Freedom and Glory - Tales of American Spirit

Join us in this special Memorial Day episode as we speak with four distinguished veterans who share their unique ways of celebrating and remembering the sacrifices of their comrades. Meet Ed, a Marine and Army Reserve veteran, and Chuck, a retired member of the 82nd Airborne Division, as they recount their journeys and the impact of their service. The episode also highlights the impactful work of Combat Warriors, a dedicated organization supporting combat veterans through various events like hunting and fishing. Hear from Wayne and Bill, who share the genesis and evolution of Combat Warriors and the emotional and financial support it provides to veterans. Discover how you can contribute to this noble cause and make a difference in the lives of those who have given so much for our freedom.

00:00 Introduction and Memorial Day Tribute
01:24 Meet Ed: A Marine and Army Veteran
02:28 Ed's Military Journey and Reflections
04:22 Challenges and Brotherhood in Iraq
10:41 Memorial Day Significance and Reflections
13:29 Meet Chuck: Army Veteran and Combat Warriors Board Member
16:08 Chuck's Military Background and Deployments
20:01 Answering the Call: Life in the 82nd Airborne
20:39 Defining Heroes: A Humble Perspective
21:34 Memorial Day Reflections
24:59 Introducing Combat Warriors
26:54 The Evolution of Combat Warriors
33:18 Supporting Warriors and Their Families
36:15 Funding and Volunteer Efforts
40:53 Memorial Day: Honoring the Fallen
43:39 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Donate Today https://www.combatwarriorsinc.org/

Creators and Guests

Host
Bill LuMaye
Former talk show host at WPTF680 in Raleigh, N.C.
Host
Liz Morris
Chief Executive Officer at Carrot-Top Industries, Inc.

What is Freedom and Glory - Tales of American Spirit?

Welcome to Freedom and Glory: Tales of American Spirit—a podcast celebrating the heart of American craftsmanship, resilience, self-reliance, and the power of disruption. Through inspiring stories and authentic storytelling, we shine a spotlight on individuals and communities who embody these values, proving that small, determined efforts can spark meaningful change.

Join us as we share personal tales of triumph, innovation, and hope—moments that define the American spirit and shape our nation’s identity. Whether you’re seeking motivation to pursue your dreams or a reminder of the power of community, Freedom and Glory offers a powerful dose of inspiration rooted in resilience and determination.

Listen, be inspired, and take action.

05 Freedom and Glory
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Liz Morris: [00:00:00] Happy Memorial Day. We've just learned that it's okay to say that.

Um, and we're really excited about today's show where we talked to four different veterans who all shared with us how they celebrate on Memorial Day, the lives of, , those around them that served.

Bill LuMaye: And a wonderful organization, oh, you're gonna get to see a, a group that has helped so many people, and I don't know if a lot of people know about it.

And after today, I, I hope. I hope you participate in making it a better organization is wonderful. Can't wait for you to watch it.

[00:01:00]

Bill LuMaye: I love the liberties that we have in this country. Um, today's episode is dedicated to the men and women who have given up their lives in support of that freedom. So we're honored to have in studio with us four veterans who will share their stories. And these guys are all part of an incredible organization called Combat Warriors that give back to these people that give so much. So to start, we are joined by Ed Cello. Ed, thanks for, um, joining us. Ed is a 12 year Marine Corps veteran, and Ed liked it so much.

He signed up again for the Army Reserve in 2000. He was deployed to Iraq where he was injured, and later medically retired. Um, ed continued serving as a civilian. And now I understand you've recently taken a job with USDA. So Ed can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Ed Salau: Yeah, sure. [00:02:00] Thanks Liz. Um, again, honored. Honored you'd pick me to have this conversation. Um, I live out here, Intel North Carolina. It's right out near Camp Lejeune and married dog, cat, um, you know, living the dream. I've got two adult children. They're married and gone, making grand babies for us. So four grandkids.

Yeah, like you said, I was a Marine. Um. Left the Marine Corps before the war started, and, and then joined the Army National Guard in North Carolina and was an infantry officer. I deployed to Iraq in 2004. Um, about 10 and a half months over there. Um, it was 10 and a half really good months and won really bad day.

Um, spoiler alert, I lived, but, before they figured that part out. I did. I did give my leg to Iraq. I think that's what the president said back then. I didn't lose it. I gave it. Um, [00:03:00] yeah, that's me in a nutshell.

Bill LuMaye: Well, thank you for your service. What, um. What, what made you join the, the military? You know what? And obviously you left and then you were like, Nope, I gotta go back.

