Latest / Military Broadcast Radio | MBR Talk / The H-Train Show -Gire House Giving Gold Star Families a Place to Heal
Transcript
- 0:08The station where our veterans voices are heard.
- 0:11MBR talk. Hey, thanks for supporting our
- 0:14channel by watching and listening.
- 0:24Morning and welcome to the show. It's red Friday.
- 0:26Remember everyone deployed. We hope you wore red today.
- 0:29Thank you for joining us and supporting our troops.
- 0:31We begin on the tracks, rails stretching beyond the horizon.
- 0:36Each tie a memory, each rail a promise of where we might go.
- 0:42In the early years, our first logo appeared, a pioneer
- 0:47stepping onto the platform of possibility.
- 0:50Through seasons of growth, change and challenge, we moved
- 0:54forward. The whistle of opportunity
- 0:57sounded and we boarded the train of time.
- 1:01The view changed with every mile, some stations brief,
- 1:05others lasting. Our logos changed too, not just
- 1:09emblems, but mile markers of evolution.
- 1:13Along the way, seats filled with teammates, mentors, veterans,
- 1:18and friends. Some stayed for the ride.
- 1:21Others stepped off, leaving their legacy on the rails behind
- 1:25us. And still, the journey
- 1:27continues. The tracks ahead stretch into
- 1:30the unknown, familiar yet full of new promise.
- 1:34What matters most is how we travel with purpose, with grit,
- 1:39with heart. Because the journey matters, the
- 1:42movement matters. And the legacy of those logos,
- 1:46every year, every show, lives on in the rhythm of these rails.
- 1:51So here we are once again, all aboard.
- 1:54The whistle blows, the tracks call together.
- 1:58We ride. We are the H train show showing
- 2:02veterans programs beyond the VA since 2015.
- 4:56freedom fighters. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
- 5:02and welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.
- 5:06You're listening to the 8th train show that is here showing
- 5:11all programs out there beyond the day you're listening to the
- 5:158th train. Oh man, let me let me get my
- 5:17thing here. All right, ladies and gentlemen
- 5:20is Friday, October 9th, 2026. And boy, do we have a good show
- 5:29for you. Yes, we do.
- 5:31We have Geyer today. In fact, in fact, before we even
- 5:36get started, let's let's go ahead and hit that 5 minutes.
- 5:45What's on the agenda today? Thrive handles the numbers.
- 5:49Thrive handles the numbers so we can focus on the mission.
- 5:53From all of us at MBR, thank you Thrive.
- 5:58All right, ladies and gentlemen, so as you can see, just so you
- 6:02know community calendar October 9th tonight is the debut of
- 6:09Veteran voices AI, the the abuse of NBR and it takes basically
- 6:16the place of when Purban and Ball used to be on this show is
- 6:21connecting businesses together kind of like an MMG list using
- 6:27AI. It's something to improve the
- 6:29veteran community. Also new NBR sports show on the
- 6:35radio station. They're they're getting ready to
- 6:39debut on Monday, October 12th. So you might I, you know, it's
- 6:46like Spadaro or I can't even pronounce it.
- 6:49So your, your guess is as good as mine on what is it Now, if
- 6:54you're a part of the family package, that $5 a month that
- 6:57truly helps and support us veterans on this whole streaming
- 7:03platform, believe it or not, you're helping us considerably
- 7:09considerably. Trust me, we are sending out a
- 7:12newsletter every week. Hey, it, it, it is what it's
- 7:16like the 21st century, right? We, we, we, we got the we, we,
- 7:21we've got so much going on. We have so many options out
- 7:24there. But you want to know the
- 7:26information that we have for you.
- 7:31So what better way, since you can't get to the Spotify or the
- 7:36the link, we're going to send you the newsletter that's going
- 7:39to give you Cliff notes about every show, what they went
- 7:43through and stuff like that. Also, next Friday, next Friday,
- 7:48we're going to be having supposedly things could happen,
- 7:52right? Jesse Cook is going to be
- 7:55joining us. She is a brand new Marine
- 7:58mother. She's going to be talking about
- 8:00the stresses and she's going to talk about the issues that come
- 8:06with the military family, especially with today's society.
- 8:10I think today might be a little bit different than than
- 8:14yesterday's, you know, military service.
- 8:17And then finally, just a reminder that Tuesday, October
- 8:2127th is Broomfield Rotary presentation.
- 8:26OK, now there's another thing on here that it it didn't mention
- 8:32and I don't know why and I'm going to bring that up real
- 8:34quick. The the calendar, but we're
- 8:37we're supposed to be going to a fall kind of like a bizarre, I
- 8:43believe it is on the 24th and it is, it's, it's a fall.
- 8:52It's fall bizarre. In fact, I tell you what, I I
- 8:55can give you the, the, the banner.
- 8:57MJ just sent it to me a couple of days ago.
- 9:02We are going to, it's called the Blossoming Boutique and Friends
- 9:095th Annual Fall Fest McGraw Memorial Park, October 24th,
- 9:152026 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. It's free for family fun.
- 9:21They're going to have pumpkin patch, they're going to have
- 9:24Coco, They're going to have historical buildings, games,
- 9:27Carson and kids scratch kids crafts and much, much more.
- 9:32So that's on the agenda now here is where we're at today.
- 9:37First we're going to do the soldiers spotlight after this.
- 9:40Then we're going to hit the top story, the Gold Star family
- 9:43still waiting. You'll you'll, you'll, you'll
- 9:46find out what that is all about and then what the drop the date
- 9:52interview and then tribute to the troops and then, of course,
- 9:56the story behind it all, which it's going to be about Bucky
- 10:01today. If you don't know about that.
- 10:02All right, so the ladies and gentlemen coming up in the mail
- 10:07call we spotlight Army Captain Timothy Torres.
- 10:11Meet the soldier behind the name.
- 10:15Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, it is that time.
- 10:19It is the soldier spotlight. Now everybody, if you didn't
- 10:36know, let me remind you that today's Mail call Soldier
- 10:39Spotlight goes to Captain Timothy Torres of the United
- 10:43States. Captain Torres currently serving
- 10:47in Hiroshima, Japan as the Operation Officer for the 10th
- 10:55Support Group on September 30th, and today's Military Broadcast
- 11:01Radio is proud to carry or I'm sorry, It's a Soldier Spotlight
- 11:08for on on for October 9th. The Army recently recognized
- 11:15Captain Torres and its own Soldier Spotlight on September
- 11:2130th. Oh, I've totally read that
- 11:22wrong. Torres plays an important role
- 11:26in supporting Army operations in Japan, helping coordinate the
- 11:33mission and ensuring his organization is prepared to
- 11:37provide critical ammunition support when called upon.
- 11:45His service is a reminder that the Army's mission never stops.
- 11:49Around the world, American soldiers are working every day,
- 11:54often far away from cameras and headlines, and to keep their
- 12:01units ready and support American allies.
- 12:05Captain Torres represents those soldiers who quietly do their
- 12:08job, lead their teams, and keep the mission moving forward.
- 12:14So today, from everyone here at the H Strange Show and military
- 12:19broadcast radio, Captain Timothy Torres, we see you.
- 12:25We appreciate your service and we're proud to make you our mail
- 12:30call Soldier Spotlight. Captain Torres of today.
- 12:36I don't know if I I don't know if I should that that didn't
- 12:39sound like I did it. Mail call like like mail order
- 12:42bribe. And that's the reason why I
- 12:45usually have a Co host. OK, so with that being said,
- 12:50that is that's today's Soldier Spotlight.
- 12:56All right, here we go, everybody we are.
- 12:59I don't know why he keeps doing that, but we are.
- 13:01We are back onto it and we're getting ready to hit that, that
- 13:06old, good old storyline of what's in the news.
- 13:12Ladies and gentlemen, today's top story.
- 13:18Welcome back to our weekly news broadcast.
- 13:20I'm your host and we have some massive updates today.
- 13:24Let's dive right into our top story.
- 13:29All right, ladies and gentlemen. So today's today's top story is
- 13:41is about the Gold Star families. I don't know why it didn't come
- 13:46up. There we go.
