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Speaker 1: This is Unbreakable with Jay Glacier, a mental wealth podcast

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Speaker 1: build you from the inside out.

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Speaker 2: Now here's Jay Glacier.

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Speaker 3: Welcome in, everybody to Unbreakable, a mental wealth podcast today

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Speaker 3: for probably the most meaningful podcast I've.

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Speaker 4: Ever had my entire life.

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Speaker 3: And it's a follow up from a previous podcast of

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Speaker 3: two people who I really look up to, and I

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Speaker 3: think you will as well when you hear this incredible story.

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Speaker 3: And this today was also about me keeping my promise

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Speaker 3: to two people who.

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Speaker 4: Are very special to me. But before we get into that,

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Speaker 4: I feel, like many people.

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Speaker 3: You may be surprised to learn that one in five

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Speaker 3: adults in this country experienced mental illness last year. You

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Speaker 3: have far too many fail to receive the support they need. Carolin,

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Speaker 3: Behavioral Health is doing something about it. They understand that

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Speaker 3: behavioral health is a key part of whole health, delivering

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Speaker 3: compassionate care that treats physical, mental, emotional, and social needs

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Speaker 3: and tandem, Carolyn, behavioral health raising the quality of life

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Speaker 3: through empathy and action. All right, Welcome into the Unbreakable

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Speaker 3: Mental Wealth Podcast. So on Veterans' Day I had on

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Speaker 3: two very special people who were sitting here to my left.

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Speaker 3: So Shawna Johnson, who was the first ever black female

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Speaker 3: POW in the history of our military. Connie Russell the

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Speaker 3: Marine actually kicked down the door in Iraq to rescue

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Speaker 3: and save her. And back then they told me they

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Speaker 3: still had not met in person. The wild thing is,

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Speaker 3: I think we think in movies that met, you get

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Speaker 3: rescued and man, you guys just keep in touch. But no,

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Speaker 3: Kearnie had you. Shoshana had to go back and she

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Speaker 3: had to get medical attention. Kearnie went back and fought

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Speaker 3: and served for years. So they had not met in person.

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Speaker 3: Besides that, so I said, I give you my word,

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Speaker 3: I promise you I will fly you out to meet

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Speaker 3: in person. And here we are, twenty one years this

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Speaker 3: week from your first week being held captive for twenty

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Speaker 3: two days, your first week in captivity, and you, guys,

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Speaker 3: I only get to meet. First of all, thank you

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Speaker 3: both enjoining us. And I'm gonna start with you and

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Speaker 3: both of you, like, what was it like to see

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Speaker 3: this man for the first time that saved your life

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Speaker 3: after twenty one years?

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Speaker 5: Shocking? I remember the eighteen year old you know that

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Speaker 5: came through the door. And you have to remember this

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Speaker 5: is not just eighteen years old, but they was it

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Speaker 5: three weeks. Y'all have been pushing through three weeks or so,

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Speaker 5: so they looked rough. I looked rough after three weeks

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Speaker 5: in captivity, but they also looked rough because they have

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Speaker 5: been pushing and doing these firefights and so forth. So

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Speaker 5: this big, strapping man is not what I remember. I

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Speaker 5: remember eighteen year old kid, kind of dusty and dirty, serious,

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Speaker 5: very serious for a young man, and just getting a

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Speaker 5: job done, you know. And I also remember my security blanket.

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Speaker 5: I felt safe. I felt secure when he was right there,

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Speaker 5: you know. So it's kind of surreal to see this,

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Speaker 5: this grown, strapping man here, father of two, you know.

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Speaker 5: But in my head, he's always going to be that

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Speaker 5: eighteen year old kid that has pushed through three weeks

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Speaker 5: of war.

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Speaker 4: Right, But also first time again you've seen a man who.

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Speaker 5: Saved your life. Yes, you know, Curnie. I think Kearnie

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Speaker 5: and cashtro are the only ones I haven't seen in

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Speaker 5: person since that day. I've seen some of the others,

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Speaker 5: but yet, and I tell them every time, in my head,

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Speaker 5: you're still those young men who came to my rescue.

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Speaker 5: You'll never be you'll never be old, you know what

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Speaker 5: I'm saying if some of them losing their.

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Speaker 4: Hair, these young superheroes are and that's it.

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Speaker 5: You got to hit the nail on the head. They're

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Speaker 5: gonna be always the young superheroes that came through the door,

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Speaker 5: their shoulders so wide they had to turn sideways. You

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Speaker 5: know these you know, big lights behind their heads like halos.

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Speaker 5: In my mind, no matter what happens, whatever goes on

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Speaker 5: in life, that's what I see in my head, and

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Speaker 5: that's how I picture you until my dying day.

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Speaker 4: So what is your.

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Speaker 3: Reaction when you got to see Shoshana can we had

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Speaker 3: you sneak up on her and have a little surprise yesterday,

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Speaker 3: what was your reaction like, Again, this is not you're

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Speaker 3: just meeting your high school buddy. This is somebody who's

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Speaker 3: life you've now saved, and she's affected a lot of people.

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Speaker 3: She's lifted people up. She's not speaking engaged, but by

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Speaker 3: the way, you want to bring her in to speak

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Speaker 3: to your groups. Absolutely, But what was it like for

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Speaker 3: you to see this woman that you've been so attached

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Speaker 3: to for twenty one years but still not seen her

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Speaker 3: since you handed her off and kuwait.

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Speaker 1: Yeah it was like for me, it was one of

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Speaker 1: those moments where like the image I had of her

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Speaker 1: is not who she is today. You know, when we

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Speaker 1: when we first found her in the six other POWs

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Speaker 1: in captivity, she didn't look the way she looks now.

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Speaker 1: And it's just you know, in that moment, I wanted

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Speaker 1: to give her a hug, you know, I wanted to

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Speaker 1: just hug her and like she is real, you know,

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Speaker 1: here she is, like she is real. Like I gave

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Speaker 1: her two hugs, the second one to confirm, like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: she is still real. I was just one of those

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Speaker 1: it's a real moment, you know, something that you know,

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Speaker 1: it's kind of ranked those moments in your life. And

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Speaker 1: I think this is this one's gonna be above the

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Speaker 1: rescue for sure. We're seeing you again, really yeah, because

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Speaker 1: when we saw her, you know, seeing you, you know,

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Speaker 1: seeing you the first time, it was kind of like

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Speaker 1: just you know, we were doing a job, like we

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Speaker 1: were thankful and happy to be able to do that

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Speaker 1: and provide that freedom, right that like get you guys

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Speaker 1: back to safety and you know, be free again. And

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Speaker 1: then this go around seeing you, who was like here

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Speaker 1: you are. You know, it's just such a different moment.

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Speaker 1: So I think it's better than when we first found you,

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Speaker 1: like they're reuniting with you. Just being able to see

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Speaker 1: you and talk to you this weekend, it's been amazing.

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Speaker 5: Very sweet. The first time is better for me because

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Speaker 5: that would have been dead. I mean, that's that's the

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Speaker 5: reality of it. By the time they came to rescue us,

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Speaker 5: we're in homes. The last two places we were in

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Speaker 5: were homes, and we couldn't hear We couldn't hear the

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Speaker 5: battle going on. Before we could hear the battle, we

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Speaker 5: can hear, you know, we can hear bombs going off,

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Speaker 5: you know, so that means the US is close if

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Speaker 5: that's going on. There was one place and they we

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Speaker 5: could hear the a tens or something going over and look,

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Speaker 5: the shelves could hit the roof. That's how close it was.

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Speaker 5: So people would think, oh, that's gonna be scary. I said,

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Speaker 5: that's a relief because I know the US is close

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Speaker 5: and they can find me. By the time they got

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Speaker 5: to where we were at, I hadn't heard a battle

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Speaker 5: in for quite a few days, so I'm no longer

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Speaker 5: close enough for them to find me, to find any

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Speaker 5: of us. So when they came in shouting in clear English,

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Speaker 5: get down, get down. Oh my god, I'm going home.

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Speaker 5: Oh my god, I'm going home. And I was just

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Speaker 5: it's hard to describe the feeling of not just I'm

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Speaker 5: going home, but it means I'm going I'm gonna survive,

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Speaker 5: I'm gonna live. I'm going to live, you know. And then,

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Speaker 5: of course, one of the other things I remember telling

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Speaker 5: y'all that I also meant I had to hold on.

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Speaker 5: I couldn't cry just yet. The men had to cry. First.

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Speaker 5: Being a female in the military, you got to hold

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Speaker 5: on and show that tough side. And even being rescued,

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Speaker 5: I was thinking, you can't cry. You can't bust out

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Speaker 5: in tears. You can't bust out in tears, Shanna, you

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Speaker 5: can't bust out in tears, because then you'd be seen

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Speaker 5: as weak. You're still trying to hold on and be

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Speaker 5: that strong one and stuff. But yeah, and then after

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Speaker 5: we asked where we were at, we didn't know where

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Speaker 5: we were at or anything. We were outside of Tecrete,

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Speaker 5: Saddam's hometown and stuff, so we were closer to death

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Speaker 5: than we realized.

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Speaker 4: Explain that to.

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Speaker 5: Crete Saddam's hometown, his stronghold. If they had gotten us

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Speaker 5: to Tucrete, there's no way we would have survived. There's

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Speaker 5: no way they would have given us up.

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Speaker 1: So, just to kind of put that into a little

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Speaker 1: more perspective, that when we had formed that task force

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Speaker 1: trickly to get up to Saddam's hometown to create because

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Speaker 1: that's where, like the Last Stand was supposed to be,

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Speaker 1: the big fight was supposed to be there, The Revolutionary

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Speaker 1: Guard was supposed to be there, all of his loyalties

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Speaker 1: were supposed to be there, So that was supposed to

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Speaker 1: be the big fight. So I imagine if they were to

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Speaker 1: make it to the big fight before we did, it

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Speaker 1: wouldn't have been good.

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Speaker 4: For them, really. So you literally thought you were a

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Speaker 4: day or two away from.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, executed No Hugh and then another angling. The night before,

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Speaker 5: they fed us dinner and they gave us soda and

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Speaker 5: candy your last meal. Sureous, I don't know if that's

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Speaker 5: what they intended, but that's what I thought.

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Speaker 4: Really.

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Speaker 5: I thought, we're in captivity. We've been getting rice sometimes

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Speaker 5: a piece of chicken and stuff like that, and that

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Speaker 5: was the best meal we've had the entire captivity. So

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Speaker 5: I started to think, I said, they're gonna kill us.

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Speaker 5: This is the last meal. And I kept I didn't

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Speaker 5: say it to the guys or anything, but I'm thinking

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Speaker 5: to myself, this is our last meal. They're giving us

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Speaker 5: a soda and a piece of chocolate afterwards and stuff

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Speaker 5: like that. And then the next day we get rescued.

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Speaker 3: How do you process that going to bed knowing, okay,

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Speaker 3: well this is my last meal, tomorrow is my last day.

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Speaker 5: I really didn't go to bed. You know, once we

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Speaker 5: were in that situation, we were all in the same room.

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Speaker 5: We didn't do the whole captivity in the same room.

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Speaker 5: We were saying we me and the guys. So it

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Speaker 5: was me and six guys.

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Speaker 4: Okay, and that's the seven American POWs. Yes, okay.

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Speaker 5: So by then we're all in the same room. So

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Speaker 5: some of us would be sleeping and then others would

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Speaker 5: be up, you know, stuff like that. Nobody was all

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Speaker 5: sleeping at night and nothing like that. It's just you're

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Speaker 5: so amped up you don't know what's going on. So

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Speaker 5: sometimes I would doze off and then I'd like wake

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Speaker 5: up and look around, see who else is up?

