:06:28.769 during a ceremony in the capital Rotunda The 00:06:28.769 --> 00:06:31.389 award is the most prestigious Congress has to 00:06:31.389 --> 00:06:34.329 offer. And these guys, it's just amazing what 00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:39.449 they have done. They were combat fighter pilots 00:06:39.449 --> 00:06:41.810 discriminated against. They were put into their 00:06:41.810 --> 00:06:44.970 own unit. They painted their tails on their planes 00:06:44.970 --> 00:06:47.470 red so they could be distinguished from all the 00:06:47.470 --> 00:06:50.810 other units. And they had a phenomenal record. 00:06:52.050 --> 00:06:55.129 The report says that in all of World War II, 00:06:55.410 --> 00:06:58.019 escorting bombers, they never lost one. That's 00:06:58.019 --> 00:06:59.259 an amazing record. Well, I think what's fascinating, 00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:00.600 you've got to remember, that's one of the stories 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:02.379 that we first covered, Ken. A couple of years 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:06.819 ago, we went down to the Detroit VA, the Dingle 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:09.019 VA hospital down there, and we ran into Colonel 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:12.779 Alexander. Right. And it turns out that he had 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:15.560 been a prisoner of war, along with another two 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.220 other people that we ran into that were prisoners 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:20.620 of war. And we'll talk about more about that 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.319 story later as we go along. And Colonel Jefferson 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:25.480 was in Washington for the award ceremony. Oh, 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:28.680 I think... Yes, he was there. Oh, cool. He was 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:30.579 a great, great guest. Yeah, he was a good guest. 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:32.779 Just a sample of things. There was a couple of 00:07:32.779 --> 00:07:34.519 other things I needed to cover right away. One 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:36.939 piece of news I wanted to get in here was, it 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:38.920 sounds kind of funny, this is Sesame Street Special 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:42.079 on deployed parents. Right. Sesame Street Special, 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:44.339 when parents are deployed, will be rebroadcast 00:07:44.339 --> 00:07:46.680 this coming Monday, April 9th, on PBS stations 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:49.420 across the country. This primetime special hosted 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:52.180 by Cuba Gooding Jr. reveals candid and intimate 00:07:52.180 --> 00:07:54.420 moments with the parents, caregivers, and children 00:07:54.420 --> 00:07:56.819 impacted by deployment. For more information, 00:07:56.980 --> 00:07:59.019 check your local TV listings, or you can download 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:03.040 the program at the Sesame Workshop website. Sounds 00:08:03.040 --> 00:08:04.920 like a great program. And there's a couple of 00:08:04.920 --> 00:08:07.180 other issues that we will talk about later on. 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.939 Moving right along to one of our favorite segments 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:13.959 of the program. Welcome home. Welcome Home is 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:16.459 a special weekly segment of Veterans Radio dedicated 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.060 to American troops returning from overseas. If 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:21.139 you know of any units or individuals you'd like 00:08:21.139 --> 00:08:23.319 to see welcomed home on Veterans Radio, send 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:25.439 us an email and we'll give them a rousing welcome 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.639 home from Veterans Radio and a grateful nation. 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.240 Today we are welcoming home. Where did they go? 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:34.580 Here they are. Ah, they're 15 Royal Navy Sailors 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:37.299 and Marines. that received a wonderful welcome 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:39.879 back in England after being released from Iran. 00:08:40.500 --> 00:08:43.080 Over 100 Marines at Fort Detrick's Dam Security 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:46.679 Unit 3 returned home earlier last week. Troops 00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.240 of the 240th Engineer Group of the Maine Army 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:52.399 National Guard are expected to arrive home. Actually, 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:55.299 they arrived home on Thursday. And finally, community 00:08:55.299 --> 00:08:57.960 members in Elgin, Illinois honored Sergeant First 00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:00.419 Class Randy Henk in a welcome home celebration 00:09:00.419 --> 00:09:03.399 on the 1st of April. On behalf of a grateful 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:06.070 nation, and uh... all of us at veterans radio 00:09:06.070 --> 00:09:17.799 we want to say welcome home And we're back on 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:20.299 Veterans Radio. And I just wanted to remind everybody 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:22.259 that our Welcome Home segment is being brought 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:25.860 to you by the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund offered 00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:28.539 through Ave Maria University. This is a great 00:09:28.539 --> 00:09:31.460 program that is available to Marines that are 00:09:31.460 --> 00:09:34.600 returning home from Iraq. And my understanding 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:36.820 is pretty much for Marines and survivors of Marines 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:39.320 and relatives of Marines and so forth, that they 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:42.360 can pick up some scholarship money at Ave Maria 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:45.399 University down in Florida. And for more information, 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:49.620 they need to go to the Ave Maria University website, 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.440 which is AveMarinaUniversity .com, I believe. 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:56.879 AveMaria .edu, excuse me, on that. Gary, we've 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.960 got a guest on the phone, I understand. Yes, 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:05.059 we do. Please welcome Rick Connor from down in 00:10:05.059 --> 00:10:07.679 Russell Springs, Kentucky. He's a member of the 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:11.679 Patriot Guard Riders. And today, the Patriot 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:13.940 Guard Riders are doing a memorial service for 00:10:13.940 --> 00:10:17.500 Rick's uncle. who still remains MIA in Korea 00:10:17.500 --> 00:10:20.500 up there at the Frozen Chosen. Rick, welcome 00:10:20.500 --> 00:10:22.159 to Veterans Radio. Tell us what you're doing 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:27.279 today. Hey, glad to be here. We're crisp 27 degrees 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:29.980 here in Russell Springs today, and we're getting 00:10:29.980 --> 00:10:32.000 ready to do a memorial for George Connor, which 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.600 was a corporal in the United States Army, and 00:10:34.600 --> 00:10:37.480 he was actually in the Navy in World War II. 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.919 Got out and enlisted in the Army for the Korean 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:44.190 War. and was listed as missing in action December 00:10:44.190 --> 00:10:48.570 2nd, 1950 at Chosin Reservoir. I always heard 00:10:48.570 --> 00:10:50.870 about the Marines being up there, but you forget 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:54.070 that the Army was up there also. That's correct. 