November 11, 2020 • 32 mins
Although retired Staff Sergeant Patrick Nelson experienced great loss while serving in the U.S. Army, he also found a new sense of purpose and drive. In this episode, Patrick explains to host Bobby Bones what it means to carry on the legacy of the service men and women who never made it back home.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Please be advised the following episode contains references to violence
and may not be suitable for all listeners. This is
Vets you Should Know, a podcast from My Heart Radio
celebrating the many who have selflessly put their lives on
the line to serve their country and the armed forces.
(00:21):
Every Veterans Day, we as a country honor and commemorate
the people who fight for our freedom and defend our country.
And in this four part series, you'll hear from these
individuals as they share their unique experiences in the military
and the lessons they learned that carried them into their
new roles in civilian life. In this episode, I'm talking
to retired Staff Sergeant Patrick Nelson of the Army National Guard.
(00:44):
At first, Patrick decided to attend boot camp to escape
a difficult home life, but a few years later, he
dropped out of a community college two days after nine
eleven and went active duty with the National Guard. Patrick
eventually retired from the Army and transitioned out of active
duty to He speaks to groups across the country, sharing
stories of a service and telling audiences about the inspiring
(01:05):
men and women he served with whom we lost overseas.
Hey Patrick, how are you Hey, I'm good, Bobby. How
are you doing? Pretty good? Good to talk to you.
Where are you live right now? Where are you? I
am in Elk River, Minnesota, which is just a suburb
of the Minneapolis St. Paul area. So is it freezing
cold up there right now or almost getting in? No,
(01:25):
it's it's pretty cold. We're expected to get five to
seven inches of snow today, so we're in the middle
of it right now. Fall has passed upy and we've
shifted into winter. I am not lying to you here,
I'm looking because I'm in Nashville right now and it
is seventy eight degrees right now. It could not be nice. Nice.
(01:45):
So you enlisted in the military in what year? Well?
I first enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard in
February of two thousand, while I was a junior in
high school. Well, why, as a junior in high school
did you feel that it was the right time for
you to get involved. Well, Bobby, I didn't have the
greatest childhood growing up. It certainly could have been worse.
(02:08):
But I heard a bunch of guys from my high
school we're joining, and they said they're gonna send us
down to Oklahoma for Basic training for the entire summer,
and I was like, what I want to get out
of here? Count me in And I signed up, really
(02:28):
not knowing what to expect, but just wanting to take
a break from the situation back home. You went to
Oklahoma for basic first, right, and what was that experience
like for you? That's correct, it was, yeah, Basic Training
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. It was interesting. I think it's everything
that you would think it would be. I had a
(02:50):
fun time because I was there with a bunch of
buddies from high school, so I think that probably made
it a lot easier and I got to do some
things that I've never on before, similar to your story.
You know, I had a very rough childhood growing up.
You know, my mom was an addict. I never knew.
My dad kind of had to figure out situations, and
(03:10):
you know, it's it's wild how we have to find
other places to go to get a feeling of um, involvement,
sometimes love, sometimes the feeling of just accomplishment. And mine
was you know, church and performing, you know for me.
And it's awesome that yours was the military. And so
you're a junior in high school, you're you're going through
basic When did you go this is gonna be something
(03:31):
I know I'm going to do for a long time. Yeah, well,
so you know, I got back in, you know, started
my senior year of high school, had zero direction with
what I was going to do in life. I didn't
have the family support that said, here, you should, you know,
visit these colleges. Here, let me help you fill out
these forms and applications. It was basically just me navigating
(03:53):
things on my own. And after I graduated high school
and I barely graduated again, there's a lot of similarity
between our stories because you know, I saw drugs in
the house, my mother arrested. I did not know my
biological father growing up. I didn't meet him till three
years ago, which is an even more interesting story, and
he's a wonderful man. But yeah, I had no idea
(04:14):
what I said to do. I had to go back
to Oklahoma again for my advanced training, and then I
came back and I enrolled in a community college in
west central Minnesota, and three weeks into my first semester,
I was skipping classes already. It's you know, safe to
say that I wasn't going to find a lot of
(04:34):
success in college, but then that Tuesday in September, all
of our lives changed. And as I watched on TV,
just like everybody else, I felt those same feelings of helplessness, sorrow, anger,
And two days after the attacks, I went and visited
the recruiter's office and asked to go active duty Army.
(04:58):
I knew that the military was going to be doing
something in response to this, and I knew that the
active duty obviously would be the ones going first, and
driven by all those patriotic feelings and emotions, I wanted
to be. I wanted to be part of it. You know,
when looking at you getting in January two thousand two,
and you talk about nine eleven and and just listening
(05:21):
to how as a student you weren't as disciplined as
you would like to be. Why do you think you
felt like you wanted to get into what is probably
the most disciplined area you can go into, which is
the military. Why did you feel like that was right
for you? Yeah, that's a great question. I think a
lot of it boiled down to growing up. I feel
(05:42):
like I had a lot of self awareness. I understood
my lot in life, how people viewed me, but at
the same time, I also had friends who had very
you know, what i'd call normal families and normal family experiences,
and I really craved that and wanted at and would
try to surround myself with those type of people. So
(06:03):
I learned at a very early age the importance of
surrounding yourself with the right people, and I knew that
I would get that in the military. So you specialized
as a filled artillery cannon crew member, you gotta help me.
What does that job entail? That job entails shooting a
how it's sir cannon, And so specifically I was on
(06:25):
a one oh five millimeter how it's sir cannon. So
I was a paratrooper, and so it's something that can
be parachuted out of the back of an airplane, that
can be sling loaded underneath a helicopter. So it's a
very agile artillery piece where we can kind of shoot
and move and get the job done. So from when
(06:45):
you first start training until you're actually active with what
what is that training process? That sounds extremely intense? Yeah,
it's it's pretty intense. You know, in basic training and
and your advanced individual training, it's really just sort of
introducing you to the military, because you really don't learn
the most until you're at your unit. And so when
(07:07):
I finally was able to get active duty in January
two thou two, I first got sent to this unit
in Germany, which was a rocket brigade, so they fired rockets.
I was used to shooting cannons, and so they gave
me the position of the colonel's driver. Now I didn't
drop out of college after nine eleven to drive the
(07:30):
colonel and make sure his coffee was hot. I happened
to be at a training exercise one day we were
in Germany, and I saw these guys parachuting out of
the back of helicopters and I pointed up to my
first stargeant to a standing next to me. I said,
that's the stuff that I want to do, and he
had the right connections. With the help of a lot
(07:50):
of paperwork, I got reassigned down to the one seventy
three Airborne Brigade based out of Vicenza, Italy. So you're
a guy that grows up in a alltown in Minnesota,
You're in Oklahoma doing basic and all of a sudden,
you're all around the world. You're in Germany, you're in Italy.
