On this week's episode, we talk toilets, fitness,
scooter gangs, and introducing our Patriot of
the Week. Welcome back to another episode of
Two Veterans One Pod. I'm Mater. And I'm Dave.
Let's dive into it. Well, I finally get to say
it. Finally, finally get to say it. Welcome to
the show, Dave. It's been a long time coming.
We've been talking about doing this for almost
a year now. A year, year and a half. Ever since
we started working together, we said we should
start a podcast. Great idea. But you got busy.
I got busy. Your social calendar is. ridiculous
my social calendar there's no more room on there
and that's a lie we have no social calendar what
about you a lot of free weekends a lot of free
weeks a lot of weekends at home well we're here
now we've had a lot of time to brainstorm put
this together so i'm hoping we're good at this
but we'll see we'll give it a go before we pick
it off i want to ask you Mater, is that a nickname
or a call sign? I'm sure people have given me
nicknames over the years, but nothing really
stuck. Right now, my wife calls me her little
bee stinger. I think because I'm smart or sharp.
Bee stinger. That would have to be smart. That's
the only thing I can think of. We'll go with
that one. That works. So Mater. Mater was a call
sign that was given to me when I was on the Stennis
as a shooter. Pilots, of course, have call signs.
I was not a pilot. They said they had to give
me a name and I spoke and they immediately said
toemator and it has stuck ever since It works
Okay, Dave, let's get into our military topic
of the week today we're talking Gerald R Ford.
Have you heard what's going on there? No, no
recent news. Well we said we were going to talk
about toilets and they have problems with the
toilets or more specifically their vcht system
vacuum collection holding transfer system for
the sewage what is that have you ever went to
the bathroom on an airplane i have same or very
similar okay so you do your business hit the
button vacuum away wow so this system is on this
ship however They didn't put big enough pipes
on there So all they're doing is just clogging
it every time and the calcium buildup is making
that more difficult So you were on an aircraft
carrier. They're closing these things down, right?
How big of a pain in the butt is that? To be
in a work space and have to go that far for a
head Yes, and you know you may have to go up
four ladders down three ladders You know a hundred
frames that way a hundred frames after whatever
the case is but there is a way to combat this
they have a way to Get rid of the calcium and
it's through a special acid flush So apparently
they do this acid flush on these pipes clears
all the calcium out and problem goes bye -bye
however This process for one application cost
four hundred thousand dollars Wow, I guess I'm
guessing the people that invented the VCHD system.
They're the ones that offer the Expensive acid
of course would they have it any other way? No
So just to put it in context the Ford since 2023
has had this procedure done ten times four million
dollars to keep the turds flowing That's insane
Yeah, and I heard they adopted a new motto it's
yellow let it mellow if it's brown flush it down
I heard that before Apparently that's working
out for him out there, but let's not be too negative
on they're out there doing the good work doing
the good fight Out there protecting the nation
so they're battling through the toilet issues,
which I know is a hindrance, but they're still
getting it done right Yeah, you know you take
a tough job and throw something throw a wrench
into it right hey yeah you gotta be out there
doing this all day but however come walk a mile
to go get your uh get relieved well at least
they're not doing a uh christmas cruise right
now or okay dave let's jump into our fitness
goal shall we fitness pizza in my mouth all right
so 2025 new year's resolution for dave and i
was as big as far as fitness goes right yeah
pretty big We both agreed that our 2025 fitness
goal would be fairly easy to most people, but
not for us. Our goal was to be able to tie our
shoes and breathe at the same time. It was a
struggle. I tried different places of sitting.
I, you know, moved myself around and never could
seem to accomplish that goal. No, I'd have to...
Put my foot up on a bar stool and I wouldn't
Have such pain in my stomach because the belt
before I went to work in the morning The belt
I forgot the belt buckle Well, okay, so we didn't
do so well in 2025 and my 2026 it's not getting
off very well But I hear a little birdie tells
me Dave you got some fitness going on man I just
decided to change it up a little bit I was tired
of being uh being overweight honestly before
I uh when I only retired a couple years ago and
I put on 50 pounds since then and I just decided
it's uh it's time time to lose some of it well
you look fantastic so whatever you're doing it's
working so I hear you're you know walking to
work uh about three and a half miles a day somewhere
around there yeah it's about between a mile and
a half and two miles uh each way so sometimes
it's a pain in the ass but uh it's been it's
been doing the trick that along with just drinking
a lot more water and watching what i eat that's
great man i'm proud of you uh my 2026 fitness
routine uh consists of counting to four before
i stand up so i don't pass out and that's not
due to me being fat now i got i'm big boned i'll
admit it However, you know, it's the cancer right
but I still should be getting out more like you're
doing trying to make myself happier, you know,
because every time I walk up the stairs sometimes
I feel like I'm gonna hyperventilate and Well,
all I gotta say is you gotta love cancer man.