00:10:54.409 --> 00:10:59.009 There was about 3 ,000 of his division, the 32nd 00:10:59.009 --> 00:11:03.429 Infantry Division, at Chosin Reservoir. And so 00:11:03.429 --> 00:11:07.940 what year was that? That was 1950. That was after 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:12.080 we stormed up there to the Yalu River almost, 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:15.460 and at that time the Chinese came storming back 00:11:15.460 --> 00:11:19.200 for the first time. That's right. There was actually 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:23.179 an 80 -hour onslaught there with George and his 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:27.100 division that actually ended up in the majority 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:29.320 of their demise at that point, of course, as 00:11:29.320 --> 00:11:32.690 you know. Right, so that caught everybody by 00:11:32.690 --> 00:11:34.769 surprise. So what's going on today? What kind 00:11:34.769 --> 00:11:37.049 of a memorial service are you doing for them, 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:40.450 Rick? Well, we've got the Patriot Guard Riders 00:11:40.450 --> 00:11:44.509 coming in, the Russell Springs OOTC's coming, 00:11:44.649 --> 00:11:47.049 the 101st Airborne Division Honor Guard's coming, 00:11:47.509 --> 00:11:50.730 and we've got a bugler also from the 101st Airborne 00:11:50.730 --> 00:11:55.570 Division Band. There has been a memorial marker, 00:11:55.809 --> 00:11:57.889 brass marker set up, and Jamestown has been there 00:11:57.889 --> 00:12:02.100 for many years. His mother died about 13 years 00:12:02.100 --> 00:12:04.879 ago and would not allow anything to be done, 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:07.759 thinking and hoping and praying, I guess, that 00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:11.820 he would come home someday. His brother Dudley, 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:17.159 my uncle, is 87, which is also a Korean War veteran. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:20.240 He was in the Navy, actually, at a battleship 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.720 corresponding back and forth with George there 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:26.440 on the land to sea. And the last letter that 00:12:26.440 --> 00:12:30.340 Dudley received from his brother They had defeated 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:32.559 the Koreans and thought he'd be home for Christmas 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:35.100 and then of course little did they know the Chinese 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:37.600 had entered their Chosun Reservoir. How old was 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:40.299 George at the time? Do you have any idea? George 00:12:40.299 --> 00:12:42.879 was 23 and he had already pulled two years in 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:46.159 the Navy and was only in the Army about six or 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:51.779 seven months. What brought about this memorial 00:12:51.779 --> 00:12:54.659 service? It's not the traditional time of year. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:00.019 uncle deadly are very close to him i have been 00:13:00.019 --> 00:13:02.480 getting very close to the last few years and 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.080 i discovered each time i want home from from 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:07.539 his house uh... the main thing i always got out 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:10.440 of this guy was uh... he always talks about his 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:13.779 brother uh... skipping rocks and building tree 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:17.059 houses and uh... take a little map of the brandy 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:19.000 snops and getting in trouble with her dad and 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.019 so on and so forth and and uh... sounds like 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:27.090 an american kid yeah november uh... This past 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:29.350 November, I talked to Dudley, and I said, Dudley, 00:13:29.389 --> 00:13:31.070 have you ever done anything for your brother? 00:13:31.690 --> 00:13:34.149 And he said, no, other than put that marker up 00:13:34.149 --> 00:13:36.889 at the square. We've done nothing. And I said, 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:38.950 why don't we put together a big memorial if I 00:13:38.950 --> 00:13:41.250 can get permission from you and your sisters? 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:43.909 And he said, Rick, I'm just too old to do something 00:13:43.909 --> 00:13:46.490 like that. And I said, well, I'm not. And he 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:48.669 said, if you'll run with it, I'll help as much 00:13:48.669 --> 00:13:51.860 as I possibly can. We're sitting here today and 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:54.419 we've got a very, very sunny day and a bunch 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:56.720 of Patriot Guard riders that are just ready to 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:58.960 rock and roll. Well, best of luck to you. Have 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.159 a great memorial service and maybe we'll have 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:04.480 you on again on Veterans Radio and you can give 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:07.340 us a follow -up to it. You can tell us more about 00:14:07.340 --> 00:14:10.100 the Patriot Guard riders down the road, okay? 00:14:10.740 --> 00:14:13.340 That would be fantastic. Okay, thanks a lot, 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:14.840 Rick, for being here. Thank you for your interest 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:19.500 and your continued patriotism with the the united 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:22.299 states armed forces i understand you're a veteran 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:25.500 uh... yes i spent seven years united states army 00:14:25.500 --> 00:14:28.860 of the last uh... for was at fort campbell the 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:30.879 hundred first airborne division second forty 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:34.460 four third defense artillery you guys a jump 00:14:34.460 --> 00:14:37.279 out of planes okay rick thanks for having us 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:41.080 on uh... for being on uh... veterans radio thank 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:43.879 you for all your continued service you're welcome 00:14:46.710 --> 00:14:48.690 That's a great example of what we can do here 00:14:48.690 --> 00:14:50.750 on Veterans Radio. We just get stories, people 00:14:50.750 --> 00:14:53.950 call in, we run into them. One of our producers, 00:14:54.169 --> 00:14:56.049 Bob Gould, who's down there in Russell Springs, 00:14:56.269 --> 00:14:58.850 Kentucky, just came across these people on his 00:14:58.850 --> 00:15:01.309 way home. They stopped at a diner, there they 00:15:01.309 --> 00:15:03.750 were, and Bob called on the cell phone. You have 00:15:03.750 --> 00:15:06.350 to have them on. That's right. You know what 00:15:06.350 --> 00:15:08.610 he was talking about, the mother? Isn't that 00:15:08.610 --> 00:15:11.009 so typical the mothers will never give up on 00:15:11.009 --> 00:15:14.169 their sons ever? I could I can certainly understand 00:15:14.169 --> 00:15:17.129 that I've Heard of a lot of instances like that 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:19.549 where the mother will not allow any memorial 00:15:19.549 --> 00:15:22.950 service They are they still hold out hope that 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:25.309 their son can come back Well, we remember we 00:15:25.309 --> 00:15:28.149 did that story with the the filmmakers that went 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:31.009 back to Vietnam and with the sisters and they 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:33.370 tracked down the body of the of the brother that 00:15:33.370 --> 00:15:37.889 had been missing for 30 -35 years and that was 00:15:37.889 --> 00:15:40.210 in the shadow of the blade right the same producers 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:42.769 right that that did that and I mean that was 00:15:42.769 --> 00:15:46.110 that was a fascinating story and and just continues 00:15:46.110 --> 00:15:49.309 to be fascinating how we keep unearthing you 00:15:49.309 --> 00:15:52.049 know remains and and thankfully through science 00:15:52.049 --> 00:15:54.610 today we're able to figure out their DNA to identify 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:57.850 these people and if you remember we had what 00:15:57.850 --> 00:16:02.289 was his name on who was the medic over at cam 00:16:02.289 --> 00:16:07.289 duck And he went on leave, R &R, and waiting 00:16:07.289 --> 00:16:10.690 the last hop back, he sat at the dirt runway 00:16:10.690 --> 00:16:13.769 to join his unit and listen on the radio as they 00:16:13.769 --> 00:16:17.690 were overrun. And he wouldn't quit until those 00:16:17.690 --> 00:16:19.950 people were brought home. And last year they 00:16:19.950 --> 00:16:23.009 finally found all 11 of them and brought them 00:16:23.009 --> 00:16:25.289 home. The Canadians were supposed to do a strip 00:16:25.289 --> 00:16:28.340 mine in Vietnam. through the Veterans Initiative 00:16:28.340 --> 00:16:30.539 program and a lot of active Vietnam veterans, 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:32.580 they got it held up until they were able to go 00:16:32.580 --> 00:16:35.220 in there and look over the site, brought back 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.759 all 11. Wow. I mean, those are the kind of stories, 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.320 and those are the stories that we want to tell 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:42.360 you, our listeners out there. So again, if you 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:45.799 have somebody who has a great story, just have 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.519 them contact us, and we'll be more than happy 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.259 to get them on the air. In fact, that's how