Ed Salau: Yeah, I wish it was, I wish it was more glorious than it, than it actually was. In 1988 when I joined the Marine Corps, I didn't have money for college and certainly didn't have the grades for scholarships. So my dad was a Marine, I. His dad was in the military before him. Um, so joining the military was a logical option for me.

It was peace time. I was gonna learn a job, get a job, and do a job. Um, wound up loving it, reenlisted a couple of times in the Marine Corps. Um. It was good then kids were grown enough. We were in a really good community. They had a really good school. I had a marketable skill, so I left the Marine Corps.

Um, [00:04:00] then the war started, um, joined the Army National Guard. Um, they, they got deployed to Iraq. Um. It was just, um, I don't know, family of service. So it wasn't such an odd thing to do. It didn't seem like a really hard thing to do. Um, just something we did.

Bill LuMaye: though, as easy as you thought it might be? Because you know there's a big difference between normal civilian life and being a military family and a guy, you know, boots in country. So what was that like for you?

Ed Salau: So yeah, Marine Corps bootcamp is far easier than the TV makes you think it is. I'll put that out there. So everybody should just go join. Um, if you believe that I'll get some waterfront property in someplace with no water for you. Um, Iraq? Yeah, really hot. Um. In 2004, if you watch the news, you were probably tell, they were probably telling you we were painting schools, digging sewers, um, spreading democracy, whatever that [00:05:00] meant.

Um, what I saw over there were, um very fragile, new government trying to govern, um, corrupt police forces, um, fledgling military made of military veterans, oddly enough that we're fighting Iran before they met us. Um. We were training them up trying to get them competent in what they needed to do to own their own country.

I said it once, I said it a million times to them that, you know, we didn't want their country, we weren't gonna occupy forever. We we wanted them to be good, strong, and capable and, and own their own country. I watched preps for initial elections. Um, so I got hurt in November of 2004. And if you peel back and look through all the, the history you'll see, I think it was January or February of 2005, just a few months after I got hurt, we were all watching CNN and watching the women and the men [00:06:00] and then the women in that country go into the polls and voting.

Um, as it, we wanted to believe it was a democracy and they were showing their ink, stained fingers to the cameras confirmation that they cast a ballot. Um, I'll tell you, rehabbing and Walter Reed at the time after my injury, um that was a bit of a tear jerker really sense of pride and optimism, grew out of that.

I, it was good.

Bill LuMaye: You mentioned that it was on CNN, I mean, the, the war was covered wall to wall and your family's back home, I'm sure they're watching. And, um, and you're a part of the story, right? I mean the, the, the reporters were everywhere in Iraq. They really were. How did your family react to that and how do you as a dad, well, um, you're over in a rock deal with family problems and that family life and, know, the marriage, and I mean, how did you cope with all of that?

How did your family do that?

Ed Salau: Honestly, I don't know how we did it. It was just we just did it. You know, you don't know how you're gonna react till [00:07:00] you're thrown in the, in the fire. Um, and that's what happened with me and my soldiers their families. We just figured it out. Um, the good news was my family was tucked deep into a Marine Corps community, active duty military folks everywhere.

We came from an active duty lifestyle, so it, it wasn't new to us by any means. Um, I. You know, you, you brought up an interesting point about the news cycles. Two days into Iraq specialist Jocelyn Carillo from Wilmington, North Carolina. Um, he was killed in, in a convoy I was in roadside bomb got him.

And he was a supply clerk in our infantry battalion. He wasn't even a grunt. And rolling down the road, bomb went off and we lost Jocelyn Carlo. Um. At that moment, we had a call in a medevac. I had a, I had a situate, repel the enemy, set everything up to security, make sure no more of us got hurt [00:08:00] or injured, and get j Jocelyn Caraso home.

Um, but I remember rolling away from that scene after the helicopter took off with Jocelyn jumping on this fancy little computer system we had in our vehicle. And it had a GPS tracker on it. Not all the vehicles had 'em, but I had it and it had an email capability and I shot a real fast email to my wife and I said, listen, there's gonna be some bad news about North Carolina and Iraq.

Um, please know that everybody you know is okay. Um. That happened a few times while we were there. Um, the best we could without giving away in information we shouldn't, but reassuring the families when we could. We took every opportunity.

Bill LuMaye: Wow. Wow. I mean. I, I just can't even imagine a situation like that did. I'm sure it drew, you know, everyone together around you how to, what kind of [00:09:00] brotherhood, you know, developed with your team.

