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Stories of veteran service and sacrifice straight from the people driving today’s most important veterans causes and veterans organizations around the world. The show shines a spotlight on their inspiring projects making a real difference for veterans and their families, and along the way we'll hear the stories that drive them to do their best every day as they work to support veterans and their memory.
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Unknown
Before we start, a quick note that this episode discusses suicide, loss, and mental health challenges.
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If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available.
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Visit Findahelpline.com to find support in your country or check the show notes for direct links and numbers to call or text.
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Helplines are available worldwide. They're free, anonymous and confidential.
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You don't have to go through this alone.
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Hey, it's Matthew Cudmore and welcome to Story Behind the Stone. How do you create a memorial for a war that spans generations, and how do you give voice to sacrifice that's still unfolding? The global war on terrorism changed millions of lives. And now Michael “Rod” Rodriguez is leading the charge to build a memorial to the global war on terrorism right in the heart of Washington, D.C. on this episode, A Story Behind the Stone.
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We sit down with Michael, who has the CEO of the foundation, shares how his own 21 years in uniform led to spearheading this project. National importance. Rod shares his deeply personal journey, leading the effort to build the memorial on the National Mall, which will count as its neighbors the iconic Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam War. Join us as we sit down with rod to learn how this is an effort that's as much about healing and unity as it is about remembrance.
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Unknown
Rod, thanks for joining the show and to our listeners. Thanks for tuning in.
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Unknown
Welcome to Story Behind the Stone where we talk service, sacrifice and story. Connecting you to the most interesting people in the field of commemoration and veteran causes. My name is Ryan. This is Matthew. We are with Memory Anchor, a company dedicated to changing the way the world remembers.
00:01:43:01 - 00:01:49:09
Unknown
And today, we are with Rod, the CEO of the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation.
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Unknown
And I am super excited to have you here today, Rod, because we get to talk about this memorial that you're building, and we're going to get right into that here in a second. But thank you so much for taking the time to be with us. Well, thank you, Ryan. Matt, for for the opportunity to tremendously, you know, excited to share my dos centavos.
00:02:06:04 - 00:02:24:13
Unknown
You know, my $0.02 on on where we're at, what we're doing and kind of what's next? Really cool to chat with you today, Rod - and we've watched the foundation mission come to life. You've had so many milestones this year. Any highlights, any any place you want to start? You confirmed, Kengo Kuma and Associates sites selection.
00:02:24:13 - 00:02:50:15
Unknown
Lots going on in the last six and 12 months. I will probably start with the shiny object. You know, we're really excited that, later on in this year, we're going to be able to show everybody what the what the initial concepts with the memorial is actually going to look like. Now, what got us to that was a whole process of doing it, in, you know, approach to a memorial that has never been done before, to this size and scale in scope, not for the sake of, hey, let's do something different.
00:02:50:15 - 00:03:12:21
Unknown
But really, you know what? What? I drove this approach, and what everybody has seen right now is a plan I wrote down. It's on my whiteboard over there, about 6 or 7 years ago with some contingencies. Of course, that it's seen it all unfold. And the overall goal in the building of this memorial was to bring the voice, to our nation's capital, to really listen to the people.
00:03:12:21 - 00:03:33:07
Unknown
You know, I always wondered, you know, as an artist myself in, you know, post service, I wonder how many Vietnam veterans did Maya Lin talk to before the designing of the Vietnam War? Well, you know, my father served during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam is Vietnam veteran. And matter of fact, over my right shoulder right here is my cousin, who, whose name is on the wall.
00:03:33:09 - 00:03:53:04
Unknown
And that's that's what what kind of drove the entire process, I think a great place to to maybe help our listeners understand a little bit about you, because already, like, I just looking at your background behind you, you can see, see a ton of interesting things. But you have a really interesting history and connection to military history in the past.
00:03:53:04 - 00:04:08:15
Unknown
Did you want to share a little bit about that? So I, I'm, I'm from southern New Mexico. I grew up on the border. I'm from a part of, of our nation that was, at one point, you know, Mexico territory. So my family didn't cross the border. The border crossed us, and we were thankfully on this side, of the border.
00:04:08:17 - 00:04:23:14
Unknown
And that's that's where I'm from is my origins. So what you see behind me is, an ofrenda. I think most people are familiar with Dia de Los Muertos. Day of the dead. It's a it's a holiday. In my culture, where we celebrate the dead and we feel that we're most close to - it’s not like a Halloween
00:04:23:14 - 00:04:43:22
Unknown
spooky doom and gloom thing. It's it's a it's a time of celebration is a period of celebration. So people will sometimes put their own friends up at during that time. Mine stays up year round. I mean we could zoom out. I probably couldn't do that. But my entire wall behind me is is my ofrenda that stays up and and has family members of mine that you can see behind me, like my uncle right there.
