Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Berry Show. Before America was known as America,
before America was its own nation, Before our Constitution and
our First Amendment and our Second Amendment, our Fourth Amendment,
before all those things, Before the Declaration of Independence, Before
the Wealth of Nations, which would be written a year
later by Adam Smith the same year as Thomas Jefferson
(00:23):
would pen in less than three weeks the Declaration of Independence.
On June fourteenth, seventeen seventy five, the Second Continental Congress
authorized the creation of a Continental Army, the goal to
unify and coordinate the military efforts of the thirteen Colonies
(00:47):
against the British forces. It's important to understand we were
not one nation. We were thirteen colonies. We weren't even
states yet, we were communities. This was trying to bring
people together South Carolinians and Virginians who had their own rivalries.
(01:08):
It wasn't so easy, but it happened. Just two days later,
on June sixteenth, George Washington was unanimously appointed as the
Army's commander in chief, a man whose monuments the Left
have torn down over the last few years. The only
thing worse than that the Left torn down was that
(01:31):
our folks stood by and allowed it. The Continental Army
was initially formed from Massachusetts militia units, but it would
soon include troops from across the colonies. Following the end
of the Revolutionary War, the Army was largely disbanded in
seventeen eighty three, with only a small peacetime force maintained.
(01:57):
The men were ready to get home to their families,
and the Continental Congress was ready to get them off
the payroll. From these humble, simple beginnings, the modern United
States Army emerged under the United States Constitution in seventeen
eighty nine. The Army became a permanent, federally controlled institution
(02:24):
with civilian oversight, established through the Department of War, now
the Department of the Army as part of the Department
of Defense. To celebrate this birthday, we will bring you
President Trump's speech at Fort Bragg from earlier this week.
If you are a person who is serving or has
(02:47):
served in the United States Army, thank you, Thank you.
From the bottom of our heart. We appreciate your service.
If you are married to someone, or the child of someone,
or the father or brother or sister or dear friend
of someone who served in the United States Army. Do
me a favor, send them a link to this podcast
and share with them our appreciation for their service to
(03:11):
the United States Army. I particularly like the speech from
President trumpet Fort Bragg because in the midst of the riots,
the terrorism, and all of that, he also had a
little fun. He made some political statements, He reminded people
why he's the president, and he made the men and
women at Fort Bragg proud to be part of the
(03:34):
United States Army. And how long has it been since
our president has given them that feeling enjoy?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Wow? Wow, that's a beautiful site, and it's a beautiful
sight to be with you in a place called Fort Brag.
(04:03):
Can you believe they'd changed that name in the last
administration for a little bit. Well, we'll forget all about that. Well,
we're going to forget all about it. I want to
just say, God bless the US Army and God bless
the USA. Great place, great pop. I want to thank
(04:25):
so many incredible soldiers and paratroopers, pilots, warriors for that
awesome display of pure, unrival American military mind. I just
saw something that was crazy. You don't want to mess
I've been saying a long time we have the best.
Nobody even comes close. But they just gave me a
display that you might be lucky not to see it.
(04:48):
Be this is a little scary. It was beautiful to watch.
Let's hear it for the Army Special Operations and Command
and the eighty second Airborne Division, the eighteenth Airborne Corps.
Water show it was, and water show it continues to be.
And Saturday is going to be a big day in Washington, DC.
(05:13):
You know a lot of people said, we don't want
to do that. I say, yeah, we do. We want
to show off a little bit. You know, recently, other
countries celebrated the victory of World War One. France was celebrating. Really,
they were all celebrating. The only one that doesn't celebrate
is the USA and with the ones that won the
war without us, you'd all be speaking German right now,
(05:37):
maybe a little Japanese thrown in. But we won the
war and we don't celebrate. But we're going to celebrate
on Saturday, and we're going to celebrate from now on.
We're going to celebrate our greatness and our achievements. This
week we honor two hundred and fifty years of valor
and glory, and triumph by the greatest fighting force ever
(05:58):
to walk the face of the earth, the United States Army.
For two and a half centuries, our soldiers have marched
into the raging fires of battle and obliterated America's enemies.
Has never been anything like it. There's never been a
force like this, and I rebuilt it. I gave you
(06:21):
so much money for four years, it was crazy. And
we just approved our largest budget for military operations, over
one trillion dollars. We've never even come close. But our
army is smashed foreign empires, humbold kings, toppled tyrants, and
(06:45):
hunted terrorists savages through the very gates of hell. Our
soldiers do not rest until they win. You know that
better than anybody. From June seventeen seventy five to June
twenty twenty five, those foolish enough to challenge America's army
have been met with unyielding strength, unbreakable spirit, and unstoppable
(07:09):
overwhelming force. Time and again. Our enemies have learned that
if you dare to threaten the American people, American soldier
will chase you down, crush you, and cast you into oblivion.
That's what happens. Unfortunately, doesn't sound very nice, but it's true,
(07:32):
isn't it. The last sound you ever hear will be
the chilling howl of black hawks and the dead of night,
the thunderous boom of artillery fire, or the ferocious roar
of a US Army infantry brigade charging over the horizon.
That brigade is going to charge like you've never seen before.
And hopefully I can keep you out of that. But
(07:55):
if I don't, you're ready, is that right? If I
can keep you out of it. If I keep you
out of it, that's okay. But if we need it,
you're ready. You know it's called peace through strength, isn't it?
Peace through strength? For our adversaries, there's no greater fear
than the United States Army. They're all fear us. And
(08:15):
we have the greatest force anywhere on earth. You know,
you read different stories that others are building and building
and building. We have a force like no other. They
said it would take five years to defeat Isis. We
did it in four weeks. Four weeks. We let them go.
Unlike other of your leaders, I let him go, and
we had General Raisin Kan who's now the head of
(08:37):
the Joint Chiefs of Staff because I liked him. He
was a warrior, he was a great warrior, and now
he's been rewarded for his incredible work. But they said
it would take five years. We did it in four weeks.
Someday I'm going to ask him to explain that one
to me. But it was the television generals that said that.
The real generals got out and fought, and nobody like
(09:00):
them ever. But for the American people, there's no greater
pride because you are the righteous sword of American justice
and the ultimate shield of American freedom. This week, we
remember that we only have a country because we first
had an army. The army was first. In fact, the
army was even before the country, you know that, right
(09:22):
one year before the country. After two hundred and fifty years,
we still proudly declare that we are free because you
are strong. You are so strong. We're safe because you
are brave. And America's flag will never fall because America's
army will never ever fail, never going to fail. Every
(09:43):
branch of the armed forces has played a critical role
in protecting our nation. But no one has done more fighting, bleeding,
and winning than the US Army. Nobody's done that the
Army has earned more combat medals and more battle ribbons
than any other service, and twenty percent of all of
the medals of honor. We give away medals of honor
(10:05):
all the time at the White House to incredibly brave people,
but you have seventy percent of them. Army soldiers and
especially our Army paratroopers truly go all the way. You
know that expression, all the way. It's one of your
beautiful expressions as President of the United States. Let me
(10:27):
express my undying gratitude to our nation for every soldier
here today, for every veteran and their families. There's incredible
families that are with us and all across America, and
for every patriot who has worn the uniform over two
hundred and fifty years. Can you imagine that we thank
(10:49):
you from the absolute bottom of our hearts. Few places
loom larger in army lore than where we are gathered today.
The one and only Fort Bragg, The one and only
Fort Bragg. But remember it was only that little brief
(11:12):
moment that it wasn't called Fort Bragg. Was by the
Biden administration, not Trump. I had nothing to do with it.
We got it changed. We said you know, I came
here numerous times, and everybody they kept saying Fort Bragg,
Fort Bragg. I said, you know, it's not the name.
But then I was making a speech, I said, what
(11:33):
do you think I should call this place called Fort Bragg?
I said, Fort Bragg? How you doing? We want a
lot of battles from this place, And that's the way
it is. It wasn't even close when Pete and some
of the generals came to see me, I said, not
even close, not even close. This is the home of
the Green Brace, the sky Dragons, and the all American
(11:55):
eighty second Airborne We know what, eighty second Airborne division.
This is where the Gis who won the Second World
War learned to pack their parachutes and push howitzers and
go right into those Sea forty seven's with lots of
(12:16):
arms and push them right out those big beautiful doors,
and wheel their bayonets and pry the enemy from the
hedgerows of the French countryside. France needed us badly. We
were there. A lot of people needed us badly. They
still do, maybe worse than ever. It was here in
the soil that the army forge the metal that held
(12:40):
strong at best own it was here the mighty paratroopers
earned their wings before they rained down death from above
to liberate Sicily, Normandy and even the Netherlands. That's right,
we saved the Netherlands. Every inch of this base is
steeped in the legacy of those warriors who have said
(13:01):
with pride, Sir, I trained at Fort Bragg, Sir. That
was pretty cool. And that is why we restored the
historic name of this very very special place. I don't
know if it could be the same place Fort Bragg
is in. That's the name, and Fort Bragg it shall
(13:22):
always remain. That's never going to be happening again. And
for a little news for the fake news back there,
the fake news ladies and gentlemen, look at them, look
at them all. Oh yeah, ye, what I have to
put up with? Fake news? Yeah, what I have to
(13:44):
put up with. But there are right. They've been very
nice today. They were impressed with that display, I can
tell you that, and think it took them a little
by surprise. But for a little breaking news, we are
also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett,
Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Bruoker, Fort Polk, Fort ap Hill,
(14:10):
and Fort robert E. Lee. We won a lot of
battles out of those forts. It's no time to change.
And I'm superstitious, you know. I like to keep it going, right,
I'm very superstitious. We want to keep it going. So
that's a big story. We just announced it today to
(14:31):
you for the first time. They said, what didn't you
wait till Saturday? Said, I can't wait. I got to
talk to my friends here today. This is a record crowd.
