WEBVTT 00:00:16.390 --> 00:00:18.829 All across America and around the world, welcome 00:00:18.829 --> 00:00:23.329 to America's number one veterans program, Veterans 00:00:23.329 --> 00:00:27.870 Radio. And now, here's the voice of today's program 00:00:27.870 --> 00:00:32.750 here at Veterans Radio, former CB, July 66, Republic 00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:40.909 of Vietnam, Gary Lilly. Well, thank you, Bob. 00:00:40.950 --> 00:00:44.289 Good morning to you, too. 101st Airborne you're 00:00:44.289 --> 00:00:49.109 representing. And good morning to the troops, 00:00:49.409 --> 00:00:51.409 that thin green and blue line that's protecting 00:00:51.409 --> 00:00:53.689 not only our country but the rest of the world. 00:00:54.070 --> 00:00:56.469 What a fine job you're doing and us older vets 00:00:56.469 --> 00:00:59.530 admire you. I want to say welcome home to my 00:00:59.530 --> 00:01:04.450 veteran brothers and sisters. Welcome home. And 00:01:04.450 --> 00:01:06.689 to the folks down under, thanks for listening 00:01:06.689 --> 00:01:09.349 in. Good morning America. Welcome to Veterans 00:01:09.349 --> 00:01:13.120 Radio. A good program lined up. John Voight will 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:15.439 be on later as soon as we restore the connection. 00:01:17.340 --> 00:01:20.500 He's a delightful person. He and I had talked 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:24.760 a number of times this week and he's just as 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:27.719 delightful as could be. We laughed a lot. We 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:31.000 talked about some serious things in some very, 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:36.640 very upbeat fashion, but right now we've lost 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:38.760 the connection. So Bob is over there dialing 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:43.750 numbers. I'll go into some of the introductions 00:01:43.750 --> 00:01:50.069 before we get them back on. In 1969, John Voight 00:01:50.069 --> 00:01:53.189 made a big splash with the movie Midnight Cowboy. 00:01:53.189 --> 00:01:55.769 He made it with Dustin Hoffman. It was kind of 00:01:55.769 --> 00:01:57.670 hilarious. I was looking on the internet last 00:01:57.670 --> 00:01:59.489 night and I saw a photograph of the two of them 00:01:59.489 --> 00:02:02.250 walking side by side. Dustin Hoffman comes up 00:02:02.250 --> 00:02:08.810 to his shoulder. 1972, Deliverance. 1978, Coming 00:02:08.810 --> 00:02:12.789 Home, in which he played a paraplegic Vietnam 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:16.069 veteran who had turned against the war. He did 00:02:16.069 --> 00:02:23.169 that with Jane Fonda. Many other movies and TV 00:02:23.169 --> 00:02:28.389 programs. What I found interesting is that Dustin 00:02:28.389 --> 00:02:32.469 has two brothers, Wes, who goes by the writer's 00:02:32.469 --> 00:02:35.610 name of Chip Taylor. He wrote Wild Thing, the 00:02:35.610 --> 00:02:39.770 songs Wild Thing and Angel of the Morning and 00:02:39.770 --> 00:02:43.509 his brother Barry studied geology at Columbia 00:02:43.509 --> 00:02:46.930 and is a volcanologist at Penn State. Those are 00:02:46.930 --> 00:02:50.370 two of my favorite songs. Wow, I love that. I 00:02:50.370 --> 00:02:52.610 played in the band and we played that. I love 00:02:52.610 --> 00:02:56.009 that. You make my heart sing. I keep forgetting 00:02:56.009 --> 00:02:59.849 you got a rock and roll band. Give us some announcements 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:02.830 while I get my throat back. Okay, thank you, 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:05.680 Gary. Veterans Radio. Veterans Radio is going 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:08.560 to be a part of the big game at Eastern Michigan 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:12.199 University, Ryerson Stadium. That'll be Saturday, 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:14.840 September 5th. That's right, Saturday, September 00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.199 5th. It's going to be a night game kickoff at 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.560 7 o 'clock. However, you'll be able to get tickets, 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:24.000 that's right, for a special price of just $3, 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:27.560 of which a dollar of that will benefit the EMU, 00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:31.960 that Eastern Michigan University ROTC program, 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:34.500 and it's going to be used. for some very, very, 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.680 very important facilities that they're going 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.240 to build. It's going to be a new rifle range. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:43.620 So, over the next four weeks, we will let you 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:47.379 know how you can purchase your tickets. You can 00:03:47.379 --> 00:03:49.719 get them online, order forms, et cetera, right 00:03:49.719 --> 00:03:52.240 here on Veterans Radio. By the way, we're going 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.060 to have a pre -game program. That's right, we're 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:57.900 going to be on it in our usual time, 9 o 'clock 00:03:57.900 --> 00:04:01.629 Eastern Standard Time. we're going to have veterans 00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:05.349 veterans that are going to be there as part of 00:04:05.349 --> 00:04:08.750 the army and when i say the army i mean like 00:04:08.750 --> 00:04:13.030 in west point please hey how about that gary 00:04:13.030 --> 00:04:15.629 you know you know how you get a square meal right 00:04:15.629 --> 00:04:19.550 you know they do that oh yeah i know okay that'll 00:04:19.550 --> 00:04:22.990 be once again saturday september 5th The kickoff 00:04:22.990 --> 00:04:25.910 is at seven o 'clock. The tailgate party is from 00:04:25.910 --> 00:04:29.310 four to seven and all veterans of the U .S. Armed 00:04:29.310 --> 00:04:32.709 Forces, all veterans, all armed forces are invited 00:04:32.709 --> 00:04:36.750 to attend the pregame party prior to the football 00:04:36.750 --> 00:04:38.649 game. That's from four to seven and there will 00:04:38.649 --> 00:04:41.610 be no charge for veterans and their families 00:04:41.610 --> 00:04:44.069 to attend that tailgate party. There'll be all 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:45.649 kinds of things, you know, hot dogs and all that 00:04:45.649 --> 00:04:49.370 good stuff and parking is also free. So we'll 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:52.300 be talking more about discount tickets. for that 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:53.839 game. How about that? That's going to be great, 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:57.160 eh? The army's coming. It's easier to get in 00:04:57.160 --> 00:05:00.399 there than to the Big Ten or the Big Eight or 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:02.600 Southeast Conference. You've got to park a mile 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:06.540 away if you want free parking. Well, not anymore. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:11.759 I think we're going to have that all set. So, 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:14.339 are we set for welcome home? Oh, yeah. Let's 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:17.379 go to welcome home. I think that would be an 00:05:17.379 --> 00:05:18.899 excellent idea. Let's welcome home the troops. 00:05:19.519 --> 00:05:22.779 Welcome home. This is Bob Gould welcoming home 00:05:22.779 --> 00:05:26.019 all troops. All troops each week on Veterans 00:05:26.019 --> 00:05:28.620 Day we welcome home servicemen and women who've 00:05:28.620 --> 00:05:31.040 been stationed around the world in the service 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:36.480 of their country and are returning home. Dateline 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.360 Houston, Texas. The 712th Military Police Company 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.360 combat support of the Texas National Guard base 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.500 in Baytown, Texas were welcomed home after a 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:52.759 year in Iraq. Dateline Fargo, North Dakota. The 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:55.160 Happy Hooligans, that's right, Happy Hooligans, 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.519 have sent mechanics, security police, and other 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:00.680 support personnel to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:03.740 areas of the Southeast Asia theater. That's been 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:06.740 many times in the past recent years. Last appointment 00:06:06.740 --> 00:06:09.579 to an unnamed location in Southeast Asia, the 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:12.920 119th wing of the North Dakota Air National Guard 00:06:12.920 --> 00:06:16.819 also sent some hardware. Last week, the Hooligans 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:20.459 Welcomed home, airmen sent overseas in May in 00:06:20.459 --> 00:06:24.300 one of two of the unit's C -21A Lear jets. The 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:26.519 deployment marks the first time the Hooligans 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:29.540 sent a jet into a war zone, despite the many 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:34.060 years the unit has been in operation. Dateline, 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:37.199 Illinois. After a long year in Afghanistan with 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:40.459 the Illinois National Guard, Staff Sergeant Tyrone 00:06:40.459 --> 00:06:43.439 Reddus was happy to be reunited with his Calumet 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:47.829 City family at Soldier Field. I quote, The first 00:06:47.829 --> 00:06:50.410 thing I'm going to do is take off this uniform. 