Duck Call Room - Uncle Si Opens Up About the Hidden Cost of War

Episode Date: November 11, 2025

Uncle Si leads a heartfelt sit-down with fellow warriors Jay Stone and Blake Cook, along with Blake’s wife, Nicole, to talk honestly about combat, coming home, and the weight military families carry. Si calls all veterans his heroes, and Blake shares what healing has looked like for his marriage, faith, and daily life after service. The boys and Nicole dig into PTSD, isolation, and why real brotherhood and accountability matter—especially for spouses who shoulder the unseen battles. Jay points to an incredible resource for veterans, and Si encourages those who are struggling, feeling lost, or battling addiction to reach out for help and give Jesus a chance to heal them. - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can we focus the first part on Hunter? Because I got a lot of stories this weekend. Nothing. He got stories, boys. Hey, if you want to go with it. Hunter offered me his personal Netflix, which is not like giving me his password. He's built one.

Wait, you did what? Yeah, let's go. All right, welcome back to the duck call room. It's a wild thing. We're going to talk about real life pirates. No. Is that why you dressed up like a pirate for the Renfair? We're bringing Hunter in.

Because you're a virtual. The people love Scott. Was you a virtual pirate? Not a real one. Was you a virtual pirate? No, no, sir. I was not black beard.

He wasn't black beard. I didn't see him, though. I went to a rent fair in Homa over the weekend with my sister and my aunt and uncle and cousins. A Renn fair. Yeah. And it was Pirate Day. Homa, Louisiana.

Homo. No. I stayed in Homa. It was in Hammond. My mistake. Hammond. His uncle lives at Homa. Yeah.

Hammond is a little closer to the city. I keep on the town. type in Scott when I go to your Instagram. No, it's Hunter Nicknard. At Hunter Nicknard. Go follow him. You should just be at Nick nerd. I don't really know. Oh, he didn't post it. What? Oh, it was in a story. No, he'd go ahead to send it to you.

Oh, send it. Hunter dressed as a pirate. But Hunter's got his own Netflix. No, okay. So, you know, we've been going through some things as the Ellen family. And Hunter, in an effort to cheer me up, which is a great offer because he told me about some movie and I went to watch it and I couldn't find it anywhere. And I, you know, I don't have a spare $4 so I didn't want to rent it. Yeah. You didn't want to go. I was me and that guy.

So Hunter texts me like, hey man, you want to watch that movie? I have a database of movies I've been building and I was like, what? And it didn't make any sense to me. I was like, you download? He goes, no, I bought them all. I'm just host them here. And he sends me a picture of this giant like server. And I said, what is this?

And Hunter's like, basically I made my own Netflix. Really? And he's laughing. Like, what kind of interfaces? How do you get to? So, um, the, This will probably be too nerdy for the audiences. So I'll sum it up real real fast.

You can buy a player, rip the movies that you own, and then you can host it on this app called Plex, which basically acts as a personal Netflix. Oh, okay. So I have built a server to howls all these movies that I have burned from my own collection and a couple friends' movies from their collection, nothing illegal and I wanted to share

some of them with John David and it was super awesome I haven't had a chance to watch a movie yet because I'm all in as long as all y'all purchased and there's a share function where you can like

share it with your friends look hold on check this out Martin my man's just got a whole computer in his house that host his own Netflix how many movies do you own Hunter about 500 better yeah

that's a much better system though because I have two big blue tubs in my what's it called garage just full of old DVDs I bought in college. Are the Christmas lights just a vibe? Yeah. I've got to go to Hunter's apartment one day. There's a vibe going

on to my apartment. Because I feel like it's full of costumes and Christmas light vibes. Hunter the Pirates. Look at Honor. And that's your twin sister? Yeah. She doesn't look very infairy, but you know, either do I. You look like you're having a good time. I had a great time.

Scott, you are so interesting. Ah. Anyways, that's what I've been thinking about. Hunter's like a little new age blockbuster, just hanging out over there. I'm trying to be. A little walking around Red Box, baby. Oh, Scott.

What you got? So did you watch the movie? No, I haven't had a chance. Life's been wild. Yeah. I got you. It's almost that time of year where it's dark at 430, so what else are you going to do?

Yeah, this is the tough time of year. Why is it this cold this morning? Why is it this cold? It was 80 degrees. two days ago. Because the cold front comes through. But why?

Why does that have to happen? That's what's supposed to happen. To bring all the ducks to us. Bring the ducks down. Yeah. Are there ducks? There's a few. Yep.

They're down. He's got a wily grin on his face. That's a hopeful look. We got a few. We got a few. We got a few foul. That's good. I'll have to wait and see that video at another time.

Well, you know what's even better than being able to host all your own movies? What? Being able to get your ducks stamp online at duckstamp.com. Now, that's true. That's, it's just, it's actually probably easier than whatever hunter's doing. Now, that's very true.

