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Oscar Mike Radio 500 – Mistress Carrie and Rolling Thunder MA Chapter 2 · Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk

• 1:02
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• 3:08
  The brain to perfect for the body.
• 3:15
  Am I under a rest? He's a Sultan, innocent man in
• 3:18
  front of his wife and baby groom.
• 3:21
  Do you remember any of that? Does the defendant have any
• 3:24
  priors? Resisting arrest.
• 3:26
  DUI assault. Hey, my client has been awarded
• 3:30
  a Purple Heart and a bronze star medal for his combat service.
• 3:33
  I'm ordering you to undergo a 60 day outpatient rehabilitation
• 3:37
  program. Good luck.
• 3:41
  No, I'm not doing that. Do you know what the VA S put me
• 3:44
  through? If you have a brain in your
• 3:45
  head, you're going to listen to me right now, because the next
• 3:47
  time you try to provoke a lethal response from law enforcement,
• 3:49
  you might not have an Angel sitting on your shoulder.
• 3:52
  The courts think that you're going to fix me.
• 3:54
  I. Hate to disappoint you, but I
• 3:55
  can't fix you. That's your job, not mine.
• 3:59
  Did you know that your father got out?
• 4:01
  He's a dangerous man, Calvin, be careful.
• 4:04
  We came back and they spat on us at the airport.
• 4:07
  No home calling parade, no celebrations.
• 4:11
  And you can't. Pretend like you have any idea
• 4:13
  what it's like to be in combat. No, but what I do know is this
• 4:17
  field of work that I've dedicated my life to has.
• 4:20
  Helped a lot of people. When you got back, something was
• 4:23
  different. It wasn't that you'd changed,
• 4:27
  you'd been replaced. You lose your morality when you
• 4:32
  go to war, and the hard part is coming back to a civilian
• 4:36
  society that doesn't have any idea what's going on in your
• 4:39
  head. It's hard to believe my enemy.
• 4:43
  He's the man I used. To.
• 4:46
  Be I bet you wonder where's my tribe?
• 4:48
  And I ain't talking about no friendship neither.
• 4:50
  I'm talking about brotherhood. What is it that you truly want,
• 4:57
  Calvin? I just want to wake up in the
• 4:59
  morning and feel something. My pain is relative, son.
• 5:05
  Sometimes we got to fall apart, to find ourselves all over
• 5:09
  again. Wait for me there.
• 5:12
  Wait for. Me there you are willing to give
• 5:16
  your life for your country now maybe you can try living for it.
• 5:26
  What are you feeding this? Guy look the test.
• 5:29
  What do you want? I did 4 tours.
• 5:31
  Of The Cheesecake Factory. Oh, OK, Little spicy, little
• 5:35
  spicy. None.
• 6:14
  The movie, music, news, television, promos, trailers,
• 6:17
  and videos used by OM Radio are protected by the Fair Use Act,
• 6:22
  Section One O 7 of the Copyright Act One, the purpose and
• 6:25
  character of the use, including whether such uses of commercial
• 6:29
  nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes, to the
• 6:33
  nature of the copyrighted work. Three, the amount and
• 6:36
  substantiality of the portion used in relation to the
• 6:39
  copyrighted work as a whole. 4 The effect of the use upon the
• 6:44
  potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
• 6:48
  What does the life after service look like?
• 6:52
  Kicking back, taking it easy. We believe it looks a little
• 6:57
  different. It looks like leading for all
• 6:59
  veterans, helping shape policies to make certain they get the
• 7:03
  benefits they've earned, and ensuring every veteran's voice
• 7:07
  is heard. It looks like advancing to meet
• 7:10
  today's veterans where they are, lifting them up and
• 7:14
  strengthening the bond that unites us.
• 7:17
  It looks like rolling up our sleeves, serving those in need,
• 7:21
  and cleaning up our communities to make them better for
• 7:24
  everyone. Because a veteran's mission
• 7:28
  never truly ends, and neither does ours.
• 7:35
  BFW still leading, still advancing, still
• 7:40
  servinggetinvolved@stillserving.org. All right, it's about 4:15 in
• 7:56
  the morning, 04, We're headed to Orange, Mass to start recording
• 8:01
  #500 let's go. We're Mission flight, all right,
• 8:09
  Hello and welcome to OM Radio. Now you saw the earlier clip 04.
• 8:13
  I was rolling out to get here and we're here at Junk Town and
• 8:17
  I'm with Mistress Kerry, which means we're rolling the
• 8:20
  odometer. Mr. Number 500.
• 8:25
  But we're all about Super Gumby, OM and all that, and you got
• 8:29
  this cool, like other stuff going on.
• 8:31
  Can you tell us about that before we get going?
• 8:33
  Yeah, so a lot of people know that I'm married to a Marine who
• 8:38
  recently retired. And four years ago we kind of
• 8:42
  picked up the veteran skydiving event that I had worked on for
• 8:46
  years, and now the Marine Scout Sniper Association and I
• 8:50
  partner, and we do a skydive boogie for veterans every year.
• 8:53
  So it's not just Marines, it's not just snipers, but it's all
• 8:56
  branches of the military, all eras of veterans.
• 9:00
  And we work with Jump Town Skydiving in Orange, and they
• 9:04
  give us discounted tandem skydives.
• 9:06
  And then we fundraise and we have raffles and we try to give
• 9:12
  veterans an outlet for that adrenaline seek that they're
• 9:18
  looking for, but in a Safeway. And a lot of people think
• 9:23
  skydiving, they're like, what do you mean Safeway?
• 9:25
  But but this is the birth place of commercial skydiving.
• 9:29
  A lot of people don't know that that this is the first drop zone
• 9:33
  that had non military jumpers. So after World War 2, a bunch of
• 9:38
  crazy guys bought all of this old military gear and started
• 9:43
  commercial skydiving in the United States right here at
• 9:46
  Jumptown in Massachusetts, which has been my home drop zone since
• 9:49
  the late 90s. And so we were looking for a way
• 9:52
  to get veterans together. It's regulated, it is safe.
• 9:56
  It is a way for veterans of all different branches and eras.
• 10:01
  There's a lot of hurry up and wait when you're dealing with
• 10:03
  the weather. So it gives people a chance to
• 10:05
  hang out. We make food, we do raffles.
• 10:08
  But the most important thing is we're building this community of
• 10:11
  people. And usually once somebody jumps
• 10:14
  the next year, they want to come out and support the event or
• 10:17
  they want to come out and cheer on the veterans that are
• 10:19
  jumping. This year, it gives veterans a
• 10:21
  chance to jump with their spouses, their battle buddies.
• 10:24
  We've had guys jump with their kids once they turn 18.
• 10:28
  And so every year this event is growing.
• 10:31
  It's awesome and we got great weather.
• 10:33
  You got perfect weather. It's really a great thing.
• 10:36
  You know, one of the things that I see, though, that I want to
• 10:38
  talk to you about, because, you know, I'm going to talk with the
• 10:41
  Rolling Thunder chapters here in Massachusetts, and there's a lot
• 10:45
  of civilians in that chapter. You're a civilian.
• 10:49
  Yeah, let me ask you this. I really think the next phase of
• 10:53
  Russian's advocacy is the civilian interacting with us and
• 10:57
  being us there, and we got to welcome them in.
• 10:59
  What do you think about that? Yeah, I totally agree.
• 11:02
  I mean, I say this to veterans all the time.
• 11:05
  If if every issue in the veterans community could be
• 11:07
  solved by veterans alone, it would have been solved 10 times
• 11:10
  already. But I think the stats, and
• 11:13
  correct me if I'm wrong, you would know better than me that
• 11:16
  what is it? 3% of the population are
• 11:18
  veterans, Yes, which means there's 97% of the population
• 11:23
  that are not veterans. They may love a veteran, they
• 11:25
  may be married to a veteran, They may have a veteran for a
• 11:29
  parent or a grandfather or if I like somebody.
• 11:33
  But 97% of the population are civilians that are grateful for
• 11:39
  your service that really don't know a lot about the military.
• 11:42
  So they don't know how to say thank you.
• 11:45
  They don't know how to get involved.
• 11:47
  And so that's been my work is being that bridge, my trips
• 11:52
  overseas. I know more about veteran stuff
• 11:55
  than most civilians, but I'm not a veteran.
• 11:57
  And so I look at myself as a bridge to try and get more
• 12:01
  civilians to understand where the gaps in care for veterans
• 12:05
  are, where there are opportunities for grateful
• 12:09
  civilians to be able to give to the veterans community to show
• 12:13
  that they appreciate your service and they want to honor
• 12:16
  your service and to get more people involved.
• 12:19
  There are a lot of veteran businesses out there that
• 12:22
  civilians want to be able to go and support, but they don't know
• 12:27
  how to do that. So one of the things I did is,
• 12:30
  and you're very active on this, especially with OM radio, is the
• 12:33
  Mistress Carry Veterans Rock group on Facebook.
• 12:35
  Lots of good information there. And it's a way for civilians to
• 12:39
  be able to just go into this group and ask a question.
• 12:41
  There's a lot of VS OS that are in that group that are very
• 12:44
  quick to answer questions about. If you've got a veteran, you
• 12:48
  know, a World War 2 grandfather and you want to know where he
• 12:51
  served because they didn't talk about it, how do you go about
• 12:54
  getting their DD214? What happens?
• 12:56
  How do you get veterans resources for a funeral?
• 13:00
  Or if you've got a veteran in your life that might be
• 13:02
  struggling, what resources are available to them?
• 13:05
  There's this disconnect that I think is slowly going away
• 13:10
  between the veterans community and the civilians community.
• 13:13
  And it's better for everyone because as veterans, you guys
• 13:19
  need us to know what you've done, and you're the last people
• 13:25
  to sing your own praises. We we do have that problem.
• 13:28
  And for the civilians, we don't know how you need us.
• 13:34
  We think you guys have got everything squared away.
• 13:37
  And what civilians learn when they go to veterans events is
• 13:42
  where the gaps in care are, how strong civilian voices are
• 13:46
  getting behind you to be able to demand better representation in
• 13:51
  Washington, to be able to demand more funding for resources, And
• 13:56
  where the gaps are between government funded programs and
• 14:01
  the civilian nonprofit and how those gaps can be filled in.
• 14:05
  But you're absolutely right, if the civilian population doesn't
• 14:08
  get behind the veterans, the issues that still exist aren't
• 14:13
  going to get solved. So form follows function.
• 14:16
  I'm going to the Massachusetts Chapter 2 Rolling Thunder event
• 14:20
  today. I'm going to cover that and what
• 14:22
  they do. But these chapters are
• 14:25
  increasingly well led by women. Big shout out to Michelle
• 14:27
  Hamilton, Army veteran, right? And I'm seeing it more and more
• 14:32
  where women are starting to, dare I say, assert themselves
• 14:35
  like, hey, we, we got to spot the table.
• 14:38
  We serve, we can lead, and they're being effective.
• 14:41
  And in a way, you kind of model that in the civilian world.
