November 11, 2025 • 30 mins
This podcast episode commences with a solemn acknowledgment of Veterans Day 2025, a momentous occasion dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifices of veterans. We delve into the significance of this day, reflecting upon the historical context of its establishment and the evolving recognition of veteran contributions to society. The conversation further explores the camaraderie that exists among veterans, emphasizing the importance of community support and the need to celebrate not only the triumphs but also the challenges faced by those who have served. We also address the ongoing initiatives aimed at uplifting veterans, including various programs and resources designed to assist them in their transition to civilian life. As we navigate through these poignant discussions, we invite our listeners to engage with their local veteran communities and extend gratitude for their service, reinforcing the notion that every day is an opportunity to honor their legacy.
Takeaways:
- The podcast highlights the significance of Veterans Day as a time for reflecting on the sacrifices and service of veterans, fostering a sense of community among those who have served.
- Veterans Day serves not only as a recognition of service but also as an opportunity for veterans to connect and share their stories, emphasizing the importance of camaraderie.
- The hosts discuss the evolution of societal attitudes towards veterans since the Vietnam War, underscoring the need for continued support and recognition of their contributions to society.
- The episode emphasizes the critical role of organizations and events that provide support and resources for veterans, illustrating the community's efforts to uplift and empower those who have served.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Warrior Built foundation
- Yokohama
- PTSD foundation
- Darts Only Golf
- South Point
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:20):
Hey, welcome to COD Vision.
This is a place where veteransget to tell their stories.
Our sponsor, supporters, andvolunteers also get to tell theirs.
It's Veterans Day 2025.
I'm with my co host, JB Brown,world renowned chef.
Hey, Aaron, how you doing today?
Great to have you, brother.
And happy Veterans Day to youand all our veterans out there listening.
(00:44):
Definitely.
Happy Veterans Day.
You know, this is definitely atime to celebrate our service, suffering
and all the things that go in between.
Yeah.
That make us veterans.
That's it.
That's right.
That's right.
There's a lot of veterans out there.
Matter of fact, 1 1% or 2% ofthe population is veterans, if I'm
(01:05):
not mistaken, right aroundthat point, July.
17Th of 1969, I signed on thedotted line and gave my life to the
military.
Yeah.
To my country.
Nice.
1969.
Wow.
I did it.
Yeah, I did it in 91.
(01:25):
Okay.
You know, be a tile and.
And still be Chris.
You know, usually, usuallyVeterans Day is a day off for me,
but today's Tuesday, so it'spodcast, which is great.
And yeah, it's great to behere in the studio.
I've been sick for the lasttwo weeks.
Doing it from home.
And you've been at home, butit did.
(01:45):
Cause you did get some newtechnology to be involved, but vestures
did.
When did it start?
It started world World War Ifinished, you know, on the 11th day,
on the 11th hour of the 11th month.
Month.
And it was really.
It was really supposed to bethe end of all wars.
(02:07):
Yes.
It was.
You know, at the time, youknow, thought that would be the end
of all wars.
You know, they're steppinginto a modern era and diplomacy,
modern systems.
(02:31):
Looks like we're frozen.
Yeah.
We didn't start a little bitbit ago because we had some problems
with our Internet, but so it'sgetting a little choppy.
But 194 was.
Was when declared Veterans Day.
Declared Veterans Day.
And we've been celebrating itever since with lots of parades.
(02:55):
This is a chance to celebrateour service in front of the public.
And it's the public's chanceto kind of celebrate with us.
And they.
And they do.
They do in a lot of ways.
Yeah.
74 years.
74 years we've beencelebrating, if my math is correct.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
You actually got to see.
(03:16):
See it become Veterans Day.
I'm not that old yet, but I'm there.
Yeah, you signed up in 1969,but, you know, I know I wasn't around
until 19.
Yep.
But.
Well, this is It's a good timeto just celebrate, have some time.
(03:37):
I know, you know, there's alot, a lot of great things out there.
There's a lot of, this is alot of time for our veterans to celebrate.
Do a really good, a lot, a lotof good things.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday.
Yes.
250Th birthday of the Marine Corps.
I got to go celebrate the cakecutting ceremony at the Leatherneck
(03:57):
Club right here in Las Vegas.
Yep.
It wasn't expensive birthdayfor me because, you know, parking
was tight.
You know, it was just a hugebirthday celebration.
And as I parked in what Ithought was a reasonable place to
park and a safe and non in avery legal place to park from what
(04:20):
I was looking at.
My vehicle was towed and I'mworking on some legalities to that
and I had to go get that at487 or something right around there.
So I'll be working on, onfighting that with regards to what
the parameters of that.
I wasn't the only veteran thathad to deal with that.
So a lot of, a lot of reallyweird scenario type stuff that came
(04:44):
up with that.
But uh, that kind of put adamper on my fun weekend of uh, celebrating
this uh, this, this, this,this holiday.
But it's great to be here withyou and.
Right.
And where are we?
We're at the vtrc, theVeterans Transition Resource center
studio.
First time in about threeweeks that we've been here.
(05:05):
So we're trying to get throughswitches, but by next week we will
be up pretty much 99.9% whichis great.
Yeah.
And you know, today is, isVeterans Day.
A lot of people arerecognizing that.
(05:27):
My wife and I are going to goout to dinner at the South Point.
The buffet is free for allveterans and their spouses.
So they do almost 20,000people today, 15 to 20,000 meals
for veterans.
So the place is pretty packed.
(05:48):
But they do a great job and welove the food there and it's kind
of nice to get a freebie, youknow, to be recognized, let's put
it that way.
Definitely that.
I mean you talked me into itlast time.
Well, for, for Memorial Dayand I went over to South Point and,
and did that.
I don't know if I'm gonna doit today, but.
Okay.
(06:09):
You know, it was a, it wasabout a 40 minute wait.
They do a phenomenal job.