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 3: So how many places did they seven in seven places

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Speaker 3: in twenty seven days, seven places in twenty two days,

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Speaker 3: and how like if you can just describe what the

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Speaker 3: difference of what there were and because you said you

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Speaker 3: were there were home.

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Speaker 4: The last two were homes. For the first five.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, we had prisons, jails. The first one was

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Speaker 5: a prison, then there were some jails in there. There's

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Speaker 5: one we call lock and leaf storage because it was literally, uh,

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Speaker 5: I would say, five by five little cell. Now I'm

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Speaker 5: five to three or five by six because I could fit,

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Speaker 5: I could lay down in it. But we had two

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Speaker 5: two of the guys that are over six feet, so

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Speaker 5: they couldn't lay down. Oh my god, they had to

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Speaker 5: and you're all together. No, I was by myself, but

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Speaker 5: they put the guys two by two by that point. Wow,

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Speaker 5: they're so wicked. They put the two six feet guys

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Speaker 5: together in a six by five cell.

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Speaker 4: Wow.

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Speaker 5: So you know, and then we tried to talk and

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Speaker 5: we're like, oh, who's with who? And I'm like, I'm

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Speaker 5: by myself again. I think that's but that's actually part

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Speaker 5: of the Geneva convention that was correct. Really, you don't

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Speaker 5: house the females with the males. One of the things

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Speaker 5: they did do correct. So you know, lock and leave storage,

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Speaker 5: because they literally put us in there, locked and then

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Speaker 5: walked away. We heard them walk away, and we didn't

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Speaker 5: see them for hours and stuff like that. We hadn't eaten,

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Speaker 5: you know, we had to go to the bathroom, you know,

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Speaker 5: stuff like that. Then there was another house, but the

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Speaker 5: firefight was close, because that's the one where I heard

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Speaker 5: the shells hitting the roof. But the last two places

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Speaker 5: was homes and I heard no battle.

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Speaker 3: So there you putting you in civilian homes who are

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Speaker 3: obviously supporting Saddam's I'm assuming.

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Speaker 5: I'm assuming because who else is going to walk away

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Speaker 5: from their home and have these people in there? And

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Speaker 5: then guards.

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Speaker 4: Oh so the people who own the house, they're not there, they.

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Speaker 5: Leave it as far as I know that, Yeah, there's

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Speaker 5: no guards there. Yes, I only dealt with guards.

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Speaker 3: Interesting, and again, this is our first reunion, the first

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Speaker 3: time you see each.

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Speaker 4: Other, and you know you you shared a great story

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Speaker 4: and a picture.

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Speaker 5: With us that Yeah.

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Speaker 4: Right, this is I just want the world to hear.

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Speaker 3: Also, since we've all last spoken, what has happened to

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Speaker 3: your life and your family their reaction to hearing what

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Speaker 3: you actually did.

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Speaker 1: So, yeah, you know, throughout the years, this story, I've

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Speaker 1: never really told the story and its entirety. You know,

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Speaker 1: people who knew about it would ask, you know, kind

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Speaker 1: of questions and I'd give them an answer to the

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Speaker 1: question or to the story. But this is the first

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Speaker 1: time that I was actually able to tell the story,

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Speaker 1: kind of document the story with Shashana. So like my

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Speaker 1: mother and father who both passed, who they have not

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Speaker 1: never heard the story. So I have sisters who had

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Speaker 1: finally heard the story. My wife finally heard the story.

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Speaker 1: My daughter has, my oldest daughter who's twenty.

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Speaker 3: So you said, when we first had our this Unbreakable

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Speaker 3: Mental Wealth podcast, just the first time they've heard the story.

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Speaker 1: Yes, yes, since the first time that they've heard the

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Speaker 1: full story instead of just the bits and pieces of Okay,

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Speaker 1: so my oldest daughter was able to hear the story.

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Speaker 1: One thing that you know, she I came home that

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Speaker 1: day and you know, kind of had a tear in

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Speaker 1: her eye and said that she had heard the podcast

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Speaker 1: and gave me a hug, and that like that's when

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Speaker 1: it kind of really sunk in, like this isn't about me,

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Speaker 1: and you know, this is a story that needs to

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Speaker 1: be told, you know, not just for my sake, but

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Speaker 1: you know, people who hear this, you may inspire them right.

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Speaker 2: And also my I.

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Speaker 1: Have a three year old daughter now, so she was

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Speaker 1: able to Uh, my wife was actually out in that

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Speaker 1: twenty nine Palms area hiking around and she was able

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Speaker 1: to take my daughter out to there's a mural that's

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Speaker 1: painted of Shashana and myself out there. So my wife

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Speaker 1: sent me a picture of my youngest daughter, who's three

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Speaker 1: years old, looking up at that picture, and it was

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Speaker 1: this one of those moments that I had to, you know,

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Speaker 1: put my phone down then look at it again and.

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Speaker 2: Like, it's okay if I get a little teary eyed

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Speaker 2: on that.

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Speaker 4: So it's okay if you get on that one.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, it's a beautiful picture. Is a beautiful picture. I

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Speaker 5: sent it out my Facebook and people are just in awe.

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Speaker 5: They were like, wow, that is so wonderful that, you know,

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Speaker 5: and it's so real to see your little girl looking

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Speaker 5: up and saying like, you know, like wow, that's my dad.

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Speaker 5: You know, that's a cool thing. I can't believe he

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Speaker 5: didn't tell his family. I can't.

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Speaker 4: I guess this is superhero real life stuff.

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Speaker 3: And I yeah, like I with a lot of military

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Speaker 3: started a military foundation, MVP and a lot of things

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Speaker 3: I always says, guys, you gotta your your stories are

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Speaker 3: your equity. And I know the military says, don't talk

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Speaker 3: about it, but man, you know, in a life where

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Speaker 3: everybody else lies on their resume, you guys don't say anything.

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Speaker 3: And this is your equity, it's your experience. So you

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Speaker 3: should get out there and say, yeah, this is what

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Speaker 3: I did, and be proud of what you've done, proud

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Speaker 3: of your scars, and be proud.

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Speaker 4: Of your accomplishments.

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Speaker 3: And now you're seeing that because you're finally able to

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Speaker 3: talk about it and be proud of it. The reaction

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Speaker 3: you have with your twenty year old daughter. You got

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Speaker 3: emotional yesterday and telling us about that.

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Speaker 1: Right, yeah, And you know, go back to one of

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Speaker 1: the questions you had asked earlier. You know why I

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Speaker 1: think like this moment or this reunion to me, why

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Speaker 1: it's a little it's you know, I hold it higher

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Speaker 1: than the rescue day is.

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Speaker 2: You know, I was never able.

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Speaker 1: To really sit with you and talk to you, you know,

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Speaker 1: so I was able to sit with her talk to

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Speaker 1: her and she's not just Shashana Johnson, the pow that

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Speaker 1: you know, myself and the Marines for a third letter

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Speaker 1: arm reconnaissance battalion rescue. Like she's a person, you know,

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Speaker 1: I know her as a person now, so I think

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Speaker 1: that makes it like more special, you know, you know, the.

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Speaker 4: Fact back then she was a mission. Now she's a person.

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Speaker 1: She's a person, right, And the fact that like from

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Speaker 1: my oldest to my youngest daughters now you know, my

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Speaker 1: oldest able to hear it, my youngest able to see that, it's.

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Speaker 2: Like it makes it just that much.

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Speaker 1: It's just a special moment, you know, like this whole

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Speaker 1: thing is specially I said, it's above that rescue day

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Speaker 1: for me.

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Speaker 3: I hope after this your kids referred to her as

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Speaker 3: and your daughter the first name is uncle Kurk because

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Speaker 3: this is closer than is it closer bond than many

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Speaker 3: are born into.

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Speaker 4: This is different.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think we spoke yesterday and I mentioned, you know,

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Speaker 1: my oldest daughter at the time, my girlfriend, my wife.

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Speaker 1: Now I didn't know the sex of our daughter because

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Speaker 1: she was pregnant during that deployment. So you know, everybody

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Speaker 1: throws these big gender reveals. Now it's like a new

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Speaker 1: thing now. Whole Shoshana was part of my gender reveal

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Speaker 1: because when I got down to quait, you know, because

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Speaker 1: of her in the six other and that day I

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Speaker 1: was able to use the phone and find out, you know,

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Speaker 1: the sex of my daughter who you know, Maya, who's

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Speaker 1: my oldest. So that's another moment that you know, we share.

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Speaker 4: Wow.

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Speaker 3: So here's what I want to do now, because this

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Speaker 3: is the first time, like you're saying, you are able

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Speaker 3: to see each other in person, I want to shut up,

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Speaker 3: but I'm gonna let you to ask each other questions

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Speaker 3: about things.

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Speaker 4: Like you said, it's first that we yet, right, you guys,

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Speaker 4: I'm sure have.

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Speaker 3: Things that you haven't been allotted because you haven't talked

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Speaker 3: to each other in person. So ask each other stuff.

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Speaker 3: And I'm just going to be a fly on the

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Speaker 3: wall with everybody else out there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you know.

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Speaker 1: So one question I have is, so we kind of

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Speaker 1: touched on it briefly yesterday, is like, I know what

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Speaker 1: it's like to come off of a deployment, what I

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Speaker 1: would say, a regular deployment.

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Speaker 2: You know, you come off of the deployment.

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Speaker 1: It's the welcome home, right, It's the if your family's there,

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Speaker 1: It's what you see on TV. They run up, they

365
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Speaker 1: hug you. For me, coming off the first deployment was

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Speaker 1: kind of depressing. I didn't have any family, and just

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Speaker 1: walking back to the barracks type deal, you know, with

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Speaker 1: my buddies. Right, we're walking back to the barracks kind

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Speaker 1: of asking ourselves, well, what now, what was your homecoming like?

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Speaker 5: Well, my mine was kind of spectacular. Well, because people understand,

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Speaker 5: I deployed out of Fort Bliss. Fort Bliss, El Paso's

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Speaker 5: my hometown is where my dad retired, I grew up

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Speaker 5: in the area and so forth. So when we got

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Speaker 5: after we got rescued a week later, we're flying into

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Speaker 5: El Paso, my hometown. My aunts and uncles are there,

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Speaker 5: some of the cousins, my sisters, and so forth, and

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Speaker 5: then the town comes out to support. You know, Al

378
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Speaker 5: Passo is a very big military town and that's just

379
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Speaker 5: who they are. So I had all of that there,

380
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Speaker 5: and then on top of that, I had my family

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Speaker 5: there to support me. And we are a military family.

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Speaker 5: My dad served twenty one years, my sister was active duty.

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Speaker 5: I have a great uncle from Vietnam, God bless him.

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Speaker 5: He's still trucking at ninety Uncle I was gonna be

385
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Speaker 5: ninety three and stuff like that. So we know how

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Speaker 5: to bring it together as a military family and but

387
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Speaker 5: we also know the journey. You know, We've done the deployments,

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Speaker 5: we've done the wars and so forth. So I had

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Speaker 5: a lot of support. I had my village, and I

390
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Speaker 5: tell people all the time. They were like, oh, you're

391
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Speaker 5: doing so well. And I said, first of all, you're

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Speaker 5: only see a piece of me. You're not seeing the

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Speaker 5: whole story. Second, I have a lot of support for

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Speaker 5: my community because I deployed and returned to my community,

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Speaker 5: and I have this military family. And I said, and

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Speaker 5: on top of that, you don't see the days that

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Speaker 5: I don't want to get up out of bed, the

398
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Speaker 5: three hospital stays for suicidal and homicidal ideations, you know,

399
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Speaker 5: the going to therapy, the family calling, you know, every

400
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Speaker 5: other day to make sure that I'm okay. You know,

401
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Speaker 5: So they don't understand. They don't see all of that.