Um, yes. No, duckstamp.com, the digital duck stamp. Your life is so easy. Don't lose it. Don't have to worry about signing it. Don't, none of that. It's all good. All I knows, I'm ready for Thanksgiving.

Nothing, nothing warm me up like a Christmas tree cake. I've put on my, uh, I've actually, I stepped on a scale this morning and I said, I'm putting on my hibernating weight. Well, you need to. I don't want to. But what I'm saying is, is January 1st, then it becomes a lot easier. That's true. It's easier to drop the holiday pounds.

I mean, it just... The problem is I put them on and the holidays aren't here. But I'm very excited for them. I mean, Halloween did just end. And I think I've come to a realization that I'm a much bigger fan of fun-sized candy than I am the regular size candy. Like, I don't want a whole Snickers, but you know what I love? A fun-sized snickers. You know what's better?

It's a couple of little bites. You know what's better in a fun-sized snicker? What? Like three fun-sized snickers. Oh, yeah. Because you can fit the whole thing in your mouth. Well, now you're just back to it. And you know what's better than that?

Going to Buckees and getting the pecans that are dipped in milk chocolate. Them chocolate cover pecans. Oh, my goodness. I couldn't find them. Gobwin spotted them after we left. Yeah. But. And then told us.

How do you spot them after you leave? Well, he told us because I walked all over the whole deal and I couldn't find them. And I was looking for them too. So I was eating some chocolate covered almond. And God was like, is that the peak end? I was like, no, I couldn't find them. He said, well, they were right there. Yeah.

They were right there. I mean, that was his answer. They were right there. I was like, right where? I looked on the whole wall of nuts and I could not find them. If I lived close to a Buckees, I would try and do an entire Thanksgiving meal off of Buckees. You could do dessert. You got the turkey.

But Phil ran back in because we spent an hour at Buckees and got us a bag of What's another 30 minutes? Yeah, I mean. You worked on your duck and dressing yet? Nope. Where are they? I didn't gilding a duck ship. Hashtag sage.

Yeah. Do you have all the sage from all the grocery stores? Oh, no, I got the sage. That's good. I may film, Si. Film Si? What? Cook his dressing.

Hey, you should. Let him cook for me. All right. Oh, we could have a dressing battle. No, I ain't taking you on because I really like your. He said bring it. His is good. Unphased.

This is good. Well, I needed to get with Al. Because Al did it for the... Missed it, boys. Some meal and he... Was it that bad? He said, p. Yeah, it wasn't that bad, but he didn't...

He didn't... See, that's tough. I'm afraid, because I'm doing the turkey this year because my Uncle Joe always did the turkey. And if somebody looks at me and goes, you missed it, I will probably cry. Yeah. I've done it with him before, but I mean, I'm an amateur.

It's just one of them things that if somebody does something for years and is really good at it. Really the only way you can. Don't try to pick it up in one setting. Yeah. And the only way you can screw up of fried turkeys if you burn it really. Yeah, don't burn it. But burning it, I mean, that's this extra crispy, which means more skin, which I'm not mad at. Like, you don't want medium rare turkey, I'll say that.

To make sure we get the middle of 165 and life is good. It is cool, though, because I used to fight with my granddaddy over the turkey skin, and now I fight with Carter over the turkey skin. Zazoo, baby. We're just turkey skinners. Pash it down. Oh, man. The dressing is what I'm looking forward to.

I mean, the turkey, too, but the dressing. I'm just a turkey, man. Yeah. I don't need that weird. No, I like the dressing. The cranberry gelatinous. No. Give me the cranberry and the can.

and just plop it out. That's what I want. Are you the kind of like to still see the ripples on the Oh yeah. Oh, yeah. That's good. What is a cranberry? I make, when I make dressing, I make four,

about, well, about 14 casserole dishes. Four of them full. And I, me and my wife, eat all it. Oh, yeah. I eat probably three quarters of it. Mm. Now, do you, what about the cranberry sauce? You like to eat?

I like that on site. Yeah. I was. I like the berries. Yeah, I like the berries. You know, still a little can. You know what? I like ham.

Mm. Yeah. No. Yeah. Now the ham is delicious. All right. Look, springtime is here. It's warming up.

You know what that means. That means more outside cooking. And y'all know. We love to eat beef around here. And that's what because of our friends over at Triedale's beef makes such a good product, baby. Ain't it good? It's so good. It's our friend, Sao Robertson, would say,

Buy on the grill. Look, before we got Triedells, getting ready for a cookout, man, somebody had to run the grocery store, do all the things, grab whatever was left in case you were late in the day. And you never really know where that beef comes from. But with Triedales beef, we skip the grocery store and do it a different way. Triedales comes from a family ranch out in Texas. They're a fifth generation American ranch.

So they've been at it for a while. Now, look, the beef comes straight from their ranch. And other ranchers they work with who raise cattle the same way. their steaks are properly aged and shipped straight from the ranch to your door. We threw a couple of ribbys on the grill. Look, salt, pepper, garlic, hot fire, that's all you need. Look, because I tell you what, when the beef comes from people who raise cattle for a living, you can taste the difference.