- 13:48Today's top story Gold Star family is still waiting for
- 13:53Friday, October 9th. This week at the White House,
- 13:56the annual Guards Gold Star reception marked Gold Star
- 14:00Mothers and Families Day. Candles were lit for nearly 40
- 14:05fallen service members going all the way back to Vietnam War.
- 14:11But here's the story that isn't sitting right.
- 14:14Most of the families of the six soldiers killed in the deadliest
- 14:19strike of the Iranian war, March 1st, an Iranian drone strike in
- 14:25Kuwait, they weren't in the room.
- 14:28Now, some say they never received an invitation.
- 14:31One widower is demanding answers about what decisions were made
- 14:37before that strike ever happened.
- 14:39Michelle Tijens. And I hope I pronounced that
- 14:43right. If I did it, my apologies.
- 14:46Whose husband, Master Sergeant Noah Tijens, was killed that
- 14:51day, flew all the way from Nebraska with her teenage son
- 14:56just just to be there. She toured the White House.
- 15:01She had her picture taken, and she said it didn't change a
- 15:06thing. The Army still hasn't told her
- 15:09whether enough, whether enough was done to protect her husband.
- 15:14The Army says it's still redacting in its findings before
- 15:19anything gets released. So here's where we stand.
- 15:23Seven months into this war, 19 service members killed, more
- 15:30than 800 wounded, and Gold Star families are still waiting on
- 15:37answers. That's today's top story.
- 15:40And coming up next on the show, you'll, of course, you'll hear
- 15:45from one of these Gold Star widows.
- 15:47I don't think she was one of those that were at the White
- 15:53House, but she was one of these the widows that lost her husband
- 15:59in combat. She knows exactly what these
- 16:03families are living through. And that is our interview of the
- 16:08week. So make sure make sure that you
- 16:12stay with us. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
- 16:15and with with that being, I gave HG the day off today and I I
- 16:21hope I'm not, I hope I'm not killing it.
- 16:24And tracer, thank you. Thank you so much for coming in.
- 16:28I really appreciate it. I'm going to look here on TikTok
- 16:31and hey, I see you queen. Thank you so much for tuning in
- 16:38and and sharing and supporting. And now, ladies and gentlemen,
- 16:42it's it's time for us to get to the new gritty.
- 16:45Since I gave HGM the day off, it's sports Snapshot.
- 16:52I'm Beaker and we have got a massive show for you tonight.
- 16:55From the gridiron to the diamond, we are covering the
- 16:57biggest plays and wildest moments, so let's get right to
- 17:00the action. All right, so if you only
- 17:07watched one game this weekend, make make it Saturday night and
- 17:11Tuscaloosa #2 Georgia against number six Alabama, Bryant Denny
- 17:18Stadium, 7:30 eastern on ABC. Biggest game of the college
- 17:23season so far in Vegas. Has Alabama favored by a point
- 17:28and 1/2 at home. Georgia's defense against that
- 17:31Bama offense. Playoff seeding on the line
- 17:35100,000. Screaming fans Winner takes
- 17:38control of the SEC race. These two have played with
- 17:44everything on the line before, and that's not even the only
- 17:47heavyweight fight #1 Texas takes on Oklahoma and the Red River
- 17:54Rivalry. Dallas, the stadium split right
- 17:58down the middle. Bad blood going back
- 18:00generations. Texas has owned this series
- 18:03lately, but throw the records out because Oklahoma would love
- 18:08never more than knocking off #1 Newton Fox, undefeated Nebraska
- 18:13host #7 Indiana. The Hoosiers are given 7 1/2 but
- 18:18a new kick off in Lincoln with that crowd danger spot also at
- 18:243:30 on CBSUCLA heads to Oregon and Saturday night at 732 more
- 18:32USC and Penn State. There you, there you go, MJ
- 18:37under the lights on Happy Valley on NBC and Missouri.
- 18:42Mixing it up with Texas A&M Friday night warms you up.
- 18:46Florida State and Louisiana or Louisville, sorry at 7 on ESPN
- 18:52#20 Iowa at Washington at 9 on Fox and Iowa State B BYU at
- 19:03151015 for the night owls. Now for the pros, a correction
- 19:10from earlier in the week, The Cowboys are not Sunday night.
- 19:15Dallas plays tonight on Thursday Night Football, which I heard
- 19:21they didn't win. Hosting Tampa Bay at 8:15 on
- 19:25Prime Video Sunday starts early. Eagles and Jaguars from London
- 19:31at 9:30 AM. Breakfast football, right?
- 19:36I'm so tired of those overseas. They they they, they bring down
- 19:40the quality of the football, I feel.
- 19:43And then for our Denver Broncos, well, they're on the road and
- 19:48the Chargers 4-O four O 5 Eastern on CBS Bears Packers at
- 19:55Lambeau at one. Always a street fight late
- 19:59window Niners and the Seahawks with the first place in the NFC
- 20:04West on the line. Sunday night, it's the Ravens at
- 20:08the Falcons and 80. 820 on NBC, both teams at 3:00 and 1:00.
- 20:17Monday night wraps it up, Bills and the Rams on ESPN.
- 20:22And ladies and gentlemen, that is your weekend.
- 20:26Georgia, Alabama Saturday night Broncos, Chargers and you know,
- 20:32how how are the Broncos going to recover since they lost the last
- 20:38game? How are they going to recover
- 20:39that? That's the question, especially
- 20:42since, you know, I, I, it's, it's almost like they went to
- 20:46the Super Bowl for for the for the Rams.
- 20:50Also, just just touch on that real quick.
- 20:53I believe his name is Matt Webb and they just reported that Matt
- 20:59Webb will not be doing the play calling that Sean Payton.
- 21:04We'll be taking that over for Sunday.
- 21:08So just giving you a heads up. And ladies and gentlemen, that
- 21:14is our sports snapshots of the week and HG will be back
- 21:22Wednesday. We, like I said, we kind of took
- 21:25a little bit of a day off. You know, it's, it's, it's tough
- 21:30being in the radio business sometimes.
- 21:32You know, you have to, you have to work through lunch and
- 21:34everything. All right now next thing that I
- 21:37want to bring up is we're going to, oh, you know what?
- 21:40We got to go on music break. I almost forgot, you realize
- 21:44that. So whatever you do, stay with us
- 21:50because when we come back, we are going to come back to the
- 21:59what the segment, right? And you've heard of a love
- 22:04booth. That name alone has us asking
- 22:08questions after the break. It's today's what the segment,
- 22:15so stay with us. Don't go away.
- 22:18You listen to the show that highlights all the nonprofit
- 22:21programs out there beyond the view area.
- 22:23You listen to the H train show. Stay
- 25:43The station where our veterans voices are heard MBR talk.
- 25:52I meant to do that MBR It's in the game.
- 25:59This on the web it NB Radio done.
- 26:03All right, welcome back. Welcome back, ladies and
- 26:06gentlemen. We, I had, I had a little snafu
- 26:09there came back a little bit early, but that's OK.
- 26:12I hope you guys are having a fabulous day on this Red Friday.
- 26:16And let me tell you, we have an absolute banger of a drop the
- 26:22date. You're going to love this,
- 26:24ladies and gentlemen, it is that time.
- 26:26It is drop the date. Today in history.
- 26:33Oh, well, I, I, I totally messed that up.
- 26:35See, HG, you're, you're very valuable to me, Ladies and
- 26:40gentlemen, I forgot it is the what?
- 26:43The segment. So here we go.
- 26:49What the WTF? This is going completely off the
- 26:55rails strain. Help me out here.
- 27:00I don't know be I don't know if I can help you out too much How
- 27:02I can't even help myself out here pretty soon.
- 27:05All right, so ladies and gentlemen, today's what the so
- 27:10you've heard of photo booths, right?
- 27:14Well, here in Denver, they have this new thing where they're
- 27:18they're taking photo booths to a a whole new level.
- 27:21You've heard of match.com, you've heard of hot or not.
- 27:24If that doesn't show my age, I don't know what will.
- 27:27But you you've heard of all these different ways of meeting
- 27:32people. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we
- 27:35have the the photo booth now, so.
- 27:39Reveal my soul mate is Paul Paul.
- 27:43Unfortunately, Paul, if you are watching, you're not exactly my
- 27:47type, but I'm sure someone is. So I'm I'm sure they're come to
- 27:51Empire Collective to this phone booth.