402
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Speaker 5: In the background, I said, there are days when I'm

403
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Speaker 5: laying in bed and I'm questioning my existence. And you know,

404
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Speaker 5: nine people from my unit died and two others that

405
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Speaker 5: were attached. So why am I here? How did I

406
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Speaker 5: get so blessed? You know? I took two bullets to

407
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Speaker 5: the legs, and although the Iraqis did an operation towards

408
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Speaker 5: the beginning. By the time I got rescued, I hadn't

409
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Speaker 5: had a bandage change in a while, and you know,

410
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Speaker 5: I had to be rushed to surgery the next morning

411
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Speaker 5: to repair, and you know, worried about infection and stuff

412
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Speaker 5: like that. So and I'm here heals. I mean, they

413
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Speaker 5: gonna hurt tomorrow. But you know, so I do people

414
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Speaker 5: see a little bit. They don't understand the back struggle

415
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Speaker 5: and stuff like that. So now my question to you

416
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Speaker 5: you've done is like three times. How the fuck did

417
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Speaker 5: you do? Three deployments? Man?

418
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Speaker 1: Uh? Yeah, every deployment was a little bit different. You know,

419
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Speaker 1: from the invasion that was, uh, that's quite the experience.

420
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Speaker 1: So glad that you know, I was able to be

421
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Speaker 1: part of an invading force, right liberating force. Then the

422
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Speaker 1: second deployment was more of like we were calling SASSO

423
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Speaker 1: or support and stability operations, trying to restore some government

424
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Speaker 1: to that to that country. So that deployment was completely

425
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Speaker 1: different than the first deployment. Fast forward did Afghanistan deployment,

426
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Speaker 1: completely different country, completely different war. And then last deployment

427
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Speaker 1: was out on Navy ship part of the eleventh Marine

428
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Speaker 1: Expeditionary Unit kind of just out there in certain areas

429
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Speaker 1: as a prepositioned force if needed. But every deployment, working

430
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Speaker 1: up to it, it was different, was hard, you know,

431
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Speaker 1: a little bit challenging than the other biggest takeaway with

432
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Speaker 1: that is the time away from family.

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Speaker 2: You know, that's the time that I'm not going.

434
00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,480
Speaker 1: To get back. But looking back at it, to me,

435
00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,960
Speaker 1: it was all worth it. You know, I believed in

436
00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,640
Speaker 1: what we were doing. I just wanted to keep going,

437
00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,640
Speaker 1: keep going with the mission. So you know, like I said,

438
00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:41,800
Speaker 1: it's the family time.

439
00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:43,399
Speaker 2: That I that I will never get back.

440
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,240
Speaker 1: That's probably one of the hardest things, you know, the

441
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:48,520
Speaker 1: time away from my wife, the time away from my

442
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,240
Speaker 1: oldest at the time, you know, Gia wasn't born yet,

443
00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,520
Speaker 1: but it was that time away like that was really hard.

444
00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,120
Speaker 1: And then coming home off of every deployment is hard

445
00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,479
Speaker 1: again because now here I was off on deploy But

446
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,760
Speaker 1: you know what, people don't understand it. It's not just hey,

447
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,520
Speaker 1: you're going on deployment today. It's the year long work

448
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,680
Speaker 1: up prior to that. So it's all the field ops

449
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:10,359
Speaker 1: is out in the field for a month at a

450
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:11,600
Speaker 1: time or weeks on it.

451
00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:12,760
Speaker 4: Is the people don't see that.

452
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:14,120
Speaker 2: You put in right, yeah exactly.

453
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, and then coming home it's almost like or every

454
00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,040
Speaker 1: time coming home, it's having to almost reintroduce myself to

455
00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,560
Speaker 1: my family, you know, lett letting my wife know, hey,

456
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 1: I'm here. Now, I can help with that, I can

457
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,439
Speaker 1: take care of that. You know, you don't have to

458
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:29,720
Speaker 1: reach out for the help that you've been trying to

459
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:31,960
Speaker 1: get through friends and things like that, Like I'm home.

460
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,639
Speaker 1: Like that's that's the hard part too, is coming back

461
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:38,239
Speaker 1: home operating at that high level. And then you know,

462
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,880
Speaker 1: last week we're in Iraq.

463
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:43,520
Speaker 2: This week I'm home. I need to be dad.

464
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:47,200
Speaker 1: Now that's that tough transition, you know, that's so tough.

465
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:48,640
Speaker 2: And yeah, I just.

466
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,399
Speaker 3: Helped a lot of veterans trying to help a lot

467
00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,400
Speaker 3: of veterans with transition. What advice would you give your

468
00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,640
Speaker 3: fellow vets about those times when you do come home

469
00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,240
Speaker 3: and now you know, okay, this this helped me a

470
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:01,359
Speaker 3: little better. Hey, if I knew this, this would have

471
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:01,720
Speaker 3: helped me.

472
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,360
Speaker 1: Then be patient, be understanding, let your wife know, hey,

473
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 1: I'm here to help. Don't just go in and think

474
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:10,520
Speaker 1: that you're going to do it the way that you

475
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:11,400
Speaker 1: did it when you left.

476
00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:12,719
Speaker 2: Because things have changed.

477
00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,199
Speaker 1: You know, your wife or significant other has been holding

478
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,880
Speaker 1: down that household and it's been fine without your house

479
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:19,680
Speaker 1: didn't burn down.

480
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 4: Wow.

481
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,040
Speaker 1: So when you come home, just be patient and just

482
00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:26,320
Speaker 1: allow yourself to slowly get back into it. Just don't

483
00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 1: try to dive back in it because he or she

484
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:30,840
Speaker 1: has been doing it and they want to do it

485
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:31,560
Speaker 1: together with you.

486
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,960
Speaker 3: Again, I just want you both understand, like you sign

487
00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:35,959
Speaker 3: up for a life or service.

488
00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:38,520
Speaker 4: By doing things like this, you're still being of service.

489
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:40,560
Speaker 4: And I hope you realize that. I hope that both

490
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:41,280
Speaker 4: you realize that.

491
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,919
Speaker 5: Well, sometimes it gives me purpose. Yes, you know, I

492
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,960
Speaker 5: question why I'm here and stuff like that. So lots

493
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Speaker 5: of times if I could give advice and maybe help

494
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,800
Speaker 5: somebody out, then then it gives me a like, Okay,

495
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,119
Speaker 5: that's that's why I'm here. That's what I did. And

496
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,119
Speaker 5: to go back to what you just said, I remember

497
00:22:58,119 --> 00:23:01,119
Speaker 5: being the kid as my dad came back from deployments

498
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,119
Speaker 5: and stuff like that, and we got so used to

499
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,119
Speaker 5: doing stuff without dad, and then he'd come back and

500
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,679
Speaker 5: you know, we start doing stuff and he was like

501
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,600
Speaker 5: I can I can do that, I can help and

502
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 5: stuff like that. So it's an adjustment for everybody. And

503
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:16,480
Speaker 5: if one bit of a vice I give to the

504
00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:20,959
Speaker 5: kids and the wives is include him, you're not. You know,

505
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 5: there's lots of times my mom had to say, hey,

506
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,880
Speaker 5: go tell your dad, don't come tell me, because we'd

507
00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 5: automatically go to mom because she was there and stuff

508
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,000
Speaker 5: like that. So we would scoot around dad and she

509
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 5: would send us back to Dad to make sure, you know,

510
00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 5: to include him, because we really got used to doing

511
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 5: things without him, because he went to Desert Storm, we

512
00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,160
Speaker 5: went to Haiti, he went, you know, and stuff like that.

513
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 3: So I want to go back to something you kind

514
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:51,200
Speaker 3: of like we broughth it over. We can't brush this over.

515
00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:56,680
Speaker 3: Your captors perform surgery on yes? So they are rakis

516
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,560
Speaker 3: who caught you perform surgery on your yes?

517
00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:01,920
Speaker 4: Did they give were you out?

518
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:03,359
Speaker 5: Were you general anesthesia?

519
00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 4: Press? Is that these people who try to kill me,

520
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:08,000
Speaker 4: now we're doing surgery.

521
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,080
Speaker 5: Please they you know, they came in I think it

522
00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,240
Speaker 5: was maybe a little bit five days or so into

523
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:16,080
Speaker 5: captivity and they were like, you need to have surgery,

524
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:18,119
Speaker 5: and I'm thinking, what the hell are you talking about?

525
00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,680
Speaker 5: But I was bleeding through my bandages every single day,

526
00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:24,520
Speaker 5: you know, I was constantly bleeding through the bandages. So

527
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,280
Speaker 5: I knew I needed something and they made me sign

528
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:34,200
Speaker 5: a release. What, Yeah, you're not I am consenting to

529
00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:38,560
Speaker 5: having medical procedures done. Yes, they made me sign a release.

530
00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:40,679
Speaker 2: I'd love to see that documentary.

531
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:42,439
Speaker 3: And I.

532
00:24:43,920 --> 00:24:45,679
Speaker 5: Had to and they think and one day I have

533
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,960
Speaker 5: to give them. They made me write it out. It's

534
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,040
Speaker 5: not like it was an Arabic and I signed something.

535
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,399
Speaker 5: I wrote it out myself in English and signed it.

536
00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 4: What did they have you saw? What was there? What

537
00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:57,800
Speaker 4: were you clearing them off?

538
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 5: I don't know. She all the doctor told me. It

539
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 5: says you need to write out that you know you

540
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 5: need medical surgery, and you said yes, And that's what

541
00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,720
Speaker 5: I said. I'm aware that I need to have surgery.

542
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:11,719
Speaker 5: I can sent you know, to have surgery. Shahana Johnson.

543
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:13,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, believable, that's unbelievable.

544
00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:14,520
Speaker 4: That's okay.

545
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,639
Speaker 3: So now are you relieved that they're performing surgery or

546
00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,640
Speaker 3: are you like, I'm done.

547
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:22,560
Speaker 5: I'm terrified, but I know I need it.

548
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,879
Speaker 1: So it was one of those decisions where you're like,

549
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,160
Speaker 1: damned if I do damn if I don't, like yes, I.

550
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:29,800
Speaker 2: Just need to get something done.

551
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,879
Speaker 1: So you made the decision based off of what you

552
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 1: thought is going to be best for you to live

553
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 1: the next.

554
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:39,479
Speaker 5: Day, Yes, the best, because I guess if I had

555
00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:41,159
Speaker 5: said no, they would have just left me alone. But

556
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,399
Speaker 5: then that's on me if I'm I'm dying, gangreen or whatever.

557
00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 2: Was there any infection or anything that was starting to set.

558
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,399
Speaker 5: It in U, not that I can tell. But I

559
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,040
Speaker 5: don't have any medical training. I mean I did combat

560
00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 5: medic like a week before we left, So I mean

561
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:57,520
Speaker 5: I knew how to put on a pressure dressing and

562
00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,800
Speaker 5: that and like stuff like that, and I knew it

563
00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,879
Speaker 5: was bad because every day they had a little medic

564
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 5: dude that came in and changed my bandages up until

565
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,600
Speaker 5: that point, every single day, and they would put iodine

566
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,520
Speaker 5: on it and then change the bandage. And it was

567
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,160
Speaker 5: bleeding and it just looked like raw meat. So they said,

568
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 5: you know, we'll come and get you in the night.

569
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:22,080
Speaker 5: So the three of us, me Edgar Hernandez and Joseph Hudson,

570
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:26,479
Speaker 5: and they came one night, said you're gonna have surgery.

