An Army of Normal Folks - Supporting Greatness: Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer (Pt 1)

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

Dakota celebrates his own Army of Normal Folks who’ve supported his greatness: Big Mike, Sergeant Major Hector Soto-Rodriguez, Tana Rattliff, Tim Kennedy, his daughter Sailor, and so many more.Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premiumSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're just like us, right? I think a lot of times what we do is we look at these men and women who wear uniforms or you look at stories like David Bellavious and they're painted in a way of like, oh, they're just larger than life and I could never do that. And you know, the one thing I want to say is, is the medal of honor is nothing more the story of that day is nothing more than what all the people who are listening to this, any human being that has air inside their lungs is capable of if they believe in a cause bigger than themselves and they love people so much that they're

willing to stop the suffering and do whatever it takes to stop suffering of other human beings even if it's at the cost of their lives. That's what the potential, the untapped potential in every human being that walks the face of the planet. ["The New York Times"] Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Horton. I'm a normal guy.

I'm a husband, I'm a father, I'm an entrepreneur, and I've been a football coach in inner city Memphis and somehow that last part, it led to us getting an Oscar for the film about our team. That movie is called Undefeated. Guys, I believe our country's problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people and nice suits using big words that nobody ever uses on CNN and Fox, but rather by an army of normal folks.

That's us. Just you and me deciding, hey, you know what? I can help. That's what Dakota Meyer, the voice you just heard, has done. When his fellow soldiers were ambushed by over 50 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Dakota disregarded orders not to enter the fight, and he did. He and his driver risked their lives to rescue, get this, over two dozen Afghan soldiers. He saved their lives, and after he suffered a shrapnel wound to his arm, he still continued on

his arm, he still continued on and brought back the dead bodies of four American soldiers. Dakota is not exactly normal given that he's a Medal of Honor recipient, but we're featuring him as part of our special series, Supporting Greatness, where we interview not so normal folks like Mike Rowe. You may remember that. But instead of blowing smoke up their, well, you know what, we celebrate the normal folks and unsung heroes who supported them and shaped their lives. I cannot wait for you to meet Dakota and his own Army of Normal Folks who supported him right after these brief messages from our generous sponsors.

Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Astead Herndon. But we're also gonna have some fun,

even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee, Roy Wood Jr., and Charlemagne the God. We're gonna take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out

what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. My podcast, When You're Invisible, is my love letter to the working class people and immigrants who shaped my life. I get to talk to a lot of people

who form the backbone of our society, but who have never been interviewed before. Season two is all about community, organizing, and being underestimated. All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it. I can't have more than $2,000 in my bank account or else I can't get disability benefits. They won't let you succeed.

I know we get paid to serve you guys, but like, be respectful. We're made out of the same things. Bone, body, blood. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the lesson and I'm also the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible as part of the MyCultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everything okay? Yes, I'm fine. you get your podcasts. can help them Sound It Out. Talk to the kids in your life about their emotional well-being. Find tools and resources at SoundItOutTogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures. Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this, start your own country. I planted the flag.

I just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There are 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it. I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of La Donia. I'm Jackson I, King of Capriburg.

I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Montonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. Well, why can't I try my own country? My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong? No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with a black powder, you know, with explosive warheads. Oh my god.

What is that? Bullets. Bullets, yeah. We need help! We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

you get your podcasts. Dakota Meyer, welcome to Memphis. Glad to be here, thank you. So what'd you do this morning? You know I went over, I gave a little speech over at City Current, you know, what an awesome organization doing, you know, great work for, you know, Memphis. I mean, it's just such an incredible, all the people are incredible. Yeah, listen, this is, I guess, free publicity, but Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance Company has supported a number of things and that breakfast is one of them. And my buddy, Jeremy Park, who I know you've spent

some time with, handles all of that stuff. And every quarter they bring some pretty impressive people to Memphis for breakfast and you're it. Yeah, well here I am. You know, I have to, usually I apologize. I didn't do it this morning. I forgot it. Because he put me in.

Jeremy, he's a driver. He puts timelines on everything. He cuts you off. He's like, let me tell you something. The schedule is the schedule. No different schedule. I mean, those progressive black glasses on a blue suede jacket and just driving.