What's a I mean, that's got to be a bit
of a culture shock to you. Huh, Absolutely huge culture shock,
(08:13):
but such an amazing opportunity for myself just to have
that exposure and just I mean even in the military alone,
even if I would have been stationed in the States,
it's a blender full of people. And it was just
such a pleasure and joy to be able to to
serve with such a diverse group. But as fulfilling as
(08:34):
the experience was, Patrick faced major adversity while deployed. In
two thousand five, he was stationed at a forward operating
base along the Pakistani border, serving as fire support for
a special forces team. It was here alongside the Pakistani
border that everything changed in an instant for Patrick. It
was June, which meant fighting season was starting to pick up.
(08:57):
Things were starting to get pretty busy, so we needed
some more ammunition, and I went over to help that
other section that day because they had a sergeant leaving
on R and R, so I was gonna basically backfill
his position while he was gone. And so as I
heard the sound of the Chinook helicopter approaching, I hopped
in a humpy with my good friend Luke. And then
(09:18):
just as we're about to pull away to drive out
to the landing zone, my soldier popped in the back.
Now he was supposed to be back with our section.
So I turned around and I has a buddy yelled
at him, but I thought, for a second, you know
what I value that kind of work ethic. He wants
to come lift some heavy boxes in this heat out here,
that's great. Our section can no problem handle the job
(09:41):
without the both of us. But then I realized he
didn't have his helmet on, and Bobby I literally opened
my mouth, but then I realized I didn't have mine
on either, and it's kind of hard for me to
say something if I'm not doing the right thing. So
we got out to the landing zone. The Chinook landed,
and a group of ten of us step to the
side of the aircraft so they could take the machine
(10:03):
gun off the back ramp. My platoon sergeant he handed
me a piece of paper with some serial numbers items
we're expecting. The rotor blades are turning, it's kicking up dust.
You can't hear anybody talk. And I grabbed the piece
of paper and I turned around to ground guide, my
buddy Luke, and the hump vy to gi M a
little bit closer to the back of the helicopter, so
(10:24):
it's a little shorter distance to load the ammunition. And
the next thing I remember, I'm just picked up and
I'm slammed to the ground, unsure what happened. I look
up and you know, I see bodies laying everywhere. I
see blood, and I initially thought maybe one of the
(10:44):
engines on the helicopter had had possibly exploded. The helicopter
powered down, and then I heard that distinct sound of
an incoming one oh seven millimeter rocket and I got
up in a dove underneath the humpy for cover as
more raw gets impacted around us, And as soon as
the barrage ended, I crawled out from underneath and I
(11:06):
started running back to the soldiers that were still on
the ground, really unsure of what I was going to find.
And as I was running, a marine that was on
our base training Afghan National Army soldiers had yelled me
that I've been hit, and up until that point and
it felt any pain, but I turned my head and
looked at the back of my uniform and it was
shredded and blood was point out, and it was at
(11:28):
that moment the pain really hit me. So they brought
us to the small Afghan clinic that was within our
forward operating base and was ran by an Afghan doctor,
and so it was a mass casualty situation, and my
wounds were very minor compared to everybody else. I took
some shrapnel to the back, nothing too serious, had a
piece still sticking out of me. One of the Special
(11:51):
Forces guys came by with his little leatherman tool, whipped
out his players and pulled it out. That was pretty interesting.
And I got bandaged up, and I started looking around
and see who else was hurt. And I saw a
supply sergeant that was recently attached to us from a
National Guard unit out of Massachusetts, and he's laying on
this elevated stretcher, and the local Afghan doctor, who it's
(12:13):
like five ft two inches, is standing on this red
melt crate performing CPR. So I kind of do a
quick lap around the clinic trying to see who else
has hurt, how bad, and I come back around it.
It couldn't have been more than forty five seconds, and
they're zipping Michael up into a body bag, and I
(12:36):
find my way into a small room in the back
of the clinic there, and that's where I see my soldier,
Emanuel Hernandez, laying on a table. His head is bandaged.
A few people are working on him, but I could
see his chest rise and fall, so I knew that
he was breathing, and I grabbed his hand. I said, hey,
everything's gonna be okay. Medivac helicopters arrived. They brought us
(12:58):
to forward surge tical teams in the region. They removed
several pieces of shrapnel from my back, left a few
souvenirs in there for me, banage me up, sent me
back out to the landing zone for another helicopter ride
to Bogger Mayor Field for some further advanced medical care.
And it was as I was waiting there, my commander
(13:20):
approached me and asked me how I was doing, and
I told him I was going to be fine, And
of course I asked, I said, well, how how's Hernandez?
And he looked at me said He's gonna be okay,
And you know, I just felt such relief. And he
turned to walk away, and he got about three or
four steps and he turned around in tears were rolling
(13:42):
down his cheeks, and he said, I'm sorry that I
lied her. Nandez didn't make it, and I dropped to
my knees and I just lost it. He died because
I didn't have the courage to speak up, because I
(14:03):
wasn't doing the right thing. And that was something that
haunted me for a long time as I finished my
military career and even as I transitioned into the civilian world.
You know, I tried to drink it away. I tried
to wash it away with pills. But I've learned over
(14:24):
time it's such a cliche. I can't change the past,
but I can influence the future. And so I've learned
that I can take that story. I can take my failure.
I can take the sacrifice of Emmanuel and Michael and
other friends of mine that I've lost in combat, and
I can share them with others to inspire them. And
(14:44):
so I've really found a purpose and being able to
share my story with others and also just let them
know about these these brave men that I had the
honor of serving with. Well, first, I'd like to thank
you for sharing that part of your story. I know
that you were fremely vulnerable to tell that, and that
so many people are going to benefit from you just
sharing what you've gone through, because people have and we'll
(15:06):
go through very similar things. So first, before we move
on to the next part and some other questions that
for you, I would just like to thank you for
for spending those few minutes talking about that with me.
After spending nearly seven years as a paratrooper in the U. S.
