Hometown Hero Outdoors

Behind the Scenes of the American Legion: Insights from Commander Paul Wade

• Hometown Hero Outdoors • Season 2 • Episode 12

Share episode

Send us a text

This episode is one you don't want to miss - Paul Wade, a seasoned veteran and 10th generation Texan, joins us on the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. Paul, with over 22 years of military service and two Purple Hearts to his name, brings a wealth of wisdom and experience. As he shares how his deep family ties to the military have shaped his life, you'll feel a newfound appreciation for the dedication of our servicemen and women.

We also spotlight the American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization. Paul, as the commander of the American Legion Post 196 in Texas, gives us an inside look at the organization's work, from maintaining social spaces and computer labs for veterans to arranging dinners during meetings. And it doesn't stop there. Paul lets us in on the myriad of grants, programs, and scholarships that many veterans might not even know exist. With touching stories of those who have benefited from these resources, it's clear that help is available in many forms.

Above all, we discuss a critical issue - suicide prevention among veterans. The American Legion's efforts to provide free seminars on this topic are crucial, and we delve into how we can all contribute to this cause. Paul emphasizes the vital role that family and community play in supporting our veterans, drawing from his own experience as a volunteer driver. We round off the discussion with details of the upcoming American Legion Post 196 Shotgun Shootout, a fundraiser dedicated to aiding veterans. Tune in to learn more about this noble cause and how you can support our hometown heroes.

Produced by Phil Ewert Productions

Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions

hometownherooutdoors.org

Speaker 1:

In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement was born. Welcome to Hometown Hero Outdoors. We are dedicated to honoring our military service members, veterans and first responders by providing them with unforgettable outdoor recreational opportunities. We believe those who have served and sacrificed so much for our country and communities deserve a chance to reclaim their spirit and find healing in the great outdoors. This is Hometown Hero Outdoors. Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. Here is your host, chris Taitrow.

Speaker 2:

And we have another Wednesday here at the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. Welcome back everyone. I thank you for tuning in today. We have a very good episode for today that we're going to discuss an individual who has a very colorful history and we're excited to have him here. His name is Paul Wade and we also have Sean Olesberg here who is our serving vice president, so we're going to hop into Paul's bio here.

Speaker 2:

Paul has quite the experience. So Paul has 22-plus years of military service. Plus he has 40 years of experience creating, implementing and marketing innovative training and research programs for training OEM companies, aircraft manufacturers if I can talk air carriers, us and foreign militaries, gaming, manufacturing and integration companies, universities and vocational technology schools. He has placed him in a unique position of being one of the few people in the world who has worked in all five areas military, gaming, entertainment and commercial and manufacturing, support of the virtual simulation and training industries. These years of experience, plus an extensive background in developing and running small businesses, has provided him with a totally unique perspective toward both the marketing and implementation of training and support programs.

Speaker 2:

This experience and operational expertise is what is needed to assist the American Legion and its different programs expand the training and support roles. They need to bring a strong working knowledge of different programs available to the veterans and their families within the American Legion. He has been approached by many people and companies and a couple publications on how he might use experience as a consultant and small business owner to assist these different groups to structure their future within the industry. He has decided it's time for him to take up the issue and respond to these requests. So, paul, thank you very much. I'm just going to kind of go over a little bit here and we'll touch on these things a little bit throughout the evening. So we have you as being former Army. You have served in many different roles being enlisted. You're a non-commissioned officer. You ended up being a warrant officer and a commissioned officer. So that's pretty unique for our world.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, wow is right. He has an honorable discharge. He's also retired and 90% disabled. So, paul, thank you for being here and thank you for your service and your time, your support, and then also represent the American Legion. So thank you very much and a Purple Heart recipient. Purple Heart. I missed that part. I apologize.

Speaker 4:

You didn't even put it on. Well, actually I have two Purple Hearts, but yes, two, thank you man. Yeah, first one was in 69, second one was in 72. It only took him 52 years to give me my Purple Hearts, from when I was wounded.

Speaker 2:

But Reps John.

Speaker 4:

Carter and his team actually got it for me.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself? Who are you, where are you from, where do you live currently and what does life look like currently?

Speaker 4:

Well, I'm 10th generation Texan. My family moved into Texas in 1802. I live in a little town called Brownwood, Texas, which is up towards Abilene. I've been a pilot, flew Medevac Air Rescue and Rescue Helicopters, among other things, With the area that we're in. That's pretty much where we are now. I'm the commander of the American Legion Post 196 in Texas. I stress that because several states have a Post 196, but ours is in Texas and Brownwood. I'm also now have been honored to be selected as the regional lead for 19 posts throughout this region for the state of Texas and the 21st district.

Speaker 2:

That's phenomenal.

Speaker 4:

We're trying to work with people in this area.

Speaker 2:

So that's phenomenal. Let's touch on your upbringing. So you said you're a 10th generation Texan. I'm assuming you got some military roots in your history.

