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Operation Healing Heroes S04E06
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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,
00:17many still bearing the invisible wounds of war, PTSD and trauma. I left Vietnam,
00:25but Vietnam never left me. That's how I'm living. Why did I come back? Why are they gone and I'm
00:35not?
00:35You know, what have I done to deserve to be here? Our mission is listening and hearing,
00:45helping and healing for those who sacrificed and those who continue to sacrifice. The mission today
00:55and every day is Operation Healing Heroes. Brought to you by Great Clips.
01:08In episode one of this special two-part series, Paul Sr. of the world-famous Orange County choppers
01:15invited US Army veteran Dave Allen into his garage. Paul was in the early stages of building a one-of
01:23-a-kind
01:23motorcycle for a customer and Paul invited Dave to help him build the bike. So this is this bike
01:30we're building for a customer, you know? You know what we could do? You know, I got the rear tire
01:34on,
01:35which is part of the problem, but we could put the transmission in. Little did Dave know that the
01:39customer was Operation Healing Heroes and that Dave would be helping to build a bike designed to honor
01:47the heroes of our U.S. military. Dave had no idea that his name would be on that bike. For
01:55a lifelong
01:56motorcycle junkie, it was the chance of a lifetime. Got to pick it up and bring it over to me.
02:04Now you're in there, I believe, right? Yes, you are. I can help by getting you guys the tools. So
02:10if you need a
02:11wrench, you let me know. That's a wrench, right? That's a wrench. All right, good. And that's what you're here
02:17for.
02:18Paul was an open book, sharing far more with Dave than his knowledge of building thousands of custom motorcycles.
02:26I've never had any issues with drugs, but I like to drink. But I was always casual drinker. A couple
02:33drinks at night. Life was good. Even once I knew that I have PTSD and a couple older vets had
02:42taken me
02:42under their wing and I was getting a little bit of help, but I didn't want to quit drinking. You
02:48know,
02:48I wanted to be in control and I wanted to get help, but I didn't want to get all the
02:54help. I was like,
02:55yeah, that's your friend, man. And over time, you know, I was living that life.
03:04Yeah, I bet. So I lived that life forever, you know, forever. And I haven't had a drink in 40
03:10years.
03:11And I drank a quarter whiskey a day for a lot of years. And so I identify with pretty much
03:21everything
03:21you're saying. There came a point when I had to make, kind of make a decision, you know,
03:26and I was sitting at the table with my wife and the decision was, am I going to live or
03:32am I going to
03:32die? You know? And I said, I'm going to die because the power of alcohol is so great. You feel
03:39like you
03:40don't have a choice. Because for me, I tried to quit drinking a hundred times. And I tried the weekends.
03:45I tried, you know, I tried, I drank, I drank, I went and looked for cough medicine that had alcohol
03:52on it. I mean, I searched, you know, it's, it's insidious disease. And I said, I'll go to one of
03:59those AA meetings, you know, which I hated. But I went there and I went there sober. And what I
04:08realized
04:09is that I didn't drink. I didn't drink that day. And, uh, and I went again and I went again
04:15and
04:15went again. It's almost like you said, it's a day at a time, you know? And so I didn't tell
04:22anybody I
04:22quit drinking. You've got that certain mentality. It's like, you're not that guy, you know what I
04:27mean? You're not the guy that just walks away from your, your, your buddies or whatnot. And, uh,
04:34you know, after a little bit of time, you, you learn, you know, at some point you learn,
04:39you have a choice because all that time takes a little bit. Oh, it takes a while, man. All that
04:45time you, you, you don't have a choice. So you can't really say, you know, Hey bud, I'm not drinking,
04:51beat it. You know, you can't, you know what I mean? Like it, cause it's, it's a little bit at
04:54a time.
04:55And then for me, it's just not quitting whiskey. It's you've got to change your whole life.
05:03Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Orange County choppers, and 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
05:29for post-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 mind.
06:04And I think the fear of that is what keeps me from not drinking because I know that I could
06:10drink.
06:11Alcoholism 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,
06:46right? A fan of your show for many years and never would I ever thought I'd be in the garage
06:54with
06:54senior, right? But let's go deeper than that. Never would I have ever thought that you're going
07:04to share a story like that with me. A whole nother level of respect for you. Not just a fan,
07:12but
07:12all right. So you're a dude a few years ahead of me in a life and experience and, but you
07:20know,
07:20the struggle and man, you're proof that you can be made fame and fortune. And I'm sure people try to
07:26buy you a drink every day in your place, right? Probably you can, you can drink over there for
07:32free all day every day if you wanted to. Yeah, it ain't about that. So if you can do it
07:40with all the temptation you must have, that's an inspiration to me. You know, Paul sharing with me
07:47where he's been and the amount of time that he's been able to conquer his demons gives me a lot
07:57of hope.
07:59Sharing his, his story, having the, 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,
08:25working 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 you'll 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 go on through and, uh, the pain meds and this med and that med that you've
08:50been on.
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 is 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
09:36you 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 could 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, any time
09:59from
10:00now on, we're family, brother. And this is, this is about making sure that we provide healing, brother,
10:05because it's, it's a struggle every day. And I can see the struggle on your face right now, man.
10:09It's not easy. Yeah, it's, uh, you're right. And I appreciate you guys that have a heart for veterans.
10:18Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Blue Water Boat Club, and by SKB Cases.
10:39Battery's dead.
10:44Sounds good.
10:48If you'd like to see more behind the scenes footage, follow us on social media and subscribe
10:53to our YouTube 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,
11:05first 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.