The tenderness and the flavor are fantastic. So if you're stocking the freezer for grilling season, go check out Tritale's beef. I know in size case Christine loves it, which is just a, she doesn't eat meat. She isn't a big meat either, folks. Yeah. Just go to Tribalienable. beef.com slash that's trybeef.com slash support ranch families and eat some dang good steak. I did save a recipe I saw on Instagram the other night on some caramel apple glazed ham.

Interesting. They literally, you know that little caramel apple dip? Mm-hmm. They put half of that in the glaze. Oh, really? And I was like, you know, I don't have a smoker right now, but I might have to go get one just to try this. Well, the one, and I've got the glaze, I think, on it, and then it's all sliced up. What's that, the ham?

Yeah, the whole thing. Spiral ham. The spiral. You just take a knife, start cutting you on there. I don't even take a knife. I just take my fingers and start pulling. I did fail with a pig this weekend, though. Then after you get most of the meat off of it,

then you throw the whole bone in a pot of beans. That's whole beans. Yep. Let the horns. Let the horns play for Christmas. Oh, my goodness. I made some chili and I had to do Miss Kay's. Then get Lisa to make some Mexican.

That's it. So I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, prided myself, Sile, and being able to make this Mexican cornbread. And I do it a little different because the Robertsons do it all thin and I just make it like a cake and it's thick. And I had it perfect. I put it on Instagram and I was going to flip it over and people were going to be impressed with me. And then I fell apart. I flipped it over, Sigh.

And it fell apart. Some of the bacon stuck right there at the top. Nope. You know what? That's why you take a... The first thing I'm going after is what is stuck on that. No, no, I was fixed a because that's why you take a special metal. There you go.

slide it around the whole thing and it won't do that the bottom just i thought i had it perfect and the bottom just said not too hot boy what i would give to just take a fork and peel that off there's no i just don't what's in the fridge i said hey hand me that i just want what's in that skill i'll take the bacon yeah let me that let me get it yeah let me get him yeah i love i love that part of food that's why it's a strange looking hot dog but i'm eyeing it too i didn't i didn't work very hard on the hot dog. Those were for the kids. I made Willie's chili and Lisa's Mexican cornbread. Oh, okay. So chili dogs. Okay. Why did we have a hot dog? I forget kids don't really appreciate a bowl of chili. They don't appreciate halapenias in the Mexican. I got a question

out. I got to deal with it. Why do everybody make their chili so thick? Boy, you want it thin? Yeah. That's the way my grandma made it was this. And that's the way I make it. It's pretty thin. I like the first bunch of crackers. Yeah, saltine crackers. Yeah. I'm the same one. I'm the same Yeah, that's the way I don't put beans in mine either. I brought my chili down there to fill one time. I will stand by beans in chili. Phil opened the pot and no, start it. He said, what is the crap is this?

And I said, chili. Well, there's different. That's water. And I said, there's different types of chili, right? Like, to me, there's like, what you just made? Awesome, awesome, Fritos. Oh, yeah. That's good, chintel strength, frito pie chili, right?

So did he? I was just fix a. Like, I could eat a. a whole pot of that. Did he taste it? Huh? No. He's just done like that.

Well, he's just done like that. Nope. Too thin. I said, hey, I like to put crackers in mine, son. Yeah. I said, I don't want it like it's a salsa. Mine's thick. I even tried to thin mine up a little this time and it still came out real thick.

But, you know. It's still good. Did you make Lucky Charms, Chili? Was there like steak off in the middle of that, too? Yeah. But I'm going to be honest, y'all. I ain't got Willie Roy. Robertson money and that that the lucky charms chili has mine had to change up a little bit yeah

i started looking at the price of steak and i was like i don't think i can do well i know i fixed i see that's one of the things that's worth is though if you can afford it you're like buy uh five or six filet mignon and they just cut them up little chunks lucky lucky charm shillard i've done it many times oh no but then i saw the price tag on filet mignon and you just go i saw the price tag on filet mignon and I saw the price tag on beef tips and I said, I'm going to try this. Yeah, try the beef tips. Let me hold that sir long.

How's he doing? It was still good. It was still good. Oh, it's all good. I mean, you smother it down in water, chili powder, onions, bell pepper, all the, all the. Most people don't put enough all of that in there. What's that, the onions and bell pepper?

Yeah, all that. Yeah, I like, I double that on my recipes. Yeah, I slide off a whole fresh alpineo in there, too. Oh, no. Let it cook down. It's a little hot. And it is chilly weather. Oh, I love them halapeno.

Oh, today is gumbo weather. I wish I had the time to make. What's they call them? Oh, Poppers. Poppers. Yeah. Yeah. Ooh.

I could eat. You think you'll eat a whole bunch of them, but you can't. Wrong answer, buddy. Boy, I can. I ain't four and I was stuffed. Yeah. Four is a whole bunch of them. Yeah.

