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Marine Sergeant Mark Smith and homes for our troops · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

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In this political coliseum, we slay the rising
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This is unleashed the political news hour.
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Welcome to Unleash the Political News Hour.
0:37
I'm your host, Mayor Dub.
0:40
May is national military appreciation month in the
0:43
United States.
0:47
So I wanted to take an opportunity and
0:50
have a show that raises awareness about the
0:54
significance of this month.
0:58
And I wanted to also take the opportunity
1:02
to have a service member share a story.
1:06
So joining me today on the show is
1:09
Marine Sergeant Mark Smith.
1:12
And Mark has just an incredible story of
1:16
grit and determination that I know each and
1:19
every one of you won't want to miss.
1:31
So I want to first start off by
1:34
just talking a little bit about Military Appreciation
1:37
Month and why we designated as such in
1:40
the United States.
1:43
It is put forth as a time to
1:48
honor, remember, and recognize the service and sacrifice
1:53
of the armed forces veterans and their families.
1:59
It was established back in 1999 by Congress.
2:04
And the reason May was chosen is because
2:09
several military holidays take place during that month,
2:13
including Loyalty Day on May 1st, Military Spouse
2:17
Appreciation Day on May 8th, Armed Forces Day
2:21
on May 16th, and Memorial Day the last
2:25
Monday in May.
2:30
So those are just some key dates.
2:56
We can also use social media.
3:00
Well, that's a great tool that reaches a
3:01
lot of people.
3:03
We can use that as a way to
3:06
express our support and gratitude.
3:08
We can also do letter writing campaigns.
3:11
So if you're a little more old fashioned
3:14
like I am, and you want to write
3:17
a letter, I know that there are local
3:19
churches and youth organizations that uh get all
3:22
of those together and then mail them to
3:25
bases overseas.
3:28
We can also attend local ceremonies.
3:33
Uh, if you want to, you can also
3:36
get the family in a car, maybe, and
3:38
attend a bigger national ceremony at one of
3:41
our memorials.
3:43
Uh, I know there's a lot of those
3:46
going on, especially during the Memorial Day weekend,
3:48
which is coming up.
3:52
Now I want to talk a little bit
3:55
uh about the organization Homes for Our Troops.
3:58
I came across this organization about a year
4:01
ago, and I am just so impressed with
4:04
what they do.
4:08
They are a publicly funded 501c3 nonprofit organization.
4:15
And what they do is they build and
4:17
then donate.
4:20
Yes, donate.
4:31
Uh, to date, this organization, homes for our
4:37
troops, has donated 433 homes across 46 states.
4:43
And that just is amazing.
4:45
Think about that.
4:46
They have built and donated two veterans, 433
4:50
homes across 46 states.
4:55
Uh, they are not stopping anytime soon.
4:58
They also have an additional 76 projects underway.
5:05
And one of the most just exceptional facts
5:10
about this organization is according to the IRS,
5:14
for example, there are 45,000 nonprofits that are
5:19
registered to serve veterans and their families.
5:24
So Homes for Our Troops is one of
5:26
those 45,000.
5:28
But I'm so impressed with the fact that
5:31
since its inception in 2004, homes for our
5:35
troops, every 90 cents of, or I should
5:38
say 90 cents of every dollar has been
5:42
spent on or goes directly to the veterans
5:45
that they serve.
5:49
And that is just an exemplary example of
5:53
great money management, in my opinion, for a
5:56
non-for-profit.
6:00
The other thing I want to highlight uh
6:03
quickly is that they also provide a pro
6:07
bono financial planner for three years to assist
6:10
in financial planning and household budgeting.
6:14
They also provide home ownership education to ensure
6:17
the veteran is set up for long-term success
6:21
as a homeowner, which is so important.
6:24
Um, sometimes we look at things on a
6:26
very short term.
6:28
Uh, okay, here's your home.
6:30
Good luck.
6:31
Uh, homes for our troops is really different
6:33
in that way that they wrap around and
6:36
support the veteran uh right after the home
6:39
is given to them and uh just ensuring
6:41
their success in life.
6:44
So stay tuned.
6:46
Uh, an incredible story is coming up.
6:49
Marine Sergeant Mark Smith joining me after this
6:52
break.
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A man's country is not a certain area
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America out loud dot news is that place
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the outlook.
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Welcome back, everyone.
9:39
Joining me now is Marine Sergeant Mark Smith.
9:45
And as I mentioned earlier in the show,
9:48
Mark is a recipient of a home from
9:51
the organization Homes for Our Troops.
9:55
And I invited Mark on the show today
9:59
in honor of Military Appreciation Month because I
10:02
really wanted to take this time to uh
10:06
hear the story of someone who really exemplifies
10:10
what our military is all about and the
10:14
bravery, the heroism, uh, the family, all of
10:17
those things wrapped together.
10:21
And uh, Mark, I just want to thank
10:23
you for joining me today here on Unleash
10:26
the Political News Hour.
10:29
Certainly.
10:30
Thank you for having me.
10:31
All right.
10:32
Well, I want to start at the beginning
10:34
of your story.
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Uh, I know you joined the military, uh,
10:40
but I wanted to even go before that.
10:43
So what was it about the military that
10:47
made you decide one day, hey, I'm gonna,
10:50
I'm gonna join this organization.
10:55
Um for me personally, uh joining the military
10:58
was I mean, I was I was kind
11:00
of your your typical little boy uh growing
11:02
up.
11:04
I was like, I was gonna join the
11:05
army.
11:06
Um, pretty much my earliest memory of wanting
11:09
to make that decision and join the military
11:12
was probably fifth or sixth grade again, you
11:14
know, being a young little boy, uh, just
11:17
hey, I'm gonna I want to join the
11:20
army when I grow up.
11:23
And then um I do have prior family
11:25
members.
11:27
My grandfather was a World War II Marine,
11:30
uh, served in the Pacific, and uh he
11:33
has several other brothers, my great uncles uh
11:35
that were also Marines between Marines, Air Force,
11:38
Navy, uh, have a one of his older
11:41
brothers, my great uncle, uh, was wounded on
11:43
Saipan in World War II.
11:46
And then on my mother's side, my grandfather
11:49
was in the army post or just after
11:51
World War II and before Korea, uh, with
11:54
his um German heritage background.
11:57
He actually was in Germany during the uh
11:59
kind of, I guess the occupation uh period
12:02
after World War uh II.
12:05
But um, yeah, as far as like my
12:08
decision, uh, my older brother joined the Marine
12:10
Corps in 1999 when he graduated.
12:14
And so me wanting to be like grandpa
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and uh like my older brother, I was
12:18
gonna join the marine corps.
12:20
So uh that's just pretty much the path
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I kind of I guess I was fortunate
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to know that that was the path I
12:26
wanted to take.
