- 12 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:03Welcome to Operation Healing Heroes. Join me at the OCC Roadhouse in Clearwater,
00:08Florida as we feature retired Army veteran Dave Allen. These are the faces of heroes,
00:16many still bearing the invisible wounds of war, PTSD, and trauma.
00:24I left Vietnam, but Vietnam never left me. That's how I'm living.
00:31Why did I come back? Why are they gone and I'm not? You know, what have I done to deserve
00:40to be here? Our mission is listening and hearing, helping and healing for those who sacrificed
00:49and those who continue to sacrifice. The mission today and every day is Operation Healing Heroes,
01:01brought to you by Great Clips. In episode one of this special two-part series, Paul Sr. of the world
01:13famous Orange County choppers invited U.S. Army veteran Dave Allen into his garage. Paul was in
01:21the early stages of building a one-of-a-kind motorcycle for a customer, and Paul invited
01:26Dave to help him build the bike. So this bike we're building for a customer, you know? You know what
01:32we could do? You know, I got the rear tire on, which is part of the problem, but we could
01:36put
01:36the transmission in. Little did Dave know that the customer was Operation Healing Heroes and that Dave
01:43would be helping to build a bike designed to honor the heroes of our U.S. military. Dave had no
01:51idea
01:51that his name would be on that bike. For a lifelong motorcycle junkie, it was the chance of a lifetime.
01:59You got to pick it up and bring it over to me. Now you're in there, I believe, right?
02:06Yes, you are. I can help by getting you guys the tools, so if you need a wrench, you let
02:12me know.
02:13It's a wrench, right? It's a wrench. All right, good. And that's what you're here for. Paul was an open
02:19book,
02:20sharing far more with Dave than his knowledge of building thousands of custom motorcycles. I've never had
02:27any issues with drugs, but I like to drink. But I was always a casual drinker, a couple drinks at
02:33night,
02:34life was good. Even once I knew that I have PTSD and a couple older vets had taken me under
02:42their
02:42wing and I was getting a little bit of help, but I didn't want to quit drinking. You know, I
02:48wanted to
02:48be in control and I wanted to get help, but I didn't want to get all the help. I was
02:55like,
02:55Yeah, that's your friend, Ben. And over time, you know,
03:01I was living that life. Yeah, I bet. So I lived that life forever, you know, forever. And I haven't
03:09had a drink in 40 years. And I drank a quart of whiskey a day for a lot of years.
03:16And so I identify
03:19with pretty much everything you're saying. There came a point when I had to make kind of make a
03:25decision, you know, and I was sitting at the table with my wife and the decision was,
03:31am I going to live or am I going to die, you know? And I said, I'm going to die
03:35because the power of
03:37alcohol is so great. You feel like you don't have a choice. Because for me, I tried to quit drinking
03:42a
03:43hundred times. And I tried the weekends. I tried, you know, I tried, I drank, I drank, I went and
03:49looked for cough medicine that had alcohol on it. I mean, I searched, you know, it's, it's insidious
03:56disease. And I said, I'll go to one of those AA meetings, you know, which I hated. But I went
04:03there
04:04and I went there sober. And what I realized is that I didn't drink. I didn't drink that day.
04:12And, uh, and I went again and I went again and went again. It's almost like you said,
04:18it's a day at a time, you know? And so I didn't tell anybody I quit drinking. You've got that
04:24certain
04:24mentality. It's like, you're not that guy, you know what I mean? You're not the guy that
04:28just walks away from your, your, your buddies or whatnot. And, uh, you know, after a little bit
04:35of time, you, you learn, you know, at some point you learn, you have a choice because all that time
04:41takes a little bit. Oh, it takes a while, man. All that time you, you, you don't have a choice.
04:46So
04:47you can't really say, you know, Hey bud, I'm not drinking, beat it. You know, you can't,
04:52you know what I mean? Like, cause it's a, it's a little bit at a time. And then for me,
04:58it's just not quitting whiskey. It's you, you've got to change your whole life.
05:03Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Orange County Choppers,
05:11and by Suzuki Marine.
05:19Operation Healing Heroes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the
05:23lives of our U S military veterans. In addition, we also provide financial support and treatment for
05:29post-traumatic stress. Your donation will help heal our heroes.
05:39For me, it's just not quitting whiskey. It's you, you've got to change your whole life.
05:45There becomes the point that eventually, uh, for me, it took a long time. I, I actually went to AA
05:51for
05:51nine years straight. Wow. Straight. Never, never missed a meeting because I was so scared. You know,
05:58if I have a drink, I'm drinking a bottle. Not, there's not a, there's not a, there's no doubt in
06:04my
06:04mind. And I think the fear of that is what keeps me from not drinking because I know that I
06:10could
06:10drink. Alcoholism doesn't have any, it's not, it doesn't, uh, it doesn't discriminate. Yeah.
06:16So I, I haven't had a drink in 40 years, 40 years, 40 years. So, you know, that gives me
06:23hope.