00:06:50.829 --> 00:06:54.129 I love my country, but I've been wearing it for 00:06:54.129 --> 00:06:57.490 a year," said Sergeant Redis as he was among 00:06:57.490 --> 00:07:01.029 the 147 troops to return from the state's largest 00:07:01.029 --> 00:07:04.449 National Guard deployment since World War II. 00:07:04.790 --> 00:07:07.389 His unit, the headquarters and headquarters company, 00:07:07.629 --> 00:07:12.649 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry, was deployed in 00:07:12.649 --> 00:07:15.910 Afghanistan. Each week, Welcome Home is brought 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:18.889 to you by the Marine Scholars Program of Ave 00:07:18.889 --> 00:07:22.750 Maria University. And I remember that song very 00:07:22.750 --> 00:07:26.610 well. I remember that speech, I should say, very 00:07:26.610 --> 00:07:29.029 well. And I was wondering if I was going to end 00:07:29.029 --> 00:07:31.930 up there. And actually, I was looking forward 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:35.170 to helping the troops. I was a CB. We built things 00:07:35.170 --> 00:07:39.689 in support. And we took that seriously. We're 00:07:39.689 --> 00:07:41.850 really pleased to welcome John Voight to Veterans 00:07:41.850 --> 00:07:45.149 Radio. John, welcome to Veterans Radio. Gary, 00:07:46.209 --> 00:07:48.290 I've been listening. You're doing a fantastic 00:07:48.290 --> 00:07:53.569 job. Oh, thank you so much. That really means 00:07:53.569 --> 00:07:57.350 a lot. The way this all came about is you gave 00:07:57.350 --> 00:08:02.329 a talk twice to the Vietnam Veterans at the Vietnam 00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:04.670 Veterans of America National Convention last 00:08:04.670 --> 00:08:07.879 week, and it was heartfelt. You could feel it 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.139 and I approached you afterwards and asked if 00:08:10.139 --> 00:08:12.519 you'd be on Veterans Radio and you said absolutely. 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:17.620 Tell us the story of how you happened to be on 00:08:17.620 --> 00:08:21.060 there. You phoned them and also Seinfeld, the 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:26.199 Seinfeld tie -in at the banquet. Well, I have 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:29.860 been working with a fellow by the name of Jose 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:35.559 Ramos who's a sergeant, served in Vietnam. and 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:37.980 he's been working on a welcome home day for the 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:44.259 Vietnam Vets since the 90s and has organized 00:08:44.259 --> 00:08:49.000 gatherings out in California and I attended one 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.019 of those gatherings and it was a tremendous gathering. 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:57.759 He really organized a very large and very well 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:01.340 attended gathering of the Vietnam Vets and I 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:04.799 walked into it a couple of months ago and And 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.600 of course, you know, my history is such that 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:09.480 some people know that I was on the other side 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.440 during the end of the 60s, beginning of the 70s. 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:16.360 So it was kind of interesting for me to walk 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:18.480 in there. But I've been with the Vietnam Vets 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:20.320 for some time. I have to tell you, I've done 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:24.820 a few things specifically for the Vets from that 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:29.480 time as well. So I wasn't, you know, so uncomfortable 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:34.000 because I... as I might have been if I had treated 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.759 the vets badly and I never have done that. So 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:39.320 I wasn't so uncomfortable but I really enjoyed 00:09:39.320 --> 00:09:41.240 seeing everybody and then I got up and made a 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:46.720 little speech and admitted the error of my prior 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:51.259 ways and sending my love to the guys and then 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:56.580 they embraced me and we talked afterwards and 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:01.039 then I met Sergeant Ramos there, Jose. And we 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:03.419 decided that we would get together to do something 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:06.320 on a national level. And the result of it was 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:11.659 this visit to the convention. And for those who 00:10:11.659 --> 00:10:17.139 don't know, the VVA convention was in Louisville, 00:10:17.139 --> 00:10:21.039 Kentucky. And it was attended by, very well attended 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:25.240 by, I guess over 650 people from across the country. 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:28.299 A serious group. Yeah, a very serious group. 00:10:31.560 --> 00:10:39.700 I had given a speech to a group last year which 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:43.759 was a USO gathering to raise funds for the USO 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:47.100 in New York and General Petraeus had attended 00:10:47.100 --> 00:10:52.620 that. The audience was filled with military guys. 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:55.840 I made a speech and the speech was very impactful 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:58.690 to the people who were listening. I repeated 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:01.990 that speech after some introduction and a joke 00:11:01.990 --> 00:11:06.669 or two, as you remember. And then I gave the 00:11:06.669 --> 00:11:09.889 same speech pretty much, adjusting only slightly 00:11:09.889 --> 00:11:12.730 to the guys who were there. And I would read 00:11:12.730 --> 00:11:15.149 that speech to the people listening now so that 00:11:15.149 --> 00:11:17.470 they would understand where I'm coming from and 00:11:17.470 --> 00:11:19.149 some of the things that I might have said there. 00:11:19.789 --> 00:11:22.190 Bob, will we have time in the first segment for 00:11:22.190 --> 00:11:24.350 him to read the speech? I think it's about five 00:11:24.350 --> 00:11:31.320 minutes long, is it? Yes, we do. Let me go right 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:38.740 into it. I've got something serious on my mind 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:41.659 because I was the MC that night and I said this. 00:11:41.799 --> 00:11:46.500 I said I feel humbled and greatly blessed to 00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:48.679 be here with you all. You are indeed our great 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:52.259 American heroes. You are the true ones and I'm 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:54.559 saying this now to all the people listening. 00:11:54.570 --> 00:11:57.450 to all the military listening. You are the true 00:11:57.450 --> 00:12:00.049 ones, the blessed ones. You understand the importance 00:12:00.049 --> 00:12:03.769 of keeping America safe. America could not be 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:07.049 the great, powerful good without you. I've been 00:12:07.049 --> 00:12:09.190 asked to be with you tonight, and this is a great 00:12:09.190 --> 00:12:13.009 honor. And if I could, I would like to address 00:12:13.009 --> 00:12:15.549 a very serious topic that has plagued me for 00:12:15.549 --> 00:12:18.070 years. Back in the late 60s, I was one of those 00:12:18.070 --> 00:12:20.370 young people caught up in trying to end the Vietnam 00:12:20.370 --> 00:12:23.509 War. There was a fire and fever burning in our 00:12:23.509 --> 00:12:27.370 country. I'm saddened and ashamed of it if I 00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:29.830 knew then that a bloodbath of millions of innocent 00:12:29.830 --> 00:12:32.590 people would take place I certainly would not 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:35.710 have been part of that insanity and to think 00:12:35.710 --> 00:12:38.669 today we still have people like William Ayres 00:12:38.669 --> 00:12:41.230 boasting about his terrorist acts against our 00:12:41.230 --> 00:12:44.149 government and proudly stating he still feels 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:47.210 he didn't do enough and he and people like him 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:50.830 are Given a voice to be able to spout their madness. 