He's all business. All business. Jeremy's all business. I got you All business. Jeremy's all business. What is up with that dude? I got you. There's no relaxation around Jeremy. But no, it was truly incredible to be part of it and to see what they're doing and the work

that they're doing about building community and service and just really, really incredible. It's a blessing for Memphis. So why the hell do they want you to speak? Who are you? What's up with your world, man? I don't know. I think they had a cancellation.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that you're one of the three living Medal of Honor recipients in our country. Well, we got- From? Yeah, the Marines, on the Marine side. There's only been three Marines get the Medal of Honor. One passed away, two of us. But I think there's 13 now. I don't know. Honestly, I don't know. But yeah, I think that's probably what got it. It's pretty thin air, bro. Yeah, rare. Rare, right? But look, it was just an

opportunity that was put in front of me and I was just there right time, right place. So I only got to find out less than 24 hours ago that we were going to have time to do this. So my prep on you, well, first of all, I'd already known your name because of David Bellavia, my buddy who is also a Medal of Honor recipient who mentioned you. So I looked you up six months ago or a year ago. Yeah. Never thought I'd sit down across from you, so it really is an honor to be with you. But when David was a guest on the show, he mentioned you.

I just want to say this. David is a guy that we all look up to. We as in other Medal Honor's women? I mean, if they don't, they're not looking at the right place, right? I mean, I think, I mean, if they don't, they're not looking at the right place, right? I mean, David is a, David, not only David's story, but David's passion towards doing, you know, the greater good in America, in our communities. And, you know, I mean, just David is a guy

that we could all get better by knowing. He is, he's incredible, but all of you guys are incredible. Let's get into the incredible. This is an army of normal folks and Medal of Honor winners just can't be considered normal folks, but inside our show we do an occasional kind of sub-segment called Sporting Greatness, which is what today is. I really want to talk to you about the folks in your life that supported you getting to a place that you could even achieve the greatness you've achieved. But for our listeners who don't know you,

could you briefly tell me the events that led to you being nominated for and receiving a recipient of the medal? So I was in the Marine Corps. I was a sniper in the Marine Corps and was detached from my sniper unit and went over to what was called an embedded training team. This was in 2009 and I'd already been to Iraq. September? September 8, 2009. September 8.

But I'd already been to Iraq. September. September 8, 2009. September 8. But I'd already been to Iraq and then was going to Afghanistan. We were on an embedded training team. Basically the mission for us is there was four US and 80 Afghans on a base. We were going into a valley called the Gangeghal Valley on September 8, 2009, and going in to basically do a key leader engagement. I was taken out of my team. I was left with the trucks as the team went in. It was a 90-man patrol.

They went in, they'd been set up. It was just a huge gunfight. Then me and a driver, we knew we had to do something to help out the team. We made multiple trips in. What does make multiple trips in mean? Just basically, the first trip in, we went in and a gun truck with a 50-cow, we went in and the idea was if we could shove that gun truck as far as we could up in the valley, we could hopefully push off and hold the enemy down so that people could get out.

People as in other- Afghan soldiers or Marines, Army, everybody, all of our coalition forces that we were- Were they pinned down? Yeah, so they were pinned down in this valley. They were stuck because they were already surrounded on three sides. The enemy was just, we'd been set up. Basically, the enemy was ready. trying to go in and help them, they were all pinned down. So we went in multiple trips, I don't know, four or five, who knows? You can't say numbers because then people out there, they're like, ah, well, it wasn't four, it was five, or it was three and a half. But anyways, who knows? Multiple trips in, multiple vehicles, and with the concept of trying to cover, shield,

and then help out the injured, the wounded, recovering, get out of that valley. Heavy casualties. Yeah. I mean, there was bodies everywhere. I mean, there was bodies everywhere. And it was just the most chaotic day of my life. When you talk about a range of just emotions of a situation, first off, bigger than you could have ever imagined, and you're not having enough resources, not feeling like you can

do everything you want to do, help people at the level you want to help, I mean, it was just a chaotic day of just chaos. How old were you? I was 21. 21 is when you're supposed to be a junior or senior in college drinking upside down out of a keg. Yeah. I mean, I think for some people, right? I mean, I think, you know, we have a demographic of human beings that choose to be greater people. And not greater, but they choose to,