Most people would get four. Hold on, but I thought I could eat eight. Y'all and I said, I tried to a fourth one. I said, I can't eat more. I said there's some left and I can't eat. I hurt myself Saturday night though. What did you eat?

That cornbread, that chili. And I went back for seconds and I ate probably five pieces of cornbread. I haven't. I'm struggling. You'll be all right. That's right. Yeah, you messed up and stepped on. You stepped on them scales just to see what kind of work you had done.

That wouldn't, that wasn't a check progress. I bragged about it. Let me see what I did. Then I went to the bathroom, weighed myself again, was two pounds lighter. That's what I'm calling about. And if you need to get the rest of it out, haul it's your boy Johnny tonight and get you a greasy pizza

and you won't hold on to none of it. You'll just... I ain't doing no pizza. And you're good. I might have a salad or something. I got to reset the innards. Hey, you want to reset your innards. I call it mom.

She got you. Fresh big batch of turnip greens, buddy. Ooh. You will. You will. I'm not a... You will get rid of some mischievous bowel If you got any left, son.

I'm out on collard greens. Turnip green. Turnip green. Very different. You just don't like green. Mustard greens? He's out. I'm a mustard runger.

It tastes like mustard. You don't like mustard? It's just a weird combination to eat something green that tastes like mustard. I thought you loved mustard. I know. I use mustard as an egg wash. I don't eat it. That's why I got it.

That's why he had 472 packets. And I love a corn dog. Sue me. with mustard on it. Oh, no. If A&E would have left the packets turned over, you'd have seen a Sonic logo on the front of it because I love a corn dog.

So deal with it. But, you know, they got to pay for that advertising. But I like Sonic. The, no, there is a time in a man's life where he's young

and his refrigerator only has condiments in it. Especially for a guy that don't eat the condiments, but they give it to you, but he's too cheap to throw him away. insert me. Yeah, yours just got aired on national TV. Yeah, that's fine. No problem.

Me and Drew needed a roommate in college one time, and we thought about putting an ad out, and it was going to start with, do you like condiments? Do you like that? Because it's all that's in our French. Yeah. Yeah, at that age, yeah,

there's condiments and a thing of bacon soda that keep the stink out. Keep the stank out. We weren't even smart enough to do that. Yeah. We do have a fun more coming for y'all in honor of Veterans Day, which is today. Thank you, veterans, for your service. We have our friends.

We have three veterans. Is his wife a veteran? She was too. She served as well. Okay, yeah, I couldn't remember. So we got our friend Blake Cook and his wife, Nicole, who both served. And we obviously have Uncle Si and Jay Stone coming to talk to you a little bit in honoring our veterans. And this Veterans Day, we want to take this time before we jump over to that to say thank you to all the veterans who give us the opportunity to sit right here in Opine about nothing.

Thank you to the families of the veterans. veterans who also are sacrificing right alongside our veterans while they're out there on the front lines you are back home defending all those so thank you and look there's been a lot of stuff in the news too about mental health going on we saw the young man for the Dallas Cowboys who man you think you think you reach the pinnacle of what you do right you're a defensive guy and you score a touchdown on Monday night football and it still wasn't enough for that young man so check on your people this holiday season, man, because holidays, while they can definitely be joyous and they should be joyous, they come with a lot of different hurts and scars and

and all those things. So guys, like, we know a lot of men listen to this. Don't be too proud, man. Ask for help. Ask for help. Ask for help from your buddies. But most importantly, man, ask for help from Jesus, from God, from the Holy Spirit, the author of help. The perfector of help. we're going to turn it over to Blake Nicole, Uncle Sy, and Jay Stone. So thank you all so much. Hope you all have a happy Veterans Day. And we'll see y'all next time right here in the Duck Call Room.

We're out. Well, Cy, it's Veterans Day, and we have a room full of veterans. I'll tell you. Okay, I've already told him. Okay. We never get to tell. Y'all've got any kids? We do.

Okay. We never get to tell Mom and the kids. Okay. Thank you for your service. Because with dad is deployed, okay, that affects you and the kid. It does. So, you know, thank you for serving with him, okay, because he's in, you're in too. Okay, most people don't realize that.

If they don't know someone that's involved in the military, they don't know what the spouse and the young ones go through. Oh, yeah. Okay. We were talking about this yesterday with somebody, I think, with Zach. You know, when we deploy, we have a team. We have people that we deploy with. We have friends and brothers and all that. You know, if you think about it, we leave with our brothers, our sisters.

Yeah. And it's a lot easier for you to leave with your comrades. Who do they really have? Yeah. No, no. You know, it's... The women at the house, taking care of the kids, going to the grocery store, raising the children, making sure everybody's school on time, making sure everybody's

bath and the system. Yeah. With me, my son actually went to visit his sister in Texas. And, you know, he hadn't talked to me or his mom. Well, he joined the Army. And I'd always told him, I said, no, you need to go to college and get you a degree. Okay. But he joined, and like when he was in Iraq, okay, my prayer to God every night was, please do not let anybody in uniform knock on my door.