00:12:50.929 --> 00:12:54.490 We let him teach in our colleges where he is 00:12:54.490 --> 00:12:56.950 able to corrupt our new generation of young, 00:12:57.190 --> 00:13:00.730 impressionable minds. How sad I feel that our 00:13:00.730 --> 00:13:03.570 war heroes of Vietnam were not given a hero's 00:13:03.570 --> 00:13:07.830 welcome back then and their suffering was unimaginable. 00:13:08.490 --> 00:13:11.789 So many American lives lost in vain and no one 00:13:11.789 --> 00:13:14.889 hailed those that returned. Can we blame them 00:13:14.889 --> 00:13:18.169 for their bitterness? Our country turned against 00:13:18.169 --> 00:13:21.409 them. Because of people like William Ayres and 00:13:21.409 --> 00:13:23.610 all those who still refuse to admit they were 00:13:23.610 --> 00:13:26.129 wrong, we have almost seen a repeat of this madness 00:13:26.129 --> 00:13:29.549 during the Iraq war. We've seen how they tried 00:13:29.549 --> 00:13:33.250 to discredit our great general, Petraeus, trying 00:13:33.250 --> 00:13:36.730 to end this war before we saw victory. Yes, we 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:39.389 still have a lot of people from the Vietnam era 00:13:39.389 --> 00:13:42.450 trying to bring the country down. And when I 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:44.730 look out among all you great American heroes, 00:13:45.450 --> 00:13:48.570 I can be thankful to God. It has given me an 00:13:48.570 --> 00:13:51.850 opportunity to repent from my young, ignorant, 00:13:51.990 --> 00:13:55.509 arrogant days. And I'm here to be able to try 00:13:55.509 --> 00:13:58.730 to see it does not happen again. I would like 00:13:58.730 --> 00:14:02.269 to see a day of true remembrance, of true recognition 00:14:02.269 --> 00:14:05.289 to honor our Vietnam war heroes who fought the 00:14:05.289 --> 00:14:09.009 longest military conflict in U .S. history. Something 00:14:09.009 --> 00:14:13.250 specific just for them. I'm proud of you all. 00:14:14.049 --> 00:14:16.899 You are true magnificence. Thank you for letting 00:14:16.899 --> 00:14:22.779 me speak my heart. That speech really touched 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.419 the hearts of a lot of people. Some of the comments, 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.080 the one that sticks out in my mind was one of 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:34.240 the guys said, what a stand -up guy. We always 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.100 talk about clicks, clicks of elevation. The guys 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:39.100 are saying that you went up a lot of clicks that 00:14:39.100 --> 00:14:42.620 day. Yeah, well it was a big day for me, very 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:45.879 important for me to express that. I was able 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:50.500 to meet all the guys during the brief time that 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:54.600 I had. I think I must have shaken almost every 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:59.940 hand in the place and had a word or two to share. 00:15:00.500 --> 00:15:04.279 I was deeply impressed with that group, I must 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:08.980 say. I spent a lot of time in hospitals welcoming 00:15:08.980 --> 00:15:14.950 some of the kids back from our present war. And 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:18.710 I'm very impressed with that group. This is of 00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:23.330 course a full volunteer group and they are the 00:15:23.330 --> 00:15:27.169 best of us, as I say, you know. When I was with 00:15:27.169 --> 00:15:29.950 the Vietnam vets, I must tell you, I said, no, 00:15:30.690 --> 00:15:35.149 maybe these guys are even of a higher understanding 00:15:35.149 --> 00:15:37.929 because they're wiser, older, been through more 00:15:37.929 --> 00:15:41.340 stuff and really have... extraordinary character. 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:43.720 So those two groups of people are really the 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.460 best we've got. Let me tell you a little experience 00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:49.320 Bob and I had a few weeks back. We observed the 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:52.620 training at Camp Grayling, Michigan, a specialized 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:55.179 training that the National Guard at this moment 00:15:55.179 --> 00:15:57.340 is going through. And we're going to do a program 00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:00.820 with that in the future. But I spent, I would 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:03.860 always tell the troops, you know, older veterans 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:07.220 are proud of you. And war is kind of tough, so 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:09.799 you always... Have this question in your mind. 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.740 Can the next generation do it? That feeling probably 00:16:12.740 --> 00:16:16.279 goes back to before the Roman legions And I said 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:18.700 I want you guys to know that now you are we very? 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:22.139 Comfortable we're very impressed with you and 00:16:22.139 --> 00:16:24.740 we think I think personally you guys are better 00:16:24.740 --> 00:16:27.299 than we were and you know Three different people 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:29.639 at three different places said to me They said 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.879 we have to be you guys set a very high standard. 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:35.730 We have to live up to Wow, that's wonderful. 00:16:35.970 --> 00:16:38.549 That's difficult for me to say without choking 00:16:38.549 --> 00:16:41.769 up. Yeah. But you talked about looking in their 00:16:41.769 --> 00:16:44.509 eyes and the guys in the hospital beds and their 00:16:44.509 --> 00:16:46.789 attitude as they're laying in the hospital beds. 00:16:46.850 --> 00:16:51.509 Tell us about that. Yeah, well, I've heard it 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:55.269 said prior to my going to Walter Reed and to 00:16:55.269 --> 00:17:01.570 the Bethesda Hospital down here in Maryland and 00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:05.769 then also to the the hospital down in San Diego 00:17:05.769 --> 00:17:07.829 where I am right now. I just did the Hannity 00:17:07.829 --> 00:17:11.569 Freedom concert last night and so I'm down, you 00:17:11.569 --> 00:17:14.089 know, close to my friends here. Who is that concert 00:17:14.089 --> 00:17:17.369 for by the way? The concert is, it's Sean Hannity 00:17:17.369 --> 00:17:20.430 has these freedom concerts and the concerts are 00:17:20.430 --> 00:17:25.170 to raise money for scholarships for the children 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:32.559 of the four. What a noble cause. And this was 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:37.299 the work of Colonel Oliver North and he hooked 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:40.160 up with Sean and the two of them have been responsible 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:42.819 for these concerts and they're just terrific. 00:17:43.660 --> 00:17:46.440 I didn't mention this to you, maybe I did. I 00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:49.319 came across a letter from the Government Department 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:51.420 of Veterans Affairs recently as I'm cleaning 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:55.839 out a bunch of boxes. It said it was for my scholarship, 00:17:56.380 --> 00:18:01.119 my GI bill, the money, I forget the term. is 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:05.440 $24 .65 per month and you have 31 and a half 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:11.039 months eligibility left. Less than $30 a month. 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:14.960 Oh my God. I wasn't going full -time, admittedly. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:16.799 The guy's going full -time, probably got three 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:21.059 or four times that much. Well, you know, there's 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:26.180 nothing... We should be surrounding these warriors, 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:29.940 you guys and these fellows we're fighting today. 