Speaker 4:

My dad, guadalcanal, iwo Jima, lady Gulf. Both his brothers served on everything from the enterprise to the Yorktown to many other neighbors. All three of them were Navy. I was Army and the family before I had my grandfather was a Doughboy. He was one of the 113th field artillery in World War One. Back to you, go back from there. One of my family members was the survivor of the Alamo. He was the courier that went out the 12th night with letter and mails and systems. It was the 13th night when it fell, and so my family's been in the military and fought for the rights of others for a long time.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's amazing. I mean that's rich, that's a lot of history and I appreciate your family and you and your service and everything you've done. That's pretty amazing. I know I'm one of the first. Well, we have a couple in my family, but not that far back. That's amazing. So, paul, let's talk a little bit about your upbringing in the area and how. I mean, obviously, your family has helped support the military service in our republic over the years and getting things for our freedoms to be secure and whatnot. So what got you into the military, outside of your family and the tradition and being a red blooded American? Like how did you get through that? And then what did you join?

Speaker 4:

Pretty much. That's exactly what that means.

Speaker 2:

Your military, your family.

Speaker 4:

I was, yeah, my family was. But my father was with the government service, with the FAA, as an air traffic controller and later worked in many other areas with the FAA and we traveled around the world some with that. The reason I got the military I was at the University of Tennessee, played little football, did little other things there. University of Tennessee, at Martin, tennessee, not Knoxville it's the smaller of the two schools, but the process of doing that was an ROTC school and we got more and more interested in what we were coming in. Having been raised around the military and raised in strength for the family, I decided that's the direction I wanted to go. So in 1969, I joined the military. 68, excuse me. I joined the military and I was in Alto for 22 and a half years Alto.

Speaker 3:

So how did you pick to become a pilot? Was that from your dad being in the aviation field?

Speaker 4:

Well, I was flying crop dusters when I was 14 years old and I was flying other odds and ends as I was growing up and my dad being in the aviation and I thought I could fly a lot better than had to wade through mud and water, so I wasn't interested in being an infantry officer. So I went into the as a enlisted man and signed up to be a crew chief, maintenance chief on the helicopters. I later, as an NCO, went through Keesley Air Force Base at Biloxa, mississippi, and became an air traffic controller based at Henshey Tower at Fort Rooker, alabama. From there I got a chance and went to flight school and became a warrant officer. My first tour as you know from the bio that you've got there, my first tour in Vietnam was March of 69 through 70. And then I came.

Speaker 4:

After that I came back to the States. I had gotten a battlefield commission from warrant to first lieutenant never was a second went straight to first a battlefield commission and after that I started with the 82nd Airborne for a period of time as the commander of Alpha Company, the second aviation battalion, the second airborne Out of Simmons Army airfield. For those of you that ever were around the 82nd, you know where that airfield is, there on the base at Fort Bragg. But then then my second tour. I was a captain and went back to Vietnam, flew Chinooks and little birds A lot of guys don't, oh, it's sixes, the little ones. Then I became a Medevac Air Rescue pilot. I've got 1550, 1560 combat missions, of which 400 plus are Air Rescue. A Medevac Air Rescue mission in combat.

Speaker 4:

I flew in with the, with the North, with the assigned to the Air Force advisory team, one out of Da Nang, and I flew in Vietnamese aircraft with Vietnamese crews. I taught the mechanics at night and I've taught the pilots were flying during the day. Later I was assigned over with the Air Force and flew A-37, the Dragonfly we call them Tweety Birds but the A-37 fighter. And then when, upon returning I flew three different National Guards, the Texas National Guard, the Georgia National Guard, the Missouri National Guard over the years and the US Army I'm one of a very few men I hold the Oklahoma Star Valor for life saving as a Guardsman, the Texas Mirator Service Award for life saving as a Guardsman and the Army Reserve Meritorial Commodation Medal from the Missouri Guard for some work in that same kind of area. So I have a support in all three of those zones.

Speaker 4:

My background in education came, as I did some training and teaching at Georgia Tech in aerospace and engineering, but I became pretty well known for being able to integrate technology and systems. So over the years as a pilot, then later working as a MACV International Training with other militaries, I've trained with the Brazilians, the Japanese, with the English and other citizen instructor in support Over the time developing training programs and integrating programs. I didn't develop the computer based training. People worked and did that. My job was to integrate that technology into the training environment for the end user. Thank you.

Speaker 2:

So just a couple things. Is it what you're saying? Just did a couple things. You've been a busy man.

Speaker 4:

One or two. One or two and.

Speaker 2:

I sat on here too, you got some experience as a military police officer.

Speaker 4:

I commanded the 258th military police company at Fort Polk, Louisiana. It was a Stratforce comm unit. Later was military police investigation. I flew the. We did work on that area. But we also did work, as in the MPI, on the ranges with the helicopters doing recovery of stolen equipment and this kind of stuff on the ranges out of Fort Polk and elsewhere.

Speaker 2:

I've been to Fort Polk a couple times and it was, it was Fort Polk.

Speaker 4:

That's as good a word for it as any I could say in public, but it was Fort Polk.

Speaker 2:

Glad I'm not at Fort Polk anymore, so I was at North Fort. So when we had had pre-deployment we ended up in North Fort.

Speaker 4:

You always knew you were in trouble. When you heard, you thought it was the helicopters and it was the mosquitoes coming in and mass. But we'll leave that one.

Speaker 3:

Ain't that the truth, oh man.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, those things would carry you away. It was the size of sparrows.

Speaker 3:

After that resume. Chris, it sounds like you and I may need to step it up a little bit.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we got a few things to do here. I think Paul's got us, but you know, the cool part about Paul, too, is, though, that you have a very colorful history, but also that you're continuing to serve, you know, and I think that's phenomenal. So we know that you, like you mentioned before about the American Legion and what you're continuing to do here, and you share a passion with us, and that's what our soldiers and our troops making sure that everyone is safe and they have a good place to find their resources, to go out and get the help that they need Do you want to talk about? You know what your involvement was, how you got involved in American Legion and how it's progressed over the years.