Ed Salau: I feel like every day we got stronger. The chaplain, the chaplain in our battalion is a Walter Graves from he pastored a, a church in New Bern, North Carolina in his real job. And one weekend a month, he was the chaplain. And then a year in Iraq with us. Chaplain Graves was an infantry man in Vietnam and went through his career, his life pastor Reverend and decided to be a chaplain with the North Carolina Army National Guard.

We were blessed to have that man 'cause he knew how to talk to us, especially in moments like that. Um, and we knew. We knew we could trust him. We knew we understood exactly what we were saying after after those events, um, 10 and a half months. Um, as he, just to answer your question, we grew stronger together.

Um, built more [00:10:00] trust with each other. Um, but I'll tell you, we trained harder every day. Um, no one was gonna get hurt because of a lack of training. Um, the enemy gets a vote, but we were gonna be the best the enemy ever encountered.

Bill LuMaye: Is that a brotherhood that stays with you your entire life?

Ed Salau: Yeah. And, and look, look at social media and the way we can stay connected. Um, yeah. We're, we're definitely, we're all still connected. I was a lieutenant at the time, the captain, my company commander Wes Morrison. He pinned on one star General New Year's Day and last year.

And then. He sent out all the invites to all of us and we showed up and watched him get, get that star pinned on. You know, that's 20 years after the fact,

Bill LuMaye: So we're coming up on Memorial Day. I'm just curious from your perspective, I know what a lot of Americans will be doing. I don't know if you probably also join in those festivities, but what does it mean to you? It's gotta have a different take than, than those of us who haven't had the opportunity to serve.

Ed Salau: the men I knew who [00:11:00] died in Iraq when we were there they would want us to stop mourning and, and celebrate. Um, and, you know, is that day, memorial day is that day where we get to remember them specifically?

Um. I honor them in my own special way, but I'll tell you, I, I'll celebrate with everybody. The, not only the liberties of freedom we enjoy, but you know, the cost we gotta say their names. Um, they, they gave, they gave, and they gave for another country to possibly have those liberties. Um, when our country called, it's, um.

It, it, it always raises the question, you know, is it about furniture and car sales or is it about memorializing our fallen heroes? And, you know, I wonder can it be about both? Because we live in a country where, [00:12:00] thank God we don't have a draft. Um, we have volunteers who go, we freely give our time sweat and some cases blood, but we're not drafted.

What a special thing that is in our country. And if the soldiers are at war and America's at the mall, God bless 'em. In my opinion, God bless 'em. We're a democratic, capitalistic nation. Both have to work really, really well. Um, and if America can stay confident and content and at peace when somewhere else in the world is on fire and at war, um, and we can keep it outside our borders that's a win.

Bill LuMaye: Well, Yeah. you, ed. I mean. Um, well, we really appreciate, you know, you sharing your story and, um I don't, I don't even know how to follow, I mean, I think, you know, what a country we live in to be able to, [00:13:00] um, I dunno, have the freedoms that we have and for people like you who, who gave, you know, what you, what you gave your leg, you know, gave for us.

So thank you. Yeah, we wouldn't be enjoying it if it weren't for you folks. Exactly. So thank you for your service Ed. Really appreciate it and for doing this show.

Ed Salau: I appreciate you. I mean, telling the story of the media the whole bit, that's a whole nother piece of the Constitution we can talk about forever, right? Thanks for what you do.

Bill LuMaye: Thank you, ed.

Liz Morris: we're joined by Chuck Brandon. Chuck, thanks for joining us. Glad to be here. Chuck joined the Army in 1992 and retired from the 82nd Airborne Division with four combat deployments. And Chuck, you live in Fayetteville now, and you're also on the Board of Combat Warriors?

Chuck: I am about a year now.

Liz Morris: Awesome. Will you, um, tell us a little bit about yourself?

Chuck: Well, like I said, um. I'm originally a military brat. Anyway my dad retired outta Fort Bragg. That's how we ended up in [00:14:00] Fayetteville. Um, he retired in 1978, so I kind of grew up there from about six years old, um, until I joined the Army in 92.

I just turned 20. Um, so I was a little bit late, not coming outta high school. Joined the army wasn't really the path I wanted to take, but I got to a point where I needed to do something and, me and a buddy of mine, um, said, well, well, let's do it. And turned it into a 26 year career and retired in 2018 at, back here at Fort Bragg.