- 27:53The creator of this phone booth said that this was going so well
- 27:56that they are opening another location in Sloans Lake I.
- 28:00Love the obviously really I said sorry to this man, you are not
- 28:03for me, but maybe for someone else you.
- 28:06Know what I think Maybe an older demographic he does have it
- 28:10looks like white hair and some black ones.
- 28:12I don't have someone out there for Paul.
- 28:14Yes, come to this and then you'll get a text.
- 28:18Real you have Corey Reppenhagen and in stitches over in the
- 28:23weather impact area. But we, I have to ask you, do
- 28:26you know, have there been any? Success.
- 28:30OK, so let's read some of the comments here, shall we?
- 28:37Let's see here. Let's read them.
- 28:39All right, let's see here. There's Swans.
- 28:42Lake is about to be packed. I mean, send Paul my way, right?
- 28:48There you go, Paul. Someone find Paul for this girl.
- 28:55Get rejected by an inanimate object in public.
- 28:59Hard pass. All right, which one of our Co
- 29:02hosts snorted laughing? That was funny that that that
- 29:05was funny. Did you hear that?
- 29:06I thought my shit was bad because of my throat but that,
- 29:09that was funny. Had to rewind and make sure I
- 29:12heard that. And then my my, my favorite one
- 29:16is yeah, the booth is not going to last very long.
- 29:19Of course they're not because people people are going to be
- 29:22getting pissed off real quick, real quick about that stuff.
- 29:25Let me tell you. So that is today's what the
- 29:30segment. I, I don't know about you, but I
- 29:32I thought it was funny. So with that being said, it is
- 29:37that time for now. Drop the day.
- 29:40I I tell you what, I just I just get so rambunctious.
- 29:44What can I say? Here we go.
- 29:50Come on. Today in history.
- 30:03All right, ladies and gentlemen, today's Drop the Dates.
- 30:06It's a, it's kind of a series. Well, it's a story.
- 30:10It's a story about a Medal of Honor winner.
- 30:16I. I shouldn't say.
- 30:17Medal of Honor winner and Medal of Honor recipient on October
- 30:239th, 2026. In 1940, in wartime Liverpool,
- 30:31England, John Winston Lennon was born, named after his
- 30:37grandfather. I This is not the this isn't the
- 30:45right one. So I don't know why that did
- 30:50that, but that that's that's, that's not the right one.
- 30:54Today's job of the day is about Medal of Honor Burger L Loman.
- 31:02Give me a second here, everybody.
- 31:04I would really appreciate it. I don't know why that came up
- 31:09like that. OK, so this is what we're going
- 31:14to do. We're going to go on a real
- 31:15quick music break because of the tattoo, and we'll be right,
- 31:21right, right back. All right, ladies and gentlemen,
- 36:54welcome back. Sorry about that.
- 36:56I I was searching for the for the for the picture and I didn't
- 37:01want to make you guys wait during that time and, and we
- 37:05have some, we have some time before we have to go to our
- 37:09interview of the week. So hopefully your Friday is
- 37:13going great. I want to say thank you on
- 37:16behalf of the show. Thank you for joining me and and
- 37:20have a coffee with me. I I really appreciate it.
- 37:23Really do MJ, good morning and thank you for joining us and
- 37:28everybody on TikTok. I got Beautiful Soul Yanith and
- 37:34Butt Quacker. I got everybody watching today.
- 37:37Thank you so much for that. I really appreciate it.
- 37:40OK, now back-to-back to the drop the date and now today's drop
- 37:46the date. It's kind of special guys, kind
- 37:49of special because not only is it about today's date, but it
- 37:55also it's a story. It's a story that kind of
- 37:59relates to what we're talking about today.
- 38:02So 108 years ago today, October 9/19/18, in the mud near Casino
- 38:10Boy, France, a private name, Berger Loman.
- 38:13Did it be impossible? Loman was a Norwegian immigrant
- 38:19serving with Company H, 132nd Infantry, 33 Division.
- 38:24His company was 100 yards from his objective, pinned down by a
- 38:30German machine gun. Everybody else took shelter.
- 38:34Loman went forward alone. He crawled to the flank of the
- 38:39gun, killed and captured the entire crew, then turned the
- 38:44machine gun around on the retreating enemy.
- 38:48One man, one machine gun, and advanced.
- 38:52Could move again. General John J Pershing himself
- 38:58pinned the Medal of Honor on him in Charmins, France, in February
- 39:051919. Loman came home and lived to be
- 39:0881 and today he rests at Arlington National Cemetery,
- 39:14Section 37, Grave 49 O 9, just up the hill from where the Gold
- 39:22Star families still gather to remember their own.
- 39:27October 9th, 1918. Berger, Logan. 108 years ago
- 39:31today, an immigrant earned America's highest honor the hard
- 39:39way. And that is today's drop the
- 39:42date. We have a little bit more time
- 39:46before we go to the break because I mean, it's like we
- 39:51just came back from the break, isn't it?
- 39:54So let me ask you guys this before we get into our
- 39:57interview, let me let me kind of share some stuff with you.
- 40:02So here at Military Broadcast Radio, One of the things that
- 40:08we're trying to do. Is we're trying to make it
- 40:12possible for veterans to tell their stories.
- 40:16In fact, believe it or not, they're believe it or not, there
- 40:20are veterans that want to tell their story, but they don't want
- 40:25to be in front of the camera. They don't want to face the
- 40:28camera, which, you know, I, I, I can see that.
- 40:31I can see that and I, I can believe that.
- 40:34Now, one of the reasons why I bring this up is because, you
- 40:38know, one thing that I, I, I, I'd stress about with my
- 40:44veterans is that, you know, I come with transparency.
- 40:47And one of the new chapters that I'm trying to build here at MBR
- 40:53is, you know, you do a regular show, right?
- 40:55You do a regular interview, But, but some of those veterans, they
- 41:02don't want to show their face. So we have create well, I have
- 41:05created what we call the virtual and I'm and I'm getting ready to
- 41:11show you this as well. Here we go.
- 41:15Hopefully this doesn't mess my camera up, but so this is what
- 41:23we have getting ready for. As you can see, this is this is
- 41:31Beaker and Beaker he has, he has, he does have a voice.
- 41:37And one of these days he's going to host this show and that's
- 41:42going to be amazing, I think. But you know, like I said, see
- 41:47how a veteran can tell his face. We and we got voice changers.
- 41:53We got all that stuff. This is kind of like the next
- 41:55chapter. Me and my wife are going to
- 41:59conduct a show here in the, in the near future so that we can
- 42:04kind of show and explain to people why we're doing this.
- 42:10You know, because military broadcast radio is just not a
- 42:14radio station. Military broadcast radio is a
- 42:19connection base. It's like a virtual MWR.
- 42:22We're, we're trying to connect veterans to outlets.
- 42:25You know, if if a veteran likes pickleball and he can't find a
- 42:31pickleball group or a pickleball club, MBR is going to try and
- 42:36find them something. You know, I've helped battle
- 42:41buddies here at MBR. My battle buddies have helped me
- 42:47here at MBR. That's the thing that doesn't
- 42:50ever go away. You always have a battle buddy.
- 42:55Always have a battle buddy. All right, So and a well, Kim K.
- 43:00Well, Kim, good morning. Thank you for having coffee with
- 43:03me. So, ladies and gentlemen, what
- 43:06we're going to do is we're going to go ahead and go on another
- 43:11music break. And when we come back from that
- 43:15new music break, it is going to be the interview of the week.
- 43:20And trust me, she's a lot more. She she's a, she's a lot.
- 43:27What, what's the word I'm looking for?
- 43:28She's a lot more better looking on the camera than I am.
- 43:34So you're going to love it. So stay with us.
- 43:36Don't go away. You're listening to the show
- 43:38that highlights all the nonprofit programs out there
- 43:41beyond the VA. You're listening to the VA H
- 43:44train show right here on the station that's later on.
- 43:47Veterans voices be heard, MBR. And this next song.
- 43:51He is the Navy Corps man veteran.
- 43:53He is a friend of mine. Ladies and gentlemen, Shannon
- 43:57Brooke. When he got killed, he he was
- 44:02killed and the army disagrees with this, but the his man told
- 44:08us that he was killed while they were looking for Bert Bowe
- 44:10Bergdahl. He's the guy that deserted.