They're, you know, they'repushing a lot of food there and they're
just making.
A. Yeah, they have a greatteam there.
Yeah, great Team spectacular environment.
Yep.
And just a really pleasantexperience for sure.
So South Point, if you can getout there to that as a veteran, that's
(06:29):
going to be an amazingexperience too.
And there's a lot of placesthat give veterans line meal here
in Las Vegas be recognized.
You know, when, when Vietnam was.
Was wrapping up, you know,veterans came home and were not recognized
(06:54):
whatsoever.
And in fact, they were calledall sorts of names, not to even mention
any of them.
But, you know, it's tough tofight for your country and give all
of that and then come home andbe treated that way.
And it was just the times, youknow, we, we go through different
(07:16):
times here in America and nowwe're recognizing a lot of things
that didn't recognize 50 yearsago, you know, when they were coming
home, so.
Right.
You know, and it's beendifficult for me to get out early
on Memorial Day and VeteransDay in the past.
I've kind of made a little bitof ever do it in areas that aren't
(07:40):
so crowded.
But you know, for guys thatare maybe dealing with some of that,
you, you can still.
Places that might not be socrowded that are still going to benefit
you.
And it's not like, you know,it's not like a benefit that you
really feel like you need totake advantage of, but it is kind
of a really sweet moment toknow you're appreciated in that fashion
(08:04):
to get out there and enjoy ameal that on America.
It's just unique.
And you know, it, it's, it's weird.
It's not like we, we foughtfor that.
But I remember thinking tomyself too, in a lot of ways, that
if ever I was a pow, no matterwhat, there's always a table set
(08:27):
for me.
Yes.
Because when you think aboutthe POW table that's set right now
in all the chow halls and inall the.
All the.
All in.
In all the.
All the.
All the chow halls acrossAmerica in on basis, you know, and
other places.
One of the things that, yeah,you know, I'm a chef and I do a lot
(08:48):
of things.
Saturday I'm doing the.
The honor flight pancakes for patriots.
It's this coming Saturday from8 o' clock till 12.
And I always, even if I'm.
As long as I'm in the kitchenand I'm the chef, I'll always have
(09:10):
a POW or a veteran table setup with an empty place setting.
And I do it at all.
I don't care.
The next weekend I'm doing aholiday party for veterans and seniors
and I'll do that again.
It's just something that I doit all the events that I do from,
(09:35):
from military or do.
Yeah it's, it's amazing.
Whatever, whatever motivates you.
Today's the time to getmotivated to go out and do something
with your family and or it'sjust, it's just a great time to be
motivated to relax and enjoy.
Like I said, sometimes it's,it's actually a day for me to be
(09:56):
off.
Every day is Memorial Day andVeterans Day to me because I spend
all my time talking toveterans, working with veterans doing
things that incorporateWarrior Built foundation, the PTSD
foundation of America AmericaRecon Chief incorporated many other
(10:16):
non profit organization toinclude the the veterans.
One thing, you know and God's,God's in every corner.
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
I keep telling him if he keepstaking care of me I'll keep feeding
his kids and so far I wake upevery day.
(10:38):
So you know it's a good thing,it's not a bad thing.
Yeah it's an honor to be of service.
It really is.
It's an honor to you know to,to find coordinated efforts and,
and, and, and the things thatreally make a difference.
And you know speaking of, ofwhich you know Warrior Built if you,
if you get a chance to checkout Warrior Builds posting today,
(11:00):
you'll see me and I had theopportunity to present a, a veteran
with a set of rims and a setof tires Yokohama tires and, and
rims to, to a veteran thathe's a Navy corpsman and missing,
missing two legs and just,just really needed some stuff because
he does still service and soyou know, yeah, I got to do that
(11:24):
a couple weeks ago but we didit for the Veterans Day reasoning
so if you get a chance checkout Warry Built's post on that really
great thing and if you get achance, if you need some help and
support, you know in the PTSDrealm of things I run three PTSD
groups a week.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Matter of fact today isTuesday so tonight 7th 7 o' clock
(11:46):
it kicks off but 7:30 reallyis the group from 7:30 to 8:30 pre
groups at 7.
But you know hit me up ask,ask for the link.
I don't just put the link outthere because I just don't want a
bunch of random people pop my group.
But if you've alreadycoordinated with me then I'll put
you on that group and it'llmake it, make it pretty good.
But those things are importantbecause it's a camaraderie group.
(12:07):
It's not necessarily, youknow, you would think that this is
Kumbaya type thing, butthere's a lot of groups forming up.
You know, I just went toWarrior groups.
I just went to Warrior Built'swarrior group, uh, last week.
I. I did my war group lastTuesday at Warrior Built last week.
You know, just some amazinggroups that.
You know, even.
Even hanging out right herewith me and Chef, you know, we discussion.
(12:32):
Sometimes I'm able to stormsome stuff off my mind if I need
to.
If.
Yeah, that's it.
And him too.
You know, I was able to helphim out yesterday with.
With the menu.
You know, it's veterans and veterans.
You know, it feels good tohelp him out because he's helping
other veterans out, helpingother things out.
(12:52):
And he sent me a menu that wasbasically a picture that he couldn't
change, and I was able tothrow it through his system and.
And, you know, utilize it to.
To just.
Yeah, it's built.
You know, I might challenge.
You know, I'm.
I'm an older one.
I thought computers would goaway, and they're certainly not.
But, you know, one of thegreatest joys of Veteran Day for
(13:14):
me today is I get to wake upin the morning and I have like 40.
I think I had 42 texts thismorning with Happy Veterans Day.
All sorts of differentpictures from loved ones, from friends,
from other vets.
(13:35):
I mean, it's just.
I.
It makes you proud.
I mean, you know, it's likegoing to a Veterans Day parade.
You know, I always get alittle tear in my eye when they present
the flag or sing the anthem.
You know, I tear up.
I mean, you know, it means anawful lot to me, and.
