Mind Over Matter

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Multiple people in my family clean my father, are veterans.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Troops that have been to war and now they're back.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
And think and be grateful for their service.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Sacrifice, love for their country, just unselfishness, all that they
do for us. There are some people in this country
who take extraordinary steps to provide for the freedom and security.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
We forget that those people exist.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
We know them as the Army, Navy, air Force, Marines,
and Coast Guard. They call themselves soldiers, seals, rangers, airmen, sailors,
devil dogs.

Speaker 4 (00:39):
And so much more.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
We call them fathers, brothers, sons and husbands, mothers, daughters,
sisters and wives. We call them friend and neighbor. These
veterans answered the call. Now we answer theirs, and they.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Are the best our country has to offer.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
And we love them. Today, we honor them and we
serve them. David Malsby is your host, and he welcomes
you to this community of veterans, as together we are
building the road to hope.

Speaker 5 (01:22):
And indeed we are glad to have you along. On
a Sunday afternoon, those of you listening on the kPr
C the nine to five oh and the A and
I'll thank you for joining us today as you drive
endlessly around the loop, appreciate you join us those of
you listening through the magic of podcasts. Wherever you listen
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Speaker 3 (01:37):
For Road to Hope.

Speaker 5 (01:38):
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supporters of all things PTSD Foundation of America. All right,
we got a couple of guys in the studio with
us today. Tyrone's back with us. Tyrone, when reintroduce yourself
to the world.

Speaker 6 (03:26):
Yes, sir, thank you, Pastor Mo. My name is Tyrone Brown.
I'm served in the US Army. I went to Somalia
in nineteen ninety three. Currently am a mentor at the
PTSD Foundation of America Camphip Camp Hope site.

Speaker 5 (03:42):
Excuse me, and you came through Camp Hope wind, Yes, sir,
I came to.

Speaker 6 (03:46):
The program myself in March of nineteen of twenty twenty.

Speaker 5 (03:50):
Two, twenty two. Yes, sir, so it took you a
little while to find us, Yes, sir, after your last deployment, sir,
has a long time in between, Yes, sir. And we
also have a gentleman that's currently in our program at
Camp Hope right now, Joe, you want to give the
world a grand introduction.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
My name is Joe Rowe and I'm currently a resident
at Camp Hope and I'm eternally grateful for the program
and Pastor himself and Tyrone, who's my mentor. I'm a
changed man.

Speaker 5 (04:27):
I don't believe in luck, but if you use the
term luck, you got lucky, you got a good You
got a good mentor over there, Yes, sir, all right,
so you served in the Marine Corps.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
I was in the Navy, but I volunteered for service
with the Marine Corps. I've been involved in Desert Shield,
Iraq times two other deployments that don't need to be mentioned,
but eighteen and a half years of service in the
Navy over thirteen with the United States Marine Corps. I

(04:58):
am known as a devil, not a devil dog. So
Hospital Corman serve along with the Marine Corps. They don't
have a medical department, so they borrow them from the
United States Navy. You know, Joe, when I look back through,
you know, over thirteen years now that Camp Hope has

(05:19):
had its doors open, we've probably had a higher percentage
of Corman medics than any other job I can think of.
It's we've had a lot come through our doors. Yes, sir,
we see the worst of what happens in combat. I've

(05:44):
been in paramedic since nineteen ninety two. I stopped serving
in whatever state I'm in in twenty fourteen. But with
the service that I provided aid to marines that get hurt,
they do get hurt their first in, last out, and
I see the worst gunshots, explosions. I must be a

(06:10):
good teacher because my Marines who patched me up saved
my life when I got injured in combat. I got
blown up by a roadside bomb, very big one that
made a twenty four foot crater.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
And like I.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
Said, I saw the worst what we have to do
with the spread of democracy throughout the world, and to
protect our nation and its liberties and freedoms, I had
to put my life on the line and I do
that for my fellow man, my fellow marine, because I

(06:45):
took an oath as a hospital corman, not only to
protect a constitution against foreign enemies foreign and domestic, but
I took an oath to protect my patient. And anytime
a service member is injured, there has to.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
Be somebody that give aight.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
So they were after me pretty hot and heavy. It
just so happens I took three steps away from the
humve and I found the ID that day with the
giant explosion and reminder, as we go through the course
of a show, we understand some of these things can
be triggered.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
For some who are listening. Let me ask you to
get out your phone. Put this number in your phone
eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy three.