• 14:44
  I think there are, and there's always been the debate, right
• 14:49
  about about women's roles in places when women started
• 14:53
  becoming first responders and then got into the military and
• 14:56
  then started doing jobs that were traditionally male.
• 15:01
  There are benefits and I see it in my marriage.
• 15:04
  I think a lot of people do that. Problem solving has different
• 15:08
  angles to get to the same end result.
• 15:11
  And there is a benefit to having men and women looking at the
• 15:15
  same problem because the perspective of how to solve that
• 15:18
  problem can be different. And I saw it when I was in
• 15:22
  Afghanistan. You know, a military example
• 15:26
  that I give to people is there would be units of men in the
• 15:31
  infantry that would roll into a community in Afghanistan.
• 15:35
  And they told me, you know, they went in, they spent the money,
• 15:37
  They dug a well for a village because they saw all these women
• 15:40
  in these Afghan villages walking miles to get water.
• 15:45
  And so they thought, hey, we're going to go into this community.
• 15:48
  We're going to do a good thing. We're going to dig a well.
• 15:50
  And then the wells got sabotaged and they thought it was
• 15:53
  terrorism. And what it was, was the women
• 15:56
  in the village sabotaged in the well.
• 15:57
  And the men and the men in the military didn't understand why
• 16:01
  these women would sabotage. And what they didn't realize is
• 16:04
  that they took the women's only social outlet away.
• 16:08
  It was the only time the women in these villages in Afghanistan
• 16:11
  were allowed out of the house unsupervised.
• 16:13
  They were in groups of just women.
• 16:15
  And that walk to get water was the only time they could commune
• 16:19
  together. And it took women in the
• 16:21
  military to point out to the men, hey guys, you just took
• 16:25
  their only social outlet away. That's why they're not
• 16:29
  ungrateful for the ease of access to the water.
• 16:32
  But we need to talk, damn it. But but you took away the only
• 16:35
  time in their culture that they could be together and commune.
• 16:40
  And what the US military realized is that having women in
• 16:43
  their units, they were missing out on an Intel opportunity
• 16:47
  because the women in these villages wouldn't talk to the
• 16:49
  American men. And once you put female American
• 16:52
  soldiers with these units, you all of a sudden gained a bridge
• 16:56
  to a wealth. Let's be honest, the women in
• 16:59
  these villages are the ones with all the Intel, and you had to
• 17:02
  get a way to get it. And having these women in these
• 17:04
  units to be able to go in and to be able to female medics to
• 17:10
  offer prenatal care and all these things that the male
• 17:14
  medics were not able to do. It provided a wealth of Intel.
• 17:20
  And that was a really interesting part of my embed
• 17:23
  trips was being embedded with all male infantry guys, but but
• 17:27
  as the woman understanding what women could bring to the table.
• 17:32
  And so it doesn't surprise me that now as these women have
• 17:37
  served and retired or ended their service and entered the
• 17:41
  workforce as civilians and veterans, what skills they bring
• 17:46
  to the table, what optics they bring to a problem that is just
• 17:50
  a different point of view. I'll just look And yeah, the the
• 17:54
  women veterans now we're going. Hey hold on a second guys, we
• 17:58
  might have a solution to this problem that you haven't thought
• 18:01
  of. It's very refreshing to see.
• 18:03
  I got to ask you, does does this ever It never seems to get old
• 18:06
  for you like you you, you, you're out there in the public.
• 18:09
  You're out there giving energy all the time and then it's the
• 18:12
  weekend and you're here. You're motivated ready to go.
• 18:15
  I mean, talk about she should have been an embark NC on the
• 18:18
  Marine Corps. John heard her operations that
• 18:21
  tight, but does it? It never seems to get old.
• 18:24
  Especially with an event like this, what else do we need it
• 18:27
  when you're trying to get civilians involved with veterans
• 18:30
  causes, right? I think it can be intimidating
• 18:33
  because you're like a civilian is like, well, I don't know
• 18:36
  anything about guns or I don't know anything about this, or I
• 18:38
  don't. But this event shows that
• 18:41
  there's a way to build that bridge.
• 18:43
  Skydiving's been a passion of mine for decades.
• 18:47
  It was my escape from the noise of my very loud and very
• 18:51
  all-encompassing job. This is where I would go on the
• 18:54
  weekends to decompress, to be able to commune with a group of
• 18:58
  people that had nothing to do with the music business.
• 19:01
  So this event is bridging something I love, something that
• 19:06
  has an aspect of the military, right?
• 19:08
  So there's, you know, Goldwing guys, there's Airborne guys, but
• 19:12
  it also gets you outside. It's something that I love to
• 19:16
  do. It's something I am doing with
• 19:18
  my husband. And so every civilian has their
• 19:23
  passion, whether it's gardening, whether it's race cars, with
• 19:27
  whatever it is that you love in your life.
• 19:30
  There is a way to translate that into something that can help a
• 19:35
  portion of the veterans community.
• 19:38
  You can't look at the whole elephant and think, how am I
• 19:40
  going to eat that? You have to look at the, you
• 19:43
  know that saying, how do you eat an elephant?
• 19:45
  One bite at a time? And so how could something like
• 19:48
  this get old? It's a beautiful summer day in
• 19:51
  New England. We wait all winter for days like
• 19:53
  this, right? Day, by the way.
• 19:55
  Yeah, And this is this is a hobby of mine that I love, that
• 20:00
  I am passionate about, that I know from my own experience how
• 20:05
  helpful for mental health, for community, for the social aspect
• 20:09
  of it, how powerful this sport can be to get a bunch of people
• 20:13
  together. So this.
• 20:15
  Is a convergence of so many aspects of my life.
• 20:19
  A day like today, how could it get old?
• 20:22
  Not only that, but on the work side for me.
• 20:26
  I work in Rock'n'roll Man and some of the biggest pockets of
• 20:30
  my audience are veterans. So how could it get old that I'm
• 20:34
  finding a way to give back to the people that have given me
• 20:38
  this amazing career that I still get up every day and love?
• 20:43
  So no, how could this get old? It doesn't get old.
• 20:45
  Well, Speaking of getting old, I mean, we met, you know, about
• 20:49
  eight years. Excuse me?
• 20:50
  Yeah. And now looking at it, I'm
• 20:54
  finding ways to take OM Radio and advocate for veterans.
• 20:59
  There's an issue now with the Office of the Veteran Advocate
• 21:01
  spending being cut, and I'm able to use this platform to raise
• 21:06
  awareness, amplify the need to have that department fully
• 21:09
  funded. It's just been an amazing ride
• 21:12
  and I just appreciate every 100 episodes you coming on and show.
• 21:17
  Yeah, hopefully you've seen that, the time you spent, it's
• 21:20
  been worth it. Yeah, worth it.
• 21:21
  Are you kidding me? I feel bad that I made you drive
• 21:24
  out to the drop zone in the middle of nowhere because we had
• 21:27
  this event going on. Today.
• 21:30
  Yeah, Semper Gumby, man. Here or we weren't going to do
• 21:33
  it all because we just had to be Semper Gumby.
• 21:35
  Yeah, it's just like, you know, with your service, it's like,
• 21:39
  and the Rock, You know, you know, it's like have a roll of
• 21:42
  duct tape ready because you're going to have to figure it out.
• 21:44
  And we and we are. And and so again, just thank
• 21:47
  you. Well, I think before we end this
• 21:51
  and you go about the rest of your incredibly hectic day,
• 21:55
  you're not going to be the one that sings your own praises.
• 21:57
  So allow me to do that for you as someone that does this for a
• 22:03
  living. Getting to 500 episodes, the
• 22:08
  amount of work for an hour episode, the amount of man hours
• 22:13
  it takes to research, produce, edit.
• 22:16
  You know to book the guest to do everything that you do.
• 22:21
  It looks easy. Any tradesman will be able to
• 22:24
  tell you that the reason why it looks easy is because you put in
• 22:27
  the 10,000 hours to get good at it, to make it look easy.
• 22:31
  And what you do for the veterans community, being a hub, bringing
• 22:38
  issues to the forefront, making people aware of things they
• 22:41
  don't know and doing it in such a produced, professional,
• 22:46
  accessible manner, that's not easy and you do it exceptionally
• 22:52
  well. And the fact that you've hit 500
• 22:55
  episodes is a huge accomplishment.
• 22:59
  So congratulations to you. It's a little too early to drink
• 23:03
  booze, otherwise I would toast you.
• 23:05
  And there's no drinking in skydiving until after the plane
• 23:07
  lands. But but cheers to you because
• 23:11
  it's a huge accomplishment. You should be incredibly proud
• 23:14
  of yourself that you have parlayed your military career
• 23:19
  and all of that experience, and you have found a way to continue
• 23:23
  to give back and to continue to galvanized your community and to
• 23:27
  do it in a way that is constantly growing and bringing
• 23:30
  new people into the discussions. Good on you man, It's awesome.
• 23:34
  Well, appreciate it. You know, we're super gummy.
• 23:36
  I got to be Ostromite. She's going to be, you know,
• 23:38
  getting all the jump. Yeah, we going to start throwing
• 23:40
  veterans out of planes, man with parachutes.
• 23:44
  That's the best part, Mistress. Again, thank you for your time.
• 23:47
  We're having a blast. We're mission flight.
• 23:49
  I'll see you hopefully before another 100, but have a great
• 23:53
  day today, I mean. Right A.
• 23:55
  Banner. Day, right?
• 23:56
  This is what it's all about. Man.
• 23:58
  It's almost time to like the grill hot dogs.
• 24:01
  We got raffle prizes. It's the IT couldn't be more
• 24:05
  perfect day. I'm thank you to Mother Nature
• 24:07
  because you never know when it comes to skydiving what you're
• 24:09
  going to get. We got a good one today.
• 24:11
  Congratulations. You got it.
• 24:14
  So happy for you and do you. I got to ask.
• 24:18
  Yeah. What do you think of the?
• 24:19
  Hat, dude, the hat's good. I just want you to see this.
• 24:24
  It's the biggest hat that's ever been made.
• 24:25
  Ever. I.
• 24:29
  Love it. You know, I love it too.
• 24:31
  So thank you very much. I know you gotta get OM.
• 24:33
  Yeah, I will see you soon. Join the Mistress Carrie
• 24:35
  Veterans Rock page on Facebook. Stay up to date with everything
• 24:38
  that's going on. It's an awesome way to stay
• 24:40
  connected and to get involved. If you are new to the veterans
• 24:43
  community as a civilian and you're just wondering how you
• 24:46
  can help, that's where you can find out.
• 24:48
  Thank you. You're welcome.
• 24:52
  Good afternoon, my name is Travis pouring, the host of OM
• 24:54
  Radio. OM radio sponsored by TNT pen
• 24:57
  company and outright dot AI. I'm supported by Caisson shaving
• 25:02
  company. Look at this nice Chrome Dome
• 25:04
  acceptable parent magazine and fight camp.
• 25:07
  Be your strongest combination Co produced with soonest to 1
• 25:09
  productions. What's your podcast doing?