00:04:44:00 - 00:05:00:13
Unknown
World War two. There's many of them behind me, but they're not particularly... right here is a list of friends of mine. Personal close friends of mine that I've lost in the war on terrorism. I don't have enough space for all the photos, so I listed their names, as things. So I served my nation for 21 years.
00:05:00:13 - 00:05:18:04
Unknown
You know, my father served in Vietnam. As I referenced. Grandfather, world War two. It's just what what we've been able to do. My mom, the mother of my children serve for 21 years as well. She deployed six times. I deployed ten times. My oldest son is currently serving here at Fort Bragg, in one of the units.. I can't really say.
00:05:18:05 - 00:05:37:16
Unknown
So it's just, you know, apple trees make apples, right? That's how I get to get around with all that. You see how passionate you are about that. You have that behind you, and then thinking also to, what you're building with this, this new monument, it's almost I'm, I'm just trying to draw some parallels, but there's there's a parallel there, isn't there?
00:05:37:17 - 00:05:55:11
Unknown
Growing up, like we we weren't in my culture, and I think this is common with many other cultures as well, is, you know, we didn't everyone's you we didn't we, we always celebrated those that we lost. You know, we can't stop that. You know, even from my from a faith perspective, you know, memento mori. I think people have thought about that.
00:05:55:11 - 00:06:21:02
Unknown
But I was always brought up like, hey, remember, you're going to die. That kind of gives you that azimuth check. Like, makes you clear on look, take the opportunity today. Live with a little bit of grace because tomorrow is not promised. I can't change yesterday. But then also when you talk, when you really think about memorialization as a species, as human species, some of the very first structures ever constructed by the human animal, right, by us, are actually death burial mounds.
00:06:21:04 - 00:06:42:14
Unknown
So that speaks to the nature of who we are as a human species. It is in our it's in nature within us to to do that. They found burial mounds in these caves that date back, you know, thousands and thousands, tens of thousands of years, you know, more so than the cave paintings and depictions of art. So taking care of our dead is what we do, and we're very unique in that.
00:06:42:14 - 00:06:59:10
Unknown
So that when you really people open their mind and place themselves in that position of, of, you know, not just being fearful of death but accepting of it, then it allows us to celebrate those that will face it because, you know, we we have to say the truth out loud, right? You will die. We're all going to die at some point.
00:06:59:11 - 00:07:24:16
Unknown
Monuments really do talk a lot about our relationship to death, doesn't it? And and it's one of those things that, we don't like talking about in our society quite often. We almost put it aside. And yet these, these, these graves, these cemeteries and these monuments are so important. Why is it so important to us in society to go see these things and build these things?
00:07:24:16 - 00:07:47:04
Unknown
I think it's important for us to to address that and accept that, you know, like like what I was referencing earlier, like you're going to pass at some point, but what it allows us to do, whether we lost someone through through conflict. Right. Like the names over my shoulder of friends of mine that I've lost in the global war on terrorism, or whether it's someone that died of an illness or whatever it is, you know, we can still celebrate them.
00:07:47:04 - 00:08:04:20
Unknown
So it allows us to live on our stories. It's more than just a picture in a bio. It's a story. And you know, it's, you know, you want to remember them and honor them. I think it's really important for us to go there. But because it allows us to reflect on what we're facing, what we may face, there's always opportunities to learn and welcome.
00:08:05:01 - 00:08:31:20
Unknown
Welcome that. And but you need to place yourself in that position of vulnerability to accept the emotions and process that whether it's someone that experienced things at war, that is come home and realize there's there's a lot of us that carry around survivor guilt, like, why didn't I die? Why did my friends, in the same events? So if it's important to go there to, to recognize that, accept that and, and do it from a position of love and thanks not not as a victim.
00:08:31:20 - 00:08:48:18
Unknown
Because really, we...people will pass. We're we're all going to die at some point, and some of us will die traumatically in events that we have are beyond our control. But that's not for us to really, you know, we can't really control that all that much. I've always said, if you can just connect with one person's story, that makes all the difference like that.
00:08:48:18 - 00:09:07:21
Unknown
You start getting into that space of understanding, sacrifice and and I like how you put that. But because it is it's almost a it's a courageous act in many ways to open yourself to that, like... your monument’s... Yeah. I'm really interested to hear a little more of what it's going to look like, how it's going to maybe support that experience.