Speaker 3 (07:28):
That is our.

Speaker 5 (07:29):
Combat Trauma Crisis line. You may never need it. You
may come across someone, however, that does need it. Please
put the number in your phone eight seven seven seven
one seven seventy eight seventy three. Here's the thing you.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Need to know about that phone number.

Speaker 5 (07:42):
When you call it, someone will answer it, and it
will be a combat that a combat that will answer
the phone. Three hundred and sixty five days a year,
twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, eight
seven seven seven one, seven seventy eight seventy three. All Right,
we've got to take a quick break and we back.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
With more Roadhope Radio. M hm m m.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
M.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
All right, welcome back Road Dope Radio. Glad to have
you along.

Speaker 5 (08:23):
All right, Joe, So you're one of the older guys
around camp, how does that make you feel?

Speaker 2 (08:32):
You got to learn how to deal with the youngins.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Okay, this should be fun.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (08:39):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
The younger generations that are behind me, they have a
certain way of doing things, a certain way of talk,
certain way of entitlement. Well, I was I'm very old school.
I respect my elders. I've always respect my elders. I've
always and raised that way by my mom and daddy

(09:04):
and my grandparents. Filled in because my parents died and
I was forced to be an orphan. But the military
helped me grow up to be the man I am,
and the man I am is a man of my word.
I helped fellow mallonkind whatever they need, if I can
provide it, I know where to get it.

Speaker 4 (09:27):
That's what a doc does.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
And the younger generation, they got a certain slight on
that they're they're a little different breeding. But I like
to say that us gray beards got gotta stick together.
I a very money, many of us. And when you're
over fifty, you find those similarities in people. And Tyrone's

(09:55):
life story when he became my mentor, we have a
lot of similarities. And he's my brother from another mother.
And a lot of the young ones don't understand when
I give respect, I expect respect, and some people don't.
Aren't trained that way, aren't taught that way, to respect

(10:16):
your elders and yes, sir, yes ma'am. No sir, no, ma'am.
But I respect all and I understand that. And I
used to talk a lot when I first got the camp, but.

Speaker 4 (10:31):
I talked yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
But now it's like I've been taught that the Lord
has a hand over my mouth and hand on my shoulder.
Speak less and lessen more. You learn a lot more
what a guy is struggling with by just listening to him.

Speaker 4 (10:52):
What they have to say.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
You know, give the opportunity of people to be honest
with you. You know, I don't give up a lot
of advice.

Speaker 4 (11:01):
I just got.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
This is what worked for me, This is what helped me.
We're reminded of the selfish program. And I was told
by mister Tyrone to my left here, you got to
stop trying to help everybody else until you help yourself.
And I learned that the hard way, and I started listening,

(11:23):
and I started helping myself, and I'll be daring. Joy
came back into my life. I am an ambassador of Christ.
My responsibility is to let Jesus Christ shine out of
me because He's my Lord and savior. I pray daily

(11:44):
on behalf of the brothers at the camp, on behalf
of the staff, that they get that extra power source
from the Holy Spirit, that they get what they need
on Camp Hope property, because the Holy spirits, you know,
seven three sixty five twenty four hours a day. And

(12:06):
if I wake up from bad dream or something, I
know who to go talk to. It's another combat veteran.
You know you mentioned you mentioned the younger generation.

Speaker 5 (12:17):
So I'm gonna take a second and step or dip
into our mail bag real quick. This is this is
written from one of our our guys that came through.
I think it was about three and a half years ago,
and he wrote it this last Sunday.

Speaker 3 (12:33):
So we could go today, So today's the day we look.