Speaker 4:

I'm going to start by the point that a lot of guys been there, done that, as you will and hear it. I'm PTSD, I have the. I have to go through some of the programs that are involved If we have to understand that when we talk to the people out there, a lot of folks don't understand what that means and what how that fits in the structure. With that said, I was given the honor of being elected the commander of the post here in Brownwood about a year and a half ago. We only had 15 members I'm I just turned 76 and I was one of the youngest ones at the time where, with great pride, say that we now have 50, 58, 56, and growing. We'll be over 100, lord Willemba, for the end of the year.

Speaker 4:

The American Legion. People look at it and say, well, is it? Is it the VFW? No, is it the? Or you're funded by the US government? No, and as late as last week, people have asked me that very thing oh well, you got government funding? No, we don't. Our funding is from the good people and the that want to help. You've got 38 to 40 different programs and yours being one of them that says get, got a project, you can help. You can help us with some funding, help us with the veterans and what we can do out there, and that's great. But the what we wanted to do is turn our post into a training and standardization post. It means we're the family the veteran can come in, they can get. We have computer labs, we have a day room where they can visit, we have ability to have dinners when we have our meetings and we and we have a ability to bring VSOs, veteran service officers.

Speaker 4:

The American Legion has its own, we've got the VA, you've got the Texas Veterans Commission, you've got the DAV, but the American Legion has its own the veteran service officers and we wanted to make those available to the people. We've got some good folks in this area trying to help. I'm not going to knock those, but you got two men trying to support over 3000. It you just can't be everywhere, you can't do everything, and we're trying to figure out how to do it. One of the problems we have is that the VA clinics don't have social workers right now. Most of them don't. They don't have an on site people to help to tell the veteran or the veteran's family what kind of services, what kind of help. They can get Survivor benefits, where can they go get home health care and this kind of thing, and part of what I'm trying to do is to to fix that, to try to get it where we can put something together.

Speaker 4:

The American Legion received its charter as an organization March 6, 1919 in Paris, france. We are the largest of the veterans organizations in the nation. The Legion itself has over two million members, the sons of the Legion has another almost million and the auxiliary has almost a million, and so we're looking at close to four million members in 12,000 posts in all 50 states, nine territories and five foreign countries, and any of those a Legionary, can walk in there and say I need help, I need a place, I've got a car broken down, I need someone and can get help from another Legionary. It'll happen anytime in any place. We can do that. But what we wanted to do was provide a mechanism where we could provide the on site help that people need.

Speaker 4:

On the 21st of last month I presented two resolutions and I'm going to read them that we're presented to the. When I say state, I'm talking the American Legion State Organization. People hear that word and think it's state government and it's not, it's the, the, the state of what we have here in the state of Texas. And before I go, one thing I don't know if you two men have ever seen the Vietnam Memorial at the Capitol in in Austin, but do you know what's in the base of that state? And the base of that state? I haven't been the one in.

Speaker 3:

Austin, but I'm the one in the base of that statue has 32, 38, over 3000.

Speaker 4:

Of the of the dog tags of every man and woman who kid was died serving their country in Vietnam. Their dog tags are in the base of that statue. The top of that statue is depicting a group of men calling in a Medivac, calling in rescue for wounded. I flew the Medivac. I look at that and I can hear the wop, wop, wop. And people realize when they see that I've seen men walk up when I was in the National Guards and flying UIs. I've seen men come up and just put their hand on the tail of that UI and they say, when we heard you coming, that meant life, that meant food, that meant I'm getting out of here, that meant what it. It meant that I'm alive and that sound is something that has stuck with me for all my life and that this is what they're looking and they hear we've got to give them the rights to do that.

Speaker 4:

The two resolutions I put before the state, it won the first one. Whereas post 196, the brown one has been approached multiple times of veterans requesting assistance with their military claims, awards of disability status and the numbers of individuals requesting assistance is growing. The VSO, the Texas Veterans, are trying to support over 3000 veterans in this area. Now, when we're talking about the number of veterans, now when we say area, that doesn't include just Brown County, because of where we are it Eastland, coleman, all around an area coming in as part of what they have here. We are requesting funding to support a VSO officer to come to our facility periodically to meet with the individuals who feel they need additional support and also provide training to the post members and graduate students from Howard Payne University, which I'm honored to say has agreed to team with our post now to develop a program of training and training support for the veterans. Who's team with us in the service to support the individuals with these requests. The second resolution I presented to them was and we're at post 196 of Brownwood, texas is requesting funding to support and provide counseling and social work assistance in our area. Presently there are no social workers or counselors available at the VA clinic in Brownwood or in the surrounding area to support the clinics and veterans in the area and the director of the VA clinic has indicated an interest in working with us if we can figure out a way to get it done. We're requesting support to funding to provide these qualified individuals to work with our members, the Howard Paine students and the training mentor students and the social work training courses to provide counseling, disability support and other area of support as needed by our veterans. I'm proud to say that both those resolutions passed and we are now in the process of trying to put together what would be the funding issues, and that meeting will be in January this next year and that'll be in Austin and I have to be there for that, but what we're looking at and we're working with other organizations in the area to put this together.