You know, if you never you never had a crowd
this big, that's an honor. You think this crowd would
have showed up for Biden. I don't think so. I
don't think. I don't think so. Maybe I'm wrong, Maybe
(14:51):
I'm wrong. I want to thank so many great leaders
here today, including Secretary of Defense Pete hagg Seth has
been great, by the way, Pete, thank you. And he
went through the Wars. You know, Pete went through the Wars.
He had to get through a very hostile group of
people that I think really don't want to see America
(15:13):
be great again maybe or something, but he persevered and
he got there and he's doing a fantastic job. Great job, Pete,
thank you very much. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins,
a fantastic man. Thank you, Doug. You're doing a great job,
doing a great, great job. Way way up from the
(15:35):
last administration, veterans a veterans administration. It's way up. You
saw the recent poll. The people are happy. They weren't
happy a couple of years ago. They were really happy
five years ago, but it went downhill from there. We
did so much. We got you medical if you had
to wait, if you had to delay at all, you
go out to see a private doctor. We pay the bill,
(15:57):
you take care of You don't wait for six months
and end up getting very sick on something that could
have been done with a little shot or a pill.
We did that. Then they wanted to drop that. I said,
we're not dropping it. But Doug, I'm proud of you.
I just heard some great things. Thank you very much.
The Secretary of the Army, really brilliant young guy went
(16:17):
to Yale. Can't have everything. Top student Dan Driscoll, thank you,
thank you. And we have your senators, Senator Ted budd
and Senator Tom tell Us, thank you, fellas Congressman Richard Hudson,
(16:47):
Pat Harrigan. Where's Pat that Pat? You're doing great you
guys are amazing and we have the big brass General
Andrew poppas General. Thank you, Thank you, John, doing a
great job. General John Bradjah John, thank you, great job.
(17:09):
Thank you for today, Joe. General Greg Anderson, thank you,
Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Sergeant Major of the Army
Michael Weimer. And before going further, I want to say
(17:29):
a few words about the situation in Los Angeles, California.
Have you heard of the place where I've deployed thousands
of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to protect
federal law enforcement from the attacks of a vicious and
violent mob. And some of the radical left they say, oh,
that's not nice. Well, if we didn't do it, there
(17:50):
wouldn't be a Los Angeles would be burning today, just
like the houses were burning a number of months ago.
Generations of Army heroes did not shed the blood on
distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by
invasion and Third world lawlessness here at home, like is
happening in California. As Commander in Chief, I will not
(18:13):
let that happens, Never gonna happen. What you're witnessing in
California is a full blown assault on peace, on public order,
and a national sovereignty carried out by rioters bearing foreign
flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of
(18:34):
our country. We're not going to let that happen. Remember,
millions of people were allowed to come into our country
totally unchecked and unvetted by stupid people or radical left
people or sick people. But regardless, open border policy the
dumbest policy yet, I would say, even dumber than men
(18:56):
playing in women's sports, transgender for everyone, even dumber than that.
They're hurling bricks and cinder blocks at law enforcement. Did
you see they're breaking up the sidewalks and the curbs,
breaking it up with big strong hammers. These guys are professionals.
(19:17):
These are not amateurs. They're breaking it up because they
took the bricks away from them. They came in with bricks,
red bricks that they could throw at our military and
at the police in LA who are very good, but
they weren't aggressive like our soldiers. Our soldiers really were aggressive,
but they all worked together. But they came in with
(19:37):
bricks they were taking away and they had hammers. Oh wow,
how did that happen? And they're pounding the sidewalk I said,
what the hell is he doing? And he's breaking it
up and making it into concrete bombs in a way,
and they're dropping them on our military. They're throwing them
at our military pretty good arms. They had too, hits
(19:58):
guys right in the face. Big chunk of concrete, worse
than a brick. They're taking them up to the bridges
and they're dropping them in the cars that are going by.
These are animals, but they proudly carry the flags of
other countries. But they don't carry the American flag. They
only burn it. Did you see a lot of the
flags being burned. They weren't being burned by people from
(20:23):
our country or from people that love our country. People
that burn the American flag should go to jail for
one years what they should be doing. And we'll see
if we can get that done. We're going to try
and get that done. We're working with some of your senators.
I know Senator Josh Hawley is very much involved, and
(20:45):
I know the two senators from here. I think you guys,
are you guys in favor of it? Why would this
be a bad time for them to say no, I
got you, I got those two votes. The agitators are
throwing firebombs, molotov cocktails, lighting vehicles ablaze. You saw all
the cars that were burning, mobbing police officers and ice officers,
(21:07):
who are the toughest people you'll ever meet, and they
love our country and they're getting really tried to they
want to stomp on them, but tough they don't allow it,
and attempting to infiltrate and occupy federal buildings, wearing armor
and face shields. The best money can buy. Somebody's financing it.
We're going to find out through Pam Bondi and Department
(21:29):
of Justice who it is. They're already on it. Who's
financing all this equipment? Very professional. Under the Trump administration,
this anarchy will not stand. We will not allow federal
agents to be attacked, and we will not allow an
American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy.
And that's what they are. A lot of those people
(21:52):
were lit in here by the Biden administration. They just
poured right and they came from prisons, they came from
jails from all over the world, came from mental institutions.
They were the leaders of gangs, they were drug lords.
Allowed to come into our country. Their countries throw them out.
Their countries would bust them or drive them right to
our border and say go in there. You ever come back,
(22:13):
we're going to kill you. And we got them, and
we're getting them out of here. I want to applaud
the courage and the strength of the incredible troops who
are right now standing guard to protect federal property and
personnel and uphol the supremacy of federal law. That's what
they're doing. They're protecting our ice agents, they're protecting the
(22:36):
police in Los Angeles. The head of the police in
Los Angeles a good man. I hear, a good man,
but he was actually saying we really didn't need this help.
It had gotten away from them. It had long gotten away,
and we gave it to them. Not only are these
service members defending the honor citizens of California, they're also
(22:57):
defending our republic itself. And they are heroes. They're in
there the heroes. They're fighting for us. They're stopping an invasion,
just like you stop an invasion. The big difference is,
most of the time, when you stop an invasion, they're
wearing a uniform. In many ways, it's tougher when they're
not wearing a uniform because you don't know exactly who
they are in Los Angeles. The governor of California and
(23:21):
the mayor of Los Angeles. They're incompetent, and they paid troublemakers,
agitators and insurrectionists. They're engaged in this willful attempt to
nullify federal law and aid the occupation of the city
(23:42):
by criminal invaders. That's what it is. They're invaders, no different.
Their position is that the rioting will not stop unless
ICE withdrawals from Los Angeles and ceases the enforcement of
federal immigration law. In other words, they came in here illegally.
Any of them came out of prisons in jails, the
most heinous people. They came from all over the world.
(24:05):
They came from the Congo in Africa, they came from Asia.
They came from the prisons of these places. They were
put into the United States and allowed to stay here
because we had a grossly, grossly unfit president who listened
to whoever was operating the audo pen and they allowed
(24:28):
these people to say. And by the way, I've known
this guy for a long time. He was never the
sharpest bulb, but you know what he was. He wasn't
a radical left lunatic. He never dreamt about open borders.
He never said that when he was of sound mind,
which actually was a very long time ago. So sad
what they've done to our country. I will say that
(24:50):
without question. However, you're seeing the financial numbers. We've now
got the hottest country anywhere in the world, and six
months ago it was the coldest country. We're being laughed
at all over the world. I was in Saudi Arabia
guitar uae. We brought back five point one triguion dollars
(25:12):
into our country. And all three leaders, they're great leaders.
All three said, you know, you are presiding over the
hottest country anywhere in the world. And they said the
exact same thing they said six months ago, it was
the coldest country. I'll tell you changed on a date.
You know what, November fifth was. It was the election
of a president that loves you. And that's when it
(25:34):
all changed. That's when it all changed. Within the span
of a few decades, Los Angeles has gone from being
one of the cleanest, safest, and most beautiful cities on
earth to being a trash heap with entire neighborhoods under
the control of transnational gangs and criminal networks. It's horrible
(25:57):
what's happened so quickly, as the entire world can now see.
Uncontrolled migration leads to chaos, dysfunction, and disorder. And you
know what, they have it in Europe too. It's happening
in many of the countries of Europe. They don't like
it when I say it, but I'll say it loudly
and clearly. They better do something before it's too late.
(26:21):
Very simply, we will liberate Los Angeles and make it free,
clean and safe again. It's happening very quickly. The one big,
beautiful bill you've heard about it. We call it the
one Big you know. I was on one of the
television shows I think, Deface the Nation, Ladies and gentlemen,
Deface the Nation. It's actually called face the Nation for
those of you that are smart enough not to know,
(26:42):
because you're better off not known. But it was on
one of the shows and I said, we got to
get a great bill. They said, would you like it
to be one bill or would you like it to
be seven or eight bills? They said, I want one big,
beautiful bill. And the Republican Party like that statement. They
call it one big, beautiful bill. So that's good. That's
what it is. It's great, and it's currently before Congress.
(27:04):
It provides all necessary funding for ice, for border patrol,
and for the Department of Defense. And I told you,
at a level that we've never had before, over a
trillion dollars. We better get that bill approved. Otherwise your
helicopters and your planes and your equipment's going to start
to look a little bit old. General, you better push
your favorite congressmen. You better push your these two senators.
(27:25):
I think they're in good shape, however, but we got
to get it approved. And those congressmen, by you are
all one hundred percent. I don't even have to talk
to them. They've been so great. So I want to
sign this into law immediately. And with the signing, so
many great things will happen to our country. No tax
on tips, think of that, No tax seniors on Social Security,
(27:51):
no tax on overtime. It's going to they're going to
pay for themselves. And if you get a car, and
if you borrow money to buy the car, we're gonna
let you deduct the interest payment if it's a new
car made in America. Only if it's made in America.
If it's made in Japan or China or any place else,
we're not really interested in your deduction. I was elected
(28:12):
winning all seven Swing states the popular vote by millions
and millions of votes in all counties throughout America, by
two thousand, seven hundred and fifty to five hundred and
twenty five. That's what I call a big number. But
this is a mandate from the people to restore the
sovereign borders of the United States. And that is exactly
(28:33):
what we're doing, not only the borders, the financial institutions,
and our country itself. We will not be deterred. And
the mob in Los Angeles or anyone else anywhere else
will not succeed. They don't even have a little chance.