571
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 5: Come on, and they put us in the back of

572
00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,560
Speaker 5: a van and drove us to the hospital. He went

573
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,280
Speaker 5: to a hospital for Okay, Yeah, they blindfolded us and

574
00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:37,520
Speaker 5: took us to a hospital. They rolled me in. They said,

575
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:40,399
Speaker 5: you're gonna have you know, surgery, general anesthesia. And the

576
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:42,520
Speaker 5: doctor thinks he's funny. He was like, first time having

577
00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:47,240
Speaker 5: surgery and in Baghdad. Yes, And he's like making behind him, yes,

578
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,040
Speaker 5: and I'm I'm like what and I'm like okay, I'm

579
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 5: in shop. Bombing is going on, the building is vibrating.

580
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,520
Speaker 5: The windows are taped so they wouldn't you know, how

581
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 5: they wouldn't implode and stuff like that, And I underneath

582
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,159
Speaker 5: general anesthesia and it's.

583
00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:06,360
Speaker 3: Open mic night for the surgeon. But did you look

584
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:08,679
Speaker 3: at that like he's an asshole? Did you look at

585
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 3: it like there's a humanity.

586
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 5: A little bit of humanity. He was trying to make it.

587
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,840
Speaker 5: He was trying to lighten it up a little bit

588
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,800
Speaker 5: to make me feel better. He could have been stonefaced

589
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,119
Speaker 5: the whole time if he really wanted to. So I

590
00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,040
Speaker 5: just you know, I'm blessed. I woke up and both

591
00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,120
Speaker 5: my legs are bandaged. To hurt like hell, It hurt

592
00:27:26,119 --> 00:27:29,639
Speaker 5: worse than I remember being shot. But when I was shot,

593
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,560
Speaker 5: the adrenaline is pumping so hard you kind of and

594
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,399
Speaker 5: stuff and I remember being wheeled out and then I

595
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 5: see Joe and Edgar there and I was like, are

596
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:41,159
Speaker 5: they okay? You know, and they take us back to

597
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 5: the prison.

598
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,479
Speaker 2: You know, it's crazy, is you know?

599
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,880
Speaker 1: When we first did the podcast that the two part

600
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,600
Speaker 1: this is something that like I'm hearing it now for

601
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 1: the first time, Like it's just mind blowing. And I think,

602
00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,400
Speaker 1: you know, people that know the story, guys who are

603
00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:58,359
Speaker 1: with me during that rescue, they don't know that, right,

604
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:02,040
Speaker 1: Like nobody that I know knows that, and.

605
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:02,760
Speaker 2: That that's crazy.

606
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,600
Speaker 1: People would automatically assume because obviously I'm not the only

607
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,320
Speaker 1: person in that room to be doing that rescue. So

608
00:28:08,359 --> 00:28:10,639
Speaker 1: there's other guys throughout the country who have told this

609
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,120
Speaker 1: story that were on the ground with me, And that's

610
00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:14,840
Speaker 1: a detailed nobody knows.

611
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,439
Speaker 5: I'm telling you I And that's one of the reasons

612
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,640
Speaker 5: I questioned them, But how did I get so blessed?

613
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:22,520
Speaker 4: But one question it you are?

614
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:23,439
Speaker 5: But why?

615
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:24,240
Speaker 1: You know what?

616
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:26,160
Speaker 4: Don't try and figure life out. I'll try, you crazy

617
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,680
Speaker 4: one answers. Here's the thing to say, I am blessed?

618
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:30,879
Speaker 4: What do I do with it? Now?

619
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,119
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's that's another side of the coin side of

620
00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:34,400
Speaker 5: the coin.

621
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,120
Speaker 3: I guarantee you, because you've told your story, you have

622
00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,480
Speaker 3: been an inspiration of people. I guarantee you you have

623
00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:45,640
Speaker 3: already saved somebody that you have no idea about. And

624
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,280
Speaker 3: if it was just one, then that's why.

625
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:50,720
Speaker 1: I tell you right now, just hearing this story talking

626
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:52,560
Speaker 1: to you, it's like it gives me more.

627
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,120
Speaker 2: Strength, you know, it gives me strength. It's inspiring. It

628
00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 2: really is. Like just like I said, the way I saw.

629
00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:04,600
Speaker 5: You you like the superhero, but the way.

630
00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 1: I saw you, to the way I met you, to

631
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,440
Speaker 1: the way I saw you again yesterday, it's like wow,

632
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:14,400
Speaker 1: Like how strong are you? You know, days that I'm

633
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 1: having a bad day for something that doesn't even matter,

634
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,000
Speaker 1: like what you had to go through during that time,

635
00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 1: and like you're here, like hence the two hugs I

636
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:25,720
Speaker 1: gave you, Like you are here, Like that's strong, Like

637
00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:26,800
Speaker 1: you're a strong woman.

638
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:27,800
Speaker 2: Like that's incredible.

639
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,480
Speaker 5: And one thing I like to tell people, you don't

640
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:32,920
Speaker 5: know how strong you are until you have to do it.

641
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,120
Speaker 2: In that situation. So absolutely, I don't know how.

642
00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:39,360
Speaker 1: I don't know how I would have been in that

643
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,040
Speaker 1: situation in credible, I don't want to.

644
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 3: But this is called unbreakable, because not everybody is unbreakable.

645
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,280
Speaker 3: A lot of people break You did not. You are unbreakable.

646
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 3: You came through this other side of this tunnel and

647
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:53,680
Speaker 3: it wasn't always pretty.

648
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,680
Speaker 4: But you're still here to inspire at least the two

649
00:29:56,680 --> 00:29:59,000
Speaker 4: of us in a year, which means you're inspiring other

650
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,120
Speaker 4: people sitting at home that is unbreakable.

651
00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:04,360
Speaker 3: That that's what your purpose is, that's what your blessing is.

652
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,320
Speaker 3: That's why you're here. So don't question why you're here.

653
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,080
Speaker 3: Say thank you God that I'm still here. We still

654
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,520
Speaker 3: do this and I can still inspire and lift up

655
00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:14,360
Speaker 3: other people. I want you to like be proud of

656
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,920
Speaker 3: yourself saying I know I'm affecting people and that's good enough.

657
00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:23,160
Speaker 5: I am a survivor. I readily admit I survived, and

658
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:25,560
Speaker 5: you know, there were times and that, you know, I

659
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,200
Speaker 5: just wanted to lay down and give up, but I

660
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 5: had to say, I'm like and there were times I

661
00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 5: was like, this is it and then I was like,

662
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 5: you know what, I survived the ambush and that's you know,

663
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 5: during the twenty two days. I just think that it's

664
00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 5: within every human being. I think it's within every human being.

665
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,479
Speaker 5: It's there, you just got to tap into it.

666
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,280
Speaker 1: Some people don't know where that breakpoint is. I don't

667
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:51,719
Speaker 1: think you really know where your break point is because

668
00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:53,960
Speaker 1: like others would have broken.

669
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,719
Speaker 3: I've read stories of POWs in the past, like Vietnam bows,

670
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,440
Speaker 3: who played mind games with themselves keep themselves going. Is

671
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:04,040
Speaker 3: there anything while you're in captivity that you did that

672
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 3: a little trick you used to keep yourself going.

673
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:10,680
Speaker 5: Oh. I planned out my life and this ain't it.

674
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 5: You know, at the time I had a two year

675
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 5: old daughter. I wanted to have more kids. I saw myself,

676
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 5: you know, getting married and living that. You know, that

677
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,360
Speaker 5: American dream I have, and I have part of American

678
00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:26,000
Speaker 5: dream I have. You know, my daughter is growing up

679
00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:29,520
Speaker 5: to be a lovely young woman. She drives me crazy sometimes.

680
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:30,520
Speaker 4: Which means she's like a normal daughter.

681
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,760
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah, I'm blessed enough to be able to have

682
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,120
Speaker 5: a home. I was able to live out part of

683
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,200
Speaker 5: my dream of going to culinary school. So there's aspects

684
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,200
Speaker 5: that I've done that I'm you know, very happy with

685
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 5: and stuff like that. But sometimes I feel I'm still

686
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:50,760
Speaker 5: searching for that golden purpose, you know, and I test

687
00:31:50,760 --> 00:31:53,600
Speaker 5: out other things to find out if that's it. I

688
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:58,920
Speaker 5: do enjoy speaking. I enjoy speaking more at home to

689
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,040
Speaker 5: the younger kids than I do when I have gigs

690
00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:04,720
Speaker 5: out of town. I'm a member of the Military Order

691
00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:07,160
Speaker 5: of Purple Hearts, and one of our things that we

692
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 5: do is we talk to the elementary school kids and

693
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,240
Speaker 5: sometime the high school kids. And talking to the elementary

694
00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:16,200
Speaker 5: school kids is what the thing that gets me every time.

695
00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:20,200
Speaker 5: First of all, you got to prepare yourself because they

696
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,760
Speaker 5: gonna come out and ask you every damn thing, and

697
00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,959
Speaker 5: they want to know every detail, and they gonna think

698
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,800
Speaker 5: of some things that you never thought of before. The

699
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,160
Speaker 5: hardest some of the hardest questions I got for some

700
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:32,120
Speaker 5: like third graders and fourth graders, and I had to

701
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:33,760
Speaker 5: go home and take a drink. I had to go

702
00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 5: home and take a drink none And I was like,

703
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,800
Speaker 5: oh my god, what one kid was actually, you know,

704
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:42,280
Speaker 5: if we're the greatest military, how you get caught? And

705
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:44,400
Speaker 5: I was like, what did you say to that? What

706
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,400
Speaker 5: do you say? I was like, well, I don't, I.

707
00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:47,640
Speaker 4: Don't want to. I want to.

708
00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:50,080
Speaker 3: I want to get back. I'm sorry. My eight HD

709
00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,200
Speaker 3: kicking in, so I don't want to lose it. You

710
00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:58,840
Speaker 3: said you were playing out your life. Oh is that

711
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:00,440
Speaker 3: like a other thing?

712
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,440
Speaker 4: Is that? So fill me in.

713
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 5: If you're building your life, You're going to meet the

714
00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:07,360
Speaker 5: right guy, You're gonna have more kids, you're gonna be

715
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:12,040
Speaker 5: You're gonna be this big culinary chef. You're gonna do this, you.

716
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:13,720
Speaker 2: You know, And so you're envisioning your life.

717
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,479
Speaker 5: Past, yes, past captivity. What am I gonna do when

718
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,959
Speaker 5: I get home, you know, stuff like that. You know,

719
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:23,320
Speaker 5: I'm gonna you know, see my daughter. I'm gonna continue

720
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:25,920
Speaker 5: with my military career. You know, I'm going to go

721
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,160
Speaker 5: to the culinary arts team. I'm going to you know,

722
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:30,520
Speaker 5: go to culinary school AFT. And I thought this I

723
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,040
Speaker 5: was going to do to finish out my twenty years,

724
00:33:32,080 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 5: I said, I'm after you know, so I'm literally planning

725
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,040
Speaker 5: out my life. It's going to go like this, It's

726
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,760
Speaker 5: going to do like this, and none of it happened

727
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:39,240
Speaker 5: the way.

728
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:43,680
Speaker 3: But also, getting killed, Yeah, that's not part of the place, right,

729
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,120
Speaker 3: It's getting kill is not part of the plant.

730
00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,800
Speaker 1: So that's what kept you going, That's yes, that's what

731
00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,360
Speaker 1: kept kind of the mind saying during that.

732
00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:54,000
Speaker 5: Time, especially my daughter part. I'm going to see her

733
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:55,880
Speaker 5: and I'm gonna see her grow up. I'm gonna see

734
00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,360
Speaker 5: her go to college. I'm going to see her getting married.

735
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,360
Speaker 5: I'm going to see you know, and they like that.

736
00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,480
Speaker 5: So I'm planning out this life, you know, for myself

737
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,960
Speaker 5: during my captivity, thinking of my family and stuff like that.

