WEBVTT - Riding the Wave 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:07.400 Third Squad is a podcast about war. Every episode contains 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.000 strong language and descriptions of violence that may not be 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:14.600 suitable for all listeners. Also, this is episode two. If 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:16.840 you haven't listened to episode one, you might want to 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:24.079 start there. Everything will make a lot more sense. That's out. 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:28.720 Did you think it was someone else? Right now? It's 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:34.000 March in America's chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan is still five 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:36.640 months in the future. But right now I'm at the 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:38.920 airport in San Diego to pick up my friend and 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:43.400 Third Squad producer, Tommy Andres. He's going to join me 0:00:43.440 --> 0:00:45.120 on that road trip I told you about in the 0:00:45.200 --> 0:00:48.559 last episode, the one from California to North Carolina that 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.800 Michael Dutcher never got to take. Fow you brought a 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:55.840 lot of ship. I'm really glad this is all you have. 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:59.880 I did bring a blow dry. The zero hour has 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:03.520 finally arrived, and we've got a rendezvous scheduled with Michael Minor, 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:06.080 the first of the Third Squad Marines on our itinerary. 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.040 He lives here in California and he's going to show 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.959 us around Camp Pendleton's, where Third Squad lived and trained 0:01:11.959 --> 0:01:15.399 before sangin. So we stuffed Tommy's gear into the rental 0:01:15.440 --> 0:01:20.319 car and we head north alright, crossing onto the Base 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:25.039 Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. Christian Needos Gates. Ei, there, 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:28.640 what do you need a driver's license? Okay, cool? Thank you? 0:01:29.280 --> 0:01:34.840 All right. This is where it all began for Third Squad, 0:01:36.280 --> 0:01:40.240 Camp San Mateo, among the fighting fifth Marines. That's not 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:48.720 an exaggeration. I'm Elliott Woods. This is Third Squad episode two, 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:59.360 Riding the Wave. It's been ten years since I last 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.000 saw Michael Minor back at Patrol bass Fires when he 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:05.000 was weighed down with body armor and wearing camo. But 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.720 I recognize him immediately when we pull into the parking lot. 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:16.000 What's up? Not much long time? No see elbow bump? 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:19.200 How are you all right? Man? I about you guys 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.720 hanging in there? So tell me about who do we 0:02:21.760 --> 0:02:24.600 have here? Miner's got his two dogs with him, Bella 0:02:24.720 --> 0:02:30.200 and Kenny Bella. He was twenty five when we met 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:32.800 back in Sangin, one of the oldest guys in the squad. 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:35.600 Now he's thirty five and he's got some new wrinkles 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:40.520 around his eyes. Okay. His fiancee is also joining us 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:47.400 for the day. Hi, I'm Elliott. Must be Laura Miners, 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:49.520 wearing a faded black hoodie that looks like it might 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:53.400 be his new uniform. The kangaroo pockets torn on one side, 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:56.200 and it's got the Geronimo head logo of the first Battalion, 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.799 fifth Marines, the battalion that Third Squad belonged to, and 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.440 or slogan make peace or Die. But it's been uh 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:06.679 since two thousand twelves last time I was down here. 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.440 Nothing has changed, for the trees got taller. We're standing 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:12.400 in front of the barracks where Minor lived with the 0:03:12.400 --> 0:03:15.280 rest of Third Squad. It's a plane brick building with 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:18.560 concrete walkways around each floor and exterior doors to the 0:03:18.639 --> 0:03:22.840 rooms like a motel. There's my old room, and the 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:26.120 room there on the end had bed books, and O'Brien 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.280 stayed in that room right there next to it. There 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.960 are a bunch of other barracks and headquarters buildings nearby 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:34.800 that all looked pretty much the same, almost like if 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:38.480 a prison architect got