they're just like us, right? I think a lot of times what we do is we look at these men and women who wear uniforms, or you look at stories like David Bellavious, and they're painted in a way of like, oh, they're just larger a way of like, oh, they're just larger than life and I could never do that. The one thing I want to say is the medal of honor is nothing more, the story of that day is nothing more than what all the people who are listening to this, any human being that

has air inside their lungs is capable of if they believe in a cause bigger than themselves and they love people so much that they're willing to stop the suffering and do whatever it takes to stop suffering of other human beings even if it's at the cost of their lives. That's what the potential, the untapped potential in every human being that walks the face of the planet. Darrell Bock You know when you say something like that, chills run up my spine because that's exactly what we talk about is this army of normal folks is really what can change the world. What you're saying is it's no different than the real army of normal folks.

The sheer power – I don't care what anybody says. America's military is the most powerful organization on the planet. You can get into whatever you want to. You can't show me facts that show anything other than that. As David Bellevue would say, we are the best force on the face of the planet and we are there for good, but if you screw with us, someone else will raise your children. One hundred percent. And he's right. But let me tell you what makes us, someone else will raise your children. 100%. And he's right.

And, and, but, but let me tell you what makes us different than any other military. It's, it's two, two things. Um, and I want to tell you this for a reason because, you know, our military is the only military that swears allegiance to a piece of paper, not to a political affiliation, not to a person, not to a single seat. It's the Constitution of the United States. And in that Constitution, the only allegiance that the military makes an oath to is we the people, the people of America, period. The second piece is that commitment that we make when we raise our right hand to choose to be that is there's no conditions on it. It's forever. And so the sheer power of the American military comes from the power of unity, of people,

of the American people. The American people are the most resilient, strongest people. It's not the technology, it's not the weapons that we have. None of that is what makes us the most lethal fighting force on the planet. It is the sheer power of what is capable when people come together for a common belief of the greater good of people. And that is the potential of Americans out there if we all come together and we're united. And now a few messages from our generous sponsors. But first, United. Or if you prefer reading about our incredible guests, we'll be right back. Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric.

Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones, Jen Psaki, Ested Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee, Roy Wood Jr., and Charlamagne the God.

We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people. So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all, I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. My podcast, When You're Invisible, is my love letter to the working-class people and immigrants who shaped my life. I get to talk to a lot of people who form the backbone of our society, but who have never been interviewed before. Season two is all about community, organizing, and being underestimated. All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it.

I can't have more than $2,000 in my bank account or else I can't get disability benefits. They won't let you succeed. I know we get paid to serve you guys, but like be respectful. We're made out of the same things, bone, body, blood. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the lesson and I'm also the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible as part of the MyCultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The impact of a meal goes well beyond feeding our bodies, because feeling full can sound like this How did the interview go? I did it. I got the job. I can't believe it and like this I got first place at the science fair with my volcano project. That's amazing, sweetie Congratulations, because when people are fed futures are nourished and everyone deserves to live a full life Join the movement to end hunger at feedingamerica.org slash act now. Brought to you by Feeding America and the Ad Council. Is your country falling apart?

Feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this, start your own country. I planted the flag. I just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. There are 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it.

I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of La Donia. I'm Jackson I, King of Capriburg. I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Montonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. Well, why can't I trade my own country? My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong?

No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a rocket with the black powder, you know, with explosive warheads. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets. Bullets, yeah. We need help!

We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On that day in September, as you keep going in and out, in your words, there's bodies everywhere, you're very important for people to remember. We didn't invade Afghanistan. We went to fight along Afghanis trying to fight

for their country against a terrorist insurgents called the Taliban. And so what a lot of people fail to recognize is your brothers in arms weren't just Americans, they were Africansghans. Yeah. I mean, my Afghan soldiers were just as close to me as the Marines. I mean, I worked with those guys every day and they were incredible people.

What a lot of people don't realize is, and I think they see it now, but what a lot of people don't realize is there's nobody who wants the Taliban gone more than the people of Afghanistan. Yeah, no kidding. If we had that in the United States, we would want them gone worse than anybody on Earth. Yeah. So it's like when you're right, you're right. Like a lot of people, they just repeat what they've heard. It's weaponization of words and half truths and all this for political agendas or media agendas or whatever, right? But the real facts are is that the people of Afghanistan wanted the Taliban gone more than anybody. And when we were there, we did that. You know what I mean?