our 00:16:49.259 --> 00:16:54.000 whole program started. I met a neighbor of mine. 00:16:54.450 --> 00:16:56.669 uh... who ended up who had been in world war 00:16:56.669 --> 00:16:58.870 two and i just wondered who this kind of this 00:16:58.870 --> 00:17:01.029 old guy you know raking leaves down the block 00:17:01.029 --> 00:17:03.149 was and i went down and talked to him and turned 00:17:03.149 --> 00:17:05.450 out he had a fascinating story he had been involved 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:07.809 in the you know in the norm in the invasion and 00:17:07.809 --> 00:17:10.450 he hadn't talked anybody his wife said in you 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:13.049 know and sick almost sixty years about it but 00:17:13.049 --> 00:17:15.309 he just unloaded he said oh you're a veteran 00:17:15.309 --> 00:17:17.329 and next thing you know he's talking I said these 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:19.509 are the stories that we need to get on the air 00:17:19.509 --> 00:17:22.089 and exactly you know and Bob and I and and and 00:17:22.089 --> 00:17:24.049 the two of you and Ken and Gary we all got together 00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:26.210 we said yeah this is this is what we want to 00:17:26.210 --> 00:17:28.470 do and so we've been doing it for a little over 00:17:28.470 --> 00:17:35.890 three years now so anyway we have we are here 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:38.349 for you and for your stories and I wanted it 00:17:38.349 --> 00:17:43.430 to Gary you were in July in Vietnam in 1966. 00:17:43.730 --> 00:17:45.190 Can you tell us a little bit about what your 00:17:45.190 --> 00:17:49.589 experiences were there? Well, I was a CB over 00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:53.690 there and initially we worked 86 hour weeks building 00:17:53.690 --> 00:17:56.710 the base and after a while after we got the base 00:17:56.710 --> 00:17:58.990 built and they were kind to us they gave us Sunday 00:17:58.990 --> 00:18:01.650 afternoons off and that cut us down to an 82 00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:05.349 hour work week. Oh, is that all? That's all. 00:18:05.730 --> 00:18:08.309 But we were surrounded by Marines, and we saw 00:18:08.309 --> 00:18:10.950 these guys living in holes in the ground and 00:18:10.950 --> 00:18:15.250 sleeping on the dirt. And so our job was to build 00:18:15.250 --> 00:18:17.630 support facilities for the Marines. When we first 00:18:17.630 --> 00:18:24.650 got to Chulai, the airstrip there was a steel 00:18:24.650 --> 00:18:29.319 matting runway. At either end, it was 3 ,500 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:31.660 feet long, at either end there was artillery 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:34.200 firing in each direction. They would stop firing 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:37.339 to let a plane take off and land. And there was 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:40.380 artillery on the inland side constantly firing. 00:18:41.420 --> 00:18:44.569 The end of the runway had a arrestor hook. just 00:18:44.569 --> 00:18:46.789 like they have on aircraft carriers for the attack 00:18:46.789 --> 00:18:48.769 jets that were flying support missions for the 00:18:48.769 --> 00:18:52.329 Marines. It wasn't long enough for them, and 00:18:52.329 --> 00:18:54.430 they would hook on with it. Every now and then 00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:57.309 we see a plane taken off with Jato, the old jet 00:18:57.309 --> 00:19:01.869 -assisted takeoff. And most Marines, if they 00:19:01.869 --> 00:19:04.910 had cover, they were living in a tent. And that's 00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:06.910 what it was like when we arrived. When we left, 00:19:07.309 --> 00:19:09.269 it looked like a small city. I've never seen 00:19:09.269 --> 00:19:12.250 so much construction in all my life. LSTs pulling 00:19:12.250 --> 00:19:15.119 in on the river and... dropping off materials, 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:18.779 a lot of bombs and a lot of artillery rounds 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:21.140 and then the bad guys would be on the other side 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:23.079 and at night they'd fire their green tracers 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:25.119 in there trying to set it off and our guys would 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:27.420 get mad and the red tracers would go back out. 00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:31.099 It was kind of a lively area and while we were 00:19:31.099 --> 00:19:33.279 there the perimeter moved out further and further 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:37.339 and further and we ended up building a fire base 00:19:37.339 --> 00:19:42.099 out in the boondocks for the Marines Hill 35 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:46.130 which Later on the Americal division took over 00:19:46.130 --> 00:19:48.690 and those guys called it fat city. It was so 00:19:48.690 --> 00:19:53.109 far in the rear so The experience there was working 00:19:53.109 --> 00:19:56.569 long hours Being very motivated by looking at 00:19:56.569 --> 00:19:58.410 the Marines around us and the conditions that 00:19:58.410 --> 00:20:03.400 they were in and it was at what range from Oh, 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:05.940 there was one 10 -day stretch in the 130s, but 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:07.839 what it lacked in temperature, it made up for 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:11.400 in humidity. And as my luck usually runs, my 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.500 squad was nailing steel roofs during that period 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.799 of time. And Dale, this is the truth. Every time 00:20:17.799 --> 00:20:20.299 I see a chicken in a rotisserie, I flash back 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:22.200 to those days. That's true. You kind of feel 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:24.140 like you're in a frying pan yourself. Oh, Lord. 00:20:24.420 --> 00:20:27.400 I mean, you know, those of us that were in Vietnam, 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:31.480 we know that 130 degrees and 130 % humidity is... 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:36.119 It's like a day on the beach. We had M14s, and 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.539 on the way over, my unit had been over there 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:41.740 the year before. They got sent over in the middle 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:44.339 of a deployment. And the guys that had been there 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:47.400 told me, don't oil your rifle. Wipe it down every 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:49.400 day with solvent, because otherwise it'll rust 00:20:49.400 --> 00:20:51.619 underneath the oil. And I thought, they're trying 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:54.440 to get the new guy. And so I oiled my rifle, 00:20:54.660 --> 00:20:56.579 just as you're supposed to. About two days later, 00:20:56.640 --> 00:20:59.180 I looked underneath the oil. There it was rusting. 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:02.140 They were telling me the truth that humidity. 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:04.319 I don't know which was worse the humidity or 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.279 the heat Well, I can know I can I can remember 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:08.279 that myself, you know, just getting off the plane, 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:10.859 you know, just it's like a blast furnace, you 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:12.920 know Going in there and you know, I kind of look 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:15.539 around the corner of the door going I'm not sure 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:18.039 I want to get off here If you remember the movie 00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:19.859 platoon where they dropped their ramp and all 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:21.460 right, you know You can almost feel the heat 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:23.700 and you saw the red dust and all the smells. 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:27.960 Absolutely Ken you were you were overseas in 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:32.349 Thailand. Yep And yeah, he suffered in Thailand 00:21:32.349 --> 00:21:35.630 in the tents of Thailand, you know, with the 00:21:35.630 --> 00:21:37.670 red dirt and all that other stuff, right? Oh, 00:21:37.710 --> 00:21:40.049 Dale, I got to tell you how hard it was for me. 00:21:40.529 --> 00:21:42.710 You know, these guys, you guys had it made. I 00:21:42.710 --> 00:21:46.470 mean, you were in Nam and sloshing in the mud 00:21:46.470 --> 00:21:50.529 and the monsoons and having the bullets fired 00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:53.150 at you and everything. I suffered. I mean, I 00:21:53.150 --> 00:21:56.589 was in Thakli, Thailand. And I had to live in 00:21:56.589 --> 00:21:59.250 a barracks with a maid service that came in and 00:21:59.250 --> 00:22:01.809 made our bed every day, shined our shoes, did 00:22:01.809 --> 00:22:05.210 our laundry, and had to eat in a mess hall three 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:07.210 meals a day, and I worked in an air -conditioned 00:22:07.210 --> 00:22:09.190 building. Can somebody hit the violin soundtrack 00:22:09.190 --> 00:22:13.500 here? Can you imagine suffering through all that? 00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:15.859 Can't imagine at all, boy, what you missed out 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.099 on, Ken. I'm telling you. You guys had it made. 