(13:57):
And I think all veterans, itmeans a great deal that they gave,
they sacrificed, and they'rebeing recognized for that.
After Vietnam and whathappened there, and.
And today it's like 181 out.
I mean, it just.
(14:17):
I can't even tell you how badsome of it was in the 70s, and people
didn't even want to berecognized as a veteran.
So today it's definitely different.
It is.
You know, there's a lot of.
You know, as I.
As I listen to you and as Ithink about it, you know, whatever
(14:38):
holiday it is, things you'retogether, you know, when you think
about Thanksgiving andChristmas, those are holidays for
the families, you know, andthis is a holiday for the civilians
to kind of see what we do, butit's a holiday for us to be able
to come together in a family way.
And kind of coordinate asveterans coming together.
And I saw that yesterday, youknow, at the leather leatherneck
(15:03):
club, you know, there wasmore, more Marines and veterans there
than that I've seen in a long,long time.
And, you know, to see a chosenreservoir veteran get up there and
tell his story, you know, was epic.
And, and listen to that andthe camaraderie that still exists.
And, and if you're not thereto feel that, you know, you can't
(15:24):
really emulate that.
You can't imitate it.
You can't, you can'tunderstand it unless you served.
So it's one of those thingsthat just was incredible.
And, and then to follow it upwith Veterans Day, you know, the
Marine Corps birthday is onone day, and then the Veterans Day
follows right next after it.
That's what makes the MarineCorps birthday so special, is because
it immediately follows withVeterans Day.
(15:48):
How lucky is that?
Yeah, you know, that's twodays in a row.
That's, that's super lucky.
So, you know, you got thatbonus going for you.
And then, you know, the otherthing I want to say, you know, as
you mentioned, something thatwas super important.
You know, veterans came backafter Vietnam War and they felt like,
hey, they took their uniformoff, they thought they were going
to wear it.
Pride.
And, you know, they're like,hey, I don't even want to be recognized
(16:11):
as a veteran.
And I want to say that a lotof times that, that even with our
female veterans today, a lotof them feel like they're not veterans.
They, they don't go get theirVA stuff.
They don't get a lot of stuff.
But I want to say to youfemale veterans, thanks for your
service to this country.
Yes.
Oh, most definitely.
(16:32):
I mean, your, your, yourVeterans Day is, is my Veterans Day
is, you know, thanks for, youknow, being out there and please,
you know, recognize yourselfas such.
Don't just hold back.
You know, I, I know so manyfemale veterans that kind of disregard
themselves as veterans, andthey, they kind of, they kind of
slough it off as if it's notreally a true deal, but it is.
(16:55):
So make sure, make sure yourecognize this.
And there's a lot ofadvantages to being a veteran today.
I mean, look at what healthcare, I mean, healthcare is going
astronomical lately.
Now they're talking aboutObamacare and, and triple, quadruple
what it was when it first started.
And, you know, it's justunbelievable how high health care
(17:21):
has become and prescriptions,all that stuff's available to the
veteran.
We have so many differentservices and advantages to say thank
you to a veteran.
You know, disabilities, youknow, their claims, their.
(17:44):
I mean, just go on and on.
Education, how to build abetter life, how to continue with
your life, borrow for a home,become, you know, a positive citizen
of the United States and.
And flourish with the other ones.
(18:05):
You know, we took some timeoff from our personal life to join
the military, serve ourcountry, and, and there's a lot of
rewards for that, that a lotof veterans.
Oh, I don't want to do that.
Oh, that's.
I try to do that once or Iwent to the veterans hospital once.
Well, what used to be is nolonger because people recognized
(18:30):
it, people have worked toimprove it, the country has worked
to improve it.
And, you know, if I look backat 1974 in retrospect and see it
then see it today, it's 180.
(18:52):
And there's so much that wecan give the veterans transition.
I mean, we can give you a lotof things as far as to your VA card,
your health card, get established.
(19:13):
There's just a lot of thingsthat we can do.
And, you know, it's sorewarding to kind of see them come
and, and it really humbles youbecause it makes a difference in
their life, and you canactually tell that it's making a
difference.
And, you know, that's kind ofwhy we do it.
Maybe, you know, it's.
(19:35):
It makes me proud that, youknow, I can help a federal.
A fellow veteran, definitely.
You know, there is so many.
So many things put out thereand so many things going on.
You know, there's so manyorgans that are doing incredible
things.
And, you know, it's great forme to be able to hear about those
(19:59):
organizations.
And a lot of times I want tobring them on the podcast.
I want to have them.
You know, I talk to a veteranthat's little, you know, had a rodeo
accident and, you know, he'sgot a.
He's got a nonprofit thathelps, you know, veterans get involved
in the rodeo business.
And, you know, I want to bringhim on and.
And talk about stuff, but, youknow, he had a.
(20:20):
He had a situation where hisdog needed some help and, you know,
was sitting in the rv.
Yeah.
Outside the hospital and we tohis way and help over his location.
You know, it.
(20:41):
It's great when these thingscome together and, you know, it's
just.
Just always an incredible thing.
So there's so many cool things.
Hey, I want to take a.
To just talk about, you know, last.
Last week, a week and a halfago, I was up in Lake Elsinore helping
(21:03):
veterans out doing a bunch ofstuff and you know, I was able to
go to a golf tournament thatwas put on by Darts Only Golf.
And uh, you know, they, they,they raised some funds for the Warrior
Built foundation and DartsOnly Golf puts on a phenomenal golf
tournament.
(21:23):
They are a company that doesgolf tournaments for any company,
any industry, any kind of thing.
And they're, and they'reraising funds for a lot of the nonprofits
that I've suggested to them.
Matter of fact, we got onegolf tournament coming up on the
29th of May down in San Diegoagain for the Warrior Built foundation.
(21:45):
But they'll be putting them onfor the PTSD foundation for Recon
chief for some of the otherorganizations that I'm part of in
the near future.