Liz Morris: that's so interesting having, you know, you really made it a career choice after. You know, kind of just joining on a, on a whim it sounds like.

Chuck: Like I said, I've never had any intentions of coming in my dad's 30 year command sergeant major, but I, I grew up that life. I lived the life and I wasn't really sure that's what I wanted to do.

Um, and wasn't really going anywhere. College wasn't my thing [00:15:00] at all. I did, I did one semester. I was like, it's just not for me and. A buddy of mine actually called me and he's like, Hey, let's gimme a ride to the recruiter. And I was like, well, I was like, let's talk about this for a minute. And, um, he still my best friend till today.

Went and picked him up, went to the recruiter. Um, his dad also retired Command star major at Fort Bragg, so we knew a lot about the military. Um, both of our dads were special operations, been in the airborne community their whole career, so we knew a lot about, about the military and about the Fort Bragg community.

Um, so gotta the recruiter's office and they showed us the, the Airborne Ranger video and, you know, already being familiar with that style of life. And I was like, Hey, well that's what I wanna do, so all right, let's do it. And never looked back. Um, never really thought about getting out after I, after I got in, you know, I, I did a, my first was a four year commitment, um, but never really figured out like, Hey, this is what I wanna do, this is [00:16:00] what I'm good at, so I'm gonna stick with it.

26 years later.

Liz Morris: Yeah. And you were deployed in, um, Iraq and in Bosnia. Um, what, what was that like?

Chuck: Bosnia and Macedonia were peacetime tours. I was signed to the First Armor division in Germany. Um, that was early in 95 before things really kicked off in Bosnia between the Serbs, that was a peacekeeping mission with the UN on the Macedonian border.

Um. I thought it was great. My, my platoon actually was the, um, wasn't really an embassy yet. It was a, we had a chief of mission. There wasn't an ambassador assigned to the country Macedonia yet. So we had the security detail for what later on became the embassy. So it was mainly the UN headquarters in sculpture, Macedonia.

And also where the defense and the soon to be ambassador at that time worked [00:17:00] out of. So we had the security detail there and I loved it. It was great.

Bill LuMaye: Not bad time. Not bad for a kid who didn't know what he wanted to do.

Chuck: Oh, right. Yeah. Oh, look where you're at. It was a great experience, so really enjoyed it.

Bill LuMaye: You were in the Gulf War too, weren't you?

Chuck: What's that?

Bill LuMaye: Didn't you go to the Gulf

Chuck: War? Is that what I

Bill LuMaye: heard? No. No, you didn't. That

Chuck: was before my time.

Bill LuMaye: That was before your time. Yeah, that was before my time. Were you married or had kids at that point? I was married at

Chuck: the time, yeah. During my Macedonian Bosnia deployment.

I was married at that time. Um, all my other deployments, I, I wasn't married. So

Bill LuMaye: I just get a sense this is more natural to you than. A lot of people would join and it would be kind of a foreign thing to get into this almost seemed like you were, you get the sense it was almost like home, going home to you 'cause you grew up in it.

Chuck: I did. I don't know if that really helped me or hurt me. I, I definitely had an advantage, um, knowing the military lifestyle and, and I, you know, I adapted really well to, to being deployed. Um, it was a little bit rough. It was about eight month deployment while I was married to [00:18:00] Macedonia. It was a little bit rough, but I.

I didn't really mind it. I was, I was having a good time. And I think it was more of a sense of satisfaction. 'cause you, for all these years you train for to do a job. You're not really doing that job. You're, you're training to do that job. So when you finally get the time and the opportunity to apply 10 years of training, um, well at that time, five years it's, it's some gratification there and some self satisfaction.

Bill LuMaye: Well, how did you cope then with family? You said it was a bit stressful, keeping busy. Does that help? Keeping busy, worried about the family back home? Yeah.

Chuck: Had a really high ops tempo. Um, nothing really hard stuff that we do every day. Like I said, it's what we train for. Um, I had a better advantage being the location where we were.

We had a little bit more technology, so. There was no email back then in, in 95, early 95. There was no emails, but we did have telephones. Um, I [00:19:00] mean, I could get on the phone at any time unless I was out on an operation. So I was able to communicate more than your typical units that were deployed at that time.

Um, so that made it obviously made it easier. And my wife at the time, she was prior Service Navy, so, so she, she had a, had a taste of, um, being in the Navy, being gone and she, she understood.

Liz Morris: Well, it sounds like maybe an interesting ramp then to go from the, the peace time then to your, was it your next deployment in Iraq where you were?