Yeah. Because there are so many people that have had that experience and been told that their son, their father, you know, your husband, you know, has been killed in action. Yeah, that's got to be. was a daily prayer I said every night. But it's probably something that you thought about every day. Oh, no. Yeah.

You know. Because, you know, most people, like I said, if they're not affiliated with someone that's in the military, they don't understand it. No. No. No. The man that serves or the woman that serves,

because there's a lot of women that are married, they serve. Yeah. And leave the husband and with the kids at home. Okay. So it's a, It's a big deal, okay, and it's a rough life, okay, being without the one you chose to live your life.

There's just as much worry, stress, anxiety for the family that's left behind, probably more so than the soldier that's actually been employed. It is, because we've got each other in the unit. Oh, and I remember when I signed up, when I found out I was going to Afghanistan, My grandfather was a World War II vet. He was on the second wave at Normandy. So he was in it.

And I remember him telling me, he said, I served enough for all of you. Yeah. But I'm proud of it. Come back. So he never shaved his beard while I was deployed. And when I got back, he had that old beard down to here, and the next day he had it shaved off.

Me and my fellow soldiers used to talk about this all the time. And then Phil knew I was in the Army and he never said anything. Well, when he went overseas, preached to the gospel, and he went all the places that Paul went. Well, he also went to Normandy and, you know, both. He looked at both ways. He was up on the cliff where the Germans was. And then he went on the beach where the Americans landed.

But when he come back, he said, I owe you apology, brother. And I said, what are you telling me? He said, I never told you that I appreciate you serving our nation. He said, since I've been over there and seen what they did on the beaches of Normandy, he said, it opened my eyes. Yeah. Of what you guys actually do. And we used to, all me and my soldiers that I've served with, we used to talk about it.

I always said, hey, I don't, I don't measure up to the guy that hits a Normandy people. They'll never be another generation. Because they gave, and these were farmers' sons. Okay. That joined up, okay, my dad was in World War II. They joined up and crossed the ocean for people they had never met. Yeah. Okay, that Hitler was abusing, you know.

Yeah. I mean, that takes a lot to be that young and understand that you've got to be a protector. I was actually lucky enough that I was involved in a movie called Fate of Our Fathers, and it was about two kids that had lost their dad in Vietnam. And they actually brought me in the movie really just for comic relief. But they kept interviewing me, and they asked me questions, and I said, well, I said, how do I say this? And I said, let me make a statement before I do because I don't want anybody to misunderstand.

I said, when they sent me to Vietnam, and I said, and this was most of the people that went to Vietnam, we were kids. Yeah. We were 18 to 21 years old. With no support when you got home. Yeah. And I said, and I'm not being disrespectful, especially to those that served. I said, because I've told y'all before, y'all are my heroes. If you've served our nation, okay, and that's mom and dad and kids, you know,

because, hey, it affects all of us. You know, I said, you know, we were kids and, you know, they had company commanders that was 21 years old that were ordering men to their death. And then people don't understand that because, like I said before, if you are not involved with a family member or somebody close and really know the ends and out about Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine. Okay.

Them all four of them, okay, are they're a big family, okay? It's a brotherhood. Yeah, it's definitely a brotherhood, okay? And those that have been in combat, okay, they're actually closer than blood kin. Mm-hmm. because here's what they've been doing.

They've been covering each other's back, keeping each other alive. Right now. So that creates a bond, you know, that will never be broken. And to be honest, back then, World War II, Vietnam, North Korean War, you guys, they would come home and there was no support system. There was no therapy available. Well, it was better in World War II, you know, but then like the Cold Wars, like Vietnam and Korea, okay.

Yeah, because when the veterans from World War II and World War came home, they were given an honorary parade thanking them for what they've done. Yeah. Okay. Then the people have lost their minds, okay, and when the other soldiers that come back from wars wasn't treated right. And a lot of them, like I said, they were lucky, okay, because, you know, they, it was in the news somewhere that somebody pulled a gun and started shooting, and he messed up and shot out a veteran.

Well, the veteran pulled his gun and killed him. And that's why I said, hey, when you're feeling with a vet, you don't know what you're feeling with. Well, you know, Sire blows my mind that you'd get deployed to Vietnam, put your life on the line. go through all kinds of physical and mental, just horrific things. You come home and then they had people spitting on them. Just the disrespect and the abuse that the Vietnam veterans in particular took.

And those same people that were doing all that, they're the ones that spawned all this evil and depraved. Junk is going on right now. It's going on right now. And it just keeps growing. Of course, you know, I think we might have hit a crossroads. We've seen to be making some progress here lately. More patriotism.