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:32.589 with everything. We should just give them every 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.089 kind of backup. It's more than just putting a 00:18:35.089 --> 00:18:38.930 bumper sticker on. Oh man, we've got to do that. 00:18:38.930 --> 00:18:42.170 That's the big work. I was in touch with some 00:18:42.170 --> 00:18:46.250 of these guys who were fighting this land grab 00:18:46.250 --> 00:18:51.470 of veteran lands. I hooked up with them shortly 00:18:51.470 --> 00:18:54.529 after I came back. They were also terrific guys. 00:18:54.609 --> 00:18:59.269 Gee, wonderful fellows. So I'm on that team too. 00:18:59.589 --> 00:19:01.710 You know, so we'll be doing a little work with 00:19:01.710 --> 00:19:05.170 them. But that's what our country has to do. 00:19:05.930 --> 00:19:08.549 And one of the reasons why I really feel a day 00:19:08.549 --> 00:19:10.950 to honor the Vietnam vets, I know the Vietnam 00:19:10.950 --> 00:19:13.089 vets don't need it in a certain sense. They don't 00:19:13.089 --> 00:19:15.490 need it. They've gone through all the damn pain 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:19.329 that they can go through. And they've, you know, 00:19:20.069 --> 00:19:25.730 developed very strong character. And those that 00:19:25.730 --> 00:19:27.470 have, well, of course, those that were there 00:19:27.470 --> 00:19:30.599 were... very successful people who have had families 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:38.819 and overcome so many things. But it's almost 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:42.039 more necessary for the country. The country really 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:46.059 needs to make amends. And there isn't anybody 00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:49.619 that I have talked to about giving a day of welcome 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:52.339 home to the Vietnam guys that hasn't said, oh, 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:54.539 that's important, John. That's important. We 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:58.009 got to do that. And this goes across the... the 00:19:58.009 --> 00:19:59.650 political lines and everything else I mean there's 00:19:59.650 --> 00:20:01.789 nobody who hasn't understood that so I think 00:20:01.789 --> 00:20:03.730 the time has come when people just say please 00:20:03.730 --> 00:20:07.069 let us please let us make some make up some of 00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:10.450 the for some of the things we did well society 00:20:10.450 --> 00:20:15.890 has a huge part in the healing of people coming 00:20:15.890 --> 00:20:18.190 back from a war the world everybody talks about 00:20:18.190 --> 00:20:20.089 how the world war two guys got on with their 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:23.009 lives but the whole country mourned for those 00:20:23.009 --> 00:20:25.390 that were killed there the more The whole country 00:20:25.390 --> 00:20:28.789 honored them for what they did. That helps you 00:20:28.789 --> 00:20:32.029 heal because you realize that it wasn't just 00:20:32.029 --> 00:20:33.910 in vain and it's not whether you win or lose. 00:20:35.009 --> 00:20:37.789 Our country thinks highly of you for doing it. 00:20:39.170 --> 00:20:46.950 Absolutely. I wanted to address something with 00:20:46.950 --> 00:20:49.690 what you said at some point, but maybe we'll 00:20:49.690 --> 00:20:53.440 do it after the break. I was just going to add 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:59.759 on to that ADD. Never mind. Go ahead. What do 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:03.599 you think people could do? For the vets? Correct. 00:21:03.880 --> 00:21:09.039 For you guys? No, not for the vets. For the troops 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:12.140 overseas now. We really need to support them. 00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:15.799 Oh my gosh. Well, I think that once we clear 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:19.220 the air, you know, I mean, the priorities are 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:25.829 all messed up. Isn't that true? One thing that 00:21:25.829 --> 00:21:30.250 happened during 9 -11, in the aftermath of 9 00:21:30.250 --> 00:21:34.069 -11, people woke up to who the real heroes are. 00:21:34.549 --> 00:21:37.849 And that means the military, and that means the 00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:45.130 firemen, and the first responders. We needed 00:21:45.130 --> 00:21:53.109 to really wake up I'm an actor and I have a great 00:21:53.109 --> 00:21:56.609 respect for those of us who take our jobs seriously 00:21:56.609 --> 00:21:58.690 and the entertainers who have such great talent 00:21:58.690 --> 00:22:02.710 and give their talents to folks and stuff like 00:22:02.710 --> 00:22:04.750 that. But we've become very narcissistic, this 00:22:04.750 --> 00:22:09.289 community. And also, in a silly way, the country 00:22:09.289 --> 00:22:11.990 has been encouraged to view these people as something 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:14.109 special and they're really not very special. 00:22:14.269 --> 00:22:16.089 They're certainly not as special as our military. 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.400 or our firemen or our nurses or our teachers, 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:24.000 the vocation is not a vocation that is heroic. 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:32.480 And something's gotten way off here. So we've 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:37.480 got to put that right. And I think that once 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:40.160 it's put right again, you know, once we say, 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.519 hey, listen, fellas, there are people who are 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:45.299 signing the blank checks. who are putting their 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:49.059 lives on the line for us every day. These are 00:22:49.059 --> 00:22:52.819 the people that we should be revering, and we 00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:55.579 should be caring for them, especially when they're 00:22:55.579 --> 00:22:59.259 in need. In any way, we should drop everything 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:04.039 else and take care of these guys and gals and 00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:07.799 their families. They should not be able to fall. 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.759 We should be backing them up in every way. I 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:15.480 was at a VBA convention, oh, maybe 8, 10 years 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:17.960 ago, and Dale Dye, who is the political, not 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:21.359 political, the military consultant. I know him, 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:24.380 yeah. He's a character, isn't he? Well, you know, 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:26.099 I don't know him to know he's a character. I 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:28.319 just know that I bumped into him a couple of 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:30.500 times. I always thought he was a good guy, you 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:32.240 know. Oh, he definitely is, yeah. Yeah, I think 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:35.339 he's a real guy. In fact, right now, that's... 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:37.900 You know, he's involved, the good thing about... 00:23:37.930 --> 00:23:42.609 about him is that he's connected to some real 00:23:42.609 --> 00:23:45.910 loonies out here that he gets along with. And 00:23:45.910 --> 00:23:48.529 he's actually able to take a seat at the table 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:53.210 and stick up for proper values in some of these 00:23:53.210 --> 00:23:57.359 discussions. That's where I find him to be helpful. 00:23:57.579 --> 00:23:59.259 For people in the listening audience who don't 00:23:59.259 --> 00:24:01.980 know who Dale Dye is, he's been on the program, 00:24:02.019 --> 00:24:03.980 but that was about five years ago. Yeah, yeah. 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:07.680 And he is the military consultant and he's become 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:10.500 very close friends with Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:14.500 because he's done the work on Forrest Gump. He's 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:17.039 also a close friend of Oliver Stone's. Oliver 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:19.559 Stone, his first break was the movie Platoon. 