Speaker 5 (12:36):
We took a reaffirmation of faith today at church by
getting baptized as a family. Randall, reader, you inspired this.
Thank you for sharing your journey. The kids took their
first step toward God. Me and future Missus wanted to
renew our vows to God before saying them to each other.
Now we're on the way, our way to where my

(12:56):
vision of life took shape Camp Hope. I stood at
the cross out there many times. Let's see, I'm gonna
get this messed up here, So at the cross many times,
out there trying to see the life God had for me.
I had no possessions, no car, mountains of debt, but I.

Speaker 3 (13:16):
Had a relationship with God.

Speaker 5 (13:18):
Through that I gained a path to walk that hasn't
been easy, but so fulfilling. Things found and lost, along
with choices that always bore consequences. I've learned to surrender, accept,
and forgive all things taught to me there that have
continued fueling my passion for this amazing life I very

(13:39):
nearly gave away. By the end of this day, I'll
be married to the one I know God put in
my life and for better or worse. We'll ride our
lives out together. Couldn't be happier, albeit a bit nervous,
how about that. I love hearing those stories from guys
who come through the program, and you know, like anything

(14:00):
else I think you go through. When you're in the
middle of something, you don't really realize just it could
be how great it is or how awful it is.
But you give yourself a little space and you're able
to look back and you appreciate it so much more.
And so I think it's one of the reasons I
like hearing from some of the guys that have been
through for a little while and come back. Did have
a beautiful ceremony out at Camp Hope that last Sunday

(14:23):
night out by the Cross. A lot of things have
happened at that cross, some good and some some rough
moments as well. I like to tell people, though, you know,
it's a it's a metal, it's made out of steel.
It's just a steal cross. It's nothing really beautiful about it.
It's just to steal cross. All it represents as obvious.
But at that cross, that cross has been I would

(14:46):
tell people, it's been yelled at, it's been cussed at,
it's been spit on, uh, but it also has become
a place for so many veterans to find some peace,
some solitude, some quiet, some ability to reflect and to
listen and to receive. And so it's a it's it's

(15:08):
quite the place. And when I when I tell people that,
I always kind of look at me like I said.

Speaker 3 (15:16):
No, no, no, don't worry about it.

Speaker 5 (15:18):
God's shoulders are big enough to handle these guys cussing
him out. He's gonna be okay with it. And his
mercy's never ending. Read the song, his mercy never fails.
Over and over and over again, we're reading his mercy
never fails.

Speaker 3 (15:33):
So he's big enough. So why did you.

Speaker 5 (15:37):
Join the navy?

Speaker 3 (15:37):
What was what? What drove that?

Speaker 2 (15:40):
Every male figure, including my father, served in some servers.
I later found out that his sister, who married Bob
or Robert, my uncle Bob, was a naval officer, but
my father was on the US Enterprise.

Speaker 4 (16:03):
He was a nuclear machinist mate he was radiated.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
He was in the hospital for two months. I knew
at age eight that I was going in the Navy.
It was just a forbearance because of everybody in every
male figure in my family has served in one way
or another, So at age eight, I knew I'm going
in the Navy, and I kept saying that growing up. Well,

(16:29):
my dad died when I was eleven, he was thirty
five years old because of lung cancer. I as a
hospital gorman. Later on, when I joined the Navy got
to be a hospital corman. I tracked down his medical records,
found out that he spent two months in the hospital
in Italy at the Naval Hospital, and he subsequently retired medically.

(16:57):
And that's what ultimately happened to me. I retired from
military because you know, my bomb blessed my combat injuries.
But I found out more about my dad from those
records that you know, he never complained about it.

Speaker 4 (17:12):
He never complained about his service.

Speaker 2 (17:15):
He kept his patches, you know, I used to have them.
He taught me the night before he died. He's like,
I need to see my kids. I want my son here,
and that conversation I've never forgotten.

Speaker 4 (17:29):
He told me.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
He's like, boy, you're the man in the house now.
And I wasn't too friendly because my mom was still
young and I didn't understand it until I was more
mature that she had to date, you know, she had
to date these other these other gentlemen. She married one
of them that that I struggled with, because any man

(17:52):
that came into my house, in the house I was
growing up in.