Army and completing three combat deployments in various leadership positions,
earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Patrick turned us
(15:29):
focus to helping others. Being able to place yourself in
a in somebody else's shoes and see things from their
perspective is something we need so much more of in
this world that we're living in today. And so I'm
able to take that story and just it one. It
connects me with other people, like you said, who've had
(15:50):
maybe not the same obviously tragedies being blown up by
a rocket, but people who have experienced grief or people
who have experienced loss, and just attempting to be a
role model for them to show them that, yes, it's
still impacts me, it still hurts, but I can do
(16:11):
something about it as far as sharing that story and
influencing others. And you know, in February, I lost my
job like a lot of people did, and now I
am making a go of it on my own, trying
to be a speaker to share my story and I
will talk to anybody that will sit down and listen.
(16:31):
It has made me very purpose driven. When I was
in the military, or rather when I signed up, I
signed up for all those patriotic reasons, but when I
was in it was just another job. We woke up
a little bit earlier than most people, and we took
extended business trips. But just like somebody might be an
insurance salesman, I was a soldier. I didn't think about
(16:52):
that patriotic stuff. And it wasn't until I got out
that I reflected on my experiences and realized I was
part of something so much bigger than myself. I tried
for a long time thinking I had to replicate that
exact purpose, which I quickly learned that I never was
going to be able to do. But I have found
(17:14):
a purpose again and just being able to inspire others
to help them realize that they can impact those around them,
because sometimes the smallest access service have the biggest impact,
and you may never know unless you speak up and
or talk to somebody or reach out. You just never
(17:34):
know the impact that you could have on somebody's life.
Whenever you transition into civilian life, did you have a
clear path that you knew that you would follow getting
back and what was that transition like for you. I
knew before I got out that I needed to have
a plan. I saw a lot of soldiers leave the
military without a plan and say, you know what, I'm
(17:57):
gonna take a couple months off, then I'm gonna go
to college. I'm gonna use my benefits, and I never
saw him do it. While I was in Afghanistan on
my last deployment, which was fifteen months long, I had
already received one scholarship, a Horatio alger military scholar. I
had been accepted into college. I had signed a lease
(18:17):
on an apartment in the city that I was moving to.
I knew that I had to have things in place,
so when I got out, I was ready to rock
and roll and again, even though I had a plan,
though it wasn't wasn't always easy. I didn't expect the
challenges that I face with the PTSD symptoms that that
(18:37):
came up and the challenges that I had with my
reliance on prescription pills. So I got out and I
had two surgeries related to my wounds. I was on
viking in a morphine for five years. I didn't go
anywhere without a bunch of pills in my pocket. It
took me a long time to realize that I even
had a problem. The pills, the drugs, that the alcohol,
(19:01):
they only act as accelerants for any type of PTSD
challenges you might have. So having to overcome that was tough,
and so I think still having that foundation of the
plan really was able to help keep me on on
a path which wasn't always straight. But then also having
(19:21):
my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife,
and again understanding the importance of surrounding myself with people
who have your best interests in mind, not yes man
or yes women, right, people who are not going to
tell you what you want to hear, but obviously what
you need to hear. Two thousand and eight, I think
you go back and get your degree, but what inspires
you to do that? Yeah, again, it kind of really
(19:43):
goes back to the tough childhood that I had. People
didn't look at me growing up, and I'm sure it
might have been the same for you, Bobby saying, man,
that kid's gonna go places some day and do some
great things. And uh, it's really was driven by the
sense of wanting to overcome the stereotypes and the statistics
and have a sense of achievement. After I got wounded
(20:03):
in the military, I got Metavact out of there and
I was gone for three weeks. A fellow soldier my
unit by the name of Greg Trent, had a conversation
with me, and Greg was able to sneak me on
a helicopter flight to get back there with my soldiers. Unfortunately,
Greg was killed in two thousand twelve in Afghanistan while
operating with his Special Forces team. But Gregg got me
(20:26):
back out there. I couldn't go out on any missions.
But we're working with the Special Forces. We're working with
the Seals, which meant we had bigger budgets, which meant
we had satellites, which meant we had fast internet. So
I started plugging away at online college classes while I'm
in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere, Afghanistan.
And so I finished two years of college classes while
I was in just because I wanted to challenge myself
(20:50):
and accomplish something and prove people wrong. And so I
got out December two thousand eight. January two thousand nine,
I was sitting in the college classroom with a bunch
eighteen nineteen year old kids, and you know, I was
twenty six at the time. I felt like I was
that kind of old weird man on campus. But uh
is still pretty young, you know, double majored. I went,
(21:12):
got that master's degree, and then, um, you know, just
a few years ago, I went and finished another master's
degree in organization development for Pepperdine and again really driven
by that sense of wanting to accomplish something and showing
people that I can do it, and not only showing
people that you can do it. And I feel like
we're we come from the same spot and you may
(21:33):
agree with me here, it's showing other people like us
they can do it too. Absolutely, Yeah, definitely, it's a
you know, being being that I like holding up that
mirror to other people and saying like, look, if I
can overcome this, I know that you can too, And yeah,
you know what, it's gonna be hard and It's gonna
take a lot of hard work and it's not gonna
be handed to you, but you can do it. If
(21:57):
there are young people listening to this right now who
are considering enlisting and then they're moved by your story,
what advice would you give them about enlisting? I would
ask them, what do you want to do in life?
Like what's your what's your dream, and whatever it is,
go for it, like you got one shot at this
life you're on Earth. And if it is joining the military,
(22:19):
if you want to go shoot some guns, go for it.
Do it now. If you want to work for the
CIA someday or FBI, you know, and you want to
go into intelligence, do that. If you're eighteen years old,
you don't have to have everything figured out. I mean,
it took me to tell us about thirty one to
kind of realize what I wanted to do with my life.
(22:39):
So if you don't know, just go out there and
soak in different experiences, whether it is the military or
volunteering for different organizations. Because you know, when I got out,
I first wanted to work in professional sports. I got
a master's screen sport management. I was very fortunate to
be named that that NFL Tillman Scholar and I went
(23:00):
to work for the Minnesota Vikings, my hometown football team.
What I thought it was going to be my dream job,
and it turned out it wasn't and it wasn't for me.
So you don't have to have it all figured out.
If if you want to join the military, do your research,
figure out what branch is going to be best for
you with what you want to do, and uh and
do it. But my my recommendation is if you join
(23:22):
the army and make sure you become a paratrooper. Uh,
what do you miss most about being in the military.
I missed the people and I also missed the mission. Obviously,
there's a lot of politics at play when it when
it comes to the conflicts that are going on, and
that's not something that I thought about when I was in.
But I saw the impact that we had on local
(23:43):
people and when it was in Iraq, when I was there,
and when I went to Afghanistan, and that is such
a a humbling feeling that allows me to still keep
things in perspective to this day thinking about those people
in the lives that they have and all the blessings.