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:23.490 What he does is he prepares the actors. for playing 00:24:23.490 --> 00:24:27.210 the role of somebody in a war and as I said to 00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:30.369 him When I saw platoon I leaned over to a buddy 00:24:30.369 --> 00:24:32.390 of mine who had not been in the military and 00:24:32.390 --> 00:24:34.490 I said I don't know how they did it, but they 00:24:34.490 --> 00:24:38.349 got the eyes right those eyes were tired and 00:24:38.349 --> 00:24:41.069 What he does is he takes him up in the mountains 00:24:41.069 --> 00:24:44.210 for three weeks And he has them walking patrols 00:24:44.210 --> 00:24:46.630 with heavy packs getting ambushed not getting 00:24:46.630 --> 00:24:48.529 much sleep and all that then they go right to 00:24:48.529 --> 00:24:52.109 filming He's not easy on them. They get ambushed, 00:24:52.109 --> 00:24:55.049 they do assault. But one thing that he said at 00:24:55.049 --> 00:24:57.369 that convention, which ties in with what you're 00:24:57.369 --> 00:25:03.130 saying, when someone in the military raises their 00:25:03.130 --> 00:25:06.589 hand and takes that oath, they're not saying, 00:25:07.230 --> 00:25:10.730 I'm willing to give up a couple days' pay or 00:25:10.730 --> 00:25:16.930 I'm willing to give up some overtime or some 00:25:16.930 --> 00:25:20.009 vacation time. I'm willing to give up my life 00:25:20.009 --> 00:25:23.930 if need be for my country." And that hits the 00:25:23.930 --> 00:25:28.490 nail on the head. And how can we not honor those 00:25:28.490 --> 00:25:31.269 that are out there protecting? They took an oath 00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:34.950 and basically it's an open written blank check. 00:25:35.269 --> 00:25:38.049 I'll give up my life for my country and they 00:25:38.049 --> 00:25:43.410 do. So you are doing wonderful work and you've 00:25:43.410 --> 00:25:45.920 been going to the hospitals. What do you see 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.000 when you talk to those wounded troops? Well, 00:25:49.059 --> 00:25:52.380 I always am amazed when I walk in those doors. 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:54.619 And by the way, I always feel better coming out 00:25:54.619 --> 00:25:57.819 than when I go in, you know. I'm always a little 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:00.539 worried that I won't be able to take it a little 00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:04.200 bit and that I won't say the right things and 00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:06.400 be of good cheer to these guys. But I don't have 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:09.480 to worry about it. I go in those doors and no 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:13.259 matter what the injury, I'm meeting a cheerful 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:15.960 person. I say, �How are you doing ?� And they 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:19.480 say, �Oh, we�re doing real good, real good, John. 00:26:19.519 --> 00:26:23.059 Thank you.� You know what I mean? Oh, my God. 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:24.799 It might be in a body cast. It might have been. 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:27.460 No, it�s real, yes. Serious injuries. Right. 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:31.779 Always looking for a moment of good cheer or 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:35.880 laughter. And thank you for your service. No 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:40.089 problem. No problem. That's what you get. I'm 00:26:40.089 --> 00:26:41.869 laying in a hospital bed, but no problem. And 00:26:41.869 --> 00:26:43.730 then you say, well, what do you want to do? I'd 00:26:43.730 --> 00:26:45.630 like to get back in there. I'd like to get back 00:26:45.630 --> 00:26:49.089 with my guys. As soon as they fix this leg, I'll 00:26:49.089 --> 00:26:50.970 be able to do something with it. Hopefully, I'll 00:26:50.970 --> 00:26:54.410 be able to keep it. But if I lose it, they'll 00:26:54.410 --> 00:26:57.490 find something else for me to do. Whatever. It's 00:26:57.490 --> 00:27:00.069 like you can't believe what you're seeing in 00:27:00.069 --> 00:27:02.410 terms of this positive energy and the strength 00:27:02.410 --> 00:27:08.000 of these people. Obviously, they have their good 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:10.319 days in bed when you're in a hospital. You have 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.200 your down days, especially with those who are 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:16.640 seriously injured, but they're extraordinary. 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:19.700 We've got a half a minute left, and I wanted 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:22.640 to comment on that. I asked the question earlier, 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:25.839 what can people do for our troops? There's VA 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:28.299 hospitals all across the country. They could 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:32.789 volunteer. Also, you know, just in saying, absolutely 00:27:32.789 --> 00:27:34.849 volunteer, but you know, the one thing they can 00:27:34.849 --> 00:27:38.150 do is visit. Just go. Exactly. You know, just 00:27:38.150 --> 00:27:41.049 go spend it. If you have a little free time, 00:27:41.230 --> 00:27:43.529 go over there and bring them some flowers or 00:27:43.529 --> 00:27:46.049 something. We're going off in four seconds. Will 00:27:46.049 --> 00:27:49.009 you stay with us? Yes. Thank you so much. We'll 00:27:49.009 --> 00:27:51.890 be back. The Medal of Honor is the highest award 00:27:51.890 --> 00:27:54.009 for valor in combat given a member of the Armed 00:27:54.009 --> 00:27:56.289 Forces of the United States. There had been over 00:27:56.289 --> 00:27:59.250 3 ,400 recipients of the nation's highest award. 00:28:00.109 --> 00:28:02.809 This is one of them. Marine Corps Sergeant Daniel 00:28:02.809 --> 00:28:05.289 Matthews became a one -man army before being 00:28:05.289 --> 00:28:10.750 killed. Details after this. Back against a firmly 00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:12.910 entrenched and well -concealed North Vietnamese 00:28:12.910 --> 00:28:15.970 force, Matthews fearlessly advanced in the attack 00:28:15.970 --> 00:28:18.589 until his squad was pinned down by a murderous 00:28:18.589 --> 00:28:21.750 sweep of fire from an enemy machine gun. Observing 00:28:21.750 --> 00:28:23.930 that the deadly fire prevented a corpsman from 00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:27.549 removing a wounded man in an open area, Matthews 00:28:27.549 --> 00:28:29.269 worked his way to the base of the hostile and 00:28:29.269 --> 00:28:31.630 machine gun emplacement, leaped onto the rock 00:28:31.630 --> 00:28:34.509 formations surrounding the gun, and single -handedly 00:28:34.509 --> 00:28:36.670 charged the hostile emplacement with his rifle. 00:28:37.609 --> 00:28:39.509 Although severely wounded when the enemy brought 00:28:39.509 --> 00:28:42.170 a withering hail of fire to bear upon him, he 00:28:42.170 --> 00:28:45.349 continued his one -man assault, and firing his 00:28:45.349 --> 00:28:48.130 rifle with deadly effectiveness, succeeded in 00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:50.970 killing two of the enemy, routing a third, and 00:28:50.970 --> 00:28:53.309 completely silencing the enemy weapon, thereby 00:28:53.309 --> 00:28:55.630 enabling his car meds to evacuate the stricken 00:28:55.630 --> 00:28:59.109 Marine to a safe position. Matthew succumbed 00:28:59.109 --> 00:29:01.829 to his wounds before aid could reach him. The 00:29:01.829 --> 00:29:03.910 Medal of Honor series is a production of Veterans 00:29:03.910 --> 00:29:28.640 Radio. We're back on the air and we've lost John 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:31.920 Voight again, so Bob is dialing the number. But 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:34.839 before we get him back on, what he is working 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:38.839 towards to help promote with Sergeant Jose Ramos 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:42.480 is a welcome home for Vietnam veterans that will 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:46.759 be nationwide. It does not have to be a huge 00:29:46.759 --> 00:29:50.119 parade, although he'd like to see parades take 00:29:50.119 --> 00:29:53.279 place. It could be a block party. It could be 00:29:53.279 --> 00:29:56.359 an event at a shopping mall. It could be a city 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.299 sponsored, a town sponsored, a church sponsored 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:04.519 event. And it's March 28th. There's a Vietnam 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:07.740 Veterans Recognition Day passed by Congress of 00:30:07.740 --> 00:30:12.059 March 30th. And this would be two days beforehand 00:30:12.059 --> 00:30:16.700 because March 30th is on a Tuesday and they're 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:18.920 looking for the event to be held on, I guess 00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:24.069 that would be Saturday. It's funny that Congress 00:30:24.069 --> 00:30:26.970 picked March 30th because all of the bills when 00:30:26.970 --> 00:30:30.109 I was researching trying to find the date said 00:30:30.109 --> 00:30:33.190 March 29th and that had to do with some event 00:30:33.190 --> 00:30:35.329 at the end of the Vietnam War. I have no idea. 00:30:35.650 --> 00:30:39.289 I don't remember what but they selected March 00:30:39.289 --> 00:30:43.710 30th anyway and so that's the official day every 00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:46.630 year for Vietnam Veterans Recognition Day and 00:30:46.630 --> 00:30:51.339 the Welcome Home Event the welcome home party 00:30:51.339 --> 00:30:56.140 for Vietnam vets will be March 28 2010 Don't 00:30:56.140 --> 00:30:58.599 wait for somebody else to organize it. You can 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:04.440 organize it yourself But one of the things he 00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:07.980 John was talking about gave me made me think 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:12.460 about and it had to do with our freedom and Benjamin 00:31:12.460 --> 00:31:16.960 Franklin said he who gives up freedom for temporary 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:21.039 safety deserves neither freedom nor safety and 00:31:21.039 --> 00:31:25.680 that's The country wasn't built on marshmallows. