Latest / The Kevin Stone Podcast / Episode #56 "Veterans Day — The Ones Who Stood Beside Me"

Transcript

Episode #56 "Veterans Day — The Ones Who Stood Beside Me" · The Kevin Stone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Good morning, everybody. Kevin Stone here, and welcome to the
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  Speaker 1: Kevin Stone Podcast. Today is Wednesday, November 11th, 2026, Veterans Day.
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  Speaker 1: And today we're going to do something a little different.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to set aside the elections, the local government issues,
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  Speaker 1: the investigations, and all the other things we normally talk
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  Speaker 1: about here on the podcast. Because today isn't about any
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  Speaker 1: of that. Today is about the men and women who
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  Speaker 1: have worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces.
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  Speaker 1: And I want to tell you something right up front. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: I'm a veteran of the United States Army. But today's
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  Speaker 1: episode isn't about me. It's about them. The people who
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  Speaker 1: served before me. The people who served alongside me. and
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  Speaker 1: the people who served after me, and the people who
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  Speaker 1: are still serving our country today. You know, there's something
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  Speaker 1: that every American who has enlisted in our military has done.
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  Speaker 1: At some point, they raised their right hand and they
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  Speaker 1: took an oath. An oath to support and defend the
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  Speaker 1: Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
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  Speaker 1: Think about that for a minute. These are often young people, 18, 19,
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  Speaker 1: 20 years old. Some of them have barely been away
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  Speaker 1: from home. Some have never been on an airplane. Some
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  Speaker 1: have never traveled outside their home state. And yet, there
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  Speaker 1: they stand, raising their right hands and making a promise
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  Speaker 1: to their country. Not to a president, not to a
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  Speaker 1: political party, not to whoever happens to be sitting in Washington, D.C.,
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  Speaker 1: but to the Constitution of the United States. And with
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  Speaker 1: that oath comes a commitment that can change the course
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  Speaker 1: of their entire lives. I think that's something worth remembering.
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  Speaker 1: And when we talk about veterans, I think sometimes people
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  Speaker 1: picture a particular kind of military service. They picture combat.
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  Speaker 1: They picture soldiers carrying rifles. They picture ships at sea
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  Speaker 1: or fighting jets flying overhead. And certainly those are important
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  Speaker 1: parts of the military service. But there's so much more
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  Speaker 1: to it than that. They're from a Mechanics, cooks, medics,
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  Speaker 1: intelligence specialists, communications personnel, truck drivers, maintenance crews, and thousands
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  Speaker 1: of other jobs that make our military function. Some veterans
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  Speaker 1: served in combat. Others served during peacetime. Some spent years
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  Speaker 1: overseas while others served their entire enlistment right here in
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  Speaker 1: the United States. But they all answered that call. They
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  Speaker 1: all agreed to serve something bigger than themselves, and today
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  Speaker 1: we honor them, all of them. I want to share
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  Speaker 1: something personal with you this morning, and I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: try to get through this without getting too emotional. When
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  Speaker 1: I think back about my own time in the Army,
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  Speaker 1: there are a lot of things I remember. The training,
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  Speaker 1: the long days, the hard work, the things we accomplished.
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  Speaker 1: But you know what I remember the most? The guys
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  Speaker 1: I served with. And I'm going to tell you something.
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  Speaker 1: In all the years since I left the military, I've
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  Speaker 1: never met another group of men quite like them. Never.
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  Speaker 1: We were just kids. Late teenagers, early 20s. We thought
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  Speaker 1: we knew everything about the world. And looking back now,
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  Speaker 1: we probably didn't know nearly as much as we thought
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  Speaker 1: we did. But those guys, they were exceptional. They were brave.
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  Speaker 1: They were daring. And they were just still kids. And
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  Speaker 1: somehow the United States Army managed to put this particular
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  Speaker 1: group of men together. And to this day, I don't
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  Speaker 1: know how they did it. But I'm grateful that they did.
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  Speaker 1: Because those guys became something more than just people I
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  Speaker 1: worked with. They became my brothers. And I don't use
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  Speaker 1: that word lightly. I don't misunderstand me. I wasn't, it
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  Speaker 1: wasn't always rainbows and butterflies. We got mad at each other.
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  Speaker 1: There were times we disagreed. There were probably days we
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  Speaker 1: couldn't stand to be around each other. We worked hard
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  Speaker 1: and I'll tell you what, we partied hard too. We
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  Speaker 1: were young men. But here's the thing. None of that
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  Speaker 1: mattered when you needed somebody's help. It didn't matter if
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  Speaker 1: you had an argument the night before. It didn't matter
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  Speaker 1: if you agreed with somebody's opinions. It didn't even matter
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  Speaker 1: if you particularly liked the guy that day. Because when
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  Speaker 1: it came down to it, you were always there for
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  Speaker 1: each other. No matter what. No matter when. And that's
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  Speaker 1: something I've never forgotten. There were times during my military
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  Speaker 1: service when things were difficult. There were times when things
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  Speaker 1: were scary. And there were times when I honestly didn't
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  Speaker 1: know if I could keep going. I want to tell
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  Speaker 1: you something that I mean from the bottom of my heart.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't make it through my time in the military
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  Speaker 1: because of myself. I made it through because of them.
