December 12, 2024 • 33 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
It's that time time, time, time, walking load. Michael Very
Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Are you going to fire the current FBI director, Christopher Ray,
who you appointed.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded
my home. I'm suing the country offer he invaded Marlanga.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Don't don't you come.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
The FBI director just to resigned. Christopher Ray announced a
moment ago that you will leave by the end of
the current administration, three years before the end of his
ten year term.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Don't you come back? Rude and don't you come back?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
The rude and.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Don't you come back?
Speaker 6 (01:08):
No, hit the room and don't you come back.
Speaker 7 (01:16):
After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing
for the bureau is for me to serve until the
end of the current administration in January and then stepped down.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, excuse me, sir, so I'll have to pay.
Speaker 8 (01:34):
The rule.
Speaker 6 (01:35):
Don't you come back? The room? And don't you come back?
Speaker 9 (01:44):
What you said?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
The room and don't you come back.
Speaker 8 (01:51):
What's more, I hope Christopher Ray is investigated and prosecuted.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, and let me remind you.
Speaker 8 (01:57):
In addition to January sixth and all the other awful
things they did. The FBI targeted and arrested Catholics for
praying outside of abortion clinics, not blowing clinics up, not
obstructing the entrance. Oh no, They'll allow the violent greenees
(02:24):
to shut down highways, to shut down businesses, to blow
things up, to burn things down, but by God, Catholics
will not be allowed to pray outside of abortion clinics.
Credit to Senator Josh Hawley, Republican grilling, just absolutely grilling
(02:54):
Christopher Ray, the FBI director, on how his agency targeted Catholics.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
This.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Never forget that this happened. Listen careful.
Speaker 10 (03:06):
The FBI has repeatedly refused to disclose this information. The
only reason we know it is because a whistleblower came
forward with it, just like the only reason we know
about this memo is because a.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Whistleblower came forward with it.
Speaker 10 (03:20):
How many other parishes around the country have priests or
choir directors been approached by the way?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Are Catholic choirs now?
Speaker 10 (03:26):
Are they? Are they breeding grounds for domestic terrorism? Is
this your latest theory? How many other parishes have FBI
agents approached priests and choir directors to ask about parishioners.
Speaker 11 (03:38):
Look, Senator, we do not and will not conduct investigations
based on anybody's exercise of their constitutionals.
Speaker 10 (03:46):
You have done it so, and your memo explicitly asks
for it. Your memo labels traditional Catholics as racially and
ethnically motivated violent extremists in need of investigation. You have
a list of churches, a list in the memo. You've
repeatedly said, we don't target churches. We don't list churches.
(04:08):
They're listed in the memo. So how many other parishes
have you gone to to talk to choir directors?
Speaker 1 (04:16):
For Heaven's sake, as I've show the answer to that question. No,
I don't know the answer to that question.
Speaker 11 (04:24):
But I can tell you that we don't investigate people
for their exercise, and they're constantly protected consoorship, protected religious expression.
And that particular intelligence product is something that as soon
as I saw it, I was aghast.
Speaker 10 (04:38):
I had it withdrawn. So you were a guest. I was, oh, really,
and what have you done about it? Did you fire
the people who wrote it?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I have you fired anybody involved in it? Senator? If
you will give me a chance, then that's a yes
or no. It's not hard.
Speaker 10 (04:51):
Have you fired anyone involved in the writing of that
outrageous memo about which, frankly, you've repeatedly misled the public?
Speaker 11 (04:59):
Yes or no, the individuals involved a fired in just
a minute, were not found to have engaged in any
intentional or bad faith conduct, and in factly, in fact, Senator,
a number of the individuals involved a number of the
individuals involved in writing that product in the Richmond office
(05:21):
with themselves Catholics. So the notion, Oh I see, they
were targeting their own faith.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Oh so they're not out of feel free card. I
see they see.
Speaker 10 (05:29):
So you're not in the immune So as we shouldn't
ask questions about it.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
You haven't done a darn thing. You haven't fired anybody.
Speaker 10 (05:36):
In fact, what the House found is what is it
you? You admonished them. They were admonished, and their respective supervisors
were told to engage with the Human Resources division to
ensure that deficiencies are addressed. Oh I feel much better.
They've been sent to bed without food. Good Heavens. Director,
(05:57):
this is one of the most outrageous targeting. Do you
have mobilized your division, the most powerful law enforcement division
in the world, against traditionalist Catholics, whatever the heck that means.
And you're just told us you have not fired a
single person. I mean here, it gets worse. Your Richmond
Field office. They thought there was nothing wrong with this.
(06:19):
The House interviewed the head of the Richmond Field Office.
He testified, it's all here in the public report I
refer you to at pages twelve thirteen fourteen. He testified
he saw no problem with this. He said, he thought
it was fine. In fact, we have internal memoranda of
the members of the Field office high fiving one peer reviewer.
(06:40):
Another member of the Field office wrote, I think this
is a great product. I really enjoyed the read. Do
you have a problem with systemic bigotry against Catholics in
the FBI? No, what are you going to do about this?
Are you going to fire these people or not?
Speaker 11 (06:57):
Those individuals have all been admonished and it is all
going into there, if you would let me finish my answer.
It is all going into their annual performance reviews, which
has direct impact on their compensation, among other things.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh I see, Oh I see, I see.
Speaker 10 (07:12):
So the sixty million American Catholics who we now who
now learn that your FBI has recommended that priest be
recruited as informants. Your FBI has gone to priests choir directors,
but where to feel better because you've admonished them for
their wrong day.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
You again are conflating two different things in.
Speaker 10 (07:35):
Your testimony, where you said you do not, you said categorically.
Categorically you said we do not. We do not go
to priests and ask them about the parishioners. You said
we do not. You didn't say we haven't. You didn't
say we won't. You said we don't. It turns out
you do, and you kept it from the public. You
deliberately missed like Congress about it. And the only reason
(07:57):
we know about it is because a whistleblower came forward.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
I just that's fundamentally disagree with your characterization.
Speaker 10 (08:03):
There's no characterization the facts of the facts. And I
fundamentally resent the fact that you have violated, if not
the spirit, if not the letter, certainly the spirit of
the First Amendment and use your law enforcement agency against
Catholics in this nation.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Snowflakes prepare for a complete meltdown with more of the
Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 8 (08:28):
The most underrated CCR son by far so, Christopher Ray,
who has been shown. The door was being questioned by
then Congressman Matt Gates about messages between Hunter Biden and
his we'll call him his business partners, his fellow criminals.
(08:52):
Christopher Ray would not acknowledge that the message sounded like
a shakedown. If the FBI didn't know this was a shakedown,
then they're not good at what they do. The fact
that they do know that this is a shakedown and
refuse to admit it makes them far more dangerous than
(09:13):
just being incompetent.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I'm sitting here with my father.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I will make certain that between the man sitting next
to me and every person he knows in my ability
to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not
following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the
call with my pause. Sounds like a shakedown, does an
in director.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I'm not going to get into comedy with them.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
You seem deeply uncurious about it, don't you?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Almost suspiciously uncurious?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Are you protecting the Bidens?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Absolutely not the FI. You wan't to answer your question.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
That's a shakedown, and everybody knows why you won't answer it.