You know, again, I lost my job in February. But
(24:05):
I'm gonna be okay. I'm not living in a war
torn country, so it just makes me continue to remain grateful.
How would you encourage someone, because this for us is
inspired by Veteran's Day obviously, how would you encourage someone
to go about celebrating Veterans Day or what can we
(24:26):
actually do? Not just think and feel? And that's level
one for sure, but what can we also do? Level two? Yeah?
I like that you put it like that, Bobby, because
words are nice, they're great, but what sort of action
can you take? And so my recommendation is to get
(24:47):
involved with some type of organization if you support veterans,
if it's a cause that you're passionate about, whether it's
going to the v A and visiting with some of
the patients there, or one of the many Veteran service
organizations out there, the VFW, the American Legion that unfortunately
I'm really struggling with membership with this younger generation of veterans.
(25:10):
I encourage people get involved in you know, yeah, he's
here on Veterans Day, that's kind of the obviously a
prime time to thank a vet, and but then that
sort of just fades away after a while. I like
to say, for my you know, there's a lot of
gold star mothers and and brothers and sisters and fathers
out there, and I know plenty of them that Memorial
(25:32):
Days every day for them, And the same thing applies
for me for Veterans Day. It might be the middle
of June and hey it's not Veterans Day today, but
going to do something for veteran anyways. You know. I
found my ability to do that through my affiliation with
an organization called Tee It Up for the Troops. They
hold golf events across the country raising money for wounded veterans.
(25:55):
And I had never swung a golf club again, like
growing up like we did, I never swing a golf
club in my life until I was twenty seven years
old and they put a set of golf clubs in
my hands, and I fell in love with the game.
And I'm a terrible golfer, but I found it as
a therapeutic outlet just to kind of take my mind
(26:17):
off of all the other things that we're going on.
That's the one organization that I really will bend over
backwards for and do anything that I can to help
them further their cause. So tell me about life now
and what you're doing, and how do you see the
lessons and values that you've learned influencing and impacting your
journey as it continues. Yeah, life is great. It's been
(26:39):
a challenge again losing your job. In February, my wife
and I were in the middle of the adoption process.
We have two beautiful biological girls and we had just
in January, we went through what's known as a failed match.
We lost, you know, fifteen thousand dollars, which is a
significant amount of money for anybody, but what hurt the
(27:00):
most was the emotional investment. And then I go ahead
and lose my job, and we have to decide if
we want to continue on with this adoption journey, which
is expensive, and you know, we make the decision to
continue on, I start trying to make a go of
it on my own to be able to to speak
to others to help them develop as leaders. And in
(27:24):
May we welcomed a beautiful baby girl by the name
of Haven that we adopted, and she has just been
the light of our life through these challenging times that
everybody's going through. And uh, and we definitely look forward
to adopting again. We have so much love to give.
It's always been our dream to you know, we just
want to build a big house in the country and
(27:46):
fill it full of kids and fill it full of love.
My wife had a very normal childhood growing up. I didn't.
I didn't have one of those safe places where you
could bring friends over to hang out and play a
video game or whatever. And so we really want to
create that opportunity the for kids to be that place
where you're not worried about where your kids at on
a Friday night. Is they're all, you know, at the
(28:06):
h at the Nelson House, hanging out at the sport court,
playing basketball or whatever. And so really that's what drives
me as my family and taking care and providing for
them and doing meaningful work. How pivotal was your wife
in your process? I I think I would have committed
(28:30):
suicide if it wasn't for her. I don't think that
I would be alive today if it wasn't for her. Um,
because I struggled, and I kept a lot of those
struggles internal and I didn't share those with anybody. And um, yeah, man,
(28:51):
if if it wasn't for her, I don't think I'd
be here as a dad, just as a dad. What what?
What's your goal? My goal is to spend as much
time with my kids as possible. And that's another thing.
The career that I've chosen and that I feel like
has also chosen me, provides me that flexibility. You know,
(29:12):
I encourage everybody do do whatever makes you happy. And
this is what makes me happy because I have that
flexibility where if I want to go play at the
park with my girls all afternoon, I can do that.
They're only young once. And it's just having kids is
so awesome. And and Bobby, I just h I know
you got engaged recently, so congratulations. And you know, if
(29:34):
you end up having a family, I think you're gonna
feel that as well and just be be an awesome dad,
I hope. So you know, I was always and still
am a bit scared to have kids because I had
no I didn't have parents, so I don't know if
I know how to parent. You know, I didn't have
a safe place. And much like you, so to hear
your story and to hear you I love being a
dad and want more kids, and like that's inspiring for
(29:56):
a guy like me. Well, you know. I like to
say I was taught exactly what not to do. I
learned exactly what not to do from from those I
had in my life. But at the same time, too,
I understood the power of positive people around me and
surrounding myself with them and seeing what it can be like.
And so I've been able to take that and use
(30:16):
that to shape me as a father. And you'll go
through a lot of learning experiences obviously too. And I
have really enjoyed talking with you. I've I mean that
as as sincerely as I possibly can um. So thank
you for sharing your story, thank you for sharing your
knowledge and your advice, and for continuing to want to
do that because I can tell you from experience, it
(30:39):
ain'ty easy thing to want to talk to folks because
not everybody wants to always hear you want they don't
want to listen to your story. But when you connect,
it is worth its weight and whatever currency you want
to spend. And so you're gonna it's gonna be so
great for you because I can just tell that that
fulfills you to help others. So thank you again, and
the best best way just to you and your wife
(31:00):
and and all your kids. Thank you very much, Bobby,
I appreciate the opportunity. It's been fantastic, so thank you
very much, and again, congratulations on the depending nuptials. Enjoy
it man. I want to thank Patrick for his bravery
and dedication and service and for the work he does
today carrying out the memory of those who have made
(31:21):
the ultimate sacrifice. I encourage you to follow Patrick Nelson
on Instagram. He's at Patrick J. Nelson Ninete. Thanks for
listening to Bet you Should Know. Check out our other
episodes from more great stories from inspiring bets like Patrick
who continue to work selflessly and tirelessly in civilian life
to make positive change. If you like what you heard,
(31:42):
please rate and review the podcast. We want to hear
from you, and don't forget to subscribe for free or
follow the show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Bets you Should
Know is a special four part series podcast from I
Heart Radio hosted by me Bobby Bones. Our show has
written produced by Molly Sosha, Andy Kelly, Ethan Fixell in
(32:03):
partnership with Haley Erickson and Garrett Shannon of Banter Edit,
sound design, and mixed by Matt Stillo and my personal
producer and hero is Mike d
Please be advised the following episode contains references to violence
and may not be suitable for all listeners. This is
Vets you Should Know, a podcast from My Heart Radio
celebrating the many who have selflessly put their lives on
the line to serve their country and the armed forces.