00:09:07:23 - 00:09:34:14
Unknown
But it is like, you know, there's this act of commemorating or remembering it. We have to open ourselves up in a way, and we have to be willing to connect with just the pain, that loss, like that's that person had a family, you know, a mom and a dad that love them, that maybe even had kids in a life like, you know, as a dad myself, I, I can't, couldn't imagine, you know, losing a child or having my kid grow up without me.
00:09:34:16 - 00:09:53:12
Unknown
And, and so I love that point. So when you think of what you're doing and how you're building this, this monument, you're saying you've done it uniquely, that you've put a lot of thought. You're an artist, you're bringing a lot of your experience, your art, your empathy into this space. You know, how is this going to help people have that experience?
00:09:53:12 - 00:10:12:01
Unknown
What I think it will do, is it will make it identifiable, right? So you wear the uniform. Right. And I wear the uniform and and we're no different than those that didn't. Right. Oftentimes people toss this narrative around, which I don't think is, is is true. The civilian military divide. You hear that often. And there's no divide. There's a misunderstanding.
00:10:12:03 - 00:10:30:11
Unknown
Right? I am no different than anyone else. I just made certain choices. I'm not special either. I just made certain choices in my life to serve, you know, my nation and provide. And that just what it is. So I think, you know, making them these, those that we have lost and those that have served and come home and brought the war home and and may lose the war at home.
00:10:30:11 - 00:10:47:16
Unknown
Right. We can speak openly about that. You know, 55 friends of mine I've lost, you know, several, quite a few more than I care to to, to mention were at their own hands. So, I mean, speaking about that, but making them real, identifiable people so you can look at them and be like, wow, they're just my neighbor.
00:10:47:19 - 00:11:16:16
Unknown
For those that may not have served, you know, I think in ancient times, you know, what did what did the Spartans do? What did the Greeks do when they came home from battle? They enacted theater. They brought the entire people together, and they told the stories that allowed two things to occur, allowed those that may not have been there to see the the realities of war, to see that and that their, their peers were doing that, their, their fellow citizens, but then also to allow those that may have participated in that to sit alongside those that didn't.
00:11:16:17 - 00:11:32:07
Unknown
So you remind yourself that you're still a community. Humans are tribal in nature. If we were not tribal, we never would have made it out of the caves. We'd still be in caves trying, trying to figure it out, find finding whatever animals exist at this time. But going back to the core of us as humans and realizing that's just in our nature.
00:11:32:07 - 00:11:51:02
Unknown
I think it's it's really important to, I say, bring everyone back to center, take all the sensitivities that may have existed, the social, cultural norms that may have prevented us from speaking about realities. And just place yourself in a vulnerable position. Cause if I don't place myself in a vulnerable position, I am I really speaking honestly? Am I really connecting you?
00:11:51:03 - 00:12:10:15
Unknown
Because vulnerability is the foundation of human connection. You know, a couple things you said and, and I just kind of want to go back to is just the loss of suicide. You. I had a brother, when I was younger, you know, I was, I was on, a domestic deployment for forest fires, and I called back, and he was my foster brother.
00:12:10:15 - 00:12:34:18
Unknown
My parents had adopted him. He used to be my. He was my best friend. And, his name was Josh. Josh Hoddinott. And I like saying his name. But, you know, I found out he had died to suicide. And there's so many soldiers. And we see this this, this rate, of suicides that are happening.
00:12:34:20 - 00:12:54:18
Unknown
And, you know, as you're just talking, it just reminds me, you know, there's a lot of names on monuments, and we have one in Canada here, and there's some soldiers on there who took their own lives and it's a really hard topic because, you know, one of the things and I'm just, you know, I always think of it as like, that's a battlefield injury.
00:12:54:18 - 00:13:13:23
Unknown
You know, a lot of these people have taken their lives, after because of the post-traumatic stress that they're dealing with and stuff. You know, how how do we remember those individuals? Because it's such a it's almost a taboo topic in our society. I think it's important to at least say it out loud. You know, I shared Josh's name.
00:13:13:23 - 00:13:33:02
Unknown
I wrote it down. You know, I think that's special. I'm going to definitely remember him. So thank you for sharing that. When I started working on this, I would tell people about it. You know what? It's 501 C3 charity nonprofit with zero money, just going around and and one of the people that were most against this may surprise you or may not, was actually the veterans or their family members.
00:13:33:02 - 00:13:50:06
Unknown
When I would talk about this, they were like, why are you doing how. We don't need that. We don't need that. So I'm talking senior leaders, former chairman's, joint chiefs. Like, I first got my way through life meeting some incredible people. And I would mention there's no like, no, no, no. And when they say we don't need that, I said, okay, let me ask you a question.