Speaker 4:

I'm going to use a good example, without using the individual's name A very smart and intelligent man who happens to be one of the top leaders of Howard Paine University. His father was in Korea. He said well, I took me three and a half months or several months calling, trying to find somebody at the VA to help my dad. He's getting older, home health care and stuff With this social work issue. One phone call, 10 minutes, you got it, not three and a half months to find help.

Speaker 4:

We want to develop a program where we can give them this help. We want to develop a program where they can come to our post or any post that wants to work with us, and there's many good posts. I'm not saying that just happen to be that we're the first that are starting and set up a training program when they can come in. We have computer labs have been given to us by the college and other staff when they can come in, they can go through a course, they can learn more about just what is available to them, what are they eligible for, how can they get the help they need, how can they get the support they need? In the same area with the day room and you both men, know what a day room is you can sit down, you can be and watch a ball game, you can watch a movie, you can read a book, you can. We have a refrigerator full of cold drinks and iced tea and everything else to help. Now, I have to admit we don't have alcohol because it's a city building, but we do what we can, right.

Speaker 4:

But the key is they asked me to come up with a motto for our post and I'm going to read this to you. It's something that I put together recently and it is important to me for everybody to know just what we're trying to do, the motto of our post and what we try to do in the area is let no veteran feel alone. The mission provide the facilities and equipment necessary to help the veterans, the caregivers and their families improve their lives while feeling part of the community. I say it that way, with the mission statement being to provide a safe and caring facility for veterans and their families to come, interact and grow while enjoying the company of like-minded individuals. We all get so tired of people saying thank you for your service, welcome home. We've all heard it. It's become almost a cliche. We have to understand that. We've got to tell these folks we're not just their brother. Come on in and take part and be part of the family. Come on in, we're here to help you with what we're doing, to be available, to be where we can be and assist you with what we're trying to do. It's the in my mind. We have no choice but to try to get to the point where we can be a voice, but to try to generate the funding, generate the capability that men and women know where they are. I'm going to give you a good example.

Speaker 4:

Just yesterday we were talking to some people at one of the care facilities here and the young lady turned to me and she said well, my father committed suicide. He was a vet I can't get help from. We tried and tried to get help, got a little bit from the VA, but that was it. I said you do know you qualify for the auxiliary, don't you? She said what? Yeah, that means your sons and your grandsons and his kids qualify for grants and programs. She said I knew nothing about that. I met with a CEO of another health providing company in the area. Matter of fact, they're located in De Leon, as I told you. When talking to them. Her husband was a vet, her son was a chaplain of that, and both of them qualify to be. She qualifies to be.

Speaker 4:

Their grandkids qualified for these scholarships, the grants, the funding, the educational programs, all of the other programs that we have in the American Legion, and there are hundreds of them. The American Legion buy their own numbers. If you go to TXLegionorg on the website TXLegionorg, it'll talk about what National did Nationally. They came up with over $16 billion in the year 2020, excuse me, 2022 to help people provide assistance, but in this state, there was money left in the bank. Why Nobody asked for it? We had funding for scholarships, what was called legacy grants we had. We found out in March that they had funded for 78 of them, between 5,000 and 20,000 a year and they're good for up to six years for college and work. Now every year you got to read with your documents but you're eligible the whole time. 71 of those were awarded. When I asked some of the men why not the other seven, they said nobody ever asked.

Speaker 4:

We came home back to our base and the fine men at the Texas Veterans Commission jumped on it with us. They found two of the young folks who qualified. We jumped in there. Their parents worked and I'll be jiggered if one of the kids they had three days to get it all in. One of the kids out of Zephyr won Now 5,000 a year and she's eligible for five again for the next six years and she has to go back. You know, reply each time but she's eligible for those. But she won. We had never done it if we hadn't heard that it is available. People don't know.

Speaker 4:

It's like one of the things about the American Legion if you serve one day in the military with a DD 214, I don't care if you're a merchant marine, if you're any branch of the service, you are eligible to be a member of the American Legion. Now, I bring that up because the CEO of the medical company, her son, was a chaplain. Well, he wasn't in combat. He was. Nope, doesn't matter. I had a young man come to me here recently. Yeah, young to me, I'm 76, so even not that young, but young. He served in the military during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Well, I can't be a member because I wasn't in combat. Oh, yes, you can. Oh, yes, you can. And you come in. And if you come in your family, the Sons of the Legion, the auxiliary programs, all these other programs and all, if you go online you'll start to see some of the different programs and proposals and systems that are out there. You qualify for all of them.

Speaker 4:

Now, looking at me as enlisted, I've got a DD214 as enlisted. Dd214 as an NCO, dd214 as a warren officer, dd214 as commissioner Well, of course, you get one each time you go up through the cycle. But I've also got an NGB 22. People don't understand. If you're a National Guard and Reserve, you qualify immediately, exactly the same as if you were active duty. If you're retired active duty, national Guard and Reserve, an NGB 22 is a DD214. And it just happens to be the National Guard 22, their version, ngb, national Guard Bureau, their equivalent, and people look at it and say, well, I don't have a DD214. Yeah, you do, it just has a different name on it. I have a DD215 that goes with it.