(00:21):
Every Veterans Day, we as a country honor and commemorate
the people who fight for our freedom and defend our country.
And in this four part series, you'll hear from these
individuals as they share their unique experiences in the military
and the lessons they learned that carried them into their
new roles in civilian life. In this episode, I'm talking
to retired Staff Sergeant Patrick Nelson of the Army National Guard.
(00:44):
At first, Patrick decided to attend boot camp to escape
a difficult home life, but a few years later, he
dropped out of a community college two days after nine
eleven and went active duty with the National Guard. Patrick
eventually retired from the Army and transitioned out of active
duty to He speaks to groups across the country, sharing
stories of a service and telling audiences about the inspiring
(01:05):
men and women he served with whom we lost overseas.
Hey Patrick, how are you Hey, I'm good, Bobby. How
are you doing? Pretty good? Good to talk to you.
Where are you live right now? Where are you? I
am in Elk River, Minnesota, which is just a suburb
of the Minneapolis St. Paul area. So is it freezing
cold up there right now or almost getting in? No,
(01:25):
it's it's pretty cold. We're expected to get five to
seven inches of snow today, so we're in the middle
of it right now. Fall has passed upy and we've
shifted into winter. I am not lying to you here,
I'm looking because I'm in Nashville right now and it
is seventy eight degrees right now. It could not be nice. Nice.
(01:45):
So you enlisted in the military in what year? Well?
I first enlisted in the Minnesota Army National Guard in
February of two thousand, while I was a junior in
high school. Well, why, as a junior in high school
did you feel that it was the right time for
you to get involved. Well, Bobby, I didn't have the
greatest childhood growing up. It certainly could have been worse.
(02:08):
But I heard a bunch of guys from my high
school we're joining, and they said they're gonna send us
down to Oklahoma for Basic training for the entire summer,
and I was like, what I want to get out
of here? Count me in And I signed up, really
(02:28):
not knowing what to expect, but just wanting to take
a break from the situation back home. You went to
Oklahoma for basic first, right, and what was that experience
like for you? That's correct, it was, yeah, Basic Training
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. It was interesting. I think it's everything
that you would think it would be. I had a
(02:50):
fun time because I was there with a bunch of
buddies from high school, so I think that probably made
it a lot easier and I got to do some
things that I've never on before, similar to your story.
You know, I had a very rough childhood growing up.
You know, my mom was an addict. I never knew.
My dad kind of had to figure out situations, and
(03:10):
you know, it's it's wild how we have to find
other places to go to get a feeling of um, involvement,
sometimes love, sometimes the feeling of just accomplishment. And mine
was you know, church and performing, you know for me.
And it's awesome that yours was the military. And so
you're a junior in high school, you're you're going through
basic When did you go this is gonna be something
(03:31):
I know I'm going to do for a long time. Yeah, well,
so you know, I got back in, you know, started
my senior year of high school, had zero direction with
what I was going to do in life. I didn't
have the family support that said, here, you should, you know,
visit these colleges. Here, let me help you fill out
these forms and applications. It was basically just me navigating
(03:53):
things on my own. And after I graduated high school
and I barely graduated again, there's a lot of similarity
between our stories because you know, I saw drugs in
the house, my mother arrested. I did not know my
biological father growing up. I didn't meet him till three
years ago, which is an even more interesting story, and
he's a wonderful man. But yeah, I had no idea
(04:14):
what I said to do. I had to go back
to Oklahoma again for my advanced training, and then I
came back and I enrolled in a community college in
west central Minnesota, and three weeks into my first semester,
I was skipping classes already. It's you know, safe to
say that I wasn't going to find a lot of
(04:34):
success in college, but then that Tuesday in September, all
of our lives changed. And as I watched on TV,
just like everybody else, I felt those same feelings of helplessness, sorrow, anger,
And two days after the attacks, I went and visited
the recruiter's office and asked to go active duty Army.
(04:58):
I knew that the military was going to be doing
something in response to this, and I knew that the
active duty obviously would be the ones going first, and
driven by all those patriotic feelings and emotions, I wanted
to be. I wanted to be part of it. You know,
when looking at you getting in January two thousand two,
and you talk about nine eleven and and just listening
(05:21):
to how as a student you weren't as disciplined as
you would like to be. Why do you think you
felt like you wanted to get into what is probably
the most disciplined area you can go into, which is
the military. Why did you feel like that was right
for you? Yeah, that's a great question. I think a
lot of it boiled down to growing up. I feel
(05:42):
like I had a lot of self awareness. I understood
my lot in life, how people viewed me, but at
the same time, I also had friends who had very
you know, what i'd call normal families and normal family experiences,
and I really craved that and wanted at and would
try to surround myself with those type of people. So
(06:03):
I learned at a very early age the importance of
surrounding yourself with the right people, and I knew that
I would get that in the military. So you specialized
as a filled artillery cannon crew member, you gotta help me.
What does that job entail? That job entails shooting a
how it's sir cannon, And so specifically I was on
(06:25):
a one oh five millimeter how it's sir cannon. So
I was a paratrooper, and so it's something that can
be parachuted out of the back of an airplane, that
can be sling loaded underneath a helicopter. So it's a
very agile artillery piece where we can kind of shoot
and move and get the job done. So from when
(06:45):
you first start training until you're actually active with what
what is that training process? That sounds extremely intense? Yeah,
it's it's pretty intense. You know, in basic training and
and your advanced individual training, it's really just sort of
introducing you to the military, because you really don't learn
the most until you're at your unit. And so when
(07:07):
I finally was able to get active duty in January
two thou two, I first got sent to this unit
in Germany, which was a rocket brigade, so they fired rockets.
I was used to shooting cannons, and so they gave
me the position of the colonel's driver. Now I didn't
drop out of college after nine eleven to drive the
(07:30):
colonel and make sure his coffee was hot. I happened
to be at a training exercise one day we were
in Germany, and I saw these guys parachuting out of
the back of helicopters and I pointed up to my
first stargeant to a standing next to me. I said,
that's the stuff that I want to do, and he
had the right connections. With the help of a lot
(07:50):
of paperwork, I got reassigned down to the one seventy
three Airborne Brigade based out of Vicenza, Italy. So you're
a guy that grows up in a alltown in Minnesota,
You're in Oklahoma doing basic and all of a sudden,
you're all around the world. You're in Germany, you're in Italy.