• 25:13
  This episode is going to be again, live, different, but very
• 25:16
  engaging for the people joining me and also the topic at hand.
• 25:21
  We're going to be talking about Rolling Thunder at the national
• 25:23
  level, the local level, and what they all do.
• 25:26
  You're going to see some very engaging and very serious
• 25:30
  ceremonies and how Rolling Thunder serves our veterans.
• 25:34
  It is with honor and I'm humbled by their participation of
• 25:38
  Rolling Thunder Mass Chapter 2 as they join me on the special
• 25:41
  occasion for OM Radio. Stand by, don't go where you
• 25:45
  are. We're going to get this going.
• 25:49
  I pledge allegiance to the flag. I am an American, I was a POWI
• 25:55
  have served my country. I need no one to tell me what
• 26:01
  allegiance I own to my flag, to my home.
• 26:06
  Of the United States of America. This is my country.
• 26:09
  I have fought for it, I have been prisoned for it.
• 26:13
  I could have died for. It, and to the Republic for
• 26:17
  which it stands. This flag stands for me from the
• 26:21
  love of my country, my family, my friends.
• 26:25
  I did not forsake it when I was beaten, when I was starved and
• 26:30
  when I almost died. One nation under God,
• 26:34
  indivisible. I am one man.
• 26:38
  I have one country. I worship one God.
• 26:41
  Under God I was saved. Under God I have No Fear.
• 26:47
  With liberty and justice for all.
• 26:50
  My allegiance is to liberty and to justice.
• 26:54
  My flag represents the best of myself, my effort, my home, my
• 27:00
  country. I pledge allegiance to the flag.
• 27:04
  It is my privilege and my duty. I have earned it.
• 27:08
  Tell me not how I have given you so much.
• 27:11
  I am an XPOWI. Take nothing more from me.
• 27:16
  I pledge allegiance to the flag. Those who have served and those
• 27:24
  currently serving in branches of our United States military are
• 27:28
  ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always
• 27:32
  been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice.
• 27:35
  See here a table which has been raised to call to attention to
• 27:40
  its purpose, which is to honor our missing service members.
• 27:44
  This table set for one is small, symbolizing the frailty of 1
• 27:50
  prisoner alone against his or her oppressors and representing
• 27:54
  all Americans still missing from each of the five Service Seals,
• 27:59
  Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
• 28:06
  These brave men and women answered our nation's call and
• 28:10
  served the cause of freedom. So then, this table is a very
• 28:14
  special way of symbolizing the fact that members of our armed
• 28:18
  forces are missing from our ranks.
• 28:21
  Now let us review the meaning of the items on our missing man
• 28:24
  table. The table is wrong, showing our
• 28:28
  everlasting concern for our men and women still missing.
• 28:32
  The tablecloth is white. The cloth symbolizes the purity
• 28:36
  of their motives when answering the call to serve.
• 28:41
  A single red rose is displayed in a vase.
• 28:52
  The red rose reminds. US of the life of each.
• 28:56
  Of the missing the yellow ribbon.
• 29:22
  Tied so promptly around the base represents the yellow ribbon
• 29:27
  worn upon the lapels of thousands who bear witness to
• 29:30
  our nation's unyielding determination to demand a proper
• 29:35
  accounting of our POW and MI AS. A slice of lemon on a bread
• 29:52
  plate. Reminds us of the bitter fee of
• 30:20
  those captured and missing any foreign land.
• 30:25
  A pinch of salt on each bread plate.
• 30:47
  Symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families
• 30:51
  who seek answers. A Bible is placed prominently on
• 31:03
  the table. The Bible is a symbol of faith
• 31:22
  to sustain those lost from our country. the United States was
• 31:26
  founded as one nation under God. An inverted mug can be seen at
• 31:40
  the place setting. The inverted mug symbolizes the
• 32:05
  POWMIA's inability to share a toast, The lighting candle.
• 32:43
  Reflects our hope for their return.
• 32:48
  Let us pray to God that all will be returned.
• 32:53
  Let us remember and never forget their sacrifices.
• 32:57
  May God forever watch over them and their families, and may each
• 33:01
  of us live worthy of their sacrifice in the way that we
• 33:05
  live and in the way that we serve.
• 33:22
  Thank you. All right, so we've seen the
• 33:29
  Pledge of Allegiance and we've seen the missing man table.
• 33:32
  And it surprises me that a lot of Americans haven't seen those
• 33:36
  two things. It surprised me that a lot of
• 33:39
  Americans don't know what Rolling Thunder is.
• 33:41
  They usually just hold another motorcycle gang, and that's not
• 33:44
  the case. And maybe I'll get Michelle up
• 33:46
  here to tell us what the real deal is.
• 33:48
  And so straight, but one thing that I've noticed about Mass
• 33:51
  Chapter 2 is part of your reverence, your honor, for those
• 33:58
  who have not come home, is this cage.
• 34:01
  And it makes it. I remember seeing it, Dean, my
• 34:04
  first time and was a Taunton at the Vietnam Era veterans
• 34:11
  celebration they had down there. And you brought it and you all
• 34:15
  went through it and I couldn't believe like you read about the
• 34:19
  stories of the pilot's ejecting and then, you know, being put in
• 34:23
  these cages. But until you see it and
• 34:25
  understand what that means, it just brings it all home.
• 34:30
  So my my partner here for the next part of this show is Dean.
• 34:35
  He's going to explain some particulars about the cage is
• 34:39
  important significance and what it means.
• 34:41
  And I just want to thank you for your time today.
• 34:43
  Thank you, Fiora Sir. So starting off, is this a scale
• 34:48
  model of the cage or is this the actual size of the POW cage?
• 34:52
  This is the actual size. The rope is from a New Bedford
• 34:57
  rope place. It is accurate to the exact time
• 35:01
  that they built these, and it's the rope that they actually
• 35:05
  used. I tried to simulate every single
• 35:09
  knowledgeable thing. I studied it from the Internet.
• 35:12
  It's the exact size, 4 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet, and that's as
• 35:16
  much as they've gotten. Some can be built differently,
• 35:19
  but this is what the scale was that I found out.
• 35:23
  And and what's it built out of? It's bamboo and the rope.
• 35:29
  And and did you assemble this or did somebody else build it for
• 35:32
  you? No, I did.
• 35:34
  I collaborated with Michelle Hamilton, our president at that
• 35:37
  time. She was on her 10 year stint
• 35:40
  with being the president and I worked with her day in and day
• 35:44
  out, giving her follow-ups, getting advice as I was building
• 35:49
  it with shared ideas and she gave me the freedom to do what I
• 35:53
  need to do and it took about 5 days.
• 35:56
  I had a canopy in my garage, my driveway and one thing led to
• 36:01
  another and where it. Is now you served our country,
• 36:06
  correct? I did, Sir.
• 36:08
  And and which branch? The Army.
• 36:10
  The army, You're in the army now.
• 36:13
  What did you do in the army? I was an engineer and built
• 36:15
  bridges that floated on the water.
• 36:18
  I've watched a bridge too far where they literally build the
• 36:22
  floating bridges and I'm like, I wouldn't drive a tank on one of
• 36:25
  those but people did. Yes, they did.
• 36:27
  It's a very secure really. Yes, you can build it as a
• 36:30
  floatation across the river, or you can build it to make the
• 36:34
  whole entire gap so you can have all your trucks go over at one
• 36:37
  time. So you build stuff in the Army
• 36:40
  and you're building this device is what I want to call because
• 36:45
  it is a cage. But it's just it's haunting.
• 36:47
  It has an effect on me. What was that like, putting us
• 36:52
  together and realizing that, you know, brother, soldiers, Marines
• 36:55
  and even sailors had been imprisoned in one of these
• 36:59
  devices? It started from when I went down
• 37:03
  to Washington, DC to do the demonstration and down there
• 37:08
  there was an older gentleman who had a beard and all that stuff.
• 37:11
  He really fitted the part. He's passed away now, but he was
• 37:14
  in a similar cage down there to to show the public and educate
• 37:18
  the public what they were endured in Vietnam.
• 37:22
  So that was my inspiration from him to build this.
• 37:28
  And you know, I, I have a very visceral emotional reaction when
• 37:32
  I see this cage. And I'm still trying to, I'm
• 37:35
  trying to understand how a guy my size could fit in one of
• 37:38
  these. And I'm like, I, I couldn't, I,
• 37:40
  I, I could fit, I can be stuffed in there, but it's designed to
• 37:44
  dehumanize a person. That's correct.
• 37:48
  And by the time you're done in that cage, you're going to be as
• 37:51
  thin as ribs, showing. They don't want you moving
• 37:55
  around, they don't want you to have an exercise.
• 37:57
  They want to keep you trapped in it for as long as they feel the
• 37:59
  need to. Until death, sometimes.
• 38:02
  And so it's designed to break you.
• 38:04
  It's designed to break you in many ways, physically,
• 38:06
  emotionally. When you met that gentleman in
• 38:09
  Washington, DC, though, I I've read some stories where, yeah,
• 38:12
  their bodies were broken, but that they never really got their
• 38:15
  spirit a lot of times. Do you find that to be true?
• 38:18
  Like, like he was in that cage and then he got out and he's
• 38:21
  like, you know what? I'm still here.
• 38:24
  You what? What's that like talking to
• 38:25
  somebody like that? It's very moving to know that
• 38:29
  they have the endurance, the strength, the trust in God, and
• 38:32
  that's why we use the Bible today and in our missing man
• 38:36
  table. I think faith has a lot to do
• 38:41
  with it. They want to get home to their
• 38:42
  family members, whether they were girlfriends, wives,
• 38:44
  fiance's, whatever it might have been.
• 38:46
  They're grasping on to the love that they have for either this
• 38:50
  country or their family. How many lives do you think have
• 38:55
  been touched by what you have done and created for us?
• 39:00
  I think it's a huge number. It's immeasurable.
• 39:02
  However, when we did a parade in Fall River, I could hear people
• 39:07
  on the sides of the streets and stuff like that, and a couple
• 39:11
  gentlemen who were in Vietnam at the time, They felt very
• 39:15
  emotional to the point that it brought back a lot of crazy
• 39:20
  memories. Mind you, we're still moving,
• 39:22
  but I heard parts of that, so it really did resonate with those
• 39:27
  people who boots on the ground. Last couple of questions here,
• 39:31
  Dean, one of the things I hear a lot is, well, are there really
• 39:36
  POW still out there in this day and age?
• 39:38
  Are there really people that aren't found?
• 39:40
  And that shocks me that people don't know.
• 39:45
  Is that what keeps you going with Rolling Thunder?
• 39:49
  That's not the only thing. We, we are a family of many
• 39:54
  different families. We work together.
• 39:56
  There is no one person that's better than the other.
• 39:59
  Michelle has taught that from day one.
• 40:01
  This is your chapter. It's, she doesn't get the power
• 40:05
  to her head or anything like that.
• 40:06
  She lets us decide things. We have board meetings and, and
• 40:10
  just everything is, is worked over.
• 40:11
  It's offered to us. We have a say volunteerism.