738
00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:10,040
Speaker 5: And then you know, I have a belief in God.

739
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,520
Speaker 5: I had long conversations, you know, with the Lord and

740
00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:15,759
Speaker 5: and you know, all the all the crap you did

741
00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,520
Speaker 5: as a kid, terrorizing your sisters. I'm the oldest. I

742
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:21,160
Speaker 5: terrorized the hell out of my sisters and stuff like that.

743
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:26,200
Speaker 5: So it is twenty two days. I God blessed the

744
00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:28,440
Speaker 5: men that did it years years.

745
00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 1: So during that time, because I know, during my deployments,

746
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,799
Speaker 1: you miss certain foods, right, Like there was a time

747
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 1: that you know, we we had outran our supply chain

748
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:39,719
Speaker 1: and we didn't have food for around four days. So

749
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,200
Speaker 1: during that time, you know, we were limited on the

750
00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:44,960
Speaker 1: water that we could drink. So during that time of

751
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,359
Speaker 1: not eating for the four days, like you come up

752
00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:49,480
Speaker 1: with this list, you know, like I had this list

753
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:53,280
Speaker 1: of anything for four days, nothing, nothing for four days,

754
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:57,640
Speaker 1: you know, and I always, yes, they did.

755
00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,600
Speaker 2: Yes, I always, you know, during the.

756
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,279
Speaker 1: But you know, it's it's like, you know, you as

757
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,520
Speaker 1: a kid watching cartoons Tom and Jerry, and you know

758
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,120
Speaker 1: Tom looks at Jerry as like a big hambone.

759
00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:09,920
Speaker 2: Like that's how you start looking at people, you know.

760
00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,960
Speaker 1: But like during that time of captivity, was there something

761
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,319
Speaker 1: that like was there a food that you're like, I'm

762
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,600
Speaker 1: having this when I get home, because like this is.

763
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,520
Speaker 5: Like there was two things. First, I wanted a big

764
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,000
Speaker 5: fat steak, a bake, and a beer.

765
00:35:25,239 --> 00:35:26,319
Speaker 2: That all makes sense.

766
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:30,040
Speaker 5: Yeah, and then God bless my grandma, God rest her soul.

767
00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:36,560
Speaker 5: I wanted my grandma's fish. We're from Panama, originally kingfish

768
00:35:36,719 --> 00:35:41,200
Speaker 5: the way my grandmother fries that fish. And since her passing,

769
00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:44,520
Speaker 5: none of the aunts my mother can duplicate it. My

770
00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:47,480
Speaker 5: dad asked me, what do you want when you get here?

771
00:35:47,640 --> 00:35:50,319
Speaker 5: I said, zell gonna be there my grandmother. He goes, yeah,

772
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,240
Speaker 5: of course I want kingfish. Wow, that fish was fried.

773
00:35:54,280 --> 00:35:57,040
Speaker 5: I got that fish the night I landed in the past,

774
00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 5: So I love that. The night I landed in me

775
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,399
Speaker 5: pass so. As a matter of fact, they they made

776
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:04,600
Speaker 5: us stay on posts because the media was all over

777
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,440
Speaker 5: the place. My father drove back to the house, went

778
00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 5: and got my fish. And brought me that fish that night.

779
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,799
Speaker 1: You see, Like that's the thing that those are, like

780
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:14,560
Speaker 1: the things Jay, that like undeployments that like you look

781
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,040
Speaker 1: forward to. So I can only imagine like in captivity,

782
00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 1: like you're looking forward to something, something's keeping you going,

783
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:22,360
Speaker 1: and like you know, it's if it's a food, or

784
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,960
Speaker 1: if it's your daughter, if it's your faith, it's just

785
00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,120
Speaker 1: you have to hold onto whatever it is and just

786
00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:29,640
Speaker 1: keep like you know it tomorrow is going to be better.

787
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:32,840
Speaker 1: My time and her time were completely different in that country,

788
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:35,000
Speaker 1: but I still had things in my mind to like

789
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:36,960
Speaker 1: keep me going to the next day, keep me going

790
00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:37,759
Speaker 1: to the next day.

791
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:42,359
Speaker 2: And so yeah, I was just curious where that was after.

792
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,320
Speaker 5: You came home and you know, you had your daughter

793
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:49,640
Speaker 5: and stuff like that, and you experience the conflict. I mean,

794
00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:52,719
Speaker 5: you would have headed a spear, You would have headed

795
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,880
Speaker 5: a spear going into in country, and yet you still stayed,

796
00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:59,000
Speaker 5: you still stayed in the Marine Corps.

797
00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,560
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was you know, I you know at the time,

798
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,160
Speaker 1: I really like that mission, like.

799
00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:07,000
Speaker 2: Was with the Iraq War.

800
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:09,880
Speaker 1: So like backstory on me, so that you know when

801
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,080
Speaker 1: I joined the I joined at a young age, right eighteen.

802
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:14,880
Speaker 1: The average group, the average age of that military fighting

803
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,239
Speaker 1: force is like between that eighteen and twenty two year old.

804
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:19,560
Speaker 1: There was things that I wanted to do when I

805
00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,799
Speaker 1: joined the Marine Corps as a high schooler watching nine

806
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:23,479
Speaker 1: to eleven happen.

807
00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:25,640
Speaker 2: I wanted to go to Afghanistan, like I was.

808
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,719
Speaker 1: I was angry, just like every every other American, right,

809
00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:31,160
Speaker 1: I was angry. So I knew I was going to

810
00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,480
Speaker 1: join the Marine Corps. I wanted to go to Afghanistan.

811
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:35,839
Speaker 1: I say that that plan got derailed a little bit

812
00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,680
Speaker 1: because the Iraq War started kicking off, so we went

813
00:37:38,719 --> 00:37:41,879
Speaker 1: into Iraq right, went back to Iraq a second time.

814
00:37:42,520 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 1: So the things that I wanted to do was go

815
00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:45,839
Speaker 1: to Afghanistan, and I wanted to go on a MEW.

816
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:48,719
Speaker 1: You know, I wanted to go on on ship. So

817
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:53,279
Speaker 1: I said Iraq twice and then fast forward, you know,

818
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,759
Speaker 1: some years later, I finally made it into Afghanistan. So

819
00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,640
Speaker 1: I checked off that box of Afghanistan because I was

820
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:03,080
Speaker 1: still that was kind of like my bucket list, and

821
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:04,640
Speaker 1: I still wanted to go on a MEW. So when

822
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:09,319
Speaker 1: we got back off of deployment to Afghanistan, they were

823
00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:11,319
Speaker 1: looking to stand up a platoon to go out on

824
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:14,200
Speaker 1: a MEW and I raised my hand, volunteered and was like, like,

825
00:38:14,239 --> 00:38:16,239
Speaker 1: I want to get on that. So it was a

826
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:18,839
Speaker 1: quick turnaround time from when I was back coming off

827
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,600
Speaker 1: of deployment to write back into another workup cycle to

828
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:23,399
Speaker 1: go on that MEW. So I was able to check

829
00:38:23,400 --> 00:38:25,680
Speaker 1: the boxes of things that I wanted to do. So

830
00:38:26,200 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 1: that's kind of what made it a little easier, is

831
00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:29,720
Speaker 1: like I wanted Afghanistan.

832
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:30,719
Speaker 2: I wanted that MEW.

833
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:32,719
Speaker 1: So like that's why I kept doing what I did

834
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 1: until I checked the boxes before we.

835
00:38:35,200 --> 00:38:37,400
Speaker 3: Got to let you guys, y'all go and hit your flights.

836
00:38:38,040 --> 00:38:41,840
Speaker 3: What an incredible weekend it's been so far though, Oh yes, amazing.

837
00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:46,440
Speaker 3: You told us yesterday, so you knew she was missing,

838
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,040
Speaker 3: that she was captured. Your family didn't.

839
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:54,520
Speaker 5: Oh the notification, Yeah, yeah, the notification of my family

840
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:59,120
Speaker 5: of my p POW status. It was botched. My father

841
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:02,680
Speaker 5: found out was a prisoner of war on a Sunday morning,

842
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:06,160
Speaker 5: trying to find cartoons for my daughter and turn it

843
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,160
Speaker 5: to Telemundo and you know, found out his daughter was

844
00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:10,879
Speaker 5: a prisoner of war.

845
00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:15,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's that's insane, That's that's crazy, because you know,

846
00:39:15,719 --> 00:39:18,920
Speaker 1: I know, going on deployments, you know, telling my wife

847
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:21,880
Speaker 1: prior to leaving undeployment, like, hey, if if somebody comes

848
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:26,000
Speaker 1: dressed in blues like knocking on the door, I'm sorry,

849
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:30,840
Speaker 1: but I'm not here anymore. So like the whole procedure

850
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:34,600
Speaker 1: of how it was done for somebody that's taking pow, Like,

851
00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:36,560
Speaker 1: is somebody coming to knock on your door?

852
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,319
Speaker 2: Is it a phone call? What's that?

853
00:39:38,520 --> 00:39:38,600
Speaker 4: Like?

854
00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:42,959
Speaker 5: It's crazy. Yeah, they messed up, like.

855
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,879
Speaker 2: Yeah, he and my mom was at he's at my door.

856
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:49,200
Speaker 2: This can't be real because we didn't get a phone call, like.

857
00:39:49,239 --> 00:39:54,239
Speaker 5: Well my mother was at Mass Mass. Yeah, yeah, she's

858
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:57,160
Speaker 5: at Mass. She comes home and they're telling me this stuff,

859
00:39:57,239 --> 00:39:59,680
Speaker 5: and my mom didn't believe it at first. She was

860
00:39:59,719 --> 00:40:02,440
Speaker 5: like no, Claude and my dad did twenty one years.

861
00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:05,120
Speaker 5: He deployed the Desert Storm. And she goes to work

862
00:40:05,320 --> 00:40:09,799
Speaker 5: and she works on Fort Bliss. But then you know,

863
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:12,880
Speaker 5: she ends up coming home and they're calling, you know,

864
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,560
Speaker 5: they're calling Fort Bliss to getting to run around. So

865
00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:18,160
Speaker 5: they get a babysitter from my daughter and they go

866
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:20,520
Speaker 5: up there and they were like oh okay, and they

867
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:23,279
Speaker 5: kind of bring him to a room to inform them

868
00:40:23,320 --> 00:40:25,799
Speaker 5: and stuff like that. It's actually a chaplain that told

869
00:40:25,880 --> 00:40:28,120
Speaker 5: them before they go into the room. Yes it's true

870
00:40:28,160 --> 00:40:32,279
Speaker 5: and stuff like that. But they had everybody had already known.

871
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:34,480
Speaker 5: It was all over the place by that time.

872
00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:36,759
Speaker 4: They you know how many days into this.

873
00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:38,920
Speaker 5: It was the same day, it was the same Sunday,

874
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,279
Speaker 5: but it was hours later.

875
00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:43,800
Speaker 3: I'm saying, the same day you were captured. News probe

876
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:45,360
Speaker 3: doesn't It didn't take a few days.

877
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,799
Speaker 1: If I remember correctly, Like looking back at like you know,

878
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,239
Speaker 1: video news footage and stuff like that.

879
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:52,759
Speaker 2: They had a few of.

880
00:40:52,680 --> 00:40:56,120
Speaker 1: The American POWs like trying to have a mixed statements

881
00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:57,040
Speaker 1: on TV or.

882
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:02,200
Speaker 5: We did interviews where I mean it was like two

883
00:41:02,239 --> 00:41:05,879
Speaker 5: hours after being shot and captured, you know, Iraqi TV

884
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,560
Speaker 5: is putting a microphone in my face talking about what

885
00:41:08,719 --> 00:41:11,719
Speaker 5: is your name? You know, where are you from and

886
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:12,359
Speaker 5: stuff like that.