And I will be calling you early as I see
this happening, because you know, in theory, I guess you
(28:55):
could say a governor could call, but they don't call.
They let their city burn. Like in Minneapolis with this
guy who rent for vice president against j D. That
was a good debate, JD against this guy, remember how
bad he was. That was one of the way I said, JD,
he's never been a man like you're competing against this
is the worst. I think he's running for president too,
(29:16):
can you believe it? But he's a radical left lunatic.
And I'll never forget in Minnesota that city was burning down.
Minneapolis was burning down, was going to burn to the ground,
and he wouldn't call the guard. And I waited for
a long time and I called the guard and I
saved it. But I wish I would have called it
(29:38):
the first day. And I said, you know, if this
ever happens again, because I was thinking about running because
the election was rigged and Sola and we all know it.
They said, we're going to run again, and if I win,
I hope remember too big to We're going to make
it too big to rig. But we did. We won
by millions and millions of Uh. It's so beautiful to watch.
That was such a beautiful nine oh two in the
(30:01):
He said, ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump is projected to
be the winner. I said, well, do you think that
was easy? I don't think these ladies from North Carolina,
I think it was easy. You know, they followed me.
I don't know what happened to their husbands. They're married
to very nice people, but they've been to what one
hundred and thirty eight rallies? They said more and they're
(30:25):
from north it's nice that we have one nearby. Finally, right,
they go all over the country. I don't know what
the hell's going on, but they're great. They're North Carolina, beautiful,
wonderful woman. And we were like one hundred and thirty
rallies or some crazy number. Are your husband satisfied with that?
Are they okay? Oh? Here he is. He showed up.
One of them showed up. That's great, congratulations, great women,
(30:49):
actually the great patriots. We will use every asset at
our disposal to quell the violence, and we stow a
loon or the right away. We're not going to wait
seven days and eight days wait for a governor that's
never going to call and watch cities burn. And let
me tell you, if we didn't do this, Los Angeles,
it would be burning to the ground right now, just
(31:10):
like the houses burned to the ground just a few
months ago. And the only flag that will wave triumphant
over the streets of Los Angeles is the American flag,
So help me God, the American flag is the one
that's going to wave triumphantly over the streets and now
(31:32):
let's get back to the true reason. We're here today
celebrating two hundred and fifty years of unbreakable army courage.
This week we commemorate not just the starting point in
army history, but a turning point in the history of
the world. That's how important it is. When the Continental
Congress created the Army and appointed its first commander, name
(31:56):
happened to be George Washington. Has anybody heard of him?
To Washington? Are you okay, darling, You are right. You
take your time, please, doctor, please, doctor, doctor in the house.
Thank you, thank you very much. These are great people.
They've been waiting here a long time in general, so
(32:20):
you know, we want to give them all the time
they need, right, Thank you very much. Greatest people in
(32:42):
the world. They are amazing, amazing. Oh good, thank you
very much. Thank you. Okay, honey, thank you. Beautiful young person,
(33:06):
beautiful young person. We have a lot of young people,
you know, they have. We won young people, old people,
and everything in between. It's sort of nice. Remember they
used to say, but Trump doesn't have the young people.
We won, we won everything. Thank you very much. Doctor,
great job. When the Continental Congruence created the Army and
(33:28):
appointed its first commander, General George Washington. They sent the
fierce spirit of a free nation into battle under a
rallying cry that echoes to this day. Give me liberty
or give me death. Have you heard of it? Quite
a beautiful saving. Think of what that means, give me
liberty or give me death. I know exactly what that means.
(33:52):
Just three days after the birth of the Army, the
Great Patriot founding father, doctor Joseph Warren, was on the
front lines as they soldiers stood totally outnumbered and outgunned
at Bunker Hill. They had a group of soldiers against
them that were supposed to be in that day unbeatable.
(34:13):
Warren's mother had begged him, son, please don't do it.
She said, please, please, don't do it. Don't risk your
life for even the Patriot cause. Please, And he replied,
wherever danger is, dear mother, there your son will be.
I will either set my country free or shed my
(34:36):
last drop of blood to make us so so beautiful,
So the words are so beautiful. At Bunker Hill, Warren
kept his vow, fighting and fighting and fighting and loving
his country until he fell drenched in blood and gave
his life at the very young age of thirty four,
exactly two hundred and fifty years later, we are joined
(34:59):
by doctor Wahn Warren's great great great great great grandson,
and it's seven generations down and now in Iraq. War
veteran retired Army specialist Scott Warren is here with his daughter,
Sergeant E. Five Carrington Sanders of Fort Irwin. I want
(35:21):
to just where are you? Where would you be in
this big crowd? Thank you very much. What an honor,
What an honor. You look great too, by the way,
you really look great. Thank you very much. Not a
great family, but you carry in your veins the love
(35:44):
and devotion of a martyr for American liberty. Please stand,
just put that hand up once more for the people
because they were Thank you very much. You're looking good, looking, good,
good jeans. Thank you both. Thank you very much. The
(36:05):
life of a soldier is not just a job. It's
a calling and a sacred tradition passed down from father
to son, brother to sister, and one generation to the next,
that every hour of danger on noblest citizens have answered
that call, kissed their loved ones goodbye, and run to
(36:26):
the sound of guns. You run to the sound of guns.
You're reading right, into them. You're gonna win. When the
British tried to reconquer our young nation in eighteen twelve,
one thousand Americans at Fort McHenry photo off a British
invasion fleet five thousand strong. They say it was unstoppable.
(36:47):
Lieutenant Francis Scott Key, you all heard the name. Watched
from Baltimore Harbor as the Army kept old Glory flying high.
Many people died. Deeply inspired, he wrote poem in tribute
to Army courage and American pride, known today as the
Star Spangled Banner or our national anthem. Great eight generations
(37:12):
later were joined by a descendant of Francis Scott Key,
who has spent two decades in uniform, Major Kyle Key
of Army National Guard Fame. Please, Major, where are you magine?
Thank you? Thank you looking good too? What's going on here?
(37:36):
These guys are? They all come from a very fine
strain of blood. That's great genetics is right. Thank you
both very much, Major Key, thank you for helping to
keep this incredible land of ours free and the home
of the brave. And that's what it was. Through the
decades that followed, the Army conquered the Great Frontier, the
(38:00):
war that restored our nation and broke forever the chains
of slavery. A generation later, the Army's rough Riders stormed
up San Juan Hill with Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and swept
the last foreign empire from the American hemisphere, forever, forever swept.
(38:23):
In World War One, our doughboys fought bravely in the
Valley of the Marne and in the Argonne they're in
nineteen eighteen, a devout Tennessee Christian named Alvin York, you
know that name, charged across an open field towards the
German machine guns. They were firing at levels at that
(38:44):
time that nobody had ever seen before. They were knocking
down everything in their way, including giant trees were coming down.
The enemy mowed down more than half of his platoon
almost immediately. The platoon was going down like nobody's ever
thought possible. But York pressed on into the jaws of death.
(39:08):
He slayed German after German and returned with one hundred
and thirty two prisoners from behind the enemy lines. And
he had the option of killing them, and he didn't
want to do that. And that's okay, isn't it right?
It's okay, but he brought one hundred and thirty two back.
And his actions and the actions of that great day,
(39:31):
crazy but great day. Sergeant York earned the Congressional Medal
of Honor and became one of the most famed and
decorated heroes of the First World War. Very famous actually
because of the movie that was made. And we're joined
today by Sergeant York's grandson, Army Colonel Gerald Yorke Gerald.
(39:54):
Thank you, thank you, Gerald, Thank you much. It's great,
great honor to have you. Thank you Gerald. At his
grandfather's funeral in nineteen sixty four, Gerald was told by
the command Sergeant major of Fort Bragg that it was
(40:14):
about time he joined the Army and he volunteered for
combat in Vietnam and gave the Army thirty one of
his best years. No, I think your best years are
right now. Live your best years are right now. Keep
it going. But Colonel York, we salute you, We salute
your family and the fame and the bravery of your family.
(40:36):
Thank you very much, appreciate you being here. And in
World War II, the Army once again came to the
Free worlds rescue among the millions and millions who volunteered
was Henry Armstrong. He enlisted six months before his high
school graduation and did basic training right here at Fort Bragg.
(40:59):
By the next year he was in Normandy. He fought
his way across France as part of Patton's Third Army,
crossed the Rhine into the heart of Germany and helped
liberate a Nazi concentration camp. He was a brave person.
Command Sergeant Major Henry Armstrong is here with us today.
He's one hundred years old, a veteran of numerous World
(41:22):
War Two battles and forty one years in the army.
Thank you. Wow. These are great, amazing people. Thank you
very much. Great, Thank you very much. He's joined by
his grandson, Army Dennis Armstrong. Dennis, I assume that's you.
(41:48):
Thank you Dennis, and Dennis's wife, Captain Shelley Armstrong. They
love the military and they love our country. Thank you
very much. Shelley, Thank you very much, appreciate it. And
their son Tanner. Where's Tanner? Let me see, Oh he
looks good too. They all look good. Tanner might look
the best. Actually, Thank you very much. Who's an active
(42:12):
duty staff sergeant in the eighty second Airborne right here
in Fort Bragg. He could right now run for office.
I think he's very popular in career. Our warriors held
the front line in the battle against communism and liberated
millions and millions into the light of freedom. To Vietnam,
we sent some of the toughest men who ever wore
(42:33):
army boots and olive drab. One of them was Joe
Marm of Pennsylvania. He was twenty three years old when
his platoon was ordered to rescue soldiers surrounded by the
enemy in the Battle of Yadrang. Lieutenant Marm charged into
(42:53):
heavy fire, killing four enemy soldiers in the brush before
sprinting across forty yards of open His teammates could not
believe he was doing it, actually, they said. He then
tossed the grenade that killed eight viet Cong gunners, plunged
into the trenches, and killed still more before being shot
(43:14):
in the jaw badly in the jaw. He successfully cleared
the way for his men to save their dreaded comrades
and frankly, for his men to save their own lives.