What's a I mean, that's got to be a bit
of a culture shock to you. Huh, Absolutely huge culture shock,
(08:13):
but such an amazing opportunity for myself just to have
that exposure and just I mean even in the military alone,
even if I would have been stationed in the States,
it's a blender full of people. And it was just
such a pleasure and joy to be able to to
serve with such a diverse group. But as fulfilling as
(08:34):
the experience was, Patrick faced major adversity while deployed. In
two thousand five, he was stationed at a forward operating
base along the Pakistani border, serving as fire support for
a special forces team. It was here alongside the Pakistani
border that everything changed in an instant for Patrick. It
was June, which meant fighting season was starting to pick up.
(08:57):
Things were starting to get pretty busy, so we needed
some more ammunition, and I went over to help that
other section that day because they had a sergeant leaving
on R and R, so I was gonna basically backfill
his position while he was gone. And so as I
heard the sound of the Chinook helicopter approaching, I hopped
in a humpy with my good friend Luke. And then
(09:18):
just as we're about to pull away to drive out
to the landing zone, my soldier popped in the back.
Now he was supposed to be back with our section.
So I turned around and I has a buddy yelled
at him, but I thought, for a second, you know
what I value that kind of work ethic. He wants
to come lift some heavy boxes in this heat out here,
that's great. Our section can no problem handle the job
(09:41):
without the both of us. But then I realized he
didn't have his helmet on, and Bobby I literally opened
my mouth, but then I realized I didn't have mine
on either, and it's kind of hard for me to
say something if I'm not doing the right thing. So
we got out to the landing zone. The Chinook landed,
and a group of ten of us step to the
side of the aircraft so they could take the machine
(10:03):
gun off the back ramp. My platoon sergeant he handed
me a piece of paper with some serial numbers items
we're expecting. The rotor blades are turning, it's kicking up dust.
You can't hear anybody talk. And I grabbed the piece
of paper and I turned around to ground guide, my
buddy Luke, and the hump vy to gi M a
little bit closer to the back of the helicopter, so
(10:24):
it's a little shorter distance to load the ammunition. And
the next thing I remember, I'm just picked up and
I'm slammed to the ground, unsure what happened. I look
up and you know, I see bodies laying everywhere. I
see blood, and I initially thought maybe one of the
(10:44):
engines on the helicopter had had possibly exploded. The helicopter
powered down, and then I heard that distinct sound of
an incoming one oh seven millimeter rocket and I got
up in a dove underneath the humpy for cover as
more raw gets impacted around us, And as soon as
the barrage ended, I crawled out from underneath and I
(11:06):
started running back to the soldiers that were still on
the ground, really unsure of what I was going to find.
And as I was running, a marine that was on
our base training Afghan National Army soldiers had yelled me
that I've been hit, and up until that point and
it felt any pain, but I turned my head and
looked at the back of my uniform and it was
shredded and blood was point out, and it was at
(11:28):
that moment the pain really hit me. So they brought
us to the small Afghan clinic that was within our
forward operating base and was ran by an Afghan doctor,
and so it was a mass casualty situation, and my
wounds were very minor compared to everybody else. I took
some shrapnel to the back, nothing too serious, had a
piece still sticking out of me. One of the Special
(11:51):
Forces guys came by with his little leatherman tool, whipped
out his players and pulled it out. That was pretty interesting.
And I got bandaged up, and I started looking around
and see who else was hurt. And I saw a
supply sergeant that was recently attached to us from a
National Guard unit out of Massachusetts, and he's laying on
this elevated stretcher, and the local Afghan doctor, who it's
(12:13):
like five ft two inches, is standing on this red
melt crate performing CPR. So I kind of do a
quick lap around the clinic trying to see who else
has hurt, how bad, and I come back around it.
It couldn't have been more than forty five seconds, and
they're zipping Michael up into a body bag, and I
(12:36):
find my way into a small room in the back
of the clinic there, and that's where I see my soldier,
Emanuel Hernandez, laying on a table. His head is bandaged.
A few people are working on him, but I could
see his chest rise and fall, so I knew that
he was breathing, and I grabbed his hand. I said, hey,
everything's gonna be okay. Medivac helicopters arrived. They brought us
(12:58):
to forward surge tical teams in the region. They removed
several pieces of shrapnel from my back, left a few
souvenirs in there for me, banage me up, sent me
back out to the landing zone for another helicopter ride
to Bogger Mayor Field for some further advanced medical care.
And it was as I was waiting there, my commander
(13:20):
approached me and asked me how I was doing, and
I told him I was going to be fine, And
of course I asked, I said, well, how how's Hernandez?
And he looked at me said He's gonna be okay,
And you know, I just felt such relief. And he
turned to walk away, and he got about three or
four steps and he turned around in tears were rolling
(13:42):
down his cheeks, and he said, I'm sorry that I
lied her. Nandez didn't make it, and I dropped to
my knees and I just lost it. He died because
I didn't have the courage to speak up, because I
(14:03):
wasn't doing the right thing. And that was something that
haunted me for a long time as I finished my
military career and even as I transitioned into the civilian world.
You know, I tried to drink it away. I tried
to wash it away with pills. But I've learned over
(14:24):
time it's such a cliche. I can't change the past,
but I can influence the future. And so I've learned
that I can take that story. I can take my failure.
I can take the sacrifice of Emmanuel and Michael and
other friends of mine that I've lost in combat, and
I can share them with others to inspire them. And
(14:44):
so I've really found a purpose and being able to
share my story with others and also just let them
know about these these brave men that I had the
honor of serving with. Well, first, I'd like to thank
you for sharing that part of your story. I know
that you were fremely vulnerable to tell that, and that
so many people are going to benefit from you just
sharing what you've gone through, because people have and we'll
(15:06):
go through very similar things. So first, before we move
on to the next part and some other questions that
for you, I would just like to thank you for
for spending those few minutes talking about that with me.
After spending nearly seven years as a paratrooper in the U. S.
Army and completing three combat deployments in various leadership positions,
earning a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, Patrick turned us
(15:29):
focus to helping others. Being able to place yourself in
a in somebody else's shoes and see things from their
perspective is something we need so much more of in
this world that we're living in today. And so I'm
able to take that story and just it one. It
connects me with other people, like you said, who've had
(15:50):
maybe not the same obviously tragedies being blown up by
a rocket, but people who have experienced grief or people
who have experienced loss, and just attempting to be a
role model for them to show them that, yes, it's
still impacts me, it still hurts, but I can do
(16:11):
something about it as far as sharing that story and
influencing others. And you know, in February, I lost my
job like a lot of people did, and now I
am making a go of it on my own, trying
to be a speaker to share my story and I
will talk to anybody that will sit down and listen.