• 40:16
  We do it all over our heart. There's no one that gets paid in
• 40:19
  our chapter whatsoever. Everything we even at our
• 40:22
  events, we all have to pay for our own entry fee into those so
• 40:25
  we can eat and participate in those.
• 40:27
  I've just always been impressed where there's a lot of groups
• 40:31
  that say they're, you know, for the veteran or there's a rah,
• 40:33
  rah veteran, this and that. But time and time again, I hear
• 40:38
  that, hey, you know, I made a call and Rolling Thunder was
• 40:41
  there. You know, I needed, you know,
• 40:43
  something for a school or, you know, I needed somebody to just,
• 40:47
  you know, get a guy's suit or some groceries.
• 40:50
  And Rolling Thunder was there. And, you know, we both serve in
• 40:54
  the military. But one thing I noticed about
• 40:56
  Rolling Thunder is at least this chapter is there's a lot of
• 40:58
  civilians who are a part of what you all do.
• 41:02
  How does that make you feel? That's really heartwarming
• 41:07
  because either those civilians have family members or they just
• 41:11
  have a passion to try to give back to the community at large.
• 41:15
  I would like to hit on one of the things you mentioned.
• 41:18
  In Fall River, there was a veteran who needed their
• 41:21
  bathroom updated to the point where they would be safe getting
• 41:25
  in and out. Our chapter gathered all our
• 41:27
  resources, all of our people. We went there, we gutted it and
• 41:29
  we put a new bathroom for him so he's safe.
• 41:32
  He won't brought break a hip and make things all more difficult
• 41:35
  and stuff like that. One of our members, Pete, he
• 41:39
  works at a certain facility with fire trucks and stuff.
• 41:42
  They made it possible so a veteran can get a van so we
• 41:46
  could he could drive himself to appointments and whatnot.
• 41:49
  So we go above and beyond the Call of Duty.
• 41:52
  If you say we make fundraisers and raising money and trying to
• 41:56
  make sure we can help people with paying bills, you just need
• 42:00
  ADT 14 and an honorable discharge.
• 42:03
  You have this book here and it was on the lectern before we got
• 42:06
  started. Could you tell me what this book
• 42:08
  signifies please? This book here is very
• 42:12
  meaningful. It signifies the entire build of
• 42:16
  our tiger cage. And we also have gotten donated
• 42:20
  from a widow who her husband used to work in the Brockton VA.
• 42:24
  He wasn't a veteran, but he gave to the veterans all up there.
• 42:27
  So she thought it was a great idea to give it to us so we
• 42:31
  could continue our educational meeting, educational purpose
• 42:35
  with this tiger cage, to let the civilian world know what our
• 42:39
  veterans do endure, whether it's overseas, in whatever country it
• 42:44
  might be, the struggles that we are up against.
• 42:48
  And a lot of the civilians had no idea until this cage was
• 42:53
  replicated to the exact measurements and everything of
• 42:57
  that. So it's very educational, It's
• 42:59
  moving for them. And hopefully it gives insight
• 43:02
  to them respecting us more because in Vietnam, when our
• 43:06
  soldiers came home, they were treated very poorly.
• 43:10
  It's beyond the magnitude of trying to explain those who are
• 43:14
  live back then did see the bad welcome home, so to speak.
• 43:20
  Through the years, we have actually changed the tables and
• 43:23
  now we're more welcoming of our home soldiers, which is a huge
• 43:27
  improvement from back then. And our government has a
• 43:30
  department who goes out to all these different countries that
• 43:34
  allow us to to look for the remains and bring those soldiers
• 43:38
  back and have the DNA testing to send them to the correct family
• 43:42
  so they have closure. Now I believe I've been to a
• 43:44
  couple of Rolling Thunder meetings and you all if one
• 43:47
  someone's found, we'll talk about that as part of your
• 43:50
  meeting agenda and what that means to you all.
• 43:52
  What's it mean to you when someone is found and you realize
• 43:56
  they're coming back home? I think it's the closure that
• 44:00
  most families are asking for and wish for.
• 44:03
  And we have a member in our organization whose family member
• 44:07
  has not been returned yet and it's gone on for a very long
• 44:12
  time. She has a lot of hope that
• 44:14
  before she passes on that she will get that opportunity like
• 44:19
  others may have to get their family members home and time.
• 44:23
  Trying to have closure in that. Well, Dean, I just, it's one
• 44:29
  thing for me to sit there and talk about POWMIA or Rolling
• 44:33
  Thunder just from my view from the outside looking in.
• 44:35
  And I say that because, you know, to be canned with you, you
• 44:39
  all made it very clear that I'm part of you all and that just
• 44:43
  that does something to me. But you know, I'm, I'm not in
• 44:45
  the chapter officially, but I, I still feel part of whenever I
• 44:48
  come to a meeting. But it's it's one thing to watch
• 44:51
  it, but it's another thing to see you all doing an experience
• 44:54
  in it. And and you've just made this
• 44:56
  time with me so special. Thank you so much.
• 44:58
  We thank you for the opportunity for you to help us get our name
• 45:02
  out there. What we do for our veterans
• 45:04
  community and it's a key point. Like you said, we're made-up of
• 45:07
  veterans and non veterans. You don't have to have a
• 45:10
  motorcycle to belong. You just have a have to have a
• 45:12
  heart for our veteran community. Absolutely, Absolutely.
• 45:16
  Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is Dean and he built this cage
• 45:19
  and talked with me about it. You can learn so much more by
• 45:21
  going to the William Thunder Chapter 2 Facebook page and I'll
• 45:24
  have that link in the OM radio show post.
• 45:27
  We're going to continue. We've got next special guest
• 45:30
  coming up. Stay with us, we'll be right
• 45:32
  back. OK Fantastic.
• 45:36
  Thanks. Fantastic.
• 45:39
  Thank Thank you. And we're back.
• 45:58
  I went to a Rolling Thunder Mass Chapter 2 mean a couple weeks
• 46:01
  ago. And one of the things that
• 46:02
  absolutely warm this black dead husk of a heart was the kids.
• 46:08
  Like they have children at these means and you go to some of
• 46:12
  these things. It's like, I don't want to hear
• 46:14
  the kids, but I'm like, how much energy do the kids provide?
• 46:18
  And they're there and they might be running around, but every now
• 46:21
  and then they listen and do something and they're like, Hey,
• 46:23
  you know, Eva here, little B is going to do something for us.
• 46:27
  I'm like, what is this? You don't see this very often
• 46:30
  when you go out to these events where the kids are involved and
• 46:34
  children of the future. And and if you all remember, I
• 46:36
  was like very happy that the the children were part of this.
• 46:40
  They're our future and we need them as we.
• 46:44
  I'm going to get old Eva and I'm some people would say Eva, that
• 46:47
  I'm old already, but I'm not old.
• 46:49
  I'm not old. No, it's the best day ever.
• 46:54
  It's when you understand this one day, it's not the years,
• 46:57
  it's the miles. But anyway, so.
• 46:59
  Age is just a number. Really.
• 47:01
  OK. All right.
• 47:03
  I'll remember that. Before we get into what you're
• 47:06
  going to talk about, tell me a little bit about who you are and
• 47:09
  we'll go from there. My name is Eva Frank.
• 47:12
  I'm 12 years old. I I'm from Fall River, MA.
• 47:18
  I have a brother. He's Kai.
• 47:21
  My mom and my dad and I actually did a lemonade stand for Rolling
• 47:27
  Thunder and raised $250 for the organization.
• 47:31
  That is amazing. Now, what do you think about
• 47:34
  your mom and dad in Rolling Thunder?
• 47:36
  I think it's awesome. We have some military relatives
• 47:41
  in our family that have served and some of them have passed
• 47:45
  away and some of them have came home and they're still living
• 47:48
  today. And I just think that it's an
• 47:51
  honor and a privilege to be able to to not only talk about them,
• 47:58
  but to respect them in a way. Well, it's just something else
• 48:02
  like like you got the idea to create a lemonade stand and
• 48:07
  raise money and put it toward a veteran in need.
• 48:09
  And I can tell you as a veteran myself and people have helped me
• 48:13
  out along the way. It it, it's appreciated.
• 48:16
  And and you didn't do it for the accolades or praise, right?
• 48:19
  You did it because, you know, you have the example your
• 48:21
  parents said, what's it like? Now I got to ask you this.
• 48:25
  You have a little brother, right?
• 48:27
  And little brothers can I have little brothers myself?
• 48:30
  And they can be. It can be annoying sometimes,
• 48:32
  right? Really annoying.
• 48:34
  But but you, you took care of Kai, you cut him entertained.
• 48:38
  Like, how did you do that? Because he's a ball of energy.
• 48:41
  It takes a lot of practice. It does.
• 48:47
  It takes a lot of practice and a lot of patience to, like, tell
• 48:51
  him, hey, this is not what we're supposed to do at this time.
• 48:54
  Maybe we can do it later. And he he listens.
• 48:57
  But sometimes he's like, I want to do it my way, like my way or
• 49:01
  the highway. And so, yeah, it's just like,
• 49:04
  you got to you got to, you know, deal with, not deal with him,
• 49:08
  but like, make a deal with him, like where we can do this later.
• 49:11
  Yeah. Negotiate.
• 49:12
  Thank you. Like we can do this later or we
• 49:16
  can like we can do this later. Like if he wants to do something
• 49:20
  and we can't do it now, like, hey, let's do this later when
• 49:23
  we're in a different area. And like he just listens to it
• 49:30
  after a while. No, no, I'm the eldest and I
• 49:32
  didn't do any negotiating stuff either.
• 49:34
  I just it's my way or the highway.
• 49:36
  So I mean you. Maybe you're smarter than I am.
• 49:38
  We'll see. So we're we're at the meeting
• 49:41
  and you did this, this program, you did this, the this outreach
• 49:45
  that you want to do and share with the with the chapter,
• 49:47
  you're going to do it now. How did that come to be and what
• 49:50
  is it? It's the protocol and
• 49:54
  significance of the taps, which is a song.
• 49:58
  Well, not a song. Well, yeah, it is a song for if
• 50:02
  a military member has fallen. And like before, it was that I
• 50:09
  was made from a song called Tattoo.
• 50:11
  Really. Yeah, that hold on.
• 50:14
  I have it written down here. General Daniel Daniel
• 50:18
  Butterfield he was Union had made.
• 50:22
  And you're going to do it for us now?
• 50:23
  Yeah, well, take it away. I'm just so happy you're here.
• 50:27
  Slow. Smooth.
• 50:28
  Thank you for having me. Oh, this is been.
• 50:30
  This is one of the best parts of my day right here.
• 50:32
  It's all you. Thank you.
• 50:34
  During the Rolling Thunder candlelight vigil while TAPS is
• 50:38
  being played, I made the mistake of moving.
• 50:41
  I did not know the protocol and I saw my mom upset so I went to
• 50:45
  comfort her. President Michelle came after,
• 50:48
  came up to me after and told me the mistake I made and has
• 50:52
  tasked me with researching the significance and protocol of
• 50:55
  TAPS. So not only I can learn, learn
• 51:00
  sorry, but I can help others learn too.