887
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:13,440
Speaker 2: Propaganda.

888
00:41:13,920 --> 00:41:17,040
Speaker 5: Well, no, they just access those questions and news cameras.

889
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,520
Speaker 4: I think we're both looking at like they have you

890
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:20,719
Speaker 4: there and hey, you better share this.

891
00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:23,839
Speaker 5: No, they didn't not like that, nothing like that. They

892
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:26,600
Speaker 5: just came and asked me questions, why are you here

893
00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:28,960
Speaker 5: because I'm told to be here?

894
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:33,920
Speaker 3: I'm right, Yeah, why you brought me here such a

895
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:35,600
Speaker 3: terrible question, why are you here?

896
00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:39,200
Speaker 4: Yes, I'm handcuffed and have my ankle's blown out, you.

897
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 5: Know, and they're they're asking me and I'm answering, you know,

898
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,319
Speaker 5: because they're like, why are you here? And I was like,

899
00:41:43,360 --> 00:41:45,680
Speaker 5: I'm told to be here, you know. It's not like

900
00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,480
Speaker 5: I'm here to invade. I'm like, because this is my job.

901
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:51,759
Speaker 5: What do you you know? And so forth. It was

902
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,520
Speaker 5: nothing big, but that's the piece I guess. They started

903
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,799
Speaker 5: showing across the world and how my dad, you.

904
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,920
Speaker 1: Know, so I have a similar story, white similar, I mean,

905
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:02,919
Speaker 1: nothing like that.

906
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,960
Speaker 2: My mother saw me on TV too, but it was

907
00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:07,799
Speaker 2: news footage of the rescue, so it.

908
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:10,600
Speaker 1: Was Shashana and myself. So that's how I was seen

909
00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:13,480
Speaker 1: on TV. See and I can't get broken in a

910
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:16,719
Speaker 1: good way to my family that I'm still alive when

911
00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:20,480
Speaker 1: news is being broken to her family that they don't

912
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:21,839
Speaker 1: you know, who knows what's going on?

913
00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:24,040
Speaker 5: And that's one of the read I can't believe you

914
00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,279
Speaker 5: didn't tell them the whole story. After your face is

915
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:31,640
Speaker 5: plastered when I came home, that was the picture Currnie

916
00:42:31,719 --> 00:42:34,840
Speaker 5: trying to keep the news cameras out of my face

917
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,759
Speaker 5: as you're trying to get me onto another transport to

918
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,360
Speaker 5: get you know, and stuff like that. M yes, I

919
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:43,879
Speaker 5: must have left the bruise or something. I was gripping hard.

920
00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:48,200
Speaker 5: But that's the picture when people ask me about anything about,

921
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:50,319
Speaker 5: you know, the priers, that's the picture they have in

922
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,279
Speaker 5: their head and they tell me, you know, I just

923
00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:55,200
Speaker 5: remember that picture of you captured and then you rescued,

924
00:42:55,320 --> 00:42:58,160
Speaker 5: you captured and then the big rescue and stuff like that.

925
00:42:58,239 --> 00:43:00,920
Speaker 5: So I'm like, how didn't dig deeper?

926
00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:03,160
Speaker 1: You know, I'm sure the questions were asked, and I

927
00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:07,120
Speaker 1: just kind of avoided them, you know, you like because

928
00:43:07,160 --> 00:43:09,560
Speaker 1: some of that, you know, you're coming off deployments and

929
00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:11,520
Speaker 1: you know, kind of get back to the mental health

930
00:43:11,560 --> 00:43:14,880
Speaker 1: aspect is you know, I didn't really talk about all

931
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:17,680
Speaker 1: of it because at the time, eighteen years old, nineteen

932
00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:18,320
Speaker 1: years old.

933
00:43:18,120 --> 00:43:20,160
Speaker 2: How do you process that? You know, how do I

934
00:43:20,200 --> 00:43:20,799
Speaker 2: process that?

935
00:43:20,920 --> 00:43:23,120
Speaker 1: And like I came off that deployment with my friends

936
00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:25,359
Speaker 1: and we're joking and oh yeah, I remember this and that,

937
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:28,120
Speaker 1: and as we're cracking beers, like that's how we processed

938
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:30,600
Speaker 1: it was like through alcohol. We didn't really have anybody

939
00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:33,120
Speaker 1: to talk to about it. You know, they're like, hey,

940
00:43:33,239 --> 00:43:35,120
Speaker 1: like what you guys went through at this age is

941
00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:37,160
Speaker 1: it's pretty significant, you know?

942
00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:38,800
Speaker 2: So I think I just kind.

943
00:43:38,600 --> 00:43:41,240
Speaker 1: Of brushed the story or gave little bits and pieces,

944
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,760
Speaker 1: never really got into detail for people.

945
00:43:43,560 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 3: Who, again they didn't hear the first podcast we all

946
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:50,480
Speaker 3: did it Veterans Day with Shoshana Johnson Curnie Russell.

947
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:54,160
Speaker 4: Shshana her American pow for twenty two days in Iraq.

948
00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:57,680
Speaker 3: Kurnie Russell kicked out the door to rescue her again

949
00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,640
Speaker 3: kind of just quickly from both your point of views

950
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:03,319
Speaker 3: that day of the rescue, and you have two different

951
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:06,040
Speaker 3: viewpoints eversly, you're inside hearing them try to kick the

952
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:08,880
Speaker 3: door down. You get word that morning that there were

953
00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:11,320
Speaker 3: these Americans you can go rescue, So.

954
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:12,440
Speaker 4: I guess you go. First.

955
00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:14,880
Speaker 3: I want people to hear the actual store of what

956
00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:17,160
Speaker 3: really happened that day, and then your viewpoint in there

957
00:44:17,200 --> 00:44:18,840
Speaker 3: and then and then we'll get a couple of questions to.

958
00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:19,600
Speaker 4: Wrap you guys up.

959
00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:22,480
Speaker 1: All right, So, yeah, that that night or you know,

960
00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:24,680
Speaker 1: we had formed Task Force TRIPLEY get up there towards

961
00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:28,360
Speaker 1: Saddam's hometown and to create my opatoon. We were responsible

962
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:31,919
Speaker 1: for you know, securing this bridge. The next morning, I say,

963
00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,160
Speaker 1: it was a boring more morning, you know, I've set

964
00:44:34,200 --> 00:44:36,080
Speaker 1: it over and it was kind of you know, people

965
00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:38,920
Speaker 1: think during war it's NonStop, you know, and there's moments

966
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,239
Speaker 1: of like the pause and the fight where it's like, Okay,

967
00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:42,200
Speaker 1: what are we doing now?

968
00:44:42,600 --> 00:44:43,880
Speaker 2: So it was one of those moments.

969
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:48,399
Speaker 1: And you know, all these rumors circle around throughout the war.

970
00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:51,200
Speaker 1: Weird rumors, right, like fifty cent lost his arm on

971
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,880
Speaker 1: my second deployment. I think j LO died on one deployment.

972
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:57,280
Speaker 1: So there's these rumors that people just spread. One rumor

973
00:44:57,400 --> 00:44:59,360
Speaker 1: was that the Army's third Infantry Division is going to

974
00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:02,600
Speaker 1: come and leave us place. So that morning they're like, hey,

975
00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:06,600
Speaker 1: Battalion Command going home. Yeah, Battalian commander wants to talk

976
00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:08,440
Speaker 1: to you guys. So we're all like the Army's third

977
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,800
Speaker 1: ideas here, we're leaving, you know, and uh, we weren't leaving.

978
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:14,000
Speaker 2: We we found out we were doing that mission.

979
00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:17,239
Speaker 1: So we go, we go, you know, we load up

980
00:45:17,320 --> 00:45:19,239
Speaker 1: kind of like ad hoc plan, like this is what

981
00:45:19,239 --> 00:45:20,959
Speaker 1: we're gonna do on the fly. We're kind of talking

982
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:23,480
Speaker 1: about what's going on and get to the wrong house

983
00:45:23,880 --> 00:45:25,960
Speaker 1: we're about to you know, hit the wrong house or

984
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:27,640
Speaker 1: hit the house, and we realized wrong house.

985
00:45:27,680 --> 00:45:28,759
Speaker 2: We start moving through that.

986
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:32,080
Speaker 3: Uh, who writes up the game plan? Like yeah, again,

987
00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,719
Speaker 3: I'm sitting here football term, right you're is it like

988
00:45:34,800 --> 00:45:35,480
Speaker 3: done in the cars?

989
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:40,080
Speaker 1: Game plan was done just before our platoon commander company

990
00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:42,560
Speaker 1: commander and came down and kind of talked about what

991
00:45:42,600 --> 00:45:45,319
Speaker 1: we're going to do. Chief scout got got you know,

992
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:48,640
Speaker 1: Chris Castro kind of came up with a plan and

993
00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:50,480
Speaker 1: we were just there to kind of you know, execute

994
00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:50,879
Speaker 1: that plan.

995
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,480
Speaker 2: So we went to the wrong house. Then we we

996
00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:53,960
Speaker 2: went back.

997
00:45:54,280 --> 00:45:56,600
Speaker 4: I'm sorry this football. You got a game plan?

998
00:45:56,719 --> 00:45:59,719
Speaker 3: It's a week that you started plan and right, you

999
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:02,520
Speaker 3: how long should they tell you the plan?

1000
00:46:03,080 --> 00:46:04,759
Speaker 1: Tell you we probably had like we probably had like

1001
00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:06,879
Speaker 1: five minutes on that just to figure it out.

1002
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:08,359
Speaker 2: It was quick and so.

1003
00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,319
Speaker 4: They give your plan in five minutes, figure out and go.

1004
00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,680
Speaker 1: Yeah, because we that was that was we got information

1005
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:16,919
Speaker 1: that we had to act on fast. If we would

1006
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:19,160
Speaker 1: have delayed any of that, they could have been moved,

1007
00:46:19,239 --> 00:46:20,359
Speaker 1: you know, they could have been moved.

1008
00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:23,240
Speaker 2: So h we come up with the plan really quick.

1009
00:46:23,400 --> 00:46:25,640
Speaker 1: And again it's as you're taught, you know, We're taught

1010
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:28,280
Speaker 1: the marine cording, like you know, semper gumby, So always

1011
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:31,520
Speaker 1: be flexible. If that plan doesn't work, figure out something else.

1012
00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:33,279
Speaker 1: So the first house we went to that wasn't it.

1013
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:34,880
Speaker 1: We had to try to figure out where it was.

1014
00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:36,920
Speaker 1: Uh So we moved through the town a little bit,

1015
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 1: figure out where that house is. I was a point

1016
00:46:39,560 --> 00:46:41,719
Speaker 1: man going in, and I always say, you know, you

1017
00:46:41,760 --> 00:46:44,400
Speaker 1: watch Hollywood TV. Those doors just fly off when somebody

1018
00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:47,200
Speaker 1: kicks it open, right, that's Hollywood. But everything I've ever

1019
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:49,319
Speaker 1: seen leading up to it led me to believe that

1020
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:50,920
Speaker 1: you just kick a door and it's gonna.

1021
00:46:50,680 --> 00:46:53,440
Speaker 2: Fly in, It's gonna fly open. Didn't happen. So I

1022
00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:54,160
Speaker 2: was the point man.

1023
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,000
Speaker 1: So I remember I kicked the door, nothing happens, and

1024
00:46:57,000 --> 00:47:00,880
Speaker 1: and that quick like and like during that moment before

1025
00:47:00,880 --> 00:47:02,960
Speaker 1: I made the second kick, I really I was thinking,

1026
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:04,880
Speaker 1: like I'm gonna get shot because now they all know

1027
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:07,200
Speaker 1: I'm here. Like every gun in that house is gonna

1028
00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:08,839
Speaker 1: be pointed at this door when it comes in.