Because to the millions of people who will see this,
they know it is, and your inability to acknowledge that
is deeply revealing about you. You preside over the FBI
that has the lowest level of trust in the FBI's history.
People trusted the FBI when Jaye or Hoover was running
the place than when you are. And the reason is
(10:10):
because you don't get straight answers. You get answers that
later at court deems aren't true.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And then at the end of the day, you.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Won't criticize an obvious shakedown when it's directly in front
of us and it appears as though you're whitewashing the conduct.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Of a corrupt to be respectfully, Congressman. In your home
state of Florida, the number of.
Speaker 11 (10:26):
Peopleplying to come work for us and devote their lives
and working for us is over one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
We're deeply proud of them, and they deserve better than you.
That's exactly right.
Speaker 8 (10:37):
Stop hiding behind the don't dishonor the FBI ages.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I love the FBI ages. I know plenty.
Speaker 8 (10:44):
I know people in the ranks of every major federal
agency who do good work, and they tell me I
want to retire.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
This is awful. I'm embarrassed.
Speaker 8 (10:59):
This is wrong, So stop hiding behind the good work
they do, because you're a bad person. The FBI did
attempt to interfere in this election.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That just happened. Let me be very clear on that.
Speaker 8 (11:16):
They claimed that crime was down under the Biden administration.
They lied about the crime statistics, and then oh, once
the election's over, Oh we said crime was down. Actually,
it looks like you caught us. Crime is up, but
it's too late now.
Speaker 12 (11:38):
So if crime's everywhere, why do they say crimes down?
Speaker 9 (11:43):
A new report from the FBI shows that there was
a thirteen percent decline in murder.
Speaker 10 (11:48):
Fight What the data shows, which we've been talking about,
the fact that crime.
Speaker 8 (11:52):
Is going down in most places, is not registering with
the public.
Speaker 9 (11:55):
I can safely walk my dog to the Capitol today
in a way that you couldn't do when when we
all got here.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I'm glad Pete can walk his dog. But why should
we believe the FBI? Well, turns out we shouldn't.
Speaker 12 (12:09):
The Washington Examiner did some digging and discovered the FBI
has been cooking the books. Did you know about half
the country doesn't send their crime statistics.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
To the FBI.
Speaker 12 (12:20):
So the FBI just estimates the number of crimes, and
then they estimate.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In the wrong direction.
Speaker 12 (12:28):
Murders are actually up twenty three percent across seventy cities
since twenty nineteen. In Milwaukee, the FBI reported a thirteen
percent drop in robberies, but Milwaukee police.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Reported a seven percent increase.
Speaker 12 (12:44):
The Biden administration's using Enron style accounting to cook the
books on everything from crime to the border to the economy,
and then the media reporters they just regurgitate the propaganda
and they wonder why the country's soured trust them and
Trump's winning.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
It's true.
Speaker 8 (13:05):
They keep telling us, it's important that we have respect
for the FBI. It's important that we had respect for
the CIA. It's important that we have respect for the media.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
No, it's not.
Speaker 8 (13:20):
It's important that they be deserving of respect, But when
they behave in such a manner that they are not,
it is more important that we dishonor them. It's more
important that we disarm them. See, that's what you do.
(13:42):
You don't worship power, You check power. Government governs with
the consent of the government, not the fear of the government.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It's important wherstand that.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Here was Donald Trump will close with this because I
got a great interview up next.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
It's a World War II story that if you had.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
A parent or grandparent in World War Two, these stories
need to keep being told. And Buck Sexton brought to
my attention an author of a book the USS cowpins
so they call it the Moo Cow and it's just
it's just a wonderful story. Here is President Trump on
Meet the Press last weekend talking to Christine Welker about
(14:32):
if he was going to fire Christopher Ray.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Are you going to fire the current FBI director, Christopher Ray,
who you appointed.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded
my home, I'm suing the country over it. He invaded
mar A Lago. I'm very unhappy with the things he's done.
And crime isn't at all time high. Migrants are pouring
into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions,
(15:01):
as we've discussed. I can't say I'm thrilled. I don't
want to say. I don't want to again. I don't
want to be Joe Biden and give you an answer
and then do the exact oppa. So I'm not going
to do that. What I'm going to say, is I
certainly cannot be happy with him.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You take a look at what's happened.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And then when I was shot in the year, he said, oh,
maybe it was shrapnel. Where's the shrapnel coming from? Is
it coming from uh? Is it coming from heaven? I
don't think so. So we need somebody to straight You know,
I have a lot of respect for the FBI, but
the FBI's respect has gone way down over the last
number of years.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Don't you have to fire him in order to make
room for cash? Metality is in fact confirmed?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Well, I mean it would sort of seem pretty obvious
that if Cash gets in, he's going to be taking
somebody's place, right as somebody is the man that you're
talking about.
Speaker 8 (15:59):
We got a call from friend Buck Sexton of Clay
and Buck fame, and I've actually known Buck since before.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
The Clay and Buck days. Buck has a history at
the CIA and really just an interesting guy.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
And Buck and I share a passion for military history
and great stories of how much you loved your mom
and how much you loved your dad. I actually met
Buck's dad. Buck and I were having dinner in Miami
a couple of years. A few years ago and his
dad Mason was there. And his dad Mason little known fact.
(16:38):
I don't know if Buck's ever told the story. And
I don't get to listen to the show because I'm
doing my show while they're doing their show. But his
dad Mason was a driving force behind the movie about
Elliot Spitzer, who was the governor of New York. You
know love potion number nine, the client number nine who
was brought down in the escort sting. Anyway, so Buck said, Hey,
(17:02):
I know this guy Nathan Canastero, and he's written a
book called A Mighty Moo. Let me send you some
details on it. You might be interested, And I was.
It's one of those great stories that needs to be told.
So many books are written because of ego or to
capitalize on celebrity.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
You know, some guys on TV.
Speaker 8 (17:25):
If you look at the best selling book list at
any given time today, this wasn't always the case. Most
of the guys on there and gals have TV shows,
and so it's more of a distribution outlet.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Than it is.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
You know, Dostoyevsky having a story that he's got to tell,
or iin Rand who needs to share her message and
can't get it out broadly enough. The reason to tell
a story is because the story is so compelling that
it's bubbling out of you. And whether you ever make
a dime or get rich off of it, or achieve celebrity,
that's the stories I want to here. So Nathan Canastero
(18:01):
is a guy that Buck told me about. Originally at
Tennessee and from Knoxville, Tennessee, but he lives outside of
DC for the last twenty five years. A professional intelligence
officer with the federal government. He served in the Middle
East during the War on Terror, and he's now an
assignment to the National Intelligence Council. But really, Nathan's not
the star of this show. He's just the conductor for
(18:24):
a symphony that is a little journey we're going to
take together, and I think you'll enjoy. He's written a
book called The Mighty Moo, and I know what it's about,
but you don't. Neck you don't yet, you're about to. Nathan,
tell us why you wrote this book and what this
book's about.