00:13:50:11 - 00:14:09:06
Unknown
Do you know someone that didn't come home? You know, some of them may have come home and is struggling right now, or someone that came home and lost their life through their own hands, or some mysterious illness that they should never have gotten. And every one of them would say, of course, hell yes. Yes they are. Okay, you think about them.
00:14:09:08 - 00:14:34:00
Unknown
I will think about you. And the reason I started. I realize that because everyone raises a right hand and serves their nation not for self-aggrandizement, dang sure ain't doing it for the money. And you're not gonna get famous doing this goes to the core of who we are. You never think about yourself. And that's when I realize how little value veterans, service members, and their families who support them view this incredible service and sacrifice they've given to our nation, to to the world.
00:14:34:02 - 00:14:53:13
Unknown
They don't think there's anything for they value what they have given. I really understand why this is so important, and I truly believe, or I know I'm saying I this memorial will save lives. This effort will save lives. It's an incredibly complex, a difficult to find words, multi-generational. My son is deployed four times. He was four years old when the Towers fell.
00:14:53:15 - 00:15:13:11
Unknown
He's deployed in the same regions of Afghanistan, the Helmand province that I've been to twice, and his mother deployed to twice. It would’ve been like for my dad, to watch me graduate airborne school and go fight the Vietcong or or my father to complete his training and go fight Nazis or serve in the Pacific like my grandfathers. When I say like that's it's striking, but that's the war that we're talking about right now.
00:15:13:13 - 00:15:28:22
Unknown
So the fact that it's just such a no one really talks about it. They're still out there. They're still serving and fighting. You know, they don't view any value. But as a nation, I will make this nation take a knee in reverence and sanctity and honor them and make them feel valued
00:15:28:22 - 00:15:43:03
Unknown
when we impart that value, when they learn about the project, to learn about what I've been doing for almost ten years, when on the day of groundbreaking or dedication, whenever they find out about it, I truly believe they'll feel some type of value because it's coming from a selfless approach.
00:15:43:03 - 00:15:59:06
Unknown
You know what? If someone feels value, you know, if they're not going to do, they're not going to take their own life. That's why I'm running at this as fast as I possibly can, to actually continue to save lives. And, you know, there's it's a it's a metric. Saving lives is a metric. We don't know. But it's a very important mission today.
00:15:59:07 - 00:16:19:09
Unknown
I think it's so important to give voice and attention and that value, like you said, the service has value. And you're right. Like, what a strange conflict. For the length of it is that you have a generational, conflict. I know there's nothing released yet. And, around what it's actually going to look like and stuff.
00:16:19:09 - 00:16:39:01
Unknown
And I'm not sure if you're allowed to share any of that stuff, but is there any elements that might capture some of what we're talking about? So. Right. If I stepped in leadership role, I realized that, okay, how do we stand out? But how do we keep people understanding what this is? So I wrote the four tenets that our foundation has, which is honor, honor all those that served uniform and non-uniform.
00:16:39:03 - 00:16:55:15
Unknown
You know, Ryan, you and I were talking briefly before we started. You know, this this. Well, the United States has over 7000 uniformed service members that have lost their lives in the service of global war on terrorism. In 2019, the Department of Labor in the United States did a to the best of their knowledge, and that's their capability.
00:16:55:15 - 00:17:19:19
Unknown
They try to figure out how many non-uniform individuals who have served or supported theater operations lost their lives. That that for for us, that falls under the purview of the Department of Labor, not Department of Defense. U.S. companies, whether they work for, a federal government agency or a private business, one of the contracting companies. Right. And in 2019, they published a report and found that there were 3400 non-uniform individuals.
00:17:19:20 - 00:17:43:16
Unknown
That's astounding. And 99.999999% of people I tell that to I've never heard that statistic. Matter of fact, the very first k, very first combat casualty in the Global war on terrorism was a gentleman by the name of Johnny Michael Spann. Mike, he worked for the CIA special Activities Division and was killed November 25th, 2001. He was a marine at one point in his in his life, but he was working for the CIA.
00:17:43:17 - 00:18:08:16
Unknown
He was part of Team Alpha, one of the very first teams, you know, sent forward following the attacks of 911, 2001. Why didn't people talk about that? I was blessed in my career. When we go on target doing what it is that we did, you know, special forces operators, there were guys running in after me that looked like me, dressed like me, carrying the same equipment that may not have been in the military, whether it was the FBI or some of the other agencies that exist.
