MEMORIAL DAY PARADE SPECIAL COVERAGE, MAY 26TH, 2025

Live coverage of The National Memorial Day Parade and observing the 80th anniversary of World War II.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:23):
Welcome to live special coverage of Memorial Day right here
on Real America's Voice. You were just listening to Steve
Bannon in his tremendous coverage of everything that happened at
Arlington National Cemetery. Happy Memorial Day to all of our
viewers who are spending your holiday with us, as we
honor American sacrifice and remember the fallen. Now, of course,
you just saw President Trump speaking at Arlington National Cemetery,

(00:46):
and today, folks, we reflect upon words like honor, duty, courage, sacrifice, heroism,
and patriotism and the idea that freedom is a gift
and that we have received immense grace by living in
this great United States. You just heard President Trump speak
about love moving the course of history always to freedom,

(01:09):
and I think that absolutely holds true. We'll talk about
his speech, and today we honor sacrifice and we revere
the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and
paid with their lives. I'm here today in West Palm Beach,
and I'm joined by Steve Gruber, who's going to be
on the ground in Washington, d C. You've heard some
of his coverage, and also Mike Crispy, who is in
New Jersey, just across from Manhattan. Mike, I'd like to

(01:32):
bring you in now as we open up our live
coverage here. Mike, just first of all, some just opening
remarks really about Memorial Day and what it means to
you personally.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Well, I mean, obviously, the people who were being honored today,
they paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the greatness that
is America. You know, there's many people out there, hundreds
of millions of people in this country, and the question
is how many of those people would be willing to
do what those people did to pay the sacrifice and
get honored today. So I think we're eternally grateful to

(02:05):
those people. I think that it is our duty to
ensure that we are electing leaders, you know, people who
aren't in the military, electing leaders who are always going
to put our troops in our military first, these people
deserve the most people who serve the country. And then
obviously the people who didn't make it home. When they
signed up for the assignment to go overseas or to

(02:25):
fight a war, to fight a battle, they knew that
was a possible outcome.

Speaker 3 (02:30):
And they did it anyway.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
So I mean, these people are greater than any of
us because they truly, truly have something deep within them
that is special. So it was beautiful today to see
President Trump pay tribute, and it's beautiful to see Commander
in Chief back at the Helm, who's putting our military first.
I think, whether you're in the military or not in
the military, you have military family members or you don't,
you want to see our troops be put first above

(02:53):
all else. Those are the people who ensure that everything
else can fall into line in our society can continue
how it continues on a day in and day out basis.
So President Trump today's striking a serious cord. He was solemn,
he was serious, he was paying tribute. And I think
the greatest thing about, you know, having President Trump back
of the helm is that he gives our troops and

(03:15):
the families of our troops the assurance that we're only
going to go to war if we need to. We're
not gonna fight a forever war. We're not going to
have senseless death. We can honor those who died in
the line of duty to preserve what needed to be
done to preserve our country. But going forward, we can
make sure that our troops in our military are honored
by having strength, dignity, and that there is care for them,

(03:38):
and that they're so strong that nobody's gonna want to
mess with us.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
Bo. So a beautiful tribute today.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
It always gets me when I see, you know, the
reef laying at the tomb of the unknown Soldier. There's
a sense of pride that every American should feel because
these are the people who allow us to live our
day in and day out lives so normally not thinking
about these things. They think about it every day, and
they're really special people.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Families are amazing too.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Yeah, the gold Star families have been mentioned all day today,
and I think that's important, Mike, that something that often
gets lost in our conversation. We focus on those soldiers
who lost their lives and many of them will never
meet That's what they said today. We don't even know
their stories. But who do they leave behind? A wife? Children?

Speaker 4 (04:17):
You know.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
President Trump honored several people there today whose ancestors or
whose husbands or whose fathers had actually lost their lives,
and I want to bring those to everyone's attention. That
one of them was Elroy Harworth, who was in the
US Air Force in Vietnam and Dan Nang. He was
with Operation Carolina Moon. He never met his son, but
Troy Harworth, his son, was present actually today and President

(04:40):
Trump honored him and recognized him. Corporal Ryan McGee who
was in the US Army. He was in Afghanistan in Iraq.
He was twenty one years old and he lost his
life over there, and his mom, Sherry, was present today
as well as Shannon Kent that was also a US
Navy veteran who was in Syria and lost her life
due to a suicide bomber. She had two children who

(05:01):
were present there today. And I think it's important, Mike,
that we remember those gold Star families because again, these
families that get bereft by a soldier who maybe only
in their early twenties, and you have to think about
the lives that are left behind. Even JD. Vance talked
about their stories and the unspoken moments that the silence.
It's not just the silence at the table, it's the

(05:22):
silence that continues. And so we have to remember the
families of those who have lost. And I'm sure, Mike
you probably know some families who have lost those service
members that are over there. So just reflect, if you would,
in a bit about the fact that yes, we honor
the fallen today, but while that stands as their legacy today,
what is left in terms of the burden upon the

(05:43):
families of those falling?

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Well, I mean, you know, I think it was jd
Vance who said it is that the things that you know,
us folks who are not serving the country or don't have,
you know, members of the military who passed on at service.
I think Jad Vants was saying, listen about it. Thanksgivings, birthdays, Sunday.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Dinners with your family.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
These are things that you know, we all do as
Americans day in and day out, and we don't think
about it. But for the people who are the gold
Star families, they're not going to be able to share
those moments.

Speaker 3 (06:15):
And it's the I believe it was.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
The quote was it was the little moments that make
a good life or something along those lines that Katie
Van said, those are the things that those family members
don't have anymore. So you know, they are not able
to have those moments with their family members. They're not
able to have, you know, those Sunday dinners or those Thanksgivings,
or those birthdays and whenever those holidays come and go,

(06:38):
year in and year out for the lives of the
gold Star families.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
They have to.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Deal with that, They have to have that weight on them,
and it's clearly an emotional day. So that is why
I have, you know, long said, and I think everybody
you know in the mag of movement president Trump on
down is that these Cold Star families are the most
special people among us, and we should be doing everything
we can to make sure that their lives are or
as comfortable as possible, they get everything they need. You know,
it's not easy, you know, when you lose somebody who

(07:05):
is the emotional financial support system of your entire family,
of your entire world. And not only these families have
to reckon with that day in and day out, but
holidays are particularly difficult for them because they have to
have that emotional weight. So again, I, you know, don't
have any members of the military who passed on, so

(07:25):
I'm not a part of a gold Star family, but
I have the utmost respect for those who do, because
I cannot imagine the strength that is required in order
to persevere year in and year out on all those
holidays that you know, everyday folks you know like me
take for granted. I have just so much respect and
honor for those people, and that is why Memorial Day

(07:46):
is so special. Nothing would happen in our country. The
greatness of what day in and day out is living
in America. It wouldn't happen without these people that were
not willing to say I'm going to sign up to
protect the ideals that are America and I'm willing to
give my life for it. Just if you're out there,
think about and just stop for a minute and just
internalize what kind of person it takes to do that

(08:08):
and sign up for that as a very very special person.
Bow and their families who you know, support them doing that.
Those are very special people. We'll never know. If you're
not one of those people, I don't think we'll ever
truly know the strength of them. It is an honor
to be able to honor them today here on the air.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
Yeah, Mike, you're looking at pictures. They're also of Arlington
National Cemetery. For this Memorialdaz special that I did today,
I got to go to South Florida National Cemetery and
you're just and if you've ever been to Arlington before,
and I'm sure many of our viewers have, it's just
the landscape is vast in terms of all those white graves,
and you just this solemnity, this reverence hits you of

(08:45):
each stone represents a person and a legacy and a story.
Stories we don't know, stories we will probably never know,
but that story represents a legacy because we're the recipients
of this right. I mean, the gift of freedom is
one that has been so gracefully handed to us. And
this goes back to the American Revolution that President Trump mentioned,
It goes back to the Civil War. And we can

(09:06):
even later on the show get into some of the
history of Memorial Day and why it's so important and
why the families of Civil War lost on both Union
and Confederate side. The women wanted to honor those people.
They didn't even have a day for it. It was called
Decoration Day back at that time, and then it became
Memorial Day. And you know, seeing our Secretary of Defense,
Mike Pete Hegsett speak very very nobly and reverently about

(09:29):
the stories of the unknown that they went to hell
and back, and I thought this stuck out to me. Mike,
a soldier goes over to battle not because of what
he hates, but because of what he loves. What do
you think about that?

Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yes, well, I thought Secretary of Defense Pete Exset was met,
you know, extremely warmly by the crowd. And you know,
anywhere I go and I see footage of Secretary Hegset,
I mean, there seems to be a rejuvenation, you know,
with our military. Obviously people are upscided of recruitment is
now back at an all time high. And it really
was amazing bo to see the way that the stage

(10:03):
was set, to see the way that Pete Haggset was
out there connecting with the folks in the crowd.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
I think that for the first time in years.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
You know, the people out there who who were part
of the military communities, who are goal star families, who
are together, you know, who are obviously you know of
other members of family who are active duty. I think
that they've been looking for somebody who is genuinely going
to get up there and not read words on a prompter,
but feel the words in which they espouse and in
which they talk about.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
And I think you can feel the fact that Secretary Headset, JD.

Speaker 2 (10:37):
Van's, Vice President Vance and President Trump feel the words
as they're being spoken.

Speaker 3 (10:42):
They feel it.

Speaker 2 (10:43):
They resonate with it, and I think that that is
something that again we look to the beginnings of time
and where we've gone as a.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Society and where we're going.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
I think that gold star families, at the end of
the day, because they're so strong, because they're so selpfless,
they want the future, you know, to look as strong
as possible. And honoring the military and honoring military families
who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
You know, that is ensuring that, you know, we're.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Able to put our best foot forward for the future
and bring honor and pride, you know, back to what
it means to be a serviceman or service woman.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
I took a two of the Unknown.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
Soldier when when Secretary Hexseth was talking about that, he said,
you know, very plainly, you know, these people we don't
even really know, you know, who they are or where
they come from, or their color or their creed. But
what we do know is, and you hit it perfectly,
bo is that they went and they fought for the
same ideas they fought for what they wanted to defend,

(11:39):
now for what they hate, as you said, perfectly, for
what they wanted to defend, and preserve and that's an
amazing thing. And you know, if you look back in
the history of time around the world, nobody has anything
like this. I mean, there is no prevailing constitutional republic
that has existed for this long, you know, in the
modern era. And you say, well, how is it the

(12:00):
fact that you know, other democracies or whatever you want
to call them around the world last an average of
twenty years, thirty years. They come and they go, how
is it that the United States of America is persevered
so long? And it's because we have an ingrained spirit,
you know, in people who serve our country that cannot
be replicated, It cannot be duplicated. It is today that

(12:21):
we hear their stories, hear about their legacy, celebrate what
they've done, remember them.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
It is days like today.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
Then you could sit back, if you're you know, together
with family, you could sit back and say, Wow, this
is why we are able to exist in the two
hundred and fiftieth year of this country. This is why
it's a very special thing that I think is kind
of lost on the everyday person, is that we've been
able to do this for two hundred and fifty years.
And at the cornerstone of that are these folks and

(12:50):
their families and the words that are being spoken to
and the ideals that are being shared and the stories
that are being shared today.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Both yeah, well said Mike. I mean, America is an ideal.
It once was just a dream. It was just a
whisper of a dream. Nobody knew that it would exist.
And you mentioned it. Well, we talked about the tomb
of the unknown soldier. What is unknown before those who
are known are known today. We should do it more.
We should do it three hundred and sixty five days
a year, if we're up to me. I don't think
it should just be.

Speaker 5 (13:16):
On one day.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
You know, we give all these you know, social ideas
a whole month. Why not have an entire year of
celebrating those who came before us? Because it weren't for them,
we could not have this holiday today. Those that are
enjoying the beach, a barbecue, a backyard, those freedoms that
we are afforded today came because of who came before us.
With that note, we'll take a quick break and we'll
be right back. Welcome back to our special coverage here

(14:09):
right on America's Voice, Real America's Voice, Our Memorial Day
coverage and this very special event, this very special day
in which we honor the fallen and remember their sacrifice.
And something that's often lost in a day like today
or can be is the lives of everyone who came
before us. And those are people obviously are soldiers, but
also those who do this on a daily basis. And

(14:30):
someone who really understands what's at stake when it comes
to defending our country from enemies foreign and domestic is
Ben Bergwam. An ben Bergwam who focuses on the border.
He sees it every day. He knows the perils, he
knows the dangers. And so Ben, I want to bring
you in today and thank you for being with us,
and just first of all, just to open it up
kind of what a day like today means to you

(14:52):
given kind of all that you've seen and witnessed.

Speaker 6 (14:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (14:56):
Well, I had the honor of watching President Trump today
and as well as when he was at West Point.
And you know, you think about Mike's comments in your
comments before this is you think about where we're at
today and where we could have been. And I think
President Trump's point when he said he you know, it's

(15:19):
God's hand it's God's providence in this He but for
the twenty twenty election, he wouldn't be here right now
being able to celebrate two hundred and fifty years.

Speaker 5 (15:28):
And to me, it comes down to three things.

Speaker 7 (15:31):
It's the freedom that we have. It all rests on
the foundation, First on God and our understanding as a nation.
All of the blessings that we have comes from God,
the God of the Bible, Jesus, and the understanding of
our founders that those freedoms can't be taken away from those,

(15:51):
they can't be taken from us. We're a representative republic,
a constitutional republic, and thank god we had founders that
understood and wrote it down that our freedoms can't be
taken We're not a democracy that right now today we
get freedom and tomorrow we don't. But those freedoms are
under attack and every generation has to fight that. And

(16:13):
the two other places that that freedom rests on are
the sacrifices. First of those that we honor today, those
that have gone before us and died, those that paid
the ultimate sacrifice for those freedoms.

Speaker 5 (16:26):
That we have.

Speaker 7 (16:27):
But then there's a sacred responsibility of those of us
who live and who haven't sacrificed, who haven't served, to
support those who have and who do. And so to
everybody who's watching this, whether you served or not, we
honor those who died today. But it's really a critical
it's a third part of that trifecta that we have

(16:48):
our freedoms from first from God, then from those who sacrificed,
and then from you, the people, the citizens of this nation,
who wake up and do what you can to preserve
those freedoms, to protect those freedoms as simple things as voting.
And you know, you mentioned I'd get to do what
I do. Everything I get to do. The fact that
I get to be home with my family today and

(17:09):
and kiss my girls, and kiss my wife, and and
you know, travel the country and travel the world and
really live a blessed life is because of the sacrifice,
first of Christ and then of those who came before us.
And I get to work with some amazing people, not
just on this network. You've got you know, Steve Bannon,
all of the veterans that are on this network, Jack

(17:31):
Kasobic and the rest of the veterans on this network,
but also the veterans on our show Law on Boorder.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Dave Bray, USA,
just an amazing scout sniper marine who now is the
voice of our show Law on Border. And you know,
he's just an amazing patriot who loves this country. He's
actually outperforming today, performs every Memorial Day, performs every opportunity

(17:53):
he gets, and and guys like that, to me, are
the ones that you know, we live up Today. We
obviously honor those who've lost, and the President Trump's speech,
the biggest part of it to me were those children.
And I get to see my kids, My kids get
to see me. Those kids don't get to see their

(18:13):
fathers or their mothers. That's who we honor today.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
Ben, I want to focus on one element of what
President Trump said because we and I appreciate you mentioning
the children that were there, because you're right. I'm a
new father myself, and I can't imagine not seeing my
son grow up. But President Trump, I wasn't sure if
he was going to make his speech and insert any politics,
if you will, and I shouldn't say it was political necessarily,
but he said we had a hard four years, and

(18:37):
he got applause from that, and he said the border
was left unchecked. So Ben, if you would kind of
tie this into Memorial Day and who we honor today
and the fact that our country is now a safer
place as a result of policy that was put in
place that completely defied what the last four years permitted
in and is I think about the two people who
lost their lives at the Israeli the event. You know,

(19:00):
just outside of Washington, d c. Our country is always
under attack ideologically, religiously, economically, So speak to that if
you would, just in terms of the border and what
you see why what he said was important in terms
of defending ourselves.

Speaker 7 (19:14):
Well, it's critical our nation. Every generation has this fight.
And again, whether you serve in the military or you
serve as a citizen of this country, and you do
your civic duties and you go out and you represent
the nation, and you uphold the values of this nation,
and you honor those who sacrificed as veterans and sacrificed
their lives. We go out and do that, and you
look at the divide in our country and everything is political.

(19:37):
You know, you know, people say I don't want to
get political. Everything is political. Everything has a divide. Whether
you're going down one track or another or multiple tracks.
And we went from four years of our country being
intentionally destroyed from within.

Speaker 5 (19:50):
We have enemies from without.

Speaker 7 (19:52):
We will always have foreign adversaries that want to do
us harm, that want to increase themselves and diminish our country.
But the fact that we have enemies within our own
nation now, and we've always had that as well.

Speaker 5 (20:04):
You know, it's hard to say at.

Speaker 7 (20:06):
What generation or what point period of time we had more,
but I would say, you look at the communist movement
in America, you look at the leftist movement, the jihadist
movement in America. To have politicians who are supposed to
represent the constitution and the citizens of this nation intentionally
invite an invasion into our country, it's really unprecedented and

(20:27):
it's criminal. And you compare that the four years of
Joe Biden and what we had and the destruction of
America to President Trump, and I mean, I just keep saying,
thank God, thank God, we have a reprieve. But again,
this all comes down to the citizens of this nation.
We have a reprieve now for at least two years

(20:48):
with President Trump, but in order to preserve this nation,
it comes down to not just every two years, every
four years of voting. It comes down to every day
choosing liberty, choosing freedom, choosing to stand up when you
see something that's wrong. And again, you know, my focus
being on the border, I saw it every single day.