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:20.680 And in talking with some of the Iraqi veterans 00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:22.799 that we've been fortunate to have on the program, 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.759 they describe Iraq. Why do we go to war in these 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:29.259 places that are so hot? They talk about, they 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:31.039 said, imagine that you're standing in front of 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:33.259 the most powerful hairdryer in the history of 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:35.779 the world, about two inches in front of it, and 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:38.240 it's on high, as high as you can go. And he says, 00:22:38.420 --> 00:22:40.710 then throw up a handful of in front of your face. 00:22:41.230 --> 00:22:43.809 And that's the way it was the whole time period 00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:46.049 that they were over there. What's amazing is 00:22:46.049 --> 00:22:49.849 over in the Mideast there in the desert is they 00:22:49.849 --> 00:22:54.029 will put things in ziplock bags and double ziplock 00:22:54.029 --> 00:22:56.609 bags and when they open them up a day or two 00:22:56.609 --> 00:22:59.650 later, they got sand inside. Nobody can figure 00:22:59.650 --> 00:23:01.509 out how it gets in there. A big item to send 00:23:01.509 --> 00:23:04.450 them is swimmer's goggles. That's the only thing 00:23:04.450 --> 00:23:07.190 that keeps the sand out of their eyes. It's just 00:23:07.190 --> 00:23:09.630 amazing. And talking with, again, with the veterans 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:11.630 who have come back, they're still pulling sand 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:14.349 out of various and sundry places. Right. Like 00:23:14.349 --> 00:23:16.369 Vietnam, remember how long it took to wash the 00:23:16.369 --> 00:23:18.849 red dirt out of your skin? Yeah, but then I went 00:23:18.849 --> 00:23:22.410 to Alabama. It was the same thing. Oh, OK. In 00:23:22.410 --> 00:23:25.910 what way? It was the red clay. I mean, it was 00:23:25.910 --> 00:23:28.690 that red dirt down there. And I went from Southeast 00:23:28.690 --> 00:23:31.329 Asia to Southeast Alabama. You know, same, same. 00:23:32.830 --> 00:23:35.289 So, you know, it was just kind of an unusual 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:38.789 adventure. But Ken also worked, as I mentioned, 00:23:38.970 --> 00:23:41.690 in Armed Forces Radio, and he was the one that 00:23:41.690 --> 00:23:44.190 would play that incredible music that we would 00:23:44.190 --> 00:23:46.529 listen to when we were in Vietnam using our automatic 00:23:46.529 --> 00:23:49.750 ADF, Automatic Direction Finder, and the helicopters 00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:51.230 we were flying so we would know where we were 00:23:51.230 --> 00:23:54.579 in relation to the rest of the world. How many 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:56.859 radios would you monitor at a time when you were 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:59.140 flying? Well, you've got to remember we were 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:02.680 flying Model T's in relationship to what's going 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:04.819 on today. So we would be monitoring, we would 00:24:04.819 --> 00:24:09.799 be listening to UHF radio, FM radio, a transponder 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:12.019 radio, emergency radio. We'd be listening to 00:24:12.019 --> 00:24:16.740 the... AFVN with a direction finder. And then 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:18.339 we would be listed. Of course, we had the intercom 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:20.299 going, sometimes three or four at the same time. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:23.079 And while the green tracers were coming, you 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:26.119 were still monitoring those radios? Yes, sometimes. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:32.299 And our other guest, my other host, my wingman 00:24:32.299 --> 00:24:34.720 and co -founder of Veterans Radio is on the phone. 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:36.700 And I want to welcome Bob Gould back to Veterans 00:24:36.700 --> 00:24:40.279 Radio. Hello there, Dale. Hey, buddy, where are 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:47.730 you? How far is that from Fort Campbell? Actually, 00:24:48.029 --> 00:24:52.250 it's not maybe an hour. Okay. I thought you were 00:24:52.250 --> 00:24:53.690 going to I thought you were time tripping back 00:24:53.690 --> 00:24:57.630 to your parachute jumping days. Well, we've talked 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:00.509 about it. My partner and I was helping me drive 00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:04.069 drive up from from Florida. We kind of got stuck. 00:25:05.450 --> 00:25:07.970 We did a by the way, I want to welcome everybody 00:25:07.970 --> 00:25:12.009 to listening to veterans radio. And I'm here 00:25:12.009 --> 00:25:16.890 on the road. I had a very looking at other stations 00:25:16.890 --> 00:25:19.450 that will be carrying the show. And again, I 00:25:19.450 --> 00:25:24.269 want to thank Mr. Monahan and Mike Jones and 00:25:24.269 --> 00:25:28.650 Al. All the people here at Ave Maria Radio. Al, 00:25:28.650 --> 00:25:32.430 Al, okay, good old Al, right, okay, right. And 00:25:32.430 --> 00:25:36.130 I'm looking forward to a good run that we're 00:25:36.130 --> 00:25:40.740 going to be at W -D -E -O. Correct. in Ann Arbor 00:25:40.740 --> 00:25:45.500 and WDEO FM in Florida and WMAX in Saginaw Bay 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:48.180 City, Michigan, currently. And I was talking 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:51.680 with a gentleman right here in the lobby, Mr. 00:25:52.059 --> 00:25:55.819 Rick Connor, who was in the Army, and he's here 00:25:55.819 --> 00:26:00.160 today as part of the Patriot Guard Riders. Right. 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:04.519 We already talked with Rick. Oh, you did? Oh, 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:07.720 yeah. Well, maybe that's why the line was busy, 00:26:07.720 --> 00:26:13.619 guys. Okay, well we're going to be doing a show 00:26:13.619 --> 00:26:18.720 then with the PGR in Indianapolis on the 7th 00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:22.980 of July because it's going to be a reunion for 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:26.420 the USS Indianapolis as well as the PGR people 00:26:26.420 --> 00:26:28.960 so it should be exciting. I'll tell you all about 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:32.079 it when I get to Ann Arbor. Hey Bob, are there 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.640 any people left alive from the Indianapolis? 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:39.769 53. I met one of them a few years ago and got 00:26:39.769 --> 00:26:42.269 Michael J. Martin to send him a record that he 00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:45.069 did, about 20 minutes long, called $20 Bill. 00:26:45.450 --> 00:26:47.650 It was about a guy that Michael knew that was 00:26:47.650 --> 00:26:51.390 a survivor of the Indianapolis. Well, I think 00:26:51.390 --> 00:26:53.890 we're going to have a good show down there. It'll 00:26:53.890 --> 00:27:00.210 be a remote. It's a big extravaganza for the 00:27:00.210 --> 00:27:03.450 4th of July and the military. It's actually the 00:27:03.450 --> 00:27:06.710 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th in Indianapolis. But of 00:27:06.710 --> 00:27:10.430 course, we're on on Saturday morning. so we will 00:27:10.430 --> 00:27:14.250 be doing it live from Indianapolis, Indiana. 00:27:14.930 --> 00:27:16.569 You know for the people that don't know about 00:27:16.569 --> 00:27:18.829 the Indianapolis, that was the ship that delivered 00:27:18.829 --> 00:27:22.349 the atomic bomb that was delivered over Japan 00:27:22.349 --> 00:27:24.690 and on the way back on this top -secret mission 00:27:24.690 --> 00:27:28.390 it was torpedoed and because it was top -secret 00:27:28.390 --> 00:27:31.470 nobody knew it was gone. And those are the guys 00:27:31.470 --> 00:27:33.670 that were attacked by the sharks for three days. 00:27:34.009 --> 00:27:36.069 Right. We're going to continue with this story 00:27:36.069 --> 00:27:37.950 and talking with Bob and the rest of the crew 00:27:37.950 --> 00:27:40.230 when we get back from our break. And we're going 00:27:40.230 --> 00:27:42.509 to be taking a break here in about 10 seconds. 