to design a college campus, which fits, 0:03:38.680 --> 0:03:40.640 since being in the military is kind of like being 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.200 a prisoner and a member of a huge fraternity at 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.480 the same time. It's a fraternity. Yeah, but I mean 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:48.520 we get paid to drink and shoot guns. But at 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:51.240 the same time, the reason why you're drinking both that 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:53.839 carmauderies because when you get deployed, the guys your left 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:55.760 and you're right, that's who your that's your life is 0:03:55.760 --> 0:03:59.520 in their hands. You have to break down all barriers 0:03:59.560 --> 0:04:02.440 when you for meet someone and instill that trust in 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:03.760 them to know that they're gonna be able to pull 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.680 you through any situation you get into. Now, do you 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:09.800 feel anything when you come back here? So shitty the barracks. 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.400 That's about it. It's no nostalgia, No, none of those 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.640 you know, poetic feelings, none of those wheat grounds. We're 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.359 not poets. There are a lot of jokes in the 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:25.800 military about how Marines are not exactly known for their intelligence. Well, 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.800 everybody thinks marines are dumb and wheat crayons and like 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.080 jar head instance, because you know, the jar is always 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.720 empty unless you put something in there. Here's a more 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:37.960 charitable definition of jar head. Because of their single minded 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:41.320 willingness to put their duty before themselves, Marines are said 0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:44.440 to have jar heads, hard on the outside and empty 0:04:44.480 --> 0:04:48.760 on the inside. We're here more than anything to see 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.640 a memorial to that single minded willingness to put duty 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:56.240 before self. And that's that's the first sergeants who sure 0:04:56.240 --> 0:04:59.880 you still want to go up? From a distance. First, 0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:02.360 a Agent's hill just looks like a gentle, grassy slope, 0:05:02.400 --> 0:05:05.000 maybe a couple hundred feet tall, but the trail to 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:07.760 the top is slick from yesterday's rain and years of 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:11.520 runoff have carved a deep trench down the center. All right, 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:15.080 shall we? All right? And that's when Tommy comes in 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:18.720 for the fn G treatment, the fucking new guy. I mean, 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:21.560 it's it's not as intimidating as it looks. Man, I'll 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.440 be fine. Also, you know, Tommy, if things got heavy, 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:26.120 I would carry your stuff for you. I would do 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:29.280 that for you. It's very sweet. I appreciate it. It 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:31.719 probably won't come as a surprise to you. That ship 0:05:31.839 --> 0:05:34.479 talking is baked into the bro culture of the military. 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.440 We tease Tommy about his new boots and his skinny 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:39.400 jeans and the fact that he brought a blow dryer 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:45.359 on the trip. Blow dryer for the fucking Sorry, this 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:50.400 is a podcast about me getting made fun of me 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:53.840 getting Oh there's some there's some guys you'll meet that 0:05:53.880 --> 0:05:55.120 will give you a little bit more ship than me. 0:05:55.160 --> 0:06:05.720 I'm actually one of the tame ones. Ye all right. 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.080 Pretty soon it starts to feel like more of a 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:13.920 climb than a hike ship. It's been a while. At 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.040 one especially steep spot, our feet slip out from under us, 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.080 and we dropped to all fours. Stuff called that other 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:26.000 side might actually be easier because it's dry to date. 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:35.839 What have I got myself into? Holy grab. After a 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:39.599 few false summits, a cluster of wooden crosses comes into view. 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:51.919 Mind blowing huh, you wouldn't expect me worry. The first 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:55.320 crosses I see bristle out from a huge pile of boulders. 