So it's look, yeah, we might check.
With them about coming herefor something, you know.
Yeah, they are all over theUnited States.
There's another pathway toofor our veterans to have job opportunities,
if that's your passion too.
(22:07):
We were able to get someveterans that wanted to play golf
out on the course to play andthat was good too.
So it made a huge differencefor them in their lives because that's
their therapy and, and younever know, you know, what is their
therapy.
And so it's, it's really coolto see some of those therapies that
(22:28):
kick off and do the rightthing and make it happen for them.
Yeah, you know, usually it's,and I get to get out and, and bang
the ball around and, and youknow, the camaraderie, camaraderie
with other veterans and youknow, Dart has a lot of different
(22:50):
paraphernalia.
They have, you know, shirtsand, and dry cloths, a lot of stuff,
hats.
And they'll work with your,with your non profit and give you
a certain percentage of thatand you know, it's just a really,
I mean they really care aboutveterans and, and raise funds so
(23:16):
direly needed to keep ourorganizations alive.
Exactly.
And the guy who runs that, youknow, just give you an idea, you
know, the, the sponsors andsupporters and volunteers that are
involved with theseorganizations to have these relationships
with them as a, you know,know, veteran community.
And I see the outpour.
You know, they have thebusiness smarts that, that, that
(23:41):
really make theseorganizations run right.
They, they come in, you know,they make it possible for our real
estate.
I mean we're getting thesefree meals today.
Those organizations are alsoproviding a huge amount of support
for these functioningorganizations to do what they do.
And so, you know that.
That guy, Tom Givens, who.
Who.
Who runs that, he has been atWarrior Build Foundation.
(24:03):
He put.
He.
He had guys help put theflooring in for the.
The Swiss track that got downfor the mechanics, you know, for
the.
For the major shop part.
He was originally there toensure that that foundation was good
for the PTSD foundation ofAmerica to come into.
And, uh, from day one, uh, hesaid, hey, I want to make money for
(24:25):
this foundation.
It.
Help it out.
So he has finally, you know,came around to make sure that that's
the possibility and that's the.
That's the direction it goes.
So these.
These guys that we keep intouch with and that we make great
relationships with, theyreally make a difference for us to
be able to help our veteransto the utmost of our abilities.
And.
And it's just really a coolrelationship because one thing I
(24:47):
don't want to do is I don'twant to take 12 of something when
I only need one.
And sometimes that's available.
Yes.
But I need to be very humbleand say, hey, look, can I please
just only take one?
And if I need more, can I.
Can I.
Can I come to you?
And that.
That's.
That's really where it comesto being kind of a really cool deal
to help our veterans in a lotof different directions.
(25:08):
And on this Veterans Day, youknow, there's lots of food out there
going, going, going, going.
And so I hope.
Yes, there is.
I hope you're getting somewherever it's coming from.
And then.
And then.
And then you also getdiscounts throughout the year, you
(25:30):
know, just coming from.
And if really, really aretruly supporting our veterans, then
good on you.
That's really a cool deal, you know.
And I'll put it out there.
If, If.
If you're in the Hendersonarea, you want to stop and have breakfast.
If you can't afford it, don'tworry about it.
Just let me know.
I'm the chef.
(25:51):
I'll be there.
I helped sponsor that programand never wanted to go hungry.
So I know.
I know this.
I know this for a fact,because I know.
I've eaten with Chef, I thinktwice now with some incredible meals
that I haven't paid for.
And that's because he put onsome Incredibles for multiple different
(26:11):
reasons.
Events that has helped notonly veteran community, you know,
that are coming up through,and it's.
It's service to the community, and.
And that's a really incredible thing.
It's not just veterans.
It's, you know, service to theCommunity, Chef.
(26:32):
And I'm really honored to bepart of your, your, your, your, your.
Your pow wow that you let mecome and join.
No, that's really greatbecause do a lot of stuff for PTSD
and other things that I get tobe a part of now.
So that's how this works.
It's, you know, you don't joinone thing.
You join, you know, 10 or 15more things, and then other vets
(26:55):
and join their things.
But it's like, it keeps us alltogether and keeps us grounded and
motivated to keep going in life.
And, and because there'salways work to do, you know, it never
gets any shorter.
And one thing that I. I'velearned about the work is it gets
(27:17):
easier with more hands.
So, you know, that's what wetry to do, is keep everybody involved,
keep them working, keep them loving.
We put love on them, we putlove on the community, and it's just
really great.
I mean, and you especially, Ireally appreciate you and your family,
(27:40):
and so it's really great.
Well, thanks, Chef.
Hey, we're gonna.
We're gonna.
We're gonna close it up herepretty quick.
But I. I just want to say, youknow, it's an honor to be amongst
veterans and honor to amongst,you know, veterans doing good and
they're bad.
And I mean that becausethere's always room for improvement
(28:01):
to.
To myself.
You know, I constantly learnfrom my fellow veterans.
I. I'm constantly involvedwith veterans that are steering me
in better direct, and I'm.
I'm in turn steering in.
In good direction.
But those conversations, wehave camaraderie, that I have the
ability to have battle buddiesat every corner, you know, in the
(28:25):
middle of the night.
Know when I had to get my.
I mean, my truck.
I got my truck at 10 o' clocklast night.
Ended up calling a lawyerfriend of mine to calm my mind down.
But, you know, he gave me alot of good advice.
And, you know, it just.
You know, when your mind'sexploding, when things are going
bad and you have so many goodpeople in your corner, things don't
(28:47):
go as you thought.
Yeah, that's right.
So there you go.
Whatever you're doing thatfinds yourself in a motivational
position that shoots you downfor a second, just make sure good
battles to have your in your corner.
And on this Veterans Day, youknow, if things aren't going that
great, just remember, justfind those battle buddies, Reach
(29:09):
out to them, reach out to me.