My next appointment after

Chuck: that was Afghanistan late oh two with the 82nd Airborne Division. totally different scenario than, than what it was in Macedonia, obviously. Like I said, um, that I made it, I made a decision early on, this is what I wanna do. Um, and being at being in the 82nd, um, I mean that's what you're [00:20:00] trained to do.

When, when the Pentagon calls nine one one the 82nd airborne answers, um, of course you got your special operations forces that are already for deployed. at that time, you know, it was almost 10 years I've been in Army and. For 10 years I've been, I've been training to do this job, and, and it's, I enjoyed it.

There's some hard times. You obviously have some hard times, but, you know, you get a lot of you know, thank you for your service and, and all that. And like, well, you know, you know, thank you for what you're doing. Um, it, it's a job. That's what, that's what we pick to do.

It's going to work every day for us. Um. I tell Bill a lot with combat warriors. You know what's, everybody has a different definition of a hero. Um, and, and in, in my eyes, it's the people that support the troops. Um, doing these podcasts bringing awareness to that style of life, that those are the heroes.

Also, it's not, not just people that, I mean, we just signed up to [00:21:00] do a job. We're doing it.

Bill LuMaye: That's a pretty humble thing to say.

Liz Morris: Yeah,

Bill LuMaye: it really is because you, the job you're doing allows us to do this and so it, it, it's, it's nice that you get that. Can I buy you a meal? And it wasn't always that way. You know, way back in the day there was, there was a time people looked at things differently.

So for folks that are, I think it's gratifying that people understand that people like you are a big reason they get to do a lot of the things they do today. I don't, but I understand being humble. You shouldn't though. I mean, thank you for what you do.

Chuck: Well, thank you. Thank you.

Bill LuMaye: Um, you know, we're coming up on Memorial Day and you were in Afghanistan and we were talking about.

People like us who haven't served? I don't think you've served. Have you lived? Mm-hmm. No. Okay. Um, we have, we have no concept of the brotherhood or the camaraderie and the, the sacrifices that are happening there in the military itself. And it doesn't matter if it's enough Afghanistan or anywhere. So when we come up on Memorial Day, [00:22:00] um, what, what does that mean to you?

Does it have a special meaning?

Chuck: I've got a really unique take on Memorial Day, and I'm not the only one. I know a lot of people that do, you hear a lot of people, um, you know, they, they'll say, happy Memorial Day. And I've heard people say, well, what's happy about it? Well, you know, yeah, you can, you can look at it like that.

It is a time to remember. Um, but I've always said, you know I'm gonna do what, what those guys want me to do. I'm gonna celebrate, you know, let, let's have a cookout, let's bust out a bottle of whiskey. I. Because that's what, that's what they would want. So that, that's kind of my, my take on it. Um, like I said, it's obviously a time to reflect, but I think a lot of people try to, I don't wanna say look at it in a negative sense, but and everybody grieves different.

Everybody mourns different, but, you know, do do what they would want us to do. [00:23:00] What would they do? Um. And have a good time and celebrate that life, I guess is the best way to put it. So celebrate the life. Don't, you know, don't sit around. And, and like I said, everybody does different. But I know myself and a, a big group of friends.

Um, every Memorial Day we'll go out to the cemetery at Fort Bragg Sandhills, a state veterans cemetery. Not so much veterans of our generation, but my dad's buried out there. Um, a lot of, a lot of the, the older generation, the Vietnam, Korean War generation that I grew up around are buried out there.

We'll, we'll carry a cooler around. We'll go to everybody's grave and have a drink and talk and nice. Mm-hmm. And you know, the good memories. So that's kind of my take on it. Obviously there's some bad memories, but make the best out of it and celebrate those lives. Don't, don't sit around and do what they want you to do.

Liz Morris: really inspiring that I, I can feel your passion and, [00:24:00] um, I think uplifting others on Memorial Day or I can just tell that, um, I don't know. There's a casualness, but it's, it's very uplifting. And, um, thank you so much for joining us.

Bill LuMaye: It's any particular brand of whiskey?

Liz Morris: Oh yeah.

Chuck: Well, I, you know, it's coming Memorial Day.

You know, Bill's a big bourbon guy too. Um, okay. I'm gonna probably say I like a good Basil Haydens or an eagle Rare

Bill LuMaye: who doesn't, man. Well, thank you. Thank you for being here today. Really appreciate it. Thank you.

