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00:02Welcome to Operation Healing Heroes. Join me in beautiful Clearwater Florida as we
00:07feature retired US Navy and Marine veteran Dave Bray USA. These are the faces of heroes,
00:17many still bearing the invisible wounds of war, PTSD and trauma. I left Vietnam but Vietnam never
00:27left me. That's how I'm living. Why did I come back? Why are they gone and I'm not? You know,
00:36what 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.
01:09Dave Bray USA is a US Navy and Marine Corps veteran who considers his music on a mission
01:16to be a continuation of his service to his country.
01:20If you still believe in America, let me see you stand up. Put your hand over your hearts.
01:31Count your lucky stars, you're living free. Everybody stand up and thank the Lord above.
01:42It's time to stand up for what you believe.
01:46Hey, Dave. Welcome back to Orange County Choppers here in Clearwater, Florida, man. We're here for
01:50the second annual Salute to American Heroes. Can't wait. It's going to be an exciting night.
01:55Once again, I'm just honored to have you back. I know you were part of the first one and
01:59you rocked it and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings, brother. So yeah, we're back in Orange
02:02County Choppers, dude. This place is amazing. The OCC Roadhouse down here in Clearwater, Florida.
02:07I'm looking forward to it. I know there's a lot of surprises and things going on that nobody knows about
02:12quite yet, but you guys put together a great show. I'm honored to be a part of it. Thanks so
02:15much,
02:16man. Well, where did your patriotism come from? Like, you know, growing up, were you a kid that
02:21always dreamed of going into the military or was it something like family roots or what was it?
02:24Well, listen, first and foremost, I grew up in a small town, America, Southern Pennsylvania,
02:28and we didn't even, you know, people say we grew up in a one light town. We didn't even have
02:32one
02:33light. We had a roundabout. There was a World War I soldier in the middle of there. It was Jefferson,
02:37Pennsylvania, tiny little town, a lot of history, though. And growing up in that town, you know,
02:43there was not a ton to do, but there was a lot to do as a community. And we came
02:49together as a
02:49community a lot, and that was something that we did, whether it was Little League Baseball or scouting
02:54or sports or community events. We had a little carnival for the fire hall each year. And that
03:00little tiny town, we grew up separated from everybody else. It was like growing up in the 1930s.
03:05I was the paper boy, and my dad was a Navy enlisted guy. My brother went into the Navy right
03:11out of
03:11high school. I went into the Navy right out of high school. I had family that served in World War
03:14I,
03:15World War II. I think service is sort of embedded in our DNA, and I wanted to continue that. I
03:21wanted
03:21to do something special with my youth and with my young adulthood. So I understand where your
03:26patriotism came from. Where did your love of music come from? So honestly, growing up, I was born in
03:31England. A lot of people don't know that. And in preschool in England, you go to church and you
03:36sing the hymns. You know, three, four, and five-year-olds, we're singing the hymns in the church
03:40or at an early age. And when we moved to America, my dad was an NSA guy. So when we
03:45came here and got
03:46restationed, we found the church in our community, and I was singing in the youth choir. And I found that,
03:53you know, singing together with people and bringing people together by music was something that,
03:58you know, resonated with me. Yeah. At around 10 years old, Dave would recognize the healing power
04:04of music. We were 10-year-old kids, and four of us were riding to a baseball Little League practice.
04:12And a good friend of mine, Corey, he was struck by a vehicle, and he passed away at 10 years
04:18old.
04:19And sadly, it devastated our town. It devastated the community. It shook us to our core.
04:28It was something we weren't coming back from. And I dug into music at that time, looking for
04:34some form of expression to deal with the anger issues I was having, to deal with the pain I was
04:41feeling, and to deal with, you know, the loss of a good friend.
04:46Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Orange County Choppers,
04:53and by Suzuki Marine.
05:01Operation Healing Heroes is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting the lives of our U.S. military veterans.
05:08In addition, we also provide financial support and treatment for post-traumatic stress.
05:13Your donation will help heal our heroes.
05:33So, yeah, I mean, you talk about the power of music, and it's amazing what music can do for the
05:37soul, isn't it?
05:38Amen. Amen. I'm a believer that music is the ultimate healer.
05:42When you connect with music and you connect with song, it is something that can heal parts of your body
05:47you didn't even know were broken.
05:49So, you're in this small town. You found music. You've got a new passion. Why would you then go into
05:54the military?