00:18:08:16 - 00:18:31:02
Unknown
They were there serving, placing themselves in harm's ways, increasing mission capabilities. And effectiveness. Why don't we talk about that? In addition to that, why don't we talk about the really talk about the family servers? The most difficult deployment for me was when I'm standing there here at Fort Bragg watching my son, young 18 year old airborne infantryman deployed to the Helmand province of Afghanistan.
00:18:31:02 - 00:18:49:08
Unknown
I, like I mentioned earlier, I'd been there twice as mom. I've been there twice. We're standing there. Kelly, his mom was still serving at the time. I mean, I had just gone out, and we're like, what? What is man? What's going on? That was the most difficult deployment for me. So really talk about the family. You know, and as I mentioned, Kelly, you know, I was the one stuck at home.
00:18:49:08 - 00:19:07:10
Unknown
I know what it's like to be the spouse as well. So when she would go to war, I was there with my, our three monsters trying to figure things out. So that was hard. So really taking I'm just again, I just, was blessed to have opportunity to serve in a number of different ways. So it's very important to to really tell the whole story on this.
00:19:07:10 - 00:19:24:05
Unknown
And in, in Washington DC, just like any other, any other capital cost. You know, our, our world, you know, there's a lot of politics, right? I don't talk about politics. I didn't write the policy or policy. I didn't write the policy that sent me to war. None of us did. I don't talk about. I don't engage in policy.
00:19:24:05 - 00:19:41:16
Unknown
I don't engage in politics. I talk about people. I share their stories with people, and I stay out of that in my pulled in all those directions. Absolutely. Do I engage? No, that's not my job. I don't mission creep. I have a mission. This is what we're doing. We're building the round table that bring everyone together. So those tenets were honored.
00:19:41:18 - 00:20:10:00
Unknown
Heal, heal, is a, subjective term. Heal as a person, heal personal relationships. Like the mother of my children that I reference. We're no longer married. So my best friend. But it just that's the way it was, you know, and empower tell those stories, right. And unite. So we did. I went on that little tirade there for he was those four tenets that I just shared with you.
00:20:10:02 - 00:20:43:23
Unknown
Our design team, Kengo Kuma and Associates, have listened and have transformed those four tenets into a physical structure in a manner I could never even conceive. And the way they did that was our approach. This memorial or building this was unlike any ever done. Typically, what happens is I'll have a design competition and then you get a board of directors, and then they these individual artists will come and their own individual interpretation of the war or memorial or whatever, whatever scene that they're designing for, they'll give their thoughts.
00:20:44:04 - 00:21:04:04
Unknown
And as an artist myself, I, I, I'm not an expert. I couldn't design it. Even with the 20 deployments in my little nuclear family and the 55 friends of mine that aren't here anymore and my own injuries. And so I'm not an expert. I couldn't design it. I it would be so narrow to for me to try and interpret that. I pulled together a design advisory council of our stakeholders.
00:21:04:04 - 00:21:22:15
Unknown
I talked about Micheal a second ago Johnny Micheal Spann, his his widow, Shannon Spann, is a member of my design advisory council, as is Mike's team leader, team leader for Team Alpha. He's a member. We have a chaplain that is a member because there is still a spiritual component to this, whether people want to admit it or not.
00:21:22:15 - 00:21:42:19
Unknown
So I brought this group together to engage with our design team, to tell them what it is, to tell them how they feel, to tell them these stories that are important. It's about these people. But then, in addition to that, I captured the voice of the United States because I had a design survey. I started collecting data on what it should look like in 2018.
00:21:42:21 - 00:21:58:05
Unknown
And then a few years ago, hey, let's put it online to see how many people we can get with the goals of. I wanted all 50 seats and every demographic from World War two and every one of our services, right. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Space Force. Let's get their input. It was a 5 to 7 minute survey.
00:21:58:06 - 00:22:21:07
Unknown
It asked a lot, I was just like “let’s see what we can get.” And I'm tremendously proud to say we had nearly 20,000 people fill out this survey that was added to the aggregate data I've been collecting to 2018 that was given to the design team as well. So the design team engaged with us for nearly a year, and then I let them off their leash and I said, okay, now go forward in design and through that entire process, they sat back and listen.
00:22:21:07 - 00:22:39:13
Unknown
The reason we selected, we ended up with, Kengo Kuma and Associates is I needed someone with the gravitas, professionalism, experience and portfolio to step to get into this shark tank with me and get this thing approved. Right. So we got a huge shark, but there were three components that I look for in building that and finding the right person.
