00:00:00.000There's no better way to celebrate America's 250th than to take some time to thank and appreciate our veterans.
00:00:05.000Joining me on the line is Clint Romache.
00:00:06.000He's a former Army Staff Sergeant, Combat Veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, and Pure Talk brand ambassador.
00:00:12.000And today he continues to advocate for veterans and serves as a board member for America's Warrior Partnership, working with Pure Talk to support the veteran community.
00:00:20.000Clint, thanks so much for taking the time.
00:00:32.000You know, being called a hero is always kind of an interesting thing, Ben, because for me, like, true heroes are those that don't come home.
00:00:56.000What ensues out of that is a 15 hour firefight.
00:00:59.000Again, like I said, we ended up losing eight amazing men.
00:01:03.000But yet, it's kind of weird when you kind of go through combat, how much love you see for your fellow soldiers to your left and right as kind of the dust settled on that outpost because it's set in such a vulnerable spot.
00:01:16.000The military deemed it an indefensible position, but I can tell you this I got to watch 50 Americans defend the indefensible.
00:01:22.000And it wasn't because of politics or any of that, it's because they loved each other so much and the enemy hated us.
00:01:28.000And it was that love overcoming and knowing you have someone to have your back thick and thin when you have a uniform on.
00:01:34.000And more importantly, when you take the uniform off, you still have.
00:01:37.000Those that are always going to have your back.
00:01:41.000So, you know, your specific actions obviously ended with you being awarded the Medal of Honor.
00:01:46.000What was that day like for you on a specific level?
00:01:49.000You know, for me, it was, it kind of sounds weird, Ben, when I say this.
00:01:53.000It felt like the first day I did my job in the military.
00:01:56.000You know, we always, growing up, you know, you think I grew up, my dad was a Vietnam vet, my granddad in World War II.
00:02:05.000You think of war heroes and stuff as Chuck Norris and all these combat action videos.
00:02:10.000But it was really a sense of just doing your job.
00:02:12.000And for that day, it felt like I got to do it.
00:02:15.000And it was leading guys, you know, at one point the enemy had breached our perimeter, was inside our wire.
00:02:22.000We knew that there were guys that were cut off, isolated.
00:02:25.000We had no idea if they were alive or dead.
00:02:27.000And the big fear became, you know, thinking about coming back home and having to tell a Gold Star family, didn't bring your son home.
00:02:35.000So initially it was leading a group of guys to go counterattack the enemy that had us outnumbered, had us outgunned.
00:02:42.000Pushing them off our ammo supply points so we could continue to fight because we were running out of ammo, shut the front gate so they couldn't just keep pushing in on us and then go into recover those followed heroes so the enemy couldn't get them.
00:02:55.000It was kind of one of those surreal things where you're kind of just living life by the moment, but you also understand that, you know, we don't need to win this here now.
00:03:14.000Getting guys to believe in me to follow me when I asked them to basically go on a what was potentially going to be a one way mission of counterattacking an enemy that had us outgunned eight to one odds.
00:03:25.000Um, that had us you know out, out, you know, just out manned, out situated, out maneuvered.
00:03:32.000They had the high ground, there was no place you could be outside where you weren't exposed, but they trusted enough in me to follow.
00:03:39.000Um, and I was just so proud to be along their sides to be able to provide that support.
00:04:23.000And now he's a guidance counselor out in Cleveland, Ohio for a high school.
00:04:27.000Like what he's done afterlife has been amazing.
00:04:30.000Every generation of Americans inherits something precious.
00:04:33.000The freedoms we enjoy, the opportunities we pursue.
00:04:35.000Those things were preserved by people willing to sacrifice on behalf of others.
00:04:38.000Men and women who put on a uniform and answered the call when their country needed them.
00:04:41.000As America approaches its 250th birthday, that's worth remembering.
00:04:45.000It's also why Pure Talk is partnering with America's Warrior Partnership to raise $250,000 for veterans by the end of July.
00:04:51.000America's Warrior Partnership is on the front lines of preventing veterans suicide by helping veterans access housing, transportation, counseling, VA benefits, and other essential services.
00:04:59.000They focus on practical support that helps veterans build Stable, successful lives after service.
00:05:05.000When you switch your cell phone service to Pure Talk, you'll have the opportunity to round up your bill in support of America's Warrior Partnership.
00:05:11.000Pure Talk will match donations until they reach $250,000.
00:05:14.000So, you'll be supporting veterans while getting unlimited talk, unlimited text, and unlimited high speed data for just $34.99 a month, a fraction of what the major carriers charge.
00:05:23.000As we celebrate 250 years of American freedom, let's make sure we're standing behind the people who helped defend it.
00:05:28.000Go to puretalk.comslash Shapiro to make the switch over to Pure Talk.
00:05:31.000Again, that's puretalk.comslash Shapiro to switch to my wireless company, America's wireless company.
00:05:37.000Patriotism isn't just something you feel on the 4th of July.
00:05:39.000It's how you choose to support the people who've served this country when they come home.
00:05:42.000You can help out by joining Pure Talk.
00:05:44.000So let's talk about that transition back to civilian life.
00:05:48.000So, obviously, we hear all the time about how difficult it is for a lot of veterans to transition back to civilian life, being from the firefight back into what we would normally consider normal life.