00:27:42.890 --> 00:27:45.569 And we have a little segment that we call Medal 00:27:45.569 --> 00:27:48.109 of Honor. And each week, we choose a Medal of 00:27:48.109 --> 00:27:52.410 Honor recipient. And we read this citation and 00:27:52.410 --> 00:27:55.170 let people know that these people are greatly 00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:57.450 appreciated. And we'll be right back after that. 00:27:57.529 --> 00:28:00.049 You're listening to Veterans Radio. The Medal 00:28:00.049 --> 00:28:02.269 of Honor is the highest award for valor in combat 00:28:02.269 --> 00:28:04.170 given a member of the Armed Forces of the United 00:28:04.170 --> 00:28:07.250 States. There had been over 3 ,400 recipients 00:28:07.250 --> 00:28:10.609 of the nation's highest award. This is one of 00:28:10.609 --> 00:28:13.069 them. Marine First Lieutenant Christian Schilt 00:28:13.069 --> 00:28:16.210 flew 10 rescue and relief missions under heavy 00:28:16.210 --> 00:28:22.069 hostile fire. Details after this. During an insurrection 00:28:22.069 --> 00:28:25.779 in Nicaragua in 1928, Schilt, then a member of 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:28.200 a Marine expedition which had suffered severe 00:28:28.200 --> 00:28:31.200 losses and killed and wounded, volunteered under 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:33.740 almost impossible conditions to evacuate the 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:36.839 wounded by air and transport a relief commanding 00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:40.200 officer to assume charge of a very serious situation. 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:43.559 Schilt bravely undertook this dangerous and important 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:47.140 task and by taking off a total of ten times in 00:28:47.140 --> 00:28:49.920 the rough rolling streets of a partially burning 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:53.309 village under a heavy hostile enemy fire, on 00:28:53.309 --> 00:28:56.289 each occasion, succeeded in accomplishing his 00:28:56.289 --> 00:28:58.750 mission, thereby actually saving three lives 00:28:58.750 --> 00:29:02.069 and bringing supplies and aid to others in desperate 00:29:02.069 --> 00:29:04.230 need. The Medal of Honor series is a production 00:29:04.230 --> 00:29:07.509 of Veterans Radio. We're back on Veterans Radio 00:29:07.509 --> 00:29:10.190 and that was our Medal of Honor and as I said 00:29:10.190 --> 00:29:12.509 we're going to be doing that every week. It's 00:29:12.509 --> 00:29:14.829 a production that Ken has put together now for 00:29:14.829 --> 00:29:17.529 the last couple of years and we've gotten a lot 00:29:17.529 --> 00:29:19.210 of really great feedback. In fact that reminded 00:29:19.210 --> 00:29:22.210 me of a story that we did here locally in Ann 00:29:22.210 --> 00:29:25.190 Arbor as soon as I can find his name. Mr. Gutierrez, 00:29:25.230 --> 00:29:28.730 do you remember him? Oh yes I do. From the Hispanic 00:29:28.730 --> 00:29:31.809 American. Right. Medal of Honor recipients. Right, 00:29:31.990 --> 00:29:35.289 we did a whole hour with him and he went through 00:29:35.289 --> 00:29:37.910 several of the Medal of Honor recipients and 00:29:37.910 --> 00:29:40.170 highlighted their accomplishments. I'm trying 00:29:40.170 --> 00:29:43.569 to find on my list here of guests that I brought 00:29:43.569 --> 00:29:46.789 along. He's a business owner here in Ann Arbor, 00:29:46.970 --> 00:29:50.289 Michigan and he has in his boardroom all the 00:29:50.289 --> 00:29:52.289 way around he has pictures and copies of the 00:29:52.289 --> 00:29:54.289 citation for all the Hispanic Americans that 00:29:54.289 --> 00:29:57.759 have won I'm not one I understand. I know have 00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:01.579 received The Medal of Honor I've earned the Medal 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:03.680 of Honor and have received it and it was very 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:05.940 impressive and he's he's a he's a great patriot 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:08.119 and a great American and was really interesting 00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:10.180 to have him on the program again another example 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:11.839 of what we've talked about on the show it is 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:14.859 really amazing when you walk into the into his 00:30:14.859 --> 00:30:19.240 facility and see all of those Citations and pictures 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:21.519 on the wall. That's really impressive. I know 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:25.480 and I mean they they went back to Well, it was 00:30:25.480 --> 00:30:28.740 World War II. I'm sorry. Went back to World War 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:31.480 II, and all the way up through Vietnam. Well, 00:30:31.539 --> 00:30:33.160 there's only been two in Iraq right now, hasn't 00:30:33.160 --> 00:30:36.859 there? I think one received and one nominated 00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:39.579 for it. No, no, there's two received. One was 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:42.279 posthumous, though. Right. Paul Smith was posthumous. 00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:45.819 We did the Medal of Honor in him about a year 00:30:45.819 --> 00:30:48.680 ago, I think, is when he received it. And there 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:51.299 was another one just recently. I've got the information 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:53.740 at home, but it slips from my mind, his name. 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:57.579 Per capita, little town of Manchester, Michigan, 00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:00.539 I'm told has the greatest number of Medal of 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:02.859 Honor recipients, including the only person to 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:04.920 ever receive the Medal of Honor in two different 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:08.539 wars. Really? Civil War and Indian campaigns. 00:31:09.099 --> 00:31:11.460 I'm not aware of that, Gary, and I live there. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:14.759 I knew a one. Now you know about your little 00:31:14.759 --> 00:31:16.660 town that you live in. I'm going to have to research 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:19.599 that. I guess so. It sounds like you're going 00:31:19.599 --> 00:31:22.619 to have to do that. Well, I think that's just... 00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:24.759 I want to just kind of talk about some of the 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:27.619 programs that we've had on Veterans Radio, again, 00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:29.380 to give our new listeners kind of a taste of 00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:31.680 what's going on. In fact, next week we're going 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:34.079 to be talking, I'll let Gary plug his own show 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:36.460 here, but we're going to be looking at an issue 00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:39.880 that has plagued American veterans forever. PTSD. 00:31:40.680 --> 00:31:43.279 And we're going to have some experts on PTSD 00:31:43.279 --> 00:31:46.619 on the show and for, you know, there's a lot 00:31:46.619 --> 00:31:50.079 of people just won't admit that they have it, 00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:53.079 but they want to deny it. try to make light of 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:55.279 it and say wear it proudly. You came by it honestly. 00:31:56.359 --> 00:32:00.559 The issue of PTSD is a severe one and there's 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:02.200 treatment out there and there's help out there 00:32:02.200 --> 00:32:04.039 and we're going to learn a little bit more about 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:08.099 it. When you learn about PTSD, what it is, what 00:32:08.099 --> 00:32:12.200 causes it, it'll be easier for you to talk about. 00:32:12.980 --> 00:32:15.700 I think so and I know that you're You're the 00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:17.359 one who always tells me about these statistics 00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:20.619 about how much combat time that the military 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:23.099 is is I mean in actual combat You know face -to 00:32:23.099 --> 00:32:25.400 -face shooting at people are getting shot at 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:27.900 has increased dramatically since the more conventional 00:32:27.900 --> 00:32:30.039 types of wars in World War one World War two 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:32.759 Korea and so forth But you know Vietnam and Iraq 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:36.359 is the same type of conflict is that the enemy 00:32:36.359 --> 00:32:40.680 is around you. It is. And with no uniforms, no 00:32:40.680 --> 00:32:44.519 designated areas, no lines. And so Vietnam and 00:32:44.519 --> 00:32:47.240 Iraq, to me, the terrain's different, but the 00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:50.680 war's the same. A lot of IEDs, we call them Command 00:32:50.680 --> 00:32:54.380 Detonated Bombs. Command Detonated Mines, I should 00:32:54.380 --> 00:32:57.500 say. They call them IEDs. They're the same thing. 