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:29.420 I mean this was built by hard people doing hard 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:32.279 things to create freedom the first country in 00:31:32.279 --> 00:31:35.019 the world that had it like that and like we have 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:39.400 it and We need to preserve that we need to when 00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:44.299 I talk to Along with other vets to high school 00:31:44.299 --> 00:31:47.910 classes The kids asked, you know, why did you 00:31:47.910 --> 00:31:51.150 join the military? And I was shocked to hear 00:31:51.150 --> 00:31:53.910 that other people said the same thing I said, 00:31:54.190 --> 00:31:58.869 and that was John F. Kennedy said, ask not what 00:31:58.869 --> 00:32:02.630 you can, what your country can do for you, ask 00:32:02.630 --> 00:32:04.470 what you can do for your country. And we've got 00:32:04.470 --> 00:32:07.849 John Voight back on the line. John, we keep using 00:32:07.849 --> 00:32:13.730 you, I'm sorry. The name of the game with this 00:32:13.730 --> 00:32:17.549 technology, huh, Gary? Right. Well, yeah, I shouldn't 00:32:17.549 --> 00:32:19.490 complain. You're sitting over there in California, 00:32:20.250 --> 00:32:22.809 and we're over here in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and 00:32:22.809 --> 00:32:24.690 we're talking like we're sitting next door to 00:32:24.690 --> 00:32:26.769 each other, and people all around the world are 00:32:26.769 --> 00:32:28.730 listening like we're sitting next door to each 00:32:28.730 --> 00:32:31.609 other. Absolutely. I was just talking about that 00:32:31.609 --> 00:32:35.710 National Day of Celebration that Jose Ramos and 00:32:35.710 --> 00:32:39.210 you are working on. Yeah. What is your vision 00:32:39.210 --> 00:32:43.319 for it? Well, the idea would be just to have, 00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:46.960 you know, have all across the country. First 00:32:46.960 --> 00:32:48.880 of all, let me say that the Senate and the House 00:32:48.880 --> 00:32:51.920 have both voted to have a day of recognition 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:57.380 for the Vietnam vets on March 30th. And that 00:32:57.380 --> 00:32:59.859 falls on a Tuesday. So we were thinking on that 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:03.599 Sunday, the 28th, that we would have this welcome 00:33:03.599 --> 00:33:08.240 home day across the country in malls and on baseball 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:14.450 fields. and military bases, just all across the 00:33:14.450 --> 00:33:20.269 country, block parties to welcome home the Vietnam 00:33:20.269 --> 00:33:24.150 vets and have whatever day, whatever way the 00:33:24.150 --> 00:33:26.910 celebration might take place in a local spot, 00:33:27.630 --> 00:33:31.210 that they would find a way to take those vets 00:33:31.210 --> 00:33:35.170 who are local and salute them and stand for them 00:33:35.170 --> 00:33:38.509 and honor them. uh... you know uh... and and 00:33:38.509 --> 00:33:41.109 there's so much to express so the day would be 00:33:41.109 --> 00:33:44.150 full of a lot of real information and then a 00:33:44.150 --> 00:33:46.950 lot of happiness and and you know family fun 00:33:46.950 --> 00:33:50.029 and all of that but the the people like myself 00:33:50.029 --> 00:33:52.750 and many people all across the country would 00:33:52.750 --> 00:33:54.849 be able to stand up and say i'm sorry for what 00:33:54.849 --> 00:33:57.670 happened and let's not let that happen to the 00:33:57.670 --> 00:34:00.170 new guys who are so in need when they're coming 00:34:00.170 --> 00:34:02.190 back and let's surround those guys with love 00:34:02.190 --> 00:34:04.410 so it's a it's a two -pronged thing it's one 00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:07.759 to celebrate and welcome home the vets of the 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:11.400 Vietnam era and then to take that energy and 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:15.820 pledge that we will surround the new warriors 00:34:15.820 --> 00:34:18.320 with all sorts of love, understanding what they 00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:20.800 go through and do everything we can for them. 00:34:20.980 --> 00:34:24.179 So that's the idea. Recognizing what they go 00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:26.179 through, I don't know if anybody could ever understand 00:34:26.179 --> 00:34:29.559 it like, oh there was somebody said something 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:33.340 to me that indicated that I was pro -war. And 00:34:33.340 --> 00:34:37.099 I said, excuse me, there's nobody who is more 00:34:37.099 --> 00:34:38.980 opposed to war than those who have been there. 00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:41.480 And I've told my veteran friends about that statement, 00:34:41.780 --> 00:34:43.599 and we all laugh, and we say, yeah, who would 00:34:43.599 --> 00:34:46.039 not want to have your feet rotting off? Who would 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:48.500 not want to be wet all the time, mud all the 00:34:48.500 --> 00:34:50.860 time, so tired you don't know if you can take 00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:53.119 another step, scared to death half the time, 00:34:53.239 --> 00:34:58.159 lonely, hungry? Who wouldn't want that? For people 00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:00.159 that say that somebody who's been there is pro 00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:04.250 -war, it is laughable. And you can't ever understand 00:35:04.250 --> 00:35:07.789 it Yeah, it's very very important that and I 00:35:07.789 --> 00:35:10.289 think that in the idea that people don't want 00:35:10.289 --> 00:35:12.809 to know that in a certain sense because it makes 00:35:12.809 --> 00:35:15.670 them feel guilty for not participating and I 00:35:15.670 --> 00:35:20.130 think and and I think that That's what's so important. 00:35:20.150 --> 00:35:23.170 We should recognize the people the heroes who 00:35:23.170 --> 00:35:25.510 are doing this workforce on a daily basis for 00:35:25.510 --> 00:35:29.329 us to have the freedoms that we have and to the 00:35:29.329 --> 00:35:34.340 enjoyments and and the And just every aspect 00:35:34.340 --> 00:35:40.340 of our daily lives is paid for by members of 00:35:40.340 --> 00:35:43.199 our community who are heroic. Let me tell you 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:46.380 something that occurred the other day to me. 00:35:46.699 --> 00:35:48.820 I went to one of the town hall meetings on the 00:35:48.820 --> 00:35:51.679 health plan and as chance would have it I was 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:54.559 standing in line next to a 30 year old guy who 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:57.280 was a lieutenant and now out of the military 00:35:57.280 --> 00:36:00.000 who had done two tours in Iraq. And we were talking 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:03.130 about Iraq. a lot and what's going on over there. 00:36:03.969 --> 00:36:06.110 I told stories about Vietnam. He told stories 00:36:06.110 --> 00:36:09.829 about Iraq. At one point, listen to this, he 00:36:09.829 --> 00:36:11.530 looked around and he said, do you know what I 00:36:11.530 --> 00:36:14.510 love about America? I asked, what's that? He 00:36:14.510 --> 00:36:17.010 said, look at this crowd waiting to go into a 00:36:17.010 --> 00:36:20.030 political meeting. It's a huge crowd. It was 00:36:20.030 --> 00:36:23.309 600 people. He said, you know what? Nobody's 00:36:23.309 --> 00:36:25.449 looking around nervously to see if there's a 00:36:25.449 --> 00:36:33.059 suicide bomber or a car bomb approaching. And 00:36:33.059 --> 00:36:35.900 boy, when you hear something like that from somebody 00:36:35.900 --> 00:36:39.079 who has seen it, and he had seen the aftermath 00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:42.599 of those car bombs and suicide bombers, and when 00:36:42.599 --> 00:36:44.820 you hear something like that say that about America, 00:36:45.099 --> 00:36:48.940 you realize, really realize how much we take 00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:55.219 for granted. Yeah, you bet. There was a point 00:36:55.219 --> 00:36:58.780 when they were looking around for the man of 00:36:58.780 --> 00:37:02.750 the year. Time Magazine, Man of the Year, Newsweek. 