12:28
And you know, because a lot of people
12:29
kind of go back and forth, like, what
12:30
do I want to do?
12:31
What I want to, what do I want
12:32
to be?
12:33
And uh they really don't, you know, figure
12:36
it out until well into their college years.
12:39
But for me, it was it was pretty
12:40
simple.
12:41
Uh obviously, the uh events of 9-11 um
12:44
played a big part in you know, putting
12:47
that final nail in the coffin, so to
12:49
speak, because I was in, I believe what,
12:52
10th grade when that happened.
12:55
And uh after that, any any kind of
12:57
doubts of like maybe I should go do
12:59
this or that after uh you know September
13:01
11, 2001, that was pretty much it.
13:04
I was like, Yep, that's exactly what I'm
13:05
gonna do.
13:08
All right.
13:09
And uh, I know I saw the video
13:12
that Homes for our troops put out about
13:14
you, and uh I wanted to just touch
13:17
base with uh your beautiful wife, Tabitha was
13:20
on that video sitting beside you, and I
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I chuckled because uh she said it was
13:26
hard to say no to you when you
13:29
invited her to the marine corps ball, uh,
13:31
something about those glues in uniform.
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And I couldn't agree more with her.
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So I just wanted to throw that out.
13:39
And I wanted to just ask you, it
13:42
sounds as though you had a relationship uh
13:44
with her, perhaps even in high school, and
13:46
you ended up now getting married.
13:49
Uh so tell the listeners a little bit
13:51
about that, um, how that came to be.
13:55
So I have known my wife uh pretty
13:57
much all my life.
14:00
We we pretty much grew up together.
14:00
We we pretty much grew up together.
14:02
Um we grew up in the same church
14:02
Um we grew up in the same church
14:03
in uh Macon.
14:03
in uh Macon.
14:05
And so I've known her since I was
14:05
And so I've known her since I was
14:08
probably seven or eight years old, maybe and
14:08
probably seven or eight years old, maybe.
14:11
started kind of having a crush on her
14:12
Um, and started kind of having a crush
14:13
when I was probably 10, 11.
14:14
on her when I was probably 10, 11.
14:16
And I remember specifically asking her out on
14:16
And I remember specifically asking her out on
14:19
a date when I was made, I don't
14:19
a date when I was made, I don't
14:21
know, teenager, uh, 15, 16 years old.
14:21
know, teenager, uh 15, 16 years old.
14:23
Uh because I'm I'm nine months younger than
14:23
Uh, because I'm I'm nine months younger than
14:24
her.
14:25
her, so I believe she was 15, so
14:26
So I believe she was 15, so I
14:27
I was probably still 14 at the time.
14:28
was probably still 14 at the time.
14:30
And I asked her out, and she told
14:31
me that she wasn't allowed to date until
14:33
she was 16.
14:34
So she kind of shot me down.
14:37
Um so after that, I was like, okay,
14:38
uh I'll leave you alone.
14:40
But um, as far as how we ended
14:43
up dating officially, when I got back from
14:46
my first deployment in uh Fallujah in 2005,
14:49
uh we got back in September of that
14:51
year, and in November, the Marine Corps birthday
14:54
ball was coming up, and so I needed
14:57
a date, and so I ended up deciding
15:00
to ask her out, and uh obviously the
15:02
rest is history after that.
15:05
Yeah, and uh, and you have three beautiful
15:08
children to date, correct?
15:10
Three daughters.
15:12
Yes, we have three daughters.
15:14
Wonderful.
15:15
Um, so take us to uh I'm guessing
15:18
then your deployment to Iraq was your second
15:21
deployment, correct?
15:24
Yes.
15:25
So my first deployment was Fallujah, Iraq in
15:28
2005 with 1st Battalion 6th Marine Regiment, and
15:31
my second deployment again with 16 was to
15:34
Ramadi Iraq in 2006.
15:38
Uh so we got to Ramadi in September,
15:41
early September of 2006, and then I was
15:43
injured in October 14th of that of that
15:46
year.
15:49
Okay.
15:50
So uh so take us back to that
15:52
day, October 14th, 2006.
15:55
Uh, you're on patrol, you're in Ramadi, Iraq.
15:58
Uh what happens?
16:02
So when we got to Ramadi, uh at
16:05
the time that was the hotbed.
16:08
Um not trying to sound like Rambo or
16:11
anything, but it was it was on the
16:14
news and everything that Ramadi was pretty much
16:17
classified as the the most dangerous city in
16:19
the in the theater at that time because
16:22
uh when we got there, as soon as
16:25
we got boots on ground, it was pretty
16:28
much you know straight to it uh getting
16:30
into battalion-wide 70 to 80 firefights a week.
16:33
Um I mean, it would that we wasted
16:35
no time.
16:36
I can remember getting off the helicopter when
16:38
we flew in, and the Marine that was
16:40
uh part of our advanced party, he got
16:42
there and uh he he pretty much came
16:44
up to us and he said, Welcome to
16:45
the suck.
16:48
So uh at that point, I was like,
16:50
wow, this is this is really happening.
16:52
Uh but the events of the the night
16:55
I got injured, we were scheduled to we
16:58
were at a at a certain uh observation
17:01
post uh called OP Horea, and um the
17:04
ultimate goal that night was to get swapped
17:06
out with another platoon, and but what we
17:09
first had to do, because with uh the
17:12
other platoon was coming from OP Hawk, and
17:15
we were at Opi Harea, and that was
17:18
maybe a two to three mile patrol between
17:20
the two locations.
17:23
Uh, but before we could go just straight
17:25
to that that area and swap out with
17:27
the platoon, uh, we had to go kind
17:29
of a side mission.
17:31
So there was a large building down the
17:33
street uh from where we were at that
17:36
pretty much every firefight we got into, we
17:38
were always taking either sniper fire or you
17:40
know, heavy, heavy enemy fire from it.
17:43
And so uh what we were supposed to
17:45
do is go in um kind of cordon
17:48
off the building, basically surround it and allow
17:50
the uh combat engineers to go inside and
17:52
blow the stairs so that way they couldn't
17:54
use it as an elevated firing position to
17:56
shoot down at us because that again, that
17:59
building was maybe a four to five-story building
18:01
in the the building we were you know
18:03
housed at at that time because we'd stay
18:05
there for uh you know two weeks or
18:08
so, sometimes more, sometimes less.
18:10
But anyway, they would get in and they
18:12
would they would literally shoot down at us.
18:14
And so we were actually in route to
18:16
go do that mission.
18:19
And uh again, IEDs was a daily thing.
18:23
Um prior to that mission, I specifically remember
18:25
sitting on post watching we had we called
18:28
him the fisherman, and it was basically a
18:30
guy, well, two guys actually.