If you have any questions,concerns, please.
It's great to be here.
It's great to be on thispodcast at this.
This podcast wouldn't existwithout JB Brown right now.
Oh, yeah, Without BrianColburn behind the scenes.
Brian Colburn had steered mein this direction way back when.
So you talk about veteranshelping veterans do things that are
(29:33):
way beyond their mindset capability.
All the stuff that I'mplugging in all the time and unplugging
at the end of the day, just anincredible, incredible time.
So.
No, just, you know, what doyou always say?
Hey, until next time, strengthand honor.
(29:53):
Strength and honor.
Out.
Thank you.
The only way?
And we need nothing more?
The only way?
Together forever?
That's for sure.
Hey, welcome to COD Vision.
This is a place where veteransget to tell their stories.
Our sponsor, supporters, andvolunteers also get to tell theirs.
It's Veterans Day 2025.
I'm with my co host, JB Brown,world renowned chef.
Hey, Aaron, how you doing today?
Great to have you, brother.
And happy Veterans Day to youand all our veterans out there listening.
(00:44):
Definitely.
Happy Veterans Day.
You know, this is definitely atime to celebrate our service, suffering
and all the things that go in between.
Yeah.
That make us veterans.
That's it.
That's right.
That's right.
There's a lot of veterans out there.
Matter of fact, 1 1% or 2% ofthe population is veterans, if I'm
(01:05):
not mistaken, right aroundthat point, July.
17Th of 1969, I signed on thedotted line and gave my life to the
military.
Yeah.
To my country.
Nice.
1969.
Wow.
I did it.
Yeah, I did it in 91.
(01:25):
Okay.
You know, be a tile and.
And still be Chris.
You know, usually, usuallyVeterans Day is a day off for me,
but today's Tuesday, so it'spodcast, which is great.
And yeah, it's great to behere in the studio.
I've been sick for the lasttwo weeks.
Doing it from home.
And you've been at home, butit did.
(01:45):
Cause you did get some newtechnology to be involved, but vestures
did.
When did it start?
It started world World War Ifinished, you know, on the 11th day,
on the 11th hour of the 11th month.
Month.
And it was really.
It was really supposed to bethe end of all wars.
(02:07):
Yes.
It was.
You know, at the time, youknow, thought that would be the end
of all wars.
You know, they're steppinginto a modern era and diplomacy,
modern systems.
(02:31):
Looks like we're frozen.
Yeah.
We didn't start a little bitbit ago because we had some problems
with our Internet, but so it'sgetting a little choppy.
But 194 was.
Was when declared Veterans Day.
Declared Veterans Day.
And we've been celebrating itever since with lots of parades.
(02:55):
This is a chance to celebrateour service in front of the public.
And it's the public's chanceto kind of celebrate with us.
And they.
And they do.
They do in a lot of ways.
Yeah.
74 years.
74 years we've beencelebrating, if my math is correct.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
You actually got to see.
(03:16):
See it become Veterans Day.
I'm not that old yet, but I'm there.
Yeah, you signed up in 1969,but, you know, I know I wasn't around
until 19.
Yep.
But.
Well, this is It's a good timeto just celebrate, have some time.
(03:37):
I know, you know, there's alot, a lot of great things out there.
There's a lot of, this is alot of time for our veterans to celebrate.
Do a really good, a lot, a lotof good things.
Yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday.
Yes.
250Th birthday of the Marine Corps.
I got to go celebrate the cakecutting ceremony at the Leatherneck
(03:57):
Club right here in Las Vegas.
Yep.
It wasn't expensive birthdayfor me because, you know, parking
was tight.
You know, it was just a hugebirthday celebration.
And as I parked in what Ithought was a reasonable place to
park and a safe and non in avery legal place to park from what
(04:20):
I was looking at.
My vehicle was towed and I'mworking on some legalities to that
and I had to go get that at487 or something right around there.
So I'll be working on, onfighting that with regards to what
the parameters of that.
I wasn't the only veteran thathad to deal with that.
So a lot of, a lot of reallyweird scenario type stuff that came
(04:44):
up with that.
But uh, that kind of put adamper on my fun weekend of uh, celebrating
this uh, this, this, this,this holiday.
But it's great to be here withyou and.
Right.
And where are we?
We're at the vtrc, theVeterans Transition Resource center
studio.
First time in about threeweeks that we've been here.
(05:05):
So we're trying to get throughswitches, but by next week we will
be up pretty much 99.9% whichis great.
Yeah.
And you know, today is, isVeterans Day.
A lot of people arerecognizing that.
(05:27):
My wife and I are going to goout to dinner at the South Point.
The buffet is free for allveterans and their spouses.
So they do almost 20,000people today, 15 to 20,000 meals
for veterans.
So the place is pretty packed.
(05:48):
But they do a great job and welove the food there and it's kind
of nice to get a freebie, youknow, to be recognized, let's put
it that way.
Definitely that.
I mean you talked me into itlast time.
Well, for, for Memorial Dayand I went over to South Point and,
and did that.
I don't know if I'm gonna doit today, but.
Okay.
(06:09):
You know, it was a, it wasabout a 40 minute wait.
They do a phenomenal job.
They're, you know, they'repushing a lot of food there and they're
just making.
A. Yeah, they have a greatteam there.
Yeah, great Team spectacular environment.
Yep.
And just a really pleasantexperience for sure.
So South Point, if you can getout there to that as a veteran, that's
(06:29):
going to be an amazingexperience too.
And there's a lot of placesthat give veterans line meal here
in Las Vegas be recognized.
You know, when, when Vietnam was.
Was wrapping up, you know,veterans came home and were not recognized
(06:54):
whatsoever.
And in fact, they were calledall sorts of names, not to even mention
any of them.
But, you know, it's tough tofight for your country and give all
of that and then come home andbe treated that way.