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.520 There's a heap of telephone poles and truck tires and 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:07.159 sandbags wrapped and ducked tape. That all that is ship 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:09.800 that we carried up the hill. This is about everybody 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:15.080 who survived the deployments. The crosses are handmade out of lumber, 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.440 dozens of them, stretched back for hundreds of yards from 0:07:18.440 --> 0:07:22.120 that first cluster, up and over grassy meadow, overlooking the 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:24.480 barracks to the north and the ocean to the west. 0:07:25.400 --> 0:07:28.760 Because this right here is where the true heroes of 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:32.840 the Fifth and Marines law. These are the ones that 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:44.240 paid the price. Each of these memorials bears the name 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:47.640 of someone who didn't come home, carved into the wood, 0:07:47.720 --> 0:07:53.040 or painted with stencils. They're all different, each one decorated 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:56.880 with some combination of military belts, rank insignia, T shirts, 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:01.000 and threadbare flags, beer cans, and I consumed bottles of 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:05.280 liquor rest at some of their bases. So you haven't 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:07.960 been up here in nine years. The last time I 0:08:08.120 --> 0:08:11.280 came up here, I was pretty pretty drunk. No way, 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:14.800 I didn't feel the hill. What about what's at the 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:16.880 top of the hill. Did you feel that? Oh? Yeah, 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:18.680 you can feel it instantly once you walk up here. Man, 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:22.080 just all the memories and you just feel the presence 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:24.080 like you guys don't know if you felt it when 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.920 you walked up, but it's just a sense of overwhelming 0:08:27.960 --> 0:08:41.400 feeling of oh ship, here we go. These crosses represent 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.920 the dead from the fifth Marines and the supporting units 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:46.920 that served with them, including the Navy Corman, the sailors 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.079 who care for the wounded Marines in combat. Almost all 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.240 of them are k I a s Killed in action 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.000 from a rock and Afghanistan. We used to. I don't 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:57.160 know if they still do it at all. The new guys, 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.960 we always make them come up here, and you want 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.360 them to see what they're fighting for is not only 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:04.840 their friends and their family and you know, for the country. 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.880 But you're keeping these guys memories alive. These are the 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.520 warriors who pay the ultimate sacrifice for you to continue 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.920 doing what you need to do today. And and this 0:09:15.000 --> 0:09:16.880 is this is how we pay homage. We don't have 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:20.840 thousands of dollars to get grantite slabs carved with their names, 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:24.480 but a little bit of sweat and some tears, a 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:26.160 little bit of blood every now and then. Coming up 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.160 that hill to pat respect to everyone that's been lost, 0:09:31.320 --> 0:09:33.680 Minor sets off looking for the crosses of the men 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.600 he knew. Up the hill he finds one made of 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:39.480 four by four posts and anchored by a few heavy rocks. 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:46.839 So this is the one for McDaniels and Dutch. So 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:48.319 I don't know when they brought it up, but it's 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:50.240 gonna have to get replaced pretty soon because they started 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.800 falling apart a little bit. The brown paint has flaked 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:56.199 away where two names and dates are carved into the 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:02.080 sagging arms on the left Joshua B. Nick Daniels, June twelve, 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:07.920 two thousand eleven, on the right. Michael J. Dutcher, September 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.240 two thousand eleven. I don't know where the one for 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:15.679 Brian is, otherwise I would have found it. We probably 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.839 have to remedy that situation when we get the chance. 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.040 Minor searches high and low for a marker with the 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.640 name of Nicholas O'Brien. The platoons first Kia. Maybe the 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:29.679 timbers gave out to the wind, or maybe O'Brien's name 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:33.480 has been worn away by the elements. But yeah, I'll 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:35.800 have to uh ask him of the guys about it. 