05:55Okay. Well, we started this little band. But unfortunately, I went into the late entry program.
06:01I had already signed. I already committed.
06:02Going into my senior year, I was just, I'd sort of given up on that town.
06:07I'd given up on everything. I just wanted to go. I wanted to get away.
06:11Again, the tragedies of losing friends.
06:13Yep.
06:13That small town starts to get very, very, very claustrophobic.
06:17And you start to feel like, well, if I start growing roots here, there's not going to be enough room
06:23to grow for what I see for my future.
06:25And so, the Navy was one of those things. I actually was trying to get to California, Hawaii.
06:29I said, if I can get to California, Hawaii, I'll just, you know, get out of the Navy there. I'll
06:32be good to go.
06:33I want to buy a plane ticket.
06:34That's how broke we were.
06:35Nice.
06:36So, long story short, there was a calling.
06:39Again, with my dad being a Navy guy, my brother being a Navy guy, I wanted to follow in those
06:43footsteps.
06:44But yes, I wanted to escape that small town.
06:46I wanted to forget the pain that sort of went along with it.
06:49And I still can't drive through that town or go back to it without feeling that deep sense of loss.
06:55Dave was sent to Great Lakes Naval Station for basic training.
06:59Went to A school, Master of Arms at A school.
07:01Got a pretty good duty station at Charleston.
07:04And then in Charleston, I was with EMS.
07:06I was a crew chief of an ambulance unit, worked in the ER.
07:10Got a taste for that high-speed, low-drag kind of mentality and working in the ER and fast-paced
07:15medicine.
07:16And that's when I realized I needed to be with the Marines.
07:19You know, I talked to some other FMF docs that were now on hospital duty, and I wanted to do
07:25what they did.
07:26I wanted to see what they saw.
07:27I wanted to experience the experience they had with the Marines.
07:30And after that, man, I put in my papers, and I was off to Field Medical Training Battalion.
07:35Graduated top dog out of there.
07:36And Stapleton, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines.
07:39Hoorah.
07:41Dave was a Marine.
07:43This song goes out to the men and women who exemplify the meanings of the words honor, courage, and commitment.
07:53They are the few.
07:54They are the proud.
07:57They are the United States Marines.
08:12So I graduated from Field Medical Service School, and I am just, like, gnawing at the bit to meet Marines.
08:17I want to be with the Marines.
08:18I have been working so hard for this moment.
08:20I grab my paperwork, and I charge down to Camp Lejeune, and by this time, it might be 1130 in
08:25the morning.
08:26And I roll into 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines with my orders, and I meet this guy named Senior Chief Bump,
08:31who's sitting behind the desk.
08:32He's jacked, and he's finishing up a sandwich, and he's like, who are you?
08:37I was like, I'm FMF Doc Bray.
08:40I'm here for you, man.
08:41I just graduated.
08:42He's like, you guys aren't supposed to be done until noon.
08:45I was like, well, I'm here, man.
08:46He's like, so what do you want to do?
08:47What do you want to do?
08:48I was like, just don't put me in the hospital.
08:52Don't put me in a white uniform.
08:54I don't want anything to do with that.
08:55Put me in the field.
08:56Let me be a go-getter.
08:57Let me go shoot guns.
08:58Let me jump out of helicopters.
08:59Let me do whatever.
09:01And he's like, oh, you're Bray.
09:03You're the top dog.
09:04I said, yeah.
09:05He's like, oh, you're going to stay platoon.
09:06I was like, I don't want to stay anywhere.
09:09I want to go, right?
09:10So he's like, no, no, no.
09:11You're going to stay platoon, man.
09:13Surveillance target acquisition.
09:14You're going to be with the sniper teams.
09:16I was like, perfect.
09:18So he gave me my rights.
09:20Goes, meet your guys.
09:22And, man, that was an interesting moment.
09:26I pulled into the barracks.
09:27And these guys are all, it's like a Friday.
09:29These guys are drinking beer, cleaning guns.
09:31They got beards.
09:32They got hair.
09:33I'm like, all right, this Metallica blaring out in the courtyard.
09:38And these guys just have all their gear out and clean.
09:40I was like asking questions.
09:41They're just like, hey, doc, you're our new guy?
09:45I was like, yeah.
09:45They're like, can you run?
09:46I was like, yeah, I can run.
09:47Can you swim?