Speaker 5 (21:08):
We were able to highlight it.

Speaker 7 (21:09):
Thank God for networks like Real America's Voice, our owner
Rob zigg and being able to give us that voice
in that platform, giving us an opportunity to tell the
truth that the other networks weren't telling. And I think
that was a big part of redirecting the trajectory.

Speaker 5 (21:25):
Of this nation. Had we not had that, if God.

Speaker 7 (21:28):
Forbid, we're in a parallel universe and Kamala Harris had
won the election, I don't know how much longer our
country would last. And you know, you guys were talking
about it in the last segment. The democracy, the representative
republic that we have, these countries are very fragile.

Speaker 5 (21:46):
In the course of history. The length of time that.

Speaker 7 (21:50):
A republic lasted, that a good government lasted is very short.

Speaker 5 (21:54):
Tyranny always is at the doorstep.

Speaker 7 (21:56):
Trying to get in, and it is at our not
just at our doorstep, inside our country today, and that's
the battle that we face.

Speaker 5 (22:03):
So I look at I thank God for the reprieve
that we have, but I really look.

Speaker 7 (22:07):
At twenty twenty six, twenty twenty eight and going forward
and our education system raising up the next generation.

Speaker 5 (22:13):
That's partly why we homeschool our kids.

Speaker 7 (22:15):
But to those that don't, you have to be involved
in your kids' schools, You have to be involved in
your local community. You have to start preaching freedom and
liberty and God's freedom and liberty that where our rights
come from to save this nation. And every single generation
has that fight. We just happened to be in it
right now.

Speaker 8 (22:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
And I want to bring Mike Crispy back into this
conversation as well. And Mike, I'd like to touch on
something that Ben said earlier talking about how this country
was based upon a Judeo Christian foundation. We do have
a SOT. I want to play of Secretary defense Pete
Hegseth when he defended hosting a Christian prayer service at
the Pentagon. I think that sought six guys, if you
can play that real quick.

Speaker 9 (22:55):
The question is I've got some criticism for hosts to
a Christian prayer service the Pentagon. Yesterday we said it
very publicly, we said it very proudly. Appealing to Heaven
to God is a long standing tradition in our military.
I'm very proud that we're starting a monthly voluntary service
at the Pentagon. George Washington was on bended knee with

(23:18):
the troops praying for God's providence and protection in that moment.
Chaplains and ministers and Christians and people of faith across
generations have prayed because of the business that we're in.

Speaker 1 (23:32):
So, Mike, how interesting is it that our Secretary of
Defense gets criticized for merely appealing to the divine, which
has been done since the beginning of our country.

Speaker 3 (23:42):
Let me tell you something.

Speaker 2 (23:43):
There are obviously bad actors right now who are within
our government, who are the deep State, who are President
Trump is battling every single day, who we see every
single day facilitating the southern border invasion that Ben Berkwam
covers so brilliantly, the fact that these people despise America
and everything that was built on. You have these globalist

(24:05):
forces who don't like the country, who are opening up
the floodgates for illegals to pour in. They don't want
America to be America, and the pillar, the cornerstone of
America is that.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
We are based on these Christian values.

Speaker 2 (24:19):
We were built as a Christian country, Christian country, and
that is the only way in which our country can continue.
The ideals and the way in which people were raised,
in the way in which people went about their lives,
and the way in which they you know, really instilled
and implemented the values that they saw to be the
most important in their lives for success. These values are

(24:40):
getting attacked day in and day out. And while the
left does LGBTQ poetry, slam night back on the Davy
ships when they were at the helm, or you know,
doing celebrations of drag shows and other perverse things in
military facilities on military basis, on millitaryships, It's amazing to

(25:01):
me how Pete hetch that just brings back what was
done again over the last two hundred and forty nine
years to make this country great. And they criticize them
for it, and they criticize them for it because they
want the greatness of Americans to be ripped down. It
is an unfortunate reality. And I'll say one more thing
about you know, Memorial Day, and when I talk to
people who serve this country, who fortunately are still alive

(25:25):
to talk about their service. They always say the same thing,
I cannot believe. I never thought in my life it
would come to this, or we'd be so on the
brink of losing it all where we'd have people who
are running the country again the last four years under
the Biden regime, not an administration, but a regime, people
who were so intent on ripping it down, who are

(25:45):
doing things that are just so against again the Judeo
Christian values that built the country, just so against common
sense and law and order and securing our border and
you know, keeping the things and the christ centered ideals
that made our country our country. They're so outwardly and
overtly against it. You go, how do these people hate
the country? And the servicemen and women who are still

(26:08):
around who you can speak to about this, they always say,
I cannot believe it. This isn't what I fought and
almost died in many cases, and my friends died in
many cases to protect.

Speaker 3 (26:19):
They've been astonished by it.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
And I think, you know, American military, if you look
at the troops, overwhelmingly servicemen and women veterans. They voted
in a mandate for President Trump, and they overwhelmingly support
what Secretary Pete he accept is doing. And that tells
you everything you need to know. The best of us,
the people who put it all on the line, and
the gold Star families who gave it all, the ones

(26:42):
that were celebrating today, those folks are with President Trump.
Because President Trump and his entire administration and his cabinet,
they keep the ideals that built this country, particularly the
centeredness in Christ. They keep that first and foremost. And
that's why our troops back them. And tells us Bo
and Ben, it tells us everything we need to know.

Speaker 1 (27:03):
Yeah, and Ben put a book ind on this for
us because as we think about the Judeo Christian values
that just got attacked, as Pete hag Seth hosted a
prayer event there and what Mike was just talking about
in terms of where our military was over the last
four years. Rachel Levine, you know, taxpayer funded transgender surgeries.
I don't think that's the best among us. I don't

(27:24):
think that's as good as it gets. Army says, be
all you can be. I don't think that's what we're
talking about, is it.

Speaker 5 (27:31):
Yeah, that's.

Speaker 7 (27:34):
Get the difference, the contrast between where we were and
where we are and the trajectory that that we're on now,
and you can't avoid it. This was a nation that
was heading towards suicide. This was a nation that was
heading towards self destruction. And now we are a nation
that's once again on the path towards liberty and freedom.

(27:55):
But this all comes back again to what happens going
forward twenty twenty six, twenty twenty eight and the people.

Speaker 5 (28:01):
Of this nation.

Speaker 7 (28:02):
That's why you see the attacks so heavy on President Trump.
That's why you see the attacks so heavy on DOGE
and all these other agencies of the government now that
are working to uncover the corruption, uncover the waste, and
working to protect those same.

Speaker 5 (28:17):
People that were brought in illegally.

Speaker 7 (28:18):
You have enemies within our nation that are working to
protect them, attacking ice and attacking the heroes of this nation,
attacking our military and attacking God. That's the divide that
we're in right now, and that should be our focus
going forward. If you honor this country, if you love
this country, if you want to protect this country, that's
what you're protecting. You're protecting the ability of this nation

(28:39):
to defend itself and to be the beacon of light
that it's been for the generations coming up on two
hundred and fifty years this year that we've been to
the world. That's what we fight for, and that's what
we have to continue to fight for. We can never
rest or else we'll lose it.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Yeah, absolutely, Ben, and I think that we talk about
You've said it so succinctly, is something we have to
think about more today. Is the enemy within. Because we
are lucky enough to live in a relative peace time
where we don't face the bullets and bombs that we
used to, so we live in relative peace. But when
you have a tax from within, that's more insidious because
America is an ideal that you have to preserve. So
I think it's important to recognize that enemy within. We

(29:15):
can talk about China, I mean, there's always going to
be time to talk about foreign policy and those who
want to see us fail militarily, but the enemy from
within is just as important, if not more important, And
that's why it's important for us to pass this education
and legacy onto our next generation, which I personally feel for.
I know, Ben, with you and your kids, you probably do,
but you're a wonderful father who educates them in the

(29:36):
right ways. But I'm concerned. I'm concerned, Mike and Ben
about the next generation and on a day like today,
as everyone's out there having their barbecue and grilling their burgers,
that they don't really understand what's at stake.

Speaker 7 (29:52):
Well, And that's why it's our job to educate them.
That's why it's our job to stand up. That's why
it's our job to broadcast this. And we haven't talked to,
you know, much about other media outlets out there that.

Speaker 5 (30:04):
Weren't doing their job.

Speaker 7 (30:05):
And the reason we exist and why it's so important
is our friend Lance Walna, who's part of Real America's Voice.
He talks about the seven pillars of society, the seven
mountains of society. And it's one thing to blame politics,
it's one thing to blame representatives.

Speaker 5 (30:18):
But we have a part to play in that.

Speaker 7 (30:19):
The media has a part to play in that, the
citizens have a part to play in that education. If
you're a private business owner, every single person has a
part to play in both the Kingdom of God and
the Kingdom on earth. Down here, we pray God's Kingdom
come as will be done.

Speaker 5 (30:33):
On earth as it is in heaven.

Speaker 7 (30:35):
But we have a part to play in our own government,
in our own society, and each one of us if
we don't call again, call that out where it is,
where you see it, be willing to stand up, stand
even if you stand alone. We're going to lose it
for our children, for us, for our children, for the
next generation. And once you lose it in America, you're
exactly right. Bo you know anything, and there, We're always

(30:56):
going to have enemies from without.

Speaker 5 (30:58):
There is no government on this earth.

Speaker 7 (31:01):
There is no adversary on this earth that can defeat
this nation. When this nation stands united on the pillars
that made this country, on God as our foundation, and
as we can when we come together as one people,
one nation under God, when we fight together for those
values that made this country to begin with, that have
sustained it, that have made it great, there is no
other adversary that can defeat us. But when we have

(31:23):
enemies within our own country, with our on our own government,
who are working to defeat us, that is the biggest
threat that we face, and we've got to stay focused
on that. We've got to continue to fight that every
single day, expose it, and my prayer got people like
Cash Betel and the FBI, some amazing patriots out there.
My prayer is that we can expose it, we can
confront it, we can prosecute it, and we can rid

(31:45):
it out of this nation and continue to do that
every single day, every single year going forward, as long
as we're on this earth.

Speaker 4 (31:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (31:54):
Well, thank you, Ben, and thank you for all your
hard work on the border, and and it's we have
this blessing and thank you for all that you do.
Been so right. We're in a spiritual warfare as well,
and I want to leave the viewers with just a
thought something to think about as we go to break something.
Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Edmund B. Whitman stated in eighteen sixty eight.
Think of that date. He said that nation which respects

(32:15):
and honors it's dead shall ever be respected and honored itself.
We've got to be worthy of that nation that we
have received. Think about that and we'll be back in two.

Speaker 10 (32:25):
And God bless American.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
And welcome back to Real America's voice in our very
special coverage today of Memorial Day to day when we
reflect and revere the fallen and honor their sacrifice President
Trump spoke at West Point, delivered a commencement address there
over the weekend, and I'd like to play a quick clip
there and talk with Mike on the other side of it.

Speaker 5 (32:59):
But we're all celebrating.

Speaker 11 (33:01):
The only country that wasn't celebrating was the United States
of America. And I said, isn't it amazing? We were
the ones that won the war and we were helped.
We were helped in some cases we had to help them,
but we were helped by some of the nations, and
we were struggling, helped by a couple of them.

Speaker 3 (33:22):
But every one of them was celebrated.

Speaker 11 (33:24):
They had victory Day. They called it Victory Day in Europe,
Victory Day all over and we weren't even thought about.
Nobody had a victory Day. And so I named that
special day and another special day from now on as
a holiday, but a holiday where we work, because we

(33:44):
don't have enough days. We're going to be having so
many holidays.

Speaker 3 (33:47):
We're not going to be able to work anymore.

Speaker 11 (33:50):
But I named it for World War two and a
separate day in November, as you know.

Speaker 5 (33:57):
For World War One.

Speaker 11 (33:59):
I said, you know, these countries that participated in the
war are celebrating. But the greatest country of them all,
and the country that won the war nobody even talked about.
And so we're going to be talking about it too
from now on, and I think you'll appreciate it. We
won the First World War, we won the Second World War,

(34:20):
and you know where we won them from, right here
at West Point.

Speaker 5 (34:24):
West Point won the war. You won two World.

Speaker 11 (34:28):
Wars and plenty of other things, but you were thinking
of it.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
We don't want to have a third World War. But
we won the First World War.

Speaker 11 (34:38):
We won the Second World War right here from West Point,
and that's something, and we're going to be talking about it.

Speaker 3 (34:44):
You know, they can talk about it.

Speaker 11 (34:46):
And in some cases, as you know, they didn't do
too much to help. They were ground down, but they
were celebrating victory. Now we're going to celebrate victory because
we're the ones that won that war.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
And in just about thirty minutes or so, we will
be giving you live coverage of the Memorial Day Parade
which is happening in Washington, d c. Our very own
Steve Ruber is there and he'll give us an inside
look and first hand account. But Mike, want to bring
you back in just to reflect upon these words of
President Trump at the Military Academy in West Point. You know,
he speaks about how we won World War One and
World War Two, and I'm sure anybody that's listening probably

(35:22):
knows you've heard that. Someone say, you know, if it
wasn't for us, you'd be speaking German. And that's true.
And this whole notion of President Trump being a nationalist,
like that's a bad thing. If we weren't as exceptional
and brilliant as we were militarily, we would be speaking
a different language. And I don't think it's so bad
if we take a little bit of a victory lap
every now and then honor the fact that we won

(35:43):
World War one and two and we still are leading
really peacefully, peace through strength.

Speaker 2 (35:48):
What do you think, Mike, Well, you know President Trump
said it right there. He said, why are these other
countries celebrating their victory and having these victory days? Everyone
who did less than us, And we're not celebrating ourselves
to the most. So I think something very big about
President Trump. I've been following this guy and covering him

(36:08):
for ten years now, since twenty fifteen. The guy always said,
I want to be as the president of the United States.
He used to say this, I want to be the
biggest cheerleader for our nation. And that is past president
and future. The president's job is to promote the exceptionalism
of the nation in which he is the leader of.
If you think about it in a business lens, you know,

(36:30):
President Trump was the head of the Trump Organization, and
he's promoting his brands.

Speaker 3 (36:33):
And stuff like that.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
Now he's in the promotion of America. And Trump looks
at it as a nationalist, as a man who truly
loves the country, and he goes, why is it For
the last number of decades, nobody is learning about this stuff.
Nobody's celebrating in our children, okay, who were part of
the next generation, who haven't lived through any wartime. The
children of our society right now, they don't even know

(36:56):
about the heroism and the unbelievable feats of their forefathers, grandfather's,
great grandfathers. It's not remembered and it's not talked about.
And if you don't remember and talk about it into
the future, if you don't have a day that sparks
conversation and sparks celebration, then it gets lost. Then in
twenty thirty years, nobody remembers it anymore, and nobody thinks,

(37:18):
oh wow, I'm an American, this is exceptional. I'm proud
to be an American. It's the best country in the world.
That's what people in my generation think. Bo and what
you know, you think and everyone we know. But the
younger generation they're straying from that. You know, you say,
why is the younger generation if you ask them in polling,
you know, they renounce American you know, exceptionalism, and they

(37:40):
want to protest America and all this stuff.

Speaker 3 (37:43):
It's lunacy, but it's by design.

Speaker 2 (37:45):
That is because the bad actors, the globalist, the deep state,
they want to do everything they can to suppress American exceptionalism.
And one of the greatest things I think in President
Trump's legacy for the next fifty years is he came
in and he took the country. He saved country right
at the point where they were taking the death blow
to everything it meant to be an American. Barackusain Obama

(38:06):
undoing American greatness, going on the apology tour, all these
things that were demoralizing to the ethos of Americans and
the troops and Goalstar families saying, is this what we
fought for? President Trump took that, he reversed it. He
made the country great again, and he made great again
the celebration of what it means to be an American.

(38:27):
So that's going to be a very big thing into
the future with our next generation remembering it. That's why
I think bo this new holiday that President Trump has
declared will serve its purpose on and I think it's
brilliant and it's historic.

Speaker 1 (38:40):
Yeah, and here's why it's important, Mike, and I know,
we'll go to the break in just a minute. This
is what I was just thinking about. You know, you
need to celebrate it for the following reason you mentioned
the younger generation. I have concerned about them. What just
happened recently. You have Harvard, you got people saying free Palestine.
You know, they want to have this enchantment with other
areas of the world that they know nothing about, that
America is not so great. So on our elite universities,

(39:02):
we're hearing free Palestine. The next time we heard free Palestine,
two Israeli diplomats are dead. So cause and effect. So
if all these protests are permitted and this sort of
hate speech which then turns into violence. Now we have
a direct correlation. Why because that protest free speech went
into hate speech, which now two Israeli diplomats are dead.
What does that remind you of? Oh, I don't know,

(39:23):
maybe the third Reich Nazism in World War two. So
that's why it's important historically to connect this to that,
because it's little cells of ideology like that that give
rise to people like Adolf Hitler. So I just want
Americans to think about that and why it is important
that we remember who won World War one and two.
That was the United States of America. If it weren't

(39:43):
for our involvement, that wouldn't happened. And if you don't
have a strong America, if you don't have an exceptional America,
the same thing can happen. Again. Let's let our viewers
percolate on that, and we'll be back in just about
two minutes. Welcome back to our special coverage of Memorial Day.