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:41.560 Even this profound monument to memory requires people who still 0:10:41.600 --> 0:10:44.760 remember to keep it from disintegrating. And most of the 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:50.480 men who knew O'Brien left here years ago. Dutcher is 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.920 the one I knew. He's the one I remember, And 0:10:53.960 --> 0:10:56.400 when I run my fingers across his name etched into 0:10:56.440 --> 0:10:59.720 the timber, it feels like the real start of this journey. 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:02.720 And you can just sit here and just like listen 0:11:02.720 --> 0:11:05.480 to the wind blow, and you can almost fill the 0:11:05.600 --> 0:11:19.160 presence around you. Afree helicopter thumps across the valley at 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:23.559 eye level, artillery booms from a distant training range. This 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:28.000 is California, all right, but it isn't Hollywood. Minor knows 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.120 this scenery and this soundtrack by heart. He doesn't say 0:11:31.160 --> 0:11:33.720 a whole lot or show much emotion while we're walking around, 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:36.760 But even though Laura is wearing sunglasses, I can tell 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:39.679 it's all pretty intense for her. She was with Minor 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:42.200 through the entire Sanging deployment and there to catch him 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:46.600 when he came home. Laura, what's it like for you 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:51.040 to come up here? It's a little overwhelming. It's overwhelming 0:11:51.080 --> 0:11:54.800 because it kind of brought back those memories like waiting 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.360 to hear the news and looking at the articles and 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:03.560 like seeing these names pop up. It's it's really overwhelming, 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:10.360 it really is. I met O'Brien maybe what once bybe 0:12:11.280 --> 0:12:18.160 once or twice Dutch. I met him and like he said, 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:22.600 they they're so young, you know, and just like that, 0:12:22.800 --> 0:12:26.200 one day after another, you just keept seeing the names 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:30.679 pop up and and I'm just hoping that it's not 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.880 your guy the next one. You know, it's really hard. 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:39.480 It's hard, yeah, And you've been up here before. Is 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.600 this your first time up here? First? Time. That's why 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.600 I wanted to come up here, because I wanted to 0:12:44.679 --> 0:12:53.920 pay the homage. Well, I'm glad Michael's hum. Yeah, I 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:55.880 am too. That's what I told him. I said, I 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:57.360 don't care what you do. You come back with all 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:01.800 your fingers, all your toes and your limbs. That's all 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:34.240 I ask. He did. We'll be back after the break. Hi, 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:38.360 it's just us, remember us. After leaving Camp Pendleton, we 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.600 drive inland to men A few, where Minor lives with 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:44.000 Laura and her daughter. The house is tucked back in 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:47.400 a new suburban development carved out of dry hills. It's okay, 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:50.960 it's okay. The dogs are never far from Minor's side. 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:53.600 They follow us as he shows us around. It's a 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:56.560 nice house. I like this neighborhood. How long have you 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:59.520 guys been here? The house has high ceilings and it's 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.600 decorated with a minimalist touch. There's a big gas grill 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:07.040 in an AstroTurf lawn in the backyard. Check check check. 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:09.160 We set up for the interview in the living room, 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.199 with the dogs panting at our feet. I've asked Laura 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:14.760 to join us because, in her own way, she survived 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:17.680 the deployment too, and she's been a support to minor 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.320 ever since. Just don't talk to him. But before we 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.160 get into any of that, I want to know some 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:26.240 more basic stuff, like how they met a couple of 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:30.480 coworkers and I we decided to go to Vegas. One 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:32.240 of the co workers she had a thing for marines. 