09:48I was like, yeah, I can swim.
09:49They're like, okay, we'll see you tomorrow, 500.
09:51I'm like, Saturday.
09:55Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips,
10:01Recon Boats, and by St. Croix Rods.
10:11Javi, how's my hair?
10:14Nice.
10:15Good answer.
10:17Does anybody have any hair in the room?
10:19That could give me some reference.
10:21None, none, none, none.
10:24If you'd like to see more behind-the-scenes footage,
10:27follow us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
10:31If you'd like to learn more and go deeper into the subject of healing,
10:35tune in to the all-new Operation Healing Heroes podcast, Feel the Heal.
10:40Hear from veterans, first responders, doctors, nonprofit leaders,
10:44and Gold Star families as they share powerful stories of hope, healing, and resiliency.
10:49Tune in and feel the heal.
10:57Tune in and feel the heal.
11:24Hey, Doc, you're our new guy?
11:26I was like, yeah.
11:26They're like, can you run?
11:27I was like, yeah, I can run.
11:28Can you swim?
11:29I was like, yeah, I can swim.
11:31They're like, okay, we'll see you tomorrow, 500.
11:33I'm like, Saturday, you know?
11:35Yeah.
11:35What, are you kidding me?
11:36Nah, we went out, we did a run.
11:37We ended up running like 10-mile pack run.
11:39It was amazing, dude.
11:40It was exactly what I was looking for.
11:42And I found a lot of good people in that state platoon,
11:44a lot of good brothers I still keep in contact today.
11:46Very cool.
11:47So tell me, what's the difference between the Navy and the Marine Corps,
11:50serving in both of those branches?
11:52First off, better uniforms.
11:54You don't look like a Cracker Jack box when you're walking around in a Marine Corps uniform.
11:59You know, I'll say this about probably most branches, but the Marine Corps, you know, for sure.
12:05While you are in the Marine Corps, there is a brutal amount of weight and responsibility put on you,
12:13even as an FMF doc.
12:15But you even see it out of the Lance Corporals and the Corporals,
12:19the amount of responsibility they are given at such a young age.
12:23It does become something that is overwhelming.
12:25And for me, even as a doc, it was overwhelming.
12:28And it just seemed like the ask was relentless from higher-ups.
12:34And it became something that you almost, not that you despised, but something that you dreaded.
12:38You know, waking up every morning, you're like, oh, my gosh, I'm still in the Corps.
12:41But once you get out, all that work, all that effort, all that teamwork,
12:45all that responsibility you realize was on your shoulders and you look back at it,
12:49there is an essence of pride that comes, I don't believe, from any other branch other than the Corps.
12:55So I get out of the military, I'm 22 years old, still a young man, no looking back.
12:59I'm going after music with everything I possibly have, and I'm going to chase this thing down.
13:04And about three days later, I'm on stage with the guys, and I'm screaming my heart out.
13:09So I'm with that band for about seven years, and yeah, we started getting some attention.
13:14And we wanted to do something big, so we decided we were going to move to California.
13:17The time spent in California would be short-lived.
13:22So the band is done in California.
13:24My wife, my soon-to-be wife, and I drove back across country in a U-Haul with about three
13:29things in the back.
13:29I don't know why we just didn't rent a car.
13:31We came back, and I had basically given up.
13:35I quit music.
13:36I didn't want to feel that loss of brotherhood or kindred spirit and creativity.
13:42I didn't want to feel that loss again.
13:43I said, I'm done, and I just walked away, and I just started working.
13:48I started working in the workforce, logistics, and inevitably, I ended up working at BAE Systems building these Bradley assault
13:56vehicles.
13:57You know, we're at full-fledged war in the Middle East at this point in time, and I felt like
14:02I was a part of that war effort in some way, shape, or form.
14:04And I'm feeling this callback to service, this need to do something for our men and women who are serving
14:10overseas.
14:11So I'm feeling reconnected to my service.
14:13I'm working with these military vehicles, and I'm trying to, you know, find still my place in life.
14:19I keep having people ask me, when am I going to get back into music?
14:23And at that point in time is where I actually saw a little advertisement on Facebook, and it was someone
14:31that was looking for a rocker who was patriotic.
14:34And I answered the call.
14:35It was a label out of New York City.
14:37They didn't know they were looking for me, but they were looking for me.
14:40I got the job as the lead singer for the patriotic rock group Madison Rising.