Listen, we gave an entire generation, so I hate when I hear people say, oh, we lost Afghanistan. I don't know what a... No, we didn't. When there was an American flag on the soul of Afghanistan, the place was safer. And we didn't lose Afghanistan. Most people don't even know what we intended to go over there and do. But what we intended to do and what we did while we were there, we made that place safer. We gave an entire generation freedom. We gave an entire generation to go... women to be able to go to school and be educated. We gave them the best shot democracy that they've ever had. That's what we do as Americans. You have an Afghani brother in arms down and you go to render aid or at least retrieve his body and you shoot a guy that you think is dead and then something really fateful happens.

Yeah, it was Dada Lee. He was an NCO. We were closer with the NCOs because that was who we were mentoring. The troops below him, obviously we knew a lot of them, but Donnelly was an NCO and he spoke a lot of English. So it was easier to communicate with him and I used him a lot to help me communicate. He taught me a lot of his language and just naturally we could communicate with each other. So yeah, I came up on him and he had been killed. And so I was trying to get his body out. First of all, before we go to the next part, which as I listened to this morning, I got

to tell you, not like a boo hoo cry, but tears streamed down my eyes. A 21-year-old looking at a dude you forged a relationship with that's an Afghani that's kind of like one of your guys in this middle of this horrific firefight that you keep going in and out and there's bodies everywhere and now he's dead. You're risking your life just to get his body. I have a hard time even fathoming that as a 21-year-old kid. Listen, I watched everything that I loved get killed right in front of me that day. Everything that I cared about, everything from my career all the way down to, I mean

I left a room on a Monday that we all lived in in my house and I returned on a Thursday and everybody that lived in that house with me was dead. But this is part of life. The more you go through, the more you learn and the more you can help others go through it. There's an opportunity in all of it. I came up on Dadali. Dadali was, I'd seen him that morning.

He was always laughing and joking. Yeah, the next minute he's dead, right? And so I'm trying to get him out. A guy comes up behind me, I'm on my knee, and he hits me with a... I feel a hit on the back of my head. I don't know if you ever hit your head, but you see the little stars. That's kind of what I remember. Anybody who's played football knows it.

Yeah, because there you go. I turn around and this guy's standing over me with a gun and he's waving for me to go with him. I turned and ended up, long story short, I pulled the trigger on my gun. I'm like, well, I'm going to make this guy kill me. I had already decided I'm not going anywhere. I don't want anybody else to get killed and this guy's going to have to earn it. So I turned around and I ended up squeezing the trigger on my rifle, hit the guy in the

chest and I thought he was dead. And so now I'm back, I'm getting shot at, I'm laying down, I'm trying to get Dottie up and this guy starts to choke me out. And the whole time this is going on, there's a machine gun position just raining fire down on you, right? And that's why I was laying down on the ground because I was trying to get lower. Get little. Yeah, get little.

And I was trying, and this guy is next to me, he starts to choke me out. From behind. Yeah. And I just like, because I thought he was dead. And look, I mean, you look back at it, I think about it all the time. Anyway, so he starts to choke me out and I thought I was going to pass out. And I just like relaxed. And who knows, who knows why he let up? I mean, he could. I just relaxed. Who knows?

Who knows why he let up? I mean, he could have been bleeding out. Who knows? There could have been a lot of factors to it. But he ended up letting out. I got around him and I just couldn't get my gun. I couldn't get anything to kill this guy with. I grab a rock and I just start... I'm on this guy.

I'm fighting back and forth. I'm on top of him and I just grab his rock and I just start beating him. I just beat him until he died. But I'll tell you, the only guy out of anything I've ever done, the only guy I think about or see is him. That guy changed my life more than anything else. There's no other single event that changed my life and my perspective of the world more than that guy.