(40:15):
Thank you so much for being with us here at
Real America's Voice. In a big shout out to our
control rooms all across the country. I know Ben Harris
is in the other room with me, helping me get
set up and of course, we want to thank Parker
and Rob Sigg for their continued guidance and leadership. We
will be going to the Memorial Day. It's an annual
event that happens in Washington, d C. Every single year.
I've been fortunate enough to perform in it before. It's

(40:35):
a really special event. Looks like it should be good
weather out there. Steve Ruber is going to be there
to give you the latest. But I also want to
set up this next interview that I did for our
Memorial Day special that's airing later on tonight at seven
pm Eastern. I was able to interview Secretary of Veterans
Affairs at Doug Collins. You may know him because he
was a representative before. He also has been a chaplain
for many many years and continues to remain a chaplain

(40:57):
to our troops, and I really wanted to get into
his head and turn of how he counsel soldiers who
have lost so much. So here is Secretary Veterans Affairs,
Doug Collins. Well, mister Secretary. Firstly, we like to make
the distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but inevitably
Memorial Day operations heavily lean on your department and its
oversight of national cemeteries. First of all, mister Secretary, what

(41:18):
does Memorial Day mean to you personally?

Speaker 12 (41:22):
Well, it means a lot because it means those who
gave is President Lincoln describe a foot last full measure
of devotion to our country.

Speaker 6 (41:29):
They gave all they gave.

Speaker 12 (41:31):
They fulfilled the commitment that they made when they raised
their right hand and said that they were willing to
fight and unfortunately lose their life for this country. I
think it's something that we should never take for granted,
and for me, especially thea we have the distinct privilege
in honor of being from any of those the last
place that they are resting in our cemeteries. But also

(41:53):
you know, it's one of those things, as you said,
we need to very much distinguish between Memorial Day and
Veterans Day. Veterans Day we get to start, we'll celebrate
all who's but on Memorial Day it's a very special
time in which we dedicate our commitment to those that
gave all for this country, to commit to ourselves that
will continue to fight for this country just as they gave.

Speaker 1 (42:11):
Absolutely well, said Sir and mister Secretary. As I mentioned
your department oversees a great degree of the military commemorations
that will happen over Memorial Day. When you look out
at the vast hills of graves at a place like
Arlington National Cemetery, what do you think about.

Speaker 4 (42:26):
I think about the stories.

Speaker 12 (42:28):
I think about the stories behind them, and I think
this is the one thing that I want Memorial Day
to always be about. Is Yes, it's the you know,
we've unfortunately secularized it into the start of summer and
school getting out and everything else. But to those families
who have loved ones, and especially in the last twenty years,
our gy generation who have lost loved ones, you know,
those missing places at the table are still real. Those

(42:50):
missing ball games, for parents who are not seeing their
kids grow up or go to the prom or go
to graduation, those are still very real in their minds.
So for me, it's the stories behind it and just
seeing how normal, average people in America who stepped up
when the nation called gave their life in that service.
So it's just something, you know, I think when you

(43:11):
look at those grave films, when you look at the
the times we all often often say this a lot.
When I've been a pastor now for a number of years,
and I always used to say, it's funerals. You know,
we see a birth and we see a death date
on these stones. But it's not those two dates that
we should remember the most. It's what is in the
middle that we should remember, and that is the dash

(43:31):
or the space in the middle, because that actually represents
the life that was lived.

Speaker 1 (43:35):
The dash is so important. That's absolutely right, mister secretary.
And I actually wrote a song about that, so I'm
so glad you brought that up. You mentioned your work
as a pastor. I'd like to focus for a moment
on your past work as a chaplain to the military.
Soldiers see a great deal of injury and death, and
it has been your job to minister to these individuals.
What do you say to comfort those who have lost
fellow brothers and sisters in battle or on patrol.

Speaker 12 (43:58):
Well, I think it's a matter of how each your
dealing with it. Some people will, you know, go inside themselves.
They'll just internalize it. They don't want to talk about it.
You know, you need to get those people to a
place in which they're not hindering themselves or hurting themselves
by bottling up too much. You got some who are
very emotional. I think one of the biggest questions I've
always gotten in over the years, not only in the
Cevian pastor, but also in the military and overseas and

(44:20):
deployed was the question of why comes up and it says,
why did this happen? Why did my buddy happen? Why
did she die, or why did this happen? And I
try to turn them to a different question, and it's
not why, but what. Too many times will ask why.
There's not going to be an answer to why, but what?
What do we do now? What after this event can
we do now? What is going to be our next step?

(44:42):
Is where I try them to focus, because too many
times in grief you can get stopped or paralyzed in
the moment. And what I'm trying to do is connect
them to the away from the why, which will take
time to answer, but to the what of what they
can do next.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
That's a great response. I've never thought about it that way,
but people often question why. I I think that's a
reasonable question to have, but the what and what you
do after is incredibly important. Some of those headstones that
we see Sir in cemeteries involved deaths of soldiers to suicide,
while Memorial Day honors those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
How do we create a better country where veterans can

(45:16):
live the rest of their lives without creating headstones much
too soon from suicide.

Speaker 12 (45:21):
Yeah, there's many, many, many of those that are death
by suicide or painful reminders of a long injury that
happened when they were serving. For many of them, and
it was a culmination of not feeling they had hope
or they didn't see any future. We've got to do
a better job of welcoming people. We've got to do
a better job of understanding that PTS and traumatic brain
injury and other things, and just also just a general

(45:44):
you know, nature of being in the military and what
you see and how you go about it is something
that in our society we should actually do more to
just you know, sometimes it's a matter of just talking
to people. It's a matter of a cup of coffee,
it's a matter of saying, hey, I haven't seen you
in a while.

Speaker 6 (45:57):
How you doing.

Speaker 12 (45:58):
So all the veterans out there and all those people
who served, I encourage you, you know, reach out to
your buddies, if you're not talked to him in a while,
get him a call, just say hey, how you doing.
It doesn't have to be a confrontational thing. It's just
keeping up, just as you would when you were in
a unit. Everybody is accounted for. We got to make
sure that our veterans, both civilian, are helpers and those
who have served with each other are making sure nobody's

(46:20):
left behind outside of the military as well.

Speaker 1 (46:23):
Yeah, mister Sigretory was in publics the other day and
I saw a guy who had his Vietnam apparel on,
and I talked to him for a little bit, and
he started talking about Agent Orange. He said, I don't
want to hold you up. I said, no, you're not
holding me up. I mean, if we can't take a
couple of minutes out of our date to talk to
someone like that who endures being spit upon when they
came back, they deserve more than that. So I completely
agree with your sentiment, and I think people need to

(46:43):
get to know veterans more than just saying thank you
for your service. Well, Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Whitman said that
nation which respects and honors it's dead shall ever be
respected and honored itself in your estimation, sir, do we
respect and honor our dead and in turn command respect
and honor ourselves as a nation.

Speaker 12 (47:01):
I think we can always do better, and I think
it's something for those that served, and for those of
us who have lost of them or friends that we
know of, I think is something we can continually strive toward.
It's an interesting part. We are the nation in the
world that does trive. We tried to leave no one behind.
We still remember our POWs and MIAs, which will always
be there until last accounted for. I think those are

(47:22):
the kind of things that we need a reminder of.
But sometimes, look, it is honest, and time will fade
and memories will fade, and it's not as prevalent as
it was maybe a few years ago. But remembering those
in these monuments, remembering these in the cemeteries that you pass,
especially our veterans cemeteries.

Speaker 6 (47:38):
These were folks who.

Speaker 12 (47:39):
Served, many of them died in the action in combat.
They're there because they fought for something bigger than themselves.
And I think that's the bigger reason that we need
to do, is living for those who died.

Speaker 1 (47:54):
Yeah, we can always do better.

Speaker 13 (47:55):
That's for sure.

Speaker 1 (47:56):
It's a secretary. Now that you are running veterans affairs,
has it changed your perspective to oversee that department and
what that means in terms of how we honor our
fallen since even in peacetime we still have service member casualties.

Speaker 4 (48:08):
Oh yeah, yeah, it does.

Speaker 12 (48:10):
I mean, I think it just makes it more personal
to me. I'm often said, and I've had several veterans
talk to me about it. I always talk in terms
of my veterans and my employees here because I personalize it,
because that's for me, makes it very real. So the veterans,
I don't care if you're serviced by the VA or not.
You're still a veteran. You're to me, you fall under
the VA, whether you take our services or not. So

(48:30):
it's very important for me to look at it from
a perspective of how do we continue to engage the
veteran community and engage the veteran family, survivors, caregivers as
we go forward, and especially in the part that you
mentioned and from our National Cemetery Administration where we actually
I love their motto is is we have one chance
to get it right. And for those family members and

(48:50):
loved ones who come to that cemetery for their loved one,
whether they died in service or in active duty, or
they died you know, many many years later, it's still
a very active of giving an act of sacrifice that
they have given to this country and for us, it's
our chance to make sure that that dignity is preserved
and that basically respect for what is done for this

(49:11):
country is never forgotten.

Speaker 1 (49:13):
Yeah, and that's why really the subtitle of this special
is called Remembering the Fallen and Honoring their sacrifice.

Speaker 3 (49:19):
Sir.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
Lastly, if you could impart one sentiment to those who
are watching today in terms of as a nation, how
we should treat Memorial Day and what our thought process
should be like, what would you say.

Speaker 12 (49:31):
For every freedom you have, Memorial Day symbolizes the sacrifice
that some gave for you to have that freedom here
in this country.

Speaker 1 (49:40):
And that's so true. This interview is part of my
special that will air later on tonight at seven pm Eastern.
I just remind those that something that I took away
from interviewing Secretary Collins was as his work as a
chaplain and when he said that, often people ask him
why why did this happen to my buddy, Why did
this happen? I think that anytime someone loses someone too soon,
that's a reasonable question to ask. But he turns that

(50:02):
into a different question, which is what what will you
do next? Because we can't change the past. We can
only change the future. And I know that on a
day like Memorial Day, it's difficult because when you lose
a loved one, especially in an ied in a suicide
bomber attack, and these veterans that are lost might be
so young, in their early twenties, it's difficult because there's
a whole life ahead of them.

Speaker 4 (50:23):
And JD.

Speaker 1 (50:23):
Vance spoke brilliantly about it, the empty seat at the table,
the sum total of all the moments that that soldier lost.
But I think that if you know someone who's struggling
with this today, and I would just encourage you as
they're asking why, to encourage them to ask what can
I do for you? And what can you do next
to change the trajectory of your own life and those

(50:45):
who come after you.

Speaker 14 (50:46):
We'll be right back, Comrod this Saints first time, last
time that a ride right ride, no death that stream

(51:09):
out game.

Speaker 15 (51:10):
Yeah back now just do it.

Speaker 16 (51:13):
To stop the song show, the same Mabbage lo, same
mobbage roadio, the same an.

Speaker 6 (51:30):
This rodeo.

Speaker 1 (51:42):
And that's a live looking right now at the Memorial
Day Parade, which is an annual event in Washington, d C.
I've had the good fortune of being right there on
that same street performing as well, and I've got to
tell you it's a huge honor. It's a special event.
It's a wonderful event as we remember the fallen and
honor their sacrifice. And joining me now is the CEO
of your American Flag Store dot com, James Stockey. James's

(52:05):
company makes hangable wooden flags. They're actually very beautiful. We
have one here in our studio and they have a
bunch of collections, including the Christian flag collection, a patriotic
collection of course, a Second Amendment collection, and they also
have a Memorial Day flag art set. James, thanks so
much for being with us today.

Speaker 13 (52:23):
Thanks for having me. I appreciate it well.

Speaker 1 (52:25):
James, tell us first a little bit about your business
and how you started it, because I'm always interested. I'm
on the musician side of art, but for you on
the actually artistic side of art and bringing these flags
to life. What made you do it.

Speaker 17 (52:37):
Actually it was my wife and I six year old
son at the time, about eight years ago. He came
into our garage when we were having a sporting event
at our house and pitched me and my buddies on
an idea where his dad, me is a carpenter, and
his mom being an artist, would collaborate together create wood
American flags. He and I would make them together, and

(52:58):
his idea was that my wife and my daughter would
team up to do some of the artwork on the
flags together. We did, and as soon as we put
them online and started kind of sharing them, the business
took off. Within two years, we were able to get
out of California and move here to Tennessee, and you know,

(53:21):
literally we were living the American dream off this idea
that our son had. And about three months after we
moved here to Tennessee, that's when the well, the last
administration took office.

Speaker 13 (53:33):
And within a day or two of that, on.

Speaker 17 (53:37):
January January seventh, twenty twenty one, we were canceled.

Speaker 1 (53:43):
All right, tell me about that, James, because this is
an interesting thing that probably most people washing wouldn't know.
They'd say, wow, this is a family affair, a great event,
A way to bring the family together, create art. How
in the world did PayPal freeze your funds and your
business e commerce account and Facebook and these other social
media counts are canceling. What happened?

Speaker 17 (54:02):
Well, you know, I mean I wish I think that
they can just do whatever they want. These big tech
companies don't really operate by any rules. They really are
running their business in a gray area and.

Speaker 4 (54:16):
Through it all.

Speaker 17 (54:16):
What happened was that we had a customer ask us
to make a very custom flag of President Trump. We
did the customer, we shipped out to the customer. The
customer took a picture of it, posted it on social
media and tagged us in it. And when they tagged
us in it, Facebook picked it up our on their
algorithms and just started They deleted. I mean they deleted

(54:38):
our not just our you'd expect for a Second Amendment
flag to be canceled, but they didn't stop there. They
canceled not only our Trump flags and our Second Amendment flags,
which were obvious targets, but they canceled our Christian Cross flags.
They canceled our military flags, our first responder flags, our
melting Pot flag, which is a fifty to fifty flag

(54:59):
for immigrants that come here legally, do it the right way.
We make those families a flag so that the kids
growing up in those home can see, you know, the
pride that their family has.

Speaker 13 (55:09):
In all of their heritage.

Speaker 17 (55:11):
So to cancel a company like ours, you know, we're
a Christian family.

Speaker 13 (55:16):
We work our butts off.

Speaker 17 (55:17):
My wife and I rarely get.

Speaker 13 (55:20):
A minute away from this business.

Speaker 17 (55:22):
To have it all kind of taken from us. And
the worst thing was PayPal took over one hundred thousand
dollars of our money, held it for three hundred and
sixty I'm sorry, three hundred and eleven days. And at
the very end they when through our lawyer, Harmeitt Dillon
and the Center for American Liberty, they communicated to us

(55:43):
that they were willing to give us back our money,
but we had to sign a non disclosure agreement. Would
never be able to talk about them taking our money
for almost a year and almost bankrupting us. So we
did not sign that non disclosure agreement, which is why
I'm allowed to talk to it today, talk about it today,
and uh, you know, we're still we're still pushing forward,
trying to build our business back to what it was

(56:05):
before we were canceled.

Speaker 13 (56:06):
But these companies are relentless.

Speaker 17 (56:08):
We also we also have a legislation here in Tennessee
that would make it illegal for these companies to do
what they did to our family to do it to
other family. Anybody who owns a business, they know that
every single sale is a blessing when it's a family
business being. You know, when when another family buys from us,

(56:30):
these are all we we need every single sale to
make it. And uh when when these companies all I'm
not going to say the collaborate, but they all know
what each other is doing, so in in in essence,
they'll shut down your banking, they'll shut down your advertising,
they'll pull down your website, and all kind of act like,

(56:51):
you know, hey, you know, we're just trying to protect
the community, when really what they're trying to do is
destroy family businesses. And here's a little fact that comes
along with that is that about everyone knows that roughly
fifty percent of families get divorced. What people don't know
is that about sixty percent of families who own a business,
when the business fails, that family ends up in a

(57:13):
divorce and a broken home and the kids end up
paying the price. So when these social media companies and
so called banking institutions like PayPal put their thumb on
this scale and really destroy a family business, they're not
destroying the only the business. Over sixty percent of the time,
they're destroying that family. So that's why my wife and

(57:35):
I have engaged in the legislative process and trying to
get laws to make sure that no family has.

Speaker 13 (57:41):
To go through what we have had to go through
the last four years.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
Well, I'm glad you did. That makes sense. I want
to bring in my colleague Mike Chrispy, who I'm sure
has some questions for you as well. Mike, take it away.

Speaker 2 (57:52):
Yeah, James, it's unbelievable to hear your story. I'm curious.
You know, there's many people out there that have I
think meant, you know, unforced over the last four years,
a similar fate where they get canceled or they get
banned or what have you. They get their debanking you know,
process going through on them, but they give up, they
give up, and then they get crushed. So it sounds

(58:13):
like you obviously didn't do that. You fought back. If
there's anybody out there that over the last four years
got crushed by this, you know, runaway rogue system of justice.
What's your message out there for any small business owners
right now that are maybe on the cusp. How did
you persevere to get through that during those hard times?
Because I'm sure there are people just like you who
just you know, got crushed by the weight of it

(58:35):
and never recovered.

Speaker 3 (58:36):
So what's your message to them?

Speaker 13 (58:38):
A message to them?

Speaker 17 (58:39):
Would you know in this life that we live, people
can take away just about everything. They can take your home,
they can take your money, they can they can take
every they can take your business, they can take everything.
But they can't take away is your relationship with God?
And when the times were the worse for my wife
and I, that's where we turned. And when we did,

(58:59):
it's seemed like our life really started to change. Our
our luck, which you know, I don't really like using
that word. I think that it's more of a blessing.
When when we pray, God listens and God answered our prayer.
One of those prayers was uh being here on Real
America's Voice when we first went on She's Too.