Chuck: Appreciate, appreciate you guys giving me the opportunity to come.

Liz Morris: we're now [00:25:00] joined by Wayne Decker. Wayne served eight years in the Marine Corps and Bill Warren. Bill grew up in Eastern North Carolina and served in Vietnam. So Wayne and De and Bill are here with Combat Warriors. So men and women in the military have given a lot. Um, to protect our freedoms and bill's created an organization that gives back to them and recognizes their service.

So thanks for joining us. You too.

Bill Warren: Good to be here.

Liz Morris: Um, will you tell us a little bit about Combat Warriors? How, how was it created?

Bill Warren: Um, combat warriors were created about 16, maybe 17 years ago. I had a friend that I was in the automobile business with that was in Fayetteville, and he developed some friendships in Special Operations Command.

And I got a call from him one day and he said, Hey, I need you to help me send some special operations soldiers to Winston. To [00:26:00] Winston-Salem? No, to Wisconsin. I said, okay, we can do that. So my partner and I made a donation to help send four special operations soldiers up to Wisconsin deer hunting. Um, we did that for three years, and one day Steve and I were talking and we started thinking about my hunting camp that we have down in Inglehart, North Carolina.

And we decided right then that we were going to do a inglehart duck hunt instead of a Wisconsin deer hunt. And the first time it happened was 2011 when we had five warriors down there. And, um, the people of Inglehart loved them, said, when are you going to do this again? And boom, there it goes. And we said, we can't let this drop.

And right then when we decided that, hey, we were going to continue to do this.

Liz Morris: it sounds like kind of an evolution. What, what is now the, the goal of the [00:27:00] program and the organization?

Bill Warren: Well, it's always been our goal to provide financial and emotional assistance to warriors that have been in a combat zone and in combat.

Um, so the first time we had it, we had five warriors there and, um, there were two amputees. There was, um. One guy that had been falling down the mountains in Afghanistan, and he had a morphine patch on him to keep him there. We had another guy, the fourth infantry division that had been blown up pretty good.

And then we had another guy that was there and he did not have anything wrong with him except his combat tour. And, um, he wanted to come and, and visit and, and we had them. So they were the first five. Then it just started going and we started using people to bring other people in. That's how we vetted people.

The warriors would pick a warrior like [00:28:00] themselves and bring them with 'em on the next hunt, and that escalated to. You know, instead of five Warriors now we have in one chapter, five Warriors and, um, one event. Now we have five chapters. We have 30 to 40 events, and we have three to 500 warriors attending.

Bill LuMaye: And were you doing this purely for the joy of hunting or was there something more that the warriors were getting out of the program?

Bill Warren: Well, I was a Vietnam veteran. Mm-hmm. And when we came back, we weren't treated so nicely. Yes. Remember? So I decided that, um, if I was going to do this and this, I'm speaking for myself, not Wayne, but if I was going to do this, I was not gonna let that happen to our guys coming back from a war zone.

So that motivated me to get this started we are doing a lot of good for a lot of [00:29:00] warriors that, um, really enjoy the atmosphere that we present to them.

Wayne Decker: It was quickly evident as the events started to occur, how much it provided in the recovery for these guys. A lot of the guys would tell you, you know, I, I used to hunt all the time and then I got deployed and when I got home I didn't wanna leave the house.

But we finally provided an opportunity for them to get back in the woods and to hunt and to do what they loved before and helped with that mental recovery. You know, again, personally, I was not in a combat zone, so I can't reflect upon my own experiences, but having spent time with these warriors.

There's physical injuries and there's emotional and mental injuries that occur, and every one of these events created a, not creates an opportunity for brothers who have [00:30:00] experienced, they may not have been in the same unit, they may not have been in the same battle, they may not have been in the same country, but they all experienced that combat situation and what that environment does to you mentally, physically, emotionally.

I. They could share with that. They could talk about it. And some of these guys get medically retired or they're, they're basically forced out. Once they're forced out, they've lost their support network. They don't have that brother in arms sitting next to 'em who understands. They don't have to talk about it, but he knows that that person sitting next to him went through the same foxhole.

And same battle and fight that he did, and I'm okay here. I'm comfortable. So that's enough,

Bill LuMaye: just knowing E. Exactly.

Wayne Decker: Exactly, exactly. And you know, I, I've said it time and time again, I get more out of participating in the events [00:31:00] than I believe the Warriors do because it's so humbling to sit around with these guys and listen to 'em, bond with each other.