Speaker 5 (17:56):
We'll catch up on that. Okay, we're gonna take a
quick break. It's a hard stop here the news on
those on nine point fifty. We'll take that quick news
break and we'll be back with more Road Hope Radio
in just a moment, and we welcome you back.

Speaker 3 (18:24):
Glad to have you along.

Speaker 5 (18:25):
All right, Joey caught you up in the middle of
the story, so keep going.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
I wasn't very likable, no gentlemen, no, no, no, there's no.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
Way that's possible.

Speaker 2 (18:38):
I did not see or I wasn't mature enough to
realize that my mom was lonely.

Speaker 4 (18:43):
She lost the love of her life.

Speaker 2 (18:45):
She had a date, and me, being the man of
the house that I thought I was, I was not
enjoyable to be around because I was growing up. I
was a teenager and I was trying to date girls too,
and I didn't want anybody interfering with my mom. And

(19:05):
I was very adamant about that. And I wasn't very
likable with the activities that I caused their vehicles. So
they ultimately left at some of them because of me.
But I've just protected my mom. So all right, So
you join the Navy at age eighteen, two weeks after

(19:29):
I graduated high school? And what year was at nineteen
eighty six? Eighty six in the Navy? Eighteen and a
half years, son, Yes, sir, breaking service for five years.

Speaker 5 (19:40):
How many deployments you mentioned?

Speaker 3 (19:43):
Three?

Speaker 4 (19:43):
Three?

Speaker 2 (19:44):
Okay, three combat tours. I've deployed to the Virgin Islands.
We were doing drug ops, helping out the locals on
the Virgin Islands. There's a lot of islands that are
kind of are frifty for states, right, you know, But
America's present there. We own the seas, we protect the seas.

(20:10):
Now I've gone through like three different motivational you know,
it's not just a job. It's an adventure, you know.
Now they're saying it's America's Navy. But the Navy's one
of the oldest. We're a month older than the United
States Marine Corps seventeen seventy five. The Army's the oldest,

(20:31):
their two hundred and fifty years. We're making it up there.
But the service has always been there. When I raised
my right hand, I knew what I was doing.

Speaker 4 (20:41):
I knew what it entailed.

Speaker 2 (20:43):
I was giving up certain freedoms. But the routine, the structure,
the chain of command taught me how to be a
good man. I'm matured in in my service. My first
four years, the USA Stark was hit by an exercise
missile from an Iraqi warplane. At nineteen years old, I went.

(21:05):
I raised my hand again. They needed volunteers, and I
went over and fought fires for three and.

Speaker 4 (21:10):
A half days on a ship.

Speaker 2 (21:12):
I had no idea where any anything was. I just
knew we were mutual aid. Like in the civilian fire
fighting world, when a big fire happens, either a house
fire or building fire, commercial property, you called for mutual aid,
you called for extra people. So they called our ship

(21:32):
and we got underway with just the the duty crew,
which is a skeleton crew. We manned the ship, cut
everything away from it, and we took off.

Speaker 4 (21:43):
I was not on duty.

Speaker 2 (21:45):
I said I was tired and I didn't want to
go out and spend any more money. But I stayed
on the ship, and thank god I did, because I
knew the damage controlment. I knew the whole technicians. They
were the first ones to go over to help fight
fires when they asked for volunteers at like three thirty
four o'clock in the morning. My hand went up, and

(22:07):
I'm like, why am I doing that? You know what why?
I didn't mean raise my hand, but I went over
to a ship. I had no idea where anything was.
You go on a small boat. You go over to
the ship, and with the swelling of the of the water,
the waves of the water, you have to time it
to jump up and grab the ladder. I lost my

(22:30):
firefighting boot, so I climbed the ladder with one boot on,
and I got to the deck of the ship, and
it was listing to the starboard side, which is the
right side twenty seven degrees, because it was on fire.
It had been hit, it'd been damaged. All the decks
were open. Those weren't my first deceased sailors I've ever saw.