Speaker 13 (59:19):
Actually, I got a message from social.

Speaker 17 (59:21):
Media today that it was two years ago today that
our first hit aired on Real America's Voice. So I
thank you all for that that on that uh interview,
the Real America's Voice.

Speaker 13 (59:36):
I mean, i'd call them an army. Their audience is
an army.

Speaker 17 (59:39):
When they found our business was struggling, we were being attacked,
we got an overwhelming outpour of support and calls and
emails and messages on social media.

Speaker 13 (59:49):
One of those.

Speaker 17 (59:50):
Turned out to be a guy who lives out in
Arizona and he's a he's a very smart businessman. He
actually reached out to us and said, you know what's
going on with your business. We told them that, you know,
they're just they're capital starving us. And he said, you
know what, I'm going to buy ten percent of your
business to get you guys back in your feast bridge
this gap, get you guys back into a good workflow.

(01:00:11):
And that would never have happened without Real America's Voice.
So I would say, not only prayer, but get involved
in groups and start being around people that are like minded,
and build your new network inside of those networks, like
the Real American Voice audience.

Speaker 3 (01:00:31):
That's amazing. Yeah, pretty unbelievable. That's unbelievable, Sorry, Bell.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
Yeah, you know it's okay, and it's a testament to
the rav army. You're a hundred percent right two years ago.
What a blessing to be able to come on here,
tell your story and to have that remedied. I want
to go back for a moment just on this issue
about why PayPal and these others did this. You mentioned
that they shut down your Christian flag as well, and
Harmeat Dillitt got involved. Harmit's great she understands all the

(01:00:55):
legislative and legal implications, and even your melting pot flag,
there's nothing wrong with that. I'm curious, even with the
Christian flag that you made, is this not Was this
not an infringement upon your religious liberty? Economically to crush that?
I mean, what was the aftermathod this. I know you
didn't sign the NDA and you got your money back,
but what happened in terms I mean, was was this

(01:01:16):
not a religious case?

Speaker 17 (01:01:18):
It really Again, if we go back to how the
social media platforms work, they really dance between the laws
on whether they're reporting, whether the users are reporting, and
that allows them to really operate into a great area
and get away with what should be a violation of

(01:01:40):
our freedom of religion and our freedom of speech, to
be honest with you, So.

Speaker 13 (01:01:45):
It could be, it should be.

Speaker 17 (01:01:46):
But this is why we need to get involved with
this legislation because the legislation could could create that opportunity
for people in the future. If you're selling, you know,
a Christian product or any religious product for that matter,
you will be protected on the social media platform. But
currently they really do have a way. One advantage that

(01:02:08):
they have is that I learned, and this is a
this is a very hard truth for us to swallow,
was that we definitely had a case and a case
that in any normal court we would probably be you know,
a quick win. But unfortunately Facebook and PayPal are in
Silicon Value in Silicon Valley in California, a place which

(01:02:31):
we left because of the corruption and just the outrageous
corruption that was in California. Well, when you when if
we were to sue either one of those companies, we
would be suing them in the Silicon Value in the
Silicon Valley, in a court of which they have influenced.
And by that what I mean is that they have

(01:02:51):
made donations to political candidates who then have been elected,
who then appoint the judges who then I would be
sitting in front of and HARMEI was very honest with
us and she said, look, we can do it, and
she was willing and able.

Speaker 13 (01:03:06):
To fight for us all the way there.

Speaker 17 (01:03:08):
But she said, James, what's going to happen is that
we're going to spend tens of thousands, if not hundreds
of thousands of dollars to get you there. The judge
is going to look at it and they're going to
throw it right out of court. It's a corrupt court system.
They and this is all and absolutely intentional in their
kind of.

Speaker 13 (01:03:26):
Their business model.

Speaker 17 (01:03:28):
They are allowed to do things to us and we
have no remedy to fight back.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
Well, you're back in business and we're really happy about that.
We're going to go to a break in a moment,
but James, before we go, I want you to address
some of the flags that you have, including the Memorial
Day kind of special editions that you have. Let our
viewers know what you have and where to go to
get it, because this is a very special piece of art.

Speaker 13 (01:03:50):
Well, you can go to.

Speaker 17 (01:03:51):
Our website, your American flagscore dot com, and any flag
that anybody buys today, we're going to be donating twenty
percent of that flag towards our new foundation, which is
your American Flag Foundation dot org. That foundation, we take
donations and what we're going to be doing is providing
free flags for fallen officers and military families, American heroes.

(01:04:16):
We've heard from our customers that have lost unfortunately lost
a loved one and when we put these when we
make these flags for these families, they're completely custom for
that family, personalized for that family. And what we've heard
from the widow or the widower of these families is
that they're kids. Their kids go to this flag and

(01:04:38):
it's kind of a point in their home where where
they're lost parent, they can have a conversation with them.
We've heard that they kiss the flag on the way
out of the door to school in the morning. So
we just feel that these flags are just so important
for our first responders and our military families who have

(01:04:59):
lo Austin American hero to just give that family something
to put into their home where there's a presence of
that value of service to others will always be in
that home to influence those kids or to be a
part of influencing those kids, hopefully for generations to come.
Our flags are the highest quality flags They are handmade

(01:05:21):
from start to finish, all the stars, all the artwork.
There's an option where my wife actually paints everything by
hand and brush. So what we make is a piece
of art to be handed down for generations.

Speaker 1 (01:05:35):
We know James's I think it's sometimes odd to say
Happy Memorial Day because you're trying to put a happy
spin on a death. But I will say that what
you're doing, especially with this foundation, honestly puts a happy
varnish on what could be a detrimental day. You mentioned
the fact that those children would kiss those flags on
their way out to start their day, which I think
is so important. So have a blessed Memorial Day, and

(01:05:56):
thank you for everything that you do and surviving and thriving.

Speaker 13 (01:06:01):
Thank you all so much for having me on today, you.

Speaker 1 (01:06:04):
Bet, Thanks James, and we'll be back in just a
few minutes.

Speaker 10 (01:06:22):
The dignity, gearing, and devotion of the American military is
unrivaled anywhere in history and any place in the world,
as our brave waters have shown us from.

Speaker 1 (01:06:39):
And welcome into our continued coverage of Memorial Day right
here at Real America's Voice. We're gonna be going live
in just a moment. To the Memorial Day Parade, which
is an annual event that happens in Washington, d C.
So then I've been very fortunate to be a part
of in years past. It's very special. It's something that
I think every family should actually see, particularly if you
are local to Washington, DC or if you maybe make

(01:07:01):
a trip there over Memorial Day. So let's take a look.
In now, believe we have Don Graves, a World War
Two veteran who is singing at the brave Let's take
a look.

Speaker 18 (01:07:09):
Chairman Kain, members and representatives of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ambassadors,
members of the Diplomatic Corps, Ladies and gentlemen. Today, as
we gather in solemn reflection, we honor the men and
women who gave their lives in service to our country.
Memorial Day is a time to remember the price of
our freedoms and courageous leadership and sacrifice that have guarded

(01:07:33):
our freedoms for generations. From the beginning of our armed
forces two hundred and fifty years ago to the conflicts today,
brave Americans from all corners of this country have answered
the call to serve. Many never returned home. These service
members were leaders, not just by rank or title, by

(01:07:56):
by action, they stepped forward and placed them elves with.

Speaker 6 (01:08:02):
Duty above self.

Speaker 18 (01:08:04):
Each generation faced its own trials, and each ordinary systems
ordinary citizens displayed extraordinary courage to defend the values we
hold dear. They led with integrity, They stood firm under pressure,
and sacrificed their lives not for recognition, but for the
belief that freedom was worth protecting. As we place flags

(01:08:28):
and flowers at their graves, let us not mourn their loss,
but renew our commitment to the ideals they died defending.

Speaker 6 (01:08:38):
We may live our lives.

Speaker 18 (01:08:40):
May we live our lives in ways that honor their legacy,
with gratitude and purpose, and with courage to lead in
our own time. On behalf of the Boeing Company, Thank
you to the American Veteran Center for making this parade
possible and for your continued commitment to supporting all veterans,
and to all of you, May we never forget.

Speaker 4 (01:09:04):
Thank you, mister Simmons. Thank you so much.

Speaker 19 (01:09:08):
Ladies and gentlemen representing today's reviewing officials from the Department
of Defense and the United States Military, please welcome the
nation's highest ranking military officers.

Speaker 4 (01:09:17):
Is a big deal.

Speaker 19 (01:09:18):
The Principal Military Advisor to the President, Secretary Defense and
National Security Council, The twenty second Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kine.

Speaker 6 (01:09:28):
Thanks.

Speaker 15 (01:09:30):
Thanks.

Speaker 20 (01:09:31):
I realize as the parade comes forward, I'm the last
thing between them and you, and so I'll be short.
But ladies and gentlemen, my fellow Americans, and our guest today,
there's two things. I want to start off with a
round of applause for the people that put this parade together.

(01:09:52):
And Gary Sonise, if you'd come out here, I want
to say thank you in person on behalf of two
point eight million members of the Joint Force. The impact
that you've had on families all over is unlimited, my friend,
and you just keep pouring in over and over and
over again.

Speaker 6 (01:10:10):
Thank you.

Speaker 21 (01:10:11):
Yeah, God bless you too.

Speaker 4 (01:10:12):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 20 (01:10:13):
And as I stand here today, we reflect on a
solemn truth. The truth is that freedom isn't free. More
than one million of our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters
and brothers, over the course of the history of this
great nation have donned the cloth and gone into battle on.

Speaker 3 (01:10:34):
Behalf of us.

Speaker 20 (01:10:35):
They gave their lives believing and defending our nation was
worth it, and you bet it really is. In their
service and sacrifice, they gave us the gift of a
perfect example. The perfect example flowed through their service and
into today. It echoes from the resolve that they had
at places like Valley Forge, the hollowed fields at Gettysburg,

(01:11:00):
the determination in the forests in Europe, and in the
courage of those who assaulted forward on the beaches of
Normandy and in the Pacific. And it continues to endure
in the memories of the quiet fortitude of those who
got after it in Korea, patrolled in the jungles of Vietnam,
and who faced uncertainty in the Middle East and yet

(01:11:22):
showed up day after day with courage and tenacity. What
binds them together is not the terrain that they fought on,
but the values and virtues that make America great. The honor, courage,
and integrity. Their sacrifice is borne by the families who
carry on, who every day show us what the enduring

(01:11:45):
pride of being an American gold Star family really looks like.
The courage to drive forward and give us the gift
of a great example. This day, my friends, belongs to them,
to the families of the fall to those who we remember.
They did not fall so we could look back. They

(01:12:06):
fell so we could look forward, free, united and with resolve.
Let us never forget how these Americans died, but more importantly,
let us never forget how they lived. My friends on
behalf of two point eight million members of the Joint Force.
God bless our fallen, God bless their families. God bless

(01:12:29):
our deployed Joint Force and their families. And may God
bless the United States of America. And without further ado,
let me get out of your way. Thanks for marching today,
for all these great folks.

Speaker 22 (01:12:41):
Wow, the great Joint chiefs of Staff children. Well, I
love General Dan.

Speaker 15 (01:12:47):
King, he's amazing.

Speaker 3 (01:12:48):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:12:48):
General.

Speaker 22 (01:12:49):
You know that we were without a parade here after
nineteen forty two. They hadn't had a parade until the
World War Two. Monument was kind of in two thousand,
like guess what was it two thousands, Yeah, and they
had the Veterans Association, the American Veteran Association was tasked
but putting.

Speaker 15 (01:13:06):
A little parade together.

Speaker 22 (01:13:08):
And then with the pandemic twenty twenty and twenty twenty one,
we were off Constitution Avenue.

Speaker 15 (01:13:13):
But you can hear it behind us.

Speaker 4 (01:13:14):
Right, Yeah, we're not anymore.

Speaker 15 (01:13:16):
We're tanned, we're arrested.

Speaker 22 (01:13:20):
We got the great military, the veterans, the active service,
the bands, they're all kind of gearing up, some of
these wonderful nonprofits that helped the veterans.

Speaker 15 (01:13:30):
It's an exciting event.

Speaker 4 (01:13:32):
It's going to be an amazing day.

Speaker 22 (01:13:34):
Yeah, and I'm I'm hoping that all of you will
join us when we get to say these forwards for real?

Speaker 15 (01:13:40):
Now, are you ready?

Speaker 4 (01:13:41):
I'm ready?

Speaker 15 (01:13:42):
No, No, they're still stopping.

Speaker 22 (01:13:45):
I can't take it. This is killing me. I want
to get this thing on the because you're gonna love
this parade. And you know what I love is that
people get to cheer and they get to be patriotic.
They don't have to be shy about it. They get
to love our country. All right, we got it. I
got the official.

Speaker 4 (01:14:03):
Que Oh man, are you ready?

Speaker 6 (01:14:05):
I'm ready?

Speaker 4 (01:14:06):
What the parade began?

Speaker 23 (01:14:12):
When their country is called the Men and women of
the United States Military have answered. It began in seventeen
seventy five June fourteenth, as American militiamen besieged the British
in Boston, Congress ordered the creation of a New Army,
Continental Army the birth of the United States Army. Four

(01:14:33):
months later, October thirteenth, the Navy was born, and November
tenth the United States Marine Corps, declaring independents, Congress pledged
their lives, fortunes, and their sacred honor. And through the
Revolution and generations since, American service members have lived out
that pledge, and they have sacrificed. Eighty years ago World

(01:14:57):
War II, more than four hundred thousand loss to war,
thirty six thousand in Korea, fifty eight thousand in Vietnam,
and seventy five hundred fallen in operation. Since Memorial Day
is their day, the United States Military's most sacred day.
At the National Memorial Day Parade along Constitution Avenue, and

(01:15:20):
at parades and ceremonies around the country, we honor those
who gave their last full measure of devotion, and as
we commemorate the two hundred and fiftieth birthday of the
United States Military, to all who have served, to all
who have sacrificed, we offer you our last ingratitude and

(01:15:41):
our pledge to always remember.

Speaker 4 (01:16:22):
From Washington, d c.

Speaker 19 (01:16:24):
On the beautiful and iconic Constitution Avenue, Welcome to the
twenty twenty five National Memorial Day Parade, presented by Boeing
and a special thanks to the one and only Tom
Cruise for kicking off today's show.

Speaker 22 (01:16:34):
Please welcome Navy Vocalist Staff Sergeant Caroline Nielsen and the
Memorial Day Festival Chorus under the direction of Doctor Michael
martinacious fies.

Speaker 15 (01:17:00):
It's for would testis S S. Grez?

Speaker 24 (01:17:37):
What cool it.

Speaker 15 (01:17:50):
F The C.

Speaker 25 (01:17:53):
Shot the c.

Speaker 5 (01:17:58):
O.

Speaker 6 (01:18:24):
Wow, I got chills.

Speaker 15 (01:18:26):
I still have kills.

Speaker 6 (01:18:27):
Beautiful.

Speaker 19 (01:18:28):
Thank you so much well from Washington, d C. Good
afternoon everyone. I'm John Rogers. The twenty twenty five National
Memorial Day Parade is coming to you from the heart
of our nation's capital, Constitution Avenue, the American Veterans Center
welcomes you to the nation's largest Memorial Day salute to
the men and women who've made the ultimate sacrifice for
our country.

Speaker 22 (01:18:47):
Yes, indeed, welcome to all of you that are watching
us today, and you know what, we want to give
an extra great welcome to all youth service members watching
all over the world the American Forces Network.

Speaker 15 (01:19:02):
God bless You're.

Speaker 19 (01:19:03):
So grateful for your service well from the American Revolution
to the current generation guarding and fighting for our democracy.
Today's parade honors those Americans who've served and sacrificed throughout
our country's long history. Yeah, in keeping with tradition, members
of the Metropolitan Police Department, including an honor guard, making

(01:19:25):
their way down Constitution Avenue, signaling the official kickoff of
the parade.

Speaker 22 (01:20:20):
Carrying the matter are a group of very special women,
gold Star Mothers.

Speaker 6 (01:20:26):
Today.

Speaker 22 (01:20:27):
Our hearts are with these mothers and their families, as
this day is our nation's collective remembrance and paying honor
to the children that they've lost while an active service
of the United States Armed Forces.

Speaker 19 (01:20:50):
And here is the pride of Washington, DC's marching bands,
the Frank W. Blue Senior High School Majestic Marching Knights.
This award winning band with Hart and uses musicianship, hard work, discipline, dedication,
and compassion as tools to overcome all obstacles.

Speaker 15 (01:21:07):
It's a great band.

Speaker 22 (01:21:07):
And I've appeared on Good Morning America, the Today's Show.
They participated in the inaugurations of Presidents George W.

Speaker 4 (01:21:15):
Bush and Barack Obama.

Speaker 22 (01:21:17):
They've barched this Memorial Day break from a decade.

Speaker 15 (01:21:21):
Let's listen to the soul of the Blue.

Speaker 26 (01:21:24):
And goat this a salute to our fellen hero not.

(01:22:06):
The oldest military traditions in a full honor funeral is
that of the riderless horse.

Speaker 19 (01:22:13):
It's a very powerful image wearing an empty saddle with
the rider's boots reversed in the stirrups. It honors the
warrior who will never ride again. A reminder of the
true many of the Memorial Day Hollywood.

Speaker 22 (01:22:53):
We are honored to be joined by the National Memorial
Day Parades ceremonial honor Guard featuring marching joins from each
brash of the United States Armed Forces.