You know, young people these days are seeing the light, so to speak. All the services have met their goals ahead of time. The last thing we need is to send more people off to war to come back. And now we've got to figure out, figure out how to, fix these guys. Like, we haven't even fixed the ones that from Vietnam and, and from Afghanistan and Iraq, we haven't even fixed this problem yet. Like, and it's, it's, especially on the spouses, like, yeah, like, like, for me, I was 22 years old when I got sent off, right? I was this, he'll tell you, like, I was this innocent kid. Oh my gosh. I'm from the country that was,

I came back home and, and I was, I've been different ever since. And, and, and it's that brotherhood. And she was, And she was the one that had to pick me up and the world beat me down. And she's still carrying me, still picking me up every day. Almost 15 years later, it's almost in a way traumatic for both people in the marriage because, you know, the man or the woman that gets deployed or they experience what they do in another country. And then it's traumatic for the spouse that they come home to because. they left one person and came back a totally different person. They have almost like dead eyes, you know, not very many responses to things that spouse say or do,

whether it's funny or it's sad or anything. A lot of things change. And so that spouse taking that in because they love that. Well, no, no. You know, they learn to adapt emotionally and physically. and they have to learn how to read the room constantly. That's why Billy Graham and his son, they've got a place up in Alaska.

I really never thought about it, okay? But those soldiers that got wounded in Vietnam didn't get a welcome home coming. Because they went from the battlefield to a hospital. and then they may have spit their eight months, two months, a year, so they never got it. So I actually got involved with that and actually got to welcome a bunch of vets home. That's awesome. That's awesome, Cy.

You know, and I'm bawling like a baby, and I'm starting to tear up right now. Okay, because these guys get off, okay, and women that served, okay, and we are hugging each other, when all of us are crying. Okay, but, you know, she said it, okay. He left. My husband left me, okay, but when he come back, I've got to, I've got to deal with a totally new person. And to be honest, I will never see that person that I married ever again.

No. You just don't. No, no, because here's the thing that, you know, this hundred days coming up. I'm still beautiful. Yeah, you are. You're actually more beautiful now than you were. He got some pretty legs. I mean, he's just pretty from head of time.

But this is for Venting Day, and again, guys, I've told you this a million times. Hey, you are my heroes if you wore our nation's uniform and served. Okay, but most people don't understand what you go through. So, hey, look with them on kindness because they're doing it out of ignorance. Yeah. And all they need is love. Yeah. You don't have to understand everything they have done or they did all the details of their job.

Because they're never going to tell you. No. No, they're not. Okay, because, hey, number one, okay, the human being should not have to do what our veterans have had to do in wartime. Yeah. And I'll give you an example to show you how harsh it is. Okay. You've got people that are a military unit that is deployed in a war zone.

Their brothers. It's a brotherhood. Okay. They're serve, okay, and they protect each other. Well, you're in war, and here comes a kid, okay, that's got a suicide vest on. And he's walking toward your brothers in arms. Well, you've got two choices. You can let him walk up to your brothers

and push the button on that suicide vest and kill some of your brothers or you kill him. Well, hey, those that you've got kids, like I said, this is something that no one should have to do. But a choice has to be made here. Do you kill one person or let him kill 15? Yeah.

You take him out. An impossible choice. Yeah. You take him out. you know a lot of people okay and then you've got to live with that in your mind you can see it every time you think about it you can see it yeah well that affects you well sure it does you know i mean and most men and women that that served they're proud and when they come back they have issues they don't want to admit it and uh well it's hard to ask for help that's right

it's hard to ask for help but there are programs out of out there. One in particular, I think is the best one for veterans with PTSD is the Mighty Oaks Foundation. Their success rate is far beyond any other program. A lot of people don't believe that exists. Phenomenal program. I've actually, my son lived beside me after he got back from Iraq for a couple of years. He was a recruiter.

I actually had to help his wife. He had an episode. I actually had to, we had to lift him out of the car because he mentally shut down because he met a guy that was homeless right here in West Monroe and he talked to my buddy, Philip, Macmillan, was talking to him, how do I help him? Well, when he done that, it took him back

to when he was shoving prisoners back from the battlefield to where they was going to incarcerate him. and his mind shut out. Okay, so it's real. Oh, yeah. Okay, yeah. And look, a doctor out of college, he don't know what to do with a veteran that's going through this kind of stuff.

Just give him medication. He has no clue what he went through. Same with therapists. I've been to a couple, and you're talking, and they're just writing things down, and they don't know what you've been through. So you automatically just start shutting down. And honestly, I think that's, you know, if any veteran is listening to this,

struggling with thought of suicide, like understand that's not the answer and understand that if you're drinking because of that, right? You know, some people can drink and it's fine. If you're struggling mentally, you know, you've got to put that bottle down and pick up the Bible. Because when you're drinking, you're running from something. And when you pick the Bible up, you're running to something. And you need Jesus. We got the church that has got Celebrate Recovery,

a guy that I know started that. Okay. Jesus is Celebrate Recovery. Yeah. Okay. And I actually, the chaplain at Fort Polk called me and said, Mr. Robertson, would you please come down and speak to our vets? We're losing too many dues to suicide.