• 51:03
  Here listed below is what I have learned since doing my research.
• 51:07
  TAPS has done an acronym but it is the name of a 24 note song
• 51:11
  traditionally played by a bugle in the military to signal the
• 51:15
  end of the day or lights out. It is also used to honor any
• 51:18
  military fallen service member. The song was created in 1862
• 51:23
  during the world the Civil War. It was adapted by General Daniel
• 51:27
  Butterfield. He was union for another song
• 51:30
  called Tattoo because it is it is now used to signify the end
• 51:34
  of the service members duty. It is a sad but powerful
• 51:37
  tribute. This is below is the is the
• 51:41
  protocol that both military and civil civilians should follow
• 51:47
  during the playing of taps. All president, all president not
• 51:53
  in uniform should stand at attendance at attention.
• 51:57
  Thank you. With their right hand over their
• 51:59
  heart. Men not in uniform should remove
• 52:02
  all headgear and hold them in their left hand while placing
• 52:06
  the right over their heart. Individual individuals in the
• 52:10
  military should give the salute at the first note of the song
• 52:13
  and keep it until the last note. Veterans and active active duty
• 52:18
  service members not in uniform should also give the salute.
• 52:22
  If you are inside and not in uniform, it is respectful to
• 52:24
  stand during Taps. When TAPS is being played on
• 52:27
  military bases, salutes are not required and a military funeral
• 52:32
  or memorial. Any individual should not move
• 52:34
  out of the respect of the fallen on a military base.
• 52:37
  At the end of the day, no formal protocol is required.
• 52:41
  Through the mistake I made, I am thankful that I've learned more
• 52:44
  about this topic as it will help me become more respectful and
• 52:47
  help me honor our military. God bless our military and God
• 52:50
  Bless America. So you, you present that and I'm
• 53:01
  like, wow, I mean, you, you, you, Michelle corrected you,
• 53:05
  right? You know, and hey, you know
• 53:07
  what, Eva, she corrects me too. I, I mean, it's an equal
• 53:12
  opportunity thing. So you know what?
• 53:13
  I, I, I've just learned to accept that like you did and,
• 53:16
  and move on from it. But you, you went and researched
• 53:20
  this and The thing is there, there really is a protocol
• 53:23
  you're supposed to follow. You're supposed to be respectful
• 53:26
  when something like that is plain.
• 53:28
  And, you know, for those of us who have served and we've had
• 53:31
  service members pass on it, it, it's a very poignant, meaningful
• 53:37
  time. And I just, again, the fact that
• 53:40
  you're, you know, so young and going to share and do this puts
• 53:44
  me in a really good place. Like, you know, America's going
• 53:46
  to be all right. Yeah, and actually my, I do
• 53:49
  theatre and my theatre company is looking to do a play on the
• 53:55
  military and it's actually called Rolling Thunder.
• 53:58
  Well, I mean, hey folks, when that comes out, we'll have to do
• 54:02
  a little field trip and see how that is.
• 54:04
  Theater rats in Fall River. Theater, theater rats in Fall
• 54:07
  River. Yes.
• 54:09
  All right, all right, we'll follow up on that.
• 54:11
  Eva, I want to thank you for coming on and sharing and making
• 54:14
  this time so special. It it just means the world to
• 54:16
  me. Well.
• 54:17
  Thank you for having me, this is amazing to do and.
• 54:19
  You see, was it that bad? It's amazing.
• 54:22
  All right, All right. All right, folks, we're going to
• 54:24
  take a little break and be back to close this up.
• 54:26
  Thank you so much. Stay tuned and we're back.
• 54:35
  I'm going to have Michelle close this out, but I wanted to give
• 54:38
  some of the chapter members a chance to talk with me about
• 54:41
  their experiences like Dean and Eva have.
• 54:43
  And my next guest I have known for quite some time.
• 54:46
  You're you're quite as a fan of a different part of me, aren't
• 54:49
  you? We'll talk about that.
• 54:52
  I want to welcome Harley to OM Rito.
• 54:55
  Harley, how are you doing? Good.
• 54:56
  How are you? I'm so glad you're here.
• 54:59
  And you know, we have some history, you and I.
• 55:02
  So I, I, I should have brought it, but I crocheted blankets.
• 55:08
  I had a lot of stuff to load and I didn't even think about it.
• 55:10
  And my first real memory of Harley was she wanted the camo
• 55:15
  blanket. Can you talk about that for us,
• 55:17
  please? We have a Mardi Gras fundraiser
• 55:20
  every year and every year Travis Croce is a blanket that is
• 55:25
  gorgeous and it's always camouflage.
• 55:28
  And I had my eye on this blanket for so long and had wanted it
• 55:32
  and I just had my little baby girl and she would kept trying
• 55:37
  to steal it. She sleeps with it every night
• 55:38
  still. We fight for it all the time,
• 55:41
  and that was one of our biggest things.
• 55:44
  And not only it's so beautiful, but coming from somebody that
• 55:49
  you might not always think would be someone that crocheted.
• 55:54
  And I had a lot of students at the time that were trying to get
• 55:58
  into sewing and things like that.
• 56:00
  So to be able to have a role model that can show that you can
• 56:03
  have so many different sides of you and create so many beautiful
• 56:06
  things in life was amazing to me as well.
• 56:09
  Well, I mean, you created a a, a life, you create a place here.
• 56:13
  How was your journey getting into Rolling Thunder?
• 56:16
  So I actually started with Rolling Thunder.
• 56:19
  I was Miss United States Agriculture.
• 56:21
  And with that I was going to events.
• 56:24
  I was trying to help them with different things going on,
• 56:27
  speaking at events, helping with the pledge.
• 56:30
  And then I had sponsored a chair at the battleship in Fall River,
• 56:35
  and when we were there listening to Michelle on the stage speak
• 56:38
  about how you could be a cager, you didn't have to ride,
• 56:42
  Learning about not having to be a veteran and that you could
• 56:45
  help in other ways and civilians can have a big impact for
• 56:48
  veterans as well was a big ordeal for me.
• 56:51
  And the next day I had got that application and filled it out.
• 56:55
  So there was a time when I was still coming to the ham and
• 56:58
  being dinner when we had that. A lot of the other events with
• 57:02
  the chairs and the table, it had a big effect on me.
• 57:05
  And then after that, I want to be a part of it.
• 57:07
  And then I've been wearing the best sense.
• 57:09
  So to me, it's very, it's important to mention that you're
• 57:13
  you're a civilian. You did not serve in the
• 57:15
  military. Yes, I did not.
• 57:16
  Serve and, and you know, you're obviously a woman.
• 57:18
  I mean, you know, I, I want to stick that.
• 57:20
  And the reason I want to do that is because a lot of female
• 57:23
  veterans and women in general that I meet want to be involved
• 57:27
  with a veteran service organization like boiling
• 57:29
  Thunder. And they get kind of, you know,
• 57:33
  apprehensive that they're going to be accepted.
• 57:34
  Or can they make a place for themselves when they want to
• 57:38
  join them? Will they be accepted and you
• 57:41
  come in like Michelle has and made your place?
• 57:44
  What would you tell a woman who, especially when who has not
• 57:48
  served about, you know, getting involved with veterans advocacy
• 57:51
  or join Rolling Thunder? I think the biggest thing is
• 57:54
  there's a place for all of us. We all have our own things
• 57:57
  inside of us that we can bring out to help each other and help
• 58:01
  those in need. And everybody needs different
• 58:03
  things from us and we each can point in like what we need.
• 58:09
  So for myself, I really love the education portion of it.
• 58:12
  So reading all about Rolling Thunder and our mission
• 58:16
  statement, I really dove into the education piece of that to
• 58:20
  make sure that we're not only helping our veterans, our
• 58:23
  service members, focusing on the families, the kids, and those
• 58:27
  that maybe aren't sure about what it is and may not be coming
• 58:31
  to our events. Reading books we did, Reading to
• 58:35
  remember, which is now a portion of Rolling Thunder and being
• 58:38
  able to do that. We get into different
• 58:41
  generations to make sure that our veterans, those that
• 58:44
  haven't, come home and our mission is not forgotten.
• 58:49
  There's so many things you could do with your time and, and like
• 58:52
  Kai and like Eva, I see that you bring your daughter to the the
• 58:56
  meetings. And I remember holding her.
• 59:00
  It was a really special moment, right?
• 59:02
  You know, I'm like, oh, wow. I mean, I remember my sons were
• 59:04
  this small. But as she grows up, she's going
• 59:07
  to see this example and the other people and the other women
• 59:10
  in Rolling Thunder. What do you think her journey is
• 59:12
  going to be like? I think the biggest part is
• 59:16
  whether she decides to serve or not, she knows that there's a
• 59:19
  point in her life where she can help those, whether she decides
• 59:23
  to wear a uniform or not. My grandfather who we currently
• 59:27
  live with, he just turned 90. He is a Korean War veteran.
• 59:31
  And growing up and seeing somebody that has served and
• 59:34
  everything that they've gone through, hearing the stories
• 59:36
  first hand is something that we need to carry on to our next
• 59:40
  generations. And I think that she's going,
• 59:43
  she wears her own vest now and I think she's going to continue to
• 59:45
  wear it to do what we do now. Well, Harley, I want to thank
• 59:49
  you for coming on and talking with me.
• 59:51
  I mean, it just seems like a blink of an eye and she's
• 59:53
  growing like a weed. And you know, again, the Mardi
• 59:56
  Gras and the other things, there's just a place for
• 59:59
  everybody. Like the way you said that.
• 1:00:03
  All right, we're going to see if we can get somebody else or get
• 1:00:05
  Michelle up here. Thank you for staying with us.
• 1:00:08
  We'll be right back and we're back.
• 1:00:14
  My next guest is and I love his his you know, Rd. name.
• 1:00:21
  I'm ADC guy, you know, Lobo, Batman, that kind of thing.
• 1:00:24
  But my favorite Marvel character without a doubt, is Ghost Rider.
• 1:00:29
  I love that movie, too. Nicolas Cage.
• 1:00:32
  Yeah. You like Nicolas Cage one?
• 1:00:33
  I love that movie. I know there's an old school
• 1:00:36
  version which is really huge. The knife.
• 1:00:39
  Well, the only the the motorcycle Nicolas Cage version
• 1:00:42
  was definitely the best. Yeah, so.
• 1:00:44
  OK. And and.
• 1:00:45
  But Nick Cage wasn't Johnny Blaze.
• 1:00:48
  Yeah. OK, OK.
• 1:00:50
  More cycle. Cool.
• 1:00:51
  Nicknot so much. Did you serve in the military?
• 1:00:55
  I did not. I didn't serve, but my
• 1:00:58
  grandfather was in the Korean War.
• 1:01:00
  Oh wow, so that. That that kind of, you know,
• 1:01:04
  kept this going. Yeah.
• 1:01:05
  So because I didn't serve the whole, my whole drive behind it
• 1:01:10
  was to give back for those who did serve.