Speaker 4:

Like we talked about the Purple Heart, and I'm proud to say that we already have the first of the men that have come to me from Desert Storm that was wounded but never received his mark. We're working with August Fluger and his team now to get him his awards. And then the process of doing it. There's a huge queue. It takes a long time to go through the cycle and get them. Me it took over 1100 days and I happened to live in Georgetown at the time, so Representative John Carter and his fine people helped me get those. If you go to, you get a chance to go on my on my Facebook, john, you'll see it. There's a picture of John Carter giving me on my fake, giving me the medal. It only took him 52 years to get it, but I got the medal.

Speaker 3:

But you got it.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, you say, oh, it's just a piece of pretend. No, it's not, why bring it up like that? The museum in Brownwood is the is a small town public museum. It's one of, if not the first, public small town museum in the nation to receive Purple Heart status. Now, there's not many and we, you know, when they first looked they said there weren't any, but I'm just going to say it was one is one. It's named after me.

Speaker 4:

The Purple Heart status is for the, for the museum and what they're doing, the people in there. God bless them. They've got a set and you can bring in your father, your uncle, your grandfather, the Purple Heart. They won their award. They can put, they can put their awards down in the museum that people can see, they can hear their story, they can see them. They're not giving it away. They'll get it back, but for a couple of months their family's on the table. His story is here, it's not stuck in a box. I saw Purple Heart one time on sale at an antique store for a buck and a half and I thought that thing, what did that man have to go through to get that thing? So it's a very important thing that we keep this in mind when we go forward.

Speaker 1:

We'll return to the podcast in a moment, but first we want to thank Silencer Central for supporting our podcast. Silencer Central has been making Silencer Buying simple since 2005 and works tirelessly on behalf of suppressor owners everywhere. Go to silencercentralcom to learn about how to buy a suppressor and browse their product catalog. Now back to our podcast.

Speaker 4:

You got me started. Guys See what happens.

Speaker 3:

It's all right. No, it's all good. Yeah, you know, and being a veteran from the area right next to Brownwood, you know you were so right. I want to touch back. You mentioned that there's no social workers and that's a big problem, both in my county and other counties, obviously, but this isn't just a Texas thing. You know the American Legion nationwide, for all of our listeners out there, you know. Definitely go on to the legionorg and get that information.

Speaker 4:

It's key to it. Depending on the post you joined, the annual fee is around $45 to $50 a year to be a member and there is a lifetime membership. That's there. But with that membership you get a monthly magazine with all the salaries and programs and a weekly email from the American Legion which talks about these programs you talk, talks about the different systems, even gives you the ability to go online at home and go through the training and learn what's there.

Speaker 4:

Because one of the things that we have to go is people don't realize there are programs for severely handicapped folks for long-term care in their home. One couple and I admit they got the top of the line. But one couple came in when there was still a social worker here at Brownwood there isn't now and they met with them. I talked to them and they went in. They met with them. They needed help.

Speaker 4:

He was so fairly handicapped, she needed a day out, she needed to go shopping. They needed to take care of the home they needed to. They won $2,600 a month for the rest of their lives to pay for all that. That's the top of the line. I don't mean everybody's going to get that, but there are mechanisms, there are means of getting that help, long-term care, via some of the different organizations that are here, contract companies that are here and this kind of programs. The VA has those issues to help fund and get them. Now it won't always come from the VA. The funds will in some cases, in some cases from the Legion, but the people like visiting angels and others will be the companies that will come in to assist.

Speaker 3:

And with the support element for the families. College education isn't getting any cheaper. There's a lot of us that may have used our GI bills or other tuition assistance and don't have that support for our children, just hearing all the money that's available for those scholarships and grants that goes unused. Boy, we got to do our job and get the word out for sure.

Speaker 4:

It is very important to get the word out. The American Legion is a C3, c9, c19, and C23 nonprofit organization, depending on the program, but they fall within all four of those and the way it is structured. For example, every nickel except for what we pay for, just a little bit for electricity for the building we're in every nickel we get goes to run these programs that we have and run the systems that are here for us. The posts are. Some of them are getting older. We need volunteers, we need people to help in the computer, in our day room, in the computer labs and this kind of stuff. But with the interest of the communities to provide lighting, to provide equipment, to provide computers, to provide systems. There's no reason any post cannot have an educational part to it, for their people cannot have the ability to fund it.

Speaker 4:

You'll find that if you go online to join the American Legion I'll use Texas because I know it better then if you went online and just joined the Legion, you wind up in a post 345.

Speaker 4:

Now that's a holding post. It's out of Austin, but it's basically just a holding post. If you then have you find a post like ours or others around, be it in Bangs, be it in any of the different cities that are around that have posts San Angelo and others in Curveville and other posts then you can always put the post number down. But if you don't know the number doesn't mean that you are not eligible or get involved, because each state has a holding post, like Texas does. I speak to Texas because I know it better than others, but every state has a holding post. So even if you don't know the state or if you don't have one in your area, by joining you get all of those benefits and all of that capability, but via the state and you have that ability and help that can fit that area for you, because some people the city or town there don't have a post. Well, guess what? There's a way to get around that problem.

Speaker 2:

And there's, yeah, there's posts everywhere. I mean it's American Legion, like you said. You said 1919, correct what?