So I said, yeah, I'd be glad to. So I'm worried about speaking there. You know, what am I going to tell them all this? So I went to church Wednesday night, Thursday morning, I got to speak to the troops. And we had an elder that told his story, his conversion story. Well, after he got through, I went up to him and I said, hey, do you mind if I tell you your story?

Because I got to go to speak to your soldiers. And he said, no, I don't mind. But look, that's where I told him in, and I told him, after I spoke about 45 minutes, I said, hey, I'm about done. I'm going to wrap it up with a verse in the Bible. Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11. This is the Almighty God talking.

You have no idea the plans I have for you. Not to harm you, but to bless you and give you hope and a future. Yeah. You just have to believe. This is for Veterans Day, for all. All those that served, especially our combat vets, okay, please don't harm yourself. Yeah, there's hope. So like...

Seek help. Yeah, I mean... Go surround yourself, find the veterans that live in your area. Yeah. Okay, and go to them, and then they may help you go to someone that can't help you. And like I said before, Jesus is a celebration. break recovery. Yeah.

But if you go to the Lord, he'll help you through whatever you're going through. Yeah. And you'll come out of a winter on top. When I came back from my deployment and I was in my therapy and started watching Duck Dynasty and it, you know, and I was having some PTSD stuff and that show kept me grounded. When I became a cop and I was in the gang unit, I was struggling with PTSD.

And then being a cop, I got even more PTSD on top of what I already have, which I never fix. And then, you know, I was drinking and then, you know, we would watch Duck Dynasty and it would evoke my curiosity back to Jesus and it would ground me. And to think that, you know, years down the road, like a lot of people who are close to me and I don't, I don't want to sound like, because I'm here, right? But Duck Dynasty and you guys and your family, like you, we talk about veteran suicide, like, like, you know, y'all kept me alive. Like, she knows it. And y'all don't, y'all, y'all don't know it.

But, you know, and it's crazy how Jesus works because, like, truly, honestly, like, I'm not just like a fan. Like, I'm, like, I love y'all and I don't even know you. But, you know, y'all have had such an impact on my life from 22 years old. Yeah. As a wounded vet to 36 years old. You know, when I, this is how great Jesus is, man. Oh, no. And I fully surrendered to him.

I find myself months later. Yeah. Like when I fully surrendered, not as a believer, when I fully, because what happened with me is I was sitting in a vehicle, and I put my head on the steering wheel, and I was going to kill myself, and I put my head on the steering wheel, and I said, God, please don't send me to hell,

please don't send me to hell. I'm just in pain. And I went to grab my gun and my phone rang. And I picked the phone up instead of the gun. Yeah. And I fully surrendered to him at that moment. This is how crazy Jesus works. I'm sitting here at the daggone freaking duck commander warehouse.

The thing that like kept me alive, the hope, the Jesus. You know, it wasn't that y'all talked about Jesus. It was Jesus poured out of y'all when you spoke by your actions. A light. and feels prayers and the knowledge that Phil Robinson just put out there like man like I owe y'all so much that I you know I can't even it's not a fan thing it's a thank you like thank you because y'all helped a veteran out that didn't even know it and I was in such trouble and when I fully surrendered to Jesus I've met everybody I just had a gag on conversation with Willie like

That's Jesus. That's Jesus. Well, no, no. Because you're saying just what, okay, that is Jesus. Okay, that's why I actually give the challenge. Okay. Look, you guys are out there and girls are my heroes. Please don't harm yourself.

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Jesus created you and he's got a purpose, okay, and a plan for you. I say it all the time. You can't have a testimony without being put through a test. Yeah.

Well, that's what makes you who you are. Yes. Okay. And look, actually, this is just my thought. You know, I think the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has a special relationship with every veteran. Oh, yeah. I really do. Because number one, what are you doing?

Jesus left heaven to serve us. Yeah. Well, hey, all our veterans are, that's what they're doing. They're serving our nation for crying that loud. So look, hey, all I got to tell you is, hey, if you're hurting, please go get help. Yeah. Put the bottle down. Yeah.

Drinking. Drinking won't solve it. Okay. Drugs won't solve it. Okay, you need someone to tell you, okay, God loves you, okay, all three of them, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and then, hey, a lot of the people that know you love you. Yeah. If you put the bottle down, you will realize that and quit allowing, quickly getting drunk

and letting the devil think you that the reason why you're in this predicament is because of God. No, no, no, my friend, God is not putting you there. God is actually walking with you in this hard time. You want to know what true love is. That temporary relief that you find in drunkness or being high, that temporarily relief, that's temporary. Yeah. You want to find permanent love.

Man, you go say, God, I'm yours. Yeah. I'm getting chills. You go say Jesus. I'm yours. That's love. You want to feel loved again? You go give your life to Jesus.

I just did okay, and I had the bracelet. I'm second. I did an interview with them. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So look, and that's what I told everybody. I said, you're looking at a 77-year-old kid, okay, trapped in a 77-year-old body. Okay.