• 1:01:14
  And that's my way of basically serving them and my
• 1:01:17
  grandfather's name and carrying that on.
• 1:01:21
  I think it's important, Jason, because the Korean War Veterans
• 1:01:25
  are kind of like lost between the World War 2 and Vietnam era
• 1:01:28
  veterans. But I mean, they had a hard,
• 1:01:30
  hard road. And when you read about the
• 1:01:32
  Battle of the Frozen Chosen and what the Chinese try to do, it's
• 1:01:36
  really amazing any of them came home.
• 1:01:39
  So again, kind of like Harley and others in Rolling Thunder,
• 1:01:42
  you didn't serve the military, but you see this and you wanted
• 1:01:45
  to join the organization. What made you apply?
• 1:01:52
  I had actually, at the time, my brother-in-law was a member and
• 1:01:57
  a member of Rolling Thunder and I liked the familiness and the
• 1:02:03
  like, working together and just giving back and enjoying what we
• 1:02:08
  do. Now, if I may be so you know, I
• 1:02:11
  don't want to assume that your your wife, Yep, is also a
• 1:02:14
  member. Yes, and my son.
• 1:02:16
  So it's it's truly a family thing.
• 1:02:18
  Yes. And, and and you run a
• 1:02:20
  motorcycle. I do.
• 1:02:21
  What do you ride? Street Guide.
• 1:02:23
  Harley Street Guide. You like the streak lines?
• 1:02:25
  I like it because it's not like a complete touring.
• 1:02:29
  It is a touring, but it's still got that like regular bike feel,
• 1:02:35
  you know what I'm saying? Yeah, it's not like the tour.
• 1:02:36
  Not like a Cadillac, but it's still got that ruggedness of,
• 1:02:39
  well. There's plenty of space for the
• 1:02:41
  wife's purse and maybe, you know, some some stuff if she
• 1:02:45
  goes shopping. Yes.
• 1:02:47
  OK, OK. But go plenty of speed down the
• 1:02:49
  road. Yes, and comfort when long
• 1:02:51
  travel. Well, that's the thing I got to
• 1:02:54
  ask you like you guys ride in the rain.
• 1:02:56
  We ride no matter what the weather is our mission and our
• 1:03:03
  thing was the people in the military didn't get to pick the
• 1:03:05
  weather. So that's our way is you know
• 1:03:09
  what, you didn't get to pick the weather needed to we so we ride
• 1:03:12
  no matter what. It, it was crazy.
• 1:03:15
  I think it was a Fall River, you know, Memorial Day weekend and
• 1:03:19
  it's pouring buckets. And I remember seeing you all
• 1:03:22
  come on the bikes. I'm like, wait a minute, I, I, I
• 1:03:24
  wasn't riding at the time and I'm like, wait a minute.
• 1:03:27
  I mean, sheets of rain. I couldn't see you all and, and
• 1:03:32
  there you all were. But it meant a lot for you to be
• 1:03:35
  able to complete that ride as a chapter.
• 1:03:38
  Absolutely. We want to.
• 1:03:39
  We do things together. There's multiple chapters
• 1:03:42
  throughout this country and that particular ride, Memorial Day,
• 1:03:47
  everybody starts at the same exact time all across the
• 1:03:50
  country at noon time on the hour.
• 1:03:53
  So that's why we do that, because I've come out to the
• 1:03:57
  casino, right? The plain, plain Ridge.
• 1:04:00
  Plain Ridge? Yep.
• 1:04:00
  Thank you. Sorry, Plain Ridge Casino and I
• 1:04:03
  know that Pete's like hey, 12O clock kickstand up, let's get
• 1:04:07
  going. I'm like, I mean just just
• 1:04:09
  chill, man. Like Pete doesn't get very
• 1:04:11
  excited very much, but man, he is on it when it comes to that.
• 1:04:15
  We have to go at noon. I didn't understand why.
• 1:04:18
  So you're saying nationwide? Nationwide Memorial Day weekend
• 1:04:22
  the Sunday everybody across the country has their ride and they
• 1:04:27
  all leave at 12 noon exact I. Have to ask, did you ever do one
• 1:04:32
  of the Washington DC rides where all the bikes showed up?
• 1:04:35
  I did not. I was.
• 1:04:36
  I came in after that. So I was here for that first
• 1:04:40
  regional ride. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 1:04:42
  The reason I ask that is I always wondered what that would
• 1:04:44
  have been like to do One, just one.
• 1:04:46
  And I'm I wish they'd do it again, but just once.
• 1:04:49
  I've heard stories like I've heard stories of there's
• 1:04:52
  hundreds of thousands of bikes and it takes 121081012 hours to
• 1:05:00
  get all the bikes just out of the parking lot and people are
• 1:05:03
  already coming back and it's craziest.
• 1:05:06
  It's a little too much for me. A little bit.
• 1:05:09
  So how long have you been a member of Rolling Thunder?
• 1:05:11
  I think I'm going on six years now.
• 1:05:15
  And, and I have to think, you know, very rarely when I think
• 1:05:18
  about the Marine Corps League or the VFW American Legion, I'm a
• 1:05:22
  member of the American Legion. I'm a life member of the Marine
• 1:05:24
  Corps League. The wives kind of show up
• 1:05:27
  sometimes and do the work that, you know, we don't want to do.
• 1:05:30
  Just just just being candid with you, right?
• 1:05:32
  You know, when it comes to clean up the kitchen and, you know,
• 1:05:35
  hey, us, hey, honey, come here. But but you all are husband and
• 1:05:39
  wife in this organization. Like like how's, what's that
• 1:05:42
  like to you? It's I love it.
• 1:05:45
  I love the fact that my son now is a junior member, something we
• 1:05:49
  can do together. When we take the motorcycle,
• 1:05:52
  obviously we can't take him, but so we go out, we'll ride
• 1:05:55
  together, we do the fence together, we have a family
• 1:05:59
  together. Nice, nice, nice.
• 1:06:01
  Well again folks, this is just is just what makes this so
• 1:06:04
  unique and why throughout the years I've really felt at home
• 1:06:09
  with 1 Thunder Mass Chapter 2 and 1 Thunder as an organization
• 1:06:12
  because of the family element. Ghost Rider, I want to thank you
• 1:06:15
  for coming on and talking. To you very much.
• 1:06:17
  Absolutely, absolutely. So we're going to see if we get
• 1:06:19
  a couple others maybe, maybe not, and then we'll go on to
• 1:06:22
  Michelle to close us out. We'll be right back and we're
• 1:06:29
  back. I mean, this is what I love.
• 1:06:31
  I get one and then I get another and another and another and just
• 1:06:35
  keeps going and they don't even realize I'm doing it to them.
• 1:06:37
  So I got my next guest here from Massachusetts, 1 Thunder Chapter
• 1:06:41
  2, the secretary of the chapter. She is Becca, and you saw her
• 1:06:47
  earlier. Welcome to Ask Mike Radio.
• 1:06:50
  Thank you. Thank you for having me and
• 1:06:51
  having us. We appreciate it.
• 1:06:53
  Are you kidding me? I, I, I've been with you all for
• 1:06:55
  years now. This is just this is just the
• 1:06:58
  best. And again, I just want to say
• 1:07:01
  thank you for what a wonderful ceremony you put on earlier with
• 1:07:04
  the missing man table. And I really like the fact that
• 1:07:06
  the Bible is there because for a lot of us, our faith is what
• 1:07:10
  gets us through these hard times.
• 1:07:12
  So thank you for making sure that was there.
• 1:07:14
  Absolutely, Absolutely. How did you become to be
• 1:07:17
  involved with Rolling Thunder? So I worked in the Veterans
• 1:07:23
  Service office for the city of Fall River and this this lovely
• 1:07:28
  woman. I was going to say.
• 1:07:29
  Name Michelle Hamilton became the new VSO for the city of Fall
• 1:07:34
  River. And I worked with her one-on-one
• 1:07:39
  for different ceremonies and things like that throughout the
• 1:07:41
  Fall River community for the veteran community.
• 1:07:44
  And she basically Volun told me and said you need to get your
• 1:07:49
  ass to this meeting. You need to come check us out.
• 1:07:53
  You need to be a part of this, I said, all right, all right, all
• 1:07:57
  right. So I went.
• 1:07:58
  My first ever experience was actually the Memorial Day ride.
• 1:08:03
  That was back in 2021. Sounds about right.
• 1:08:10
  Around there because it was, it was, it was.
• 1:08:13
  No, actually maybe 20/23/2023 because it was right after my
• 1:08:16
  son was born. So yeah.
• 1:08:20
  And you join you. You're just like, she gets after
• 1:08:24
  me, Michelle also, Vaughn tells me.
• 1:08:27
  Yes. You know.
• 1:08:28
  You do, you do what boss lady tells you to.
• 1:08:30
  Do I just say yes? I just say yes.
• 1:08:32
  Yes, ma'am. What time?
• 1:08:34
  Where do I need to be? It's easy.
• 1:08:36
  It's just easy. It's just easier that.
• 1:08:37
  Way command syntax is laid out, I just OK whatever you want.
• 1:08:40
  I might be the queen bee, but she's the queen, you know?
• 1:08:42
  Well, it's, it's, it's all good. You you join.
• 1:08:46
  Where did you start discovering about you?
• 1:08:49
  You worked in the Veteran Service Office for the City of
• 1:08:51
  Fall River, But what's it like, you know, getting to serve in
• 1:08:54
  this way? It is so fulfilling.
• 1:08:59
  Yeah. So I, you know, did not have the
• 1:09:05
  honor to serve. But my grandfather was a career
• 1:09:08
  man. He started in the Army pilot
• 1:09:13
  school before it's became the Air Force back in, you know,
• 1:09:17
  during World War 2 times. And my aunts and uncles also
• 1:09:22
  served. My husband who is also a member,
• 1:09:26
  he's not here today, but my husband's grandfather was Brown
• 1:09:28
  water Navy during Vietnam. He a part of him was his face
• 1:09:34
  was blown off through shrapnel. He had to have surgery and he
• 1:09:37
  went back after that. So we definitely have a strong
• 1:09:44
  love for the military and my family, my husband's family, I
• 1:09:49
  grew up around, I guess you could say, being an Air Force
• 1:09:53
  brat, as it were. My my father was born on Masawa
• 1:09:58
  Air Force Base in 1951. So it was definitely just
• 1:10:03
  embedded in me to just. Part of your DNA.
• 1:10:06
  Part of my DNA, you know, I grew up on SOS and all kinds of stuff
• 1:10:12
  and it just, it just was how it is.
• 1:10:15
  How it is, how it is. You're secretary for this
• 1:10:19
  chapter now, Yes, and it's still fulfilling.
• 1:10:22
  It is, it is. I'm new at it so I say to
• 1:10:27
  everyone all the time, bear with me because I'm still learning,
• 1:10:29
  but it's definitely been an eye opener and definitely a job
• 1:10:35
  worth having. So like.