Speaker 9 (18:40):
Please, Well, first, thanks for having me on. I really
appreciate the opportunity. This was kind of a It started
as a journey of discovery about my grandfather and I think.
You know, my grandfather was a lot like many men
of his generation. He was a Pacific War veteran in
World War Two, served aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Cowpens,
(19:02):
but he saw a lot of action, and he didn't
want to talk about the war, you know, and like you,
I'm I'm interested in military history, always have been. You know,
I grew up with band of brothers and saving Private Ryan,
you know, sort of the big media public you know,
culture sort of shows about the Second Worlders. So I
was fascinated by sort of trying to learn more about
what my grandfather did, and he just he wouldn't talk
(19:23):
about it, and when I tried to draw it out
of him, it brought him to tears. So, you know,
I felt terrible first off, because I'd made my grandfather cry,
and then also, you know, I didn't I was afraid
the story was going to be lost. And so when
Grandpa passed in twenty ten, you know, I said, well,
you know, I researched military conflict for a living for
(19:44):
the government. Why don't I just see what I can
find out on my own about Grandpa's service and see,
you know, see if I can discover what he wouldn't
tell me. And you know, sadly, most of my grandfather's
story he took to the grave with him. He was
a both an enlisted man and a reservist, and you know,
those were not really priorities for the Navy in terms
(20:06):
of its record keeping. You know, mostly it was about
the officers and you know, the big the admirals and
sort of important people. But in sort of picking up
the story and trying to follow my grandfather's steps as
he went across the Pacific, I found this really amazing
story about his ship. And I turned to my girlfriend
(20:26):
at the time, down my wife, and I said, there's
a book here. You know, I consider myself fairly well
informed about the war, and I just never heard of this,
and you know, essentially sort of in a nutshell, you know,
my grandfather was a boardless ship that the Navy initially
didn't even want. You know, the captain had been scapegoaded
for losing his last ship. The pilots self trained in
(20:48):
the planes they'd fly into battle. The crew had been
in uniform, me and my grandfather barely longer than the
ship had been afloat. I mean, everybody was new to
the navy. And when they got started, they had this
terrible jinx. They survived, you know, a deadly typhoon. They
earned a distinguished combat record, and at war's end there
was only one American aircraft carrier in Tokyo day to
witness the Japanese surrender, and that was my grandfather's terrier
(21:10):
of the USS Calbuy. I'm like, what, how did how
did I know this story?
Speaker 8 (21:15):
This is amazing, so that that is you know, Nathan,
I'm so glad you told this story.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
And the book is called The Mighty Moo.
Speaker 8 (21:23):
Nathan Canastero has written it because I have a theory
that I tell often that if you asked the person
in front of you, what's your what's your grocery store
of choice?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Where do you where do you grocerrate?
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Oh, we've got a safeway right up the road.
Speaker 8 (21:38):
If you asked the person in front of you and
behind you in line at the safeway the right three questions,
you're standing next to a gold medalist, the guy who
was in front of the tank at tinem And Square,
a refugee from an African communist nation, who's going to
end up winning a Nobel Prize. You just don't know, right,
(21:59):
and there are all the stories. Marcus Latrell's a dear
friend of mine, and I say all the time Mark,
and he's kept a diary since he was eight years old.
He still keeps a diary every day. Marcus. The amazing
thing is not your lone survivor's story. The fact that
the things that happened. The amazing thing is that you
(22:19):
reduced it to writing. Because if that doesn't happen, I
don't know Marcus Latrull. I don't know the name.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I don't know acts, I don't know deeds. I don't
know those guys.
Speaker 8 (22:30):
And so you think about this, people will say to me,
you know, can you forward this to Marcus Latrell? Can
you can he come and speak at Aravan? And Marcus
is this sort of god man because he's Marcus Latrell.
The fact of the matter is if he didn't write
the book and then Peter Berg doesn't make the movie,
you don't know about him. And he's just some big,
burly guy with a bunch of tattoos and a scowl
(22:52):
on his face walking past you in the store that
you wonder if he has a day job.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 8 (22:57):
It's like if these stories aren't not reduced to writing,
then they're lost to eternity. And that doesn't mean they
didn't happen. You know Ed Sable of NFL films. When
he retired, he went on the speaking circuit. And I
don't know if you're familiar with NFL films, but they
tell these amazing stories. You know, the wind blew through
(23:20):
the blustery and he tells he gives this line to businessmen.
He says, tell me a fact and I'll learn it.
Tell me the truth and I'll believe it. But tell
me a story and it will live in our hearts forever.
What I love here is you're telling a story that
these men. I mean, they're scared, right, they're scared, and
(23:42):
they're young, and they never expect to be the subject
of lore. And had you not written it, they wouldn't.
And I could read these stories forever. And it's also
I find it very inspiring, Nathan, because these were just
common guys, right, They graduated high school, they played football,
they had a girlfriend, they shaved their head and sent
(24:04):
them off to war, and look what they did. And
what I love is now we've recorded that, right, lest
we forget our guest is Nathan Canistero. The book is
The Mighty Move, and we'll talk more about this amazing story.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
A fine.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Michael Barry.
Speaker 8 (24:30):
Nathan Canastero is our guest. The book is The Mighty Move.
I've done too much talking, he's done too little. Let's
talk about your grandfather, the tail gunner and an avenger,
torpedo bomber and USS cowpins. And he never talked about
the war, which was common. I'm involved with a group
called Camp Hope, the PTSD Foundation of America, and people
(24:51):
come from all over the country.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
It's free to them.
Speaker 8 (24:53):
We raise the money who are suffering the wounds mental
wounds of war, and they stay there for six months.
It's a Christian based program and they get the feeling
they need to learn to cope with PTSD. They're usually
extremely addicted. They've typically had multiple suicide attempts. They're in
a bad way. And one of the things I have
come to learn with these guys is that remembering is
(25:15):
very important.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
We talked about Marcus the trail. Never forget.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
Telling stories like this is how we honor these men
and the men of their generation.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So I'm going to step back and let you tell
the story.
Speaker 9 (25:27):
Yeah, So grandpa was twenty two when he went aboard
the Calvins. He's from upstate new arkle town called Courtland
by forty five minutes from Syracuse. You know, after you know,
he did his bit aboard the carrier, and he came
home and you know, put it all behind him and
maybe he just bottled it up. It's like that was
a phase of my life. It's over and I'm going
(25:48):
to you know, went on to have five kids and
be a carpenter for you know, for forty years. But
you know, you talked to I've talked to a lot
of them, both the veterans when I talked to him there,
and they're early to the nineties and now their families
and and you know PTSD wasn't really recognized at the
time that you know, they weren't like battle fatigue and
things like that. But they don't really understand it, you know,
(26:09):
like we did tell it. You know, one very nice
lady here in town whose dad actually flew some of
the airplanes that my grandfather was the tailgunner on, and
he said, you know, he always had a drink in
his hand. And she said, we didn't think much of
it at the time. But you know, maybe maybe that
was you know, now now that we're you know, here
we are in twenty twenty four, you know, we know
a lot about PTSD. Maybe that was an indication that
(26:31):
you know, there was some some scarring there and that
you know, he was self medicating with alcohol.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
To sort of number.