11:25Yeah. Every branch. I love it. I don't think we missed, we even Coast Guard. We did, uh,
11:30which I have a lot of respect for. Yeah, for sure. Well, when you and I talked about what this
11:34bike
11:35was going to be, um, I just said that it, I want every veteran, man, woman to, to relate to
11:42this bike,
11:43to say they're part of it. I want them to feel like they're part of it. Like, I want to,
11:46I want them to
11:47get the recognition for their hard work, their dedication, their service. I want this bike to heal.
11:51I want this bike to heal people. It'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,
12:01it looks amazing. Until you put it on the bike, you don't know what you're getting.
12:05What's going on, man? What's going on, guys?
12:08What's going on? Wow. What's up, bro?
12:11Wow. Check that out. What do you think?
12:18That's good. That's insane. I mean, this is, this, this, this here was like speaking
12:22for itself, but this is really, this is really cool. Like, this here looks like two pieces,
12:28same thing over here. Final assembly must continue before Paul takes the Patriot bike
12:33on its first test drive. This project started over a year ago.
12:38Uh, yes, it did, yeah. And we were going to build a bike,
12:42perfect bike in the back there. We were going to build a bike just like a, like a barber style
12:48bike, you know? And we got, we built most of it. And I said, I told him, I said, we
12:53cannot, we can't,
12:54we can't roll this bike out in front of all these veterans. They're, they're, they're much more worthy
12:58of something 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 bike
13:11that we were doing and we want to do something really special. The organization is amazing.
13:15They really do some really cool things for vets and, and the families. I mean, Jay's is a pretty
13:21special guy, you know what I mean? He lives and breathes this, you know what I mean? He really
13:26loves it, you know? I didn't realize a lot. I mean, I knew some of what was involved in
13:33the organization, but I didn't know what the bike would mean. And knowing that the bike is going to be
13:38traveling all around the country. And I don't know, maybe the world, I don't know. And knowing
13:44that, that is huge seeing that or even knowing about it. So, I mean, having our work and Ken's
13:51pain pulls like everybody being involved in this is, it doesn't end here. I know, which is crazy.
13:57It's just going to keep going. Yeah. That's the beauty of it. Not for a week, not for a month.
14:02It's going to go for years, which is amazing to be part of this.
14:31The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association's mission is to support and protect
14:37those who have defended 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,
14:56OperationHealingHeroes.org.
14:59Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries,
15:05PowerPole, and by Hoist 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
15:26it's going to do. I mean, we are, we are there to honor the men and women that served our
15:30country
15:30and to thank them for their service. And I don't care if you're a cook or you're at the tip
15:34of the spear,
15:35you're important and you're important to us, and we want to help you heal. And when you unveil this bike
15:41that 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.
15:48I'm there. I'm just going to ride the bike and not you.
15:51I don't know. No, you're right. Not me. Are we ready for an awesome night tonight, guys?
15:56Yeah!
15:57Whoo!
16:00When I was a young man
16:04I put on my right hand
16:10I swore to defend this land
16:17With all that I had
16:24Some of my best years
16:30Washed away in blood and guts and tears
16:35I probably drank a thousand beers
16:39For those who can't
16:48But if I'm still breathing
16:54Then I'm still in this fight
16:59But if I'm still in this fight
17:00Yeah, I was born
17:06To survive
17:12Cause I'm a warrior inside
17:22I want a letter to heaven
17:26Jesus, are you listening?
17:30Cause all I feel is hopeless
17:32My peace and joy are missing
17:36There's prayers for the weary
17:39But is my heart so heavy
17:42My God, can you hear me now?
17:50My God, can you hear me?
17:53Jesus, can you hear me?
17:56My God, can you hear me now?
18:01My God, can you hear me now?
18:06Compassion, brotherhood, patriotism, and love
18:10were 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.
18:26Thank you so much.
18:27We love you.
18:29Bringing the bike home.
18:31It was time for the Operation Healing Heroes Patriot Bike
18:35to make its public debut.
18:43Oh, hell yeah!
18:45Oh, hell yeah!
18:57Holy cow!
19:00Unbelievable, man.
19:02If that doesn't say America, nothing does, brother.
19:04This is amazing.
19:07Oh, he just, he just lowered it down.
19:11Unbelievable, brother.
19:13Wow, let's hear it for Paul Sr. and Orange County Choppers.
19:17Jim Conn.
19:19Here's the gentleman that actually made this happen.
19:23Yeah.
19:26Actually, I didn't make it happen.
19:28We made it happen.
19:29Everybody here, um, we really worked as a team to do this.
19:33And Jay had called us last year, right?
19:35Jay just to start this project.
19:37And, uh, he gave me a call and said, you know,
19:41explain to me what we're doing.
19:42I said, yeah, I'm in.
19:43The paint on this, uh, Ken's been our painter.
19:47Uh, since one of the events we had here a while ago.
19:50But he, uh, he just doesn't put the paint on it.
19:53He puts his heart and soul into it.
19:55Uh, and you can see that.
19:57We listed all the veterans that had part in this.
20:00So you got, you know, all the veterans that are over here.
20:03You got Paul Tuttle, Jim Kerr, Dave Allen.
20:07This bike was built by veterans for veterans.
20:12This is absolutely amazing.
20:14Paul, thank you.
20:16This is absolutely the greatest thing ever.
20:18I can't wait 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,
20:34or nominate a veteran to be featured in a future episode, log on to our website,
20:40operationhealingheroes.org, and click on the nominate button.
20:42We'll see you next time.
20:45We'll see you next time.
20:46We'll see you next time.
20:47We'll see you next time.
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