And it was just the times, youknow, we, we go through different
(07:16):
times here in America and nowwe're recognizing a lot of things
that didn't recognize 50 yearsago, you know, when they were coming
home, so.
Right.
You know, and it's beendifficult for me to get out early
on Memorial Day and VeteransDay in the past.
I've kind of made a little bitof ever do it in areas that aren't
(07:40):
so crowded.
But you know, for guys thatare maybe dealing with some of that,
you, you can still.
Places that might not be socrowded that are still going to benefit
you.
And it's not like, you know,it's not like a benefit that you
really feel like you need totake advantage of, but it is kind
of a really sweet moment toknow you're appreciated in that fashion
(08:04):
to get out there and enjoy ameal that on America.
It's just unique.
And you know, it, it's, it's weird.
It's not like we, we foughtfor that.
But I remember thinking tomyself too, in a lot of ways, that
if ever I was a pow, no matterwhat, there's always a table set
(08:27):
for me.
Yes.
Because when you think aboutthe POW table that's set right now
in all the chow halls and inall the.
All the.
All in.
In all the.
All the.
All the chow halls acrossAmerica in on basis, you know, and
other places.
One of the things that, yeah,you know, I'm a chef and I do a lot
(08:48):
of things.
Saturday I'm doing the.
The honor flight pancakes for patriots.
It's this coming Saturday from8 o' clock till 12.
And I always, even if I'm.
As long as I'm in the kitchenand I'm the chef, I'll always have
(09:10):
a POW or a veteran table setup with an empty place setting.
And I do it at all.
I don't care.
The next weekend I'm doing aholiday party for veterans and seniors
and I'll do that again.
It's just something that I doit all the events that I do from,
(09:35):
from military or do.
Yeah it's, it's amazing.
Whatever, whatever motivates you.
Today's the time to getmotivated to go out and do something
with your family and or it'sjust, it's just a great time to be
motivated to relax and enjoy.
Like I said, sometimes it's,it's actually a day for me to be
(09:56):
off.
Every day is Memorial Day andVeterans Day to me because I spend
all my time talking toveterans, working with veterans doing
things that incorporateWarrior Built foundation, the PTSD
foundation of America AmericaRecon Chief incorporated many other
(10:16):
non profit organization toinclude the the veterans.
One thing, you know and God's,God's in every corner.
Yeah, right.
Yeah.
I keep telling him if he keepstaking care of me I'll keep feeding
his kids and so far I wake upevery day.
(10:38):
So you know it's a good thing,it's not a bad thing.
Yeah it's an honor to be of service.
It really is.
It's an honor to you know to,to find coordinated efforts and,
and, and, and the things thatreally make a difference.
And you know speaking of, ofwhich you know Warrior Built if you,
if you get a chance to checkout Warrior Builds posting today,
(11:00):
you'll see me and I had theopportunity to present a, a veteran
with a set of rims and a setof tires Yokohama tires and, and
rims to, to a veteran thathe's a Navy corpsman and missing,
missing two legs and just,just really needed some stuff because
he does still service and soyou know, yeah, I got to do that
(11:24):
a couple weeks ago but we didit for the Veterans Day reasoning
so if you get a chance checkout Warry Built's post on that really
great thing and if you get achance, if you need some help and
support, you know in the PTSDrealm of things I run three PTSD
groups a week.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Matter of fact today isTuesday so tonight 7th 7 o' clock
(11:46):
it kicks off but 7:30 reallyis the group from 7:30 to 8:30 pre
groups at 7.
But you know hit me up ask,ask for the link.
I don't just put the link outthere because I just don't want a
bunch of random people pop my group.
But if you've alreadycoordinated with me then I'll put
you on that group and it'llmake it, make it pretty good.
But those things are importantbecause it's a camaraderie group.
(12:07):
It's not necessarily, youknow, you would think that this is
Kumbaya type thing, butthere's a lot of groups forming up.
You know, I just went toWarrior groups.
I just went to Warrior Built'swarrior group, uh, last week.
I. I did my war group lastTuesday at Warrior Built last week.
You know, just some amazinggroups that.
You know, even.
Even hanging out right herewith me and Chef, you know, we discussion.
(12:32):
Sometimes I'm able to stormsome stuff off my mind if I need
to.
If.
Yeah, that's it.
And him too.
You know, I was able to helphim out yesterday with.
With the menu.
You know, it's veterans and veterans.
You know, it feels good tohelp him out because he's helping
other veterans out, helpingother things out.
(12:52):
And he sent me a menu that wasbasically a picture that he couldn't
change, and I was able tothrow it through his system and.
And, you know, utilize it to.
To just.
Yeah, it's built.
You know, I might challenge.
You know, I'm.
I'm an older one.
I thought computers would goaway, and they're certainly not.
But, you know, one of thegreatest joys of Veteran Day for
(13:14):
me today is I get to wake upin the morning and I have like 40.
I think I had 42 texts thismorning with Happy Veterans Day.
All sorts of differentpictures from loved ones, from friends,
from other vets.
(13:35):
I mean, it's just.
I.
It makes you proud.
I mean, you know, it's likegoing to a Veterans Day parade.
You know, I always get alittle tear in my eye when they present
the flag or sing the anthem.
You know, I tear up.
I mean, you know, it means anawful lot to me, and.
(13:57):
And I think all veterans, itmeans a great deal that they gave,
they sacrificed, and they'rebeing recognized for that.
After Vietnam and whathappened there, and.
And today it's like 181 out.
I mean, it just.
(14:17):
I can't even tell you how badsome of it was in the 70s, and people
didn't even want to berecognized as a veteran.
So today it's definitely different.
It is.
You know, there's a lot of.
You know, as I.
As I listen to you and as Ithink about it, you know, whatever
(14:38):
holiday it is, things you'retogether, you know, when you think
about Thanksgiving andChristmas, those are holidays for
the families, you know, andthis is a holiday for the civilians
to kind of see what we do, butit's a holiday for us to be able
to come together in a family way.