06:23That's good. Yeah. I think that's, you know, I believe sharing your experience, um, and hope
06:30with other people. That's what I believe that that's what it's all about. You know what I mean?
06:34If you could, if I could help one person, just one person out of 10,000 people, I feel like
06:41I
06:41accomplished something, you know? Well, you know, getting to do this with you,
06:45right? A fan of your show for many years and never would I ever thought I'd be in the garage
06:54with senior, right? But let's go deeper than that. Never would I have ever thought that you're
07:04going to share a story like that with me. A whole nother level of respect for you, not just a
07:11fan, but
07:12all right. So you're a dude a few years ahead of me in life and experience and, but you know
07:20the
07:20struggle and man, you're proof that you can be made fame and fortune. And I'm sure people are trying to
07:26buy you a drink every day. You're in your place, right? Probably you can, you can drink over there
07:31for free all day every day if you wanted to, but it ain't about that. So if you can do
07:39it with all the
07:41temptation you must have, that's an inspiration to me. You know, Paul sharing with me where he's been
07:49and the amount of time that, that he's been able to conquer his demons, it gives me a lot of
07:57hope.
07:59Sharing his, his story, having the, uh, having the strength to share where you were weak and
08:09how you overcame that, even this many years later, you know, he could keep that to himself,
08:16but there's, how would that, how would that help anybody? And sharing with me in his shop,
08:24working on a bike with him, that's, I mean, this is, I'm going to be, uh, one of the, in
08:31the highlight
08:31reel of my life, right? When you, when you look back, this day will be in the highlight reel.
08:37I know that you've been struggling a lot. I mean, since the last time we filmed together, your back
08:41has maybe arguably gotten worse, right? I mean, and you were explaining all the different things
08:46that you've had to going through and, uh, the pain meds and this med and that med that you've been
08:50on.
08:51Having an addictive personality, I have to believe that makes it even more difficult.
08:54I tell you, I have been concerned once they started prescribing the different layers of pain
09:03medicines. Because there are so many. Opioids are very easy to abuse. And it's so, you know,
09:10it's in the news. Everybody's talking about opioid addiction and, and opioid deaths and all these
09:16things. It's, it's been a challenge being in chronic pain for 18 months now. Yeah. Well, I mean,
09:23that's where healing heroes comes in, man. That's what we want to, that's what we want to be here
09:28for that. You had mentioned earlier, Paul, in the conversation that you said, we didn't even know
09:32that there were organizations out there that wanted to provide help, right? You know what I mean? When
09:35you were talking about your early days of addiction, you didn't even know that there was such thing as
09:39help. That help might, it can look a lot of different ways. You know what I mean? It might be
09:44just
09:44managing your pain, getting you a scooter until you can get that back surgery that gets your hips done. And
09:50now
09:50you're back to riding motorcycles in a year or two, you know what I mean? But however that might
09:55look, I just want you, you both to know that we're here for you guys. And man, anything,
09:59any time from now on, we're family, brother. And this is, this is about making sure that we,
10:04we provide healing brother. Cause it's, it's a struggle every day. And I can see the struggle
10:08on your face right now, man. It's not easy. Yeah. It's, uh, you're right. And I appreciate you guys
10:15that have a heart for veterans. Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips,
10:24Blue Water Boat Club, and by SKB Cases.
10:40Battery's dead, my friend. Brrm, brrm. Sounds good.
10:48If you'd like to see more behind the scenes footage, follow us on social media and subscribe to our
10:53YouTube channel. If you'd like to learn more and go deeper into the subject of healing,
10:59tune into the all new Operation Healing Heroes podcast, Feel the Heal. Hear from veterans,
11:04first responders, doctors, nonprofit leaders, and gold star families,
11:09as they share powerful stories of hope, healing, and resiliency. Tune in and feel the heal.
11:19Through the years, we've probably built bikes for every branch of the military. Yeah. Every branch.
11:26I love it. I don't think we missed, we even Coast Guard. We did, uh, which I have a lot
11:30of respect for.
11:31Oh yeah, for sure. Well, when you and I talked about what this bike was going to be,
11:36um, I just said that I want every veteran, man, woman, to relate to this bike, to say they're part
11:44of it. I want them to feel like they're part of it. Like, I want them to get the recognition
11:47for their
11:48hard work, their dedication, their service. I want this bike to heal. I want this bike to heal people.
11:54It's going to work out well. This bike's going to be cool.
11:58Yeah, I want to see the rest of the paint, too. I know. You sent me some pictures. It looks
12:01amazing.
12:02Until you put it on the bike, you don't know what you're getting.
12:04Okay. Let's jump.
12:06What's going on, man? What's going on, guys?
12:08What's going on? Wow.
12:09What's up, bro?
12:15Wow, check that out. What do you think?
12:18That's insane. I mean, this is, this, this, this here was like speaking for itself, but this is
12:23really, this is really cool. Like, this here looks like two pieces. Same thing over here.
12:29Final assembly must continue before Paul takes the Patriot bike
12:33on its first test drive.
12:35This project started over a year ago.