- 44:12We had a very close. Relationship and I miss it every
- 44:17day. There's just a constant barrage
- 44:23of of things that come up that I think I need to tell Darren that
- 44:27or Darren would do this or. He and his.
- 44:30Buddies, we would pick him up at 29 Palms and bring him home and
- 44:33I would hear the stories and how are the firefights, the stuff
- 44:37that they don't tell you on TV, the true stories.
- 44:40And I'd sit in the hallway with the pillow crying.
- 44:42So when he got back from Iraq the second time, the PTSD was
- 44:47pretty much out of control. And they fed him the, the, the
- 44:51typical hey, this, take this, take this in the morning, take
- 44:55this at night and multiplied it out.
- 44:59You know, if this wasn't working, if one wasn't working,
- 45:01well, he had two more couple months later, it's still not
- 45:05working. Add three more.
- 45:06One night he called me, he would, he was going to stay at
- 45:10base for the weekend. We had a conversation and
- 45:17probably within 8 hours he was dead.
- 45:20I am the mother of Corporal Benjamin Kopp, who was an Army
- 45:23Ranger that was killed in action in July of 2000. 9 The day after
- 45:28he landed at Walter Reed, he was determined to be brain dead.
- 45:32However, the brain death qualified him, if you will, to
- 45:36become an organ donor. And so his all of his major
- 45:40organs, bone, skin and tissue were donated.
- 45:42And his heart is literally still beating today.
- 45:44And a woman from Chicago, you know, I believe it was Emerson
- 45:48the poet, who stated that the one thing about life that he's
- 45:52learned is that it goes. On whether we wanted to or not.
- 50:10The station All right, everybody, welcome
- 50:30back. You listen to the show that
- 50:32highlights all the nonprofit programs out there beyond the
- 50:35VA. If you're listening to the H
- 50:39train show that's here on the station was important to be
- 50:42heard. And BR OK, so, you know, we had
- 50:46a really good show. I I thought the WTF was kind of
- 50:49funny. You know, everybody's searching
- 50:52for love and, and all their own places, right?
- 50:57But I did, I, I thought that was funny.
- 50:59We had a fantastic drop of dates.
- 51:01We have the interview of the week that I'm getting ready to
- 51:05play. You know, I tell you what,
- 51:08anybody that has been through a, a, a death, I mean, I, I can't
- 51:16even imagine that, you know, being a being a widow, dealing
- 51:22with the stresses, dealing with the anniversary, dealing with
- 51:25all the military stuff. So what they're getting ready to
- 51:29do for all Gold Star families is amazing, ladies and gentlemen,
- 51:37just simply amazing. And you know, I, I had, I had
- 51:42the image there. I don't know why you didn't.
- 51:45I don't know why it didn't bring up.
- 51:46I'm telling you today, today has been been crazy.
- 51:52But yeah, this is this is for the Gold Gold Star Phantoms.
- 52:00And the I was trying to bring up there.
- 52:05Here we go, there we go. Here is the this is the
- 52:10interview. This is the Gyre house.
- 52:14Now I was told today or that day that I thought it was Gyre
- 52:19house. And she's like, no, you, you
- 52:21pronounce it, pronounce it Gyre. So this is Jack Diary for
- 52:27today's Interview of the Week. The week is brought to you by
- 52:34Jersey Mike. Mike's above. 00 and of course,
- 52:42yeah, that's what happens. You haven't.
- 52:47Thank you so much for joining us.
- 52:51Well, thank you so much for having us on us as an
- 52:53organization, as me, as a individual.
- 52:57Thank you. No problem.
- 52:59Problem. Well, the, the one of your, your
- 53:06colleague, that's our tabar. He couldn't make you today.
- 53:11So you're filling in for a spot spot.
- 53:13We want to say thank you so much.
- 53:15We've been trying to do this with you for a long time, but
- 53:17you guys are very, very busy and, and that's understandable
- 53:22because we've got to get done a lot of stuff.
- 53:24In fact, you know, talking about about all the stuff, you know,
- 53:28tell us a little bit of the story behind how did this I did
- 53:38get started and, and and why why should just last last July 4th?
- 53:45So I did came about. It was actually my my founder
- 53:50and president of our, our organization who brought the
- 53:54idea by after our last reunion, we had.
- 53:57So a few of the guys that have served with with Josh, who the
- 54:02foundation is named after, have gotten together for a couple of
- 54:07reunions now at Arlington or in in the DC area.
- 54:14The last one was this last March, March, 15 year
- 54:18anniversary of Josh being killed in accident.
- 54:22So a bunch of former soldiers and friends and myself and our
- 54:27two children we have together got together, rented a couple
- 54:31townhomes in DC, close Arlington National Cemetery and just spend
- 54:35a few days together just to unite.
- 54:39Remember it's changing stories and just, and just kind of feel
- 54:43a little bit together because even though it's been 15 years,
- 54:47it's something that never it's always a part of your life for
- 54:51all of us. It's it's made made impact on
- 54:53all of our lives. And as we were there, we got to
- 54:58talking and he ran the idea by because it as you know, DC and
- 55:04Arlington area are not not a cheap area to stay.
- 55:07So there are a lot of families and a lot of veterans who have
- 55:12lost someone in combat that they serve with with who would like
- 55:17to go visit their friends or their loved ones final resting
- 55:22place, but may not be able to afford staying there.
- 55:26And this is really where this all began.
- 55:29We feel, we feel that no Gold Star family, no spouse, no
- 55:34child, no mother, no father, no brother should ever have to
- 55:40worry about not being able to visit their loved ones final
- 55:44resting place due to not being able to afford a place in that
- 55:47area. And same with veterans.
- 55:52I'm sure you can relate being a veteran yourself.
- 55:55How when you all surf together, that bond that you build is
- 56:02something that you will carry through the rest of your life.
- 56:05And if that was very obvious to me as an outsider looking in,
- 56:10because I'm not a veteran, I'm a spouse.
- 56:13It was just, it's really, really hard to put into words all the
- 56:19emotions that I felt that everybody else felt that
- 56:23weekend. It was so great.
- 56:25It was so great for my kids to hear stories about their dad now
- 56:28that they're grown, to hear stories about their dad from
- 56:32people he served with, from people he was deployed with that
- 56:36I didn't even know. And really, this is where this
- 56:39all started. And this was just past March
- 56:41when the whole idea came about. And we said, yes, let's do this.
- 56:45And then we got to work, we filed all of our paperwork and
- 56:49as soon as everything got approved, it was close to July
- 56:544th. And we just thought, you know,
- 56:56with it being Independence Day, it would be a good day to just
- 57:03put it out to the public. Right, right, right.
- 57:06No, I, I agree. And I think, you know, one of
- 57:10the things that I learned a long time ago is when, when, when,
- 57:16when you're, when you're focused on something, either it's a job
- 57:20or you're focused on an event, You're focused on meeting
- 57:25families, meeting people. It, it's, it's a total different
- 57:30atmosphere when you don't have to worry about who, who's paying
- 57:34this bill. You know who, who's, who's,
- 57:36who's because you know, I, I know back in the old times and
- 57:41then it cost much, but now, I mean, I'm, I'm pretty sure to
- 57:46give it a room for about $200 a night.
- 57:49And that's if you're by yourself.
- 57:52That's if you're by yourself and if you get that lucky to get it
- 57:55for that price. Exactly, exactly.
- 57:58So what I think you guys are doing is, you know, it, it, it's
- 58:03amazing. And I, I, I give you guys kudos
- 58:09for, you know, for even attempting to do a nonprofit.
- 58:13Nonprofit stuff is, it's pretty hard.
- 58:16It's, it's, it's kind of a, it's kind of a thankless job, but it,
- 58:20it needs to be done. It's so it's, it's been very
- 58:24rewarding so far. It's been and we're all, we're,
- 58:27we're all doing this for the first time.
- 58:29We have a great team. We have great board members
- 58:32there. Every single one of them is
- 58:34really passionate about this. So yes, it is.
- 58:38It is work, obviously, but so far it's been and we're learning
- 58:46as we go. Right.
- 58:48All of us are doing this for the first time, so there's a lot of,
- 58:51you know, a lot of learning curves involved, but that's OK.