(16:31):
It has made me very purpose driven. When I was
in the military, or rather when I signed up, I
signed up for all those patriotic reasons, but when I
was in it was just another job. We woke up
a little bit earlier than most people, and we took
extended business trips. But just like somebody might be an
insurance salesman, I was a soldier. I didn't think about
(16:52):
that patriotic stuff. And it wasn't until I got out
that I reflected on my experiences and realized I was
part of something so much bigger than myself. I tried
for a long time thinking I had to replicate that
exact purpose, which I quickly learned that I never was
going to be able to do. But I have found
(17:14):
a purpose again and just being able to inspire others
to help them realize that they can impact those around them,
because sometimes the smallest access service have the biggest impact,
and you may never know unless you speak up and
or talk to somebody or reach out. You just never
(17:34):
know the impact that you could have on somebody's life.
Whenever you transition into civilian life, did you have a
clear path that you knew that you would follow getting
back and what was that transition like for you. I
knew before I got out that I needed to have
a plan. I saw a lot of soldiers leave the
military without a plan and say, you know what, I'm
(17:57):
gonna take a couple months off, then I'm gonna go
to college. I'm gonna use my benefits, and I never
saw him do it. While I was in Afghanistan on
my last deployment, which was fifteen months long, I had
already received one scholarship, a Horatio alger military scholar. I
had been accepted into college. I had signed a lease
(18:17):
on an apartment in the city that I was moving to.
I knew that I had to have things in place,
so when I got out, I was ready to rock
and roll and again, even though I had a plan,
though it wasn't wasn't always easy. I didn't expect the
challenges that I face with the PTSD symptoms that that
(18:37):
came up and the challenges that I had with my
reliance on prescription pills. So I got out and I
had two surgeries related to my wounds. I was on
viking in a morphine for five years. I didn't go
anywhere without a bunch of pills in my pocket. It
took me a long time to realize that I even
had a problem. The pills, the drugs, that the alcohol,
(19:01):
they only act as accelerants for any type of PTSD
challenges you might have. So having to overcome that was tough,
and so I think still having that foundation of the
plan really was able to help keep me on on
a path which wasn't always straight. But then also having
(19:21):
my girlfriend at the time who is now my wife,
and again understanding the importance of surrounding myself with people
who have your best interests in mind, not yes man
or yes women, right, people who are not going to
tell you what you want to hear, but obviously what
you need to hear. Two thousand and eight, I think
you go back and get your degree, but what inspires
you to do that? Yeah, again, it kind of really
(19:43):
goes back to the tough childhood that I had. People
didn't look at me growing up, and I'm sure it
might have been the same for you, Bobby saying, man,
that kid's gonna go places some day and do some
great things. And uh, it's really was driven by the
sense of wanting to overcome the stereotypes and the statistics
and have a sense of achievement. After I got wounded
(20:03):
in the military, I got Metavact out of there and
I was gone for three weeks. A fellow soldier my
unit by the name of Greg Trent, had a conversation
with me, and Greg was able to sneak me on
a helicopter flight to get back there with my soldiers. Unfortunately,
Greg was killed in two thousand twelve in Afghanistan while
operating with his Special Forces team. But Gregg got me
(20:26):
back out there. I couldn't go out on any missions.
But we're working with the Special Forces. We're working with
the Seals, which meant we had bigger budgets, which meant
we had satellites, which meant we had fast internet. So
I started plugging away at online college classes while I'm
in a mud hut in the middle of nowhere, Afghanistan.
And so I finished two years of college classes while
I was in just because I wanted to challenge myself
(20:50):
and accomplish something and prove people wrong. And so I
got out December two thousand eight. January two thousand nine,
I was sitting in the college classroom with a bunch
eighteen nineteen year old kids, and you know, I was
twenty six at the time. I felt like I was
that kind of old weird man on campus. But uh
is still pretty young, you know, double majored. I went,
(21:12):
got that master's degree, and then, um, you know, just
a few years ago, I went and finished another master's
degree in organization development for Pepperdine and again really driven
by that sense of wanting to accomplish something and showing
people that I can do it, and not only showing
people that you can do it. And I feel like
we're we come from the same spot and you may
(21:33):
agree with me here, it's showing other people like us
they can do it too. Absolutely, Yeah, definitely, it's a
you know, being being that I like holding up that
mirror to other people and saying like, look, if I
can overcome this, I know that you can too, And yeah,
you know what, it's gonna be hard and It's gonna
take a lot of hard work and it's not gonna
be handed to you, but you can do it. If
(21:57):
there are young people listening to this right now who
are considering enlisting and then they're moved by your story,
what advice would you give them about enlisting? I would
ask them, what do you want to do in life?
Like what's your what's your dream, and whatever it is,
go for it, like you got one shot at this
life you're on Earth. And if it is joining the military,
(22:19):
if you want to go shoot some guns, go for it.
Do it now. If you want to work for the
CIA someday or FBI, you know, and you want to
go into intelligence, do that. If you're eighteen years old,
you don't have to have everything figured out. I mean,
it took me to tell us about thirty one to
kind of realize what I wanted to do with my life.
(22:39):
So if you don't know, just go out there and
soak in different experiences, whether it is the military or
volunteering for different organizations. Because you know, when I got out,
I first wanted to work in professional sports. I got
a master's screen sport management. I was very fortunate to
be named that that NFL Tillman Scholar and I went
(23:00):
to work for the Minnesota Vikings, my hometown football team.
What I thought it was going to be my dream job,
and it turned out it wasn't and it wasn't for me.
So you don't have to have it all figured out.
If if you want to join the military, do your research,
figure out what branch is going to be best for
you with what you want to do, and uh and
do it. But my my recommendation is if you join
(23:22):
the army and make sure you become a paratrooper. Uh,
what do you miss most about being in the military.
I missed the people and I also missed the mission. Obviously,
there's a lot of politics at play when it when
it comes to the conflicts that are going on, and
that's not something that I thought about when I was in.
But I saw the impact that we had on local
(23:43):
people and when it was in Iraq, when I was there,
and when I went to Afghanistan, and that is such
a a humbling feeling that allows me to still keep
things in perspective to this day thinking about those people
in the lives that they have and all the blessings.