18:33
They would be one individual hiding behind a
18:35
building on this street corner on the left,
18:37
and then there would be another individual hiding
18:39
behind the building on the other street corner
18:41
on the opposite side of him.
18:44
And one guy would take you know a
18:46
long rope or an extension cord or something,
18:48
and he would throw it across the street
18:50
to the other guy because they knew that
18:52
if they did this in you know, plain
18:54
sight, we would, you know, basically shoot them
18:56
on site.
18:58
Uh so they would stay undercover and they
19:00
would throw the rope to the other guy,
19:01
and then he would grab it and just
19:03
start pulling, you know, at the other end
19:05
of the rope would be an IED, and
19:07
they would literally pull it out.
19:08
And I specifically remember uh prior to this
19:11
patrol that we went on where I was
19:13
injured, watching it would be disguised as a
19:15
pile of trash, and it would just you
19:17
know inch out into the street, and you
19:19
can literally see them do it.
19:22
And so we would oftentimes, you know, shoot
19:24
grenades at them with the uh grenade launchers
19:26
and just kind of like, we see you
19:28
stop it, you know, because again, they're hiding
19:29
behind buildings.
19:32
We couldn't really do anything about it.
19:35
But uh it was pretty much a nightly
19:36
thing.
19:37
We we would have our EOD team come
19:39
through on a patrol and uh they would
19:41
send the robot out and they would you
19:42
know dispose of any IDs that they could
19:44
locate.
19:46
And they that particular night, I watched them
19:48
you know neutralize pretty much two or three
19:50
IEDs.
19:52
And so when we set step foot on
19:55
that patrol, I felt pretty safe because again,
19:57
you know, just a few hours prior, I
20:00
watched them blow these IDs up.
20:02
So I was like, okay, let's go get
20:04
this patrol knocked out and then go back
20:05
to OP Hawk and I can get some
20:06
sleep.
20:08
Uh well, fast forward to us stepping off
20:10
on the patrol, we were walking uh to
20:12
that building.
20:14
And again, I have to back up and
20:16
kind of give some context here.
20:18
Uh, like I said, due to the the
20:20
intensity of Ramadi at that time, we would
20:23
call in air strikes, uh, use the Mark
20:25
19 grenade launcher.
20:28
I was a machine gunner, so that was
20:30
uh one of my frequently used weapon systems,
20:32
and there was basically a lot of uh
20:35
craters in the street because again, of all
20:37
the ordnance that we would you know utilize
20:39
during firefights.
20:42
And also September, October time frame in that
20:44
part of uh Iraq is the beginning of
20:46
the rainy season.
20:48
And so between all the the pot marks
20:51
and you know, blowholes from us dropping 500
20:53
pound bombs and calling in airstrikes, uh all
20:56
that stuff with the rain and obviously in
20:59
the desert environment.
21:00
And obviously in the desert environment, if you
21:01
get a lot of rain at once, it's
21:01
If you get a lot of rain at
21:03
gonna flood.
21:03
once, it's gonna flood.
21:05
And so these uh these uh craters would
21:05
And so these uh these uh craters would
21:07
actually fill up with rainwater and what little
21:08
actually fill up with rainwater and what little
21:09
sewage system that that city had, it that
21:10
sewage system that that city had that would
21:11
would also kind of seep up into the
21:13
also kind of seep up into the ground.
21:13
ground.
21:16
So it wasn't it wasn't very uh pleasant
21:16
So it wasn't it wasn't very uh pleasant
21:18
water to be around.
21:18
water to be around.
21:22
Well, I was walking through, and we would
21:22
Well, I was walking through, and we would
21:24
literally walk, and you would step, you know,
21:24
literally walk, and you would step, you know,
21:26
one step you'd be maybe ankle deep in
21:26
one step you'd be maybe ankle deep in
21:27
water, and then the
21:27
water, and then the next step you'd be
21:29
up to your knees.
21:31
And so that's kind of where they had
21:33
particularly hidden this individual ID.
21:36
But um, so that's why I didn't see
21:38
it, because it was under under literally underwater.
21:40
So I remember we did a security haul
21:42
and uh because we had to cut through
21:44
some constant wire to get through to that
21:46
building.
21:48
And I was a fire team leader at
21:49
the time.
21:50
And so when we did the security haul,
21:52
I turned around, and this is at nighttime
21:53
too.
21:54
So we had our MVGs down.
21:56
We were trying to be as quiet as
21:57
possible.
21:58
I gave the hand and arm signal to
22:01
my fire team to y'all spread out because
22:03
obviously if something goes off, if something blows
22:05
up, we don't need to be all clustered
22:07
together because I'd rather have one casualty than
22:09
you know, three or four.
22:12
Uh when I literally after giving that hand
22:13
and arm signal, they said, All right, we're
22:14
going.
22:16
So we started stepping out again.
22:17
I turned around, I took a step with
22:20
my left foot, and that's when it happened.
22:22
It just boom, I went flying through the
22:24
air.
22:25
Um I remember the first thought, because you
22:27
I felt the shock wave go through my
22:29
body.
22:31
I didn't feel any pain, so to speak
22:33
at that moment.
22:35
I could just feel like it, I got
22:36
tackled by you know, the biggest linebacker in
22:38
the world.
22:40
And I felt I I felt myself traveling
22:42
through the air, and I was thinking, did
22:44
I just get IED'd?
22:47
And then after it seemed like what forever
22:49
flying through the air, I landed on my
22:51
side in that puddle of gross water, and
22:54
naturally I kind of as I hit, I
22:56
and so I kind of sucked up some
22:58
of that water into my mouth and swallowed
23:00
it.
23:03
And so my next thought was just you
23:06
know, again, still the reality hadn't hit.
23:09
And I've described this before as kind of
23:11
being like in that movie saving Private Ryan
23:13
when they're storming the beach on D-Day, and
23:15
he kind of zones out and everything's in
23:17
slow motion, and everybody's like you can see
23:19
people talking to them, but it they're just
23:21
like mouthing the words.
23:24
That's almost what it was like for me.
23:26
And then literally, just like in that movie,
23:27
at the snap of a finger, reality came
23:29
back.
23:31
My, you know, I could hear the sounds
23:33
and everything, and obviously the pain.
23:36
That's when I was like, this really hurts.
23:38
Uh started screaming out of out of the
23:40
pain.
23:41
And that's when, you know, my guys surrounding
23:43
me, my my corman, actually, he was probably
23:45
two people ahead of me in the stack,
23:47
and he came running back just to cussing,
23:49
cussing up a storm because again, he probably
23:51
stepped right over the same IED that I
23:53
stepped on.
23:56
And he, you know, grabbed me by my
23:58
flag jacket and dragged me out, and they
24:01
they immediately started first aid putting tourniquets on
24:03
and um you know, just started treating me.
24:06
All right.
24:07
And the injuries that you received when you
24:11
hit that IED um were what?