- 58:55I think that I think that's anything.
- 58:57I think that's anything. Jackie.
- 59:01The The house is named after Staff Sergeant Joshua Dyer.
- 59:06Can you tell her listeners, which you kind of already have,
- 59:11but you know, tell us a little bit, tell us your fondest memory
- 59:17of your of your husband before, before he passed.
- 59:22Oh my goodness, just one OK, The nice thing was that.
- 59:27So this was Josh's second tour in Afghanistan.
- 59:33He was home for R&R for two weeks right before after his
- 59:39mission where him and his him and his driver, Michael Maher
- 59:44were killed. So we got to enjoy a very
- 59:47special time together with our kids.
- 59:49Our kids were little at the time.
- 59:50There were five and our daughter was almost 2 and we had just a
- 59:55two weeks of family time. We spend one week back in
- 1:00:00Germany, where he was stationed at the time.
- 1:00:04My hometown and we went and took a little trip to Spain for a
- 1:00:08week and we just enjoyed each other's company.
- 1:00:12He was, yeah, he just enjoyed it to the fullest, just being
- 1:00:16around his kids and being around his family.
- 1:00:19He was a family man. So I think there's so many fond
- 1:00:24memories really. But that is something that I
- 1:00:28will cherish forever. The fact that we got that time
- 1:00:32together after six months of being gone, we got to spend 2
- 1:00:36weeks together before he had to go back down range and yeah, he,
- 1:00:41you know, sadly did not make it back at that time.
- 1:00:46And, and, and I'm sorry to bring that up because I'm, I'm sure,
- 1:00:48I'm sure rehashing those feelings and stuff.
- 1:00:51It's, it's kind of hard. So I I apologize.
- 1:00:55You're OK. That's OK.
- 1:00:56That's what we're here for, right?
- 1:00:57We want to let people know how this started and what it is
- 1:01:03about and the meaning behind it because I know there are so many
- 1:01:07other families and so many other veterans like us out there that
- 1:01:13could really benefit. Oh yeah.
- 1:01:16And that's our mission. Most definitely and you know you
- 1:01:20already said that you Co found it with Nassar Jabbar and you
- 1:01:25are a Gold Star mother. Spouse.
- 1:01:28Or Gold Star spouse. Sorry about that.
- 1:01:31What does that partnership bring to the mission?
- 1:01:36To our mission we we have a personal connection to the
- 1:01:40mission. Yeah.
- 1:01:42I think that's the most important part.
- 1:01:44We know exactly what we're talking about.
- 1:01:46We know the people that we want to reach and we can relate to
- 1:01:51the people that we want to reach.
- 1:01:53We have personal experience in how in, in the whole how, how
- 1:02:00was it just traveling, finding a place for, for example, usually
- 1:02:06when I would take my kids. So Josh is buried in Arlington.
- 1:02:09That's where that's why we meet there.
- 1:02:14And as military people know, it's a very special place and
- 1:02:20it's an honor. To.
- 1:02:22Be laid to rest there so we feel that families should be able to
- 1:02:29go and just spend time there and experience and come together and
- 1:02:36visit their loved ones grave. We, like I said, we all have a
- 1:02:41personal relationship to obviously Joshua and just that
- 1:02:49loss, experiencing that loss. It's different sides.
- 1:02:54My side represents the family side of that loss.
- 1:03:00NASA represents the military family side of that loss, if
- 1:03:05that makes sense. It does.
- 1:03:08So together, bringing both of those together is what makes
- 1:03:16what makes it a good team, I think.
- 1:03:21I, I, I, I, I agree. And, you know, again, I really
- 1:03:25thank you guys for, for, you know, providing something like
- 1:03:31this, you know, for, for, for our veterans, for the healing.
- 1:03:36And, you know, it's it, it is much needed.
- 1:03:43It is much needed. Yeah.
- 1:03:45Walk us through what a family experience during the stay.
- 1:03:50What does a A weekend at the Dyer House look like for you?
- 1:03:55So I should also mention that as of now, we don't have our own
- 1:03:59house yet, OK, but that, but that is the goal we're
- 1:04:02fundraising towards purchasing our own home.
- 1:04:07OK. Close to Arlington National
- 1:04:09Cemetery. Until then, we pay for vacation
- 1:04:15homes or hotels for people to say, preferably vacation homes
- 1:04:21that are within walking distance of everything.
- 1:04:23Like Airbnb's and stuff like that.
- 1:04:25Correct. OK.
- 1:04:27All right. Yeah.
- 1:04:28So that's what we do right now until we have the funds to
- 1:04:32purchase our own first home. OK.
- 1:04:35And then and then, and then once we have our home, we want it to
- 1:04:39be warm, inviting. We want it to have everything
- 1:04:42that you can think of that a family or veterans would need.
- 1:04:47We want it to be, we want to make sure that if we have
- 1:04:52anybody with disabilities to still be able to stay there.
- 1:04:56So when we either build or purchase a home, we will keep
- 1:04:59all of that in mind. We want to have obviously enough
- 1:05:04rooms to host larger gatherings there and just provide
- 1:05:09everything that someone could need for that weekend.
- 1:05:12When it comes to a gathering of veterans, we want to make sure
- 1:05:16that we might have some bikes to get around, you know, have a
- 1:05:20grill to cook out and just everything that you could think
- 1:05:23of until then. Right now we look for Airbnbs
- 1:05:27that offer most of the things that we're looking for and as we
- 1:05:32get our applications in through our website, we get in touch
- 1:05:36with our applicants and then we figure out their needs and based
- 1:05:41off their needs, we will find a fitting home for them to stay
- 1:05:45there. Outstanding.
- 1:05:49So you just hosted, you just hosted your first weekend Gold
- 1:05:57Star Weekend in September with the Gold Star Mothers.
- 1:06:01You know, is there anything that happened that was that that was
- 1:06:06like that you that you couldn't imagine something special that
- 1:06:11happened during that weekend a moment?
- 1:06:14I don't even know where to begin.
- 1:06:15Yeah. So it was a very, very special
- 1:06:18weekend with a lot of very, very special people.
- 1:06:22We were so honored that the American Gold Star Mothers
- 1:06:28partnered with us and allowed us to pay for some of the moms that
- 1:06:33traveled to DC for Gold Star Mothers Weekend to pay for their
- 1:06:38stay. So we rented a home for some of
- 1:06:42the Gold Star Mothers that traveled to DC.
- 1:06:47If you think about the pain and just the heartache that these
- 1:06:55families and that these women who have lost a child have gone
- 1:07:00through and being around them and seeing that they're the
- 1:07:03kindest, most loving and giving people that you could ever
- 1:07:09imagine after going through such a loss, they carry on acts of
- 1:07:15service just like their children did.
- 1:07:21They continue to serve others. They continue to serve their
- 1:07:24country. And there are, they are so proud
- 1:07:29that they're able to do that. It was it was very, very
- 1:07:32special. We were welcomed with open arms.
- 1:07:38We were able to attend all of the activities it started out
- 1:07:43with. It started out with an open
- 1:07:45house on Friday evening, which I was not able to attend, but my
- 1:07:50partner Nassar was able to attend that.
- 1:07:54I didn't get into DC until late Friday night.
- 1:07:58The next morning we had a suicide walk in DCA, 2.2 mile
- 1:08:04walk, and we stopped at all the war memorials.
- 1:08:08We talked about some stories about fallen soldiers in the
- 1:08:12different wars and we set their names out loud.
- 1:08:16We set their mothers names out loud, where they were from,
- 1:08:20where they served and the day that they were killed.
- 1:08:23And it was just just saying the names of these people in World
- 1:08:27War One, World War 2, the Korean War, Vietnam, and making sure
- 1:08:32that people know that they will never be forgotten.
- 1:08:36That there are people that still, after such a long time,
- 1:08:45are grateful for the sacrifice that the soldiers have made.
- 1:08:49The men and women who serve, serve this country, but also
- 1:08:52their mothers and their families.