Speaker 4:

1919, it was. It was chartered. We have 12,000 posts around the world right now we have in that way it's set up. The auxiliary is for the spouses of the veterans and I'm glad they've changed it that way. They've always for years it was their wives, but now husband and wives of the veterans. They qualify for that. If that veteran is dead, if that gun helping me, if he's gone, if he's whatever, they can still join the auxiliary. They can still provide all that medical and other support and family support over the years and get involved with everything from scholarships and grants to funding to educational programs. All through the same thing, Even if that veteran is gone because of them having been there, they qualify. The son and the grandson qualifies for the sons of the veteran.

Speaker 4:

There's a program in Texas, nationwide, but I'll speak to our base. It's called Boy State and Girl State. Every year the posts provide funding. We have a very fine gentleman that works with us. He prefers it would not go blatant in his name out, but he provides the funding to help us and we send two young men and two young ladies every year to Austin, All expenses paid. They put together a mock government. They've worked with the real senators, with the real representatives. They find out how governments are one, what civics is, how they can develop the program. And every year two folks from each of the states are picked and they go to Washington as senators to that state and they work with the real senators and representatives and Washington and a mock government to learn how they're done, those programs, their housing, their transportation, their food all paid for by the legion and picked from the systems. We were one vote short this year of getting one of our two young men sent to state, to national as a senator. We're going to fix that. We're going to move forward. Good people and they worked hard. But it gives them the ability to understand what is civics, what is the government, what are the rights we have, how do people create a law, how do they stand up and go, Not somebody saying on the radio well, this is the way it works, because I said so. They get to see it firsthand, live it.

Speaker 4:

And those types of programs provide one of those boxes to check.

Speaker 4:

Many of those students that do that are eligible and go on to the different military academies West Point, Air Force and others and they are able to get in their colleges. It gives them the one more box check that they have to put them ahead of their peers in doing so. In addition to that, we provide scholarships. We support four high schools. We support Brownwood, Early, Blanket and Zephyr and each year we give, we cycle between the four and each year we give a scholarship to the graduating senior, a young man and a young lady, towards what they're doing for their college and we provide medals of honor and appreciation to the winners of all of the different high schools and systems. The only problem we have is I'm asking the people to talk to us in their junior year, not two weeks before they graduate, so we have time to get the systems done and get them through the cycle. But we provide that and some of the monies that we'll be generating from the chute and from the others will go to that. That money, I'm sorry, go.

Speaker 3:

And other youth activities as well. Right, Youth baseball.

Speaker 4:

We've got ROTC, we've got Boy Scouts, we've got Youth Chute. We have oratory programs oratory programs where they have, they speak, they have, they get involved with all of those programs. The Legionorg will give you an idea of over 200 type programs that we have available. A good example is the Little League. This year 3500 teams were sponsored to go into the American League Baseball season. To go into it. Espn had them on TV a couple of weeks ago doing the final. For the first time in 96 years a small town in Texas, between Galveston and Houston, won the World Series. These kids stood their line and they won. In the process they're winning scholarship grants, they're winning other programs because their family stood by them and supported them. The American Legion provided all of the uniforms and equipment and support to help these young folks do that.

Speaker 3:

That's wonderful.

Speaker 4:

People don't know it's out there. We were at the air show I made reference to in Brownwood yesterday. The lady said to me well, I'm remarried but my husband died. He was dead but I was a veteran. I said, hold it, you qualify for the auxiliary because you were the wife of a veteran but your son, who's standing right beside you, qualifies for the sons of the Legion because he's the son of the veteran and also the grandsons His son qualifies for the sons of the Legion. In that structure there's a huge following and things they can get and support they can get from that group that are also available. You don't know that that is available to them.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's phenomenal, it's deep and it's awesome work that's been done. There's been a lot of time that has gone on, obviously since 1919. Developing these programs and being able to stand these up to support the people that need it is absolutely phenomenal. That's the biggest thing is education. There's a lot of people out there that's still like worse, going on six years for organization. We're very much in the infancy. You have your organization where it's so large and has so many different facets, where people still don't know, they have no idea.

Speaker 4:

They have no idea. They come into me. Oh, you're part of the VFW. No, nothing against them, but we're not. We're totally different VFW. You have to serve in a foreign war, All you have to do for the American Legion. One day, with the DD214 and honorable discharge, including the merchant marines, you, your family and your family's family are qualified for the services that we have under our environment.

Speaker 2:

Is that true? I recently heard that even anyone, anyone who, even if he didn't serve I think that there's some legions up here that talked about that they could join as members too, even if they're not have served. Is that accurate?

Speaker 4:

Not really. There are some programs where they work, but the way the Legion works you've got to fall within. Now they don't have to have served. If their father served, if their, if the others, if their father served, they could be in the sons of the Legion and everything, and they don't have to have served to be in the Legion via the sons of the Legion. In that environment there are ways they can be. They're eligible, but it's from their family history as how they fit into that structure.

Speaker 2:

Makes sense.

Speaker 4:

To be honest, I as a as a commander, have more than once reached the mow wallet to help somebody or to do whatever is necessary for a veteran if they're not a Legion member.

Speaker 4:

I am not going to leave a man hanging in the wind that needs help. I've got people that are willing to step through the line and God bless them and said you know, if they need to get a gas line fixed, if they need something in the house, you call me Paul. There'll be a check written in five minutes that will help if we can. We're not a long-term help system. We're not going to pay a guy's rent for a year. We're not going to do this. But, on the reverse, if a veteran comes into me and needs help, I'm going to help him the best I can. I don't care if he's a Legion member or not. But to say that the Legion programs that are available, yes, you have to been in the Legion somewhere within the structure. You know, if your father was a veteran, even if he didn't join the Legion, you can and you still qualify across that if he was in there.