24:14
What were your injuries?
24:17
So initially, um it it didn't it didn't
24:21
initially take my leg completely off.
24:26
Um again, I heard this through my corpsman
24:28
and other friends that were there.
24:31
They said um my heel, basically my entire
24:35
heel and Achilles tendon uh were completely gone.
24:39
And then my foot, um, what was left
24:42
of my foot, uh, my corpsman actually described
24:45
it as uh a plastic bag filled with
24:48
broken fish bones and mayonnaise.
24:51
It just you know just mush.
24:53
Uh it actually also uh completely broke my
24:55
femur, and it is actually so on one
24:57
end when my finger it was a compound
25:00
fracture sticking on one end, sticking completely out
25:02
of my leg, and then the bottom half
25:04
actually went the other way and kind of
25:07
nicked my Fremor artery, and so I was
25:09
bleeding through my formal artery.
25:11
And as you know, if you cut that
25:14
artery, uh, unless you get the bleeding under
25:16
control extremely quickly, you don't have much longer
25:18
left before you bleed out.
25:21
Well, see, we didn't know that my femur
25:23
was broken because at that part of my
25:25
clothing, it wasn't ruptured through the clothing, it
25:27
was just through the skin.
25:29
And so prior to this up during during
25:31
our build-up before this deployment, all of our
25:33
uh combat life saving training and everything that
25:35
we were taught, you always put if you
25:37
have to put a tourniquet on, you always
25:39
put it two to four inches above the
25:41
joint.
25:43
Uh, like if it's on your if it's
25:45
on your low the injuries on your lower
25:47
leg, you put two to four inches above
25:49
the knee joint uh on the femur.
25:51
Well, when they went to two to four
25:52
inches above my knee, that's where my femur
25:54
was sticking out, which they didn't know it
25:55
at the time.
25:57
They just felt a bulge in my pants
25:58
and a lot of blood.
26:00
Uh so they ended up putting the tourniquet
26:02
pretty much almost, you know, at the top
26:03
of my female femur at where my hip
26:05
is.
26:07
And you know, at the time they didn't
26:09
realize it, but that's ultimately what saved my
26:12
life from bleeding out through my formal artery.
26:14
And I was told later that after they
26:16
discovered that that context that pretty much that
26:19
changed the SOP for battalion-wide, that if you
26:21
have any kind of need for a tourniquet,
26:23
you put it as high as you possibly
26:26
can because again, you don't know what other
26:28
kind of internal bleeding there is.
26:30
Uh, because that's happened several times with other
26:32
people where the obvious injury is lower on
26:34
the limb.
26:36
They put the tourniquet, you know, like I
26:38
said, two to four inches above the joint,
26:39
but they don't know that there's another injury
26:41
slightly above that, and the person still bleeds
26:43
out.
26:45
So um, yeah, I had a broken femur,
26:48
the lower uh leg heel was gone, uh
26:51
severe damage on my lower tibia phibia, basically
26:54
ankle area.
26:58
Um at the time, I did not want
26:59
to look at my foot.
27:01
I didn't want to look down because I
27:02
didn't want to literally have a heart attack
27:04
and die.
27:06
But eventually I did look at my leg,
27:08
it had blown my boot completely off.
27:10
So I remember looking at my foot and
27:12
it was just kind of flopping around like
27:14
a like a fish out of water.
27:16
Um fast forward once they got all that.
27:20
Uh obviously shratten all up my my left
27:22
leg.
27:24
Um thankfully, because I was standing in the
27:26
the water, that the water kind of suppressed
27:28
a lot of the blast.
27:30
So I don't know how, but my my
27:32
right leg sustained no injuries at all.
27:35
Uh so it's pretty much all contained to
27:38
that lower uh left leg and femur area.
27:41
But um later on, I ended up contracting
27:42
E.
27:44
coli in my blood system because of that
27:45
water that I was standing in.
27:47
So that was another side effect of everything.
27:50
You know, you you you tell this story,
27:53
um, you you recollect those details.
27:56
Um like an amazing, you know, recollection of
27:59
what happened.
28:00
You know, recollection of what happened.
28:02
And I'm sitting here and I'm looking at
28:02
And um, I'm sitting here and I'm looking
28:04
you today.
28:05
at you today, and I think of how
28:07
And I think of how much you've walked
28:08
much you've walked through in your recovery, the
28:10
through in your recovery, the surgeries and the
28:11
surgeries and the the trials and tribulations you've
28:13
trials and tribulations you've experienced.
28:13
experienced.
28:16
Uh, you ended up getting a prosthetic.
28:17
You ended up getting a prosthetic.
28:19
Uh, you began walking and really getting your
28:20
You began walking and really getting your life
28:22
life back.
28:22
back.
28:25
And Tabitha, your wife said in the video
28:25
And Tabitha, your wife said in the video
28:27
that she really believes that.
28:28
that she really believes it was your determination
28:31
that was so instrumental in your recovery.
28:34
And I've heard that story before with other
28:36
veterans where if your mind, your mindset is
28:39
to determine, you know, despite what happened, you're
28:41
going to get through this, you're going to
28:43
rebuild your life.
28:46
It sounds like that's exactly what you've done.
28:51
Well, so I looked at it once I
28:53
got to the hospital.
28:55
Um, yes, I had some some down times,
28:58
uh, some pretty depressive episodes.
29:01
Uh, but uh, you know, I kind of
29:03
was fortunate enough to see it as I
29:04
have a choice to make.
29:07
I can sit here and wallow in my
29:09
self-pity and say, woe is me.
29:11
You know, I'm I'm a disabled veteran now.
29:13
And keep in mind, this all happened.
29:16
So I got injured October 14th of 2006.
29:20
My 21st birthday was October 8th of 2006.
29:23
So I had just turned 21 years old.
29:26
Um now that I'm 40, I look back
29:28
at other, I look at 21-year-olds today and
29:30
I'm like, you're just a baby.
29:33
Um but you know, at the time, I
29:35
was like, I still have my entire life
29:38
ahead of me.
29:40
So I I got a choice to make.
29:42
I can either sit here and just, you
29:44
know, wallow and self-pity, or I can, you
29:46
know, reach down and grab grab my bootstraps,
29:48
tighten them up, and you know, make the
29:50
best of it and keep just one foot
29:52
in front of the other one day at
29:55
a time.
29:57
And and you have done exactly that.
30:00
And I know uh I want to get
30:03
into next about how you met uh the
30:07
organization, Homes for Our Troops, how you got
30:10
connected into them, and what the impact was.
30:14
So we have a few minutes before we
30:15
head into break.
30:17
So let's start with how did you get
30:19
connected into homes for our troops?
30:21
Was it through a friend?
30:22
Was it through another military member?
30:26
So that was actually through my wife, Tabitha.