00:22:39:18 - 00:22:55:23
Unknown
One was ability. I said, it's got to be a big shark, right? Second thing is credibility. Well, what is your, what is their background? Do they work well? Well, they fit well with our team on our approach. And the third thing, if they were pillars, it would be the center pillars. Humility. You have to understand your involvement in this project has got zero to do with you.
00:22:56:04 - 00:23:18:15
Unknown
There's not a single one of us that this is about. It's about the people, not a person. It's all it's about our community and our society as a whole. And what we did in this incredibly complex, difficult to define, multi-generational war. And that approach was how we got to where we are today. And it was a lot of work, I think, approach to engaging, as the vessel of evolution was, was the best approach that we've done.
00:23:18:16 - 00:23:37:02
Unknown
It's never been done. And it's not, not to this get size, scale and scope. So we're really excited about what's going to be coming out and the design you will see when it comes out those four tenets honor, heal and power. Unite have been transformed. It's something that is as you're talking, what's becoming apparent is like one person never fights a war.
00:23:37:02 - 00:24:01:16
Unknown
It's always done together. And and this idea of collaboration and listening and those four tenets of honor, heal and power, unite coming through. This is this is exciting. This is going to be a very unique monument. And and, I can't wait to to see when, like, when will people get their first peek at what what's what. It's going to be looking like.
00:24:01:16 - 00:24:20:12
Unknown
Kuma San and his crew presented concepts, the board has decided on one. We're continuing some final studies on it, some adaptations and adjustments as we refine it. And then, of course, you know, I don't want to bore anybody. It can get into the 12 hour conversation on the 24 step process to build a memorial museum in Washington, DC.
00:24:20:14 - 00:24:38:19
Unknown
That's like a weekend, seminar I could give you guys, but we have to get this approved through various commissions and agencies in DC and not elected officials. We, you know, it's it would be easier for me to pass another bill. We've passed two bills for the House and Senate. I think it'd be easier for me to pass another bill through the House and Senate, than it is to to get through the process.
00:24:39:01 - 00:25:05:13
Unknown
But I will caveat that all that is I'm glad is challenging. I respect the process. I honor the process. And I think it's incredibly important because if it wasn't this hard, there's no telling what kind of stuff would be built, in, in our nation's capital. And but what I'm really excited to share is, from, from a perspective of, being again, in unique is we're the only, project that has been authorized to be built since 2003.
00:25:05:13 - 00:25:25:19
Unknown
That is in the what the area called the reserve, which is the the National Mall, that nothing new has been approved there. Everything is built on the outside, like Eisenhower Memorial behind this aerospace museum, world War one memorial, fantastic memorial just opened, the almost a year since they finally completed it. That's off in Pershing Park, perhaps appropriately.
00:25:25:19 - 00:25:28:10
Unknown
the center of of our nation's capital
00:25:28:10 - 00:25:36:15
Unknown
is the National Mall. And more people visit the Lincoln Memorial than any other spot in our nation's capital. The five most visited sites in Washington to see is
00:25:36:15 - 00:25:43:06
Unknown
Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, World War Two Memorial, Korean Memorial, and then Martin Luther King Memorial.
00:25:43:06 - 00:25:58:06
Unknown
So if you anyone that were to look at the map that that is the center, as far as visitors, you know, domestic and international. So we're really excited to be able to secure the site, we, we did, and do that because I was told it was impossible. Everyone said that “you can't do that. You’re not going to be able to do that.” I said:
00:25:58:06 - 00:26:23:22
Unknown
“I can pass another bill” and they’re like, “you're not going to be able to do that.” And if you want to get me to do something, tell me I can't do it. And, we were fortunate to be able to get across the finish line to get that sense just from hearing you speak. And, and I'm pretty sure on that top list is going to be the global war on terrorism as one of those, memorial as one of those spots for people to visit and, for anybody to go and check out the website, because you can see, you know, the locations.
00:26:23:22 - 00:26:43:12
Unknown
There's a great picture of you and your team standing there, on, on the ground where it's going to be put. And you can see it's a it's a very sacred ground, considering where it is. And, you know, on that topic, you have like that picture. You have so many people out there I love that I get a sense it's a real grassroot.
00:26:43:14 - 00:27:05:15
Unknown
You, your team that's been putting it, like how many people have been involved in and and getting it to where it is? It’s a really, really small, team, but incredibly capable, very dynamic, you know, and, and building the team from the board on down is just another component. I looked at following the soft shoe special Operation Force troops here.
00:27:05:17 - 00:27:22:13
Unknown
Is, quality is better than quantity. And that's what it is. Everyone is. And part of the mission along the way, they you got to be read to this table and possess those three things that I look for ability, credibility, and humility. Additionally, I have to raise the, nine figures to pay for this. This is a this is all privately funded.