- 1:08:55And that's amazing because with as much trauma as you guys have
- 1:08:59been through and with all the years and stuff you would, you
- 1:09:03would think that there would be some still some anger, a little
- 1:09:07bit of anger. But it seems like together you
- 1:09:11guys kind of conquer that. Even if there was some kind of
- 1:09:15anger to present, being together, talking it out, you
- 1:09:20know, because you unfortunately you guys are part of this
- 1:09:23championship team now. You guys are together because of
- 1:09:25this instant and because you guys was able to talk it out,
- 1:09:31maybe you guys eliminated some of that anger, but before you
- 1:09:35even noticed it. So that that's interesting to me
- 1:09:39and that that's that's great. It sounds like you have a very
- 1:09:43close knit family and that it continues to be close knit
- 1:09:49family. Yeah.
- 1:09:50You know, it sounds a little bit cliche, but when people say you
- 1:09:53can take something, you can take a hardship and let it ruin your
- 1:09:59life, right? Or you can take that pain and
- 1:10:04the experience that you had and serve others, come out of that
- 1:10:09and serve others who are experiencing it now or who just
- 1:10:15might need a little more support.
- 1:10:17And being able to pour yourself into that is so rewarding.
- 1:10:23It's almost a little selfish, right?
- 1:10:26It you, you get something out of that as well.
- 1:10:29And it just, it feels right. And that is one way that we can
- 1:10:35honor all these men and women who have sacrifice their lives
- 1:10:43for so many people that they've never even met, you know?
- 1:10:47But no, no, I, I, I know it's, it's an amazing thing that you
- 1:10:56and that's how you're doing. And, and you know, I want to
- 1:11:01support you guys as much as I can.
- 1:11:03In fact, that brings me to the next question.
- 1:11:06The next question is Dire House runs on merchant shoe shop
- 1:11:11$15.00 a month Cornerstone members.
- 1:11:15All right, so tell us Jackie, how can my how can my viewers,
- 1:11:20how can my listeners support you guys?
- 1:11:24Is there? You can go on our website.
- 1:11:27Yes, you can go on our website geyerhouse.com, GIRE house.com
- 1:11:35and you'll be able to read a little bit about our story on
- 1:11:38there. You'll see a few testimonies of
- 1:11:42people who have had gatherings with us there.
- 1:11:46And then you will there will be a little button for our shop.
- 1:11:50You can look at our merchandise if you want to spread the word
- 1:11:54and if you feel like you want to donate, you can donate.
- 1:11:59We would highly appreciate that because we obviously cannot do
- 1:12:02it without the support of our donors, right?
- 1:12:05And so far we've, we are so grateful for all of the people
- 1:12:09who believe in us, who have helped us launch this, who put
- 1:12:13their money behind us launching this and who enable us to do
- 1:12:18this for people. So we were able to rent a
- 1:12:21beautiful, beautiful home within walking distance of Rawlington
- 1:12:24for some really amazing Gold Star Mothers.
- 1:12:27We have a couple more events coming up where we're actually
- 1:12:32actively looking for homes right now to make sure we find the
- 1:12:35fitting home. 1 is the family, one is the gathering of
- 1:12:38soldiers. So that's what we want, right?
- 1:12:40We want, we want to make sure that we want to reach both of
- 1:12:44those. Yeah.
- 1:12:47So go to our website, check us out, read our story, and if you
- 1:12:52feel like this is something that you want to support and get
- 1:12:55behind, every little bit helps. Every little bit will get us
- 1:12:59closer to having our own home. And we have big dreams.
- 1:13:03We're really passionate about this.
- 1:13:05We want to start out in Arlington, but down the road we
- 1:13:08would love to have houses around the country close to national
- 1:13:13cemeteries because not every soldier is buried in Arlington,
- 1:13:17right? So we want to be able to provide
- 1:13:22a place in different areas of the country.
- 1:13:26So that's our. Goal.
- 1:13:27No, no, I'm, I'm sure it's probably on your website, but
- 1:13:30I'm going to ask anyways. Do you guys have like
- 1:13:35requirements, like people that want to stay there, that want to
- 1:13:40be a part of this? Do you guys, do you guys have an
- 1:13:44SOP in place that's on your website?
- 1:13:46It is on our website, yes. So for families, you obviously
- 1:13:50have to be a Gold Star family, so a mother, a father, a spouse,
- 1:13:57a child, a brother, a sister, right.
- 1:14:02And as far as our veterans go, we have it geared towards combat
- 1:14:07veterans who have served with someone that they have lost in
- 1:14:12combat. And you know, the reason behind
- 1:14:17that is this. I was obviously not there, so it
- 1:14:22would. That's where my partner could
- 1:14:24speak more to, but I can't. I can't even begin to imagine
- 1:14:28having to go through something like that.
- 1:14:30And you boys and girls in the military, you form a bond.
- 1:14:35Regardless. I think that bond gets even.
- 1:14:41It changes. I don't know if it becomes
- 1:14:43stronger or it changes if you do lose one of your own in combat.
- 1:14:52There's a lot that comes with that that I don't even want to
- 1:14:54begin to act like I understand right or or know how that feels.
- 1:15:00No, I, I, I I I I totally understand what you mean.
- 1:15:05Yeah. All right, Well, Iron.
- 1:15:08Man's but yeah, you can fill out our the application on our
- 1:15:11website and then we'll get in touch with you and we'll figure
- 1:15:14it out from there. And like I said, until we have
- 1:15:17our own first home, we will find a place, a fitting place for
- 1:15:21people to stay. Perfect, perfect.
- 1:15:24Well, Jackie, it is that time. It is it's your time to shine.
- 1:15:39And Jackie, maybe I didn't ask you for that right question or
- 1:15:42say you went for that right answer.
- 1:15:43And there's something that you really have on your heart that
- 1:15:47you want to, that you want to put that you want to tell
- 1:15:50everybody that's listening and watching this is your two-minute
- 1:15:54platform this. All right, really, you touched
- 1:16:00up on a lot of things. The only the only other thing
- 1:16:03that I would like to mention is that it truly, truly is a great,
- 1:16:08great mission. Just imagine that you have lost
- 1:16:11someone in combat, a family member or a friend that you have
- 1:16:14served with. You want to go visit their
- 1:16:16resting place. You want to go pay your respects
- 1:16:22to them. And the one thing holding you
- 1:16:23back is finances, and you can't afford to say.
- 1:16:28So when we were honored enough to spend this weekend with these
- 1:16:32Gold Star mothers, we were told that if it weren't for us, some
- 1:16:35of these moms would have not been able to attend this
- 1:16:37weekend. And that alone makes it all
- 1:16:42worth it. Yeah, the the financial strange
- 1:16:48right now is, is is really bad, you know, not, not not even
- 1:16:52looking at the gas pump. So no, I understand exactly what
- 1:16:55you mean, right for you guys to to come together.
- 1:16:59And we feel, we feel that no Gold Star family or combat
- 1:17:04veteran should ever have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to
- 1:17:10go visit their loved one or their friend that they have lost
- 1:17:13in combat. They have sacrificed enough.
- 1:17:15I feel like we as Americans should provide that for them and
- 1:17:22give them a place to take the next step in that healing
- 1:17:26process. And for me personally, having my
- 1:17:30children around these guys that they haven't seen in so many
- 1:17:34years. My kids were five and two at the
- 1:17:36time. They're 21 and 17 now.
- 1:17:39And just being around these guys and hearing these stories about
- 1:17:43their dad, all these fun stories about their dad that they've
- 1:17:46never heard before. It was it was priceless.
- 1:17:49I can't even put it into words. It's a weekend I will cherish
- 1:17:54forever. Yes, and so will my.
- 1:17:56Kids, that's amazing Well, Jackie, I tell you what, once
- 1:18:01again, thank you so much for being a part of this today's
- 1:18:06show. I will say that you know when
- 1:18:10our when our when our board gets back or whatever, it's either
- 1:18:14this week or next week you can count on military broadcast
- 1:18:18radio to donate $100 to your cause.
- 1:18:21Just a way of saying we support you guys and stuff.
- 1:18:25So thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen.
- 1:18:30For having me on. Ladies and gentlemen, we have
- 1:18:33the Co founder of the Dyer House, Jackie Dyer.
- 1:18:43Thank you so much, Jackie. I appreciate.
- 1:18:44It thank you, thank you so much. Thank you for your time.
- 1:19:09That was me. OK, So you know, I want to say
- 1:19:14thank you to Jackie for for giving me the interview.