Speaker 9 (26:38):
So I could certainly understand and certainly understand when they
need it. So but you know, all these guys, you know,
it's sort of you say, I mean, they are everyday Americans.
The ship was mostly staffed by reservists, about fifteen hundred people.
You know, the vast bulk of these guys. They weren't
the Navy's elite. They were these were folks that were
(26:58):
going to go get out of the name either to
do their bit, they're going to go home. You know,
they're the Baby Brewers and we know today and so consequently,
you know that that brought with it. You know, they
had this huge sort of range of you know, the
ship's fighter pilots. You know, there there were bankers, There
was a district attorney. There was a mortician, a soap salesman, uh,
(27:18):
you know, just a crazy but guys who work for
the power company, you know, and then you get down
into the you know, the enlisted, the guys who made
the ship go and and you know, you've got everybody
and kept kept things working. And you know, these were
farm boys and big city kids from across the country
and a lot of them have just never been outside
of their home, you know, their home region. You know,
in the nineteen forties, how many people went more than
(27:41):
you know, twenty miles from where they grew up. Not many.
So this was kind of like the first real mixing
for these people. You know that some guy, you know,
some guy from New England would meet somebody from down
south for the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
It was you know, you hear this again.
Speaker 8 (27:56):
You're reminding me of things that I haven't thought about
in a while. But when a kid from Iowa meets
a kid from California and they're off to fight the
Germans and the Japanese and they're not thinking about bullets flying,
they're going, you're from way out there where they make
those movies. I mean, it's just they're just kids. I've
got a seventeen and eighteen year old.
Speaker 9 (28:16):
They're just kids, right right, And anyone about twenty one
or twenty two, like the pilots. They were old men.
But you know what they all had in common.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
I talked.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
I read a memoir written by a marine, a guy
by the name of George Terrell. He's from New England,
you know, and he went to boot camp of Paris Island,
and you know, he's meeting all people from all these
different parts of America for the first time. He said,
you know, I thought they were weird. They thought I
was weird. He said, you know what we all had
in common, He said, he knew we were going to win,
all of us. He said, there's no doubt about it.
(28:48):
And another guy a pilot award. He said, you know,
every generation has its great tasks, and we just assumed
that this was ours and we're going to get on
with it and get it done. And that's they had
the sense of purpose after Pearl Harbor. That kind of
motivated them to, you know, put these divisions aside and
push forward.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
It's incredible, you know, whether you call them the Greatest
generation or whatever else. I think one of the things
that you focused on here, you know, you talk about
the soap salesmen and things like this is when we
study history, and obviously you're a student of military history,
and as I am, and in all history. But we
studied the Genghis Khans and the Kubla Khans, and we
(29:28):
study these, you know.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
These great men and the great things they did. It's
important to understand these guys were just average, everyday guys,
just the way my kids are and and and kids
are today. And they went off and changed the world
and saved the world. And these are I never tire
of these stories. I find them beautiful.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
And one of my grandfather was that generation of and
it's just it's glorious, it really is, and it's wonderful,
and somehow I find it inspirational for my own life, like,
you know, maybe maybe I can do more, Maybe I
he should do more. You can be common, it's okay.
Speaker 9 (30:02):
Yeah, It's all about what your God given talents and
also opportunity, and these guys were given a tremendous opportunity.
There was one man in particular, I'll mention his name
is Clement Craig, who was the ship's greatest fighter pilot.
He was he did advertising work and he was got
out of college essentially put His first job was doing
(30:22):
copywriting for advertising in the local newspaper and you know,
he's not making any money. He comes from nothing, and
he's just he got when he realized how much money
his boss made, which wasn't very much, he's like, well,
I can't do this. So he ended up joining the Navy.
And he was a little older than a lot of
the other kids aboard. He was like twenty five or
twenty six, you know, still pretty young by our comparison,
(30:45):
but by the time he was the old man. And
he went on to be the ship's greatest fighter pilot,
just a tremendous, tremendous pilot, and not only did he
serve a World War Two, he went on and served
in Korea. You know, he did two Navy Crosses in
World War Two and then food thirty more missions in Korea.
Ended the war with twenty two Air medals and the
two Mayvy Crosses Distinguished Flying Crosses. He just really a
(31:06):
tremendous guy. But there was nothing about him that said
Navy elites. You know, he didn't go to the Naval Academy.
His dad wasn't an admiral. You know, he just he
came out and did it. And his greatest engagement of
the war, it was him and seven other US hell Cats,
which is the main fighter pilot the fighter aircraft at
the time, and they took on eighteen Japanese fighters and
(31:29):
came out on top, shot down all but one, and
Clem shot got five and which is pretty remarkable given
he's only got thirty seconds worth of firing, you know,
for his guns, and so they run on ammunition. So
he should step five aircraft in thirty seconds of firing.
That's you know, six seconds. And the man was a
tremendous shot, so you know, he was I had had
a chance to trade notes with his son, who's going
(31:51):
to you know, was trying to tell his dad story,
and I was like, okay, let me help you unch
help you know, provide me his journals and diaries. And
then he's you know, prominently featured in the book. So
but so many folks. As as a historian, I'm very
lucky that, you know, you go to a family member
of some of these vets and say, hey, I'm trying
(32:11):
to learn more about what your relative did. Can you
help me? And I only had one person who wasn't interested.
Almost everybody was like, yes, let me, you know, let's
let's tell that story. Let's get it out there and
folks were so helpful in providing you know, letters and
diaries and journals and photos and you know, stories that
the data told in which you know, so really, you know,
(32:33):
the book it's it's it's about the ship, but it's
told through the voices of the guys who were there.
Speaker 8 (32:39):
I love it.
Speaker 9 (32:39):
That's what sort of.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
It's described as The Mighty Moo as a biography of
a World War Two aircraft carrier has told through the
voices of its heroic crew, a band of brothers at sea.
I'm up against a break. This is a beautiful, beautiful
tribute to your grandfather. The Mighty move by Nathan Cannis.
There a book about a ship, or more importantly, the
(33:04):
men on the ship and that great generation and the
amazing things they did. There's a festival that celebrates them
annually because of the incredible prencision.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Thank you, Nathan, Thank you, Chary.
Speaker 9 (33:14):
I really appreciate the efforture.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Well he's good, Thank you, and good night.
It's that time time, time, time, walking load. Michael Very
Show is on the air.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Are you going to fire the current FBI director, Christopher Ray,
who you appointed.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded
my home. I'm suing the country offer he invaded Marlanga.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Don't don't you come.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
The FBI director just to resigned. Christopher Ray announced a
moment ago that you will leave by the end of
the current administration, three years before the end of his
ten year term.