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:35.560 It's the Marine Ball. We need to go. There's gonna 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.520 be marines. I was just getting over my divorce, so 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:43.440 I was just like, sure, let's go. It was November 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:47.080 two ten, the day of the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball, 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:50.880 a huge bash celebrating the Marine Corps founding in seventeen seventy. 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.440 So I had my yard of booze on walking the strip. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.040 I'm like, I'm trying to have a good time because 0:14:58.080 --> 0:15:05.120 I needed to kind of decompress at your yard of booth. 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:11.120 It's Vegas, so m my favorite place on the Strip 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:15.160 is the Bellaggio because of the falls. Laura was standing 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.680 by the Bellaggio fountain when the lights went down and 0:15:17.760 --> 0:15:21.600 God Bless the USA erupted from the speakers. She was 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.040 thinking about her ex husband, who was in the military 0:15:24.080 --> 0:15:27.080 and served in a rock. Her buzz was kicking in 0:15:27.160 --> 0:15:30.040 and it was all a bit too much. So I'm 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:33.800 just like, this is how could they play this song? 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:38.440 And as they're playing this song, a ce a sea 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.920 of marines start walking down the strip. So my friends 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:47.080 going crazy because like all these marines blah. I mean, 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:50.720 for a woman that likes an uniform, I'm just going 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:53.600 to throw it out there. It's just like, wow, look 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:55.920 at them. But they're so young, you know, they're they're 0:15:55.960 --> 0:16:00.080 all kids. And that's when Laura sees Minor for the 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:04.760 first time. He walks by. He goes, ma'am, are you okay, 0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:06.440 and I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine. He goes, 0:16:06.800 --> 0:16:10.080 you look like you need a hug, and he hugs me, 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:15.320 and so of course water works. I'm like really sobbing 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:18.400 at this point because he gave me this huge hug. 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:33.080 He's been by my side since. Yeah. That's the story. 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:38.040 It couldn't be more like fireworks. You know, it was 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:44.720 a total rubbing scenario. Funny thing is my friend took 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:47.120 a picture when he hugged me, So this is the 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.600 actual picture. This is the actual picture the moment we met. 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:55.080 That is the actual moment. In the photo, Laura's wearing 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:58.120 jeans and a gray tank top. You can't see your face, 0:16:58.240 --> 0:17:02.000 but Miners beaming. The flash catches the brass buttons on 0:17:02.040 --> 0:17:04.440 his dress blue uniform and his white gloves and hat, 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.399 which Marines call a cover. Isn't that funny how that 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:12.360 works that we actually got an image of our actual 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:17.280 meeting moment. That's great. Laura and Minor stayed in contact 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:21.240 after that first fairytale encounter. She's nine years older, and 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:23.359 she kept saying he was too young for her, but 0:17:23.440 --> 0:17:27.200 Miner said he didn't care. In the end, Laura didn't either. 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.679 They got together whenever he had time off, but the 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:34.480 clock was already ticking. Miner was shipping out to Afghanistan 0:17:34.520 --> 0:17:38.280 in a few months. You know, I think the moment 0:17:38.359 --> 0:17:41.800 where it really hit home was when he was deployed. 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:45.679 I think that's when it got serious for me, because 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:48.640 I'm just like, oh my gosh, I'm now I'm really involved. 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.879 When Miner finally left for Afghanistan in March two thousand eleven, 0:17:53.080 --> 0:17:55.600 Laura wanted to show that she was still thinking about him. 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:58.280 That was my thing. I was like, what do you 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:00.639 want when you I'll send you your packages and I 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:02.560 would send as much as I could so that he 0:18:02.560 --> 0:18:05.879 could share with everybody. So I was doing what I 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:08.400 could because I'm like, I just need to make sure 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:10.840 they're okay. Minor kept in touch with Laura when he 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:14.119 could through Skype. In the occasional satellite phone call. It 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:18.000 didn't matter what time one coach Hello, I was up 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:23.480 waiting for that call every Skype. There was one time 0:18:23.520 --> 0:18:26.480 I missed your Skype and I was kicking myself because 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.640 I knew how limited he was on being able to call. 