30:29
Um to my recollection, she was the one
30:31
that heard uh about this organization and without
30:34
having her here to ask her where she
30:36
heard it from.
30:39
I don't know.
30:40
Um, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be something
30:42
simple through a friend that we mutually know,
30:44
but it was basically through my wife Tapha.
30:46
She heard about you know homes for our
30:47
troops and what they do.
30:49
And so excuse me.
30:51
She actually said, Hey, you know, we're gonna,
30:53
I'm gonna fill out this application and you
30:54
know, we'll see what you know we can
30:55
do.
30:57
And I said, Okay, yeah, sure.
30:59
Uh homes for our troops built, homes for
31:01
severely, you know, injured, you know, Iraq and
31:03
Afghanistan veterans.
31:05
I was like, you can go ahead and
31:08
do it, but I I doubt we're gonna
31:10
hear anything back because I still have the
31:13
thought of, yes, I lost my leg, but
31:15
you know, it was below the knee amputee.
31:18
Um I still can get around.
31:21
There, there's guys out there that are much
31:23
worse injured than I am.
31:24
There's guys out there that deserve stuff like
31:27
a free house or a donated house much
31:29
more than I do.
31:32
So I kind of told Tabitha jokingly, I
31:33
said, Yeah, sure, go ahead and fill out
31:35
the application.
31:37
But in the back of my mind, I
31:38
said, we're not gonna really uh hear anything
31:40
back.
31:42
And then lo and behold, a few months
31:43
later, we got the email and said, Hey,
31:45
congratulations.
31:47
So uh it was it was just a
31:48
blessing.
31:50
Yeah, and and I wanna I do want
31:52
to talk about this.
31:54
Uh, we're going ahead in a break.
31:55
Uh, that word you just used, blessing, uh,
31:57
because I've heard you use it also before
32:00
in your video, and even Tabitha has used
32:02
it.
32:04
Uh, because I do think an organization like
32:06
Homes for Our Troops is such a blessing
32:07
to have.
32:10
And uh I hope to uh have everyone
32:12
who's with an earshot listening to this interview
32:14
right now, stick around because uh the best
32:16
is yet to come.
32:19
Uh, Sergeant Mark Smith coming up once again
32:21
after this short break.
32:24
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34:12
Marine Sergeant Mark Smith is here with me
34:14
today.
34:17
And uh we just finished talking about everything
34:21
that he walked through while in Iraq.
34:24
And I now want to turn the page
34:27
over to how he met an organization called
34:30
Homes for Our Troops.
34:34
And this is a nonprofit organization that builds
34:38
and donates specially adapted homes nationwide to severely
34:43
injured post-9-11 veterans.
34:47
And one of the best things about this
34:52
organization is that it enables those veterans to
34:56
rebuild their lives and regain their independence.
35:00
And uh, Mark, I'm gonna just jump into
35:00
And uh Mark, I'm gonna just jump into
35:03
saying where we left off.
35:03
saying where we left off.
35:06
You use the word blessing.
35:06
You use the word blessing.
35:08
And I know that you've been uh quoted
35:08
And I know that you've been uh quoted
35:10
as using that word in some article interviews
35:10
as using that word in some article interviews
35:13
that I read about you as well.
35:13
that I read about you as well.
35:16
And you use the word blessing, referring to
35:16
And you use the word blessing, referring to
35:18
the home that you received from homes for
35:18
the home that you received from homes for
35:20
our troops.
35:20
our troops.
35:23
So tell the listeners what that has meant
35:23
So tell the listeners what that has meant
35:25
for you and how it has impacted not
35:25
for you and how it has impacted not
35:27
only you.
35:28
only you but your family.
35:32
Yeah.
35:33
So again, like I said before, homes for
35:35
our troops uh was something not even on
35:38
my radar.
35:41
Uh it was my wife that um heard
35:42
about it and applied for it.
35:44
She did all the legwork as far as
35:47
filling out the applications and everything.
35:49
And um when I got out of the
35:52
Marine Corps in 2013 and I started working
35:56
as a uh state trooper here in Georgia,
35:59
uh, we bought a house that was as
36:02
handicap accessible as possible.
36:06
Um, as far as like it's a one-story,
36:08
it had a a walk-in shower, a small
36:11
walk-in shower, but you had to step over
36:13
the stoop, and even then you had to
36:16
I had to get a shower chair that
36:18
barely fit in there to you know take
36:21
a shower and um there's still days that
36:23
you know I you know, yes, I'm a
36:26
functioning amputee, but I still have to use
36:28
my my wheelchair from time to time because
36:31
you know of leg pain, back pain, you
36:33
name it.
36:36
And so the fact that we have a
36:38
home that I can still function as a
36:41
normal person as a state trooper.
36:43
Um, but on those days that I am
36:46
in pain, which as I get older is
36:48
becoming more and more frequently, um it is
36:50
a blessing.
36:53
It's a blessing that I didn't, you know,
36:54
anticipate.
36:56
It's a blessing that I didn't uh ask
36:57
for.
36:59
Uh I I do have uh my personal
37:01
faith and I do believe that this was
37:04
something that you know God was looking out
37:06
for me.
37:08
And like I said, I didn't personally ask
37:10
for it, but uh he knew that this
37:12
was going to be a need for me.
37:15
Um and it has actually enabled me to
37:17
continue doing the things that I do uh
37:20
because what a lot of people don't realize
37:22
as in the life of an amputee, you
37:25
know, we use more energy just getting around
37:28
than your average person, uh getting up, standing
37:30
up, walking.
37:33
Um as far as taking my kids to
37:35
you know Disney and everything, these last couple
37:38
times we went to Disney, I actually had
37:40
to swallow my pride and go rent a
37:42
wheelchair because I'm pretty sure you can understand
37:45
walking around the park of Disney all day
37:47
long in the middle of July.
37:50
That's a lot of walking.
37:51
That's a lot of time on your feet.
37:52
And as an amputee, that's just you know,
37:54
now again, now that I'm getting older, that's
37:56
something that, you know, I'm gonna have to
37:59
get in my wheelchair from time to time.
38:01
So being able to come home and just
38:03
kind of relax, because see, before I would
38:05
come home, if I was in pain, I
38:07
would go to the couch, I'll tell my
38:09
wife, hey, the legs coming off, count me
38:11
out.
38:14
So I was unable to help, you know,
38:16
with chores, unable to help, you know, get
38:18
the kids ready for bath time, bedtime, unable
38:20
to help, you know, do the dishes.
38:22
Now that we have a fully uh functioning,
38:25
you know, home that is geared toward people
38:27
in wheelchairs and special adapt, special adaptations, I
38:30
can still, if I have to hop in
38:32
my wheelchair, take my leg off, I can
38:34
still roll up to the kitchen sink, do
38:37
the dishes, I can still cook meals, I
38:39
can still go and you know, do the
38:42
laundry, and it doesn't all fall on my
38:44
wife because hey, my leg hurts, I'm taking
38:47
it off.