(22:53):
That was the first trauma besides my dad's death, that
I'd ever witnessed. I fought for three and a half
days because I knew this had to be done. There's
only one one direction for the ship to go when
it's on fire. And that's down, and we weren't going
to lose that shit. And I busted my butt to

(23:14):
help give aid. I even doctored the executive officers wounds
from shrapnel. I recovered the deceased. You know, I saw
all that, and it stuck with me. I knew when
I was I got out a month before a desert
storm started, and I kept calling back and calling back,

(23:37):
and finally they're like, well, we need you, we'll call you.
You know, stop calling us, stop bugging us.

Speaker 4 (23:42):
You know.

Speaker 2 (23:43):
But I was involved in Desert Shield where we protected
the tankers. We were a tanker escort servers and uh
when when those tankers wouldn't listen to our commands, they'd
fire an attention, get her over the boy the ship
and they listened because we got a big gun on
a guided missile destroyer, but on a strike team that

(24:07):
they taught me how to shoot a forty five and
a moss bird shotgun. We took over ships and we
told them where we wanted them to go, because oil
is a commodity, it's a cash product, and we protected
those lanes. And the Navy continues to protect the seas

(24:27):
in any way, shape or form now coach guard's a
little different. They don't even work hard. But that's just
that's just my joke because I was in the Navy.

Speaker 5 (24:40):
I want to kind of move the conversation along just
a little bit, just because of time.

Speaker 4 (24:46):
We don't have this, sir.

Speaker 5 (24:47):
I'd love to sit here all afternoon and chat with
you on this. But you've already alluded to a number
of traumas, yes, including the childhood, lost your father at
age eleven, so multiple traumas, multiple trauma. I was in
service also obviously exemplary service. Eighteen and a half years
you served, then you went into you said, you became

(25:09):
a paramedics that right, Yes, sure, okay, so no doubt
more trauma there.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Sure, But.

Speaker 5 (25:16):
Those first lives that you just mentioned that were lost
on that ship that was eighty seven, Yeah, almost forty
years ago.

Speaker 4 (25:28):
Correct.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
There's a lot of time in between before you between
those moments, correct, even from the moment you left service
in the Navy. Still a lot of time between then
and stepping foot on camp Hope. What brought you to
the place you decided this is what you needed.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
I need help.

Speaker 2 (25:51):
Besides serving my country, the bravest thing that a combat
veteran can do is step forward and ask for help.

Speaker 4 (26:00):
It makes a big goal for your pride.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
And I had to swallow that pride and I was
attempting to get help and I was a simulating a
toolbox bo I heard about Camp Hope from another graduates
run another program that I attended. And because of this
program and because of what it gave him, I needed it.

(26:25):
I needed the extra because I've been diagnosed with complex PTSD.
It's like trauma upon trauma upon trauma, and with all this,
you know, trauma work that I've done, it gets to
you after a while, and nightmares, flashbacks remembered. I was
blown up January twenty eight, two thousand and five.

Speaker 4 (26:48):
It took me.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Twenty years to find the correct hope, the correct help
that I needed the most. And when I came through
those gates at Camp Hope, I had an open mind,
in an open heart. I knew I believe in God.
He's always had my sex. There's no there's no everybody

(27:10):
believes in the foxhole. Everybody praise in combat. But once
you're done, what do we do with this? And we
will pick up there right in just a moment. But
a reminder, if you'd like information on Camp Hope. Uh,
because we're telling a story here day, we don't really
talked about Camp Hope.

Speaker 3 (27:28):
What it is all about.

Speaker 5 (27:29):
All the information about Camp Hope, as well as our
outreach programs across the state of Texas, across the country
online virtually so you can jump on literally anywhere and
be a part of one of our warrior support groups
or our family support groups. All the information is available
at our website ptsd usa dot org. Also, if you'll
follow us Facebook, Twitter, or x YouTube ptsd USA, ptsd

(27:56):
USA and all three of those would love it if
you'd go and follow us, subscribe to us, retweet us whatever.
It's all free and it's great way to share the story.
Ptsdusa dot org. All right, I'm gonna take a quick break.
We'll come back and pick up more just story in
just a moment, and we welcome back Road to Hope Radio.