Speaker 19 (01:23:04):
Twenty twenty five marks the two hundred and fiftieth birthday
of the United States Military. More than a year before
declaring independence, Congress created the Continental Army on June fourteenth,
seventeen seventy five. The Navy was born on October thirteenth
in the Marine Corps November tenth. As we celebrate our
military's birthday, these marching platoons join us in the spirit

(01:23:26):
of service and sacrifice. Here is the Army Band, popularly
known as the Band of the Nation's Capital. The band
started in eighteen eighty three and is the official musical
ambassador of the District of Columbia Army National Guard. This
band has played countless events of state and national importance,

(01:23:49):
including the burial of the Unknown Soldier in nineteen twenty
one at Arlington National Cemetery.

Speaker 22 (01:24:11):
Joining us in the special opening tribute our platoons from
each branch of the Armed Forces.

Speaker 27 (01:24:18):
Including the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Base Force,
and Coastguard.

Speaker 19 (01:26:15):
We are honored to present the Grand Marshals of the
twenty twenty five National Memorial Day Parade, recipients of our
nation's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.

Speaker 4 (01:26:25):
The Medal is awarded.

Speaker 19 (01:26:26):
For gallantry and combat beyond the call of duty. Of
more than thirty five hundred recipients in our history, only
sixty one survived.

Speaker 22 (01:26:33):
Today, as we commemorate the two hundred and fiftieth birthday
of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, these
heroes joined to represent all who will serve and sacrifice
through our history. A gracious thank you to representing sponsor
Boeing from making their participation possible, and thank you to

(01:26:55):
our Medal of Honor recipients. This fifty foot long this

(01:27:32):
giant stars and stripes is being carried by employee volunteers
from LDOS.

Speaker 19 (01:27:38):
The organization was established in nineteen seventy four by returning
the Vietnam era veterans with a goal of addressing academic
needs of veterans in peer counseling programs. Their important work
continues today. Lidos is an innovation company rapidly addressing the
world's most vexing challenges and national.

Speaker 4 (01:27:56):
Security and health.

Speaker 19 (01:27:57):
They're forty eight thousand employees collaborate to create smarter technology
solutions for customers in these critical markets.

Speaker 22 (01:28:46):
From Rancio Kuka Manga in sunny California, Let's welcome the
Al Tahoma Entertainment Corps playing a John Phillip Sousa marsh.
This award winning band from Altahoma High School is making
their debut performance in the National Memorial Day Parade. We welcome,
Let's listen, and here is World War Two veteran Dave Yoho,

(01:29:33):
the Merchant Marines, who just a few years ago received
the Congression Gold Medal of Honor for extraordinary service. He's
joined by that Texan Congressman Jake Elzi of the sixth District.
US Navy F fourteen and F eighteen fighter pilot with
five combat deployments to a Rock and Afghanistan, and no

(01:29:55):
doubt he is a great champion of the National Memorial
Day Parade.

Speaker 6 (01:30:08):
Got your loving beautiful car.

Speaker 22 (01:30:15):
This car has always looked better when he got a
Medal of Honor winner.

Speaker 5 (01:30:18):
And there.

Speaker 22 (01:30:26):
We are truly honored to present living legends of history
serving as the honorary Grand Marshals. They are surviving veterans
of World War Two writing period vehicles from the Classic
Car Clubs of America.

Speaker 19 (01:30:41):
Twenty twenty five marks eighty years since the Allied victory
in World War II. Sixteen million Americans served in uniform,
four hundred thousand made the ultimate sacrifice, and today fewer
than fifty thousand survive. So today these legends, all nearly
one hundred years old and older, but all looking great.
They're joining us to represent their entire generation.

Speaker 1 (01:31:22):
And you're looking at a live look right now at
the annual Memorial Day Parade, which just kicked off in Washington,
d c our very own Steve Ruber is there on
site taking in all the festivities. And I want to
bring in Mike Crispy as well, who's been with me
over the past several hours. Mike there's a certain kind
of commemoration and celebration to this day in terms of

(01:31:42):
all the pomp and circumstance and everything that's going on
the decorum, if you will. I learned that it's the
two hundred and fiftieth birthday of our military, which I
think has to make this even more festive. As we
see the Army band, the Navy band, people singing our
national anthem, I feel like it's just maybe even more
celebratory than we've ever had before. Just based on that alone,
what do you think. I don't think we have Mike's

(01:32:07):
audio right now. Maybe we'll try to get that for
a moment. Hopefully he's not helping back. I got it ahead.

Speaker 2 (01:32:15):
I was saying that I believe that right now, if
you're looking at the live shots of the parade, you
got to be enthused because the people who are in
the parade right now, well, I think they're excited about
the direction of this country. I think there's a renewed optimism.
I think there's a renewed spirit. I think that people
are excited because we have a leader back at the

(01:32:35):
Helm who's putting everybody involved in the chain of command
in the military they're putting them first, caring for our veterans,
getting to the bottom of the debacle that was the
Afghanistan withdrawal and pull out, and committing to do more
into the future. And that's doing more for our vets,
getting them the medical care that they need. And then
you know President Trump also ball I'm sure you saw

(01:32:57):
he's talking about doing the two hundred and fifty parade
for the military and bringing in like tanks and stuff
like that. They're actually already preparing for that military parade.
So this is just a kickoff of what I believe
is going to be a very festive year as we
turn the page on the last four years that were
very dark and grim and turn the page.

Speaker 3 (01:33:15):
To something that's going to be exceptional.

Speaker 2 (01:33:17):
Strongest military, strongest economy, strongest country, and a leader who
puts all these amazing people.

Speaker 1 (01:33:22):
For Yeah, I agree, you're right, bringing tanks and that
can be pretty exceptional. And then, of course he mentioned
in this speech earlier today, we've got the Olympics coming
up next year, we have the FIFA World Cup coming up,
But I think the one that he thinks is the
most special is next year when we have the two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary, America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday,
which is going to be for sure a special one.
So we'll bring you more live coverage of the Memorial

(01:33:44):
Day Parade in Washingt SA in just a few moments,
so stay with us, stay tuned. And you're looking right
now at Garry Cinise of the Gary Sinise Foundation at
the annual Memorial Day Parade in Washingt d C. It's

(01:34:06):
a great affair. It's also celebrating uniquely our two hundred
and fiftieth anniversary as a military, the military's birthday, and
you're seeing Gary Cinesse on there right now, who does
so much for the military. This is Lieutenant Dan of
course from Forrest Gump as you know him, probably in
one of his most famous roles, which really caused him
to have an outpouring of support for our military community,
our veterans, and of course all of our fallen as well.

(01:34:28):
So right now, let's tune you back in to the
Momorial Day Parade right now with live coverage on Real
America's Voice for our Memorial Day special.

Speaker 8 (01:34:35):
On their legacies and acknowledge with compassion their loved one's
painful losses. Together we honor our fallen heroes who gave
their lives to protect our way of life.

Speaker 6 (01:34:45):
On behalf of the Boeing Company.

Speaker 8 (01:34:46):
Thank you to the American Veteran Center for making this
parade possible and for your continued commitment to supporting all veterans.

Speaker 28 (01:34:54):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five, presented by Boeing,
is brought to you by Hey Serf Pro the Number
One Choice and Cleanup and Restoration Events DC, the Gary
Sinise Foundation, U HAUL John Deere, and by the American

(01:35:14):
Veterans Center. Join our mission to preserve their legacy at
American Veterans Center dot org.

Speaker 29 (01:35:26):
In America cities and towns, today, flags will be placed
on graves and cemeteries. Public officials will speak of the
sacrifice and the valor of those whose memory we honor.

Speaker 6 (01:35:44):
Hello.

Speaker 21 (01:35:45):
I'm Major General Trevor braden Camp, the commanding General of
the Joint Task Force National Capital Region and the US
Armies Military District of Washington, and.

Speaker 30 (01:35:53):
I'm commands are Major vern Daily The commands are major
of the Joint Task Force National Capital Region and the
United States Armies Military District to Washington.

Speaker 21 (01:36:01):
Today, during our National Memorial Day Observance. We take the
time to remember and pay tribute to all service members
who gave their lives while serving for our country.

Speaker 6 (01:36:11):
You are not forgotten.

Speaker 30 (01:36:14):
The sacrifice of our fallen soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen, guardians
and coastguardsmen and dures a legacy of duty and their
dedication is worthy of national reflection. Freedom is not free,
and we must always remember those who bravely sacrifice their
lives so we can exercise those freedoms.

Speaker 4 (01:36:31):
Today we are tasked.

Speaker 21 (01:36:32):
With rendering honors for our fallen service members at Arlington
National Cemetery. We're just like today we remember the legacy
of those who've come before us. Thank you all for
joining us today for this special National Memorial Day observance.
Commands our major daily and I asked that you take
a moment to reflect and honor our fallen heroes who
made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Speaker 4 (01:36:54):
This will defend.

Speaker 19 (01:37:02):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five persented by Boeing,
is brought to you by SERF pro Parade twenty twenty
five percented by Boeing and moving on now this Memorial
Day thirty thousand US John Deere employees paid tribute to
the heroes who gave everything for our nation. John Deere,
an American blacksmith and inventor, founded his company in eighteen
thirty seven in Grand Detour, Illinois. For nearly twenty years,

(01:37:24):
John Deere employees have honored the brave men and women
who sacrifice everything in the name of freedom, and we
are forever in your debt.

Speaker 22 (01:37:33):
Now, let's welcome the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma Honor Guard.
They were established in nineteen eighty and they were the
first tribal honor guard in the state of Oklahoma. They
served to honor veterans at military funerals regardless of race
or color, at no cost, as well as community speaking engagements,
flag presentations, and powows.

Speaker 19 (01:38:00):
New Haven, Connecticut, here is the James Hillhouse High School
Marching Band, representing one of their city's most historic high schools.

Speaker 4 (01:38:07):
They make their parade debut today.

Speaker 19 (01:38:09):
The man continues to cement their legacy of academic achievement.

Speaker 4 (01:38:12):
And musical excellence.

Speaker 19 (01:38:14):
Their honored to pay tribute to the brave men and
women who gave all for our country.

Speaker 4 (01:38:18):
Let's listen.

Speaker 22 (01:38:33):
We want to thank American Airlines for their sponsorship of
today's parade. American Airlines, the official airline of the National
Memorial Day Parade.

Speaker 19 (01:38:54):
Let's next welcome the West Hempstead Rams Marching Band. These
Rams have been making waves by existently earning gold ratings
from the New York State Schools Music Association and celebrating music.

Speaker 4 (01:39:05):
In our schools at New York State's Capital. Let's listen in.

Speaker 22 (01:39:50):
We thank Extremity for their sponsorship of today's parade.

Speaker 19 (01:40:30):
And thank you Stars and Stripes for their sponsorship and
participation in today's parade.

Speaker 28 (01:40:43):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five, presented by
Boeing is brought to you by American Airlines, official airline
of the National Memorial Day Parade, American Battlefield Trust, Code
of Support Foundation Men's Club, and by the State of
cutter Our tribute to the sacrifices of the American Revolution

(01:41:07):
is sponsored by Events DC Memorial.

Speaker 31 (01:41:10):
There is a reminder individuals who gave their lives in
defense of our nation. It is a day to reflect
on their sacrifices, honor their legacy. They reaffirm our commitment
to the values they fought to protect. At events CC,
we are honored to partner with American Veterans Center to
support the National Memorial Day Parade, a moving triba that
brings our community together to remember, reflect and give thanks.

(01:41:33):
We honor the contributions of our veterans, sacrifices made for
all of us who remember.

Speaker 3 (01:41:38):
Thank you.

Speaker 19 (01:41:43):
The next float is made possible by Events DC, the official.

Speaker 4 (01:41:47):
Convention in Sports Authority of Washington d C.

Speaker 19 (01:41:50):
EVENTCC creates unique experiences that results in jobs, economic impact,
and lasting memories for residents, torses, and guests.

Speaker 4 (01:41:58):
As the official host of the nation's capital.

Speaker 19 (01:42:00):
Events DC showcases Washington DC as a world class, family friendly,
globally recognized destination, welcoming visitors from around the corner and
around the world.

Speaker 15 (01:42:10):
Thank you to.

Speaker 22 (01:42:11):
President and CEO MGM Gates and Events DC for supporting
this year's parade and honoring our fallen heroes. You can
learn more about upcoming events by visiting EVENTSDC dot com. Oh,
look at this riding on the float. Guess who miss

(01:42:32):
America twenty twenty five Abby Stockard. She's a senior at
Auburn University. She's studying pediatric nursing. Abby is spending her
reign traveling the country advocating for the American Heart Association's
Go Rent for Women initiative, as well as Resistant five
Roses Research.

Speaker 19 (01:42:57):
Let's welcome the Peninsula High School Tied Hawks ARTC from
Gig Harbor, Washington, making their first appearance in the National
Memorial Day Parade.

Speaker 15 (01:43:05):
They're great.

Speaker 22 (01:43:06):
They were established in twenty twenty one. This dynamic unit
has swiftly risen the prominence. Get this clinching the twenty
twenty five NJROTC Area twenty three Drill Championship in their
inaugural year.

Speaker 15 (01:43:22):
Now, this is incredible because.

Speaker 22 (01:43:24):
They were competing against twenty six programs across the Pacific Northwest.
The lasta Japan Guam Wow Wow. Welcome Peninsula High School
Tide Dogs. TAPS Tragedy Assistant Program for Survivors. They bring

(01:44:37):
us our next float featuring family members who have lost
loved ones that served in the Armed Forces.

Speaker 19 (01:44:44):
TAPS provides hope, health and healing to all those grieving
the death of a service member. Riding on the float
is Bonnie Carroll, TAPS President and Founder, along with representatives
of the Washington Commanders, longtime supporters of TAPS and our
Armed Services.

Speaker 22 (01:45:12):
The families that you see walking in the parade represent
over one hundred thousand members of the Taps family. These
families of the fallen are honoring their heroes by carrying
their photos with them as they walk the parade route,
and they represent the drue meaning of Memorial.

Speaker 32 (01:45:31):
Death or a parade special. Here at Real America's Voice.

Speaker 1 (01:45:44):
You're looking at the float for TAPS, which is an acronym.
It is for those who have lost service members, and
as you could see, they were holding up the pictures
of the service members that they have lost. Will continue
with more live coverage heare of the Memorial Day Parade
in just a minute, so stay with us. Man, Welcome

(01:46:12):
back to Real America's Voice live coverage of the Memorial
Day Parade special. You're getting a live look on that
in right now with some of our Native Americans who
are doing some dances and demonstrations. I want to bring
in Mike Crispy for just a moment as we return
to our coverage, just a moment. I guess we cannot
forget our Native Americans, Mike, who fought alongside us and
helped us defeat the British as well. I think that's

(01:46:33):
an important part of our history that we have to
acknowledge and really everyone, even Europeans, the French, you know,
everyone that helped us basically create this great nation of ours.
We have to honor those and as has been mentioned
in many of the speeches today, Mike, we have to
go all the way back to Lexington and Concord and
those first soldiers who had no idea the country that

(01:46:54):
they would give birth to. We have to think about that.

Speaker 2 (01:46:58):
You know, they were saying in the speeches today and
the remarks from everybody pretty much that at the beginning,
America was an idea they were fighting for. It didn't
even exist back that they were fighting to create something
that has turned out to be the greatest country in
the history of the world. A lot of individuals with
a lot of fortitude, determination, just this dream of something

(01:47:23):
amazing that I think that people need to remember on
Memorial Day and every day. I think you said it earlier,
bo Is that Memorial Day really should be every day,
but particularly paying attention to all the different people from
all different walks of life who did at the beginning what's.

Speaker 3 (01:47:39):
Persevered for two hundred and fifty years. It's incredible.

Speaker 4 (01:47:41):
Both Yeah and I.

Speaker 1 (01:47:43):
Just before we go back to the parade, Mic, I
want to just mention this historical fact. This is from
May fifth of eighteen sixty eight. The Grand Army of
the Republic, which was a powerful organization of Union veterans
led by Major General John Logan, issued General Orders Number eleven,
or the Memorial Day Act, and this formal ablished Memorial
d as a decoration day, which what it is used
to be known as, on which the nation would remember

(01:48:04):
its war dead and decorate their graves with flowers. And
the order stated, we should guard their graves with sacred vigilance.
Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent
visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of
time testify to the present or to the coming generations
that we have forgotten as a people, the cost of
a free and undivided republic. Isn't that true? Mike?

Speaker 3 (01:48:28):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (01:48:28):
You know, it's a solemn day, but it's also a
day to pay tribute. And these people live lives that
were very strong, they were very powerful, They're very instrumental
and again the continuation of our freedom. So we should
not only be solemn, but also celebrate them and pay
tribute to them by showing off the.

Speaker 3 (01:48:45):
Strength in which they lived with.

Speaker 2 (01:48:48):
So I think it's a day obviously to be solemn,
but also day to celebrate the greatness that are just
these incredible warriors who have given us everything we have
to be thankful for both.

Speaker 1 (01:48:58):
Yeah, absolutely, Mike. I think that's why we are celebrating today,
and it seems like a very celebratory affair in Washington, c.
We'll take you back to that live coverage right now.

Speaker 19 (01:49:38):
On June fourteenth, seventeen seventy five, Congress adopted the Continental
Army and placed George Washington as commander in chief. And
this year, the United States Army celebrates its two hundred
and fiftieth birthday, commemorating it's proud history of loyalty, duty, respect, courage,
and honor.