00:06:01.000And how is it that America's Warrior Partnership helps out?
00:06:05.000You know, each veteran, um, You know, we look at them kind of overall as a mass, you know, and we understand they have certain difficulties, but really it comes down to 1v1.
00:06:15.000Each veteran has their own unique experience.
00:06:18.000And as you make that transition, one of the biggest things we've noticed is just that, that lent, uh, that loss of kind of self-identity.
00:06:25.000You're part of something bigger and then all of a sudden you're out.
00:06:27.000Um, the guys, like I can still tell you to this day what Raz's feet smell like.
00:06:41.000And losing that kind of sense of identity and connection really kind of makes it hard for veterans to kind of trust to going out and experiencing something that many of them haven't done.
00:06:53.000That's the one thing in the military as a leader that you're trying to tell your soldiers what to do.
00:06:58.000Because leaders always lead from example, lead from the front.
00:07:01.000But that's the first thing you do as a leader in the military that you've never done, that you're trying to lead your guys' advice on.
00:07:08.000And so when a lot of them get out into the civilian world, Most of the time, they just don't know what they don't know.
00:07:13.000And that's where America, where a partnership steps in.
00:07:16.000And we've understood like there's so many great nonprofit veterans out there that specialize in certain things.
00:07:22.000We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but we need to know these veterans and we need to plug them in with those, you know, those opportunities, those earned benefits, help them navigate the VA, help them write resumes, help them find proper employment, not just hiring veterans to hire veterans.
00:07:39.000That's one of our great initiatives if you know a vet, tell a vet.
00:07:43.000There's what almost 16 million veterans out in the US.
00:07:48.000We need to know all of them because each and every one of them are very unique and the challenges they face.
00:07:56.000Yeah, when it comes to you personally and reintegrating into civilian life, obviously a lot of people struggle to find a purpose after experiencing what for a lot of folks would be sort of the height of camaraderie and the height of sort of visceral experience of life.
00:08:14.000For me, it was, you know, I got up to North Dakota, I started getting work in the oil fields.
00:08:19.000And for me, I'd understood that even though my time in the military was precious and I Will never, you know, never have that taken away from me.
00:08:28.000That's not who I was going to always have to be.
00:08:31.000And I had the mentality that when I got out, the only thing I was ever owed was the opportunity to prove myself.
00:08:37.000And I knew I had to start from somewhere and just prove it.
00:08:40.000And like I said, I didn't know what I was actually going to be doing in the oil fields.
00:08:43.000And I went from little man on the totem pole to managing eight hydro excavator trucks, learning how to be a safety guy.
00:08:50.000But it was those tools the military gave me that so many veterans bring to the table.
00:08:54.000We just don't know how to convey that, how we can convey, Hey, we've got initiative in the absence of orders.
00:08:59.000You know, we, we know what wrong looks like and we can confront it.
00:09:03.000We have tact to be able to talk to various different, you know, people from around America.
00:09:09.000Um, those are those soft skills that you kind of take for granted getting out of the military and the breakdown of communication.
00:09:50.000So, yeah, obviously, Pure Talk is partnered with America's Warrior Partnership in order to help veterans.
00:09:55.000Maybe you can talk a little bit about what that partnership looks like and why it's so important for people to support it.
00:10:00.000You know, Pure Talk's been an amazing partner with America's Warrior Partnership.
00:10:05.000The roundup that they've been doing with their customers.
00:10:07.000I mean, so many Americans always come up and, you know, want to thank you for your service.
00:10:13.000And they, you know, I didn't serve, but felt like I should do more.
00:10:16.000Well, service to the country doesn't have to come from wearing the uniform, it comes from showing up and doing what you can.
00:10:21.000And I think to date, right now, just what the roundup of the customers from Pure Talk have been doing has raised almost $750,000 for America's Warrior Partnership.
00:10:33.000One of the other great things that has come out of the partnership with Peer Talk and AWP is one of our initiatives known as Deeds Not Words.
00:10:41.000So there are so many veteran nonprofits out there.
00:10:43.000There are a lot of resources available for veterans, but there are always those one offs that they come against the challenge and there's nothing to really fill the gap.
00:10:53.000One example, real quick, was we had a veteran that had got into a new work opportunity, was trying to pursue that, and he needed $300 to buy the tools to get to his new job.
00:11:04.000So he's trying to come off his disability, trying to Improve himself.
00:11:08.000He didn't have the $300 for these tools to work this new job that was going to lift him up.
00:11:14.000And it's great to see those Americans that will step in, like Peer Talk and the military leadership that they come out of, to say, hey, sometimes we need to do something, not just talk about doing it.
00:11:28.000Like, let's make action when others talk about action.
00:11:32.000And that partnership between Peer Talk, America Warrior Partnership, and all of those that are supporting it has been just hands down so amazing.
00:11:42.000Well, Clint Romache, former Army Staff Sergeant and a Medal of Honor recipient, thank you so much for your time.
00:11:47.000And obviously, thanks so much for your service and everything you continue to do for America's warriors today.
00:11:59.000Well, you know, if you think so, head on over to dailywire.comslash subscribe to watch the full show ad free or check out this crazy story here.