I don't love it but Speaking of so you're doing
your fitness thing, right? Well, I've been at
home a lot of time on my hands and I've been
doing some investigating Dave Investigating.
Yeah Guess what do you been investigating? Well,
apparently There are some scooter gangs rolling
around Newport News Scooter gangs like gang gangs
like gang gang gang gang and there is a gentleman
who kind of started this all and To keep his
identity a secret. I'll call him Gil Got him.
Okay, so Gil starts this club People start They
start flocking to them. They're like this guy's
on to something is like a high school scooter
gang or what? No, these are grown men grow. Okay,
and They go to great lengths to keep their identities
a secret. Yeah, I've never heard of them. They
wear helmets Glasses sometimes they'll have something
over their face to try to obscure their identity.
Okay If you care to know what the name of this
club is Dave No clue. I wouldn't even know what
to guess. They go by Sons of Arthritis. That's
right, Sons of Arthritis. Formerly known as the
Asphalt Turtle, but apparently someone infiltrated
the Asphalt Turtles, so they changed their identity
that I had to dig and research to get the name
to Sons of Arthritis. You know what they do,
Dave? What do they do? So these guys they meet
up every morning. They all work together Okay,
they pull into their parking spot. They pull
their hogs out of the back of their vehicles
They load up in what is called a formation They
call it a staggered riding formation. Have you
heard of this? No, so apparently they file up
in order of rank So president in the front, Gil,
we'll call him Gil and Fabuloso is in third.
Fabuloso in third. So, and Farin, he's the master
at arms for this whole organization. He's the
bruiser. So, they've got quite a unique thing
going on there. I mean, they sound dangerous.
I honestly wouldn't know what to think if they
came scootering by me when I was walking. Well,
my recommendation would be to give them a wide
berth, because you don't know what they're going
to do. Let's, uh, all you folks out there in
Newport News, let's be safe and look out for
these scooter games. All right, everybody, it's
time for our Patriot of the Week. This week,
we're talking about the No -Roo Oye. You know
who that is, Dave? No. Well, he goes by Mino,
and I appreciate that because I probably just
destroyed his name, and I'm sorry Mino. So Dave,
you're probably wondering, why are we talking
about Mino? Very interesting to learn about him.
Well, for starters, he just celebrated his 100th
birthday. 100th? Yeah. This guy is an animal.
100 years on this earth. So, that's it. Thanks
Mino. Patriot of the week. That's all Alright,
I'm kidding. So we're gonna get in dig dig deep
here on Meno to see why Meno is our Patriot of
the week You're gonna find out that that a hundred
-year mark is way more impressive once we get
into the details So Meno was born Sacramento,
California 1926 so growing up in a great area
up in Sacramento in the 20s that had to be pretty
cool crazy different world I know Can you imagine
the cars that they had? So anyway, Mino's dad,
he was a fisherman. But on one of his trips,
he had a horrendous accident. He perished. So
he loses his dad at a young age. And he did live
with his mom and dad. However, his mom decides
to send them to Japan, him and his brother. And
at the age of 13, Mino is forced to join the
Imperial Army. Oh, not where I thought this was
going. Correct. So we're talking the very beginning
of World War II where Japan is battling Russia.
And Mino's in the Imperial Army. He fights. And
then ultimately in 1945, Japan surrenders. Okay,
you think they lost the war, right? It's over.
Mino can go home. That's not the case. The Russians
captured Mino. He's now a prisoner of war with
the Russians. No, Mino, no. That's right. Mino
captured. That's not the worst part. They send
him to Siberia. We're talking minus 70 degrees.
It's one of the coldest places on earth. It's
got to be miserable. Minnesota? Minnesota. Same
time. Well, Mino's forced to work in coal mines
under putrid conditions and the cold. We know
that it was not a luxury stay at the Shangri
-La, right? Definitely not. Well, Mino, being
Mino, survives being a prisoner of war in Siberia.
We could stop there, right? Mino's a hero. he's
a hero well that's not it mino in 1951 returns
to the united states he's reunited with his mother
and in true mino fashion he joins the united
states army okay okay okay so he served for the
imperial army now he's serving for the u .s army
which that's got to be one of the rarest things
ever said i just lived through a siberian prison
camp I mean I could join the United States Army
what what's the worst that can happen right right
like I made it through that right somebody's
looking out for me I mean luck's on my side now
so joins the US Army he goes and gets into the
Korean War he's on the front lines so he's like
I haven't had enough he's like Korean prison
camp can't be that bad right I mean I survived
Russian Let's give this a go, see how it works
out. He didn't go to a Korean prison camp, did
he? No, no. Can you imagine? It's time to...
Yeah, that would be time to hang it up, right?