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.919 He never had a serious girlfriend back home during his 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:36.200 previous deployments. In fact, he never had much of a 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.200 support system at all when he was overseas. He never 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.760 knew his father, and his mom worked third shift at 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.120 a plastics factory near Seagrove, North Carolina, where he grew up. 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:47.919 She was often at work or asleep when he called, 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:50.000 so it meant a lot to him to know that 0:18:50.080 --> 0:18:52.919 Laura would always pick up, even if he didn't have 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:57.399 much to say. It was in zombie mode. Yeah you 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:00.600 could hear it, Yeah you can hear his voice. He 0:19:00.680 --> 0:19:07.280 was just completely just exhausted, beyond exhausted. Laura was getting 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:10.280 limited information from Minor, but she followed the reports from 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:14.520 Afghanistan on the computer day and day out, waiting for called, 0:19:14.520 --> 0:19:17.320 looking for every update, any information I could get. I'm 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:19.800 I'm like the type that needs to know. I need 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.360 to know. But I think when it really really hit 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:26.399 me hard, when I started seeing the names starting to 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:32.520 come through and the fatalities and the and there, I 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:39.720 was like, you've got to be kidding me. Minors Battalion 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:42.800 was getting torn apart, and sang In Marines were being 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:44.880 killed and losing limbs to i e. D. S by 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:48.600 the dozens. When that violence erupted around patrol based fires 0:19:48.600 --> 0:19:51.399 in June two thou eleven, mine are worried about how 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.040 the younger marines would take it. Here he is back 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:58.040 and sang In. They have short fuses, pretty much like 0:19:58.119 --> 0:20:02.359 they haven't really learned how to control their emotions whenever 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:07.520 situations happened. Minor already had two combat deployments to a 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:10.520 Rock under his belt before sanging he was what you 0:20:10.520 --> 0:20:15.080 would call salty. You've been around, Yeah, you're twenty five 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:18.240 years old. You're fucking granddad. Compared to these kids, It's 0:20:18.280 --> 0:20:20.600 basically what I'm trying to say. So, what's it like 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:23.199 seeing some of these, you know, young kids go through this? 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:25.800 When you have as much experience as you do already. 0:20:25.840 --> 0:20:27.600 I came to this already knowing what to expect a 0:20:27.640 --> 0:20:31.159 little bit. These guys had no idea. It was at 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:34.800 minors first time witnessing fellow marines being killed, and he 0:20:34.880 --> 0:20:38.480 knew how crucial it was to demonstrate calm. When we 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.080 took out a mask, I DESI had to control everybody 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:42.680 and like trying to calm them down, and like looking, 0:20:42.760 --> 0:20:45.879 so all right, don't worry. I've seen this before. You 0:20:45.920 --> 0:20:49.520 don't see me overreacting. You shouldn't be over reacting. I 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:51.720 told him, the day that I overreact about something or 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:55.760 flip out about something would be that I will let them. 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:59.120 He's talking about the June Curse, when Third Squads platoons 0:20:59.160 --> 0:21:02.480 suffered three ask casualties in a span of just six days. 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:06.960 When Third Squad's original squad leader got blown up in 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:09.200 the June twelfth mass chasm was met of back to 0:21:09.280 --> 0:21:11.720 the States. It was Minor who had to step up. 