I appreciate that guy so much. I appreciate that guy giving his life to teach me the lessons that he taught me. Which was? Unconditional love. There's a thing that people, there's a look on somebody's face when they know they're going to die. People don't like to talk about this. Everybody likes to talk about people coming in this world, but they don't like to talk about it going out. And I think that when you're with somebody, when they're going out of the world, it's such an honor, such an honor for you to be able to share those last moments on earth with people.

And, and you know, I remember being over this guy and he realized that it was his life that was going to end. One of us was going to die, right? And he realized there was a spot that where I'd hit him about three times that I remember the look in his face of like defeat. He knew he was gonna die. And I'll never forget, I just, I didn't know this guy. I, um, we were more like than we were different. I didn't hate this guy. I wasn't killing this guy because I hated him. Because like, that's what people think about fighting. Fighting is out of hate. And it's not. And so as I'm about to take this guy's life, it's like this guy has a mom and dad that's going to miss him, just like mine

would. This guy believes in his cause as much as I do. You can't argue a guy who's willing to give his life for a cause. And then you go on a little bit further with it. And really, the only reason that we are in the position we're in is because we were born in two different places. The only reason we're here at this point and next to each other is the one single thing that's out of our control and there's no doubt in my mind that if he had been born in America or I had been born in his country we I had been born in his country, we would have been standing on the same side of the fence.

And when you look at these things, and so for me, it made me realize I didn't hate this guy, I didn't even know this guy, but I just loved my cause, and I loved the people around me, and that was why I was doing the job that I did. And it was at that point that fighting was no longer fun to me, it was no longer a game to me. It was no longer just to do it, to do it. Like it was real. It was the most intimate. It was the most intimate life that I have ever taken.

Let's see, I got to phrase this right. To hear you speak about that incident and the first words that come out of your mouth are love are shockingly polar opposites, really. But when you explain it, it makes so much sense. We'll be right back. Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well, the election is in the home stretch and I'm exhausted. But turns out the end is near, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. This podcast is for people like me who need a little perspective and insight. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Van Jones,

Jen Psaki, Ested Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun, even though these days fun and politics seems like an oxymoron. But we'll do that thanks to some of my friends like Samantha B., Roy Wood Jr., and Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Power to the podcast for the people.

So whether you're obsessed with the news or just trying to figure out what's going on, this season of Next Question is for you. Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. My podcast, When You're Invisible, is my love letter to

the working class people and immigrants who shaped my life. I get to talk to a lot of people who form the backbone of our society, but who have never been interviewed before. Season 2 is all about community, organizing, and being underestimated. All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it. I can't have more than $2,000 in my bank account,

or else I can't get disability benefits. They won't let you succeed. I know we get paid to serve you guys, but like, be respectful. We're made out of the same things, bone, body, blood. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the lesson and I'm also the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible as part of the MyCultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, everything okay? Yes, I'm fine. Honey. Hey, I'm here for you. Tell me about school today. When kids can't find the right words, music can help them sound it out. Talk to the kids in your life about their emotional well-being. Find tools and resources at Soundouttogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures.

Is your country falling apart? Feeling tired, depressed, a little bit revolutionary? Consider this, start your own country. I planted the flag and just kind of looked out of like, this is mine. I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Everybody's doing it. I am King Ernest Emmanuel. I am the Queen of La Donia. I'm Jackson I, King of Caperburg.

I am the Supreme Leader of the Grand Republic of Montonia. Be part of a great colonial tradition. Why can't I trade my own country? My forefathers did that themselves. What could go wrong? No country willingly gives up their territory. I was making a racket with the black powder, you know, with explosive warheads. Oh my God. What is that?

Bullets. Bullets. We need help! We still have the off-road portion to go. Listen to Escape from Zakistan. And we're losing daylight fast. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You say there are only two kinds of people in this world when it all boils down to it. We've got Democrats, Republicans, we've got black, white, Asian, Latino, Hispanic, we've got gay and straight, we've got Christian and Muslim and Jewish and agnostic, and all these subcategories that CNN and Fox are inspired by a lot of money and power to continue to craft narratives that divide us into these categories. and people in DC are constantly dividing us into these categories that here in America we tend to define ourselves on and to time to separate ourselves into. But you say none of that matters.