Speaker 6 (00:55):
Don't you come back? Rude and don't you come back?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
The rude and.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Don't you come back?
Speaker 6 (01:08):
No, hit the room and don't you come back.
Speaker 7 (01:16):
After weeks of careful thought, I've decided the right thing
for the bureau is for me to serve until the
end of the current administration in January and then stepped down.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Well, excuse me, sir, so I'll have to pay.
Speaker 8 (01:34):
The rule.
Speaker 6 (01:35):
Don't you come back? The room? And don't you come back?
Speaker 9 (01:44):
What you said?
Speaker 1 (01:45):
The room and don't you come back.
Speaker 8 (01:51):
What's more, I hope Christopher Ray is investigated and prosecuted.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Well, and let me remind you.
Speaker 8 (01:57):
In addition to January sixth and all the other awful
things they did. The FBI targeted and arrested Catholics for
praying outside of abortion clinics, not blowing clinics up, not
obstructing the entrance. Oh no, They'll allow the violent greenees
(02:24):
to shut down highways, to shut down businesses, to blow
things up, to burn things down, but by God, Catholics
will not be allowed to pray outside of abortion clinics.
Credit to Senator Josh Hawley, Republican grilling, just absolutely grilling
(02:54):
Christopher Ray, the FBI director, on how his agency targeted Catholics.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
This.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Never forget that this happened. Listen careful.
Speaker 10 (03:06):
The FBI has repeatedly refused to disclose this information. The
only reason we know it is because a whistleblower came
forward with it, just like the only reason we know
about this memo is because a.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Whistleblower came forward with it.
Speaker 10 (03:20):
How many other parishes around the country have priests or
choir directors been approached by the way?
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Are Catholic choirs now?
Speaker 10 (03:26):
Are they? Are they breeding grounds for domestic terrorism? Is
this your latest theory? How many other parishes have FBI
agents approached priests and choir directors to ask about parishioners.
Speaker 11 (03:38):
Look, Senator, we do not and will not conduct investigations
based on anybody's exercise of their constitutionals.
Speaker 10 (03:46):
You have done it so, and your memo explicitly asks
for it. Your memo labels traditional Catholics as racially and
ethnically motivated violent extremists in need of investigation. You have
a list of churches, a list in the memo. You've
repeatedly said, we don't target churches. We don't list churches.
(04:08):
They're listed in the memo. So how many other parishes
have you gone to to talk to choir directors?
Speaker 1 (04:16):
For Heaven's sake, as I've show the answer to that question. No,
I don't know the answer to that question.
Speaker 11 (04:24):
But I can tell you that we don't investigate people
for their exercise, and they're constantly protected consoorship, protected religious expression.
And that particular intelligence product is something that as soon
as I saw it, I was aghast.
Speaker 10 (04:38):
I had it withdrawn. So you were a guest. I was, oh, really,
and what have you done about it? Did you fire
the people who wrote it?
Speaker 4 (04:44):
No?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
I have you fired anybody involved in it? Senator? If
you will give me a chance, then that's a yes
or no. It's not hard.
Speaker 10 (04:51):
Have you fired anyone involved in the writing of that
outrageous memo about which, frankly, you've repeatedly misled the public?
Speaker 11 (04:59):
Yes or no, the individuals involved a fired in just
a minute, were not found to have engaged in any
intentional or bad faith conduct, and in factly, in fact, Senator,
a number of the individuals involved a number of the
individuals involved in writing that product in the Richmond office
(05:21):
with themselves Catholics. So the notion, Oh I see, they
were targeting their own faith.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Oh so they're not out of feel free card. I
see they see.
Speaker 10 (05:29):
So you're not in the immune So as we shouldn't
ask questions about it.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
You haven't done a darn thing. You haven't fired anybody.
Speaker 10 (05:36):
In fact, what the House found is what is it
you? You admonished them. They were admonished, and their respective supervisors
were told to engage with the Human Resources division to
ensure that deficiencies are addressed. Oh I feel much better.
They've been sent to bed without food. Good Heavens. Director,
(05:57):
this is one of the most outrageous targeting. Do you
have mobilized your division, the most powerful law enforcement division
in the world, against traditionalist Catholics, whatever the heck that means.
And you're just told us you have not fired a
single person. I mean here, it gets worse. Your Richmond
Field office. They thought there was nothing wrong with this.
(06:19):
The House interviewed the head of the Richmond Field Office.
He testified, it's all here in the public report I
refer you to at pages twelve thirteen fourteen. He testified
he saw no problem with this. He said, he thought
it was fine. In fact, we have internal memoranda of
the members of the Field office high fiving one peer reviewer.
(06:40):
Another member of the Field office wrote, I think this
is a great product. I really enjoyed the read. Do
you have a problem with systemic bigotry against Catholics in
the FBI? No, what are you going to do about this?
Are you going to fire these people or not?
Speaker 11 (06:57):
Those individuals have all been admonished and it is all
going into there, if you would let me finish my answer.
It is all going into their annual performance reviews, which
has direct impact on their compensation, among other things.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh I see, Oh I see, I see.
Speaker 10 (07:12):
So the sixty million American Catholics who we now who
now learn that your FBI has recommended that priest be
recruited as informants. Your FBI has gone to priests choir directors,
but where to feel better because you've admonished them for
their wrong day.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
You again are conflating two different things in.
Speaker 10 (07:35):
Your testimony, where you said you do not, you said categorically.
Categorically you said we do not. We do not go
to priests and ask them about the parishioners. You said
we do not. You didn't say we haven't. You didn't
say we won't. You said we don't. It turns out
you do, and you kept it from the public. You
deliberately missed like Congress about it. And the only reason
(07:57):
we know about it is because a whistleblower came forward.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
I just that's fundamentally disagree with your characterization.
Speaker 10 (08:03):
There's no characterization the facts of the facts. And I
fundamentally resent the fact that you have violated, if not
the spirit, if not the letter, certainly the spirit of
the First Amendment and use your law enforcement agency against
Catholics in this nation.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Snowflakes prepare for a complete meltdown with more of the
Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 8 (08:28):
The most underrated CCR son by far so, Christopher Ray,
who has been shown. The door was being questioned by
then Congressman Matt Gates about messages between Hunter Biden and
his we'll call him his business partners, his fellow criminals.
(08:52):
Christopher Ray would not acknowledge that the message sounded like
a shakedown. If the FBI didn't know this was a shakedown,
then they're not good at what they do. The fact
that they do know that this is a shakedown and
refuse to admit it makes them far more dangerous than
(09:13):
just being incompetent.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
I'm sitting here with my father.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I will make certain that between the man sitting next
to me and every person he knows in my ability
to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not
following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the
call with my pause. Sounds like a shakedown, does an
in director.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
I'm not going to get into comedy with them.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
You seem deeply uncurious about it, don't you?
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Almost suspiciously uncurious?
Speaker 4 (09:42):
Are you protecting the Bidens?
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Absolutely not the FI. You wan't to answer your question.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
That's a shakedown, and everybody knows why you won't answer it.