00:37:04.750 --> 00:37:08.030 All I could think of was our guys over in Iraq. 00:37:08.210 --> 00:37:10.150 I'm saying, what's the matter with you people? 00:37:10.210 --> 00:37:13.510 Don't you understand? It's obvious who the Man 00:37:13.510 --> 00:37:15.789 of the Year is. The Man of the Year is our soldier. 00:37:17.150 --> 00:37:19.690 Exactly. And let's not forget the women. Boy, 00:37:19.829 --> 00:37:22.949 it's made up about 15 % of women now. Oh yes, 00:37:22.949 --> 00:37:26.010 yes. And you know, whenever you are the soldiers. 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:28.920 and know the sacrifices they've been through 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:31.280 and empathize with that aspect. You certainly 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:35.900 must also include their families who do those 00:37:35.900 --> 00:37:39.219 vigils, you know, who are just, you know, staying 00:37:39.219 --> 00:37:43.679 at home, praying every day, thinking about their 00:37:43.679 --> 00:37:50.260 boys and girls. Yeah, absolutely, going through 00:37:50.260 --> 00:37:54.380 that suffering until they can touch their loved 00:37:54.380 --> 00:37:58.079 one again. I've become very close to some high 00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:02.099 school kids that come to work for me and I think 00:38:02.099 --> 00:38:05.300 periodically about events that might take them 00:38:05.300 --> 00:38:07.900 off to a war. I get tears in my eyes and I have 00:38:07.900 --> 00:38:10.300 to walk away before somebody thinks I'm nuts 00:38:10.300 --> 00:38:13.480 and I've come to realize it's easier, at least 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:15.440 in my experience, I've talked to guys that have 00:38:15.440 --> 00:38:18.059 been in combat and I said you know it's easier 00:38:18.059 --> 00:38:20.199 to go to war than it is to have a son or daughter 00:38:20.199 --> 00:38:23.099 go to war and boy everybody agrees to a person. 00:38:23.519 --> 00:38:26.900 And that goes for the wives, the spouses I should 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:32.760 say. And thank God kids don't have enough experience 00:38:32.760 --> 00:38:38.480 to really understand why they should worry. But 00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:42.500 we've got a little over two minutes left in this 00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:49.110 segment. I want to talk about that Seinfeld episode 00:38:49.110 --> 00:38:51.809 at the beginning. Wes Guidry and Mark Leapsen, 00:38:52.030 --> 00:38:55.409 who are part of National Headquarters BVA, what 00:38:55.409 --> 00:38:59.349 was that skit based on that they did on the screen? 00:38:59.710 --> 00:39:03.530 What program was that? I can't remember. It was 00:39:03.530 --> 00:39:08.769 a Seinfeld program in which George Costanza had 00:39:08.769 --> 00:39:11.289 been sold a car based on the fact that it was 00:39:11.289 --> 00:39:16.199 John Voight's car. And you can imagine Well, 00:39:16.280 --> 00:39:19.239 I don't know if you can imagine. I was asked 00:39:19.239 --> 00:39:23.039 if I would do a Seinfeld, if I would appear on 00:39:23.039 --> 00:39:25.199 a Seinfeld. That's when the question came to 00:39:25.199 --> 00:39:28.639 me. That's how I found out about this. And they 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:31.380 were such a good team. I really thought that 00:39:31.380 --> 00:39:33.780 they were a tremendous comedy team. And I said, 00:39:33.820 --> 00:39:35.780 boy, these guys are terrific. And of course I 00:39:35.780 --> 00:39:40.820 would do that. It was based on that TV game show 00:39:40.820 --> 00:39:43.980 where you have to ask a question and they showed 00:39:44.300 --> 00:39:48.239 Thirty clips were in that program. Somebody was 00:39:48.239 --> 00:39:50.420 saying, John Voight, John Voight, John Voight, 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:54.480 John Voight. Well, that was part of the... All 00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:56.860 of that was part of the show. They cut it up. 00:39:57.920 --> 00:40:01.820 And I must say that Wes and Mark, Mark Leibson 00:40:01.820 --> 00:40:05.360 and Wes Guidry, I don't know how they did that. 00:40:05.380 --> 00:40:08.139 They didn't have any time. I'd called them just 00:40:08.139 --> 00:40:11.619 a couple of weeks before the event to say, I'd 00:40:11.619 --> 00:40:14.769 love to visit and speak to the guys. And they 00:40:14.769 --> 00:40:16.750 put through this thing together and they went 00:40:16.750 --> 00:40:19.409 through this Seinfeld episode and they cut it 00:40:19.409 --> 00:40:21.409 together and put together this nice little video. 00:40:22.090 --> 00:40:25.130 And it was really funny how many times my name 00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:26.869 was mentioned on that show and they put them 00:40:26.869 --> 00:40:29.730 all together so it was quite funny. And they 00:40:29.730 --> 00:40:31.690 did it as a game show where you asked the question 00:40:31.690 --> 00:40:34.690 and then the answer was who is Jerry Seinfeld? 00:40:35.210 --> 00:40:37.630 And that caught everyone by surprise and we cracked 00:40:37.630 --> 00:40:41.579 up. We're going to be back in 16 seconds. Are 00:40:41.579 --> 00:40:44.699 you willing to stay for us with the last 15 minutes? 00:40:45.840 --> 00:40:48.480 That would be great. If you're listening to Veterans 00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:52.440 Radio, coming to you on Veterans Radio Network, 00:40:52.599 --> 00:40:55.300 we'll be right back. We're back on Veterans Radio 00:40:55.300 --> 00:40:57.820 with John Voight. And before I leave that Seinfeld 00:40:57.820 --> 00:41:01.119 clip, in doing my research, I found out that 00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:03.940 the writer who wrote that skit wrote it because 00:41:03.940 --> 00:41:06.300 it's exactly what happened to him. He bought 00:41:06.300 --> 00:41:10.889 a car that was owned by a John Voight. And he 00:41:10.889 --> 00:41:13.030 thought it was you, and he told all his friends 00:41:13.030 --> 00:41:16.070 that he bought John Voight's car. That's right. 00:41:16.190 --> 00:41:23.130 So it was a true event. When I went to the set, 00:41:23.269 --> 00:41:26.570 Gary, he came up to me very humbly and quietly. 00:41:26.809 --> 00:41:30.489 He said, could I ask you to take ten minutes 00:41:30.489 --> 00:41:33.110 out and then just walk with me for a second. 00:41:33.510 --> 00:41:35.610 I said, sure. He walked around the corner of 00:41:35.610 --> 00:41:39.579 the set, and there was this... You know Chrysler 00:41:39.579 --> 00:41:42.260 convertible. He said is this your car? Did you 00:41:42.260 --> 00:41:46.699 ever own this car? He still was tried. He couldn't 00:41:46.699 --> 00:41:50.019 believe he was taken, you know, oh my gosh, that's 00:41:50.019 --> 00:41:53.679 funny and Then you had to learn the awful truth 00:41:53.679 --> 00:41:58.679 Yeah back in what other? People and how the Baron 00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:02.340 can the little Baron convertible. Okay. Yeah, 00:42:02.340 --> 00:42:04.659 that was a while back wasn't it? Go ahead. Go 00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:08.199 ahead What other Hollywood actors and personalities 00:42:08.199 --> 00:42:12.539 are behind the vets and doing things for them? 00:42:14.519 --> 00:42:19.059 There's quite a lot of guys, but you know there's 00:42:19.059 --> 00:42:21.380 guys like Powers Booth and certainly Clint Eastwood 00:42:21.380 --> 00:42:25.940 as well. But the guy who's doing the most, and 00:42:25.940 --> 00:42:29.320 he's just a sensational guy, is Gary Sinise. 00:42:29.500 --> 00:42:32.860 Yeah. And you know he has his band, the lieutenant. 00:42:34.369 --> 00:42:37.929 Lieutenant Dan Band, is that what it is? And 00:42:37.929 --> 00:42:43.849 he's constantly traveling, he was just on the 00:42:43.849 --> 00:42:46.409 East Coast. And he goes all over the place and 00:42:46.409 --> 00:42:48.469 he's been to Iraq several times and he's been 00:42:48.469 --> 00:42:53.730 to Afghanistan. He's the Bob Hope of today, this 00:42:53.730 --> 00:42:58.369 guy. And a good friend of mine and we've spent 00:42:58.369 --> 00:43:02.349 a lot of time together in California. And our 00:43:02.349 --> 00:43:05.260 friendship is based on I love the troops and 00:43:05.260 --> 00:43:08.739 her, you know, love of the country. When you 00:43:08.739 --> 00:43:11.119 did the movie, Coming Home, what was your feeling 00:43:11.119 --> 00:43:14.039 about the troops at that time? I mean, you're 00:43:14.039 --> 00:43:16.239 a great actor, I know that, because I've hated 00:43:16.239 --> 00:43:20.699 you a lot. Well, I always had the, thank God, 00:43:20.820 --> 00:43:23.619 I always had a respect for the troops, as I said. 00:43:24.619 --> 00:43:28.820 But, you know, I was just coming out of it, actually, 00:43:28.900 --> 00:43:32.820 coming out of this fog. Even while the programming 00:43:32.820 --> 00:43:34.679 was so deep, and that's why I understand what's 00:43:34.679 --> 00:43:37.900 going on today. Very serious business, you know. 00:43:38.179 --> 00:43:41.559 This programming and of course all of that stuff 00:43:41.559 --> 00:43:44.420 in the 60s. It was Marxist programming. It was 00:43:44.420 --> 00:43:48.800 a communist run marches. It was real propaganda. 