Speaker 1 (28:36):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (28:37):
Reminder eight seven seven seven one seven seventy eight seventy
three is our combat Trauma Crisis line of combat veteran.
We'll answer the phone. Eight seven seven seven one seven
seventy eight seventy three.

Speaker 3 (28:49):
Joe, A little while ago you were.

Speaker 5 (28:53):
I don't remember the exact wording you used, something along
the light you felt like you needed to be a
light for Jesus Christ at Camp Hope. Again, back to
the you drew the right card with getting.

Speaker 4 (29:10):
Tyrone Tyrone.

Speaker 5 (29:11):
Yeah, I mean, obviously it's very important to Tyrone his faith,
and that's the.

Speaker 3 (29:17):
Beauty of the peer to peer.

Speaker 5 (29:19):
Like you said, it's not passing out advice. It's just
this is what helped me. This is my experience, and
that's been true for Tyrone and it's true for you.
But I'd love to hear from either or both of
you really just briefly, because it is where you know,
we declare to be a faith based organization. We don't
apologize for it. And truthfully, Christ's centered program, everything you

(29:42):
read in our material you'll find very quickly it's Christ
centered that said, you don't have to believe anything, and
we accept anything and everything. You just have to come
in wanting to change your life. You don't have to
agree to a code or a creed or anything like that.
But your faith and trying to be an example of
that can certainly be tested around there because there are

(30:05):
guys who are very very angry with God, which is
you know I won't do it in front of them,
but you know, in my mind, I chuck a little
bit best like, how can you be so angry with
somebody that doesn't exist? Because you keep saying there's no
there's no God, but you're awfully angry at God there
doesn't exist. But how has that worked out for you?
And how'd that work out for you?

Speaker 2 (30:26):
Tyrone?

Speaker 6 (30:28):
You know, I was raised in the Church. I had
a love hate relationship with God at first through all
the things that I've been through in my life, and
I just what I didn't understand was this. I used

(30:49):
to say, why does God allow these things to happen?

Speaker 5 (30:53):
Well, it's the most natural question, I asked, right.

Speaker 6 (30:57):
But what I didn't realize was that the greatest thing
about our God is that it gives us free choice,
you know. And some people in this world have chose
to choose other things, you know. Me myself has chose
sometimes in my life to do other things, you know.
And so I tell the guys that I talked to,

(31:19):
is that, man, the only thing I had to do
to start my journey on recovery from my mental health,
from all of my trauma from my substance abuse was
surrendered to God. I don't have the answer why it works,
you know what I mean. I don't have the answer
to why my grandmother died before I met her. I

(31:40):
don't have those answers. But however, like you said, God's
shoulders are big enough that I don't even I don't
need those answers. What I needed from God was peace.
Now it doesn't mean I'm happy about everything, but I
have peace no matter what happens to me. Nowadays, I
am able to accept the the the answers that I

(32:04):
get from people, the yes, the nose, you know. And
I can still sleep at night peacefully. My rent can
get raised and you know, and I don't like it,
but I can sleep peacefully. And God, this is this
is some of the things that God has given me. Man,
I can't even count high enough to the blessings that
He has given me, you know, I can't count that high.

Speaker 3 (32:25):
Yeah, what about you, Joe?

Speaker 2 (32:29):
You mentioned that cross on Camp Hope, And when I
first got to the camp and talking to the tyrone
and meeting him and hearing some of his stories, he
always tells us that the fights up.

Speaker 4 (32:42):
Here in your head.