Speaker 22 (01:49:54):
The giant flag of the United States Army that you
see here was officially adopted by President Dwight D. Eisenhower
in nineteen fifty six and first denfrilled the Independence Hall
on the Army's one hundred and eighty first birthday. In
addition to the Army's birth here of seventeen seventy five,
look at the flag, it includes the Army's official motto.

Speaker 4 (01:50:16):
This will defend.

Speaker 19 (01:50:20):
And in honor of the Army's two hundred and fiftieth
Birthday from the third United States Infantry Regiment, a performance
from the famed Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. We

(01:51:22):
thank Events DC for their sponsorship of today's parade. Now
please welcome Wounded Paw Project from Virginia. Wounded Paw Project
focuses on the prevention of animal abuse and the rehabilitation
of abused and rescued dogs like Elvis, who is rescued

(01:51:44):
from a drug house in Las Vegas, and his girlfriend Diva,
who is rescued from a landfill in Phoenix. Wounded Paw
Project is guided by the PAW principle, Protect, Advocate and
wag ployment that gives abused rescue dogs a second tale
in life to be the voiceless and report animal abuse.

Speaker 15 (01:52:02):
It say thank you, thank you very much.

Speaker 22 (01:52:11):
We also thank WTP for their support make way for
the Honesdale High School Marching Hornets. But again we just

(01:52:33):
greatly appreciate that support from w TOP. A wonderful station
here and these Honesdale High School Marching Hornets, they're spectacular.

Speaker 4 (01:52:43):
They're from Pennsylvania.

Speaker 22 (01:52:45):
Not only do they perform at every football game, they
also write their own halftime shows, showcasing their artistic and
musical talents.

Speaker 19 (01:53:05):
The performance from the Homesdale High School Band is dedicated
to the memory of Honesdale High Band alumnus Jen W. Holbert,
who went on to perform with the famed Penn State
Blue Band of the nineteen sixty eight Orange Bowl before
serving in the US Army.

Speaker 22 (01:53:35):
Now, let's honor a military union against too little recognition
for the tremendous good that they do for our uniform services.
Talking about the military chaplains, here are Air Force Chief
of Chaplains Major General Trent Davis and Lisa Davis, Colonel
William Spencer and Heidi Spencer, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Ham and Genhhn,

(01:53:59):
and Captain Kevin Pugh and Pamela Peugh.

Speaker 19 (01:54:02):
Dating back to the American Revolution, three hundred and seventy
eight chaplains have died while on duty with the United
States Army, including while tending to our service members on
the front lines of combat. So thank you to our
military chaplains for your unwavering service.

Speaker 28 (01:54:44):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five, presented by Boeing,
is brought to you by Code of Support Foundation. Robert
Irvine Foundation Donor Outreach for Veterans Court.

Speaker 1 (01:54:58):
And welcome back to our live coverage of the Memorial
Day Parade in Washington, d C. I want to bring
back in Mike Chrispy, who's been with me for the
past several hours and who's been a great on screen companion. Mike,
I want to ask you. I know you're in the
New Jersey, New York area, and just kind of some
reflections on what you would do for Memorial Day. I
know that my fiance is from Long Island, she says,

(01:55:18):
it's really the unofficial hiccoff to summer that everyone kind
of goes east. So tell me a little bit about
what Memorial Day is like for you, kind of in
your family and what you would normally be doing if
you weren't here with me today.

Speaker 2 (01:55:30):
Well, obviously there's nothing better than paying tribute to our
heroes on Real America's Voice.

Speaker 3 (01:55:35):
But if it wasn't with you today, I probably because.

Speaker 2 (01:55:38):
I am originally for the people who don't know that,
I am originally from Long Island myself, So there you go, Bell,
So originally from Long Island myself. I grew up there,
and so I would be out east. It is the
kickoff of the summer. Also for the you know, fashion
minded folks out there, it's also the first day that
you could wear a seersucker. I didn't wear the seersucker
on the air, but it's the first day of summer,

(01:56:00):
and you know, I think it was a secretary of
Colin said, you know, it's kind of become like first
day of summer and all that. So I think you
can you can celebrate that and acknowledge that it's summer
and have a good time to gather. But I think
you do that in paying tribute to our fallen heroes.

Speaker 3 (01:56:14):
I think it's the perfect blood bo So we'd be
celebrating outside.

Speaker 2 (01:56:18):
It's a beautiful day, and I think that hopefully everyone's
enjoying it. But as long as they remember how it's
possible they can enjoy themselves and have.

Speaker 3 (01:56:26):
A good time.

Speaker 1 (01:56:27):
Yeah, and I know we kind of touched on it earlier, Mike,
just in terms of generationally what this day means, because
I think the association, as you so aptly said, has
become just about oh, it's a long weekend, we get
to go have fun. And it's true. I'm sure a
lot of those troops who laid down their lives, said
I did this so that you could have that, because
they're such selfless individuals. But the truth of it is
is if we don't educate younger generations on what Memorial

(01:56:50):
Day is. And I've asked, you know, what's an activity
someone should do? And I think it's maybe kind of
like when I went out to southworda national cemetery and
just looked at an individual headstone and that person up
find out a bit of their story, because these are stories,
timeless stories that we don't know that are part of
America's history. It's just a chapter in someone's history, in
a chapter in America's history. So you know, what do

(01:57:11):
you think we should do?

Speaker 3 (01:57:12):
Mike?

Speaker 1 (01:57:12):
I mean, you know, in terms of passing on education
to another generation.

Speaker 2 (01:57:17):
Well, you bring up a great point is that you know,
you think about Memorial Day cake off of summer. Families
are getting together today. I mean, probably the biggest thing
I did growing up was get together.

Speaker 3 (01:57:26):
You have barbecues. The weather in the.

Speaker 2 (01:57:28):
Northeast United States is finally starting to get above sixty
five seventy degrees, so it's one of your first weekends
to get outside. You throw some steaks on the grill,
you get your family over, and every family has I
think most families, probably the vast majority of them, have
people who served at some point in the military.

Speaker 3 (01:57:46):
I know my family has.

Speaker 2 (01:57:48):
So it's a great opportunity to have those conversations and
ask your parents or your grandparents, or whoever's fortunate enough
to still be alive and still being in your life,
to ask them stories about that individual serving. So it
really is my mortal day, and these days where we
can get together with this backdrop of this historical day,
where you can have those conversations and then celebrate the

(01:58:09):
fact that what they did was successful and what they
gave up was really so worth it because it's allowed
us to have all these things. So I think that's
the biggest thing bo is that we can have conversations
with our relatives, anybody who's fortunate enough to still be
with us, and they can continue on that legacy of
the Great American Military and everybody who is served. I

(01:58:30):
think most families have people who are still alive who
are vets, so you've got to get those stories out
of them while they're still alive.

Speaker 3 (01:58:37):
I think it's so important.

Speaker 2 (01:58:38):
So if you're out there and you're celebrating and you're
gonna go to a barbecue as that family member.

Speaker 1 (01:58:43):
That yeah, not just that, And I think I am encouraged, Mike,
just before we go here to break is that throughout
the commercialization of today, you still see a lot of
American flag apparel. Me here, I'm wearing my American flag.
TI got my pocket square. But you do see it.
And I think, if nothing else, if someone were to say,
why are there so many American flags everywhere? Why is
that in the publics, Why is it in the grocery

(01:59:03):
store at CBS, It's because they're trying to remind you,
hopefully and even in the most commercialized way, that this
country has fallen, that we have to pay tribute to
And that's I think that's where the conversation can be pivoted.
Is what, you know, why do we got to wear
all this? You know, America? You know, it seems like
almost kind of to become arcane in a way. I
don't think it has. I think now that especially with

(01:59:24):
this president, we've seen kind of a new a renewed
sense of patriotism, which is a good thing. You know,
America first is not a bad thing. We've done a
lot of wonderful things in this world. So I think
throughout the commercialization of it, maybe there's a story to
be told, Mike just about Hey, you know the reason
why this flag is so prevalent is because you can
have a day like today, Micha. I'll give you a

(01:59:44):
final thirty thirty seconds to wrap that up in a
nice bow.

Speaker 3 (01:59:48):
Anytime I see the flag, I'm proud.

Speaker 2 (01:59:51):
I'm proud because I'm part of something incredible, and I'm blessed,
and I'm blessed that I was born into this country,
and I think everybody else out there we should feel
the same way.

Speaker 3 (02:00:01):
We are so blessed and fortunate to be among.

Speaker 2 (02:00:03):
The great people who serve this country, who gave their
life for this country, and to be together on a
daylight today in the greatest country in the history of
the world.

Speaker 1 (02:00:10):
Bow Amen to that. Blessed is exactly the right word.
We'll be right back with more coverage of the Memorial
Day Parade right here on Real America's Voice. Stay with
us and welcome back to our live coverage of the
Mooral Day Parade special right here in Real America's Voice.

(02:00:33):
We thank you for being with us today. Our viewers
who are spending your Memorial Day with us. You're getting
a live look right now in Washington.

Speaker 6 (02:00:41):
D C.

Speaker 1 (02:00:41):
At this Memorial Day parade. As I mentioned earlier, I've
had the wonderful opportunity to perform at this parade, and
it really is a special event. But I think it's
got even more significance because of the military's birthday. I
want to bring in Steve Gruber, who's been at the
Memorial Day parade, and he was also at Arlington National
Cemetery earlier. Steve, can you hear me?

Speaker 6 (02:01:03):
I can bo well, but a little bit.

Speaker 33 (02:01:06):
It's busy day out here, a lot of connection to
the world, so a lot going on. Beautiful Memorial Day.
By the way, the sun came out and it began
for us here in real America's voice over at Arlington
National Cemetery. It was spectacular day there as the President
came in delivered remarks along with JD. Vance, Secretary of
the Defense Pete haig Seth, and the General of the

(02:01:28):
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, all their giving remarks.

Speaker 6 (02:01:30):
It was a remarkable day just to reflect on the foreigner.

Speaker 33 (02:01:34):
And twenty thousand people buried at Arlington and This is
an extension of the day here in real America's voice,
celebrating our nation and the fallen here in the nation's
capital and the picture perfect weather.

Speaker 6 (02:01:47):
Couldn't be much better, to be honest with you, Yes, Steve.

Speaker 1 (02:01:51):
If you can hear me, and I know it's probably
difficult for you because it is loud there. If you
were there with you saw Secretary of Defense Pete haig Seth,
and especially jd Vance and President Trum. Jd Vance mentioned
that in nineteen fifteen that Woodrow Wilson set up that
memorial Amphitheater that you were president today, and there was
a copper box apparently buried there that held four items.

(02:02:11):
There was an American flag, a Bible, the Declaration of Independence,
and the Constitution. That those four relics are what they
wanted to pass down to future generations. I'm sure you
heard part of that speech, if not all of it. Steve,
tell us a little bit about what you took away
from jd Vance's speech and also President Trump's.

Speaker 33 (02:02:29):
Well, I think it's remarkable if you look at the
country now, it's the Constitution, it's the Bible, it is
the founding documents of this country that we held so
sacred at least we did.

Speaker 6 (02:02:41):
And I think we'll getting back to that. I've heard
you guys talk about that a little bit today.

Speaker 33 (02:02:43):
You know, the younger generation to me is more conservative,
more patriotic, more America first than generations in quite some time.

Speaker 6 (02:02:52):
And you see.

Speaker 33 (02:02:53):
The people volunteering for the military.

Speaker 6 (02:02:56):
Those numbers are way up.

Speaker 33 (02:02:57):
As we're watching a bunch of cadets come by right
now from the Peninsula School District. And look, it's a
it's a different day in America. It really is different
day than it was for the last four years. You
can feel patriot doesn't You can feel that there's a
real energy and there really was an ardenten to day too.

Speaker 6 (02:03:14):
And JD. Vance's speech, well, first of all, Pete heidkes
Outh and JD.

Speaker 33 (02:03:18):
Vance both veterans, and so you know, to have people
in the highest levels now that have served. Jdvans across
the United States Marine who's served in combat, and that's
it's been a while since we had somebody that understands
the military as well as he does.

Speaker 1 (02:03:34):
Yeah, and also want to bring in Mike Crispy again.
Mike's been with us Steve for the past several hours
and He's provided some really great perspectives. So Mike, I
just want to turn it over to you now that
we have kind of a three way conversation here as
well well.

Speaker 2 (02:03:46):
Steve, thanks for being down there. Looks like a beautiful day.
I'm just curious what's been the if you get hear
from me. I know it's live TV and it's a
lot of people down there. What's been the sentiment about
Secretary Headsip. I'm particularly fascinated by the way that the
military and the troops and the families have been receiving him.

Speaker 3 (02:04:06):
It seems like there's like a.

Speaker 2 (02:04:07):
Newfound energy with Secretary of hegset that the hell you know,
he's brought a prayer back into you know, the Pentagon.

Speaker 3 (02:04:14):
He's doing things that I think are just boosting them Arale.

Speaker 2 (02:04:17):
You mentioned in the recruitment numbers there, Steve, So, what
are some of the things that people are talking about
specifically with Hegseth, Because I think that they tried to
comfort him.

Speaker 3 (02:04:25):
He's a rising star, he has a lot of support.

Speaker 2 (02:04:28):
It seems like what are the people saying about he
set specifically?

Speaker 33 (02:04:33):
I think your question is about Secretary Pete Hegseth. I'm
getting most of it. So I'll just say this. I
think that that crowd at Arlington, which obviously was gathered
there to remember the fallen, and there were families, extended families,
the widows, the children's, the wives.

Speaker 6 (02:04:49):
The husbands of those that have died.

Speaker 33 (02:04:52):
And one of the most point of moments this morning
is about the seventy nine year old that stood up
their mother had died in combat, and the whole place
stood up and gave them a standing of eight. But
Pete Haig Seth, you know, he had some time there
when many in the media were speculating about whether or
not he would remain in the position of Secretary of Defense.

Speaker 6 (02:05:09):
I don't think there's any question about that. Today. I
think that he has proved himself well.

Speaker 33 (02:05:13):
And at Arlington today, the people in attendance there are
supporters of Pete Haig Seth and JD. Advance and certainly
our President, no question about their sentiments there. And on
this Memorial Day, a glorious day and a new commander
in chief and a new direction from the American military
for America first and again, it's about teaching our children

(02:05:33):
about the greatness of this country and the people that
have come before US. One point three million Americans have
died in combat since seventeen seventy five, and you know
about half of those five hundred thousand and nearly half
of those died in the American Civil War to pretend
to defend this republic. So I think it's time to
teach the younger generation about the greatness of America those
that lay down their lives so that we could have

(02:05:55):
this conversation today. And it's an important conversation because it's
about free speech, religion, freedom to gather, freedom to speak
up and be heard. And that's what they laid their
lives down for people they didn't even know, for generations
to come they had never met, for an idea that
is America.

Speaker 1 (02:06:12):
Steve, you, I believe you were at the commencement speech
that President Trump gave it West Point, and we did
play some shots from that earlier, specifically with regard to
our victories in World War One and two, which seemed
to get a very favorable reaction and just in terms
of taking literally a victory lap that we were responsible
for the victories in these two wars. Tell me what

(02:06:33):
it was like on the ground there watching this speech
and how you think President Trump resonated with these cadets.

Speaker 33 (02:06:42):
He was also very well received at West Point for
the graduation on Saturday, one thousand and two cadets. And
for those of you keeping score at home, twenty five
percent of those graduates now are women. The first one
hundred and nineteen women went into West Point nineteen seventy six,
and now they make up about twenty five percent of
the class at West Point, the American Military Academy there

(02:07:05):
at West Point, New York, and Donald try very well
received there, and again it's a message about peace through strength.
As he has just concluded his tour through Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Cutter and every.

Speaker 6 (02:07:18):
Place he goes.

Speaker 33 (02:07:19):
His comments are fairly similar in so far as it
is building the most powerful military in the world, maintaining
the most powerful military in the world, while hoping to
never open up Area sixty one or sixty two at
arl Inton National Cemetery Area sixty of course for the
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, he hopes never to open up

(02:07:39):
any more ground there to prevent war, to avoid war,
and to mark that a Memorial Day is the most
poignant day to do.

Speaker 6 (02:07:47):
That, of course, is we're here.

Speaker 33 (02:07:49):
Marking the one point three million Americans that have given
their lives. But I think he was very well received
the young cadets there. Like I said one thousand and two,
very well received by the cadets, their families, and by
the military personnel in attendance there. Because again, if you
look at what happened at West Point, you look at
what happened today at our National Seminary. These are events
that ripple through the generations, that ripple through time because

(02:08:12):
it's grandparents and parents and children generational that are attending
the military academy, and generational because families have pride when
they know that somebody in their family served and they became.

Speaker 6 (02:08:25):
A gold Star family.

Speaker 33 (02:08:26):
These are things that resonate with Americans, and honestly they should.

Speaker 34 (02:08:35):
Mike, you want to jump in, Yeah, No, I actually
on that topic, I want to ask about Afghanistan, you know,
talking about the gold Star families and some of the
most recent examples of you know, unfortunately families who become
gold Star families came with the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Speaker 2 (02:08:50):
It was announced by the Trump administration that they're going
to start looking into that and open up a formal
investigation into it. What are some thoughts, Steve. Obviously you've been,
you know, around with the president the last couple of days.
I think he announced it and Secretary Hegseth Announce said
just prior what a is some insight you have on
some things to come on what they're going to do
to get to the bottom of Afghanistan, because obviously it

(02:09:13):
was a horrible thing that his President Trump said would
have never happened if he was the president, and unfortunately,
you know, young lives were lost that day, and I
think that those families probably above all else and everybody
else in the military, they want accountability for that. So
what can you tell us about that, Steve, of anything
you're hearing in your travels close to the president.