He was unbelievable for his exceptional bravery. Lieutenant Marm received
the Congressional Medal of Honor and retired as an Army
colonel after thirty years of service. Colonel marm is here
(43:37):
today with his two sons, Will and Walter, both Army Rangers.
What a great family legacy. Please stand up. How's your
jaw feeling all right? The jaw, it's all right. It
looks pretty good. I wish mine looked that good. It's
(43:58):
very good. Thank you very much, great family, appreciate it.
Real heroes. In the modern era, soldiers have charged into
the darkest caves and ventured into the most god forsaken
places to vanquish the forces of radical Islamic terror from
the face of the earth. In two thousand and seven,
(44:19):
Chief Warrant Officer Eric Phillips was stationed at a remote
outpost in the Afghan Mountains when a massive Taliban force
attacked from all sides. He thought he was finished for
three hours. He led a hillatious counter assault to successfully
repulse the enemy in close combat. In the same deployment,
(44:40):
Eric again repelled an attack by a vastly larger enemy force,
saving countless lives. For his spectacular gallantry, Chief Phillips earned
the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star, becoming among
the most highly decorated warriors of any branch in the
War or Terror. Actually he is the most decorated, and
(45:04):
it's not even that close. Many many battles, many many medals,
and he's with us today, Chief Phillips, you did us
all proud. Please stand up, Chief Phillips. Thank you, thank
you very much. Thank you. You are army strong. Thank
(45:28):
you very much. Jude. From the American Revolution until today,
the story of the Army is the tale of an
unbroken chain of American patriots who gave all they had
for this country. It is the sag of epic bend
like Washington and Jackson, Grant and Custer, Pershing and Eisenhower,
(45:48):
Patton and MacArthur, wild Bill Donovan and the great General
William Yarborough, father of the Green Berets. You know that,
the Green Berets, William Barreborough. It's the story of fabled
units like the Old Guard, the Iron Brigade, the Big
Red One, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Harlem hell Fighters, the
(46:12):
Tuskegee Airmen, the Screaming Eagles, and George Patten's Hell on wheels.
They called it hell on wheels when he was after you.
It was not good. The weapons of war have changed
with every generation, but the unflinching loyalty of the American
soldier has always remained the same. The Army has always
(46:33):
stayed true to its motto, This wheel defend. You know
that this wheel defend. Army warriors who have laid down
their lives for America rest by the thousands and the
sacred soil of Arlington and Gettysburg, Angio and Manila, and
to far off places known only to God. We owe
(46:58):
everything to them. Today we renew our devotion to the
cause of liberty for which they so selflessly lived and fought,
and so bravely died. There could be no greater tribute
to their memory than to prepare the Army to dominate
America's enemies for the next two hundred and fifty years
and more than that. That's why under the Trump administration,
(47:22):
we're focused on restoring the spirit of the US Armed Forces.
No soldier ever volunteered for the Army to be lectured
about transgender diversity or inclusion. You don't want to hear
that transgender for everybody. We don't do that. America's patriots
(47:42):
joined the army to kick down doors, storm beaches, kill
terrors and win America's wars. That's what we want and
that's what you want. And to that end, we're making
that record investment, but not only in the Army and
(48:03):
the other forces, also because you work together as a team,
and we're including in that and across the board. Now,
you don't have to take this if you don't want.
You could be great patriots. Say I don't want to raise.
I will not accept it. Let it go back into
our country. Let's give it to Gavin Nouscombe so he
can waste it in Los Angeles. No, we don't want
(48:26):
to do that, but we're giving you across the board.
Raise for every single service member in the US Armed Forces.
We're giving you across the board, and you deserve it.
You know, we spend so much money on things that
we shouldn't be spending it on. But I think those
days are stopping. Mister Senators and Congressmen that are with us.
(48:48):
As part of our one big, Beautiful Bill, we are
also investing over one billion dollars to update your on
base housing, and we're building a state of the art
missile defense shield to protect to our homeland. And it's
called the Golden Dome. It's going to be all made
in America. We've done it for others, We're now doing
(49:09):
it for about time, right, we're doing it for ourselves.
After years of recruiting shortfalls. This is to me maybe
the most exciting things. We're setting the strongest peacetime recruiting
records ever. Just think of this. Six months ago, we
couldn't recruit anybody to join the military. Nobody wanted to join.
(49:29):
It was six months ago, and then we had the
election of November fifth, and now we have the strongest
recruiting numbers in the history of our country. Can you
imagine that? Can you imagine that we've already surpassed our
recruiting targets for twenty twenty five and we're not done yet.
(49:51):
And I'll tell you it doesn't make you feel good
when you had to hear six seven months ago that
nobody wants to join the army. They don't want to
join our military. Frankly, they didn't want to join our police,
our firemen. They lost confidence, they lost faith in our country.
And just a short number of months later, we're setting
(50:11):
all time records. In fact, your job might be in jeopardy.
Somebody else may come in and take it. That was bad,
We'll get you out of here. You have to be good.
We're getting the best people that you've ever seen. We're
getting people they like. I don't think we've ever seen
anything like it. Great people are coming in. Doesn't it
make you feel good though you have something and you're
doing something that other people want to join you. Isn't
(50:33):
it a great feeling? I wasn't it a lousy feeling
just a short time ago when they announced. You know,
you're a soldier and you're proud of your country and
you're proud of the army in your case, and you're
reading stories about nobody wants to come in and join
the military, right, isn't that lousy? Even the ladies from
North Carolina, we're not happy with that. But then we
(50:55):
had a great election. It was amazing, too big to rick.
We had a great election, and all of a sudden,
the people are pouring in and we have incredible people
like Pete and the others that are here. Dan. I
think they made a big difference. I really do. So
thank you very much, all of you guys. I think
you've really made a big difference. The army will soon
(51:16):
be stronger, bigger, and better than ever before. And every
new soldier that joins our ranks will kindle the same
fighting spirit exemplified by the likes of Sergeant Major Jim Schmidt,
who's no longer with us. At fifteen years old, after
lying about his age because he wanted to get in
(51:39):
so badly, Jim trained at Fort Bragg to fight in
World War Two. When Jim's middle school wrote to ask
if he would attend his eighth grade graduation, he wrote back,
that will be impossible, as I'm rather busy now. I'm
in the hinterlands hunting down Germans have to say this
(52:00):
and Italians. I know there are a couple of Germans
and Italians here. As a paratroopery made the famous drops
at Sicily and Salerno while still a young boy too
young to be in the army kicked him out. They
found out about it. They kicked him out. They discovered
he was way underage. They said, Jim, you got to
get out of here. You're a hell of a soldier,
(52:21):
but you got to get out. But that didn't stop Jim.
He enlisted in the Navy. But the moment he turned eighteen,
he came right back and he joined the eighty second
Airborne How about that? He went on to fight at
the Chosen Reservoir in Korea rough Place, saw combat in Vietnam,
(52:45):
and ended his career right back at Fort Bragg, having
earned two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, and two Purple
Hearts with us today as Jim's widow Peggy and their
beloved grandson, Army Specialist Christian Forbes, who is currently deployed
at our southern border defending our country from an invasion.
(53:06):
Whether we like it or not. It's an invasion. But
I don't know if you've heard the invasion was ninety
nine point nine percent stopped? Do you hear that ninety
nine could even be more? At ninety nine point nine
nine nine percent stopped? That invasion has stopped, so I
think he's in good shape. Specialist Forbes. I want to
(53:26):
thank you for defending America, and you've obviously done a
good job because that invasion has been stopped. And we
appreciate you being here. Thank you wherever you may be.
Thank you very much, Thank you very much. Right, we
stopped that suckert inn't we? Huh? We stopped it. Thank
you very much, each and every one of you here
(53:47):
today carries in your souls the love, strength, and courage
of millions upon millions of Army patriots who came before you.
Your uniforms bear the same stars and stripes that are
our ancestors carried to victory at Yorktown, across the Great
Plains and over our rockies, up the Missionary Ridge, down
(54:09):
through the streets of Paris. That's right, we went down
the streets of Paris. We got to help our allies
some way across the sands of North Africa and onto
the shores of Omaha Beach into the bloodsoaked hills of Korea.
And it was a West Point graduate named buzz Aldron
who first planted our great American flag on the face
(54:31):
of the moon. We know that now it's your turn
to carry that flag forward and to add your own
daring deeds into this chronicle of triumph and legends. Now
it's your duty to shield the flame of freedom that
was first lit two hundred and fifty years ago by
the heroes of Concord Bridge and Bunker Hill. Standing before
(54:55):
you today, I am more confident than ever that in
the days ahead and every generation to come, the US
Army will heap glory upon glory upon glory upon us all.
You will protect every inch of US soil, and you
will defend America to the ends of the earth. Wherever
(55:17):
danger is there, the US Army will be another beautiful phrase.
Whatever peril comes our way, whatever menace threatens our people,
you will stand strong, you will be proud, you will
charge hard, and you will keep that flame lit, that beautiful,
(55:38):
beautiful flame. You're gonna keep it lit. You will hold
the flag high, and you will do something that's become
quite a famous little phrase. Also, but you're a hell
of a lot braver than me. You will fight, fight, fight,
and you will win, win, win. Thank you, God bless you,
(55:58):
God bless our soldiers, and God bless the US Army.
Thank you very much, Thank you everybody.
Speaker 1 (56:05):
If you like The Michael Berry Show and podcast, please
tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a
nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest
in being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated
directly to the show at our email address, Michael at
(56:27):
Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our
website Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry show and
podcast is produced by Ramon Roeblis, The King of Ding.
Executive producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(56:51):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLain.
Director of Research is Seen Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit, where not,
(57:14):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(57:39):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free counseling.