00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:02.059 It's kind of scary. I was a little anxious last 00:33:02.059 --> 00:33:04.019 night so I wasn't sleeping a hundred percent 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:05.980 like I normally would. I was kind of excited 00:33:05.980 --> 00:33:07.500 about getting back on the air and I was watching 00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:10.099 the History Channel and they were showing the 00:33:10.099 --> 00:33:13.259 segment on the 10 ,000 day war, the history of 00:33:13.259 --> 00:33:14.759 the Vietnam War and they were talking about how 00:33:14.759 --> 00:33:17.259 the North Vietnamese would take the old ordinance, 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:19.680 unexploded ordinance that we had dropped and 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:23.000 how they would take it apart and utilize the 00:33:23.000 --> 00:33:26.730 C4s and the timers and the... everything else 00:33:26.730 --> 00:33:28.309 that went along with it and I'm going you know 00:33:28.309 --> 00:33:30.390 times haven't changed that much as far as I'm 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:32.829 concerned. No and one of the things like what 00:33:32.829 --> 00:33:35.670 the Humvees are talking about the lack of armor 00:33:35.670 --> 00:33:37.509 well my gosh when you got a hundred and fifty 00:33:37.509 --> 00:33:40.089 five millimeter round going off underneath your 00:33:40.089 --> 00:33:42.230 Humvee it doesn't matter how thick the armor 00:33:42.230 --> 00:33:45.190 is. I got a question though in Vietnam did they 00:33:45.190 --> 00:33:49.410 have a lot of suicide bombers? You know, I don't 00:33:49.410 --> 00:33:52.529 think so. There were many. There were sappers. 00:33:53.329 --> 00:33:55.990 The guy who would come through the lines. And 00:33:55.990 --> 00:33:59.309 I think, it seems to me I can remember reading 00:33:59.309 --> 00:34:01.609 about a couple of people that would blow themselves 00:34:01.609 --> 00:34:03.990 up in Saigon or something along those lines. 00:34:04.150 --> 00:34:06.609 And we had, I mean there were rumors, a lot of 00:34:06.609 --> 00:34:08.349 times on our missions we did a lot of single 00:34:08.349 --> 00:34:10.849 ship VIPs type of stuff. You know, you would 00:34:10.849 --> 00:34:12.230 go out and take a general out and have them look 00:34:12.230 --> 00:34:16.380 around. And where children... would come up toward 00:34:16.380 --> 00:34:19.719 the helicopter and at one time supposedly you 00:34:19.719 --> 00:34:22.119 know one was rigged and blew up and at that point 00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:23.960 we got a directive not to let any kids near the 00:34:23.960 --> 00:34:26.159 helicopters anymore and I mean we had to pull 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:27.960 our weapons out and say no you know you can't 00:34:27.960 --> 00:34:30.900 come close any longer. And they had a gym up 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:33.460 house over there in Manchester was with the 101st 00:34:33.460 --> 00:34:35.639 Airborne spent a couple of weeks back in the 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:38.119 base camp and it got hit and he told me about 00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:41.380 running out of his hooch seeing a sapper go by 00:34:41.380 --> 00:34:45.829 in the dark he let loose with his M16 but uh... 00:34:45.829 --> 00:34:47.489 doesn't know if you got the guy or not but a 00:34:47.489 --> 00:34:51.130 few moments later the headquarters bunker blew 00:34:51.130 --> 00:34:53.130 up and it was a sapper that threw himself in 00:34:53.130 --> 00:34:55.250 there and uh... pulled the uh... string and set 00:34:55.250 --> 00:34:58.730 off the bomb yeah and that's why the reason i 00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:00.070 bring it up is i think that's the difference 00:35:00.070 --> 00:35:03.650 between vietnam and iraq is that in iraq you've 00:35:03.650 --> 00:35:07.550 got a lot more suicide bombers that's their strategy 00:35:07.550 --> 00:35:11.570 whereas uh... they did more conventional fighting 00:35:11.570 --> 00:35:15.150 probably in vietnam Not probably but they definitely 00:35:15.150 --> 00:35:17.769 did more conventional fighting than they are 00:35:17.769 --> 00:35:21.190 doing in Iraq and speaking of conventional fighting 00:35:21.190 --> 00:35:24.190 We you know, we had a helicopter program Dale 00:35:24.190 --> 00:35:27.730 and you dug on guys are also Modest about what 00:35:27.730 --> 00:35:30.829 you've done and we've talked in private and I've 00:35:30.829 --> 00:35:33.429 I know that you flew different types of missions 00:35:33.429 --> 00:35:36.110 You flew at night over the over the fence as 00:35:36.110 --> 00:35:39.389 it said into Cambodia. Is that correct? I can't 00:35:39.389 --> 00:35:41.949 tell you otherwise. I have to kill you. I've 00:35:41.949 --> 00:35:46.610 been killed before Yeah, our mission with the 00:35:46.610 --> 00:35:49.769 195th is that we did fly special forces units 00:35:49.769 --> 00:35:54.349 and people across the fence into Cambodia and 00:35:54.349 --> 00:35:56.570 we would drop off these teams and they would 00:35:56.570 --> 00:35:58.809 do their whatever it was over there and then 00:35:58.809 --> 00:36:00.670 we'd have to go back and get them invariably 00:36:00.670 --> 00:36:03.320 at night. And you did not like night flying. 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:07.760 I don't like night driving now. I didn't like 00:36:07.760 --> 00:36:09.380 night flying at that point. Isn't that a sign 00:36:09.380 --> 00:36:11.760 of older age? I think so, you know, because we'd 00:36:11.760 --> 00:36:13.480 always mess up our night vision when somebody 00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:15.119 would, you know, light up a cigarette behind 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:17.980 us or something on board. And, you know, we didn't 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:20.960 have the night goggles like they have now. Everything 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:22.559 would be, you know, all the things were in red 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:25.519 lights. But other than that, it was kind of strange. 00:36:26.059 --> 00:36:28.000 But our job was we would do that. We would fly 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:31.480 out of the northwest. corner of of three core 00:36:31.480 --> 00:36:33.920 and uh... that would be down around the parrot 00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.699 speak and uh... iron triangle uh... yeah upper 00:36:36.699 --> 00:36:39.139 out of the fish hook areas is where we were and 00:36:39.139 --> 00:36:41.340 a place called boot up okay as where we would 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:43.300 stage from and it's which kind of interest because 00:36:43.300 --> 00:36:46.019 i saw us but thing on the on another channel 00:36:46.019 --> 00:36:48.280 of military channel that that we're talking about 00:36:48.280 --> 00:36:50.739 flying out of boot up and all i've been there 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:53.159 another one of the nice nice vacation places 00:36:53.159 --> 00:36:55.000 in the world shadow of the blade there was one 00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:57.530 guy talking uh... that was uh... would go in 00:36:57.530 --> 00:36:59.610 and get the Special Forces guys and he said, 00:36:59.989 --> 00:37:02.710 the only time we were ever worried was when you 00:37:02.710 --> 00:37:05.489 guys would cover the flashlight part way with 00:37:05.489 --> 00:37:07.750 your hand and then whisper that it's all secure. 00:37:08.429 --> 00:37:11.369 Yes, we had a mission like that where the Special 00:37:11.369 --> 00:37:15.769 Forces were surrounded by the bad guys. We were 00:37:15.769 --> 00:37:17.789 trying to home in them on the FM radio. You can 00:37:17.789 --> 00:37:20.730 home in on an FM microphone. It beeps. As you 00:37:20.730 --> 00:37:22.190 go along, you get a beep, beep, beep. And as 00:37:22.190 --> 00:37:23.809 it gets closer and closer to solid, you're getting 00:37:23.809 --> 00:37:26.389 closer. And you kind of keep turning until you 00:37:26.389 --> 00:37:29.010 get a solid tone. And so we came on the radio 00:37:29.010 --> 00:37:31.710 with Pilar and myself. I can't remember. And 00:37:31.710 --> 00:37:33.429 we said, could you speak up a little bit? You 00:37:33.429 --> 00:37:35.030 know, we can't hear what you're saying, because 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:36.269 he was telling us to come in. And we're going, 00:37:36.389 --> 00:37:39.849 he says, I can't. I can't. They're right here. 00:37:40.650 --> 00:37:44.050 Isn't that stunning? How do they do it? I mean, 00:37:44.190 --> 00:37:45.750 it's one of the things that I have found out 00:37:45.750 --> 00:37:49.849 in doing this program is how much of a mutual 00:37:49.849 --> 00:37:52.610 admiration society that veterans have for no 00:37:52.610 --> 00:37:55.170 matter what branch of the service that you were 00:37:55.170 --> 00:37:58.329 in, you did your job and you did it to the best 00:37:58.329 --> 00:38:00.610 of your ability and then you came home. Do you 00:38:00.610 --> 00:38:03.170 want to know some more? You just illustrated. 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:06.239 You could call it old aircraft. And they provide 00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:08.380 flights and B -17s and so forth. And they had 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:11.099 a fire in 2004. And they're rebuilding it. It 00:38:11.099 --> 00:38:12.820 sounds like it's going to be a great project. 00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:15.019 I mean, they're going to have a new exhibition 00:38:15.019 --> 00:38:18.519 building. They're planning on putting in a hotel 00:38:18.519 --> 00:38:21.179 and conference center. They want to put in a 00:38:21.179 --> 00:38:23.380 charter high school there that deals with aviation 00:38:23.380 --> 00:38:25.880 in connection with Eastern Michigan University. 