You say there's two kinds of people. Yeah, there's only two, good and evil. And it's not about, and I'll tell you, too often we judge people based off of a moment for their character of who they are forever. There's only two types of people and it's not their actions that necessarily show it. Sometimes it's their intentions and it's good and evil. People make mistakes. People hurt people. That's normal. But it's their intentions. It's good and evil. There's only two types of people that exist and walk to face the planet, and it's good and evil.

And we have to get back to that because all this division stuff that is stoked by, I call it weaponization. People weaponize religion all the time. They weaponize the Bible. They weaponize the Quran. You were in Afghanistan because people weaponized the religion. 100%. 100%. And look, we need all types. The worst thing that could ever happen to our country of America is that everybody is a Republican or everybody is a Democrat.

That's the worst thing that could happen. We need all kinds. It takes everybody. It takes everybody to sit here and listen and to, to hear other people and to, to, to, to, to care. But, and so, you know, you go back to it. The most important thing that we can do is, is, is being for something will always take you further than being against something all day long. You say no cause built on hate will survive, but only those built on love. Love is why we fought overseas. Love is why we fought.

Now, just, I heard that, and again, that's an interesting juxtaposition. Yeah, I mean, do you think we go over there and like, I wasn't fighting for Republicans or Democrats, I wasn't fighting for Christians or Muslims, I wasn't, I mean, I was fighting for the or Democrats. I wasn't fighting for Christians or Muslims. I was fighting for the greater good. And I'll tell you, the way that America does business is different than anybody else. And don't, you know, when people, I'm sure you've heard people say, well, why are we getting involved?

Why is this our business, right? I'm sure you've heard that. And I'll tell you, we have to, because we're the only country on the planet that fights for the greater good, not just what's in our best interest. That's why it doesn't make sense to a lot of Americans sometimes or people across the globe. Go look at how Russians are doing the business. Go look. I mean, look, everybody else only does what's good for them.

Israel is only fighting Hamas right now because they have to. It's in their backyard. Russia is only going into Ukraine right now because they want that land. Everybody else only fights for that. When we go in, we fight for the greater good. Where there is an American flag across the globe, the world's a better place. I've often said, this is my own, okay? I've often said that back in the wild, wild west, each of these little towns that typically cropped up around a gold mine or a silver mine and started building up, the toughest guy in town was the sheriff because he had to be because they had the brothels and the saloons and everything else.

And honestly, when you saw the sheriff coming down the boardwalk he was he was basically a badge away from being an outlaw himself he was a bad right but he was also you know the guy that that you know he just on saturday afternoon when nothing was going on you really didn't want to talk to the sheriff much but when all hell broke loose everybody in town was banging on his door and he was the best guy on earth. And thank God for the sheriff. And without the United States, there's not a sheriff in the United States and in the world.

And it drives me freaking nuts how everybody wants to talk crap about us until all hell breaks loose and then everybody's standing in line, where's America? Well, I think in life you have to decide. So I hate fence sitters. I call them fence sitters. People who want both or people... because how you do one thing is how you do everything. The rest of it's just acting.

If you do it any outside of that. So I believe that in life you have to decide and pick one or the other. Do you want to be liked or do you want to be trusted? Cause they don't coexist. It's like parenting. Like, do you want to be liked? Do you want to be friends with your kids or do you want to be trusted by your kids? Right?

Cause they don't, they don't always coexist and, and trust slash respect. Well, I mean, you want to be friends with your kids or do you want to be trusted by your kids? Right. Cause they don't, they don't always coexist and trust slash respect. Well, I mean, you have the same game. If you trust somebody, you'll respect them. You may not like them, but you're going to respect them. 100%. 100%. And so, you know, I think you have to pick cause you can't be both. Right.

And, and I think that America, when America is strong, the world hates us. But when America is weak, the world suffers. And I think that the only thing that's providing stabilization, any stability on the globe right now, is the fact that the enemies out there and the evil that's trying to do evil out there knows that if Americans show up, that they will get their ass beat 24-7. And that's the only thing that's keeping the evil at bay. As David Belleville would say, they know someone else will raise their children. 100 percent because we have proven that over and over.

We've got men and women who are willing to go give their life at a moment's notice for the greater good of humanity. No matter what country, no matter what religion, no matter what political party, we still have men and women in this country in the United States of America that are unconditional in a conditional world. I sleep well and not knowing they're on the wall. How many lives were saved by your actions on that day? Not enough. Give me a number.