The Michael Berry Show. Before America was known as America,
before America was its own nation, Before our Constitution and
our First Amendment and our Second Amendment, our Fourth Amendment,
before all those things, Before the Declaration of Independence, Before
the Wealth of Nations, which would be written a year
later by Adam Smith the same year as Thomas Jefferson
(00:23):
would pen in less than three weeks the Declaration of Independence.
On June fourteenth, seventeen seventy five, the Second Continental Congress
authorized the creation of a Continental Army, the goal to
unify and coordinate the military efforts of the thirteen Colonies
(00:47):
against the British forces. It's important to understand we were
not one nation. We were thirteen colonies. We weren't even
states yet, we were communities. This was trying to bring
people together South Carolinians and Virginians who had their own rivalries.
(01:08):
It wasn't so easy, but it happened. Just two days later,
on June sixteenth, George Washington was unanimously appointed as the
Army's commander in chief, a man whose monuments the Left
have torn down over the last few years. The only
thing worse than that the Left torn down was that
(01:31):
our folks stood by and allowed it. The Continental Army
was initially formed from Massachusetts militia units, but it would
soon include troops from across the colonies. Following the end
of the Revolutionary War, the Army was largely disbanded in
seventeen eighty three, with only a small peacetime force maintained.
(01:57):
The men were ready to get home to their families,
and the Continental Congress was ready to get them off
the payroll. From these humble, simple beginnings, the modern United
States Army emerged under the United States Constitution in seventeen
eighty nine. The Army became a permanent, federally controlled institution
(02:24):
with civilian oversight, established through the Department of War, now
the Department of the Army as part of the Department
of Defense. To celebrate this birthday, we will bring you
President Trump's speech at Fort Bragg from earlier this week.
If you are a person who is serving or has
(02:47):
served in the United States Army, thank you, Thank you.
From the bottom of our heart. We appreciate your service.
If you are married to someone, or the child of someone,
or the father or brother or sister or dear friend
of someone who served in the United States Army. Do
me a favor, send them a link to this podcast
and share with them our appreciation for their service to
(03:11):
the United States Army. I particularly like the speech from
President trumpet Fort Bragg because in the midst of the riots,
the terrorism, and all of that, he also had a
little fun. He made some political statements, He reminded people
why he's the president, and he made the men and
women at Fort Bragg proud to be part of the
(03:34):
United States Army. And how long has it been since
our president has given them that feeling enjoy?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Wow? Wow, that's a beautiful site, and it's a beautiful
sight to be with you in a place called Fort Brag.
(04:03):
Can you believe they'd changed that name in the last
administration for a little bit. Well, we'll forget all about that. Well,
we're going to forget all about it. I want to
just say, God bless the US Army and God bless
the USA. Great place, great pop. I want to thank
(04:25):
so many incredible soldiers and paratroopers, pilots, warriors for that
awesome display of pure, unrival American military mind. I just
saw something that was crazy. You don't want to mess
I've been saying a long time we have the best.
Nobody even comes close. But they just gave me a
display that you might be lucky not to see it.
(04:48):
Be this is a little scary. It was beautiful to watch.
Let's hear it for the Army Special Operations and Command
and the eighty second Airborne Division, the eighteenth Airborne Corps.
Water show it was, and water show it continues to be.
And Saturday is going to be a big day in Washington, DC.
(05:13):
You know a lot of people said, we don't want
to do that. I say, yeah, we do. We want
to show off a little bit. You know, recently, other
countries celebrated the victory of World War One. France was celebrating. Really,
they were all celebrating. The only one that doesn't celebrate
is the USA and with the ones that won the
war without us, you'd all be speaking German right now,
(05:37):
maybe a little Japanese thrown in. But we won the
war and we don't celebrate. But we're going to celebrate
on Saturday, and we're going to celebrate from now on.
We're going to celebrate our greatness and our achievements. This
week we honor two hundred and fifty years of valor
and glory, and triumph by the greatest fighting force ever
(05:58):
to walk the face of the earth, the United States Army.
For two and a half centuries, our soldiers have marched
into the raging fires of battle and obliterated America's enemies.
Has never been anything like it. There's never been a
force like this, and I rebuilt it. I gave you
(06:21):
so much money for four years, it was crazy. And
we just approved our largest budget for military operations, over
one trillion dollars. We've never even come close. But our
army is smashed foreign empires, humbold kings, toppled tyrants, and
(06:45):
hunted terrorists savages through the very gates of hell. Our
soldiers do not rest until they win. You know that
better than anybody. From June seventeen seventy five to June
twenty twenty five, those foolish enough to challenge America's army
have been met with unyielding strength, unbreakable spirit, and unstoppable
(07:09):
overwhelming force. Time and again. Our enemies have learned that
if you dare to threaten the American people, American soldier
will chase you down, crush you, and cast you into oblivion.
That's what happens. Unfortunately, doesn't sound very nice, but it's true,
(07:32):
isn't it. The last sound you ever hear will be
the chilling howl of black hawks and the dead of night,
the thunderous boom of artillery fire, or the ferocious roar
of a US Army infantry brigade charging over the horizon.
That brigade is going to charge like you've never seen before.
And hopefully I can keep you out of that. But
(07:55):
if I don't, you're ready, is that right? If I
can keep you out of it. If I keep you
out of it, that's okay. But if we need it,
you're ready. You know it's called peace through strength, isn't it?
Peace through strength? For our adversaries, there's no greater fear
than the United States Army. They're all fear us. And
(08:15):
we have the greatest force anywhere on earth. You know,
you read different stories that others are building and building
and building. We have a force like no other. They
said it would take five years to defeat Isis. We
did it in four weeks. Four weeks. We let them go.
Unlike other of your leaders, I let him go, and
we had General Raisin Kan who's now the head of
(08:37):
the Joint Chiefs of Staff because I liked him. He
was a warrior, he was a great warrior, and now
he's been rewarded for his incredible work. But they said
it would take five years. We did it in four weeks.
Someday I'm going to ask him to explain that one
to me. But it was the television generals that said that.
The real generals got out and fought, and nobody like
(09:00):
them ever. But for the American people, there's no greater
pride because you are the righteous sword of American justice
and the ultimate shield of American freedom. This week, we
remember that we only have a country because we first
had an army. The army was first. In fact, the
army was even before the country, you know that, right
(09:22):
one year before the country. After two hundred and fifty years,
we still proudly declare that we are free because you
are strong. You are so strong. We're safe because you
are brave. And America's flag will never fall because America's
army will never ever fail, never going to fail. Every
(09:43):
branch of the armed forces has played a critical role
in protecting our nation. But no one has done more fighting, bleeding,
and winning than the US Army. Nobody's done that the
Army has earned more combat medals and more battle ribbons
than any other service, and twenty percent of all of
the medals of honor. We give away medals of honor
(10:05):
all the time at the White House to incredibly brave people,
but you have seventy percent of them. Army soldiers and
especially our Army paratroopers truly go all the way. You
know that expression, all the way. It's one of your
beautiful expressions as President of the United States. Let me
(10:27):
express my undying gratitude to our nation for every soldier
here today, for every veteran and their families. There's incredible
families that are with us and all across America, and
for every patriot who has worn the uniform over two
hundred and fifty years. Can you imagine that we thank
(10:49):
you from the absolute bottom of our hearts. Few places
loom larger in army lore than where we are gathered today.
The one and only Fort Bragg, The one and only
Fort Bragg. But remember it was only that little brief
(11:12):
moment that it wasn't called Fort Bragg. Was by the
Biden administration, not Trump. I had nothing to do with it.
We got it changed. We said you know, I came
here numerous times, and everybody they kept saying Fort Bragg,
Fort Bragg. I said, you know, it's not the name.
But then I was making a speech, I said, what
(11:33):
do you think I should call this place called Fort Bragg?
I said, Fort Bragg? How you doing? We want a
lot of battles from this place, And that's the way
it is. It wasn't even close when Pete and some
of the generals came to see me, I said, not
even close, not even close. This is the home of
the Green Brace, the sky Dragons, and the all American
(11:55):
eighty second Airborne We know what, eighty second Airborne division.
This is where the Gis who won the Second World
War learned to pack their parachutes and push howitzers and
go right into those Sea forty seven's with lots of
(12:16):
arms and push them right out those big beautiful doors,
and wheel their bayonets and pry the enemy from the
hedgerows of the French countryside. France needed us badly. We
were there. A lot of people needed us badly. They
still do, maybe worse than ever. It was here in
the soil that the army forge the metal that held
(12:40):
strong at best own it was here the mighty paratroopers
earned their wings before they rained down death from above
to liberate Sicily, Normandy and even the Netherlands. That's right,
we saved the Netherlands. Every inch of this base is
steeped in the legacy of those warriors who have said
(13:01):
with pride, Sir, I trained at Fort Bragg, Sir. That
was pretty cool. And that is why we restored the
historic name of this very very special place. I don't
know if it could be the same place Fort Bragg
is in. That's the name, and Fort Bragg it shall
(13:22):
always remain. That's never going to be happening again. And
for a little news for the fake news back there,
the fake news ladies and gentlemen, look at them, look
at them all. Oh yeah, ye, what I have to
put up with? Fake news? Yeah, what I have to
(13:44):
put up with. But there are right. They've been very
nice today. They were impressed with that display, I can
tell you that, and think it took them a little
by surprise. But for a little breaking news, we are
also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett,
Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Bruoker, Fort Polk, Fort ap Hill,
(14:10):
and Fort robert E. Lee. We won a lot of
battles out of those forts. It's no time to change.
And I'm superstitious, you know. I like to keep it going, right,
I'm very superstitious. We want to keep it going. So
that's a big story. We just announced it today to
(14:31):
you for the first time. They said, what didn't you
wait till Saturday? Said, I can't wait. I got to
talk to my friends here today. This is a record crowd.
You know, if you never you never had a crowd
this big, that's an honor. You think this crowd would
have showed up for Biden. I don't think so. I
don't think. I don't think so. Maybe I'm wrong, Maybe
(14:51):
I'm wrong. I want to thank so many great leaders
here today, including Secretary of Defense Pete hagg Seth has
been great, by the way, Pete, thank you. And he
went through the Wars. You know, Pete went through the Wars.