To release. I mean, it, it is such a empowering situation for these men and women who participate to just be able to hang out with the same folks that they hung out with in the combat zone and to know it's okay and just let their hair down and continue to build those relationships. And I think Bill. The relationships that are built amongst those attendees are lifelong, just like it was for the men and women that they served with.

You know, they, they stay connected still

Bill Warren: that there's no doubt about that. And if you go to our website, combat warriors inc.org, you'll see the testimonials and they say those exact [00:32:00] things that Wayne just, um, shared with you, um, that it is about. The older senior NCOs, sort of shepherding the younger guys and teaching them how to come out of that fog of war that they've been in, and they share that and they really have a close bond and unfortunately.

It doesn't make a difference whether you're a Marine, whether you're a Special Ops, whether you're an Air Force, CCT, or, or whether you are a Navy, seal, whatever. Everybody gets along and, and they respect one another because of what they've been through.

Liz Morris: What are some of the more memorable events? I mean, it sounds like you do a lot of hunting.

You know, what, what are some of the more memorable events, you know, that, that you can share?

Bill Warren: Well, we do a lot of different events. Um, we'll have somewhere between 40 and 50 events [00:33:00] this year. And we do hunting, we do fishing we do all kinds of things other than that. Um, like Chuck Brandon, who was on earlier just mentioned, um, that the.

We have an opportunity to provide families with activities too, because the warriors are gone so much, they sort of don't like being away from the family and the families don't like being away from them being away. So we have a, um, what 120 some people at a gathering outside of Pinehurst in Bury North Carolina.

Where the families got to share, where the wives got to talk, where the kids played and, and things of that nature. So we not only do it for the Warriors, but we're trying to include more and more family members and that I think a particular [00:34:00] event, um, they're all just one may be three people. Then we may have 52.

So it just as, as Wayne said before, it's just a part of being there. It humbles you, there's no doubt. And to be around those guys and be included in some of the stories that are told is, is amazing.

Wayne Decker: We take applications so every event gets publicized through our email and websites and all that, and we'll get the applicants.

The hardest thing with every one of these events is to tell somebody we don't have room for you. And normally our room is limited. You can only have so many people hunt on a piece of property or so many people fish on a boat or whatever it is. So the family events like Bill was talking about, where it's land-based and you can get a big crowd, really allows us to spread our [00:35:00] wings and get a little bit more involvement.

Mm-hmm. From that standpoint, I, I've really, you know, Bill's been more engaged on the day to day, but one of the things that you had asked, kind of the evolution we've really had to evolve over the last I. Probably five years because it was real easy to get combat vets when you had all the guys returning to Fort Bragg and, you know, down at Camp Lejeune and the Wounded Warrior battalions or so on, it was, it was easy to get folks to parti to participate.

But now with the war ending, you know, you're, you're having to really look at the sibling and the soldier. I. Try to get their time that they lost with their father while he was in Afghanistan on 15 different deployments over a 15 year period or whatever. And now he's trying to figure out how to bond with his [00:36:00] 15-year-old son.

So a lot of the hunting events now include not just the warrior, but the warrior in one of his children.

Bill LuMaye: what do you need

if, for people who are watching right now, do you need volunteers? How are you funded? I mean, how can people help?

Bill Warren: We are self-sufficient in that we raise all the money and we have a lot of great donors.

Um, but it is difficult, um, to have an event planned and not have enough money to cover the event with the early days. And you had to really work hard to get that covered. Now we've been doing it for a long time, and we have the volunteers who every year send us money. So that helps, but it does not fill the whole budget.

So we have to have fundraisers and things like that to reach our goals, to provide all these different, um, benefits for these warriors. Um, [00:37:00] it is something, it's hard to ask money for yourself. It's very easy to ask money for the warrior and none of us get paid. This is all volunteers and um, we try to work hard to provide these guys with an atmosphere of love and respect where they can feel it coming in and they can be relaxed from the very start.

Wayne Decker: The, the funding limits what we can or can't do. The number of programs that we're, we're able to do, as Bill said, we've got some great donors that have been consistent, but every event requires the raising of funds. You know, a couple hundred bucks adds another soldier at the end of the day, or another Marine or seal, whatever it may be.

Bill used the word self-sufficient. We're self-sufficient because we've got. Good folks, but those donations [00:38:00] continue to become harder and harder for some folks as the economy struggles and so on. So we need more monetary donations than we do volunteers from that standpoint. Um, is the best way to do that through your website?