1029
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:12,839
Speaker 4: People coming outside like, yeah, we saw black Hawk down.

1030
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:14,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, so people were everywhere.

1031
00:47:14,719 --> 00:47:17,080
Speaker 1: And I always tell the story, you know, I watched

1032
00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:18,600
Speaker 1: black Hawk Down in high school.

1033
00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:19,799
Speaker 2: I obviously wasn't there.

1034
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:22,880
Speaker 1: But from what I saw on TV, there was just

1035
00:47:23,160 --> 00:47:25,520
Speaker 1: people all around rooftops. And what I saw in real

1036
00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:29,239
Speaker 1: life in Iraq, there was people on every rooftop. You know, imagine,

1037
00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:32,279
Speaker 1: imagine a new a new force is here, you know

1038
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:35,840
Speaker 1: is here in California. You know, everybody's gonna go outside

1039
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:38,160
Speaker 1: and look to see what's going on. So, you know,

1040
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:40,759
Speaker 1: get back to the the to the door. So the

1041
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:43,960
Speaker 1: second kick again, nothing happens, and I'm like, I'm getting shot,

1042
00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:44,319
Speaker 1: you know.

1043
00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:46,399
Speaker 2: So when the third kick, finally I was.

1044
00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:48,440
Speaker 1: Able to get the door open with like the third kick,

1045
00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:51,120
Speaker 1: and I when I went in, you know, rifle up,

1046
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:55,160
Speaker 1: kind of flinching expecting to be shot, didn't get shot,

1047
00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:56,759
Speaker 1: and uh we.

1048
00:47:56,760 --> 00:47:59,959
Speaker 2: Found them immediately and you have to go swim.

1049
00:48:00,560 --> 00:48:02,480
Speaker 1: So yeah, it was it was kind of like a

1050
00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:04,919
Speaker 1: long hallway door on the left, door on the right.

1051
00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:06,839
Speaker 1: They were inside of the room on the right, and

1052
00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:11,200
Speaker 1: my memory serves me it's like there was another room

1053
00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:13,040
Speaker 1: just past that that kind of opened up, kind of

1054
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:15,080
Speaker 1: call it like a living room area, if you you know,

1055
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:17,120
Speaker 1: so to say. So they were in that first room

1056
00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:19,400
Speaker 1: on the right. So when I went into that first room,

1057
00:48:19,719 --> 00:48:22,880
Speaker 1: everybody in the stack behind me is reacting different differently,

1058
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:25,719
Speaker 1: So we flooed that room. Every room pretty much got

1059
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:28,879
Speaker 1: flooded with marines. We fled that room, dominate that room,

1060
00:48:28,920 --> 00:48:30,520
Speaker 1: you know, to everybody get down and get.

1061
00:48:30,360 --> 00:48:32,040
Speaker 2: Down, trying to figure out who's who.

1062
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:34,920
Speaker 1: And then then somebody says, hey, if you're an American,

1063
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:37,600
Speaker 1: stand up, and at that point, the Americans stood up,

1064
00:48:37,719 --> 00:48:39,359
Speaker 1: you know, the seven of them stood up.

1065
00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:40,000
Speaker 4: Wow.

1066
00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:42,160
Speaker 1: There may have been a little confusion as to who's who,

1067
00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:43,960
Speaker 1: so you know, get back down.

1068
00:48:43,960 --> 00:48:45,520
Speaker 2: I'm like, no, she's American.

1069
00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:50,000
Speaker 3: But the moment you see her and realize like wow,

1070
00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:51,960
Speaker 3: we just say these people.

1071
00:48:51,760 --> 00:48:55,200
Speaker 1: Didn't even process it at the time because it's everything's

1072
00:48:55,200 --> 00:48:58,080
Speaker 1: still happening, Like now we found them. Now we have

1073
00:48:58,120 --> 00:49:01,160
Speaker 1: to get them out of there. Everybody's outside looking, you know,

1074
00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:03,560
Speaker 1: the lookie loser out. Everybody's trying to figure out what's

1075
00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:05,880
Speaker 1: going on. So now we found them, Now we have

1076
00:49:05,960 --> 00:49:08,399
Speaker 1: to get them out of there because that's where they're

1077
00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:11,000
Speaker 1: at right there. It's it's they know that as like

1078
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:14,360
Speaker 1: a danger situation. So we need to get them somewhere safe.

1079
00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:16,120
Speaker 1: So we have to get them out of where they're at.

1080
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:17,800
Speaker 1: Load them up, you know, load them up, on the

1081
00:49:17,880 --> 00:49:20,759
Speaker 1: vehicles and just speed through that town. I said, it

1082
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:23,320
Speaker 1: wasn't just me. There was a bunch of other marines

1083
00:49:23,320 --> 00:49:24,840
Speaker 1: on the ground behind me. It was a it was

1084
00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:28,160
Speaker 1: a whole unit that did it. You know, a whole company.

1085
00:49:27,800 --> 00:49:30,920
Speaker 2: Of marines that that accomplished this. So we have to

1086
00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:31,839
Speaker 2: get them in safety, right.

1087
00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:34,360
Speaker 1: Other platoons are tasked with securing routes for us to

1088
00:49:34,360 --> 00:49:37,160
Speaker 1: get out of there. We have contingency plans. If something

1089
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:38,799
Speaker 1: goes wrong with us, who's going to come in to

1090
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:41,880
Speaker 1: get us? Yeah, we're aybody to get them out.

1091
00:49:41,960 --> 00:49:44,680
Speaker 4: All right. So that's your that's your out. The version

1092
00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:46,319
Speaker 4: from the outside going in.

1093
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:47,160
Speaker 2: That was my day.

1094
00:49:47,560 --> 00:49:49,880
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's your day. What's the version from the inside

1095
00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:50,439
Speaker 4: going out?

1096
00:49:50,800 --> 00:49:54,239
Speaker 5: Well, I remember they had just giving us breakfast and

1097
00:49:54,280 --> 00:49:55,400
Speaker 5: then you hear the bang?

1098
00:49:56,360 --> 00:49:57,560
Speaker 4: What was the him kicking the door?

1099
00:49:57,880 --> 00:49:59,520
Speaker 5: The bang?

1100
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:01,320
Speaker 4: You didn't hear any promotion outside.

1101
00:50:01,560 --> 00:50:04,799
Speaker 5: I don't remember hearing anything outside. Wow, that I don't

1102
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:06,920
Speaker 5: remember that at all. I mean you can ask the

1103
00:50:06,960 --> 00:50:09,040
Speaker 5: guys if you get a chance, But I don't remember

1104
00:50:09,080 --> 00:50:10,600
Speaker 5: hearing anything. All I hear is the bang, and I

1105
00:50:10,680 --> 00:50:14,480
Speaker 5: kind of jump and then bang bang and then get down,

1106
00:50:14,520 --> 00:50:17,239
Speaker 5: get down, And I'm thinking clear English. I said, that

1107
00:50:17,400 --> 00:50:20,400
Speaker 5: is clear English. I'm going home. And it was just

1108
00:50:20,480 --> 00:50:23,960
Speaker 5: so real. I'm going home. And then they're like, get down,

1109
00:50:24,120 --> 00:50:26,440
Speaker 5: get down, and I'm thinking to myself, I'm the American.

1110
00:50:26,440 --> 00:50:29,120
Speaker 5: I'm not getting down. So I stand and one of

1111
00:50:29,120 --> 00:50:31,640
Speaker 5: the guys, Grenon Miller, comes over and pushing my pushes

1112
00:50:31,640 --> 00:50:34,239
Speaker 5: me to the ground. Get down. They put everybody on

1113
00:50:34,320 --> 00:50:36,600
Speaker 5: the ground to control the situation, and then they pick

1114
00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:38,680
Speaker 5: up you know and stuff like that. And from the

1115
00:50:38,719 --> 00:50:41,160
Speaker 5: moment they said okay, Americans, stand up, and I start

1116
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:43,520
Speaker 5: to stand and they like and they're like okay, they

1117
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:46,280
Speaker 5: start hustling us out, hustling us out.

1118
00:50:46,200 --> 00:50:49,160
Speaker 4: You know, and are you crying or are you not?

1119
00:50:49,239 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 5: No, I'm holding on.

1120
00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:53,040
Speaker 2: She could hardly walk at that point.

1121
00:50:53,160 --> 00:50:56,680
Speaker 1: I remember bringing her out to the vehicle and like

1122
00:50:57,040 --> 00:50:58,520
Speaker 1: having like she could hardly walk.

1123
00:50:58,600 --> 00:51:01,239
Speaker 5: It was kind of wobbly, yeah, very much so. And

1124
00:51:01,239 --> 00:51:03,840
Speaker 5: then they had us like crouched in a certain position

1125
00:51:04,440 --> 00:51:08,120
Speaker 5: because they're they're clearing, make sure we're good. Then they're

1126
00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:09,879
Speaker 5: talking about when I give you the word, you're gonna

1127
00:51:09,920 --> 00:51:13,920
Speaker 5: make a for that vehicle right there, and that's when break.

1128
00:51:14,719 --> 00:51:18,680
Speaker 5: I can't run and I don't know who it was

1129
00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:19,839
Speaker 5: that said I got you.

1130
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:25,320
Speaker 2: It wasn't I brought you to the vehicle, but no.

1131
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:25,359
Speaker 5: It was you.

1132
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:26,480
Speaker 1: And then.

1133
00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:30,120
Speaker 5: I get out of here and like hooked me and

1134
00:51:30,160 --> 00:51:32,680
Speaker 5: then I'm not look, I'm not a twig.

1135
00:51:32,840 --> 00:51:35,520
Speaker 2: That's I didn't regize it was you.

1136
00:51:36,200 --> 00:51:37,799
Speaker 1: It was me, And it may have been another marine,

1137
00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:41,240
Speaker 1: but I remember specifically walking with you out to the vehicle.

1138
00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:42,759
Speaker 5: To the vehicle because we got to get you to

1139
00:51:42,800 --> 00:51:44,840
Speaker 5: that vehicle, and I was like, I can't run. I wasn't,

1140
00:51:44,920 --> 00:51:46,880
Speaker 5: you know, And I started to lose it because I'm like,

1141
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:49,640
Speaker 5: one of the first things is I don't want anybody

1142
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:52,760
Speaker 5: to get hurt because I can't carry my own load,

1143
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:56,240
Speaker 5: you know what I'm saying. So if I'm slowing them down,

1144
00:51:56,640 --> 00:51:59,960
Speaker 5: and it causes a problem because there are people, you know,

1145
00:52:00,239 --> 00:52:03,520
Speaker 5: after they're looking, you see them putting, like watching and

1146
00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:05,759
Speaker 5: stuff like that as they're trying to get us. So

1147
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:09,400
Speaker 5: I'm like, my thought is I can't let anybody get

1148
00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:13,080
Speaker 5: shot or something because I can't. I can't move fast enough.

1149
00:52:14,080 --> 00:52:17,160
Speaker 5: That's the worst thing you can ever think. I think

1150
00:52:17,200 --> 00:52:20,359
Speaker 5: probably for you if you can't make you know, run

1151
00:52:20,440 --> 00:52:23,120
Speaker 5: up and stuff. Somebody takes a bullet for you. That's

1152
00:52:23,120 --> 00:52:26,080
Speaker 5: not what you want. So I start to That's when

1153
00:52:26,080 --> 00:52:28,279
Speaker 5: I start to break down. But they got me to

1154
00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:31,799
Speaker 5: that vehicle quick fait, And I'm not l liked. Even

1155
00:52:31,840 --> 00:52:34,080
Speaker 5: though I lost some pounds in captivity, I'm not light.