Because to the millions of people who will see this,
they know it is, and your inability to acknowledge that
is deeply revealing about you. You preside over the FBI
that has the lowest level of trust in the FBI's history.
People trusted the FBI when Jaye or Hoover was running
the place than when you are. And the reason is
(10:10):
because you don't get straight answers. You get answers that
later at court deems aren't true.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
And then at the end of the day, you.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Won't criticize an obvious shakedown when it's directly in front
of us and it appears as though you're whitewashing the conduct.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
Of a corrupt to be respectfully, Congressman. In your home
state of Florida, the number of.
Speaker 11 (10:26):
Peopleplying to come work for us and devote their lives
and working for us is over one hundred percent.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
We're deeply proud of them, and they deserve better than you.
That's exactly right.
Speaker 8 (10:37):
Stop hiding behind the don't dishonor the FBI ages.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
I love the FBI ages. I know plenty.
Speaker 8 (10:44):
I know people in the ranks of every major federal
agency who do good work, and they tell me I
want to retire.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
This is awful. I'm embarrassed.
Speaker 8 (10:59):
This is wrong, So stop hiding behind the good work
they do, because you're a bad person. The FBI did
attempt to interfere in this election.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
That just happened. Let me be very clear on that.
Speaker 8 (11:16):
They claimed that crime was down under the Biden administration.
They lied about the crime statistics, and then oh, once
the election's over, Oh we said crime was down. Actually,
it looks like you caught us. Crime is up, but
it's too late now.
Speaker 12 (11:38):
So if crime's everywhere, why do they say crimes down?
Speaker 9 (11:43):
A new report from the FBI shows that there was
a thirteen percent decline in murder.
Speaker 10 (11:48):
Fight What the data shows, which we've been talking about,
the fact that crime.
Speaker 8 (11:52):
Is going down in most places, is not registering with
the public.
Speaker 9 (11:55):
I can safely walk my dog to the Capitol today
in a way that you couldn't do when when we
all got here.
Speaker 1 (12:02):
I'm glad Pete can walk his dog. But why should
we believe the FBI? Well, turns out we shouldn't.
Speaker 12 (12:09):
The Washington Examiner did some digging and discovered the FBI
has been cooking the books. Did you know about half
the country doesn't send their crime statistics.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
To the FBI.
Speaker 12 (12:20):
So the FBI just estimates the number of crimes, and
then they estimate.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In the wrong direction.
Speaker 12 (12:28):
Murders are actually up twenty three percent across seventy cities
since twenty nineteen. In Milwaukee, the FBI reported a thirteen
percent drop in robberies, but Milwaukee police.
Speaker 9 (12:41):
Reported a seven percent increase.
Speaker 12 (12:44):
The Biden administration's using Enron style accounting to cook the
books on everything from crime to the border to the economy,
and then the media reporters they just regurgitate the propaganda
and they wonder why the country's soured trust them and
Trump's winning.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
It's true.
Speaker 8 (13:05):
They keep telling us, it's important that we have respect
for the FBI. It's important that we had respect for
the CIA. It's important that we have respect for the media.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
No, it's not.
Speaker 8 (13:20):
It's important that they be deserving of respect, But when
they behave in such a manner that they are not,
it is more important that we dishonor them. It's more
important that we disarm them. See, that's what you do.
(13:42):
You don't worship power, You check power. Government governs with
the consent of the government, not the fear of the government.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
It's important wherstand that.
Speaker 8 (14:03):
Here was Donald Trump will close with this because I
got a great interview up next.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
It's a World War II story that if you had.
Speaker 8 (14:11):
A parent or grandparent in World War Two, these stories
need to keep being told. And Buck Sexton brought to
my attention an author of a book the USS cowpins
so they call it the Moo Cow and it's just
it's just a wonderful story. Here is President Trump on
Meet the Press last weekend talking to Christine Welker about
(14:32):
if he was going to fire Christopher Ray.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Are you going to fire the current FBI director, Christopher Ray,
who you appointed.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded
my home, I'm suing the country over it. He invaded
mar A Lago. I'm very unhappy with the things he's done.
And crime isn't at all time high. Migrants are pouring
into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions,
(15:01):
as we've discussed. I can't say I'm thrilled. I don't
want to say. I don't want to again. I don't
want to be Joe Biden and give you an answer
and then do the exact oppa. So I'm not going
to do that. What I'm going to say, is I
certainly cannot be happy with him.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You take a look at what's happened.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
And then when I was shot in the year, he said, oh,
maybe it was shrapnel. Where's the shrapnel coming from? Is
it coming from uh? Is it coming from heaven? I
don't think so. So we need somebody to straight You know,
I have a lot of respect for the FBI, but
the FBI's respect has gone way down over the last
number of years.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Don't you have to fire him in order to make
room for cash? Metality is in fact confirmed?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Well, I mean it would sort of seem pretty obvious
that if Cash gets in, he's going to be taking
somebody's place, right as somebody is the man that you're
talking about.
Speaker 8 (15:59):
We got a call from friend Buck Sexton of Clay
and Buck fame, and I've actually known Buck since before.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
The Clay and Buck days. Buck has a history at
the CIA and really just an interesting guy.
Speaker 8 (16:14):
And Buck and I share a passion for military history
and great stories of how much you loved your mom
and how much you loved your dad. I actually met
Buck's dad. Buck and I were having dinner in Miami
a couple of years. A few years ago and his
dad Mason was there. And his dad Mason little known fact.
(16:38):
I don't know if Buck's ever told the story. And
I don't get to listen to the show because I'm
doing my show while they're doing their show. But his
dad Mason was a driving force behind the movie about
Elliot Spitzer, who was the governor of New York. You
know love potion number nine, the client number nine who
was brought down in the escort sting. Anyway, so Buck said, Hey,
(17:02):
I know this guy Nathan Canastero, and he's written a
book called A Mighty Moo. Let me send you some
details on it. You might be interested, And I was.
It's one of those great stories that needs to be told.
So many books are written because of ego or to
capitalize on celebrity.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
You know, some guys on TV.
Speaker 8 (17:25):
If you look at the best selling book list at
any given time today, this wasn't always the case. Most
of the guys on there and gals have TV shows,
and so it's more of a distribution outlet.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Than it is.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
You know, Dostoyevsky having a story that he's got to tell,
or iin Rand who needs to share her message and
can't get it out broadly enough. The reason to tell
a story is because the story is so compelling that
it's bubbling out of you. And whether you ever make
a dime or get rich off of it, or achieve celebrity,
that's the stories I want to here. So Nathan Canastero
(18:01):
is a guy that Buck told me about. Originally at
Tennessee and from Knoxville, Tennessee, but he lives outside of
DC for the last twenty five years. A professional intelligence
officer with the federal government. He served in the Middle
East during the War on Terror, and he's now an
assignment to the National Intelligence Council. But really, Nathan's not
the star of this show. He's just the conductor for
(18:24):
a symphony that is a little journey we're going to
take together, and I think you'll enjoy. He's written a
book called The Mighty Moo, and I know what it's about,
but you don't. Neck you don't yet, you're about to. Nathan,
tell us why you wrote this book and what this
book's about.