12:38Uh, yes, it did, yeah.
12:40And we were going to build a bike. In fact, the bike in the back there,
12:44we were going to build a bike just like a, like a bobber style bike, you know?
12:48And we got, we built most of it. And I said, I told him, I said, we cannot, we can't,
12:53we can't roll this bike out in front of all these veterans. They're, they're much more worthy of
12:58something much better. And so I called Jay and I said, listen, man, we're not gonna, we're gonna,
13:05we're changing horses in the middle of the race here because I don't, I'm not too crazy about the
13:10bike that we were doing and we want to do something really special.
13:13That organization is amazing. They really do some really cool things with vets and, and the families.
13:19I mean, Jay's is a pretty special guy, you know what I mean? He lives and breathes this,
13:25you know what I mean? He really loves it. You know, I didn't realize a lot. I mean,
13:30I knew some of what was involved in the organization, but I didn't know what the bike would mean.
13:37And knowing that the bike is going to be traveling all around the country. And I don't know, maybe the
13:41world, I don't know. And, uh, knowing that that is huge seeing that, or even knowing about it. So,
13:49I mean, having our work and Ken's pain pulls like everybody being involved in this. It doesn't end
13:55here. I know, which is crazy. It's just going to keep going. Yeah. That's the beauty of it.
14:00And not for a week, not for a month. It's going to go for years, which is amazing to be
14:06part of this.
14:31The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association's mission is to support and protect those who have
14:37defended our country and our freedoms while providing assistance to veterans,
14:42veteran care facilities, and other veteran organizations.
14:46If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes
14:50or nominate a veteran to be featured in a future episode, log on to our website,
14:55OperationHealingHeroes.org.
14:58Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, PowerPole, and by
15:08Hoist Hydration.
15:14After a successful test ride, the time had come to reveal the bike at the second annual
15:20Salute to American Heroes.
15:22So this event is actually called the Salute to American Heroes, and that's exactly what it's going to do.
15:27I mean, we are, we are there to honor the men and women that served our country and to thank
15:31them for
15:31their service. And I don't care if you were a cook or you're at the tip of the spear,
15:35you're important and you're important to us and we want to help you heal. And when you unveil this
15:40bike that night, I don't think there's going to be a dry eye in the room. I mean, literally,
15:45I don't believe that. Including me. Including you.
15:47I'm there. Who's not going to ride the bike in? Not you.
15:51No, you're right. Not me. Are we ready for an awesome night tonight, guys?
15:56Yeah!
16:00I was a young man. I put up my right hand. I swore to defend this land.
16:17And all that I had. Some of my best years.
16:27I washed away in blood and guts and tears. I probably drank a thousand beers.
16:39For those who can't. But if I'm still breathing, then I'm still in this fight.
16:59Yeah, I was born to survive.
17:07I was born to survive. Cause I'm a warrior inside.
17:22I would have led her to heaven. Jesus, are you listening?
17:30Cause all I feel is hopeless. My peace and joy are missing.
17:43My God, can you hear me now? My God, can you hear me? Jesus, can you hear me? My God,
17:57can you hear me now?
18:06Compassion, brotherhood, patriotism, and love were all on full display throughout the evening.
18:13Marked by performances that honored those who served.
18:17The evening was a true salute to American heroes.
18:22Ladies and gentlemen, the true heroes of this country right here.
18:25Let's give a big round of applause. Thank you so much. We love you.
18:29Bring in the bike home.
18:30It was time for the Operation Healing Heroes Patriot Bike to make its public debut.
18:43Oh, hell yeah.
18:46Oh, hell yeah.
18:56Holy cow. Unbelievable, man.
19:02If that doesn't say America, nothing does, brother. This is amazing.
19:06Oh, he just, he just lowered it down.
19:11Unbelievable, brother.
19:13Wow. Let's hear it for Paul Senior Orange County Choppers.
19:17Jim Kern.
19:19Here's the gentleman that actually made this happen.
19:23Yeah.
19:26Actually, I didn't make it happen. We made it happen. Everybody here,
19:30we really worked as a team to do this. And Jay had called us last year, right? Jay to start
19:36this
19:36project. And, uh, he gave me a call and said, you know, explain to me what we're doing. I said,
19:42yeah, I'm in the, the paint on this. Uh, Ken's been our painter, uh, since one of the events we
19:49had
19:49here a while ago, but he, uh, he just doesn't put the paint on it. He puts his heart and
19:54soul into it.
19:55Uh, and you can see that.
19:57We listed all the veterans that had part in this. So you got, you know, all the veterans that are
20:03over
20:03here, you got Paul Tuttle, Jim Kerr, Dave Allen, his bike was built by veterans, full of veterans.
20:12This is absolutely amazing. Paul, thank you. This is absolutely the greatest thing ever. I can't
20:18wait to not ride it because I'm too afraid I'll dump it.
20:31If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes or nominate a
20:35veteran to be featured in a future episode, log onto our website, operationhealingheroes.org
20:41and click on the nominate button.
Comments