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:14.400 That was kind of hard, because you know, I wasn't 0:21:14.440 --> 0:21:17.040 really used to taking over the squad. I took it. 0:21:17.119 --> 0:21:20.600 Over run the squad for a little while, and I 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:24.399 transferred myself from dealing strictly with my fire team to 0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:26.919 dealing with the whole squad. So, I mean that was 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:32.000 pretty hard for me. Marines prepare for exactly this situation 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:34.640 when the leaders with the most training and experience are 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:37.000 suddenly knocked out of the fight and the senior marine 0:21:37.080 --> 0:21:41.400 standing has to take charge. Minor embraced his new role, 0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:43.680 and he was reluctant to let it go when Sergeant 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.240 Jeric Fry flew in from the US to replace him 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:49.719 as squad leader a month later. By then, Third Squad 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:52.480 had more than half the deployment behind them, but it 0:21:52.600 --> 0:21:56.879 hardly felt like the down slope for the folks waiting 0:21:56.920 --> 0:21:59.480 back home. Things were tense until the final days too. 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:02.959 They knew the deployment was supposed to last seven months, 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:05.840 which meant the guys should hit American soil in October 0:22:05.840 --> 0:22:08.679 two thousand eleven, but it was all pretty vague. We 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:11.360 didn't know when he was coming home. They wouldn't tell us. Obviously, 0:22:11.560 --> 0:22:15.200 his mom would ask me, anybody heard any news. No, 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:17.640 nobody knows. So we had like a Facebook page where 0:22:17.760 --> 0:22:20.760 like the families would keep in contact, and so we 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.920 finally got a date and um, then it was the 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:27.159 you know anticipation, like When are they going to be here? 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:29.880 When are they gonna be here? On October seventeenth, two 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:32.800 thousand eleven, while the Third Squad Marines made their final 0:22:32.840 --> 0:22:36.120 approach into California, their loved ones gathered at Camp Pendleton 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:39.520 holding welcome home signs. We had to wait and wait 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:42.040 and wait, and we saw the bus. They're like, oh, 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:44.640 here it comes the bus. Who are Oh my gosh, finally, 0:22:44.760 --> 0:22:48.600 thank god they're here. And the bus got there. It 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:51.280 was another hour or two hours. I don't know if 0:22:51.320 --> 0:22:54.880 they're what you guys were doing, but turning our weapons. Yeah, 0:22:54.880 --> 0:22:57.440 and we're like, where the heck are they? We're dying. 0:22:57.760 --> 0:22:59.840 I mean, I was like, I need to see him, 0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:05.000 need to see that he's hold that he's good. Once 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:07.480 the Marines had finished turning in their weapons, they fell 0:23:07.480 --> 0:23:10.040 into formation where the families could see them shore enough. 0:23:10.040 --> 0:23:12.080 As soon as they started marching out, oh my god, 0:23:12.200 --> 0:23:15.359 there he is. I wanted to run to him. And 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.480 it wasn't until they stopped and got out of formation 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:21.600 that we finally could go go see them, and like, 0:23:21.680 --> 0:23:24.639 I jumped on him. I was like, they got your home, Like, 0:23:24.640 --> 0:23:33.760 oh my god. I think after that it was for me. 0:23:33.840 --> 0:23:38.640 It was just like, Okay, I really, really really care 0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:43.520 about this guy. He looked surprised for me to be there, 0:23:43.680 --> 0:23:45.240 the first time I had anybody meet me. When I 0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:47.160 came back from the deployment, I said, how cold? How 0:23:47.160 --> 0:23:50.160 could it be the first time you ever after having 0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:53.600 already three deployments in your built. Because I told my family, 0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:55.760 just I'll meet you guys when I can. There's no 0:23:55.800 --> 0:23:58.359 point in you guys sitting there waiting for me. But 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:02.359 Laura did wait for him. She held him close, just 0:24:02.600 --> 0:24:05.919 as he had embraced her that night in Vegas. I 0:24:05.960 --> 0:24:10.679 could tell he was in his own zoned out. It 0:24:10.760 --> 0:24:13.400 seemed like if it was surreal to him to be home, 0:24:14.760 --> 0:24:17.760 the way Minor remembers that Laura's embrace on the tarmac 0:24:17.880 --> 0:24:20.200 that day would help set the course of his homecoming. 0:24:21.520 --> 0:24:24.439 It was the warmth that that you need when you're cold. 0:24:25.400 --> 0:24:28.000 I was in my own little world, but once I 0:24:28.040 --> 0:24:32.439 felt her embrace, and it just like it's slowly awoken, 0:24:32.840 --> 0:24:35.480 you know, the way I was before I left, Like 0:24:35.400 --> 0:24:38.960 a caterpillar coming out of his cocoon, becoming the butterfly, 0:24:39.720 --> 0:24:42.080 not not quite a butterfly, like a manly creature that 0:24:42.119 --> 0:24:57.679 comes out of looking like a cicada or something. For 0:24:57.760 --> 0:25:00.359 Laura's sake as much as his own, Minor hoped he 0:25:00.400 --> 0:25:03.760 could continue the transformation. All right, I'm no longer going 0:25:03.800 --> 0:25:05.480 to be the person that she met, so let me 0:25:05.480 --> 0:25:09.679