00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:54.019 And it's what's happening today in many ways. 00:43:54.119 --> 00:43:57.159 You have to be suspicious about some things. 00:43:57.480 --> 00:44:00.679 When the highest ranking KGB officer ever, and 00:44:00.679 --> 00:44:03.719 he had up the KGB in one of the countries, Eastern 00:44:03.719 --> 00:44:08.639 Bloc countries, defected, he said that their 00:44:08.639 --> 00:44:12.980 budget for the protest movement exceeded their 00:44:12.980 --> 00:44:17.340 budget for arms and ammunition, weapons, and 00:44:17.340 --> 00:44:22.139 economic aid combined to North Vietnam. Say this 00:44:22.139 --> 00:44:24.420 again. I think I'm trying to remember this. Their 00:44:24.420 --> 00:44:28.099 military budget? No, their budget for propaganda 00:44:28.099 --> 00:44:31.539 of the Vietnam War, the protest movement. Exceeded 00:44:31.539 --> 00:44:35.500 the combination of their military aid and economic 00:44:35.500 --> 00:44:40.880 aid combined. So a lot of stuff that even that's 00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:44.280 taught in schools is repetition of those days 00:44:44.280 --> 00:44:49.380 and it's false. Absolutely right. So when you 00:44:49.380 --> 00:44:52.519 go back and examine it and I did wake up You 00:44:52.519 --> 00:44:54.320 know, I woke up and I said, hey, wait a minute. 00:44:54.420 --> 00:44:56.099 It's almost like I woke up in the middle of the 00:44:56.099 --> 00:44:59.820 night and said, what? And I said, this was all 00:44:59.820 --> 00:45:02.659 Marxist baloney. What am I talking about? What 00:45:02.659 --> 00:45:05.980 was I doing? You know, stuff like that. Waking 00:45:05.980 --> 00:45:09.039 up in a cold sweat and saying, where have I been? 00:45:09.579 --> 00:45:12.380 But you know, we saw the end of the war. And 00:45:12.380 --> 00:45:15.559 even then, I wasn't quite turned around. But 00:45:15.559 --> 00:45:18.199 I saw this horror take place. And I saw the left 00:45:18.199 --> 00:45:22.139 walk away. and not take responsibility for what 00:45:22.139 --> 00:45:26.599 they had caused. And then the dimes started to 00:45:26.599 --> 00:45:29.400 drop, you know, and little by little I became 00:45:29.400 --> 00:45:32.519 alert. But it took me a while, so I understand 00:45:32.519 --> 00:45:35.320 what's happening when people are heavily programmed. 00:45:35.380 --> 00:45:37.460 It's very hard to talk to them. I think people 00:45:37.460 --> 00:45:42.000 ought to keep that in mind, too, when some of 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:44.199 their actions are today. And that's why we learn 00:45:44.199 --> 00:45:47.909 history. The old saying is those that... don't 00:45:47.909 --> 00:45:51.710 learn history or are doomed to repeat it. That's 00:45:51.710 --> 00:45:53.909 one of the reasons why we talk about those things. 00:45:55.750 --> 00:45:58.630 I've never known a group that has more right 00:45:58.630 --> 00:46:01.769 not to be patriotic than Vietnam veterans. But 00:46:01.769 --> 00:46:04.050 as a whole, I don't know of a single group that 00:46:04.050 --> 00:46:14.480 is more patriotic than Vietnam veterans. that 00:46:14.480 --> 00:46:17.460 my take on it is that they are the ones that 00:46:17.460 --> 00:46:20.139 have kept us going. They are the ones who have 00:46:20.139 --> 00:46:23.559 stepped up and made sure that these guys who 00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:27.039 are returning are getting a proper welcome. Now, 00:46:27.219 --> 00:46:29.699 people have said to me, who didn't know this, 00:46:29.699 --> 00:46:32.539 you know, this architecture, they say to me, 00:46:32.539 --> 00:46:34.659 you know, well, at least we treat the guys better 00:46:34.659 --> 00:46:37.380 now, you know, they get their respect. Well, 00:46:37.380 --> 00:46:40.320 they don't get half the respect they should get, 00:46:40.360 --> 00:46:42.599 as far as I'm concerned, but the respect that 00:46:42.599 --> 00:46:46.099 they get is because the Vietnam vets will not 00:46:46.099 --> 00:46:49.159 let what happened to them happen to this group. 00:46:49.760 --> 00:46:52.380 And the founding principle of Vietnam Veterans 00:46:52.380 --> 00:46:54.659 of America going to the first convention when 00:46:54.659 --> 00:46:57.219 people were saying, well, who are we? What are 00:46:57.219 --> 00:47:00.019 we going to be? The founding principle is never 00:47:00.019 --> 00:47:02.280 again will one generation of veterans abandon 00:47:02.280 --> 00:47:05.519 another. That was a line from a speech given 00:47:05.519 --> 00:47:09.429 by a local state legislator who was a Vietnam 00:47:09.429 --> 00:47:11.429 vet and that was in a speech and everybody kept 00:47:11.429 --> 00:47:13.530 going back to it and they said that's who we 00:47:13.530 --> 00:47:19.050 are. You have become that and thank God you have 00:47:19.050 --> 00:47:23.329 become that and you know there's just this little 00:47:23.329 --> 00:47:28.610 tribute to a fellow on one of the few times that 00:47:28.610 --> 00:47:32.369 the military has been celebrated on mainstream 00:47:32.369 --> 00:47:37.800 media, Charles Gibson. gave attention to this 00:47:37.800 --> 00:47:41.280 fellow who had met you know thousands you know 00:47:41.280 --> 00:47:44.860 how many 50 ,000 flights in Massachusetts like 00:47:44.860 --> 00:47:50.219 a Vietnam vet and it was and it was very moving 00:47:50.219 --> 00:47:54.800 and the fellow was as impressive as the vets 00:47:54.800 --> 00:47:58.159 I met in Louisville it was wonderful to see that 00:47:58.159 --> 00:48:00.800 tribute and I hope it took it made its effect 00:48:00.800 --> 00:48:02.480 across the country and it was the first time 00:48:02.480 --> 00:48:05.750 I've seen it now I don't know what We know how 00:48:05.750 --> 00:48:08.409 that occurred, how that story became focused 00:48:08.409 --> 00:48:12.869 on. But it's something to build on. I say, well, 00:48:12.869 --> 00:48:15.989 that's a sign that we're starting to come around. 00:48:16.730 --> 00:48:19.409 Maybe we are making some inroads now. And I do 00:48:19.409 --> 00:48:21.670 think that things are changing right now. Politically, 00:48:21.670 --> 00:48:23.969 it's a very dangerous time. And I've alluded 00:48:23.969 --> 00:48:26.429 to that and I made a speech last night with the 00:48:26.429 --> 00:48:29.210 Hannity Freedom Concert talking about really 00:48:29.210 --> 00:48:32.170 the freedoms that we're losing, this takeover 00:48:32.170 --> 00:48:34.940 of our true freedoms. by this administration. 00:48:35.039 --> 00:48:37.420 That's the way I see it. It's a very dangerous 00:48:37.420 --> 00:48:41.639 time and these people are speaking out at the 00:48:41.639 --> 00:48:43.599 tea parties and stuff like that and they're being 00:48:43.599 --> 00:48:48.320 characterized by this administration as being 00:48:48.320 --> 00:48:51.300 thugs and bullies and these guys of this administration 00:48:51.300 --> 00:48:55.739 are professional at being agitators. You know, 00:48:56.039 --> 00:48:58.400 one of the things that I've said and, you know, 00:48:58.400 --> 00:49:01.760 I'm... And what they're doing is they're throwing 00:49:01.760 --> 00:49:03.940 people into the mix here to have fights at these 00:49:03.940 --> 00:49:06.760 tea parties and blaming it on the GOP. It's an 00:49:06.760 --> 00:49:09.760 insidious and very dangerous time for us right 00:49:09.760 --> 00:49:14.059 now as a nation. We need to forget parties and 00:49:14.059 --> 00:49:18.940 we need to think of country. First America, first 00:49:18.940 --> 00:49:25.610 family. God, America, party. Well, I have to 00:49:25.610 --> 00:49:28.110 say that right now we're fighting a force here. 00:49:29.809 --> 00:49:34.789 I have to say that the hope for me is in the 00:49:34.789 --> 00:49:38.829 Republican Party now. I know that these leaders, 00:49:39.090 --> 00:49:42.070 you know, I know most of the guys, and I've bumped 00:49:42.070 --> 00:49:44.190 into them, and there's tremendous leadership 00:49:44.190 --> 00:49:50.090 there with Romney and Giuliani and Gingrich and 00:49:50.090 --> 00:49:55.550 Sarah Palin. There are some good people coming 00:49:55.550 --> 00:49:58.130 up. Boy, I like Duncan 100. I don't know where 00:49:58.130 --> 00:50:02.309 you live. We're coming up to the break or to 00:50:02.309 --> 00:50:05.469 the end of the program, John, and I just really 00:50:05.469 --> 00:50:07.909 want to thank you for being on Veterans Radio. 00:50:08.269 --> 00:50:13.329 John Voight, star of Screen, big screen, little 00:50:13.329 --> 00:50:15.909 screen. Thank you once more and thank you for 00:50:15.909 --> 00:50:18.909 what you do for the vets. One more time, I just 00:50:18.909 --> 00:50:21.710 want to say to those guys listening, the Vietnam 00:50:21.710 --> 00:50:24.650 vets are are a tremendous force in our society 00:50:24.650 --> 00:50:28.130 today. I so much deeply appreciate them and I 00:50:28.130 --> 00:50:29.889 send my love to each and every one of you guys. 00:50:29.969 --> 00:50:32.090 Keep up the good work and hopefully we'll have 00:50:32.090 --> 00:50:34.469 this time when we can celebrate you and learn 00:50:34.469 --> 00:50:36.670 a few of the lessons you have to teach us. Thank 00:50:36.670 --> 00:50:38.550 you John Voigt and God bless you too.