Yes. Yes. Okay. Mm-hmm. Combat warriors inc.org, as well as our Facebook page, which will get you there. We've made it real easy, and I can't say it enough. $5 does make a difference. So, you know, the ones that make large donations we're extremely grateful for, but it's the five and $10 donations that get us across the finish line at the end of the day and allow us to do different things.

I mean, I, I don't mean to keep coming back to when we have these events and the soldier comes to the event, we'll send a gift card to his wife. To let her take the family out to dinner or something like that. So we always [00:39:00] try to do something not just for the Warrior, but for the family that he's. It's been taken care of as well.

So,

Bill Warren: and of course it all depends on the amount of money we have, right? To do this we'd like to send all the wives money, but it or a gift card, but it's not that way. We can send as many as the budget allows us to.

Bill LuMaye: So go to the website.

Liz Morris: I'm sure people always look at, at the Warriors, but there's a whole support network, you know, around them that allowed them to, to serve and do what they did. And so that's awesome that you all have expanded your efforts. That's exactly,

Bill Warren: and, and it's all volunteers. It's not it's not about us, it's about the warriors and the volunteers are the ones that made this happen.

They help raise funds. They're out there doing the grunt work to get ready for a, an event. Like one event we had, we [00:40:00] had 52 combat veterans out in a county getting ready to deer hunt in five different counties, but it looked like a base camp in Afghanistan. I mean, they had all the stuff set up and all the, all the stuff was going just like they wanted it to go, but to put that event on, hey, they had to have.

A hundred people maybe.

Liz Morris: Mm-hmm. How do we get on the, the like game, the deer list? Do you split up the meat? And, you know Oh, oh, yeah. Well,

Bill Warren: that we have everything being done right there. They'll be cleaned. Mm-hmm. All the deer will be cleaned, all the ducks are cleaned. And some guys want to take 'em home and clean them themselves.

And, and that's fine too. So, um, yeah, we, we make it very available for them to be able to, to eat what they kill, and that's what they do.

Liz Morris: Mm-hmm. Well, um, we're coming up on Memorial Day. Do you, um, how, how do you all, or how does the [00:41:00] organization, you know, recognize that holiday?

Bill Warren: The organization, like where we will have, um, three boats and 18 warriors deep sea fishing on Memorial Day.

They'll come in on Sunday. They will socialize, they will sign up, they'll get on the boats at five o'clock that morning. They'll go out and fish. Um, that's one way we do it. For me personally, I have a friend named Darrell Johnson that was a MIA in Vietnam. Every time Memorial Day comes around, I think of him his mother Mildred and his sister Caroline, and they were among the League of Families for Misas and on their board.

And I think about the hard work they did to try to find the misas and POWs and get them back home. And it's you think about that and you know, there are a thousand more stories out there. [00:42:00] That are just like that. So that's what it does for me. And it may be different for Wayne or anybody else, but Darrell is foremost in my mind on Memorial Day

Wayne Decker: Memorial Day is for those that made the ultimate sacrifice. What greater respect can you give those? You know, as, as the Bible teaches us no greater love than to lay down one's life for another. Um, and those guys have, have definitely done it personally.

Um, I reflect back, I lost an uncle in Vietnam on his third tour in Vietnam. He was killed, um, who I actually share a birthday with. So I, always remember him during that time. But it really, it, it, it's an opportunity to celebrate this great nation and the fact that we've got men and women who put themselves in [00:43:00] harm way, harm's way, not just in combat zones, every training mission.

I mean, there's still members of the military that are dying in service outside of combat zones. Um. And, and you gotta be proud to be an American to know that that's happening. So celebrate that, but reflect upon those that did leave behind loved ones. And um, but they did it with pride, they did it with love, and they did it with a great amount of energy and respect for what they were given by their country.

Amen.

Liz Morris: Wow. Well, thank you both Yes. For joining us and. Um, I definitely after this I'm gonna go donate on the website, so, um, for any of those folks listening, we, we've got a card reader, right? You can just Oh, oh, perfect. Okay. I think I'm prepared. Yeah.

Bill LuMaye: Qr Yeah. [00:44:00] Thank you for what you do too. Immense help. I mean, the, the kind of help you're giving a lot of folks, a lot of people don't even think about.

Bill Warren: Well, you know, I learned from Vietnam. Every day you are over there. Over here. You think everybody's thinking about it, but very few people are. But those involved know what's going on all the time and so we try to provide for them because they do so much for us to keep our way of life going. Thank you guys.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Liz Morris: Thank you.

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