38:49
I'm on the couch, so don't ask me
38:51
to do anything for the next you know,
38:52
hour or so.
38:54
Uh so the only word I can use
38:57
to describe all of that is is it
38:59
is a blessing.
39:03
Yeah, indeed.
39:04
Uh, you know, your wife um Tabitha was
39:07
in an article quoted as saying uh that
39:09
you can also help with the kids, which
39:11
was big.
39:14
Uh he wasn't able to do things before,
39:16
like help bathing the kids, putting them to
39:18
bed.
39:20
And uh, and I I totally get it
39:22
as a mom of two myself.
39:24
Uh, you know, it's uh nice to have
39:26
uh a partner to help you with those
39:29
daily tasks.
39:31
And uh I I too think it's a
39:33
blessing.
39:34
Uh it sounds as though the home that
39:38
you have has over uh 40 major special
39:41
adoptions, uh, including widened doorways, uh for wheelchair
39:45
access, a rolling shower and kitchen amenities.
39:48
Uh just tell us out of all of
39:51
those 40 adaptions, which one do you feel
39:53
was the most helpful having.
39:56
Uh for right now, in my stage of
40:00
life, again, I still primarily use my prosthesis,
40:03
but getting in the shower, being able to
40:06
uh I have it's a built-in bench with
40:10
a shower head that's directly over the bench,
40:13
and I can sit down with grab bars.
40:16
I don't have to worry about slipping.
40:18
Like I said before, our our old home.
40:20
Yes, it was technically a uh walk-in shower,
40:22
but you had to step over the uh
40:24
the little stoop, and even then it was
40:26
very small.
40:29
Uh the shower chair that I had from
40:31
CVS barely fit in there.
40:33
And it was like if you drop the
40:35
soap or you had to bend over to
40:36
kind of grab that, and you know, do
40:38
it carefully because that thing might tip over
40:39
on you.
40:41
The shower I have now, you know, if
40:43
I have to, if if I needed the
40:45
wheelchair, I could roll straight into it and
40:47
transition from the wheelchair to the bench, or
40:50
if I didn't care about getting my wheelchair
40:52
wet, I could there's another shower head that
40:54
uh is directly over the center, just roll
40:57
right underneath that, handle my business.
40:59
Um being able to just do simple things
41:01
like that.
41:03
Uh you know, bathe yourself is you know,
41:05
I I was never I was fortunate enough
41:08
to not, my injuries never, you know, force
41:10
me to be reliant on people like 24-hour
41:13
caregivers or anything.
41:15
Um but having seen, you know, my grandfather
41:18
and his older years, uh, my grandmother, you
41:21
know, having when they get to that stage
41:24
in their life of they need people to
41:28
do certain things like bathing them and you
41:31
know, taking care of them, these house it
41:34
would be able to prolong my my independence.
41:37
Um it prolongs it extends my independence even
41:39
now, uh, being able to again still be
41:41
able to function like, okay, I'm taking my
41:44
leg off, I'm getting in my wheelchair, but
41:46
I can still help out.
41:48
I can roll up to the counter and
41:50
I can still the the countertops are at
41:51
a lower level to where I can still
41:53
cook.
41:55
I don't have to worry about reaching up
41:57
and over to like stir the the spaghetti,
41:59
or I can go to do the same
42:00
Or I can go to do the same
42:01
thing to do the dishes.
42:01
thing to do the dishes, uh, or I
42:02
Uh, or I can roll straight into the
42:04
can roll straight into the um the laundry
42:04
um the laundry room and do laundry instead
42:06
room and do laundry instead of having to,
42:06
of having to, you know, oh my leg
42:08
you know, my leg really hurts, but I
42:08
really hurts, but I got to do these
42:10
got to do these chores.
42:10
chores.
42:12
I can do that.
42:12
I can do that, or like what a
42:13
Or like what a lot of people don't
42:14
lot of people don't realize is helping out
42:15
realize is helping out with the kids, uh,
42:17
with the kids, uh the bathroom is built
42:17
the bathroom is built in such a way
42:19
in such a way that I can literally
42:19
that I can literally roll up and sit
42:21
roll up and sit on the edge of
42:21
on the edge of the bathtub and uh
42:23
the bathtub and uh if you know, bathe
42:23
if you know, bathe my kids, which granted
42:25
my kids, which granted they're getting they're getting
42:25
they're getting they're getting older now to where
42:27
older now to where they're not necessarily.
42:27
they're not necessarily needing us to physically bathe
42:29
them anymore.
42:32
But when they were still four or five,
42:34
uh six, I could do that, and I
42:36
did do that.
42:38
Um so the biggest, in my opinion, right
42:41
now, the biggest um uh uh adaptation that
42:44
I benefit from the most is the shower.
42:48
Okay, you know, um, as you probably know,
42:51
there are a lot of veteran support and
42:53
service organizations out there.
42:56
And uh I am just so amazed when
42:59
I found homes for our troops.
43:02
That there's an organization that not only builds
43:06
but then gifts a totally adaptable home based
43:10
on the veterans need and that home is
43:14
then mortgage free, which is so huge because
43:19
of the financial aspect, right?
43:23
That having that mortgage is is for those
43:26
of us who have a mortgage, it is
43:28
a financial burden that uh that you have
43:31
every month um to you know pay.
43:34
So having that ability, um, in one of
43:36
the articles, uh Tabitha said we can obviously
43:39
put money that we would have otherwise had
43:42
to put into a mortgage into college funds
43:44
for our kids, which I think is a
43:47
mom is very important.
43:49
Uh we can have savings for our kids,
43:52
and not only that, but that allows us
43:55
the ability to give back to our communities.
43:58
So Todd, let's talk about that for a
44:00
second.
44:01
Um, because I know it has given you
44:03
the freedom to give back to your community.
44:06
Uh you have entered a leather line of
44:08
public service.
44:10
You are a Georgia State trooper, uh, which
44:12
it you know is a very public service
44:15
position.
44:18
And what is it that kind of like,
44:20
how did you get from being with the
44:21
Marines?
44:23
You sustained this life um altering injury, and
44:27
now you're with the Georgia troopers.
44:32
So uh after my injury in 2006, I
44:36
ended up staying in the Marine Corps for
44:39
uh another few years, uh re-enlisting and deployed
44:42
again to Afghanistan in 2011.
44:45
And so after that deployment, which long story
44:47
short, I ended up getting blown up again
44:49
over there.
44:52
Uh, but that time I was in a
44:53
vehicle.
44:54
So uh thankfully, no, no injuries on that
44:55
one.