He had to get through a very hostile group of
people that I think really don't want to see America
(15:13):
be great again maybe or something, but he persevered and
he got there and he's doing a fantastic job. Great job, Pete,
thank you very much. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins,
a fantastic man. Thank you, Doug. You're doing a great job,
doing a great, great job. Way way up from the
(15:35):
last administration, veterans a veterans administration. It's way up. You
saw the recent poll. The people are happy. They weren't
happy a couple of years ago. They were really happy
five years ago, but it went downhill from there. We
did so much. We got you medical if you had
to wait, if you had to delay at all, you
go out to see a private doctor. We pay the bill,
(15:57):
you take care of You don't wait for six months
and end up getting very sick on something that could
have been done with a little shot or a pill.
We did that. Then they wanted to drop that. I said,
we're not dropping it. But Doug, I'm proud of you.
I just heard some great things. Thank you very much.
The Secretary of the Army, really brilliant young guy went
(16:17):
to Yale. Can't have everything. Top student Dan Driscoll, thank you,
thank you. And we have your senators, Senator Ted budd
and Senator Tom tell Us, thank you, fellas Congressman Richard Hudson,
(16:47):
Pat Harrigan. Where's Pat that Pat? You're doing great you
guys are amazing and we have the big brass General
Andrew poppas General. Thank you, Thank you, John, doing a
great job. General John Bradjah John, thank you, great job.
(17:09):
Thank you for today, Joe. General Greg Anderson, thank you,
Thank you, Greg. Thank you. Sergeant Major of the Army
Michael Weimer. And before going further, I want to say
(17:29):
a few words about the situation in Los Angeles, California.
Have you heard of the place where I've deployed thousands
of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to protect
federal law enforcement from the attacks of a vicious and
violent mob. And some of the radical left they say, oh,
that's not nice. Well, if we didn't do it, there
(17:50):
wouldn't be a Los Angeles would be burning today, just
like the houses were burning a number of months ago.
Generations of Army heroes did not shed the blood on
distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by
invasion and Third world lawlessness here at home, like is
happening in California. As Commander in Chief, I will not
(18:13):
let that happens, Never gonna happen. What you're witnessing in
California is a full blown assault on peace, on public order,
and a national sovereignty carried out by rioters bearing foreign
flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of
(18:34):
our country. We're not going to let that happen. Remember,
millions of people were allowed to come into our country
totally unchecked and unvetted by stupid people or radical left
people or sick people. But regardless, open border policy the
dumbest policy yet, I would say, even dumber than men
(18:56):
playing in women's sports, transgender for everyone, even dumber than that.
They're hurling bricks and cinder blocks at law enforcement. Did
you see they're breaking up the sidewalks and the curbs,
breaking it up with big strong hammers. These guys are professionals.
(19:17):
These are not amateurs. They're breaking it up because they
took the bricks away from them. They came in with bricks,
red bricks that they could throw at our military and
at the police in LA who are very good, but
they weren't aggressive like our soldiers. Our soldiers really were aggressive,
but they all worked together. But they came in with
(19:37):
bricks they were taking away and they had hammers. Oh wow,
how did that happen? And they're pounding the sidewalk I said,
what the hell is he doing? And he's breaking it
up and making it into concrete bombs in a way,
and they're dropping them on our military. They're throwing them
at our military pretty good arms. They had too, hits
(19:58):
guys right in the face. Big chunk of concrete, worse
than a brick. They're taking them up to the bridges
and they're dropping them in the cars that are going by.
These are animals, but they proudly carry the flags of
other countries. But they don't carry the American flag. They
only burn it. Did you see a lot of the
flags being burned. They weren't being burned by people from
(20:23):
our country or from people that love our country. People
that burn the American flag should go to jail for
one years what they should be doing. And we'll see
if we can get that done. We're going to try
and get that done. We're working with some of your senators.
I know Senator Josh Hawley is very much involved, and
(20:45):
I know the two senators from here. I think you guys,
are you guys in favor of it? Why would this
be a bad time for them to say no, I
got you, I got those two votes. The agitators are
throwing firebombs, molotov cocktails, lighting vehicles ablaze. You saw all
the cars that were burning, mobbing police officers and ice officers,
(21:07):
who are the toughest people you'll ever meet, and they
love our country and they're getting really tried to they
want to stomp on them, but tough they don't allow it,
and attempting to infiltrate and occupy federal buildings, wearing armor
and face shields. The best money can buy. Somebody's financing it.
We're going to find out through Pam Bondi and Department
(21:29):
of Justice who it is. They're already on it. Who's
financing all this equipment? Very professional. Under the Trump administration,
this anarchy will not stand. We will not allow federal
agents to be attacked, and we will not allow an
American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy.
And that's what they are. A lot of those people
(21:52):
were lit in here by the Biden administration. They just
poured right and they came from prisons, they came from
jails from all over the world, came from mental institutions.
They were the leaders of gangs, they were drug lords.
Allowed to come into our country. Their countries throw them out.
Their countries would bust them or drive them right to
our border and say go in there. You ever come back,
(22:13):
we're going to kill you. And we got them, and
we're getting them out of here. I want to applaud
the courage and the strength of the incredible troops who
are right now standing guard to protect federal property and
personnel and uphol the supremacy of federal law. That's what
they're doing. They're protecting our ice agents, they're protecting the
(22:36):
police in Los Angeles. The head of the police in
Los Angeles a good man. I hear, a good man,
but he was actually saying we really didn't need this help.
It had gotten away from them. It had long gotten away,
and we gave it to them. Not only are these
service members defending the honor citizens of California, they're also
(22:57):
defending our republic itself. And they are heroes. They're in
there the heroes. They're fighting for us. They're stopping an invasion,
just like you stop an invasion. The big difference is,
most of the time, when you stop an invasion, they're
wearing a uniform. In many ways, it's tougher when they're
not wearing a uniform because you don't know exactly who
they are in Los Angeles. The governor of California and
(23:21):
the mayor of Los Angeles. They're incompetent, and they paid troublemakers,
agitators and insurrectionists. They're engaged in this willful attempt to
nullify federal law and aid the occupation of the city
(23:42):
by criminal invaders. That's what it is. They're invaders, no different.
Their position is that the rioting will not stop unless
ICE withdrawals from Los Angeles and ceases the enforcement of
federal immigration law. In other words, they came in here illegally.
Any of them came out of prisons in jails, the
most heinous people. They came from all over the world.
(24:05):
They came from the Congo in Africa, they came from Asia.
They came from the prisons of these places. They were
put into the United States and allowed to stay here
because we had a grossly, grossly unfit president who listened
to whoever was operating the audo pen and they allowed
(24:28):
these people to say. And by the way, I've known
this guy for a long time. He was never the
sharpest bulb, but you know what he was. He wasn't
a radical left lunatic. He never dreamt about open borders.
He never said that when he was of sound mind,
which actually was a very long time ago. So sad
what they've done to our country. I will say that
(24:50):
without question. However, you're seeing the financial numbers. We've now
got the hottest country anywhere in the world, and six
months ago it was the coldest country. We're being laughed
at all over the world. I was in Saudi Arabia
guitar uae. We brought back five point one triguion dollars
(25:12):
into our country. And all three leaders, they're great leaders.
All three said, you know, you are presiding over the
hottest country anywhere in the world. And they said the
exact same thing they said six months ago, it was
the coldest country. I'll tell you changed on a date.
You know what, November fifth was. It was the election
of a president that loves you. And that's when it
(25:34):
all changed. That's when it all changed. Within the span
of a few decades, Los Angeles has gone from being
one of the cleanest, safest, and most beautiful cities on
earth to being a trash heap with entire neighborhoods under
the control of transnational gangs and criminal networks. It's horrible
(25:57):
what's happened so quickly, as the entire world can now see.
Uncontrolled migration leads to chaos, dysfunction, and disorder. And you
know what, they have it in Europe too. It's happening
in many of the countries of Europe. They don't like
it when I say it, but I'll say it loudly
and clearly. They better do something before it's too late.
(26:21):
Very simply, we will liberate Los Angeles and make it free,
clean and safe again. It's happening very quickly. The one big,
beautiful bill you've heard about it. We call it the
one Big you know. I was on one of the
television shows I think, Deface the Nation, Ladies and gentlemen,
Deface the Nation. It's actually called face the Nation for
those of you that are smart enough not to know,
(26:42):
because you're better off not known. But it was on
one of the shows and I said, we got to
get a great bill. They said, would you like it
to be one bill or would you like it to
be seven or eight bills? They said, I want one big,
beautiful bill. And the Republican Party like that statement. They
call it one big, beautiful bill. So that's good. That's
what it is. It's great, and it's currently before Congress.
(27:04):
It provides all necessary funding for ice, for border patrol,
and for the Department of Defense. And I told you,
at a level that we've never had before, over a
trillion dollars. We better get that bill approved. Otherwise your
helicopters and your planes and your equipment's going to start
to look a little bit old. General, you better push
your favorite congressmen. You better push your these two senators.
(27:25):
I think they're in good shape, however, but we got
to get it approved. And those congressmen, by you are
all one hundred percent. I don't even have to talk
to them. They've been so great. So I want to
sign this into law immediately. And with the signing, so
many great things will happen to our country. No tax
on tips, think of that, No tax seniors on Social Security,
(27:51):
no tax on overtime. It's going to they're going to
pay for themselves. And if you get a car, and
if you borrow money to buy the car, we're gonna
let you deduct the interest payment if it's a new
car made in America. Only if it's made in America.
If it's made in Japan or China or any place else,
we're not really interested in your deduction. I was elected
(28:12):
winning all seven Swing states the popular vote by millions
and millions of votes in all counties throughout America, by
two thousand, seven hundred and fifty to five hundred and
twenty five. That's what I call a big number. But
this is a mandate from the people to restore the
sovereign borders of the United States. And that is exactly
(28:33):
what we're doing, not only the borders, the financial institutions,
and our country itself. We will not be deterred. And
the mob in Los Angeles or anyone else anywhere else
will not succeed. They don't even have a little chance.