00:27:22:13 - 00:27:42:12
Unknown
No taxpayer dollars are to be used on this. And I think that's a luxury. Because people tell me all the time, right. Why are we spending money on this? We should be helping the VA fighting veteran homelessness. We should be fighting veterans services. Suicide. There's this misunderstanding or ignorance that people think that I'm the government. So when they tell me that, I'm like, who's we?
00:27:42:14 - 00:28:04:04
Unknown
I don't receive, you know, any of any, I refer to our donors or investors or they're part of the team, I don't how are you getting me to tell people where to invest their their, charitable funds? I just we just provide opportunities for those. So it's entirely privately funded. We'll get there. We got incredible board, incredible team.
00:28:04:06 - 00:28:20:14
Unknown
So there's a the other component to that, like this, this, you know, you know, a skinny kid from southern New Mexico. I gotta figure out how to raise 100 plus million dollars. And, you know, as a retired Army guy. So we'll figure it out. So if someone listening to the podcast, like, how can people help? Please go to our website, sign up for our updates.
00:28:20:14 - 00:28:37:02
Unknown
I promise I'm not going to send you an email every three days or every week repeating the same information. No, I value people's time. I always value. That is your most cherished asset. That's an asset I can't get back and I can't buy more up time. So I'm not going to spend you. But that's how we keep people updated.
00:28:37:04 - 00:28:57:08
Unknown
And of course, there's always an opportunity for folks to reach out and, you know, donate their charitable funds, whether it be or get involved, whether through time, talent or treasure. I'll give you an example how certain corporations or businesses have. They've learned about our mission, and then they do their own fundraiser and then, okay, what, you know, and then we talk about it and we share it.
00:28:57:10 - 00:29:23:20
Unknown
And then that's how they get they get involved and we, we thank them for it, obviously appropriately. So there's a number of different ways, to, for folks to do it. But, you know, I, I would love for someone to learn about this project, learn about this, our efforts and just find three veterans or find three people and tell them about it, that that that means the world to me is just for us to start sharing this, sharing the mission amongst each other.
00:29:23:22 - 00:29:49:11
Unknown
Because you never know the impact that it will have, on someone that might be struggling that you don't know are struggling. Someone that might need that, that little touch of, hey, man, you're valuable. You're recognized, I love you. That might need that, right? And I think a lot of people do. I think anybody listening, it's just taking that to heart and, you know, just kind of going into maybe just honoring the memory of some people that we have lost in to their own hands.
00:29:49:11 - 00:30:13:07
Unknown
You know, like my brother Josh or others you might know, never be afraid just to ask how someone's doing, you know? And, we can be afraid of that. I think sometimes I, I, I'm not afraid. Had to do that. And I'll ask my friends. Sometimes it's like, “how are you doing?” if you’re struggling and if, you know, it's not uncommon to have thoughts of maybe hurting yourself or taking your own life.
00:30:13:07 - 00:30:34:11
Unknown
And if that is like, you know, I'm here to talk to you and you're not alone. And I think people and going back to what you're saying, Rod, earlier, it's just being seen or witnessed, you know, you know, knowing that they're cared and valued is one of the most important things. Be vulnerable and ask those hard questions. Have those difficult conversations because you'll never know what you know.
00:30:34:11 - 00:30:55:10
Unknown
What, you know how you will truly impact and and don't be ashamed of it either. We're human beings. It's okay to feel. It's okay to cry. You know? It's okay to hurt. Those are, you know, post-traumatic stress. You know, I, I spent eight weeks in an inpatient treatment facility, and I'm not ashamed of it. I was on a number of medications that I needed at the time.
00:30:55:12 - 00:31:11:14
Unknown
And I'm open about it. I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not. I'm not ashamed of any physical injuries people might look at. Why should I be ashamed of a a moral injury? I might be carrying. I'm not. I will talk about it freely. And we I think we need to have those conversations and share it and quit judging folks, right?
00:31:11:19 - 00:31:27:08
Unknown
Because you don't know what they're struggling. You don't know what it is that put them in that position and just provide them the grace that they deserve and let them know you're there. Because without that support and love, they can't fight those battles because we can't fight them for them. You know, and just be open and honest about it.
00:31:27:08 - 00:31:46:14
Unknown
Of of those that I referenced, that took their lives, you know, I loved ones of mine. One was, my fiancé serving in the Air Force. You know, I lost her to suicide as well. So I will speak about it openly and and honor Molly's memory, till the day I die. But that we have to be.