And kind of coordinate asveterans coming together.
And I saw that yesterday, youknow, at the leather leatherneck
(15:03):
club, you know, there wasmore, more Marines and veterans there
than that I've seen in a long,long time.
And, you know, to see a chosenreservoir veteran get up there and
tell his story, you know, was epic.
And, and listen to that andthe camaraderie that still exists.
And, and if you're not thereto feel that, you know, you can't
(15:24):
really emulate that.
You can't imitate it.
You can't, you can'tunderstand it unless you served.
So it's one of those thingsthat just was incredible.
And, and then to follow it upwith Veterans Day, you know, the
Marine Corps birthday is onone day, and then the Veterans Day
follows right next after it.
That's what makes the MarineCorps birthday so special, is because
it immediately follows withVeterans Day.
(15:48):
How lucky is that?
Yeah, you know, that's twodays in a row.
That's, that's super lucky.
So, you know, you got thatbonus going for you.
And then, you know, the otherthing I want to say, you know, as
you mentioned, something thatwas super important.
You know, veterans came backafter Vietnam War and they felt like,
hey, they took their uniformoff, they thought they were going
to wear it.
Pride.
And, you know, they're like,hey, I don't even want to be recognized
(16:11):
as a veteran.
And I want to say that a lotof times that, that even with our
female veterans today, a lotof them feel like they're not veterans.
They, they don't go get theirVA stuff.
They don't get a lot of stuff.
But I want to say to youfemale veterans, thanks for your
service to this country.
Yes.
Oh, most definitely.
(16:32):
I mean, your, your, yourVeterans Day is, is my Veterans Day
is, you know, thanks for, youknow, being out there and please,
you know, recognize yourselfas such.
Don't just hold back.
You know, I, I know so manyfemale veterans that kind of disregard
themselves as veterans, andthey, they kind of, they kind of
slough it off as if it's notreally a true deal, but it is.
(16:55):
So make sure, make sure yourecognize this.
And there's a lot ofadvantages to being a veteran today.
I mean, look at what healthcare, I mean, healthcare is going
astronomical lately.
Now they're talking aboutObamacare and, and triple, quadruple
what it was when it first started.
And, you know, it's justunbelievable how high health care
(17:21):
has become and prescriptions,all that stuff's available to the
veteran.
We have so many differentservices and advantages to say thank
you to a veteran.
You know, disabilities, youknow, their claims, their.
(17:44):
I mean, just go on and on.
Education, how to build abetter life, how to continue with
your life, borrow for a home,become, you know, a positive citizen
of the United States and.
And flourish with the other ones.
(18:05):
You know, we took some timeoff from our personal life to join
the military, serve ourcountry, and, and there's a lot of
rewards for that, that a lotof veterans.
Oh, I don't want to do that.
Oh, that's.
I try to do that once or Iwent to the veterans hospital once.
Well, what used to be is nolonger because people recognized
(18:30):
it, people have worked toimprove it, the country has worked
to improve it.
And, you know, if I look backat 1974 in retrospect and see it
then see it today, it's 180.
(18:52):
And there's so much that wecan give the veterans transition.
I mean, we can give you a lotof things as far as to your VA card,
your health card, get established.
(19:13):
There's just a lot of thingsthat we can do.
And, you know, it's sorewarding to kind of see them come
and, and it really humbles youbecause it makes a difference in
their life, and you canactually tell that it's making a
difference.
And, you know, that's kind ofwhy we do it.
Maybe, you know, it's.
(19:35):
It makes me proud that, youknow, I can help a federal.
A fellow veteran, definitely.
You know, there is so many.
So many things put out thereand so many things going on.
You know, there's so manyorgans that are doing incredible
things.
And, you know, it's great forme to be able to hear about those
(19:59):
organizations.
And a lot of times I want tobring them on the podcast.
I want to have them.
You know, I talk to a veteranthat's little, you know, had a rodeo
accident and, you know, he'sgot a.
He's got a nonprofit thathelps, you know, veterans get involved
in the rodeo business.
And, you know, I want to bringhim on and.
And talk about stuff, but, youknow, he had a.
(20:20):
He had a situation where hisdog needed some help and, you know,
was sitting in the rv.
Yeah.
Outside the hospital and we tohis way and help over his location.
You know, it.
(20:41):
It's great when these thingscome together and, you know, it's
just.
Just always an incredible thing.
So there's so many cool things.
Hey, I want to take a.
To just talk about, you know, last.
Last week, a week and a halfago, I was up in Lake Elsinore helping
(21:03):
veterans out doing a bunch ofstuff and you know, I was able to
go to a golf tournament thatwas put on by Darts Only Golf.
And uh, you know, they, they,they raised some funds for the Warrior
Built foundation and DartsOnly Golf puts on a phenomenal golf
tournament.
(21:23):
They are a company that doesgolf tournaments for any company,
any industry, any kind of thing.
And they're, and they'reraising funds for a lot of the nonprofits
that I've suggested to them.
Matter of fact, we got onegolf tournament coming up on the
29th of May down in San Diegoagain for the Warrior Built foundation.
(21:45):
But they'll be putting them onfor the PTSD foundation for Recon
chief for some of the otherorganizations that I'm part of in
the near future.
So it's look, yeah, we might check.
With them about coming herefor something, you know.
Yeah, they are all over theUnited States.
There's another pathway toofor our veterans to have job opportunities,
if that's your passion too.
(22:07):
We were able to get someveterans that wanted to play golf
out on the course to play andthat was good too.
So it made a huge differencefor them in their lives because that's
their therapy and, and younever know, you know, what is their
therapy.
And so it's, it's really coolto see some of those therapies that
(22:28):
kick off and do the rightthing and make it happen for them.
Yeah, you know, usually it's,and I get to get out and, and bang
the ball around and, and youknow, the camaraderie, camaraderie
with other veterans and youknow, Dart has a lot of different
(22:50):
paraphernalia.