And I will be calling you early as I see
this happening, because you know, in theory, I guess you
(28:55):
could say a governor could call, but they don't call.
They let their city burn. Like in Minneapolis with this
guy who rent for vice president against j D. That
was a good debate, JD against this guy, remember how
bad he was. That was one of the way I said, JD,
he's never been a man like you're competing against this
is the worst. I think he's running for president too,
(29:16):
can you believe it? But he's a radical left lunatic.
And I'll never forget in Minnesota that city was burning down.
Minneapolis was burning down, was going to burn to the ground,
and he wouldn't call the guard. And I waited for
a long time and I called the guard and I
saved it. But I wish I would have called it
(29:38):
the first day. And I said, you know, if this
ever happens again, because I was thinking about running because
the election was rigged and Sola and we all know it.
They said, we're going to run again, and if I win,
I hope remember too big to We're going to make
it too big to rig. But we did. We won
by millions and millions of Uh. It's so beautiful to watch.
That was such a beautiful nine oh two in the
(30:01):
He said, ladies and gentlemen, Donald Trump is projected to
be the winner. I said, well, do you think that
was easy? I don't think these ladies from North Carolina,
I think it was easy. You know, they followed me.
I don't know what happened to their husbands. They're married
to very nice people, but they've been to what one
hundred and thirty eight rallies? They said more and they're
(30:25):
from north it's nice that we have one nearby. Finally, right,
they go all over the country. I don't know what
the hell's going on, but they're great. They're North Carolina, beautiful,
wonderful woman. And we were like one hundred and thirty
rallies or some crazy number. Are your husband satisfied with that?
Are they okay? Oh? Here he is. He showed up.
One of them showed up. That's great, congratulations, great women,
(30:49):
actually the great patriots. We will use every asset at
our disposal to quell the violence, and we stow a
loon or the right away. We're not going to wait
seven days and eight days wait for a governor that's
never going to call and watch cities burn. And let
me tell you, if we didn't do this, Los Angeles,
it would be burning to the ground right now, just
(31:10):
like the houses burned to the ground just a few
months ago. And the only flag that will wave triumphant
over the streets of Los Angeles is the American flag,
So help me God, the American flag is the one
that's going to wave triumphantly over the streets and now
(31:32):
let's get back to the true reason. We're here today
celebrating two hundred and fifty years of unbreakable army courage.
This week we commemorate not just the starting point in
army history, but a turning point in the history of
the world. That's how important it is. When the Continental
Congress created the Army and appointed its first commander, name
(31:56):
happened to be George Washington. Has anybody heard of him?
To Washington? Are you okay, darling, You are right. You
take your time, please, doctor, please, doctor, doctor in the house.
Thank you, thank you very much. These are great people.
They've been waiting here a long time in general, so
(32:20):
you know, we want to give them all the time
they need, right, Thank you very much. Greatest people in
(32:42):
the world. They are amazing, amazing. Oh good, thank you
very much. Thank you. Okay, honey, thank you. Beautiful young person,
(33:06):
beautiful young person. We have a lot of young people,
you know, they have. We won young people, old people,
and everything in between. It's sort of nice. Remember they
used to say, but Trump doesn't have the young people.
We won, we won everything. Thank you very much. Doctor,
great job. When the Continental Congruence created the Army and
(33:28):
appointed its first commander, General George Washington. They sent the
fierce spirit of a free nation into battle under a
rallying cry that echoes to this day. Give me liberty
or give me death. Have you heard of it? Quite
a beautiful saving. Think of what that means, give me
liberty or give me death. I know exactly what that means.
(33:52):
Just three days after the birth of the Army, the
Great Patriot founding father, doctor Joseph Warren, was on the
front lines as they soldiers stood totally outnumbered and outgunned
at Bunker Hill. They had a group of soldiers against
them that were supposed to be in that day unbeatable.
(34:13):
Warren's mother had begged him, son, please don't do it.
She said, please, please, don't do it. Don't risk your
life for even the Patriot cause. Please, And he replied,
wherever danger is, dear mother, there your son will be.
I will either set my country free or shed my
(34:36):
last drop of blood to make us so so beautiful,
So the words are so beautiful. At Bunker Hill, Warren
kept his vow, fighting and fighting and fighting and loving
his country until he fell drenched in blood and gave
his life at the very young age of thirty four,
exactly two hundred and fifty years later, we are joined
(34:59):
by doctor Wahn Warren's great great great great great grandson,
and it's seven generations down and now in Iraq. War
veteran retired Army specialist Scott Warren is here with his daughter,
Sergeant E. Five Carrington Sanders of Fort Irwin. I want
(35:21):
to just where are you? Where would you be in
this big crowd? Thank you very much. What an honor,
What an honor. You look great too, by the way,
you really look great. Thank you very much. Not a
great family, but you carry in your veins the love
(35:44):
and devotion of a martyr for American liberty. Please stand,
just put that hand up once more for the people
because they were Thank you very much. You're looking good, looking, good,
good jeans. Thank you both. Thank you very much. The
(36:05):
life of a soldier is not just a job. It's
a calling and a sacred tradition passed down from father
to son, brother to sister, and one generation to the next,
that every hour of danger on noblest citizens have answered
that call, kissed their loved ones goodbye, and run to
(36:26):
the sound of guns. You run to the sound of guns.
You're reading right, into them. You're gonna win. When the
British tried to reconquer our young nation in eighteen twelve,
one thousand Americans at Fort McHenry photo off a British
invasion fleet five thousand strong. They say it was unstoppable.
(36:47):
Lieutenant Francis Scott Key, you all heard the name. Watched
from Baltimore Harbor as the Army kept old Glory flying high.
Many people died. Deeply inspired, he wrote poem in tribute
to Army courage and American pride, known today as the
Star Spangled Banner or our national anthem. Great eight generations
(37:12):
later were joined by a descendant of Francis Scott Key,
who has spent two decades in uniform, Major Kyle Key
of Army National Guard Fame. Please, Major, where are you magine?
Thank you? Thank you looking good too? What's going on here?
(37:36):
These guys are? They all come from a very fine
strain of blood. That's great genetics is right. Thank you
both very much, Major Key, thank you for helping to
keep this incredible land of ours free and the home
of the brave. And that's what it was. Through the
decades that followed, the Army conquered the Great Frontier, the
(38:00):
war that restored our nation and broke forever the chains
of slavery. A generation later, the Army's rough Riders stormed
up San Juan Hill with Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and swept
the last foreign empire from the American hemisphere, forever, forever swept.
(38:23):
In World War One, our doughboys fought bravely in the
Valley of the Marne and in the Argonne they're in
nineteen eighteen, a devout Tennessee Christian named Alvin York, you
know that name, charged across an open field towards the
German machine guns. They were firing at levels at that
(38:44):
time that nobody had ever seen before. They were knocking
down everything in their way, including giant trees were coming down.
The enemy mowed down more than half of his platoon
almost immediately. The platoon was going down like nobody's ever
thought possible. But York pressed on into the jaws of death.
(39:08):
He slayed German after German and returned with one hundred
and thirty two prisoners from behind the enemy lines. And
he had the option of killing them, and he didn't
want to do that. And that's okay, isn't it right?
It's okay, but he brought one hundred and thirty two back.
And his actions and the actions of that great day,
(39:31):
crazy but great day. Sergeant York earned the Congressional Medal
of Honor and became one of the most famed and
decorated heroes of the First World War. Very famous actually
because of the movie that was made. And we're joined
today by Sergeant York's grandson, Army Colonel Gerald Yorke Gerald.
(39:54):
Thank you, thank you, Gerald, Thank you much. It's great,
great honor to have you. Thank you Gerald. At his
grandfather's funeral in nineteen sixty four, Gerald was told by
the command Sergeant major of Fort Bragg that it was
(40:14):
about time he joined the Army and he volunteered for
combat in Vietnam and gave the Army thirty one of
his best years. No, I think your best years are
right now. Live your best years are right now. Keep
it going. But Colonel York, we salute you, We salute
your family and the fame and the bravery of your family.
(40:36):
Thank you very much, appreciate you being here. And in
World War II, the Army once again came to the
Free worlds rescue among the millions and millions who volunteered
was Henry Armstrong. He enlisted six months before his high
school graduation and did basic training right here at Fort Bragg.
(40:59):
By the next year he was in Normandy. He fought
his way across France as part of Patton's Third Army,
crossed the Rhine into the heart of Germany and helped
liberate a Nazi concentration camp. He was a brave person.
Command Sergeant Major Henry Armstrong is here with us today.
He's one hundred years old, a veteran of numerous World
(41:22):
War Two battles and forty one years in the army.
Thank you. Wow. These are great, amazing people. Thank you
very much. Great, Thank you very much. He's joined by
his grandson, Army Dennis Armstrong. Dennis, I assume that's you.
(41:48):
Thank you Dennis, and Dennis's wife, Captain Shelley Armstrong. They
love the military and they love our country. Thank you
very much. Shelley, Thank you very much, appreciate it. And
their son Tanner. Where's Tanner? Let me see, Oh he
looks good too. They all look good. Tanner might look
the best. Actually, Thank you very much. Who's an active
(42:12):
duty staff sergeant in the eighty second Airborne right here
in Fort Bragg. He could right now run for office.
I think he's very popular in career. Our warriors held
the front line in the battle against communism and liberated
millions and millions into the light of freedom. To Vietnam,
we sent some of the toughest men who ever wore
(42:33):
army boots and olive drab. One of them was Joe
Marm of Pennsylvania. He was twenty three years old when
his platoon was ordered to rescue soldiers surrounded by the
enemy in the Battle of Yadrang. Lieutenant Marm charged into
(42:53):
heavy fire, killing four enemy soldiers in the brush before
sprinting across forty yards of open His teammates could not
believe he was doing it, actually, they said. He then
tossed the grenade that killed eight viet Cong gunners, plunged
into the trenches, and killed still more before being shot
(43:14):
in the jaw badly in the jaw. He successfully cleared
the way for his men to save their dreaded comrades
and frankly, for his men to save their own lives.