- 1:19:21They're very, very busy. And the old really reason we
- 1:19:27prerecorded, we had a prerecorded.
- 1:19:29So it's it's it's it's amazing organization.
- 1:19:36So if you haven't, check out their Facebook page, Dire House.
- 1:19:44But you spelled GIRE. So all right, ladies and
- 1:19:49gentlemen, it is that time we are going to go to tribute to
- 1:19:55the troops. So whatever you do, stay with
- 1:19:58us. Don't go away.
- 1:20:01We'll be at. We'll be back after this and.
- 1:20:06Just so you know, when we come back, the tribute to troops is
- 1:20:14Angelo Joseph, AJ upon you. When we return, we'll pause to
- 1:20:20remember him, his name, his story.
- 1:20:25And next on a tribute to troops David.
- 1:20:33Detail attention. First call, the service member's
- 1:20:42name is called out loud in the context of a unit.
- 1:20:45This is meant to ensure all are present and accounted for.
- 1:20:49Second call, the name is called out again louder to confirm that
- 1:20:53the service member is indeed absent.
- 1:20:56Third call. The name is called out for a
- 1:20:59final time, followed by a statement indicating that the
- 1:21:02service member is not present and accounted for, signifying
- 1:21:05their death. The final roll call serves as a
- 1:21:08symbolic gesture to respect and remember their service.
- 1:21:18Sir, I don't. I'm not just.
- 1:21:21Well, you got the joke. You tell the American people.
- 1:21:23Wouldn't be. You tell them how my troopers
- 1:21:26died. Hey everyone, thank you for
- 1:21:52tuning in to MBR today as we pay tribute to Master Sergeant
- 1:21:55Angelo Joseph AJ Lapena, the third known across the Special
- 1:21:59Forces community by a call sign that carried weight, anarchy.
- 1:22:03Master Sergeant Lapena was born on May 19th, 1975 in Middleboro,
- 1:22:07MA to Angelo J Lapena, the second and Patricia Lapena.
- 1:22:12He grew up in Middleboro, a hometown that shaped his values,
- 1:22:16his toughness, his unwavering commitment to service.
- 1:22:19He graduated from Middleboro High School in 1993, already
- 1:22:23showing the grit and drive that would define his life.
- 1:22:26At 17, AJ enlisted in the Army in 1992, beginning a journey you
- 1:22:31have the courage to take. He trained as a 95B Military
- 1:22:35Police, serving with a 970 second military police company
- 1:22:39and deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
- 1:22:43But AJ wasn't built to stop at the baseline.
- 1:22:45Lawyers like him rarely do. He earned the Green Beret,
- 1:22:48becoming a Special Forces communications Sergeant, the
- 1:22:52Special Operations Terminal Attack controller, and
- 1:22:55ultimately a Special Forces team Sergeant.
- 1:22:58Three combat deployments. Countless missions.
- 1:23:01The reputation forged in the harshest environments on Earth.
- 1:23:05That call sign anarchy. It wasn't chaos.
- 1:23:08It wasn't disorder. It was the reminder that when
- 1:23:11the world fell apart, he was the one who stepped forward.
- 1:23:14He was the calm inside the storm.
- 1:23:16He was the leader who brought order to the fight.
- 1:23:19After retiring from Special Forces, AJ continued serving,
- 1:23:23this time in his hometown, rising through the ranks of the
- 1:23:26Middleboro Police Department, eventually becoming Lieutenant.
- 1:23:30Even out of uniform, he remained exactly what he had always been,
- 1:23:35a protector, a mentor and a man never stopped giving back.
- 1:23:39But even warriors face battles they never expected.
- 1:23:42April of 2021, Master Sarn Lapena was diagnosed with stage
- 1:23:464 metastatic head and neck cancer.
- 1:23:48He underwent a neck dissection to remove 38 lymph nodes,
- 1:23:52followed by rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.
- 1:23:55IN2022A nodule was found on his right lung and a biopsy
- 1:24:00confirmed that the cancer had spread to his right lower lobe.
- 1:24:03He fought A courageous battle with cancer in a fight that
- 1:24:06demanded every ounce of his strength that he had spent a
- 1:24:09lifetime building. He faced it in the same way he
- 1:24:12faced every mission, with quiet professionalism, unbreakable
- 1:24:16resolve and a refusal to let the people around him lose hope.
- 1:24:20His two year battle was hard, but he carried the weight with
- 1:24:22the dignity of a man who had spent his life protecting
- 1:24:26others. On October 1st, 2023, at the age
- 1:24:29of 48, Master Sergeant Lapena completed his final March.
- 1:24:33His passing was a result of complications from cancer, a
- 1:24:37battle he fought with the same warrior spirit that defined his
- 1:24:40entire life. He now rests at the
- 1:24:42Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne, laid among Rose.
- 1:24:47AJ is survived by his wife Tracy, his children Hayden,
- 1:24:52Haley, and Cassandra, his parents Angelo and Patricia, his
- 1:24:56sister Jody, extended family, and his brothers and sisters in
- 1:25:00arms. The soldiers he trained, the
- 1:25:02teammates who led, the warriors who trusted him with their
- 1:25:05lives. Those bonds don't fade.
- 1:25:08They don't break. They live on.
- 1:25:10And every mission completed, every lesson passed down, and
- 1:25:14every soldier who carries his example forward.
- 1:25:17We here at NBR would like to thank you, Master Son.
- 1:25:21Angela, AJ, the Pennant. I'll sign Anarchy.
- 1:25:25Your legacy is carved into the fabric of the American fighting
- 1:25:28force. You live the warrior ethos, your
- 1:25:31body quite professionalism, and you left behind the standard
- 1:25:35that will outlast all of us. Our prayers are with your
- 1:25:38family, friends, and those who served alongside you.
- 1:25:42We honor your service. We speak your name.
- 1:25:44We remember your sacrifice. Belly count.
- 1:26:01Pension ready? The station where our veterans
- 1:30:32voices are heard. MBR talk.
- 1:30:35Hey, thanks for supporting our channel by watching and
- 1:30:38listening. Well, well, well, welcome back,
- 1:30:52everybody. Oh, that's kind of weird.
- 1:30:56Hold on a second. What the heck happened?
- 1:30:59Oh, wow. I'm a smart little horny.
- 1:31:04OK, ladies and gentlemen. You know, I like these behind
- 1:31:10the stories because not only do I learn a lot, but it's
- 1:31:15interesting to find out stuff that you didn't know about the
- 1:31:20history of it. You know, we'll, we'll, we'll,
- 1:31:23we'll talk about one of these days.
- 1:31:25But just like Doctor Pepper, Dr. Pepper was originally made as
- 1:31:31just a syrup for ices. Those are the kind of things
- 1:31:36that are interesting to me. Well, if you're in Denver, Co,
- 1:31:42you're going to love the story behind it.
- 1:31:46We have ladies and gentlemen, we have Bucky the horse above
- 1:31:54Denver. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that
- 1:31:56horse that is on the scoreboard. A lot of people don't know this,
- 1:32:00hell even my wife didn't know this.
- 1:32:03But if you've ever been to Denver Broncos game or even
- 1:32:08passed the stadium, you've probably seen them.
- 1:32:11High above the fields stands giant White Horse looking down
- 1:32:19over Bronco country. His name is Bucky.
- 1:32:23But what if I told you that Bucky's story connects the
- 1:32:29Denver Broncos history to one of the most famous horses in
- 1:32:34American history, Entertainment history.
- 1:32:38Our story begins back in 1970s at the Old Mile High.
- 1:32:45The Broncos wanted something big, something memorable,
- 1:32:49something that represented the team watching over the stadium.
- 1:32:54That eventually led to the creation of the enormous White
- 1:32:59Horse that Bronco fans would come to know as Bucky.
- 1:33:06See, Bucky wasn't designed completely from scratch.
- 1:33:10None of the people who created them Jim and Mildred Rory
- 1:33:15fiberglass managi Oh, I can't pronounce that managi in
- 1:33:21California. Go ahead.
- 1:33:23There's a there's a conversation for you for later.
- 1:33:29The So he he I lost my train of thought, but but Bucko became
- 1:33:40Bucky and Bucky became one of the Broncos history.