Speaker 33 (02:09:35):
Yeah, there's still question that they want to have accountability
for what happened at Abby Gate.

Speaker 6 (02:09:40):
We've all heard the stories.

Speaker 33 (02:09:41):
We know that the suicide bombers were in the crosshairs
of military snipers. They never got the green light and
as a result, the bombs detonated thirteen American military person
will die their eleven marines thirteen in total, men and
women died there as a result of that botched Afghanistan exit.

Speaker 6 (02:09:59):
And people do want answers on that.

Speaker 33 (02:10:01):
Look, the only way we learned from mistakes like that,
and there's no question that was a huge mistake on
embarrassment to this country. And I shared this with Steve
Bannon earlier here on the network. I felt the same
way in nineteen seventy nine, nineteen eighty when I saw
the cover of Time magazine and there was a failed
rescue attempt of the American hostages in Tehran after the

(02:10:24):
Iranians had taken the embassy and taken fifty two Americans
for four hundred and forty four days. There was a
sense of weakness or hopelessness with Jimmy Carter then, and
then it changed when Ronald Reagan took the oath of office.
I feel there weren't a similar moment today. We've had
several years of weakness here and now Donald Trump comes

(02:10:46):
just in the nick of time to take America back
and put this military back on the track to being
the most powerful in the world, putting America first and
making sure that we're respected everywhere so we can avoid war.
Weakness begs confrontation. Strength begs peace, and I think that's
been the message. I think that's been very well received.
I think that people do want to know what happened

(02:11:07):
at Abbvigate. They want a full accounting because of course
we've never had it that happened of course in August
twenty twenty one. We want to have accountability, We want
to know what happened, what went wrong, and we want
to avoid those situations ever occurring as we go forward.

Speaker 1 (02:11:21):
Yeah, and Steve, just to kind of close us out
here before we go to break. When President Trump mentioned
in his speech, I wasn't sure exactly if he would
bring this up, but he did. But we talked about
it with ben Bergkwalm earlier. An unchecked border, the fact
that we've got a much safer border now and then
we had a hard four year So to your point
and to Mike's point about you know, Abbigate, finding a

(02:11:43):
resolution of these things, getting a better and stronger country,
a better stronger military, we may have passed that nexus,
that that pivot point where our country is in a
much safer place in terms of peace through strength. This
is not a president that wants to go to war.
I haven't seen any indication of that. I don't think
you have either. But in terms of his speech today
at Arlington. It seems that he was willing to recognize

(02:12:05):
that we had a very difficult four years with a
lot of mistakes that he's aiming to curb. What did
you take from that, Steve?

Speaker 33 (02:12:13):
I take that as well a weakness, and when you
have weakness, you invite folly from our enemies. Look, we
have a lot of catching up to do in some areas.
As it pertains to dealing with the Chinese military. The
Chinese made great advancements in the last three or four
years that we need to deal with. He understands that
we have allowed also into our country to that open border,

(02:12:34):
people that are openly sworn enemies of this country from
China and from a variety of other places. Because they
were never properly vetted. We've made America less safe by
leaving that door open and bring as many as twenty
million illegals in without properly vetting them.

Speaker 6 (02:12:48):
We don't know where they are or what they're up to.

Speaker 33 (02:12:50):
And they come from places and countries that hate America.
And so when you see the President go into place
like Saudi Arabian UAE and cutter and say that he's
one to have conversations with nations like Syria.

Speaker 6 (02:13:03):
Syria has not been part of the of the conversation.

Speaker 33 (02:13:09):
Of decent countries for twenty five years. To say we'll
have a conversation with them changes the tone. He says,
we'll have a conversation with Lebanon. Lebanon, of course, an
antagonist to the north of Israel, and they're willing to
have a conversation and bring these nations back into the
conversation of civilized nations. This is a different path forward.

(02:13:30):
It's a path forward where that we're offering an olive branch,
but if you don't want the olive branch, we'll come
with a hammer. And that's a different conversation than we've
had for a while. We have projected weakness for the
last four years.

Speaker 6 (02:13:41):
That's over.

Speaker 33 (02:13:43):
Donald Trump has made it clear he doesn't want to
go to war, butt if necessary, he will do whatever
it takes.

Speaker 6 (02:13:47):
To defend this country.

Speaker 33 (02:13:48):
And thank god he will, and thank god he doesn't
apologize like Barack Obama did on the world stage, or
just project weakness like Joe Biden did on the world stage.
Thank god, we've stepped into a new day in an America,
first day in America, projecting strength forever, and I think
that is the place that we've arrived here today.

Speaker 1 (02:14:09):
Yeah, and it's a day of course today, as I explained,
you know, we discussed with Mike earlier, it's a day
where I feel like it shouldn't be just today, it
should be three hundred and sixty five days a year
that we are America first, and we remember the sacrifice
of those who came before us. On that note, let's
take a quick break and we'll be right back with
more special coverage of this Memorial Day Parade with Mike
Crispy and with Steve Gruber. Back in just a moment,

(02:14:41):
and we're back at the Memorial Day Parade special here
on Real America's Voice. Let's tune in right now, reverently
and silently as this gentleman plays taps.

Speaker 25 (02:15:00):
Ah Ah, Mazy green, how sweet?

Speaker 15 (02:15:46):
The sign.

Speaker 24 (02:15:50):
That say Don rod lowas Lord.

Speaker 15 (02:16:13):
Bond no fun wh ws belong Bard No.

Speaker 22 (02:16:44):
Taps was played by Staff Sergeant Craig Bassarich from the
United States Army Bands.

Speaker 19 (02:16:51):
Pushings own from here in the reviewing stand was powerful
to see the whole crowd is rise to that now.
Amazing Grace was sung by Staff Sergeant Caroline Nielsen Alto
vocal the United States Army Band, Pershing.

Speaker 28 (02:17:02):
Zone gorgeous National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five presented
by Boeing. He is brought to you by Events d C,
State of Kuwait.

Speaker 6 (02:17:15):
Robert Earth and.

Speaker 1 (02:17:16):
Welcome back to our special coverage today of the Memorial
Day Parade in Washington, d C. You've been taking a
live look at that. You just heard amazing grace sung
by a staff sergeant. And of course we're just passed
about twenty minutes past what was known as a national
remembrance moment, a moment of silence that always happens, and
it generally is designed so that wherever you are across
this great country of ours, that you remember the fallen

(02:17:39):
at three pm each Memorial Day. And I want to
bring back in Steve Gruber, who's on the scene there
at the Memorial Day Parade. In Mike Crispy, who's joining
us from the New York, New Jersey area. Gentlemen, welcome
back to the Steve, just give us a sense if
you were able to see that and hear that just
a moment ago, amazing grace being powerfully sung by a
staff sergeant. There and just this kind of moment of

(02:18:00):
reflection that was codified in Congress that we should think
about what happened before us, those fallen sacrifice. Since we
are just about twenty minutes past that.

Speaker 4 (02:18:12):
Steve.

Speaker 33 (02:18:15):
I was able to hear it on the replay through.
It's a ways down Constitution Avenue. Here, I just saw
Abraham Lincoln go by, though there's somebody to be said
for that, and that does reflect on it, well, you know,
it does reflect on the fact that this echoes to
the generations. Look, Abraham Lincoln was able to balance the war,

(02:18:38):
put his opponents into his cabinet, manage a war, and
the public sentiment.

Speaker 6 (02:18:45):
Otherwise we wouldn't have a republic.

Speaker 33 (02:18:46):
So you reflect on things like that, and you reflect
on the fact that Arlington was Robert E. Lee's home
until it was confiscated by the United States to be
used for a place to bury the war dead, and
it's expanded ever since become remarkable place and a place
that if you have never visited, you certainly should, you

(02:19:07):
should take your children there.

Speaker 6 (02:19:08):
There's nothing more. I don't know. Stirring, I guess would
be the word I would use.

Speaker 33 (02:19:14):
In Arlington National Cemetery, especially on a Memorial Day because
the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown,
which first happened in nineteen twenty one, and you reflect
on all of the history of this nation and the
people that have put their lives on the line, those
that came home in one.

Speaker 6 (02:19:32):
Point three million that did not. That's what Memorial Day
is all about.

Speaker 33 (02:19:36):
And it's great to see a nation come together because
as I watched this parade go by, I see all creeds,
all colors, all different sorts of people, and it's a
demonstration of what America is. Short, tall, big, small, black, white,
doesn't matter. It is the great melting pot is America.

(02:19:57):
And I guess that's what I see when I see this.
The parade is a reflection of what America is, which
is all these things that come together. And we need
more of that coming together, less divisive, more in common,
and more together. And that's what I see on this
parade route today.

Speaker 1 (02:20:14):
Yes, Steve, you mentioned President Lincoln going by. The first
National Decoration Day as it was known, took place on
May thirtieth, eighteen sixty eight, at Arlington National Cemetery, and
that program included remarks by General Congressman and future President
James Garfield, and it had featured a recitation of the
Gettysburg Address, the famous Gettysburg Address and the Star Spangled banner,
And Mike, I got to bring you in because in

(02:20:35):
eighteen seventy three, New York was the first date to
officially recognize the holiday.

Speaker 2 (02:20:42):
Well, you know, obviously a lot of history here, and
I think even if you're in a place like New
York or New Jersey, places that are known as blue states.
I mean, there has been a shift to the right.
But I think what Steve said just a moment ago
talking about how no matter who you are, what you love,
and what you stand for on either side of the

(02:21:02):
political aisle, today's the day that we could all come
together and say, look, we do have more in common
than we have a part. And it is our collective
spirit in that notion of having more together than we
do a part, that has allowed us to come forth
join together have the greatest fighting force in military in
the history.

Speaker 3 (02:21:21):
Of the world.

Speaker 2 (02:21:22):
And unfortunately some didn't make it back, but we continue
to honor their legacy and make them the great heroes
that they are and preserve their legacy.

Speaker 3 (02:21:30):
And that's not a red thing.

Speaker 2 (02:21:32):
Or that's not a blue thing, that is an American thing.
So I think that you know when it comes to
whether you're in New York or whether you're in a
place like Alabama, totally different politics, but deep down, when
the fake news isn't trying to divide us along all
these different lines, you can look.

Speaker 3 (02:21:50):
At days like today.

Speaker 2 (02:21:51):
You can look at the people out there who are
celebrating the lives of these heroes. You can look at
people who are advocating for things that are cross party lines,
like services for our vets va Okay, getting medical care
for people who unfortunately lost limbs, who almost died in
the line of duty but are still alive. These are

(02:22:11):
things that can unify us. And I think that if
you love this country and you haven't totally become a
zombie of the fake news, you look at a daylight today,
no matter where you are in our country, no matter
what city you're in, no matter what politics you're part of,
and you say, this is why we're America. This is
why we could even have these disagreements in these fights.

Speaker 3 (02:22:32):
It's for these people.

Speaker 2 (02:22:33):
So I think that's the thing BO is that whether
you're in a red state or blue state, I think
that no matter what, ninety nine point nine percent of
people are thankful today and that's something pretty amazing and wonderful.

Speaker 1 (02:22:45):
Yeah, and Mike, you and Steve both brought this up,
and Steve, I want to get your thoughts on this.
You know, there's kind of a debate about the day's
origins of Memorial Day in which community was first, whether
it's Columbus, Mississippi or Columbus Georgia. But it stood to reason,
and I think the thing to take away is that,
especially coming out of the Civil War, North and South,
black and white, male and female, all wanted to commemorate

(02:23:06):
the dead. And you think about a bitterly divided country
at that time in the eighteen hundreds and how everyone
wanted to come together no matter who you were, because
you were Americans honoring your dead. So Steve, I'm going
to let you kind of take a lap on that,
just in terms of the fact that you mentioned that
no matter who you are, short, tall, black, white, young, old,
that the point was we have to honor those who

(02:23:28):
laid down their lives and pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Speaker 6 (02:23:32):
Yeah, no question. Look, there's and I don't have this
town off the top of my head.

Speaker 33 (02:23:37):
But at the conclusion of the Civil War, ten thousand
newly freed black slaves found a mass grave of Union soldiers,
and they excavated those graves and gave them proper burial.
So the first Memorial Day really was celebrated by the
newly freed black slaves and the soldiers of the Union
army that had died to set them free, to give

(02:24:00):
that full measure of freedom has promised in the United
States Constitution. So that's to me, the most poignant original
Memorial Day. Of course, it's been moved to the day
that it is now the last Monday in May or
wherever it is, where you are, and so it is
that kind of coming together for me. It is that

(02:24:21):
kind of coming together for me that you can celebrate America.
And I look around and this is America. I mean,
I've got high school bands from all over this country. Alabama,
New York, Michigan, Montana, it doesn't matter California.

Speaker 6 (02:24:35):
I just saw one go by. The country comes together.

Speaker 33 (02:24:39):
I'd like it to be September twelfth more often, is
what I'm driving at here. September twelfth, the day after
the attacks, and the World Trade Center in America stood
as won and we all raised flags and we said
hello to our neighbors that we didn't know, and we
we took the chip off our shoulder for a while.
You know, there's a political chip on too many people's

(02:24:59):
shoulders too long. I think that's certainly clear now. You know,
with people that disliked this president, but hard to argue
with the president and the address that he gave on
Saturday at West Point or the udssity gave today, recognizing
those that had fallen and asking those that were there
that had lost a family member or loved them to

(02:25:20):
stand up and be recognized. It was a remarkable reminder
of who we are and what it's taken to save
this republic time and again. And you look at the
providence of what it's taken to get us here, whether
it was Bunker Hill or the Battle of New Orleans
in the War of eighteen twelve, or Midway or a
thousand other battles that America had no chance of winning,

(02:25:42):
and yet somehow we prevailed.

Speaker 6 (02:25:44):
That's providence. That's what brings us here.

Speaker 33 (02:25:46):
Providence, the input and the master plan of God in
the estimation well of me and millions of others, and
so that's an important consideration this day as well.

Speaker 1 (02:25:57):
Steve. You're not too far obviously where the two Israeli
diplomats were shot and killed recently. As you reflect upon
that and knowing how close you are to that, know
that here we are having a Memorial Day parade and
honoring our fallen What does that mean for the stakes
of this country When something like that happens and you
have members of Congress who won't even condemn and act

(02:26:18):
like that.

Speaker 6 (02:26:21):
Well, that is shameful on their part.

Speaker 33 (02:26:22):
But we've had divisive actions in this country a number
of times.

Speaker 6 (02:26:28):
That won't be the last. We have overcome that every
single time, and I guess that's my hope for the futures.
We will continue to overcome.

Speaker 33 (02:26:37):
We will continue to embrace this country in the greatest
and we need to teach these children about it. It's
a place we have failed. But I think that that
is changing, and I talked about that earlier today. I
think it's changing. And here's how I think it is changing.
I saw the students at the University of North Carolina
and the University of Alabama that were tearing down the

(02:27:01):
flag that didn't belong and putting up the American flag
and defending it and circling the flagpole so that the
American flag was recognized and revered and protected. I think
we have a younger generation that's more patriotic, more belief
in America than we've had on a very long time.
And I'm encouraged by it. I'm really encouraged by it,

(02:27:22):
to be honest.

Speaker 1 (02:27:24):
That's good and I think you're right. We are getting
a more patriotic generation. We just have to make sure
we keep them educated well. Steve and Mike, let's stay
tuned here and hang on tight. We'll be right back
with more coverage of the Memorial Day Parade special right
here in Real America's Voice. Stay with us.

Speaker 22 (02:27:39):
Were the heroes you made the ultimate price for our freedom.
To all who have served as sacrifice to do their families,
the Ti skeeky Ahrman, the Medal of Honor, recipients and
soldiers of.

Speaker 1 (02:27:51):
Every day at Real America's Voice, Let's tune back in
live now to the Memorial Day Parade happening in Washington,
DC on Constitution Avenue.

Speaker 19 (02:28:00):
But in nineteen eighty two, roc Veteran Association of Greater
Washington is one of the biggest Chinese community organizations in
the Washington area with.

Speaker 22 (02:28:08):
More than three hundred members. All of them are veterans
of Republic of China Taiwan and included many high ranking
generals who joined the United States courses and World War
Two providing against the.

Speaker 6 (02:28:22):
Japanese of Asia.

Speaker 19 (02:28:24):
In past years, the association actively participated in many activities
here with their friends of US Veterans groups to promote
the mainstream events in the Chinese community.

Speaker 22 (02:28:41):
The fifty foot Taiwan flag is brought to us by Chechquk.
It commemorates a very special partnership. During the Second World War,
the United States and the Republic of China forged a
friendship that continues.

Speaker 4 (02:28:55):
To this day.

Speaker 19 (02:28:56):
Today, the ROC known as Taiwan remains a steadfast and
partner in democracy and human rights. Today's flag is being
carried by members from the Veterans Affairs Council ROC Taiwan.
Here is REATHS Across America and its Mobile Education Exhibit.

(02:29:17):
This exhibit is a museum on wheels which travels the country,
bringing together communities and the military with education, stories and
interactive connections. The mobile museum is equipped with a twenty
four person screening room and three interactive digital stations. How
about that reachs across America's purpose is to remember, honor
and teach about service and sacrifice and the love of

(02:29:39):
our country.

Speaker 22 (02:29:44):
Here comes is Stanley High School, Falcon Brigade and Diamonds
from the state of Missouri. Now we've got to show
mes sake more than a collection of reforms.