44:58
And when uh when it came time to
45:00
get out, there's a there's a bunch of
45:02
other reasons why I didn't stay in because
45:05
initially my my plan was to try to
45:07
stay in and go the full 20, uh,
45:09
but due to other circumstances, um uh it
45:11
was just time to go ahead and make
45:13
a change and get out.
45:15
A friend of mine that I went to
45:17
high school with, uh I joined the military
45:19
and he went into law enforcement.
45:21
And so he was actually, he still is
45:23
a uh a trooper with uh Georgia State
45:25
Patrol.
45:27
And uh when I kind of reached out
45:29
to him and said, Hey, um have you
45:31
heard any kind of job openings?
45:33
Is there anything available back home?
45:35
He said, Well, GSP is is hiring.
45:37
And so I asked him, I said, Well,
45:40
um, I know you know, law enforcement is
45:42
kind of you know kind of uh a
45:44
physical thing, you know, running down bad guys
45:47
and jumping fences and that kind of stuff.
45:49
I said, Well, do you think they would
45:51
uh they would accept me as an amputee?
45:53
And his words exactly were, if all these
45:55
old fat guys can do it, you can
45:56
do it too.
45:58
So I kind of made the decision that
46:00
I got out, I believe I was what,
46:02
28 years old.
46:04
I said, Well, if I stay in and
46:06
retire at you know 20 years, I'd probably
46:08
go up it'd probably be better to go
46:10
ahead and do this now while I still
46:12
am physically able because I don't know what
46:14
the future holds.
46:16
I don't know how uh physically fit I'm
46:18
gonna be again because as an amputee, even
46:20
now I can look at the difference of
46:23
when I was 25 as an amputee versus
46:25
now that I'm 40.
46:27
There's a huge difference.
46:29
I've slowed down a lot.
46:30
And so that kind of echoes back into
46:33
being able to have a home to come
46:35
home to and you know take off my
46:38
cape, so to speak, uh, and not have
46:40
to worry about you know physical things, not
46:42
have to worry about financial things.
46:45
It just is just like I can come
46:47
home and just take a deep breath.
46:49
Um, but as far as going with the
46:51
state state patrol, uh that was a friend
46:52
of mine that pretty much kind of talked
46:54
me into it.
46:55
So I went in again with the idea
46:57
of I don't know how far I can
46:58
make it, but I'm gonna make it as
47:00
far as I can.
47:02
And so uh here we are 12 years
47:04
later, and I'm I'm still still making it.
47:08
And and did I read that you're the
47:11
first amputee with the Georgia State Troopers?
47:15
Yes.
47:15
So as far as I know, I know
47:18
there's other amputees, combat veterans that are in
47:21
law enforcement, um, quite a few actually.
47:23
But as far as state troopers, I am
47:26
the first uh in the nation uh person
47:29
as an amputee to go through trooper school,
47:31
complete trooper school and work as a functioning
47:34
state trooper on the road.
47:36
I'm I'm the first one.
47:38
Now again, there's there's other like deputies and
47:41
uh police officers that you know the other
47:43
agencies, but as far as like state uh
47:46
patrol agencies, I'm I'm the first one.
47:50
What was or what is one of your
47:52
biggest challenges that you faced uh as you
47:55
know, when you were going through the training
47:57
to become a state trooper and or even
48:00
when you were on the job as a
48:02
state trooper?
48:05
Um going through trooper school again in my
48:08
particular situation, it was kind of um sailing
48:11
into uncharted waters.
48:15
So um I knew it was gonna be
48:17
kind of a similar to a uh watered
48:19
down boot camp style, which coming from the
48:20
Marine Corps, that wasn't, you know, a lot
48:22
of people are like, oh my gosh, but
48:24
that wasn't that big of a deal to
48:26
me.
48:28
Um I would say there was a lot
48:31
of running um that there was days that
48:34
you know we just got done because somebody
48:36
in the class would do something stupid and
48:39
we'd all get in trouble for it.
48:42
And so we'd have to run from point
48:43
A to point B.
48:45
And I was kind of sitting there thinking,
48:47
like, ah man, I'm I'm hurting right now,
48:50
but you know, that's why I said uh
48:52
it was better for me to do that
48:54
at 28 years old versus wait until later
48:57
because I was more physically able to do
48:59
that at that age versus now.
49:00
at that age versus now.
49:02
Um so there was some physical challenges to
49:02
Um so there was some physical challenges to
49:04
it.
49:04
it.
49:07
Um I'll tell you a quick story.
49:07
Um I'll tell you a quick story.
49:08
When I one time we we messed up
49:08
When I one time we we messed up
49:10
as a class and they were making us
49:10
as a class and they were making us
49:12
uh do you know physical, you know, do
49:12
uh do you know physical, you know, do
49:14
a push-ups and sit-ups.
49:14
a push-ups and sit-ups.
49:16
We would they make us do push ups
49:16
We would they make us do push ups
49:18
until we got tired and then it's a
49:18
until we got tired, and then it's a
49:19
transition to sit up.
49:19
transition to sit ups.
49:20
So well the way they wanted us to
49:21
Well, the way they wanted us to do
49:22
do the sit ups was we'd have to
49:22
the sit-ups was we'd have to put our
49:24
put our feet the soles of our feet
49:24
feet the soles of our feet together, kind
49:26
together kind of a uh sitting Indian style
49:26
of a uh sitting Indian style and you
49:27
and you know come up and do the
49:28
know, come.
49:29
sit-ups.
49:31
Well because I don't have a left ankle
49:33
I can't twist my leg to where both
49:34
the soles of my feet are going to
49:36
touch.
49:38
And this particular instructor didn't know that I
49:40
was an amputee because again I'm wearing you
49:41
know long pants.
49:43
So I'm doing the sit-ups but he comes
49:45
over and he kind of kicks my feet
49:46
and said push your feet together.
49:48
I kind of shuffled around and make it
49:50
look like I was doing it because he
49:53
continued on down the line yelling at other
49:55
cadets and then he comes back over to
49:58
me and I'm still my feet aren't together
50:00
and he kicks me again I told you
50:02
to put your feet together and as I
50:05
come up to do the sit up I
50:07
grab my pant leg and kind of pull
50:10
it up and revealing my my prosthetic leg
50:12
and he kind of looked at it and
50:14
he said oh my bad and he just
50:17
turned around and walked off but yeah there
50:19
was there was some physical challenges but um
50:21
I would say the most challenging it really
50:24
has nothing to do with any of this
50:26
but uh was the uh crash reconstruction that
50:29
was the most stressful for me uh the
50:31
again there's a lot of math involved in
50:33
that and just you know being able to
50:36
calculate a vehicle's terminal velocity speed based off
50:38
of skid marks and that kind of stuff
50:41
so um there was both physical challenges and
50:43
there was both mental challenges but um obviously
50:45
I I pushed through yeah and just just
50:48
amazing uh because one of your injuries from
50:50
that IED was a traumatic brain injury and
50:52
I'm I'm trying I'm guessing that that has
50:55
something to do with what you were just
50:57
talking about with those um you know academic
51:00
the velocity and all of the math that
51:02
goes with that was with state troopers I
51:04
didn't know that learned something new yeah because
51:07
uh my highest uh math I took in
51:09
high school was algebra two and I struggled
51:12
in that I was never good at math
51:14
and so when we got to trooper school
51:16
and they're talking about the Pythagorean theorem and
51:19
they're talking about speed equals a square root
51:21
of 30 DF and uh all these just
51:24
long equations that we're having to calculate I
51:26
just I was sitting there saying well I
51:28
I like I said earlier I'm gonna make
51:31
it as far as I can but I
51:33
think this is the end of the road
51:35
for me.