I don't know. No clue. A bunch. You don't get the Medal of Honor if you didn't do something remarkable, bro. And I know the humility. I get the Medal of Honor if you didn't do something remarkable, bro. And I know the humility. I get the sacrifice. I don't even have time to go into thanking you for your service. I know that you don't want to be thanked for the service. I know that you want me, you want to thank me for the opportunity to serve me, which is an incredible perspective.

And I wish I had an hour and a half to even talk about that with you. I get all of it Why do you think you won the Medal of Honor One why do you think you were the recipient of the Medal of Honor? I think I think I was the recipient of it because there was more good that needed to be done and I There was more good that needed to be done and I was given a platform in order to continue to go and do good and to be able to go and take the lessons that were learned that day and hopefully inspire and empower and change the world and to remind people of how great

they are based off the sacrifices of the men and women that I got to watch firsthand. I'm just to trust it with the stories. I was just getting that. And the reason I got the medal was because the legacy of those men and women die if I'm not able to go out and share it. And look, there's some greater plan, but I do not have a Medal of Honor because of any of my actions. I'm not surprised. You're the second Medal of Honor guy I've spent time with and the humility always just oozes out of you guys. So here's the deal. I would say there are people along the path of your life who got you to that day where you were willing to wish your 21-year-old life to save your Afghan

brother in arms, to continue to go in and out of a valley that was pinned down, to save lives and to somehow find the humility and unconditional love in a hand-to-hand combatant. I would say there's people along the path of your life that got you to a place that you could even have that perspective. Yeah. I mean, look, when you talk about guys that deserve the medal, or people, it's all those people. I mean, it's one thing. What I did that day was the easiest day of my life because it's right there. It's right there. It's in front of you. But all I had to do was do it.

All these other people had to believe in me when they didn't have to. When I look at all the way from coaches, my dad, you take my dad, Big Mike, who- Big Mike. Yeah. You talk about a guy who... We all have children, so we know how hard it is to raise our own children. Imagine choosing to raise somebody else's and doing it with honor and integrity and doing it the right way and infusing an uncompromisable way of life of trying to strive to do what's right all the time.

And obviously we all mess it up, but that is what the goal is. And so that, my grandfather, my grandmother, I mean, you go down the list of my coaches, Mike Griffiths, I mean. Let's talk about Big Mike for a second. Yeah. I find Big Mike interesting.

Yeah, well everybody does. And that concludes part one of my conversation with Dakota Meyer. And we're gonna dive into Big Mike in part two that's now available to listen to. Guys, you don't wanna miss it because we're gonna get the entirety of Dakota's own army of normal folks

who supported his greatness. Together guys, we can change this country. And it starts with you. I'll see you in part two. Hey everyone, it's Katie Couric. Well the election is in the home stretch, right in time for a new season of my podcast, Next Question. I'm bringing in some FOKs, friends of Katie's, to help me out like Ezra Klein, Jen Psaki, Astead Herndon. But we're also going to have some fun thanks to some of my friends like Samantha Bee and

Charlamagne the God. We're going to take some viewer questions as well. I mean, isn't that what democracy is all about? Check out our new season of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. I'm Maria Fernanda Diaz. When You're Invisible is my love letter to the working-class people and immigrants who shaped me. Season 2 shares stories about community and being underestimated.

All the greatest changes have happened when a couple of people said, this sucks, let's do something about it. We get paid to serve you, but we're made out of the same things. It's rare to have black male teachers. Sometimes I am the testament. Listen to When You're Invisible on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, everything OK? Yes, I'm fine. Honey. Hey, I'm here for you. Tell me about school today. When kids can't find the right words, music can help them Sound It Out. Talk to the kids in your life about their emotional well-being.

Find tools and resources at soundedouttogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal Ventures. Had enough of this country? Ever dreamt about starting your own? I planted the flag. This is mine.

I own this. It's surprisingly easy. 55 gallons of water, 500 pounds of concrete. Or maybe not. No country willingly gives up their territory. Oh my God. What is that? Bullets.

Listen to Escape from Zakistan. That's Escape from Z-A-Q-istan on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.