- 1:33:48He was huge, about 27 feet tall, weighing roughly about 1600 lbs.
- 1:33:53For our generations of Bronco fans, the Giants watch over
- 1:34:00Bronco country. After decades of Colorado
- 1:34:04weather, sun, snow, wind, freezing temperatures, and
- 1:34:08everything else Mother Nature could throw at him, Bucky needed
- 1:34:14some serious attention. In 2023, he was taken down for
- 1:34:18restoration. And that's when workers
- 1:34:20discovered something nobody expected.
- 1:34:23Inside Bucky's hooves were the old newspaper clippings.
- 1:34:28They were from a recent repair. They dated all the way back to
- 1:34:3215 November 15th, 1974. They had apparently been placed
- 1:34:39inside the house, inside the horse, by the people who
- 1:34:44originally built him, almost like a secret capsule waiting to
- 1:34:49be discovered nearly half a century later.
- 1:34:55Think about that. For decades, while the Bronco
- 1:34:58fans celebrated wins suffered through losses, watched
- 1:35:03legendary players take the field and witness championships
- 1:35:09season, those newspapers were sitting inside the losses,
- 1:35:17watched legendary players take the field.
- 1:35:20Oh, we're sitting inside Bucky's hooves high above the stadium.
- 1:35:24During the restoration, Bucky was repaired, strengthened and
- 1:35:28repainted so he could return his place above the stadium.
- 1:35:33And today, there he stands, roughly 161 feet above the
- 1:35:37playing field, watching over a completely different generation
- 1:35:42of Bronco fans. So the next time you see that
- 1:35:46giant White Horse above the stadium, remember, you're not
- 1:35:50looking at just a decoration. You're looking at a piece of
- 1:35:54Denver's history that dates back more than 50 years.
- 1:35:59But I'm the same, but from the built, from the same mole
- 1:36:04connected to Roy Rogers and famous Trigger, even a name that
- 1:36:09may have changed somewhere along the way, and carrying a hidden
- 1:36:13time capsule inside his hooves. For almost a half a century,
- 1:36:19from the old Mile High Stadium to the home of today's Denver
- 1:36:23Broncos, Bucky has remained high above the Bronco country.
- 1:36:29And now you know the story behind it.
- 1:36:33You know, there, there was a, there was a time because of my
- 1:36:36brain injury, I, I missed a lot being transparent with you, But
- 1:36:43the, the moral of the story is, you know, the, the horse ridden
- 1:36:48by Roy Rogers, his horse was named Bucky and Bucky was his
- 1:36:56name, though. I, I just, I think that's
- 1:36:58fascinating. I think that's fascinating.
- 1:37:00I think it's fascinating when I see TV shows or movies and they
- 1:37:07have stars in them. I think that's possibly.
- 1:37:10I think it's neat where we all can come together and you know,
- 1:37:15it's a nice little surprise if you have somebody that you
- 1:37:17haven't seen on TV for a while. So I think that's great stuff.
- 1:37:22All right, well, everybody, we're going to go on a music
- 1:37:25break. And when we come back off of
- 1:37:29that music break, we'll be hitting the final thoughts.
- 1:37:34So whatever you do, stay with us.
- 1:37:36Don't go away. You'll listen to the show to
- 1:37:39highlights all the nonprofit programs up there.
- 1:37:40Beyond the VA. You'll listen to the East Tram
- 1:37:43channel on the station that's letting the veterans voices be
- 1:37:46heard. MBR.
- 1:41:34Hey everybody, The station where our veterans
- 1:42:00voices are heard. MBR talk.
- 1:42:04Hey, thanks for supporting our channel by watching and
- 1:42:06listening. All right, welcome back.
- 1:42:17Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.
- 1:42:18You're listening to the show, the highlights on the non profit
- 1:42:21programs out there beyond the VA.
- 1:42:22You're listening to the H change show right here on MBR.
- 1:42:26Now, I forgot to mention, you know, I'm just rusty.
- 1:42:31What can I say? I forgot to mention that back
- 1:42:38the behind the story. It is by sponsored by Signature
- 1:42:44Soldiers. Every item has a story.
- 1:42:47Every story connects us to a legacy that must never be
- 1:42:51forgotten. Discover the story behind it.
- 1:42:57Signature Soldiers is a nonprofit that they trade cards,
- 1:43:02trade memorabilia, and they sell them to people with like the
- 1:43:10signatures so that they can make money for the nonprofit to house
- 1:43:19veterans, homeless and disabled veterans.
- 1:43:21So just another great nonprofit that we that we deal with.
- 1:43:28It is 43 minutes past the hour and you know.
- 1:43:39My end there's just a little bit early, you know, I'm still
- 1:43:43learning. I think how to be a host to
- 1:43:47track time and stuff it it it's kind of hard.
- 1:43:49So everybody that does show by their self absolutely, because
- 1:43:58it's it's pretty hard. So it is that time where we're
- 1:44:02going to go hit the final thoughts and I'm trying to find
- 1:44:07the final thoughts as as we there we go.
- 1:44:15Sorry everybody. At Project ML.
- 1:44:28Our mission is simple, to give motorcycles to veterans who need
- 1:44:31the kind of peace and freedom that only a ride can give.
- 1:44:34We sponsor charity events and rides to generate donations on
- 1:44:37the acquisition of. The likes while direct.
- 1:44:39Donations make up the We seek to provide a little motorcycle
- 1:44:42healing to capable. Vets.
- 1:44:46And ladies and gentlemen, just so you know, that is a wonderful
- 1:44:51nonprofit. I've been a part of them and
- 1:44:54supported them since 2018. And you know, Kim, Kim Thompson
- 1:45:05is just an amazing person. So I don't know what you learned
- 1:45:09today or if anybody's still watching or if anybody's still
- 1:45:14listening. I have no idea what you learned
- 1:45:17today. And I hope you did learn
- 1:45:21something. But the one thing that I learned
- 1:45:26today is we started this morning with the Gold Star families
- 1:45:36still waiting for answers, and we're ending it in the same way,
- 1:45:43remembering that behind every headline is a family that has
- 1:45:50paid the full price. Berger Lowman earned his Medal
- 1:45:56of Honor 108 years ago today. He came home.
- 1:46:03A lot of men and women didn't and their families are still
- 1:46:08here, still waiting, still carrying it.
- 1:46:12So this weekend, if you know a Gold Star family, let's not wait
- 1:46:18for a holiday to reach us for us to say thank you.
- 1:46:25Can you imagine like you're just like me, working, doing everyday
- 1:46:32life and you'd be life in you be live and and then you have this
- 1:46:40on top of it. It's it's kind of hard to bear,
- 1:46:46but if you know, if you know anyone today just works fine and
- 1:46:56make sure that you thank them for their service.
- 1:47:02Do something nice for them. And ladies and gentlemen, that
- 1:47:06is my final thoughts for today's show.
- 1:47:11Now, before we leave, we're going to give Beaker a chance to
- 1:47:17give his safety briefing. All right, team brief time,
- 1:47:21don't drink and drive, don't beat on anyone and wrap it up.
- 1:47:25Now listen, put out your fires completely.
- 1:47:27Have a great weekend and be safe.
- 1:47:29See you next Friday. All right.
- 1:47:33And again next Friday, we're going to be talking with Jesse
- 1:47:37Cook. She is a Marine mother.
- 1:47:40She's going to tell you the pains that she has dealt with,
- 1:47:44he's dealt with because it's it's a it's a different era of
- 1:47:51soldiers, right? It's been over 20 years for me.
- 1:47:55So with that being said, ladies and gentlemen, next Friday we'll
- 1:48:03be back in studio. HG will be in the house, and
- 1:48:06they probably will be with us. I don't know.
- 1:48:09But until then, on behalf of everybody here at Military
- 1:48:13Broadcast Radio and the H Train Show, we want to remind you that
- 1:48:19we're not here for us, we're here for you.
- 1:48:23And we're giving veterans a voice.
- 1:48:27Have a good one, everybody. Hi, I'm Beaker with Military
- 1:48:33Broadcast Radio TV. We're your virtual MWR bringing
- 1:48:38veterans radio, podcasts, gaming, animation, 3D printing
- 1:48:42and a community that never leaves you behind.
- 1:48:45Download our Roku or mobile app today.