• 1:10:36
  I asked Harley again, you know, I, I go the American Legion and
• 1:10:41
  yeah, we have some female veterans there, but it's, it's
• 1:10:44
  not, you are not like everybody else.
• 1:10:47
  And I think it's very good thing because again, I, I have female
• 1:10:50
  veterans. I have women, I work with women
• 1:10:53
  I know who like, hey, I, you know, I, I want to check it out,
• 1:10:56
  but I'm scared I'm not going to be accepted.
• 1:10:58
  But you all kind of just made your own place here and done it
• 1:11:01
  your way. How's that work?
• 1:11:04
  Well, you give a woman the right pair of shoes, she can conquer
• 1:11:06
  the world. It's all about the shoes.
• 1:11:09
  It's all about the shoes. It's it's all I I learned
• 1:11:13
  something new every day. OK, I didn't know that.
• 1:11:16
  OK. So I mean, if you think about
• 1:11:20
  it, during World War 2 times, who was the backbone of our
• 1:11:26
  country while our men were serving?
• 1:11:28
  Well, do you believe Rosa derivative was there for a
• 1:11:30
  reason? Yeah.
• 1:11:32
  You know, we, we as women, you know, we did everything right.
• 1:11:36
  We made sure the kids weren't dying in a field somewhere and
• 1:11:40
  making sure there was food for, you know, our loved ones when
• 1:11:44
  they came home no matter what at the end of the day.
• 1:11:46
  And, you know, sometimes even had to work, You know, I work
• 1:11:49
  full time and take care of the kids and, you know, do what I
• 1:11:54
  need to do. It's just how it is.
• 1:11:55
  And. You'll make it look so easy.
• 1:11:58
  I, I've done a little bit of it, you know, as a bachelor and I'm
• 1:12:01
  like, you know, Thanksgiving meals are hard.
• 1:12:05
  I'm just saying, Becca, I mean, now I know why something gets so
• 1:12:08
  mad Thanksgiving Day. I'm just saying well.
• 1:12:11
  That's what vodka is for, my friend.
• 1:12:15
  I don't, I don't drink. Maybe that's why that maybe
• 1:12:17
  that's the problem. OK.
• 1:12:20
  But you serve, you make it look so easy, and you're an example
• 1:12:24
  for other women. What's the future for your
• 1:12:27
  chapter? Annoying Thunder as a whole do
• 1:12:28
  you think? Our children, right?
• 1:12:32
  So we have, I think we're one of the chapters that have one of
• 1:12:35
  the most amount of junior members and they are the future.
• 1:12:40
  If we can't show them what it is to be proud, to be humbled, to
• 1:12:47
  be in awe of these service members who gave everything so
• 1:12:55
  we can still be free. They gave their lives.
• 1:12:59
  They gave up every single ounce of them so we can be able to put
• 1:13:06
  the food in the oven and be able to eat that Thanksgiving.
• 1:13:09
  If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have that.
• 1:13:12
  So if we don't teach our children, if we don't teach our
• 1:13:15
  future that respect, that humbleness, then there is no
• 1:13:21
  future. Powerful, powerful Becca, I want
• 1:13:23
  that you come on and talking with me.
• 1:13:25
  It's been great. And again, just what a what a
• 1:13:28
  really surreal and and serene moment watching your guys's
• 1:13:31
  ceremony earlier. Thank you so much.
• 1:13:33
  Thank you. Thank you.
• 1:13:35
  OK, we're going to see who's next or maybe Michelle.
• 1:13:37
  We'll be right back. Stay tuned.
• 1:13:42
  And we're back and the train is rolling.
• 1:13:44
  I mean, I know they ride motorcycles, but I feel like
• 1:13:46
  they're working a train because it's on the track.
• 1:13:49
  And we're we're just going now. And my next guest is is just a
• 1:13:53
  cool guy I've gotten to know. Introduce yourself for us
• 1:13:55
  please. My name is John Killian.
• 1:13:59
  My Rd. name Rolling Thunder is Johnny K.
• 1:14:02
  Johnny K, not Johnny Blaze. Johnny K.
• 1:14:06
  Darn. Well, I got to meet you and we
• 1:14:09
  started talking about a lot of things, John.
• 1:14:13
  We talked about JJ Millett and Vector's advocacy and you do a
• 1:14:16
  lot with Rolling Thunder. How did you get connected with
• 1:14:19
  Rolling Thunder please? About 12 years ago, I was
• 1:14:24
  reading the Patriot Ledger. There was a the veteran service
• 1:14:30
  officer of Randolph, he told in the paper that there was a
• 1:14:35
  veteran who passed away and he had no one at all.
• 1:14:40
  And he was asking for veterans and veterans organizations to
• 1:14:44
  cut come down to Bourne for his Funeral services.
• 1:14:49
  And that's where I first I met Michelle Hamilton and the rest
• 1:14:55
  of the folks in Rolling Thunder, and I've been a member ever
• 1:14:58
  since. What's it like being a member?
• 1:15:02
  It's awesome, is great, everybody gets along.
• 1:15:05
  It's a great group of people. People always given more than
• 1:15:11
  what they receive. And what do you do?
• 1:15:15
  You do you ride a motorcycle. No, I don't ride.
• 1:15:18
  OK, OK, so yeah, Rd. names John and Kate.
• 1:15:20
  Sorry, I got confused there. No problem.
• 1:15:23
  You also do stuff outside of Rolling Thunder.
• 1:15:26
  Yes, I belong to Scarsh American Military Society, and for 26
• 1:15:32
  years we've been placed on a roof like the Scottish flag at
• 1:15:36
  the wall in Washington, DC. Now I got to ask, the World Cup
• 1:15:41
  was just here. Did you run into any Scots while
• 1:15:43
  you were while they were in town?
• 1:15:46
  Oh yeah, sure. They were all over the place.
• 1:15:51
  Yes indeed, they there was 1 establishment.
• 1:15:57
  They they drank them dry. No, I felt only Marines could do
• 1:16:02
  that. I didn't think the Scots could.
• 1:16:04
  But I got proven wrong. So many people, John, want to
• 1:16:10
  stay alone. They don't want to get out.
• 1:16:13
  You know, as a veteran, right? You know, there was a time in my
• 1:16:16
  life where it was easier to just watch TV, throw on the Xbox.
• 1:16:20
  I still love Xbox by the way, but to to stay in my, you know,
• 1:16:24
  little living room hidey hole and go out amongst people and
• 1:16:29
  that's really not a good thing, is it?
• 1:16:31
  No, you have to get out the veterans.
• 1:16:33
  They can't. A lot of veterans from the time
• 1:16:36
  of Vietnam, they keep a lot of everything inside, which is
• 1:16:41
  really not not good for their mental health.
• 1:16:43
  They have to speak about their experience in Vietnam.
• 1:16:48
  And just in general, right? Just, you know, hey, I, I did
• 1:16:51
  this. Right, like where they were
• 1:16:52
  stationed and what path in Vietnam they were stationed.
• 1:16:59
  What else do you like about Rolling Thunder?
• 1:17:03
  We do, we do a lot of good, do a lot of good deeds.
• 1:17:07
  We have like a Mardi Gras. Then on Memorial Day Rolling
• 1:17:14
  Thunder they do a a ride and remember for for the veterans
• 1:17:19
  who passed away Memorial Day. So now I lived in Louisiana for
• 1:17:24
  a while and when I first heard about the Mardi Gras, I'm like,
• 1:17:26
  wait a minute, what do? What do northerners, Yankees
• 1:17:29
  know about Mardi Gras? But you all do a pretty good
• 1:17:31
  job. You got the bead beads down and
• 1:17:33
  the colors and stuff like that. One thing that amazes me is how
• 1:17:37
  many people come out and support you all.
• 1:17:38
  What's that do for you when you see everybody coming through and
• 1:17:41
  eating and having a good time? It gives joy to us because
• 1:17:44
  people are showing up and, and they and they help and support
• 1:17:51
  our mission. Awesome, awesome.
• 1:17:53
  Well, I, I, I, I can't believe that we're here and we're doing
• 1:17:58
  this. It's been great having you all
• 1:18:00
  here. And I really enjoyed your part
• 1:18:02
  in the missing man ceremony earlier and not the Miss Man.
• 1:18:05
  Excuse me. I'm sorry.
• 1:18:06
  I really enjoyed the Pledge of Allegiance.
• 1:18:08
  Can you talk about that? What was the significance of
• 1:18:10
  you, your part in that? Because that's not usually
• 1:18:14
  something that we see. I kind of felt like I was
• 1:18:19
  representing the PO WS. OK.
• 1:18:22
  That's that's how it felt. So when you're standing up
• 1:18:25
  there, you represent the POW, whereas she was an American.
• 1:18:30
  And so you're really connected to the POW experience and what
• 1:18:34
  they're trying to do to what what you're you're trying to
• 1:18:37
  convey what they went through. Yes, absolutely, absolutely.
• 1:18:41
  Well, Johnny Kay, I want to thank you for coming up and
• 1:18:43
  talking with us. I really appreciate you sharing
• 1:18:46
  and I appreciate your part with the Pledge of Allegiance.
• 1:18:48
  Thank you so much. You're.
• 1:18:49
  Welcome. Awesome, awesome.
• 1:18:50
  Thank you. Absolutely, absolutely.
• 1:18:53
  We'll be right back and we're back and we're closing this out
• 1:19:00
  with, I mean, one of my best friends.
• 1:19:04
  You've been like a sister to me, a cheerleader.
• 1:19:08
  You have, you know, when I have been down mentally and
• 1:19:11
  physically, you pick me up. It's just special to be able to
• 1:19:14
  have this one with you. I want to welcome Michelle
• 1:19:16
  Hamilton, veteran, business woman and also the president of
• 1:19:22
  Rolling Thunder Mass Chapter 2. Michelle, welcome back to Ask
• 1:19:25
  Mike Radio. I know it's been a while, huh
• 1:19:27
  Travis? Well, the last time we we did
• 1:19:30
  ask Mike Radio was in Middleboro.
• 1:19:32
  A lot. When our chapter was brand new.
• 1:19:36
  You interviewed me and you were brand new too.
• 1:19:41
  Well, I mean, yeah, yeah. That was a lot that.
• 1:19:45
  Was a long time ago. A long time ago when when we
• 1:19:49
  talked about doing this, I went through the archives looking for
• 1:19:53
  pictures of you and it made me realize how long I've known you,
• 1:19:58
  Travis. Wow.
• 1:19:59
  It's not been a short time, no. And you see me at you know, my
• 1:20:04
  best and at my worst and in between as a president.
• 1:20:10
  You've grown this chapter what it is now, and I'm going to say
• 1:20:13
  this again, like it's really special to see the children
• 1:20:16
  involved with this outreach. You all do it.
• 1:20:20
  It just when I came the other day and and Eva, did you know
• 1:20:24
  her task presentation And yes, the little boys were running
• 1:20:28
  around and you know, but I'm like, OK, you know, five years
• 1:20:31
  from now, they'll be doing what she's doing.