Speaker 2 (32:45):
But I made it down to the cross and I
hit my knees and I just said, my way is
not working. I don't know how to do this. I'm
asking for help. I surrender. And when I said that,
it's like slowly on God's timeline, it started happening. Blessings

(33:08):
upon blessings upon blessings. I mean, like Tyrone said, it's
so numerous. My life has been saved so many times.
I've lost coun I mean when I was blown up,
I don't know how I got out of the canal.
I'm busted up and bruised and bleeding. I got metal
on my face. But when I got to the top

(33:30):
of the berm that you could not walk up up,
you know as a human, I looked down and I
saw bare footprints in the sand. We all have combat
boots on, we all have uniforms on. And I knew
who got me out of that canal, whether it be
divine intervention, Christ himself, an angel, or God that got

(33:55):
me out of that canal. And I was at peace,
taking small arms fire in a combat zone in a
dangerous place. CNN nicknamed it the Triangle of Death because
there was a lot of life lost on both sides,
but it was it was a war that we were
in to help the country of Iraq. And not all

(34:18):
Iraqis are are bad. I mean there's some people that
came out I protected the voting boost the pole station,
and they would come out with their fingers. They had
to dip their fingers in chalk, blue chalk, and they
would touch us. And I had I looked like a
Dalmatian because I would blue dots all over my flack jacket.

(34:40):
Should be an improvement, yeah, but.

Speaker 4 (34:44):
I mean, I had.

Speaker 2 (34:45):
I had. A local Iraqi woman in broken English, asked
me what is freedom? And I just I shook my
head and I looked at her and through the interpreter,
I said, that would take too long for me to explain.
But you can do whatever you want now. There's no tyrant,
there's no dictator.

Speaker 4 (35:07):
You're free.

Speaker 2 (35:08):
And they didn't understand it at first. They do now better,
you know, in this day and age. But when they
first voted on their first government, they had no idea
what they were doing. We didn't tell them who to
vote for. We didn't, you know, put R two cents in.
The Only thing I did is protect the area, you know,

(35:30):
if somebody got hurt, that was my job. But when
I got hurt. I must be a good teacher because
my marines passed me out. Everybody was a combat life
service and I my shirt. Just because I retired doesn't
mean my services is finished.

Speaker 5 (35:48):
Yeah. Absolutely, whatever life you got in front of you,
there's opportunity.

Speaker 3 (35:54):
We only have a minute left. But how long you've
been at camp? Now? For my what's changed for you?

Speaker 4 (36:01):
Again?

Speaker 2 (36:01):
I got one minute. I'm proud, I'm happy. Joy has
returned to my life. Talking to my family.

Speaker 4 (36:12):
I got. I got an avenue to keep helping.

Speaker 5 (36:17):
Where's your family?

Speaker 2 (36:18):
Uh? North Carolina where I retired from. But I'm not
talking to him again. My kids still love me. My
wife's talking to me. I heard three little words that
I haven't heard in years, and she told me, I
love you too, Joe, And that means the world of me,
because I'm a changed man. Wait looking forward to after

(36:39):
you're done here, seeing them spending some time on that beach,
you know, enjoying the tide that I helped serve the ocean.
You know, I helped serve the sea. But I'm a
lot older now the tides are a little rougher. You
got to be in shape, so I'm working on it. Mind, body,

(37:00):
and soul, sir, means a little more to he though, Yes, sir,
all right, thank you for sharing some of your story
with us today, Tyrone, great to have you back.

Speaker 5 (37:07):
Thank you again for being here with us. A reminder
where of you listen to podcast, if you just look
for Road to Hope Radio, hit that subscribe button and
it'll automatically download each and every week when the new
show drops. Please share that with your friends, your network.
You never know who might hear what we do and
need to hear what we do. And again, everything we

(37:29):
do is absolutely at zero cost the veteran or their family,
no cost whatsoever. Camp Hope is a lengthy, complex program
sixty nine months by design. Some it takes up to
two years to go through the program, so it's very individualized,
but again at zero cost. It can absolutely change your life.
PTSDUSA dot org. Also on Facebook, Twitter or x and

(37:53):
YouTube PTSD USA, PTSD USA and on Instagram. PTSD Foundation America.
Thanks for joining us. Look forward to being with you
gain next week for more of a Road to Hope
Radio