Speaker 2:

It's a very valid point too and that's something that we do here at HHO too is that you know our bylaws are very specific about what we can and can't do, you know, with outdoor adventures and helping people out and mental health, you know.

Speaker 2:

But there's some times where we have people approach us who are in need of things that are outside that purview, and we will rally the troops, so to speak, to see how we can support them and get them through the day or the next day or maybe the month, you know, not long term, like you just said too, but we do have a network of people that we have built over time that will assist in those needs, and Sean recently had a situation where he helped out with a veteran that needed help, you know, and we've done it several times amongst many of our members and people that have served, but it may not be in our exact bylaws, but it's something that is very admirable for these organizations to include the Legion to do that kind of stuff, and there are people out there that do want to support in that way.

Speaker 3:

So Paul, we talked briefly about PTSD suicide prevention and I kind of explained, you know, some of the programs that we use, the assist program, that we formally train as many field staff as we can to help out in time of need, and you mentioned that you may have something coming up as well.

Speaker 4:

We are one of the corporations that's working with us. As a matter of fact, the CEO of the corporation, a member of my post and a veteran some of his people are. They sponsor, I think American Family. It is a program of suicide prevention and support that do seminars around the country. They're out of Colorado and they've offered in November to come here to Brownwood. We've got the Lyric Theater, We've got the auditorium there at the college made available where they're going to come in for free and do a two-day seminar on suicide prevention, helping with people, what needs to be done and how that needs to be done. We all have our idea of what we need to do and the best idea is not hitting him in the back of the head with a brick to keep him doing it. We've got other things. We have to make sure they understand where they're coming from, but these folks have offered to come in. There are other programs like that and some of the other projects that are here. The city manager in Brownwood said when this comes in she wants to see all of the first responders come to this program.

Speaker 4:

Veterans are not the only ones with these problems. We're not the only ones with PTSD. We're not the only ones who suffer in some of these issues that go into it, and I want to try, via the best we can and the resources that are made available to us, to provide assets to everyone, to all of the people that need it. A good example with it is they're talking about bringing some suicide survivors in to talk about how they felt afterwards, how they dealt with it, and it'd be a two-day seminar. Now, yes, the thing is going to be free. Yes, the admission is going to be free. Yes, I'm an old crem. I'm going to have a table outside the door trying to get contribution to the American Legion, but that's a different story. I'm not going to deny it, I'm not going to back away from it. It's what we use to fund our programs.

Speaker 4:

But there are other programs like that that are out there. There are veterans that just don't know. I remember one. I'm one of the volunteer drivers that drive from Brownwood to Temple from the VA clinic to take people for medical treatments, and we do it a couple of times a week and we go just volunteers would drive a van and one of the men one time that I was driving there he told me he said well, all I got is my dog and he doesn't really talk back to me that well, but he just needed to have somebody to talk to, somebody to listen. We've all got war stories that nobody believes. We've all got places we've been we should never have been, and they need a way to understand that people care and people are willing to be involved, and that's part of what I want to do now.

Speaker 4:

I'm not worried that the man is or is an event, an American Legion member. If we can sponsor this seminar or some like it, if we can put together a program of its kind and support, come on, you don't have to be vet, you don't have to even be the veteran. You can be the family of a veteran. To me, there is no adjective before veteran. You're not a male veteran, a female veteran, a family veteran of the veteran, You're a veteran. The families are as much a veteran as the veteran is to me, because they got to put up with us and that goes a long ways towards how we can deal with it. And I don't care if the person is green or polka-dotted. Come on, I'm proud to say we have four lady veterans that have now part of our post and we're growing. It comes through that door that wants to be there. We want them there. We want to help them. Any post out there would try to do their best to help.

Speaker 2:

Oh, it's absolutely phenomenal. I mean, everyone's welcome, right? No one knows what sex or gender or creed, race.

Speaker 4:

I could care less, right, amen, no, sir. In my way of thinking, the first person I got a judge is myself, and I don't know if I can pass that judgment. So we'll deal with the others.

Speaker 4:

So, true, so true Well in 1972, my parents received a letter from the Army informing them that I was killed in combat. They had the chaplain knock on the door. They had the people come to say I'm sorry, well, and we got shot down, a little run, blah, blah, blah. Took us a couple of weeks, blah, blah, blah, and we managed to get back and the first thing they said was what will call your parents to tell them you're alive? I said no, you're going to call my father. They said why your father? Well, I said what a canal you ashamed. Oh, he can handle the call. I said no, well, yes, but that's not why. Why my mother's ninth generation Texan. You call it up and tell her you screwed this up. She's going to come here and kick somebody's ass.

Speaker 4:

The key is we've got to be where that man can.

Speaker 4:

The man or woman or child or grandchild or parent can feel comfortable and saying they want to go kick somebody's ass.

Speaker 4:

We need help, we need a program, and I don't mind being the man standing there to say you know what the blank, blank, blank is going on. I've got fine men that want to help. I got good people that want to do the job. I've got volunteers that are coming and we need this kind of help. We need the support of the shootout that you've got and I you said how are you putting it out through your site? And I hope you do. We need all the help we can get on that to get money to help with. That money will put the social worker program on track and with it, god willing, I intend to use the resolutions that I gave to work to get one of that kind of structure and every post in the state that's 230. Now they may not always be at that post, but available to that post, and that's what I want to try to figure out. But this is how I want to start this program.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, to all of our listeners. What Paul is talking about is is they have an American Legion post 196 shotgun shootout? That's going to be October 28, 2023, from 8am to 2pm down at the Brownwood clay club in Clayburn, texas, or Clayburn Club, yes.