Speaker 9 (18:40):
Please, Well, first, thanks for having me on. I really
appreciate the opportunity. This was kind of a It started
as a journey of discovery about my grandfather and I think.
You know, my grandfather was a lot like many men
of his generation. He was a Pacific War veteran in
World War Two, served aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Cowpens,
(19:02):
but he saw a lot of action, and he didn't
want to talk about the war, you know, and like you,
I'm I'm interested in military history, always have been. You know,
I grew up with band of brothers and saving Private Ryan,
you know, sort of the big media public you know,
culture sort of shows about the Second Worlders. So I
was fascinated by sort of trying to learn more about
what my grandfather did, and he just he wouldn't talk
(19:23):
about it, and when I tried to draw it out
of him, it brought him to tears. So, you know,
I felt terrible first off, because I'd made my grandfather cry,
and then also, you know, I didn't I was afraid
the story was going to be lost. And so when
Grandpa passed in twenty ten, you know, I said, well,
you know, I researched military conflict for a living for
(19:44):
the government. Why don't I just see what I can
find out on my own about Grandpa's service and see,
you know, see if I can discover what he wouldn't
tell me. And you know, sadly, most of my grandfather's
story he took to the grave with him. He was
a both an enlisted man and a reservist, and you know,
those were not really priorities for the Navy in terms
(20:06):
of its record keeping. You know, mostly it was about
the officers and you know, the big the admirals and
sort of important people. But in sort of picking up
the story and trying to follow my grandfather's steps as
he went across the Pacific, I found this really amazing
story about his ship. And I turned to my girlfriend
(20:26):
at the time, down my wife, and I said, there's
a book here. You know, I consider myself fairly well
informed about the war, and I just never heard of this,
and you know, essentially sort of in a nutshell, you know,
my grandfather was a boardless ship that the Navy initially
didn't even want. You know, the captain had been scapegoaded
for losing his last ship. The pilots self trained in
(20:48):
the planes they'd fly into battle. The crew had been
in uniform, me and my grandfather barely longer than the
ship had been afloat. I mean, everybody was new to
the navy. And when they got started, they had this
terrible jinx. They survived, you know, a deadly typhoon. They
earned a distinguished combat record, and at war's end there
was only one American aircraft carrier in Tokyo day to
witness the Japanese surrender, and that was my grandfather's terrier
(21:10):
of the USS Calbuy. I'm like, what, how did how
did I know this story?
Speaker 8 (21:15):
This is amazing, so that that is you know, Nathan,
I'm so glad you told this story.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
And the book is called The Mighty Moo.
Speaker 8 (21:23):
Nathan Canastero has written it because I have a theory
that I tell often that if you asked the person
in front of you, what's your what's your grocery store
of choice?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Where do you where do you grocerrate?
Speaker 9 (21:36):
Oh, we've got a safeway right up the road.
Speaker 8 (21:38):
If you asked the person in front of you and
behind you in line at the safeway the right three questions,
you're standing next to a gold medalist, the guy who
was in front of the tank at tinem And Square,
a refugee from an African communist nation, who's going to
end up winning a Nobel Prize. You just don't know, right,
(21:59):
and there are all the stories. Marcus Latrell's a dear
friend of mine, and I say all the time Mark,
and he's kept a diary since he was eight years old.
He still keeps a diary every day. Marcus. The amazing
thing is not your lone survivor's story. The fact that
the things that happened. The amazing thing is that you
(22:19):
reduced it to writing. Because if that doesn't happen, I
don't know Marcus Latrull. I don't know the name.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I don't know acts, I don't know deeds. I don't
know those guys.
Speaker 8 (22:30):
And so you think about this, people will say to me,
you know, can you forward this to Marcus Latrell? Can
you can he come and speak at Aravan? And Marcus
is this sort of god man because he's Marcus Latrell.
The fact of the matter is if he didn't write
the book and then Peter Berg doesn't make the movie,
you don't know about him. And he's just some big,
burly guy with a bunch of tattoos and a scowl
(22:52):
on his face walking past you in the store that
you wonder if he has a day job.
Speaker 1 (22:56):
You see what I'm saying.
Speaker 8 (22:57):
It's like if these stories aren't not reduced to writing,
then they're lost to eternity. And that doesn't mean they
didn't happen. You know Ed Sable of NFL films. When
he retired, he went on the speaking circuit. And I
don't know if you're familiar with NFL films, but they
tell these amazing stories. You know, the wind blew through
(23:20):
the blustery and he tells he gives this line to businessmen.
He says, tell me a fact and I'll learn it.
Tell me the truth and I'll believe it. But tell
me a story and it will live in our hearts forever.
What I love here is you're telling a story that
these men. I mean, they're scared, right, they're scared, and
(23:42):
they're young, and they never expect to be the subject
of lore. And had you not written it, they wouldn't.
And I could read these stories forever. And it's also
I find it very inspiring, Nathan, because these were just
common guys, right, They graduated high school, they played football,
they had a girlfriend, they shaved their head and sent
(24:04):
them off to war, and look what they did. And
what I love is now we've recorded that, right, lest
we forget our guest is Nathan Canistero. The book is
The Mighty Move, and we'll talk more about this amazing story.
Speaker 6 (24:25):
A fine.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Michael Barry.
Speaker 8 (24:30):
Nathan Canastero is our guest. The book is The Mighty Move.
I've done too much talking, he's done too little. Let's
talk about your grandfather, the tail gunner and an avenger,
torpedo bomber and USS cowpins. And he never talked about
the war, which was common. I'm involved with a group
called Camp Hope, the PTSD Foundation of America, and people
(24:51):
come from all over the country.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
It's free to them.
Speaker 8 (24:53):
We raise the money who are suffering the wounds mental
wounds of war, and they stay there for six months.
It's a Christian based program and they get the feeling
they need to learn to cope with PTSD. They're usually
extremely addicted. They've typically had multiple suicide attempts. They're in
a bad way. And one of the things I have
come to learn with these guys is that remembering is
(25:15):
very important.
Speaker 1 (25:15):
We talked about Marcus the trail. Never forget.
Speaker 8 (25:18):
Telling stories like this is how we honor these men
and the men of their generation.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
So I'm going to step back and let you tell
the story.
Speaker 9 (25:27):
Yeah, So grandpa was twenty two when he went aboard
the Calvins. He's from upstate new arkle town called Courtland
by forty five minutes from Syracuse. You know, after you know,
he did his bit aboard the carrier, and he came
home and you know, put it all behind him and
maybe he just bottled it up. It's like that was
a phase of my life. It's over and I'm going
(25:48):
to you know, went on to have five kids and
be a carpenter for you know, for forty years. But
you know, you talked to I've talked to a lot
of them, both the veterans when I talked to him there,
and they're early to the nineties and now their families
and and you know PTSD wasn't really recognized at the
time that you know, they weren't like battle fatigue and
things like that. But they don't really understand it, you know,
(26:09):
like we did tell it. You know, one very nice
lady here in town whose dad actually flew some of
the airplanes that my grandfather was the tailgunner on, and
he said, you know, he always had a drink in
his hand. And she said, we didn't think much of
it at the time. But you know, maybe maybe that
was you know, now now that we're you know, here
we are in twenty twenty four, you know, we know
a lot about PTSD. Maybe that was an indication that
(26:31):
you know, there was some some scarring there and that
you know, he was self medicating with alcohol.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
To sort of number.