00:31:46:14 - 00:32:02:00
Unknown
We have to do we have to do that. We. It's it's it's a duty. I think what we're what we're doing is a duty that we all share. And in doing that, we can celebrate them. We can live with them. But then we we can also face our own mortality and realize it's going to make you live a little bit more grace.
00:32:02:00 - 00:32:24:16
Unknown
And, every single day. I wrote Molly's name down. I, like you, wrote Josh, and I'll make sure to say her name. And, I think just on that, like, one of my big messages to a lot of people is emotions aren't aren't a weakness. Feeling emotion, feeling pain. It's not a weakness. I think a lot of my buddies in the military that this attitude is, you know, don't take a knee.
00:32:24:17 - 00:32:49:20
Unknown
You always push through it. And that's something we can do with physical pain. But when it comes to emotional pain, you know, courage and strength is actually face in. It is actually, being okay to be broken sometimes. And that's not a moral failing. That's not a sign of weakness. In fact, it's the absolute absolute opposite. Your ability to hold on to pain and sit hold fully with it is an incredible
00:32:49:20 - 00:33:08:03
Unknown
strength. And asking for help isn't a weakness. That means you're committed to yourself, committed to life, you know, needing help sometimes as we're human. That's why we work together. You know? We're better as a team. And so if you're ever struggling asking for help, that's not a weakness. That's that's a strength. And it takes a lot of courage.
00:33:08:09 - 00:33:27:22
Unknown
Right? I could I could talk to you, for days on many different topics. Is there is there anything you'd like to just cover off before we finish up here that I didn't ask, or you'd like to say? I would just really invite people to learn more about our mission, and and dive into it. And, Ryan, I want to thank you.
00:33:27:22 - 00:33:43:22
Unknown
This is the probably the first I. I've been blessed to be on a a number of different podcasts before, but to really allow me the opportunity to go on the philosophical approach on why this is important to to dive a little bit deeper into it is, “oh, you're building a war memorial.” Well, no, let's talk about it. Let's talk about this.
00:33:43:22 - 00:34:07:11
Unknown
Get a little bit deeper and talk about who we are, because nothing I said could not be said by anybody else. We tell the truth, but we have those difficult conversations. I would love for people to to look at this and perhaps use it as, they can support the mission. Great. Talk about it, but also reflect on themselves and be like, wow, okay, maybe I can be a better father, a better a better spouse, a better friend in some type of way.
00:34:07:11 - 00:34:25:13
Unknown
And it just all comes down to, you know, humble approach to life and living with grace. I think those are great words. And often where I can agree with you more. Thank you so much. Just just for the way you show up, in the world, like, not just here, but you can just see the authenticity that comes through you.
00:34:25:15 - 00:34:48:13
Unknown
And I think we, you know, the world needs that level of humbleness and encouraged, more so than ever. And so just thank you for what you're doing. It's inspired me here today. I hope it's inspired our listeners to learn a little more. Hop on the website. And, you know, where else could they they look up and find more information about what you're doing.
00:34:48:13 - 00:35:08:22
Unknown
Right. We're on on very social media platforms as well, you know, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X, so they can find is pretty easy: @GWOTMF, you can pretty much find us or you can Google me. I'm on social media like a teenager, so, I do the best I can. I'm not very good at it, so don't judge me.
00:35:08:23 - 00:35:30:10
Unknown
But, definitely can can engage. And and really, I all I look for is a dialog, like, like to, an opportunity to, to find a people that would be willing to have an open, vulnerable conversation and, and talk about, you know, what is occurred, what's going on today and, and, you know, the, the possibly of tomorrow as things progress.
00:35:30:10 - 00:35:46:15
Unknown
I would love to have you back on the podcast again. And, and have some real vulnerable conversations because, you know, that's meaningful. That's where it's at, you know. And why not go into it if you're ever in DC? Let me know. Please plan a trip. We can, we can we can do it in the same room.
00:35:46:15 - 00:36:07:12
Unknown
We can there have a conversation. I would love that. I'd love that. Let's let's make it happen. And, to our listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today. And and please check out the show notes. We'll put in the links to everything you need to know about the Global War on Terrorism Foundation, Memorial Foundation and any other other links that you need.
00:36:07:14 - 00:36:11:23
Unknown
Again, Rod thank you so much. This has been just an amazing, amazing time to speak with you.
00:36:17:18 - 00:36:37:04
Speaker 1
Thanks so much for tuning in. Story. Behind the Stone is available on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, and on the Wreaths Across America Radio Network on iHeartRadio, Audacity and TuneIn, just search for “wreath”. We air every Thursday at 10 a.m. Eastern on the Wreaths Across America Radio Network. Thank you for tuning in.