We've seen that. And I'm looking back. I'm looking back. Okay. And I said, here's a news flash for you. Jesus has always been there. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

When I was in Vietnam, I'll use a movie line. Star Wars. Dark Vader says, told his son Luke, come over to the dark side. In my worst time, I was in Vietnam with the dark side. I was Jesus' enemy. I was running with the devil. Yeah. And the devil was.

He never left. And here's the thing. There's a painting that's called. is called footprints in the sand. Oh, I love that one. Okay, and it's about a man that's, uh, is, just,

he's ready to kill himself. And he said, Lord, where were you when I needed you the most? He was carrying. And he says, hey, uh,

there, sir. He said, you're not, them are not your footprints. He said, them are my footprints and I've got you in my loving arms. Yeah.

I'm carrying. you. Yeah. Well, that's why I'm telling all our veterans that are hurting and need help. Y'all, don't listen to the devil. Drugs won't do it. Alcohol won't do it. You need help.

Okay. And look, you can confess it to another vet, especially if both of you's went through combat, because, hey, he's got some of the same issues you've got. You know, that drinking and drugs, that's just a Band-Aid. That's not a permanent. Yeah, it's a temporary. But I will say this, every really bad thing that's happened to me in my life, there's always been something really good that came out of it.

Well, God can take the worst of the worst, okay, and make it the best of the best. Yeah. He can take your weaknesses and turn it into it. and make it you become strong. Actually, the other day I texted my husband this, I wish you could find it in your cell phone, but the quote about anything that has been taken from you or that you have lost,

whether it's a loved one or just anything painful that you've gone through. God will, if you follow him and you love him with your whole heart, he will give it back to you in multiple. Oh, no. Job. Job is the perfect example. That's what she's referring to.

Job lost everything. Yeah. He lost the riches. He lost all of his family. Came down with a sickness. After God got through with him, he had four times as much. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. You know, it's... Hey, you're not going to lose with the Almighty. No, no. Well, you know what's cool about Blake's story. He went to therapy and all that. And therapy didn't work, but watching Uncle Say it worked. Yeah.

I did, man. I'm telling you. You're listening to field. And having God in his heart. Well, no, no, because here's the prime example. Okay. Dynasty really saved my brother. My brother just died two and a half months ago.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. 14th of May. Oh, my. Okay. And look, he was, he had a, a, uh, his quality of life was, home. Yeah.

So every night I would pray for Phil. And I would pray this. Father, his quality of life is gone. He's ready to come home. Well, God answered that. Okay, I miss him terribly.

Okay, but here's the thing. You know, people ask me one time, I'm a mama's boy. You know, and they said, what are you going to do when your mother dies. Well, if you had asked me a long time ago, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I said, but now I can tell you. I'm the last standing Robertson of James H. and Merritt Robertson's kid of the family.

I'm the last man standing. Wow. Okay. And you know what? What? I told everybody when they said, man, sorry here about Phil. I said, hey, don't be sorry. Yeah.

I know where he's at and I know he's happy. Okay. And he's got, he's got, he ain't where he used to be. No. With dementia and hurting, back trouble with all this other garbage that, you know, comes with old age. Hey, he's home with Jesus Christ, the Father and the Holy Spirit. That cutting in heaven. Well, yeah.

I can feel it. Oh, no. Somebody. Somebody acting out of business of that. Robinson makes it to heaven and one million of Jim Mallard Drake. I ain't realtor of Drake. I saw that. Yeah.

It was a picture of him. Yeah. It was a hundred. hundred ducks we're coming to attack him yeah dude they're so funny no no i died life and hey i's kind creepy you know sigh every morning when i'm out on that hunting property making the rounds working farming whatever he's actually there would i can feel oh no no no i moved i moved to blind and i'm like something is he was telling me yeah he would put that blind in the wrong place No, no.

Hey, or you all were talking about, well, I do I should have done it a little different. Yeah. I would have said, hey, you ain't doing that, right? Yeah. Yeah. So funny. Oh, my God. Guys, hey, we've been, when it's been, and we fix to wrap it up.

Yeah. But again, hey, look, we know that you went through stuff you shouldn't go through. But, hey, please take my advice. Get helps from another veteran or get helps from your friends. Okay, and please do not harm yourself because, hey, look, God has got a plan and a purpose for you being here. He created you especially for that. You have no idea what he's got for you and what good you may do. And I'll say it again, if you're struggling, go look up the guys at Mighty Oaks.

Yeah, they're incredible. Man, they do so much good. And the people that run that organization. Twin Towers, stains. That's phenomenal. They do good work with veterans. Guys,

you ever find yourself in a dark spot? You're talking to yourself. Quit talking to yourself and talk to Jesus. Yeah. And just wait one more day. I see that. My husband has that written on his, it's like a piece of wood.

Today sucks. Just wait one more day. Don't get in no hurry. Yeah. Yeah. Wait. Oh, look. Hey, look here again.

Love you. Take care. yourself and have a very good veterans day. Yeah, love you guys. Thank you for everything.