1156
00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:36,440
Speaker 5: They got me to that vehicle quick fast, in a hurry,

1157
00:52:36,920 --> 00:52:39,640
Speaker 5: and I remember it's being like stuff back there and

1158
00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:41,680
Speaker 5: then just moving and I was like, oh my god,

1159
00:52:41,760 --> 00:52:44,880
Speaker 5: I'm going home. It was just so it was surreal.

1160
00:52:45,160 --> 00:52:45,840
Speaker 5: It's surreal.

1161
00:52:46,239 --> 00:52:49,160
Speaker 3: This whole weekend has been surreal just having you all here.

1162
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:51,920
Speaker 3: So my final question to you, we're gonna get you

1163
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,720
Speaker 3: both back on flights. You have not seen her since

1164
00:52:55,320 --> 00:52:57,879
Speaker 3: you handed her off. You got on a plane after

1165
00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:01,560
Speaker 3: yes got her to their medical facility. Wait right, and

1166
00:53:01,560 --> 00:53:03,719
Speaker 3: then you went back and fought more, and you haven't

1167
00:53:03,719 --> 00:53:07,040
Speaker 3: seen her twenty one years. Now that you're sitting here

1168
00:53:07,280 --> 00:53:09,560
Speaker 3: seeing her for the first time in twenty one years,

1169
00:53:10,040 --> 00:53:13,640
Speaker 3: has it made you feel and has she changed your life?

1170
00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:15,120
Speaker 3: What would you like to say to her?

1171
00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:17,960
Speaker 1: It's great to see you, you know, it's amazing. It's

1172
00:53:18,280 --> 00:53:20,840
Speaker 1: great again, Jay, thank you for this opportunity right to

1173
00:53:20,840 --> 00:53:22,400
Speaker 1: bring it to get us both together. You know, I

1174
00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:25,400
Speaker 1: want to thank you for that, but you know, to

1175
00:53:25,680 --> 00:53:28,080
Speaker 1: like thinking back, I kind of think, like, you know,

1176
00:53:28,719 --> 00:53:30,760
Speaker 1: not not was I ready to see you at the time,

1177
00:53:30,920 --> 00:53:33,960
Speaker 1: but like I was still processing other things, and like

1178
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:37,160
Speaker 1: maybe this is the best time, right, Like I'm more

1179
00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:40,880
Speaker 1: mature about things. Uh, you know, I've I've done, you know,

1180
00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:42,560
Speaker 1: things in life and like to be able to sit

1181
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,600
Speaker 1: with you and like have an adult conversation, right because

1182
00:53:45,600 --> 00:53:47,360
Speaker 1: back then she would have been having a conversation with

1183
00:53:47,400 --> 00:53:49,719
Speaker 1: a nineteen year old kid. You know, I don't know

1184
00:53:49,719 --> 00:53:51,960
Speaker 1: if we would have been relating on much, you know,

1185
00:53:52,120 --> 00:53:54,840
Speaker 1: So I think this is you know, why did we

1186
00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:56,759
Speaker 1: wait so long? Why has it been so long?

1187
00:53:57,320 --> 00:53:57,839
Speaker 2: I don't know.

1188
00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:00,760
Speaker 1: This is the perfect I think it's been the perfect weekend,

1189
00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:03,319
Speaker 1: the perfect opportunity for us. And I would just say,

1190
00:54:03,320 --> 00:54:05,160
Speaker 1: like I don't want to wait another twenty years.

1191
00:54:05,000 --> 00:54:05,400
Speaker 2: To see you.

1192
00:54:05,520 --> 00:54:08,440
Speaker 5: No, no, no, I'll be getting your address. I'll even

1193
00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:11,200
Speaker 5: mailing cookies. That's my favorite thing. I love mailing out

1194
00:54:11,239 --> 00:54:13,720
Speaker 5: my cookies and stuff like that. It's been, it's been.

1195
00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:17,239
Speaker 5: I don't know how to describe it because I keep

1196
00:54:17,239 --> 00:54:19,480
Speaker 5: on seeing the nineteen year old, so to see you

1197
00:54:19,520 --> 00:54:23,439
Speaker 5: develop into this grown ass man who raised a twenty

1198
00:54:23,560 --> 00:54:29,600
Speaker 5: year old, raising another baby, more deployments. I mean, it's

1199
00:54:29,600 --> 00:54:31,200
Speaker 5: hard to put it in the word. There's a sense

1200
00:54:31,200 --> 00:54:35,359
Speaker 5: of pride there to see what you have become from

1201
00:54:35,400 --> 00:54:39,640
Speaker 5: that moment, that young man who does just and you

1202
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:42,600
Speaker 5: were really focused on your job. To see you mature

1203
00:54:42,640 --> 00:54:45,439
Speaker 5: to this man, and I think you need to get

1204
00:54:45,440 --> 00:54:48,480
Speaker 5: into some speaking and stuff for yourself, because you are

1205
00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:51,759
Speaker 5: very eloquent in the way you speak and the way

1206
00:54:51,800 --> 00:54:56,440
Speaker 5: you handle yourself. And not only I think you could

1207
00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:00,400
Speaker 5: not just inspire him from your experience, but maybe steer

1208
00:55:00,480 --> 00:55:03,319
Speaker 5: a lot of young men into the right direction of

1209
00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:06,719
Speaker 5: how they should handle things, and especially in sense in

1210
00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:09,719
Speaker 5: the way of being a father. You know, sometimes you

1211
00:55:09,760 --> 00:55:12,279
Speaker 5: get boggled down but what you couldn't do instead of

1212
00:55:12,480 --> 00:55:15,479
Speaker 5: realizing what you can do and being able to talk

1213
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:18,839
Speaker 5: to you here about you know, raising your girls from

1214
00:55:18,880 --> 00:55:21,839
Speaker 5: then and then now that young lady. Now, I think

1215
00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:25,800
Speaker 5: you can help a lot of young men, especially military

1216
00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:29,719
Speaker 5: young men, you know, move forward and raise kids and

1217
00:55:29,760 --> 00:55:32,960
Speaker 5: stuff like that. So there's a sense of pride of

1218
00:55:33,040 --> 00:55:36,360
Speaker 5: the man you have become. Thank you very much so,

1219
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:42,960
Speaker 5: but it is surreal and damn bro. Now it's been

1220
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:46,360
Speaker 5: really wonderful weekend and I appreciate you doing that, doing

1221
00:55:46,400 --> 00:55:49,960
Speaker 5: this and everything. You know, things happen in life and

1222
00:55:50,080 --> 00:55:53,000
Speaker 5: sometimes you want to do something and you know, life

1223
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:54,520
Speaker 5: happens that you don't get to do it. And I

1224
00:55:54,560 --> 00:55:57,399
Speaker 5: appreciate the fact that you kept insisting and I get

1225
00:55:57,400 --> 00:55:59,520
Speaker 5: the text message and said what about this date? What

1226
00:55:59,560 --> 00:56:02,560
Speaker 5: about that? You know, because people live life, and you

1227
00:56:02,640 --> 00:56:05,959
Speaker 5: kept going. It's appreciated. It's appreciated.

1228
00:56:06,239 --> 00:56:08,600
Speaker 1: Yeah, not just that, Jake, but uh, you know, just

1229
00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:12,319
Speaker 1: not just when you gave us your word and followed through,

1230
00:56:12,400 --> 00:56:14,359
Speaker 1: like that just shows the guy that you are, but

1231
00:56:14,480 --> 00:56:17,160
Speaker 1: just take a step above that is you know, the

1232
00:56:17,239 --> 00:56:20,600
Speaker 1: text messages on the side about stuff and you know,

1233
00:56:20,800 --> 00:56:23,759
Speaker 1: just like genuine guy who you know, we met through

1234
00:56:23,760 --> 00:56:26,080
Speaker 1: a mutual friend and like, you know, we're building a

1235
00:56:26,080 --> 00:56:28,319
Speaker 1: friendship of our own. And it's not just hey, come

1236
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:30,680
Speaker 1: do this podcast. Thank you guys, and I'll see you later.

1237
00:56:30,880 --> 00:56:33,400
Speaker 1: Was it was you know this the follow up and

1238
00:56:33,600 --> 00:56:36,359
Speaker 1: you know, I feel like if I need to reach out,

1239
00:56:36,680 --> 00:56:38,720
Speaker 1: you'll respond back, you know, thank.

1240
00:56:38,600 --> 00:56:40,719
Speaker 3: You, because like I do think God bless me with

1241
00:56:40,760 --> 00:56:44,200
Speaker 3: the ability to communicate, and I have a platform in

1242
00:56:44,239 --> 00:56:47,239
Speaker 3: a form to be able to communicate. But I got

1243
00:56:47,239 --> 00:56:49,719
Speaker 3: to learn from people like you when I learned from

1244
00:56:49,719 --> 00:56:51,919
Speaker 3: you and I have that voice to give it out there.

1245
00:56:52,320 --> 00:56:54,840
Speaker 3: I'm a hundred to be teammates with the two of

1246
00:56:54,880 --> 00:56:56,760
Speaker 3: you where I can learn from you.

1247
00:56:56,800 --> 00:56:59,720
Speaker 4: And I've learned so much from the two of you, from.

1248
00:56:59,600 --> 00:57:01,120
Speaker 3: The last time we talked to the time we talked

1249
00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:04,719
Speaker 3: an MVP to just sitting here in person. I do

1250
00:57:05,200 --> 00:57:07,319
Speaker 3: feel like we have our own little team now that

1251
00:57:07,320 --> 00:57:09,600
Speaker 3: we're gonna be able to lift each other and inspire

1252
00:57:09,640 --> 00:57:12,120
Speaker 3: each other, but also continue to lift and inspire the world.

1253
00:57:12,560 --> 00:57:13,239
Speaker 4: Thank you both for.

1254
00:57:13,200 --> 00:57:15,440
Speaker 3: Making the time to come out here with me and

1255
00:57:16,080 --> 00:57:18,880
Speaker 3: appreciate you guys. Allow me the honor of keeping my

1256
00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:21,000
Speaker 3: word to you, which is really important.

1257
00:57:21,560 --> 00:57:24,240
Speaker 4: And I think the best thing for me is just

1258
00:57:24,800 --> 00:57:27,600
Speaker 4: when I saw you guys double hug yesterday. It's pretty

1259
00:57:27,640 --> 00:57:31,280
Speaker 4: damn special. With that, we're gonna sign off.

1260
00:57:31,440 --> 00:57:35,880
Speaker 5: I'm gonna give you something, Okay, Military order to Purple Heart.

1261
00:57:36,360 --> 00:57:39,240
Speaker 5: I am a member three nine three in O Paso,

1262
00:57:39,320 --> 00:57:44,000
Speaker 5: Texas from us to you military thing for the support

1263
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:46,480
Speaker 5: of our military community, we thank.

1264
00:57:46,280 --> 00:57:53,200
Speaker 3: You, thank you, We thank you, thank you.

1265
00:57:53,360 --> 00:57:59,920
Speaker 5: The ultimate survivor you very much and once for you

1266
00:57:58,320 --> 00:58:01,760
Speaker 5: shot shout up.

1267
00:58:01,960 --> 00:58:04,080
Speaker 4: Kurty guys, Thank you so much.

1268
00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:07,800
Speaker 3: This has been the breakable Mental Wealth podcast, the greatest

1269
00:58:07,840 --> 00:58:10,200
Speaker 3: podcast episode we have ever had by far.

1270
00:58:10,360 --> 00:58:11,280
Speaker 5: Oh my goodness.

1271
00:58:11,600 --> 00:58:12,200
Speaker 4: Love you guys,