Speaker 4:

It's own the property of the country club. It's $120 for each person, 45 of it is for the shoot. You get 100 plays, you get the shoot and you get a nice barbecue lunch. Everything else goes to to to us. We've got sponsors that are funding some more money to this. We've got one grant is going to match fund for money that these guys pay to come to do this. We got a grant to match funding so we can double that money to help these people. We can do it.

Speaker 4:

Now there's another piece to this is what we call a resource list. There every post needs to pay closer attention to it. Oh, thank you. I'm glad you put that up. I really am the resource list you take here in Brownwood and I only speak to it because I'm not expert on everybody else. But there's no real list that says go to Joe for food, go to sue for clothes, go, it's 800 number. Well, you have to punch these numbers and a lot of elderly vets can't work that you punch this button, punch that button, they quit.

Speaker 4:

We're creating a resource list with the help of one of the radio stations, k O X E here in town. That's putting together with one of very fine gentlemen by the name of Dennis Rumfield. What they're trying to do is prepare a list that every veteran, everybody that comes out of the hospital, every veteran that comes out of the medical training facilities, be it Excel, be it the Center for Life Management, be it the VA clinic they have a list and it says you can get transportation, you can get food, you can get clothes, you can get furniture, you can get equipment at these numbers. Don't worry about calling this 800 number for this county for that thing. But so they have a mechanism to reach out and get help.

Speaker 4:

And each of these people were put together, even if it's the wrong one. They call person for food. They're going to know where to go get clothes. They're going to work with you to help you get those pieces that are involved. We've even got one of our members that owns a pharmacy here in town and he's got a warehouse. He said here you are, we got walkers, we got daycare, we've got electric wheelchairs. We got hospital beds for free if a veteran, if an American Legion person needs them and they need them in their home for their family. They're in a warehouse. I got them. I'm already giving them away. Now that stuff is available.

Speaker 3:

Well, hey, paul, we're about getting to the end here. Thank you so much for coming in and talking about American Legion. You're right, there's so many people that have no idea what the organization is, what the organization is about. It's not just a bunch of old guys smoking and drinking sitting at the bar. This is a bar. This is this is the great community place for veterans and families to come together and learn, educate and get the resources they need. So please come out on the 28th of October down in Brownwood, texas, and take part in this shotgun shootout and meet some of these amazing veterans from the area and let's show them some support.

Speaker 3:

We have one of our.

Speaker 4:

Medal of Honor winners. He's got Bob O'Malley. I don't know if you know that or not, but he'll be there too.

Speaker 2:

Great, I don't know. That's awesome. Yeah, paul, thanks for coming on and being able to share some information about the American Legion and all the different programs that are available to our veterans and not only veterans but their family members or media family and I really appreciate the time and your service that you've had over the years and continued service. It's impressive to be able to speak with you and when I come down we have to shake a hand and have a beer. I'll be down in December.

Speaker 3:

So I was I was, but I've already.

Speaker 4:

I was already told, you got something coming up.

Speaker 3:

Oh I say I was blessed to meet Paul two years ago. You know, as a, my daytime job is I run a inspection company and his wife is. She likes to buy and sell property. So we spend a lot of time together and I was able to meet Paul and I just thanks for what you do. I appreciate you sharing your story. I appreciate what you're doing for the community and for all of the veterans.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, gentlemen.

Speaker 2:

Hey. Paul any last words before we end the podcast tonight.

Speaker 4:

Well, one last thing thank you, the veteran. They we don't want them to feel alone. We want them to have a place to go. We need volunteers to help us with what we're doing. We're looking for people that are willing to spend a little time and put some effort into what we're trying to create. As far as my wife, I'm glad that you work with her, sean, and she was RAF Red Cross, being English, but she actually the US Marine Corps every year gets a takes an artist of note. She's an artist and sculptors and they sell their work and they fund their CASA programs around the world. My wife was the US Marine Corps artist of note for CASA Children's programs around the world in 2012 for the US Marines. She works hard, trying to help the families, as I'm trying to do. She puts me to shame in some of the work she does, but we're trying to. Where's a family want to do this where we can, and thank you, gentlemen, thank you both for letting me have this opportunity.

Speaker 2:

Yes, sir, absolutely. Thanks for your service and everything you do for us and for our listeners. Please check out the American Legion and all programs that they offer. If you're in the Texas area, please look into the shoot that they have going on on the 28th. And for everybody else our listeners, you know, if you're a first responder or a military military service member or veteran, if you're feeling like you're in a dark time at this point in time, please reach out to us. We have individuals who do care about you and we are here to listen to you. We have our individuals who are trained in cis training applied suicide intervention skills training and we are here to listen and help you get through that dark moment. If that's something that you cannot do, 988-988, you can call or text that for the crisis intervention line and they'll get you the help that we need. But thank you for tuning in today and Paul and Sean, thank you for being here and until next time, the HHO World, we will see you next week.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Christopher Tetrault

Host
Head Shot

Phil Ewert

Producer