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  Speaker 1: Because those guys standing next to me, when I didn't
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  Speaker 1: think I could go any further, they were there. When
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  Speaker 1: things got difficult, they were there. And when I needed
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  Speaker 1: somebody to help me get through another day, they were there.
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  Speaker 1: I often thought about how fortunate I was to have
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  Speaker 1: served alongside those particular men. Sometimes I wonder what I
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  Speaker 1: ever did to deserve being part of that group. They
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  Speaker 1: were extraordinary people, and I miss them. I miss them dearly.
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  Speaker 1: Now we're all older. A whole lot older. And the
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  Speaker 1: young men we were back then aren't the same people
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  Speaker 1: we are today. Life has taken us in different directions.
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  Speaker 1: We've raised families. We've worked jobs. We've experienced success and disappointments.
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  Speaker 1: And sadly, some of the people we served alongside are
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  Speaker 1: no longer with us. But I'll tell you something. Those
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  Speaker 1: years we spent together, nobody can take those away. And
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  Speaker 1: the bond we formed during that time is something I'll
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  Speaker 1: carry with me for the rest of my life. And
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  Speaker 1: I know I'm not the only veteran who feels this way.
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  Speaker 1: I know there are men and women listening right now
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  Speaker 1: who are thinking about their own military service, their own friends,
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  Speaker 1: their own units, the people they stood beside. Maybe there's
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  Speaker 1: somebody you haven't spoken to in 30 years. Maybe there's
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  Speaker 1: somebody you wished you could talk to just one more time.
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  Speaker 1: Or maybe there's somebody you still call every once in
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  Speaker 1: a while, and within five minutes you're talking like you
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  Speaker 1: were back in the barracks again. That's something special. And
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  Speaker 1: it's something that's difficult to explain to somebody who hasn't
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  Speaker 1: experienced it. But I think the veterans listening know exactly
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  Speaker 1: what I'm talking about. And that's why I wanted to
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  Speaker 1: share this with you today. Because Veterans Day isn't just
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  Speaker 1: about uniforms, parades, ceremonies, or flags. It's about people. Real people.
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  Speaker 1: People who left their homes and families to serve their country.
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  Speaker 1: People who made sacrifices that most of us will never
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  Speaker 1: know about. And people who came home, took off that uniform,
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  Speaker 1: and went right back to being ordinary Americans. They became teachers, mechanics, farmers, nurses,
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  Speaker 1: business owners, factory workers, and neighbors. And many of them
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  Speaker 1: never talked much about their service. But that doesn't mean
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  Speaker 1: that their service wasn't important. It was. And it still is.
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  Speaker 1: And before I close, I want to recognize another group
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  Speaker 1: of people The families. The husbands and the wives who
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  Speaker 1: waited at home. The children who missed birthdays and holidays
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  Speaker 1: with a parent. The mothers and fathers who worried about
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  Speaker 1: their sons and daughters. And the families who carried responsibilities
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  Speaker 1: at home while someone they loved was away serving this country.
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  Speaker 1: Military service doesn't just affect the person wearing the uniform.
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  Speaker 1: It affects the people who love the And those sacrifices
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  Speaker 1: deserve our gratitude too. So today on Veterans Day, November 11, 2026,
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  Speaker 1: I want to say something to every veteran listening. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Whether you served four years or 30, whether your service
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  Speaker 1: took you halfway around the world or kept you here
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  Speaker 1: at home, whether you served during wartime or peacetime, thank
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  Speaker 1: you for raising your right hand. Thank you for taking
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  Speaker 1: that oath. And thank you for being willing to serve
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  Speaker 1: your country. And to the men I had the privilege
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  Speaker 1: of serving alongside all those years ago, if any of
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  Speaker 1: you happen to be listening, I want you to know something.
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  Speaker 1: I've never forgotten you. I've never forgotten what you did
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  Speaker 1: for me. And I've never forgotten what it meant to
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  Speaker 1: have you standing beside me. I wouldn't trade those memories
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  Speaker 1: for anything in the world. And I thank God that
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  Speaker 1: our paths crossed when they did. To every veteran out there,
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  Speaker 1: I hope somebody takes a moment today to shake your hand.
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  Speaker 1: look you in the eye, and tell you that your
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  Speaker 1: service mattered, because it did, and it still does. This
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  Speaker 1: is Kevin Stone from the Kevin Stone Podcast here in Ozark, Arkansas.
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  Speaker 1: May God bless our veterans, may God bless their families,
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  Speaker 1: and may God bless the United States of America. Happy
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  Speaker 1: Veterans Day to everybody, and thanks for listening.