You know, again, I lost my job in February. But
(24:05):
I'm gonna be okay. I'm not living in a war
torn country, so it just makes me continue to remain grateful.
How would you encourage someone, because this for us is
inspired by Veteran's Day obviously, how would you encourage someone
to go about celebrating Veterans Day or what can we
(24:26):
actually do? Not just think and feel? And that's level
one for sure, but what can we also do? Level two? Yeah?
I like that you put it like that, Bobby, because
words are nice, they're great, but what sort of action
can you take? And so my recommendation is to get
(24:47):
involved with some type of organization if you support veterans,
if it's a cause that you're passionate about, whether it's
going to the v A and visiting with some of
the patients there, or one of the many Veteran service
organizations out there, the VFW, the American Legion that unfortunately
I'm really struggling with membership with this younger generation of veterans.
(25:10):
I encourage people get involved in you know, yeah, he's
here on Veterans Day, that's kind of the obviously a
prime time to thank a vet, and but then that
sort of just fades away after a while. I like
to say, for my you know, there's a lot of
gold star mothers and and brothers and sisters and fathers
out there, and I know plenty of them that Memorial
(25:32):
Days every day for them, And the same thing applies
for me for Veterans Day. It might be the middle
of June and hey it's not Veterans Day today, but
going to do something for veteran anyways. You know. I
found my ability to do that through my affiliation with
an organization called Tee It Up for the Troops. They
hold golf events across the country raising money for wounded veterans.
(25:55):
And I had never swung a golf club again, like
growing up like we did, I never swing a golf
club in my life until I was twenty seven years
old and they put a set of golf clubs in
my hands, and I fell in love with the game.
And I'm a terrible golfer, but I found it as
a therapeutic outlet just to kind of take my mind
(26:17):
off of all the other things that we're going on.
That's the one organization that I really will bend over
backwards for and do anything that I can to help
them further their cause. So tell me about life now
and what you're doing, and how do you see the
lessons and values that you've learned influencing and impacting your
journey as it continues. Yeah, life is great. It's been
(26:39):
a challenge again losing your job. In February, my wife
and I were in the middle of the adoption process.
We have two beautiful biological girls and we had just
in January, we went through what's known as a failed match.
We lost, you know, fifteen thousand dollars, which is a
significant amount of money for anybody, but what hurt the
(27:00):
most was the emotional investment. And then I go ahead
and lose my job, and we have to decide if
we want to continue on with this adoption journey, which
is expensive, and you know, we make the decision to
continue on, I start trying to make a go of
it on my own to be able to to speak
to others to help them develop as leaders. And in
(27:24):
May we welcomed a beautiful baby girl by the name
of Haven that we adopted, and she has just been
the light of our life through these challenging times that
everybody's going through. And uh, and we definitely look forward
to adopting again. We have so much love to give.
It's always been our dream to you know, we just
want to build a big house in the country and
(27:46):
fill it full of kids and fill it full of love.
My wife had a very normal childhood growing up. I didn't.
I didn't have one of those safe places where you
could bring friends over to hang out and play a
video game or whatever. And so we really want to
create that opportunity the for kids to be that place
where you're not worried about where your kids at on
a Friday night. Is they're all, you know, at the
(28:06):
h at the Nelson House, hanging out at the sport court,
playing basketball or whatever. And so really that's what drives
me as my family and taking care and providing for
them and doing meaningful work. How pivotal was your wife
in your process? I I think I would have committed
(28:30):
suicide if it wasn't for her. I don't think that
I would be alive today if it wasn't for her. Um,
because I struggled, and I kept a lot of those
struggles internal and I didn't share those with anybody. And um, yeah, man,
(28:51):
if if it wasn't for her, I don't think I'd
be here as a dad, just as a dad. What what?
What's your goal? My goal is to spend as much
time with my kids as possible. And that's another thing.
The career that I've chosen and that I feel like
has also chosen me, provides me that flexibility. You know,
(29:12):
I encourage everybody do do whatever makes you happy. And
this is what makes me happy because I have that
flexibility where if I want to go play at the
park with my girls all afternoon, I can do that.
They're only young once. And it's just having kids is
so awesome. And and Bobby, I just h I know
you got engaged recently, so congratulations. And you know, if
(29:34):
you end up having a family, I think you're gonna
feel that as well and just be be an awesome dad,
I hope. So you know, I was always and still
am a bit scared to have kids because I had
no I didn't have parents, so I don't know if
I know how to parent. You know, I didn't have
a safe place. And much like you, so to hear
your story and to hear you I love being a
dad and want more kids, and like that's inspiring for
(29:56):
a guy like me. Well, you know. I like to
say I was taught exactly what not to do. I
learned exactly what not to do from from those I
had in my life. But at the same time, too,
I understood the power of positive people around me and
surrounding myself with them and seeing what it can be like.
And so I've been able to take that and use
(30:16):
that to shape me as a father. And you'll go
through a lot of learning experiences obviously too. And I
have really enjoyed talking with you. I've I mean that
as as sincerely as I possibly can um. So thank
you for sharing your story, thank you for sharing your
knowledge and your advice, and for continuing to want to
do that because I can tell you from experience, it
(30:39):
ain'ty easy thing to want to talk to folks because
not everybody wants to always hear you want they don't
want to listen to your story. But when you connect,
it is worth its weight and whatever currency you want
to spend. And so you're gonna it's gonna be so
great for you because I can just tell that that
fulfills you to help others. So thank you again, and
the best best way just to you and your wife
(31:00):
and and all your kids. Thank you very much, Bobby,
I appreciate the opportunity. It's been fantastic, so thank you
very much, and again, congratulations on the depending nuptials. Enjoy
it man. I want to thank Patrick for his bravery
and dedication and service and for the work he does
today carrying out the memory of those who have made
(31:21):
the ultimate sacrifice. I encourage you to follow Patrick Nelson
on Instagram. He's at Patrick J. Nelson Ninete. Thanks for
listening to Bet you Should Know. Check out our other
episodes from more great stories from inspiring bets like Patrick
who continue to work selflessly and tirelessly in civilian life
to make positive change. If you like what you heard,
(31:42):
please rate and review the podcast. We want to hear
from you, and don't forget to subscribe for free or
follow the show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Bets you Should
Know is a special four part series podcast from I
Heart Radio hosted by me Bobby Bones. Our show has
written produced by Molly Sosha, Andy Kelly, Ethan Fixell in
(32:03):
partnership with Haley Erickson and Garrett Shannon of Banter Edit,
sound design, and mixed by Matt Stillo and my personal
producer and hero is Mike d
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