He was unbelievable for his exceptional bravery. Lieutenant Marm received
the Congressional Medal of Honor and retired as an Army
colonel after thirty years of service. Colonel marm is here
(43:37):
today with his two sons, Will and Walter, both Army Rangers.
What a great family legacy. Please stand up. How's your
jaw feeling all right? The jaw, it's all right. It
looks pretty good. I wish mine looked that good. It's
(43:58):
very good. Thank you very much, great family, appreciate it.
Real heroes. In the modern era, soldiers have charged into
the darkest caves and ventured into the most god forsaken
places to vanquish the forces of radical Islamic terror from
the face of the earth. In two thousand and seven,
(44:19):
Chief Warrant Officer Eric Phillips was stationed at a remote
outpost in the Afghan Mountains when a massive Taliban force
attacked from all sides. He thought he was finished for
three hours. He led a hillatious counter assault to successfully
repulse the enemy in close combat. In the same deployment,
(44:40):
Eric again repelled an attack by a vastly larger enemy force,
saving countless lives. For his spectacular gallantry, Chief Phillips earned
the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star, becoming among
the most highly decorated warriors of any branch in the
War or Terror. Actually he is the most decorated, and
(45:04):
it's not even that close. Many many battles, many many medals,
and he's with us today, Chief Phillips, you did us
all proud. Please stand up, Chief Phillips. Thank you, thank
you very much. Thank you. You are army strong. Thank
(45:28):
you very much. Jude. From the American Revolution until today,
the story of the Army is the tale of an
unbroken chain of American patriots who gave all they had
for this country. It is the sag of epic bend
like Washington and Jackson, Grant and Custer, Pershing and Eisenhower,
(45:48):
Patton and MacArthur, wild Bill Donovan and the great General
William Yarborough, father of the Green Berets. You know that,
the Green Berets, William Barreborough. It's the story of fabled
units like the Old Guard, the Iron Brigade, the Big
Red One, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Harlem hell Fighters, the
(46:12):
Tuskegee Airmen, the Screaming Eagles, and George Patten's Hell on wheels.
They called it hell on wheels when he was after you.
It was not good. The weapons of war have changed
with every generation, but the unflinching loyalty of the American
soldier has always remained the same. The Army has always
(46:33):
stayed true to its motto, This wheel defend. You know
that this wheel defend. Army warriors who have laid down
their lives for America rest by the thousands and the
sacred soil of Arlington and Gettysburg, Angio and Manila, and
to far off places known only to God. We owe
(46:58):
everything to them. Today we renew our devotion to the
cause of liberty for which they so selflessly lived and fought,
and so bravely died. There could be no greater tribute
to their memory than to prepare the Army to dominate
America's enemies for the next two hundred and fifty years
and more than that. That's why under the Trump administration,
(47:22):
we're focused on restoring the spirit of the US Armed Forces.
No soldier ever volunteered for the Army to be lectured
about transgender diversity or inclusion. You don't want to hear
that transgender for everybody. We don't do that. America's patriots
(47:42):
joined the army to kick down doors, storm beaches, kill
terrors and win America's wars. That's what we want and
that's what you want. And to that end, we're making
that record investment, but not only in the Army and
(48:03):
the other forces, also because you work together as a team,
and we're including in that and across the board. Now,
you don't have to take this if you don't want.
You could be great patriots. Say I don't want to raise.
I will not accept it. Let it go back into
our country. Let's give it to Gavin Nouscombe so he
can waste it in Los Angeles. No, we don't want
(48:26):
to do that, but we're giving you across the board.
Raise for every single service member in the US Armed Forces.
We're giving you across the board, and you deserve it.
You know, we spend so much money on things that
we shouldn't be spending it on. But I think those
days are stopping. Mister Senators and Congressmen that are with us.
(48:48):
As part of our one big, Beautiful Bill, we are
also investing over one billion dollars to update your on
base housing, and we're building a state of the art
missile defense shield to protect to our homeland. And it's
called the Golden Dome. It's going to be all made
in America. We've done it for others, We're now doing
(49:09):
it for about time, right, we're doing it for ourselves.
After years of recruiting shortfalls. This is to me maybe
the most exciting things. We're setting the strongest peacetime recruiting
records ever. Just think of this. Six months ago, we
couldn't recruit anybody to join the military. Nobody wanted to join.
(49:29):
It was six months ago, and then we had the
election of November fifth, and now we have the strongest
recruiting numbers in the history of our country. Can you
imagine that? Can you imagine that we've already surpassed our
recruiting targets for twenty twenty five and we're not done yet.
(49:51):
And I'll tell you it doesn't make you feel good
when you had to hear six seven months ago that
nobody wants to join the army. They don't want to
join our military. Frankly, they didn't want to join our police,
our firemen. They lost confidence, they lost faith in our country.
And just a short number of months later, we're setting
(50:11):
all time records. In fact, your job might be in jeopardy.
Somebody else may come in and take it. That was bad,
We'll get you out of here. You have to be good.
We're getting the best people that you've ever seen. We're
getting people they like. I don't think we've ever seen
anything like it. Great people are coming in. Doesn't it
make you feel good though you have something and you're
doing something that other people want to join you. Isn't
(50:33):
it a great feeling? I wasn't it a lousy feeling
just a short time ago when they announced. You know,
you're a soldier and you're proud of your country and
you're proud of the army in your case, and you're
reading stories about nobody wants to come in and join
the military, right, isn't that lousy? Even the ladies from
North Carolina, we're not happy with that. But then we
(50:55):
had a great election. It was amazing, too big to rick.
We had a great election, and all of a sudden,
the people are pouring in and we have incredible people
like Pete and the others that are here. Dan. I
think they made a big difference. I really do. So
thank you very much, all of you guys. I think
you've really made a big difference. The army will soon
(51:16):
be stronger, bigger, and better than ever before. And every
new soldier that joins our ranks will kindle the same
fighting spirit exemplified by the likes of Sergeant Major Jim Schmidt,
who's no longer with us. At fifteen years old, after
lying about his age because he wanted to get in
(51:39):
so badly, Jim trained at Fort Bragg to fight in
World War Two. When Jim's middle school wrote to ask
if he would attend his eighth grade graduation, he wrote back,
that will be impossible, as I'm rather busy now. I'm
in the hinterlands hunting down Germans have to say this
(52:00):
and Italians. I know there are a couple of Germans
and Italians here. As a paratroopery made the famous drops
at Sicily and Salerno while still a young boy too
young to be in the army kicked him out. They
found out about it. They kicked him out. They discovered
he was way underage. They said, Jim, you got to
get out of here. You're a hell of a soldier,
(52:21):
but you got to get out. But that didn't stop Jim.
He enlisted in the Navy. But the moment he turned eighteen,
he came right back and he joined the eighty second
Airborne How about that? He went on to fight at
the Chosen Reservoir in Korea rough Place, saw combat in Vietnam,
(52:45):
and ended his career right back at Fort Bragg, having
earned two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, and two Purple
Hearts with us today as Jim's widow Peggy and their
beloved grandson, Army Specialist Christian Forbes, who is currently deployed
at our southern border defending our country from an invasion.
(53:06):
Whether we like it or not. It's an invasion. But
I don't know if you've heard the invasion was ninety
nine point nine percent stopped? Do you hear that ninety
nine could even be more? At ninety nine point nine
nine nine percent stopped? That invasion has stopped, so I
think he's in good shape. Specialist Forbes. I want to
(53:26):
thank you for defending America, and you've obviously done a
good job because that invasion has been stopped. And we
appreciate you being here. Thank you wherever you may be.
Thank you very much, Thank you very much. Right, we
stopped that suckert inn't we? Huh? We stopped it. Thank
you very much, each and every one of you here
(53:47):
today carries in your souls the love, strength, and courage
of millions upon millions of Army patriots who came before you.
Your uniforms bear the same stars and stripes that are
our ancestors carried to victory at Yorktown, across the Great
Plains and over our rockies, up the Missionary Ridge, down
(54:09):
through the streets of Paris. That's right, we went down
the streets of Paris. We got to help our allies
some way across the sands of North Africa and onto
the shores of Omaha Beach into the bloodsoaked hills of Korea.
And it was a West Point graduate named buzz Aldron
who first planted our great American flag on the face
(54:31):
of the moon. We know that now it's your turn
to carry that flag forward and to add your own
daring deeds into this chronicle of triumph and legends. Now
it's your duty to shield the flame of freedom that
was first lit two hundred and fifty years ago by
the heroes of Concord Bridge and Bunker Hill. Standing before
(54:55):
you today, I am more confident than ever that in
the days ahead and every generation to come, the US
Army will heap glory upon glory upon glory upon us all.
You will protect every inch of US soil, and you
will defend America to the ends of the earth. Wherever
(55:17):
danger is there, the US Army will be another beautiful phrase.
Whatever peril comes our way, whatever menace threatens our people,
you will stand strong, you will be proud, you will
charge hard, and you will keep that flame lit, that beautiful,
(55:38):
beautiful flame. You're gonna keep it lit. You will hold
the flag high, and you will do something that's become
quite a famous little phrase. Also, but you're a hell
of a lot braver than me. You will fight, fight, fight,
and you will win, win, win. Thank you, God bless you,
(55:58):
God bless our soldiers, and God bless the US Army.
Thank you very much, Thank you everybody.
Speaker 1 (56:05):
If you like The Michael Berry Show and podcast, please
tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a
nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest
in being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated
directly to the show at our email address, Michael at
(56:27):
Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our
website Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry show and
podcast is produced by Ramon Roeblis, The King of Ding.
Executive producer is Chad Nakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(56:51):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLain.
Director of Research is Seen Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit, where not,
(57:14):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD, call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(57:39):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free counseling.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.