51:38
But um it was it was actually kind
51:40
of amazing how when they were explaining this
51:42
on the chalkboard and I'm like I you're
51:44
speaking Greek right now I have no idea
51:46
what you're talking about.
51:48
They took us out on the track and
51:50
they actually had a car uh one of
51:52
the driving instructors drive a car and you
51:54
know slam on the brakes and skid it
51:56
out and then we actually went and put
51:58
physical hands you know hands on and once
52:00
kind of put it in that perspective I
52:02
was like oh this makes sense now um
52:04
so that's why I tell like my kids
52:06
yeah it may not make sense right now
52:08
when you're trying to learn all this stuff
52:10
in the classroom but you have to find
52:12
a way to put hands on and you
52:14
know maybe look at it from a different
52:16
angle and it'll eventually click.
52:18
But yeah as far as like the TBI
52:20
that kind of stuff that that's another factor
52:22
that you know a lot of other people
52:24
just don't recognize that you know we have
52:26
to guys like me have to kind of
52:28
it's a daily challenge to you know I
52:30
have to concentrate a little bit more I
52:32
have to take a few more notes and
52:34
the average guy because I sometimes it'll seem
52:36
silly that I'll ask somebody several times I
52:38
know you just told me your name but
52:40
tell me your name one more time and
52:42
I'll write it down.
52:44
And I know five minutes ago you just
52:46
said this but what did let me just
52:48
ask you one more time it's because of
52:50
that TBI the lasting effects of that you
52:52
know I will forget stuff you can tell
52:53
me something and I'll say yeah I got
52:55
it but then turn around and I don't
52:57
got it.
52:59
So uh yeah that that's a that's another
53:02
mental challenge and that's something that I'm still
53:04
progressing through even to this the to this
53:07
day as far as the TBI memory uh
53:09
issues um patience issues I mean I I
53:12
know we could have a whole nother podcast
53:14
about that uh but that's another thing as
53:17
far as like just the stress of everything
53:19
that this house uh taking off the financial
53:22
stress the physical stress and that alleviates because
53:24
I'm dealing with other stress over here with
53:27
you know TBI the stress issues PTSD those
53:29
things by alleviating these things it kind of
53:32
just takes that that weight off that I
53:34
don't have to have all this weight on
53:37
my left shoulder and also have all this
53:39
weight on my right shoulder I can you
53:42
know kind of balance it out a lot
53:44
better this way.
53:48
Yeah I mean it allows you to be
53:50
a husband and a father is really what
53:53
uh a lot of what I'm hearing this
53:55
common you know thread throughout your story.
53:58
Um we have a few minutes left and
54:01
your story first off I just want to
54:03
say is such an inspiration to me and
54:06
I hope it's an inspiration to everyone who's
54:09
listening uh you you have shown that you
54:11
can take a very adverse situation in life
54:14
and work through it and make the best
54:16
of your situation.
54:19
And I think that that is something that
54:21
we all forget at times in life, right?
54:24
When we're dealing with something that is unexpected
54:26
or unplanned.
54:28
But I want to spend the last couple
54:31
of minutes to just if you you know
54:34
your message to anyone who's listening about how
54:37
homes for our troops this home has really
54:40
impacted your life and your family's life what
54:42
what do you want to say to everyone
54:45
on that um well first of all thank
54:48
you to the people that make it possible
54:51
um thank you doesn't go far enough on
54:54
that to anybody any other veterans that may
54:56
be in the same situation that I was
54:59
where thinking that you know I'm I really
55:02
don't have it that bad um there's people
55:05
out there that deserve it more than me
55:08
I know there's a that was that was
55:10
kind of the theme in the infantry how
55:13
I was brought up to not be a
55:16
sick bay commando and not to you know
55:19
complain about my injuries you know kind of
55:22
suffering silence kind of deal um it's okay
55:24
to you know take a handout especially and
55:27
I don't I say handout but this really
55:30
isn't a handout um it's if if you
55:33
have the opportunity I would definitely encourage uh
55:36
other veterans to take it to apply for
55:38
it because it is absolutely life changing uh
55:41
just again everything that I've I said and
55:44
you've you've said the stress that it alleviates
55:47
the opportunities both financially and any other uh
55:50
way it just opens so many doors that
55:53
otherwise uh wouldn't necessarily be open to me
55:55
being able to uh continue to live as
55:58
a functioning member of society and not having
56:00
Necessarily be open to me being able to
56:01
to rely on you know because that's I
56:02
continue to live as a functioning member of
56:04
think that's a lot of uh what other
56:04
society and not having to rely on, you
56:06
know, because that's I think that's a lot
56:07
veterans kind of that's the reason why they
56:09
of uh what other veterans kind of that's
56:09
get addicted to the the pain meds and
56:11
the reason why they get addicted to the
56:12
they're just like well there's no other option
56:13
the pain meds and they're just like, well,
56:15
might as well go to the VA the
56:15
there's no other option.
56:18
VA's going to start giving them you know
56:18
Might as well go to the VA.
56:19
The VA is going to start giving them,
56:21
XYZ and forcing them to prescribe uh submit
56:21
you know, XYZ and forcing them to prescribe
56:23
to prescriptions they really don't need when they
56:24
or submit to prescriptions they really don't need
56:26
when they could just uh if they had
56:26
could just uh
56:28
something like this, they could, you know, come
56:30
home and just have that safe space to
56:32
relax and they wouldn't have to just worry
56:35
about all the other, you know, just the
56:37
life in general.
56:39
Um I would definitely say go for it.
56:44
Um, I really just want to thank you,
56:46
Mark, for sharing your story today.
56:49
I want to thank everyone at Homesfire Troops
56:51
for everything that you do for our veterans
56:54
uh every single day.
56:56
Cheryl Gendron, I want to thank you for
56:59
connecting me with Marine Sergeant Mark Smith.
57:02
And um until next time, everyone, I encourage
57:06
each of you to reach out, think a
57:11
veteran, be good to each other, and God
57:15
bless you.