00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:28.380 I think it's a great thing. Yeah, they're moving 00:38:28.380 --> 00:38:30.639 an old school house that was once an officer's 00:38:30.639 --> 00:38:34.119 club built by Henry Ford for the workers at Willow 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:36.880 Run. And what is it, a $100 million project? 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:39.300 $100 million. Over 20 years. Right, and you can 00:38:39.300 --> 00:38:40.960 find out more information if you can get on the 00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.059 internet and just... plug -in Yankee Air Museum 00:38:43.059 --> 00:38:45.500 and you'll find out what's going on there. What's 00:38:45.500 --> 00:38:47.420 that other story? The other story is really a 00:38:47.420 --> 00:38:49.500 very touching story and we talked a little bit 00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:52.619 about it with our motorcycle friends. The fallen 00:38:52.619 --> 00:38:54.920 troops are getting a more dignified return home. 00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:57.920 In fact, a local company wanted Defense Department 00:38:57.920 --> 00:39:01.250 contract to bring home the bodies of the of the 00:39:01.250 --> 00:39:04.449 people from Afghanistan and Iraq. And that's 00:39:04.449 --> 00:39:06.989 Kalita Airlines and they fly out of Willow Run 00:39:06.989 --> 00:39:09.309 right where the Yankee Air Force Museum is? Right. 00:39:09.929 --> 00:39:12.489 And the reason for this is that many, unfortunately, 00:39:12.690 --> 00:39:14.570 many of the people that were coming, the bodies 00:39:14.570 --> 00:39:16.949 that were being sent back from Iraq and Afghanistan 00:39:16.949 --> 00:39:19.030 were being flown home in commercial airlines 00:39:19.030 --> 00:39:21.530 and they were being unloaded with forklifts or 00:39:21.530 --> 00:39:23.050 coming down that conveyor belt, you know, that 00:39:23.050 --> 00:39:24.849 the baggage would come down. And that's pretty 00:39:24.849 --> 00:39:27.889 undignified and pretty disrespectful in a lot 00:39:27.889 --> 00:39:31.289 of cases. But the... The story was that it was 00:39:31.289 --> 00:39:33.769 cheaper or more efficient. Let's put it that 00:39:33.769 --> 00:39:35.789 way. It was more efficient to bring these people 00:39:35.789 --> 00:39:38.929 home with that. So now they're flying on private 00:39:38.929 --> 00:39:41.510 jets. And they're going to smaller airports, 00:39:42.269 --> 00:39:44.449 getting the caskets closer and closer to home. 00:39:44.730 --> 00:39:46.750 And each one is to be met by an honor guard. 00:39:47.150 --> 00:39:49.670 And I understand that's been going on since January, 00:39:49.730 --> 00:39:51.909 and they're doing a great job with it. And you 00:39:51.909 --> 00:39:54.309 know what? I was looking at the difference in 00:39:54.309 --> 00:39:57.650 cost. It's less than $10 million. You know, they 00:39:57.650 --> 00:40:00.510 could look in a little corner of their waste 00:40:00.510 --> 00:40:04.360 bin. Yeah, the potato famine. Right, right. subsidy 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:07.000 and find that money. And this was all really 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:11.639 caused by a father of one of the soldiers that 00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:14.880 was killed in Iraq in 2005 and he just felt that 00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:17.860 this was something to do and it's one of the 00:40:17.860 --> 00:40:20.539 true bipartisan pieces of legislation that was 00:40:20.539 --> 00:40:23.139 passed quickly too. Yes, that's great. Duncan 00:40:23.139 --> 00:40:26.400 Hunter, a congressman out of Southern California 00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:29.340 who is a true friend of the veterans. Hope he 00:40:29.340 --> 00:40:33.360 stays in there for a long time. Correct. Right. 00:40:33.440 --> 00:40:35.039 Let's talk about some other people that we've 00:40:35.039 --> 00:40:36.739 other issues that we've talked about. I've got 00:40:36.739 --> 00:40:38.300 something else I want to jump in with. You got 00:40:38.300 --> 00:40:40.599 it. Yeah, I just got Mark Linkey stopped in. 00:40:40.599 --> 00:40:43.300 He's the Veterans Services Officer here in Washtenaw 00:40:43.300 --> 00:40:47.920 County and brought in a flyer about the author 00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:50.599 of Flags of Our Fathers. You know that book? 00:40:50.739 --> 00:40:52.900 He'll be here in... He's going to be here the 00:40:52.900 --> 00:40:57.639 April 16th at noon over at the Radisson. And 00:40:57.639 --> 00:41:03.219 they are offering free tickets to veterans. Now, 00:41:03.219 --> 00:41:06.699 in order to get a free ticket to this, you must 00:41:06.699 --> 00:41:13.000 call Mark Linke at 973 -4540. Now, I think there's 00:41:13.000 --> 00:41:15.579 limited quantity, so it's going to be first come, 00:41:15.719 --> 00:41:17.199 first served. Could you get that number again 00:41:17.199 --> 00:41:19.800 with the area code? That number again, area code 00:41:19.800 --> 00:41:28.239 734 -973 -4540, and ask for Mark Linke. Mark 00:41:28.239 --> 00:41:30.380 Linkey, he's the veteran services officer in 00:41:30.380 --> 00:41:32.460 Washtenaw County. And they have some tickets 00:41:32.460 --> 00:41:36.280 for the Flags of Our Fathers presentation by 00:41:36.280 --> 00:41:40.239 James Bradley. He's the author. That was the 00:41:40.239 --> 00:41:42.300 one that was made into a movie directed by Clint 00:41:42.300 --> 00:41:46.099 Eastwood and produced by Steven Spielberg. Right, 00:41:46.099 --> 00:41:48.159 and as a matter of fact, after that he's going 00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:51.000 to be out at the Yankee Air Museum site. Is he 00:41:51.000 --> 00:41:53.159 really? Yes. That's what it said. Right. Yes, 00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:54.460 because we were trying to figure out how we could 00:41:54.460 --> 00:41:56.260 do that on a... I'm going to be there as part 00:41:56.260 --> 00:41:58.750 of the Honor Guard. The Honor Guard has been 00:41:58.750 --> 00:42:02.909 asked to do the opening ceremony with the flags 00:42:02.909 --> 00:42:05.250 and national anthem and so on. So I'm going to 00:42:05.250 --> 00:42:09.349 be there proudly wearing my BDUs. And Ken, I'm 00:42:09.349 --> 00:42:11.130 proud of you. You're a member of the Washtenaw 00:42:11.130 --> 00:42:13.809 County Honor Guard, which provides funeral services 00:42:13.809 --> 00:42:17.989 for veterans who've died. Yes, sir. And you guys 00:42:17.989 --> 00:42:21.929 do a superb job. When I first started doing that, 00:42:22.030 --> 00:42:25.420 I wasn't sure how I'd react to that. But after 00:42:25.420 --> 00:42:30.400 I went to probably two or three, I was really 00:42:30.400 --> 00:42:33.420 proud of what the guys did and what it means 00:42:33.420 --> 00:42:36.940 to the families. And invariably after almost 00:42:36.940 --> 00:42:41.179 every single funeral that we do, we have some 00:42:41.179 --> 00:42:43.920 people come up and say thank you very much for 00:42:43.920 --> 00:42:46.639 what you've done. It should be pointed out that 00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:50.380 every single veteran out there at least in in 00:42:50.380 --> 00:42:52.420 washington county and probably in most areas 00:42:52.420 --> 00:42:55.320 of the country is entitled to a military uh... 00:42:55.320 --> 00:42:57.820 honor guard everywhere in the country and that 00:42:57.820 --> 00:42:59.559 your funeral director should be able to point 00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:01.599 you in that direction exactly correct because 00:43:01.599 --> 00:43:03.400 you are entitled to that you're entitled to the 00:43:03.400 --> 00:43:09.369 flag and there's uh... If you're buried at a 00:43:09.369 --> 00:43:12.210 national cemetery, like the one up in Holly, 00:43:12.730 --> 00:43:15.110 Michigan, the only thing you pay for is your 00:43:15.110 --> 00:43:18.329 casket and the transportation from the funeral 00:43:18.329 --> 00:43:21.710 home. Everything at the cemetery is free, including 00:43:21.710 --> 00:43:23.610 the headstone. Once you get in the front door, 00:43:24.150 --> 00:43:27.989 the front gate, it's all free. And I'll wait. 00:43:28.280 --> 00:43:31.199 Oh yeah, me too. Another example of things that 00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:32.820 you're going to learn here on Veterans Radio, 00:43:33.119 --> 00:43:35.719 all types of stories and if you have anything 00:43:35.719 --> 00:43:38.360 that you want us to talk about, please let us 00:43:38.360 --> 00:43:40.340 know, send us an email, give us a call, go to 00:43:40.340 --> 00:43:43.519 our website, veteransradio .net, there's a contact. 00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:46.480 tab on there just click on that and can send 00:43:46.480 --> 00:43:48.480 us the information and we'll get it on the air 00:43:48.480 --> 00:43:51.519 if at all possible. We are in the process of 00:43:51.519 --> 00:43:54.440 updating our website and we're going to try and 00:43:54.440 --> 00:43:56.699 get as many events listed on there as we possibly 00:43:56.699 --> 00:43:59.559 can. So if you let us know we'll put you on there. 