So Minho finishes his tour in Korea. He survives,
and obviously he just celebrated his 100th birthday.
So he's amazing. But that's not the only turmoil
that was still going on in his life, Dave. Do
you care to guess? I'm afraid to guess. so Meno's
brother joined him in Japan and At this point
Meno hadn't seen him for 60 years in 2012 it
had been 60 years Wow, he hasn't seen his brother,
okay Well, here's the amazing part of this story
the residents of Yolo County, California All
pitched in to send Meno to Japan to reunite with
his brother I don't know how you can do a kinder
act than that 60 years. Yeah, but we would like
to thank me, you know for his service twice Congratulate
him on his 100th birthday and for probably being
the most badass person I've ever read about their
badass Siberian prison camp. Yeah, that's off
to you. You know, thanks for being our Patriot
of the week All right, you heard the ship's horn
That means it's time for The sea story of the
week, but this week we're gonna do it a little
differently Dave I'm gonna let the people know
Dave know what Dave's about know where he's been
know what he's seen So let's tell the folks out
there a little bit about yourself the career
what you've done what you've seen. All right
so Enlisted in the Navy in September of 2000
2000 For some, it doesn't seem that long ago,
and for some, it's a very long time ago. So I
stayed up in Great Lakes for about a year, a
year and a half. I joined as an electronics technician.
So you were in Great Lakes for an entire year.
It was a long time. Yeah. However, being from
Minnesota, it wasn't that bad because I think
Great Lakes to Minneapolis, probably about a
six hour drive. It's through Wisconsin and. I
don't have much love for wisconsin as right as
i'm a vikings fan here big beer drinkers beer
drinkers and they marry their sisters. Yeah Okay,
so great lakes where'd you go after that after
that I uh ended up uh My first duty station uss.
Chancellorsville is a cruiser in yakuza japan
Japan off to get off to get I want to I figure
I joined I might as well get out there and see
some stuff exactly nobody joins the navy to Sit
around you were promised adventure, right? What
was the same back then when we when we joined
when I joined it was let the journey begin I
think it was the same And before that it was
accelerate your life So anyway young kid in Japan.
How's that turn out? Yeah, the command was great,
but imagine going to your first duty station
and a different country It's tough. I ended up
Checking in about a week after September 11.
So a week after a week. So how hard was it to
get over it? Getting over there wasn't that rough
or at least it's not was it memorable in my brain,
but just imagine being new you have a sea bag
full of everything that you're gonna bring to
a different country and that you're gonna live
off of going in the main gate I had to completely
empty my sea bag to get inspection just because
the And those old sea bags, they're not like
a size that you got to start at the top, right?
And rip everything up. I was paying the buck.
So empty it, get everything packed back in. They
end up bringing me to TPU Barrett's that for
those of you that don't don't know, that's a
place that you can go for a temporary for maybe
a couple of months if your ship's out to sea.
So I checked into TPU. Unpacked everything into
my TPU room just to get a knock on my door It's
about midnight get a knock on my door saying
hey, we screwed up your your ships actually just
down the road So pack everything up. Let's get
to the ship And they're like, all right put it
back together you're going to the ship, right?
And don't tell us about your feelings because
you didn't get any I was so exhausted at that
point. That's about all I remember After Japan
I was Not in love with the Navy for deployed
military for deployed Navy You are out a lot
and though I saw a lot of different countries.
I just wasn't down So I was like, you know what?
I'm doing my shore duty. I'm owed my shore duty
I'm gonna go recruiting in Minnesota because
that's where I'm from, Minnesota Yeah, but on
shore duty especially recruiting you forget about
all the bad memories or the bad experiences you
had on sea duty so did uh recruiting in minnesota
and then ended up staying in i after that i went
to hawaii for seven years did uh two destroyers
in hawaii seven years that's amazing yeah i wanted
to stay out there and uh i'm sure there's people
that wanted to stay here in virginia but of course
i got orders to virginia they got orders to hawaii
That's where I ended up on the Truman. That's
what that was my carrier Yeah, my carrier time
on the Truman did a couple deployments on there
and but you weren't shipped company I was not
that was Admiral staff. So a little bit booze
your life Same food same chief's mess food. Okay,
but sometimes you Get the evening emeralds import,
right? Oh, I crushed the flag flag mass. Yeah,
he's got his own chef that guys in there doing
it up So truman, is that it? Is that the last
tour now after that? I retired off atg I uh worked,
uh, so you went to the there so inspections and
training, right? So your training group so you're
basically Inspecting all the ships. Yep inspecting
and uh training all the junior sailors. It was
awesome. So sounds like like a pretty good time
It was a full 24 years so retired senior chief
right right at that star Thank you for your service
and thank you for the story and we appreciate
it Thanks for joining us for this week's episode.
We look forward to seeing you every Friday Wherever
you get your podcast stick around