Speaker 15 (02:29:54):
This is a theim where dedication.

Speaker 22 (02:29:56):
Meets passion and students grow as people as much as
they do as performers. This daily van creates a legacy
of mentorship and of passing down the valley the hard work, resilience, cooperation,
and addition the musical skills.

Speaker 4 (02:30:12):
Let's enjoy.

Speaker 28 (02:30:24):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five, presented by
Boeing is brought to you by Code of Support Foundation
the City and.

Speaker 1 (02:30:34):
Welcome back to our special coverage right here on Memorial Day.
Want to bring back in Mike Crispy and Steve Ruber
on the ground there in Washingt d C. Mike, you know,
we were talking earlier about JD Vance's comments, and I
took a lot away from it. We spoke about it earlier.
He talked about kind of the sum total of the
moments that are lost when a soldier lays down his
or her life. That there's a totality to it that

(02:30:56):
we can't really quantify. It's you don't get to see
your child grow up, You don't get to walk your
daughter down the aisle in that one last breath. That
last moment obliterates many many moments to come, special moments.
These are the stories of people we will never meet
and never know. But he said that we've been given
a great gift and we hope that that makes us

(02:31:18):
worthy of it. That kind of stuck with me, and
I just kind of want to open this conversation up
to you both, starting with you, Mike, how do we
as a country and as a nation become worthy of
what others have so selflessly done. I know that's kind
of an abstract concept, but as we think about those
moments that are lost because of what's the sacrifice someone
else made, how do we become worthy of that?

Speaker 6 (02:31:39):
Well?

Speaker 3 (02:31:40):
I think it's a great question. Bo I think it's
a great thing to ponder on, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:31:42):
Jd Vance said that, and I think that it sets
the tone for how we lead our lives next year.

Speaker 3 (02:31:49):
Into the following memorial day.

Speaker 2 (02:31:52):
You know, how did the people who gave the ultimate
sacrifice in the line of duty, how did they see him?
What compelled them to sign up and say, you know what,
I'm willing to lose my life for this to defend
this ideal. So what were those ideals? And if you're
gonna sit there and you're gonna boil.

Speaker 3 (02:32:12):
It down, you're gonna say, that's what I want to
do to live my life. I want to live my
life like that.

Speaker 2 (02:32:18):
Okay, I doubt the people who are leaving it all
on the line, who are willing to risk it all.
We're saying, oh, we're going to have you know, chances
in the streets and you know, chant the free Palestine
and burn things to the ground like in the summer
or love.

Speaker 3 (02:32:30):
No, that's not what these people died for. These people
died for free speech and free expression.

Speaker 2 (02:32:35):
But they gave their lives so people could go to school,
so people could raise families, so people could live in freedom.
People could have a job and start a business and
worship the religion that they want, and they could have
family time, and they could have their freedoms, and they
could have their Second Amendment, they could have all their
constitutional liberties, and they could live life in a way

(02:32:57):
that is honorable of the people who came before them
and have a sense of community in their neighborhoods that
is unlike any other place on the planet, where you're
helping each other in communities around the country.

Speaker 3 (02:33:09):
That is what I think. These people put it all
on the line for and sacrifice for.

Speaker 2 (02:33:14):
So when we reflect on them, then we reflect on
how to honor them day in and day out.

Speaker 3 (02:33:20):
I think that's what it is.

Speaker 4 (02:33:21):
Bo.

Speaker 3 (02:33:21):
I think it's looking back, what did they give it
all for?

Speaker 2 (02:33:25):
And if you think about that, it's very easy to
tell what we should be practicing day in and day out.
And I think that will make us better Americans. And
I think that will lead to stronger communities and a
stronger next generation following that.

Speaker 1 (02:33:39):
Yeah, and Steve, when I was in the grocery store
the other day, I was there with my family and
there was a Vietnam veteran there proudly wearing his Vietnam
veteran hats and attire. And he saw me and he
came over and he said, you know, my son is
fifty one. Now. I think this guy was about ninety
years old or so, and He explained to me that
he was a medic in Vietnam and he saw a
lot of gore, lot of destruction. And before he even continued,

(02:34:02):
he said, I'm sorry, I don't want to hold you up.
And I said, no, sir, I said, go on. I mean,
I feel like if I'm not giving that time to
that guy to listen to his story. He talked about
Agent Orange, he talked about being spit on coming back home.
If we can't take a minute to recognize that man's
efforts and being a medic, then what are we doing

(02:34:22):
so the same question I posed to you as I
posed to Mike, and becoming worthy of this If we
can't take time out to listen to our veterans, to
listen to people who have seen loss, who have seen gore,
some of whom are dealing with tremendous PTSD and might
even be suicidal, that I think to become worthy, Steve,
We've got to listen to their stories and continue to
tell them.

Speaker 33 (02:34:43):
There's no question these are the stories that have to
echo through the generations. We need to share, and we
need to share with this great cross section of America
like we see today at the twenty twenty five and
Role Day parade here in the nation's capital. Speaking of
diversity and cross section. Gene Simmons us walk by. You'll
know him. He's the bass player from the band Kiss Swear.

(02:35:05):
He just walked by, and Tony my photographers go, is
that really him?

Speaker 6 (02:35:08):
One hundred percent?

Speaker 33 (02:35:09):
And then you know, then you have Karana Michigan's marching
band and Jean Simmons. I mean, talk about a nice
cross section of the world.

Speaker 34 (02:35:15):
There it is.

Speaker 33 (02:35:16):
I have no idea what mister Simmons was up to,
but he was walking head, you know, with rattlesnake boots
and whatever else. Anyhow, it's a cross section of America.

Speaker 6 (02:35:25):
It's good fun.

Speaker 33 (02:35:25):
But we do need to tell these storts. The story
of the medic is a great one. Look, let them
tell their stories. You know, I knew some some Vietnam
veterans that would never talk about their experiences because they
didn't feel they were well. And let's be honest, they
weren't treated right when they came home. Oftentimes they were
treated terribly, spit on, yelled at, cursed. We don't do

(02:35:46):
that anymore, thankfully we got past that. But you know,
for a number of years we had a Vietnam hangover
in this country. We need to get past that. We
need to do, as Donald Trump said, when we fight
a war, come with overwhelming force. When the war move on,
overwhelming force, work for peace. But if you have to
go to war, don't play games, don't mess right. You
know in this Steve Manna point out today earlier and

(02:36:09):
quite accurately, so the Korean War is not over. Nobody
ever signed the deal. You know, that war, literally after
all these years, is still going seventy plus years later,
seventy five, I suppose now it is still technically legally

(02:36:29):
a war. And we don't want to be in these
protracted conflicts and these never ending wars.

Speaker 6 (02:36:35):
We don't want to be there. We want to be
able to say with certainty that the war is over,
like we did with World War One and World War Two.
We want to say with certainty that we've come with
overwhelming force and American power and delivered a decisive victory.
That's what we must do.

Speaker 33 (02:36:49):
We must Anything less is unacceptable to me and millions
of others.

Speaker 1 (02:36:54):
Absolutely, And you know, just as another story that I
learned even in some of my research for one of
the Medal of Honor, recipients that's buried down here in
Florida at the Florida National Cemetery. Speaking of Korea, Steve,
when he fought in Korea, put his entire body over
a grenade to protect his fellow comrades in battle. He
lived through it, he didn't die. I had to ask
one of my military friends, former director of Selective Service,

(02:37:17):
how did he survive that? He said, some of them do.
And the fact that on his tombstone he didn't die
in that moment of battle. That shows you what it
is to lay down your life for others. That is
the noblest of service. So on that note, let's take
a quick break and we'll be right back with more
special Memorial Day coverage right here in Real America's Voice.

(02:37:41):
Welcome back to our special coverage. Welcome Memorial Day. Thank
you so much for being with us and spending your
holiday with us. Let's return now to our live coverage
of the Memorial Day Parade in Washington.

Speaker 4 (02:37:51):
D C.

Speaker 19 (02:37:51):
Public of Vietnam Armed Forces from nineteen sixty five to
nineteen seventy three for the freedom of the Vietnamese people.

Speaker 4 (02:37:59):
They especially to express.

Speaker 19 (02:38:00):
Gratitude to the more than fifty eight thousand American service
men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the
freedom of the Vietnamese people.

Speaker 15 (02:39:08):
Thank you to Costco for being a parade sponsor.

Speaker 19 (02:39:20):
Now let's welcome Fort Union Military Academy Marching Band from
Fort Union, Virginia.

Speaker 4 (02:39:26):
Founded in eighteen ninety eight.

Speaker 19 (02:39:27):
Pork Union Military Academy is known for its commitment to discipline, leadership,
and academic excellence. The band proudly wears the striking red
coats inspired by the commandant's own Marine Drummond Bugle Corps.
And leading the band today is Cadet Major Joseph Athey,
who is concluding his distinguished final year at Fork Union.

Speaker 28 (02:40:12):
The National Memorial Day Parade twenty twenty five, presented by Boeing,
is brought to you by American.

Speaker 1 (02:40:20):
Welcome back to our special coverage of the Memorial Day
Parade in Washington, DC. You've been following it and reflecting
upon service and sacrifice, and I want to bring back
in Mike Crispy, who's been with me for the majority
of the time. It's been wonderful to be able to
banter with Mike and collect his thoughts on revering this day. Mike,
you know, as I watched this parade. I think I
mentioned it to you that I performed in it several

(02:40:41):
years ago, and I did it as a result of
a foundation called Purple Hearts Reunited, and it's a group
that actually finds lost and stolen purple hearts and returns
them to their rightful owners, many of whom are obviously deceased,
because some could be killed in action or mortally wounded.
Usually when they find these, it belongs to someone who
is no longer with us. But it's a story, part
of a story, and so I worked with the co

(02:41:02):
founder to write a song about it, which is part
of my special and the lyrics are pretty much he
fought for his country, to keep it proud and free,
and if it weren't for his service, there would be
no you or me. Every time I tell his story,
it never grows old. He had a heart of purple
and gold. And that's just kind of what came to
me because I think about the stories have to continue
to be told lest we forget them. So as we

(02:41:25):
kind of round up some of our coverage here, I
just want to toss it to you and say, you know,
the stories are so important. Each soldier's story is important.
We'll never know them all, but we should try to
learn a few, should we not?

Speaker 2 (02:41:38):
Absolutely bo and good lyrics by the way I like it.
I think three things come to mind on how we
should remember today. You know, President Trump set the tone
with his speech earlier this morning, and is we should
honor these people, obviously honoring their lives. We should celebrate
their excellence. Just the absolute mental fordit to toughness, stamina

(02:42:01):
to stare in the face of potential death and say, hey,
I'm gonna do this because I'm going to defend, protect
and preserve the ideals that are America so we can
continue it on the fact that it's lasted for two
hundred and fifty years and counting is nothing short of excellence.

Speaker 3 (02:42:17):
And then the last thing is.

Speaker 2 (02:42:18):
Obviously, there's a lot of talk today, deservingly so about
the gold Star families, and the word that comes to
my mind is resiliency.

Speaker 3 (02:42:26):
Okay, these people are so resilient.

Speaker 4 (02:42:29):
JD.

Speaker 2 (02:42:29):
Van's talked about it that every single holiday that comes
and goes, Birthday, Thanksgiving, major life milestone, the family has
to do that without the member of their family who
gave it all up so we could enjoy lives with
our family. So those are the three things that come
to mind when I look at today. It's been such

(02:42:49):
a great honor to cover these people and pay tribute
to them with you Bo on Real America's Voice, and
with Steve Gruber and with Ben Burk, Wwaman everybody else.
And I think that again, this is a new age
for the country. With President Trump back at the helm,
I think that, as Steve pointed out, younger people now
are actually starting to gravitate towards patriotism, and that kind

(02:43:11):
of comes hand in hand with supporting Trump. The polls
show that younger generations are starting to wake up way
more than they ever have.

Speaker 3 (02:43:17):
So I think that we can pivot on this.

Speaker 2 (02:43:19):
We can use today as a day of remembrance, and
we can go forth in the rest of the year
and in this new golden age of the country, remember
the people who got us here, and celebrate those who
are going to keep protecting and expanding our freedoms and
our values.

Speaker 1 (02:43:33):
Bill yeah, Mike, And I also think about the fact
he mentioned, you know, he's gonna have the World Cup,
the Olympics, the two hundred and fifty anniversary of our country.
He said, God worked it out that way, and I
think President Trump has found kind of renewed sense of
his Christianity, of his faith with especially after that bullet
grazed his ear. That's something that you just don't look
at and say, well, that was an accident. So I

(02:43:54):
think we have to acknowledge that too, that freedom isn't free,
but also we were here by the grace of God.

Speaker 2 (02:44:00):
Mike Amen, I mean, that day was unbelievable in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Speaker 3 (02:44:06):
I do agree.

Speaker 2 (02:44:07):
It is totally, in my opinion, got President Trump in
a great way talking more openly about his faith. You know,
God saved Trump, so Trump could save America. I totally
believe that. And I think that the folks who serve
our country now, I think that you have to, you know,
have a level of faith.

Speaker 3 (02:44:25):
And I think that Pete Hegseth renewing that independagon.

Speaker 2 (02:44:28):
You know, we showed the clip earlier of Pete Hegseth
talking about, you know, how he's proud to you know,
lead that prayer service, and how that's now replacing what
they were doing the demonic you know, drag queen performances
at the military base.

Speaker 3 (02:44:43):
Those are gone.

Speaker 2 (02:44:44):
We're now honoring the fundamental pillar that has made our
country our country, and that is our Christian values that
built this nation. We don't have a country without great
men and women having that faith. So I think that
it's it's really a great day of reflection on multiple fronts.
And again, really the word is blessed to be born

(02:45:05):
in this country. You can be born anywhere on the planet,
and if you're watching the show today, you know, good
chance you're born in America, and you should be very
very thankful that it worked out that way.

Speaker 1 (02:45:16):
Aim into that we are indeed blessed. Well, Mike, thank
you so much for being with me for the past
several hours. It's been an honor and a privilege. So
happy Memorial Day to you. Freedom is a gift. It
is absolutely a gift, and we have to remember that.
And so for some final thoughts and to close out
this hour, I'd like to toss it over to the
great Steve Ruber.

Speaker 33 (02:45:35):
Both thank you for that two hundred and fifty years,
one point three million lives on the battlefields, from Lectioning
and Concord to the War of eighteen twelve to the
Civil War, to World War One and World War Two.

Speaker 6 (02:45:48):
Pork Chop Hill in shan and Korea.

Speaker 33 (02:45:51):
That's what this day is about, bringing this country together,
honoring those that have laid down their lives, given the
last full measure of devotion to thosetry public.

Speaker 6 (02:46:00):
So that we could sit here and have this conversation.
That's what Memorial Day is about.

Speaker 33 (02:46:03):
It's the unofficial kickoff for summer, and God bless them
for that they allowed us to stand here and talk
to you and have these conversations, You and I by
laying down their lives and defending this nation against tyranny
from Germany or Russia or China. Now, depending on who
the enemy may be going forward, I'm optimistic and hopeful

(02:46:26):
that Donald Trump will deliver a day in America that
is still.

Speaker 6 (02:46:30):
The strongest country on earth, but hopefully with less.

Speaker 33 (02:46:33):
Wars, hopefully less people to put into Arlington National Cemetery.
Hopefully we can find ways to solve our problems in
this new age of the twenty first century where we
don't have to kill as many people. Because if we
go to war in the twenty first century, it'll be
far worse than anything we've faced before. The weapons are
so much more fierce and devastating that Arlington might not

(02:46:57):
be big enough, let's hope and pray that doesn't happen.
When it comes to the first Memorial Day, I do
want to talk about what I mentioned earlier.

Speaker 6 (02:47:04):
It wasn't created by Congress.

Speaker 33 (02:47:07):
It was created by newly freed black Americans former slaves.
May first, eighteen sixty five and Charleston, South Carolina, two
dozen black volunteers atsumed the bodies of two hundred and
fifty seven Union soldiers that had died in a prison camp.
There ten thousand newly freed black slaves turned out for

(02:47:30):
their reinterment, to honor those that had fought for them
for freedom, and God bless American and that what we
should do today, Come together, all races, black and white,
to honor those that have fought for us.

Speaker 6 (02:47:41):
From every neighborhood.

Speaker 33 (02:47:43):
And when you look through Arlington and the stones of
Saint New York and Maryland, Massachusetts, and Mississippi, Guam, American Samoa,
all corners of this great country of ours have given
that last full devotion, last full measure of devotion to
who we are. And take a moment this Memorial Day
and think about those who died so you could enjoy

(02:48:05):
this moment. I'd like to leave you with a moment
of silence. I'm going to step out so you can
see the Washington Monument, which, by the way, this monument
was a stump when Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office.
It wasn't complete, but he completed it and he saved
this nation. Thank god he did, and thank God for

(02:48:26):
all those that served, one point three million that gave
that their lives for this country. Enjoy Memorial Day, but remember,
my friends, what it's all about. From all of us
here at Real America's voice. May you enjoy this moment
of silence.

Speaker 15 (02:49:28):
Oh, may any races have sweet.

Speaker 6 (02:49:36):
Sound.

Speaker 15 (02:49:38):
That's o rige lid highwanpo was launched.

Speaker 6 (02:49:53):
But down.

Speaker 15 (02:49:55):
And down wovens blind wood.

Speaker 6 (02:50:01):
Now I see.

Speaker 1 (02:50:07):
Twos greed that told my ball

Speaker 6 (02:50:15):
To feet and greets my feet.