00:43:59.699 --> 00:44:02.059 And we have our old shows on archive up there 00:44:02.059 --> 00:44:04.739 on our website. That's true if you want to know 00:44:04.739 --> 00:44:07.730 what we've done in the past. Some of the stories 00:44:07.730 --> 00:44:09.510 that might interest you, you can click on there, 00:44:09.630 --> 00:44:11.250 you can listen to them anytime that you want 00:44:11.250 --> 00:44:13.889 to. One of the advantages that I wanted to point 00:44:13.889 --> 00:44:16.489 out here being on Ave Maria Radio, which is a 00:44:16.489 --> 00:44:20.190 great host for us, is that we've got new, fancy 00:44:20.190 --> 00:44:22.690 new technology. We're up there with the state 00:44:22.690 --> 00:44:24.349 of the art people now. We can actually figure 00:44:24.349 --> 00:44:26.829 out what we're doing. For those of you that have 00:44:26.829 --> 00:44:29.130 been loyal listeners for over the three years, 00:44:29.230 --> 00:44:31.679 you know that we started out in a... about a 00:44:31.679 --> 00:44:36.320 50 watt station with animals, and have progressed 00:44:36.320 --> 00:44:38.219 since there. But you can listen to many of our 00:44:38.219 --> 00:44:41.739 old programs on the internet. And again, we can't 00:44:41.739 --> 00:44:44.460 thank Ave Maria Radio enough. We have capabilities 00:44:44.460 --> 00:44:47.099 now of not only being on three stations, and 00:44:47.099 --> 00:44:49.800 we want to thank the people in Saginaw and Naples. 00:44:50.119 --> 00:44:52.500 We have internet streaming which seems to be 00:44:52.500 --> 00:44:54.820 working on a really regular basis which we're 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:57.539 very excited about and we also have the capability 00:44:57.539 --> 00:45:00.980 now of uplinking our program to a satellite and 00:45:00.980 --> 00:45:02.780 so there may be some other stations around the 00:45:02.780 --> 00:45:04.500 country that will be on in a short period of 00:45:04.500 --> 00:45:06.719 time. We're very excited about the opportunity 00:45:06.719 --> 00:45:09.199 of being here. If you're listening on the internet, 00:45:09.579 --> 00:45:12.380 go to your local radio stations and suggest to 00:45:12.380 --> 00:45:16.449 them that they carry Veterans Radio. We can do 00:45:16.449 --> 00:45:19.550 that not a problem Some of the other things we've 00:45:19.550 --> 00:45:22.070 got next week. We've got a program coming up 00:45:22.070 --> 00:45:24.389 on PTSD We're going to be talking with the people 00:45:24.389 --> 00:45:27.840 from military comm Two weeks we're going to be 00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:30.460 talking with the author of a new biography on 00:45:30.460 --> 00:45:33.780 Dwight Eisenhower and just on and on. We've got 00:45:33.780 --> 00:45:36.380 great stories for you and hopefully you will 00:45:36.380 --> 00:45:38.559 keep sending us the stories and we want to make 00:45:38.559 --> 00:45:40.780 sure that these stories get out because we're 00:45:40.780 --> 00:45:43.480 one of the few avenues that get the veteran stories 00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:44.960 out and it doesn't make any difference if you 00:45:44.960 --> 00:45:47.699 are a veteran in World War I all the way up through 00:45:47.699 --> 00:45:49.300 Iraqi freedom. And I know that there are only 00:45:49.300 --> 00:45:51.300 about four people left in World War I but we'd 00:45:51.300 --> 00:45:53.429 be more than happy to talk to them. Exactly, 00:45:53.769 --> 00:45:58.230 and the VA health system is looking for the final 00:45:58.230 --> 00:46:03.230 members of that class. That's right. 1917 -1918. 00:46:04.309 --> 00:46:06.730 Holy mackerel a long time ago. My grandfather 00:46:06.730 --> 00:46:09.889 was with the Royal Seaforth Highlanders in World 00:46:09.889 --> 00:46:13.929 War one He died many years ago at the age of 00:46:13.929 --> 00:46:17.250 72 But I've got a photograph of him and his brothers 00:46:17.250 --> 00:46:19.869 and friends going off in their kilts of the six 00:46:19.869 --> 00:46:21.750 people in the photograph He was the only one 00:46:21.750 --> 00:46:24.150 that lived after four years of trench warfare. 00:46:24.250 --> 00:46:27.429 What a meat grinder of a war Did you hear recently? 00:46:27.429 --> 00:46:30.130 I think it's about a week or so ago. The last 00:46:30.130 --> 00:46:33.170 female from World War one died. Mm -hmm. That's 00:46:33.170 --> 00:46:35.420 amazing But we want to make sure we get those 00:46:35.420 --> 00:46:37.800 stories. In fact, you know, one of the projects 00:46:37.800 --> 00:46:39.500 that we are trying to get more and more involved 00:46:39.500 --> 00:46:42.139 in is the Veterans History Project, and that 00:46:42.139 --> 00:46:44.980 is to record the oral histories of veterans. 00:46:45.679 --> 00:46:47.199 And again, that's another point I want to bring 00:46:47.199 --> 00:46:48.800 out. We have the capability of going out and 00:46:48.800 --> 00:46:52.340 doing remotes now. So if there are any American 00:46:52.340 --> 00:46:55.900 Legion, VFW, veteran service organizations out 00:46:55.900 --> 00:46:57.420 there that would like to hook up with Veterans 00:46:57.420 --> 00:47:00.639 Radio and do a Saturday morning Veterans Oral 00:47:00.639 --> 00:47:02.599 History Project and record some of your members, 00:47:02.960 --> 00:47:05.300 give us a call, send us an email, and we'll figure 00:47:05.300 --> 00:47:08.219 out how to do that with you. Dale, we talked 00:47:08.219 --> 00:47:10.159 about the VA healthcare system and that's where 00:47:10.159 --> 00:47:12.920 I go for my healthcare. There are more stories 00:47:12.920 --> 00:47:15.460 that walk through the lobby of that one hospital 00:47:15.460 --> 00:47:18.679 in a day than Hollywood could ever use in its 00:47:18.679 --> 00:47:21.320 existence and more than we could use. I've met 00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:23.519 some amazing people there. Sure, and figure out 00:47:23.519 --> 00:47:25.579 how many VA hospitals there are around the country 00:47:25.579 --> 00:47:27.360 and hence how many stories there are. Oh, there 00:47:27.360 --> 00:47:29.800 are stories out there. And that's what we want 00:47:29.800 --> 00:47:33.260 to do. So again, give us a call and let us know 00:47:33.260 --> 00:47:35.619 and we'll get you on the air, get your story 00:47:35.619 --> 00:47:39.480 saved for your family. I'd like to see us do 00:47:39.480 --> 00:47:45.579 another story on helicopter pilots and snipers. 00:47:46.199 --> 00:47:48.739 We had a sniper on there, Tom Falecki, and it 00:47:48.739 --> 00:47:50.820 was pretty emotional for him to be talking about 00:47:50.820 --> 00:47:54.159 it. But I was watching a program on the History 00:47:54.159 --> 00:47:58.059 Channel last night. The record for a female sniper 00:47:58.059 --> 00:48:02.690 was 380 -some kills, and I think that was during 00:48:02.690 --> 00:48:04.670 World War II in one of those Eastern European 00:48:04.670 --> 00:48:07.250 countries. Never thought that there might be 00:48:07.250 --> 00:48:09.949 a female sniper. That's true. We're going to 00:48:09.949 --> 00:48:15.730 wrap up. And why not? Why wouldn't it be? Let's 00:48:15.730 --> 00:48:17.610 join the air of political correctness. That's 00:48:17.610 --> 00:48:18.829 right. We've got to get up here. You've got to 00:48:18.829 --> 00:48:20.449 remember what town we're in, right? Correct. 00:48:21.510 --> 00:48:24.610 Again, we want to thank Ave Maria, and I know 00:48:24.610 --> 00:48:26.230 Ken, you had something that you wanted to say 00:48:26.230 --> 00:48:29.010 before we left today. Well, yeah, but not yet. 00:48:29.250 --> 00:48:31.030 We've still got about a minute to go. Oh, okay. 00:48:31.489 --> 00:48:33.769 Oh, that's what my timing was about. Gotcha. 00:48:34.110 --> 00:48:38.630 First day jitters. Well, you know, I mentioned 00:48:38.630 --> 00:48:40.969 the stories. We're going to get you helicopter 00:48:40.969 --> 00:48:43.030 guys on there, because I've heard some amazing 00:48:43.030 --> 00:48:45.690 stories. And you guys talk about it modestly. 00:48:46.170 --> 00:48:48.530 But my gosh, I can't believe the things you did. 00:48:49.179 --> 00:48:51.679 The grunts will talk about you guys sitting there 00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:54.260 very calmly waiting for them to make it over 00:48:54.260 --> 00:48:56.820 to the helicopter with a wounded guy and while 00:48:56.820 --> 00:48:59.360 you're getting shot to pieces. Trust me, we weren't 00:48:59.360 --> 00:49:05.250 calm. That was our John Wayne imitation. What 00:49:05.250 --> 00:49:11.389 was it really like? With all those holes appearing. 00:49:11.570 --> 00:49:13.250 You guys never took care of your helicopters, 00:49:13.329 --> 00:49:15.789 did you? I know. We had all those Swiss cheese 00:49:15.789 --> 00:49:17.570 things in our little metal packs. Anyway, we 00:49:17.570 --> 00:49:21.190 want to thank Ave Maria Radio. Tremendous effort 00:49:21.190 --> 00:49:23.829 on their part and for us. And we'll be back next 00:49:23.829 --> 00:49:26.150 week. Ken? We are very happy to be back on the 00:49:26.150 --> 00:49:28.719 air. It's been a long three months. Veterans 00:49:28.719 --> 00:49:31.360 Radio is about stories, the stories of America's 00:49:31.360 --> 00:49:34.219 veterans. That man or woman down the street that 00:49:34.219 --> 00:49:37.179 was in World War II or Korea or Vietnam, what 00:49:37.179 --> 00:49:40.739 did they do? Where were they? We want to know. 00:49:40.780 --> 00:49:43.539 We want to bring you their stories. Our mission 00:49:43.539 --> 00:49:47.739 is to provide all veterans with a voice, to give 00:49:47.739 --> 00:49:49.679 them a forum where they're able to discuss their 00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:52.139 issues and to provide information to all veterans 00:49:52.139 --> 00:49:54.739 regarding the rights and privileges of their 00:49:54.739 --> 00:49:57.880 country. Until next week, you are dismissed.