Speaker 9 (26:38):
So I could certainly understand and certainly understand when they
need it. So but you know, all these guys, you know,
it's sort of you say, I mean, they are everyday Americans.
The ship was mostly staffed by reservists, about fifteen hundred people.
You know, the vast bulk of these guys. They weren't
the Navy's elite. They were these were folks that were
(26:58):
going to go get out of the name either to
do their bit, they're going to go home. You know,
they're the Baby Brewers and we know today and so consequently,
you know that that brought with it. You know, they
had this huge sort of range of you know, the
ship's fighter pilots. You know, there there were bankers, There
was a district attorney. There was a mortician, a soap salesman, uh,
(27:18):
you know, just a crazy but guys who work for
the power company, you know, and then you get down
into the you know, the enlisted, the guys who made
the ship go and and you know, you've got everybody
and kept kept things working. And you know, these were
farm boys and big city kids from across the country
and a lot of them have just never been outside
of their home, you know, their home region. You know,
in the nineteen forties, how many people went more than
(27:41):
you know, twenty miles from where they grew up. Not many.
So this was kind of like the first real mixing
for these people. You know that some guy, you know,
some guy from New England would meet somebody from down
south for the first time.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
It was you know, you hear this again.
Speaker 8 (27:56):
You're reminding me of things that I haven't thought about
in a while. But when a kid from Iowa meets
a kid from California and they're off to fight the
Germans and the Japanese and they're not thinking about bullets flying,
they're going, you're from way out there where they make
those movies. I mean, it's just they're just kids. I've
got a seventeen and eighteen year old.
Speaker 9 (28:16):
They're just kids, right right, And anyone about twenty one
or twenty two, like the pilots. They were old men.
But you know what they all had in common.
Speaker 1 (28:25):
I talked.
Speaker 9 (28:27):
I read a memoir written by a marine, a guy
by the name of George Terrell. He's from New England,
you know, and he went to boot camp of Paris Island,
and you know, he's meeting all people from all these
different parts of America for the first time. He said,
you know, I thought they were weird. They thought I
was weird. He said, you know what we all had
in common, He said, he knew we were going to win,
all of us. He said, there's no doubt about it.
(28:48):
And another guy a pilot award. He said, you know,
every generation has its great tasks, and we just assumed
that this was ours and we're going to get on
with it and get it done. And that's they had
the sense of purpose after Pearl Harbor. That kind of
motivated them to, you know, put these divisions aside and
push forward.
Speaker 8 (29:07):
It's incredible, you know, whether you call them the Greatest
generation or whatever else. I think one of the things
that you focused on here, you know, you talk about
the soap salesmen and things like this is when we
study history, and obviously you're a student of military history,
and as I am, and in all history. But we
studied the Genghis Khans and the Kubla Khans, and we
(29:28):
study these, you know.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
These great men and the great things they did. It's
important to understand these guys were just average, everyday guys,
just the way my kids are and and and kids
are today. And they went off and changed the world
and saved the world. And these are I never tire
of these stories. I find them beautiful.
Speaker 8 (29:47):
And one of my grandfather was that generation of and
it's just it's glorious, it really is, and it's wonderful,
and somehow I find it inspirational for my own life, like,
you know, maybe maybe I can do more, Maybe I
he should do more. You can be common, it's okay.
Speaker 9 (30:02):
Yeah, It's all about what your God given talents and
also opportunity, and these guys were given a tremendous opportunity.
There was one man in particular, I'll mention his name
is Clement Craig, who was the ship's greatest fighter pilot.
He was he did advertising work and he was got
out of college essentially put His first job was doing
(30:22):
copywriting for advertising in the local newspaper and you know,
he's not making any money. He comes from nothing, and
he's just he got when he realized how much money
his boss made, which wasn't very much, he's like, well,
I can't do this. So he ended up joining the Navy.
And he was a little older than a lot of
the other kids aboard. He was like twenty five or
twenty six, you know, still pretty young by our comparison,
(30:45):
but by the time he was the old man. And
he went on to be the ship's greatest fighter pilot,
just a tremendous, tremendous pilot, and not only did he
serve a World War Two, he went on and served
in Korea. You know, he did two Navy Crosses in
World War Two and then food thirty more missions in Korea.
Ended the war with twenty two Air medals and the
two Mayvy Crosses Distinguished Flying Crosses. He just really a
(31:06):
tremendous guy. But there was nothing about him that said
Navy elites. You know, he didn't go to the Naval Academy.
His dad wasn't an admiral. You know, he just he
came out and did it. And his greatest engagement of
the war, it was him and seven other US hell Cats,
which is the main fighter pilot the fighter aircraft at
the time, and they took on eighteen Japanese fighters and
(31:29):
came out on top, shot down all but one, and
Clem shot got five and which is pretty remarkable given
he's only got thirty seconds worth of firing, you know,
for his guns, and so they run on ammunition. So
he should step five aircraft in thirty seconds of firing.
That's you know, six seconds. And the man was a
tremendous shot, so you know, he was I had had
a chance to trade notes with his son, who's going
(31:51):
to you know, was trying to tell his dad story,
and I was like, okay, let me help you unch
help you know, provide me his journals and diaries. And
then he's you know, prominently featured in the book. So
but so many folks. As as a historian, I'm very
lucky that, you know, you go to a family member
of some of these vets and say, hey, I'm trying
(32:11):
to learn more about what your relative did. Can you
help me? And I only had one person who wasn't interested.
Almost everybody was like, yes, let me, you know, let's
let's tell that story. Let's get it out there and
folks were so helpful in providing you know, letters and
diaries and journals and photos and you know, stories that
the data told in which you know, so really, you know,
(32:33):
the book it's it's it's about the ship, but it's
told through the voices of the guys who were there.
Speaker 8 (32:39):
I love it.
Speaker 9 (32:39):
That's what sort of.
Speaker 8 (32:40):
It's described as The Mighty Moo as a biography of
a World War Two aircraft carrier has told through the
voices of its heroic crew, a band of brothers at sea.
I'm up against a break. This is a beautiful, beautiful
tribute to your grandfather. The Mighty move by Nathan Cannis.
There a book about a ship, or more importantly, the
(33:04):
men on the ship and that great generation and the
amazing things they did. There's a festival that celebrates them
annually because of the incredible prencision.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Thank you, Nathan, Thank you, Chary.
Speaker 9 (33:14):
I really appreciate the efforture.
Speaker 1 (33:15):
Well he's good, Thank you, and good night.
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