They have, you know, shirtsand, and dry cloths, a lot of stuff,
hats.
And they'll work with your,with your non profit and give you
a certain percentage of thatand you know, it's just a really,
I mean they really care aboutveterans and, and raise funds so
(23:16):
direly needed to keep ourorganizations alive.
Exactly.
And the guy who runs that, youknow, just give you an idea, you
know, the, the sponsors andsupporters and volunteers that are
involved with theseorganizations to have these relationships
with them as a, you know,know, veteran community.
And I see the outpour.
You know, they have thebusiness smarts that, that, that
(23:41):
really make theseorganizations run right.
They, they come in, you know,they make it possible for our real
estate.
I mean we're getting thesefree meals today.
Those organizations are alsoproviding a huge amount of support
for these functioningorganizations to do what they do.
And so, you know that.
That guy, Tom Givens, who.
Who.
Who runs that, he has been atWarrior Build Foundation.
(24:03):
He put.
He.
He had guys help put theflooring in for the.
The Swiss track that got downfor the mechanics, you know, for
the.
For the major shop part.
He was originally there toensure that that foundation was good
for the PTSD foundation ofAmerica to come into.
And, uh, from day one, uh, hesaid, hey, I want to make money for
(24:25):
this foundation.
It.
Help it out.
So he has finally, you know,came around to make sure that that's
the possibility and that's the.
That's the direction it goes.
So these.
These guys that we keep intouch with and that we make great
relationships with, theyreally make a difference for us to
be able to help our veteransto the utmost of our abilities.
And.
And it's just really a coolrelationship because one thing I
(24:47):
don't want to do is I don'twant to take 12 of something when
I only need one.
And sometimes that's available.
Yes.
But I need to be very humbleand say, hey, look, can I please
just only take one?
And if I need more, can I.
Can I.
Can I come to you?
And that.
That's.
That's really where it comesto being kind of a really cool deal
to help our veterans in a lotof different directions.
(25:08):
And on this Veterans Day, youknow, there's lots of food out there
going, going, going, going.
And so I hope.
Yes, there is.
I hope you're getting somewherever it's coming from.
And then.
And then.
And then you also getdiscounts throughout the year, you
(25:30):
know, just coming from.
And if really, really aretruly supporting our veterans, then
good on you.
That's really a cool deal, you know.
And I'll put it out there.
If, If.
If you're in the Hendersonarea, you want to stop and have breakfast.
If you can't afford it, don'tworry about it.
Just let me know.
I'm the chef.
(25:51):
I'll be there.
I helped sponsor that programand never wanted to go hungry.
So I know.
I know this.
I know this for a fact,because I know.
I've eaten with Chef, I thinktwice now with some incredible meals
that I haven't paid for.
And that's because he put onsome Incredibles for multiple different
(26:11):
reasons.
Events that has helped notonly veteran community, you know,
that are coming up through,and it's.
It's service to the community, and.
And that's a really incredible thing.
It's not just veterans.
It's, you know, service to theCommunity, Chef.
(26:32):
And I'm really honored to bepart of your, your, your, your, your.
Your pow wow that you let mecome and join.
No, that's really greatbecause do a lot of stuff for PTSD
and other things that I get tobe a part of now.
So that's how this works.
It's, you know, you don't joinone thing.
You join, you know, 10 or 15more things, and then other vets
(26:55):
and join their things.
But it's like, it keeps us alltogether and keeps us grounded and
motivated to keep going in life.
And, and because there'salways work to do, you know, it never
gets any shorter.
And one thing that I. I'velearned about the work is it gets
(27:17):
easier with more hands.
So, you know, that's what wetry to do, is keep everybody involved,
keep them working, keep them loving.
We put love on them, we putlove on the community, and it's just
really great.
I mean, and you especially, Ireally appreciate you and your family,
(27:40):
and so it's really great.
Well, thanks, Chef.
Hey, we're gonna.
We're gonna.
We're gonna close it up herepretty quick.
But I. I just want to say, youknow, it's an honor to be amongst
veterans and honor to amongst,you know, veterans doing good and
they're bad.
And I mean that becausethere's always room for improvement
(28:01):
to.
To myself.
You know, I constantly learnfrom my fellow veterans.
I. I'm constantly involvedwith veterans that are steering me
in better direct, and I'm.
I'm in turn steering in.
In good direction.
But those conversations, wehave camaraderie, that I have the
ability to have battle buddiesat every corner, you know, in the
(28:25):
middle of the night.
Know when I had to get my.
I mean, my truck.
I got my truck at 10 o' clocklast night.
Ended up calling a lawyerfriend of mine to calm my mind down.
But, you know, he gave me alot of good advice.
And, you know, it just.
You know, when your mind'sexploding, when things are going
bad and you have so many goodpeople in your corner, things don't
(28:47):
go as you thought.
Yeah, that's right.
So there you go.
Whatever you're doing thatfinds yourself in a motivational
position that shoots you downfor a second, just make sure good
battles to have your in your corner.
And on this Veterans Day, youknow, if things aren't going that
great, just remember, justfind those battle buddies, Reach
(29:09):
out to them, reach out to me.
If you have any questions,concerns, please.
It's great to be here.
It's great to be on thispodcast at this.
This podcast wouldn't existwithout JB Brown right now.
Oh, yeah, Without BrianColburn behind the scenes.
Brian Colburn had steered mein this direction way back when.
So you talk about veteranshelping veterans do things that are
(29:33):
way beyond their mindset capability.
All the stuff that I'mplugging in all the time and unplugging
at the end of the day, just anincredible, incredible time.
So.
No, just, you know, what doyou always say?
Hey, until next time, strengthand honor.
(29:53):
Strength and honor.
Out.
Thank you.
The only way?
And we need nothing more?
The only way?
Together forever?
That's for sure.
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Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com