• 1:20:34
  And Hurley brought her daughter. I'm like, this is amazing and it
• 1:20:38
  wouldn't happen if you all in the leadership didn't welcome
• 1:20:41
  people. Did you really craft your club
• 1:20:45
  this way? So a lot of veterans
• 1:20:48
  organizations are having issues with finding members and getting
• 1:20:53
  members. Rolling Thunder is unique in a
• 1:20:55
  couple of ways. First and foremost, we are an
• 1:20:58
  all volunteer organization. We are veterans, we are
• 1:21:02
  civilians, we are junior members, so we have junior
• 1:21:07
  members as part of our chapter and if we want to maintain a
• 1:21:13
  busy chapter, I think you can't welcome young families without
• 1:21:18
  young people. So it's part of the business of
• 1:21:22
  it's part of the game. So we have young people.
• 1:21:26
  Sometimes it's a little bit loud, sometimes it's not.
• 1:21:30
  We all work together with them. I think it's great.
• 1:21:33
  And then, you know, the other obvious thing is, you know, the
• 1:21:36
  number of women not only, you know, attending but also in
• 1:21:41
  leadership positions within the chapter.
• 1:21:44
  And it's it's, I don't want to say sad, but it's really unique
• 1:21:49
  when you realize, oh, yeah, you know what, this isn't normal.
• 1:21:52
  But you know what? Everybody's working together,
• 1:21:53
  everybody's accomplishing a mission.
• 1:21:55
  So it does work. And it's just an example that I
• 1:21:58
  want people to know about. I mean, we're different than
• 1:22:02
  other orgs in that way. I think we do have junior
• 1:22:06
  members and we welcome them as a chapter.
• 1:22:09
  We had junior members from the very beginning.
• 1:22:12
  We also invite everybody to be on an equal keel.
• 1:22:16
  So everybody has the right to vote, Everybody has the
• 1:22:20
  responsibilities. I don't even think if you guys
• 1:22:23
  realized, but two of our folks who participated in that missing
• 1:22:28
  man table, they're brand new members.
• 1:22:31
  I didn't know that. Brand new members like this.
• 1:22:35
  Is it fool me? So, so everybody works on the
• 1:22:39
  same level, everybody works at the same pace.
• 1:22:42
  I pick up the trash just like everybody else.
• 1:22:44
  Yeah, you do. So, you know, we're all the
• 1:22:47
  same. So many organizations like you,
• 1:22:51
  you've alluded to are losing membership.
• 1:22:53
  They're lose VFW's are closing. Like, you know, I drove by a
• 1:22:56
  couple, you know, today that I'm like, oh, that that used to be
• 1:22:59
  open and it's not anymore. But even beyond that, Beyond
• 1:23:04
  Mass Rolling Thunder seems to be doing well and growing.
• 1:23:08
  Why is that? The mission, yeah.
• 1:23:12
  I think it's if within the group you put the mission first, you
• 1:23:17
  will always be good. So, you know, the mission is to
• 1:23:21
  support families of the prisoners of war and those
• 1:23:24
  missing in action. We have a chapter member whose
• 1:23:27
  brother's missing in action. Every year.
• 1:23:29
  We lay a wreath at his grave. Every Memorial Day, we talk
• 1:23:33
  about him. Every POWMIA Recognition Day, we
• 1:23:36
  have them to our breakfast and we make sure that they're
• 1:23:39
  included. We've been there to repatriate
• 1:23:42
  remains. I got to watch a son get his
• 1:23:46
  Gold Star pinned to his vest because his dad remains of his
• 1:23:51
  dad came home. So I mean, those are special
• 1:23:54
  moments and and we get to participate in that just because
• 1:23:57
  we're Rolling Thunder members. It's spectacular to be there for
• 1:24:01
  those families. And I think if everybody
• 1:24:04
  realized there's 80,000 missing in action folks, I, I, you know,
• 1:24:12
  you never go anywhere that there isn't some family affected by a
• 1:24:16
  missing in action family member. And we forget about that.
• 1:24:20
  We don't acknowledge that. So we make it a point to
• 1:24:23
  acknowledge that. A lot of people can't believe
• 1:24:27
  still there's 80,000 service members that haven't been
• 1:24:30
  accounted for. And I'm like, how can you not
• 1:24:34
  know that? What do we do to make the
• 1:24:37
  education of, of that part of the military, you know,
• 1:24:40
  experience more prevalent? I think we just keep talking
• 1:24:43
  about it, right? And we keep being there for
• 1:24:46
  those families, for we have been able to interact with former
• 1:24:51
  prisoners of war and, and missing in action families.
• 1:24:55
  And I think that if you understand the generational
• 1:24:58
  impact that a missing in action family member has, if for one
• 1:25:02
  minute you think about this is grandpa talking about his
• 1:25:07
  brother to the grandchildren and and he's still missing in
• 1:25:11
  action, I think that it's significant.
• 1:25:16
  You all have, I mean, I've known you for a little while now, but
• 1:25:21
  I've always remembered where, you know, it was either a big
• 1:25:25
  event or a small event. I'd always see Mass chapter 2 or
• 1:25:30
  one there and sometimes other groups.
• 1:25:34
  Oh yeah, I'm going to show up and all.
• 1:25:36
  I got busy. I, I, we just didn't come.
• 1:25:39
  But you guys have always been there, and I think that really
• 1:25:43
  makes you all unique in this day and age when people are doing
• 1:25:46
  things for social media engagement or for money or just
• 1:25:50
  because, you know, it's easy, you all do the hard things too.
• 1:25:55
  And where does that come from? You just show up.
• 1:26:00
  I mean, it's what we. Do you think that's just normal?
• 1:26:03
  But it's not. You make a commitment, you show
• 1:26:06
  up. That's how we look at it.
• 1:26:09
  That's how we think about it. It isn't easy sometimes.
• 1:26:12
  And we'll sit at home and be like, Oh my God, I'm so tired.
• 1:26:16
  But it's your obligation to show up, so we do.
• 1:26:21
  It's just that easy. Yeah.
• 1:26:24
  You know, again, like I alluded to, you know, Michelle really
• 1:26:26
  saw me, you know, when I I was not, you know, walking and doing
• 1:26:32
  that. And you know, it was just I'm
• 1:26:36
  trying to summon the words of what it was like when I'm like,
• 1:26:38
  Michelle, I am not feeling good. This is I can't believe how bad
• 1:26:43
  I feel and how, you know, hard this is and and you you got
• 1:26:48
  this. And I just want to close by
• 1:26:50
  saying that, you know, I I appreciate you.
• 1:26:52
  I appreciate Pete. I appreciate all of you out
• 1:26:55
  there. You all mean the world to me.
• 1:26:57
  Thank you so much always. Travis, I got your back, buddy.
• 1:27:01
  I believe that folks, and she's one of the few women in this
• 1:27:04
  planet who can with complete impunity, tell me what to do,
• 1:27:08
  tell me that I'm messing up. But also, hey, you know what,
• 1:27:10
  Trav? You actually did a pretty good
• 1:27:12
  job there. Now I need you to calm down and,
• 1:27:15
  you know, talk to me about this and that and you know when
• 1:27:17
  you're going to be here. And it's just like I said, she's
• 1:27:20
  like an older sister I never had.
• 1:27:21
  So again, thank you my. Pleasure.
• 1:27:26
  This has been a special time, special moment.
• 1:27:28
  There's some special friends of mine in the audience.
• 1:27:30
  I'm I'm not going to embarrass them too bad and have them come
• 1:27:32
  up here. But the people you saw come up
• 1:27:35
  and talk to me, I've known for quite some time.
• 1:27:37
  They've all shared openly about why veteran service means
• 1:27:40
  something to them. And so if you're looking for
• 1:27:43
  organization to join and or donate to or support, be hard
• 1:27:49
  pressed to find one better than Mass Chapter 2 Rolling Thunder,
• 1:27:51
  so 90. Something chapters in Rolling
• 1:27:54
  Thunder. It's not just us.
• 1:27:55
  We're big in every part of this country.
• 1:27:59
  So not. Just about us.
• 1:28:02
  See see, I mean she never quits. It never stops.
• 1:28:07
  I get corrected like right now and you know she, I know, I
• 1:28:11
  know. And and she's right.
• 1:28:13
  And you know what? You did that pretty good.
• 1:28:16
  I think Ty's going to do that. But the national 90 chapters
• 1:28:20
  nationally, and again, they used to meet, I remember when they
• 1:28:24
  rode to DC and a lot of people thought when the DC rivals over
• 1:28:28
  that you all would kind of just fade into nothingness.
• 1:28:32
  But if you look at the numbers, going Thunder as a national org
• 1:28:35
  is very prominent, very powerful and very involved with things
• 1:28:40
  locally at the national level. And I don't guess an accident.
• 1:28:44
  It's about the families you know, we rode this month, past
• 1:28:47
  month. So, so I wrote I, we were able
• 1:28:50
  to ride in the ride in DC at the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam
• 1:28:54
  Wall, 1.5 million bikers in that parking lot.
• 1:28:59
  When Johnny K said to you about people, we rode upfront with
• 1:29:03
  Rolling Thunder, which is not upfront.
• 1:29:05
  Trust me, there's a ton of Rolling Thunder bikes and
• 1:29:08
  chapters. So we rode upfront with Rolling
• 1:29:11
  Thunder. We made it back to our hotel and
• 1:29:14
  we were could see the Pentagon parking lot and bikes were still
• 1:29:17
  pulling out 1.5 million six hours later.
• 1:29:23
  If we ever do it again, I'm I'm there.
• 1:29:25
  I'm there again, I want to thank you all for making this special
• 1:29:29
  day just an amazing time from the Pledge of Allegiance to the
• 1:29:34
  missing man table to you know, talking about the cage and then
• 1:29:37
  all of you commitment sharing with us.
• 1:29:39
  Believe me that other people, other veterans will see this and
• 1:29:42
  learn from it. So again, thank you for your
• 1:29:45
  time. Thank you for joining me on this
• 1:29:47
  special day where mission flight we'll see you next time.
• 1:29:50
  Let's see every generation, every sacrifice, our nation's
• 1:29:57
  service members have stood up for our freedom, our families,
• 1:30:00
  and our future. Now it's our turn to stand up
• 1:30:02
  for them. This year, you can honor their
• 1:30:04
  service in a deeply personal way by sponsoring a $17.00 Veteran's
• 1:30:08
  Wreath. Each wreath is more than a
• 1:30:10
  symbol. It's a heartfelt tribute to the
• 1:30:12
  heroes who served and to the families who carry their legacy.
• 1:30:16
  Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org to sponsor a wreath today.
• 1:30:20
  This isn't just a wreath, it's a personal gift to an American
• 1:30:23
  hero. Thank you for listening and
• 1:30:26
  watching OM Radio, where our active duty service members and
• 1:30:31
  veterans are in action and the mission is in flight.
• 1:30:38
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• 1:30:44
  If you are a veteran or you're a veteran who needs help, please
• 1:30:48
  dial 988 and press one for the Veterans prices line.