14:51Take a Vet Fishing was created for those who served our great nation.
14:55A simple day of giving back has been the mission for over 20 years.
15:00Visit TakeAVetFishing.org to sign up for an event near you.
15:05If you'd like to recognize a special veteran in your life and see them featured on our website,
15:11log on to OperationHealingHeroes.org and click on the Recognize button.
15:17Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, PowerPole, and by Wiley X.
15:32So literally from a Facebook ad is how you become the lead singer and the front man for Madison Rising.
15:38Correct, yeah.
15:38After numerous auditions and all these things, in-studio work.
15:42And I found, again, a calling back to music that I had forgotten about.
15:47You've got to remember, I quit music.
15:48I was done for five years.
15:49I put it all down.
15:51I'm laid off.
15:52Wife, got two kids, young boys at this point in time.
15:56We're dealing with all kinds of issues.
15:58We're trying to get through each week.
16:00It wasn't just day by day.
16:01It was week by week.
16:02We were trying to survive.
16:04And I found this audition notice on Facebook.
16:07It said, you know, are you a patriot?
16:10Are you a rocker?
16:11And I was like, man, that's me.
16:13My wife's like, yeah, that is you.
16:14You should look into this.
16:16So Madison Rising blows up.
16:18We're the most patriotic rock band in America.
16:20And we just got really, really lucky.
16:23And I ended up writing a version of the Star Spangled Banner that's been heard by people all over the
16:28world.
16:29I wanted to do a patriotic rock band that would bring everyone from both sides, right or left, D or
16:42R, blue or red together.
16:44And so I stayed away from a little bit of the mud that was trying to be thrown out from
16:50that.
16:50And I put this thing together and I started sort of shaping it inside of my own vision.
16:56So Dave Bray USA is born.
16:59And that is when Music on a Mission gets its legs.
17:02So that's when the fire really, really started.
17:05I saw what could be done.
17:07I saw where my talents could bring me and take me.
17:10My wife was all in.
17:12And we wanted to do something special.
17:14And so long story short is we start Music on a Mission.
17:16Dave Bray USA is born.
17:18And we decided to give everything to patriotism, to faith, and to bringing people together in this country.
17:24I love that you intertwined the faith into it.
17:27I'm a firm believer, my friend, that without God, there is no country.
17:30And it's one of those things that people don't understand that this country, a lot of them don't understand that
17:35this country was built on the foundations of faith principles.
17:39Yes.
17:40So tell me about where's Dave Bray USA now, today?
17:43I tell you what.
17:44My family is so important to me.
17:46Having them be a part of this business, having them be a part of my Music on a Mission is
17:51so special.
17:51Again, my wife, Becky Bray, I could not do it without Becky Bray USA.
17:55She is booking PR, outreach, logistics.
17:58My two teenage sons who keep my spirit and my heart alive for this business and to continue the fire
18:04behind success.
18:05They also help with the printing and the inventory.
18:08And we print our own merchandise.
18:10So long story short is we're a microcosm of a business in this nation.
18:15And that's what this nation was built on.
18:17And it's a testament that you can do anything.
18:19You can do anything if you've got the right people around you.
18:22And, you know, the music that is being created and the healing that's being done through Music on a Mission
18:27is absolutely incredible.
18:29When I was a young man, I put up my right hand, I swore to defend this land, with all
18:48that I had.
18:53So the catch-22 about this whole thing is that I started writing music so that I could help myself
18:59heal.
18:59I wasn't trying to write hit songs.
19:01I wasn't trying to do anything.
19:03I just wanted to heal my own spirit, my own soul.
19:06And it's because of the fact that I allowed that doorway to my heart to open up and allow that
19:11pen to hit the paper and those songs to come out that others were able to heal as well.
19:16So being here at OCC Roadhouse, Operation Healing Heroes, Salute to American Heroes down here in Florida, I can't explain
19:27how important it is to me to be a part of events like this.
19:30Because I truly believe I bring more.
19:32I don't just bring entertainment.
19:33I'm not just here to shout and get people riled up.
19:38I'm here to help heal hearts.
19:39I'm here to do more than just sing and entertain.
19:42Music on a Mission is about patriotism.
19:44It's about faith, but it's also about healing.
19:47First off, I want to present you with this custom St. Croix rod made by Thorne Brothers for you.
19:52It says, Dave Bray, in appreciation of your sacrifice and service.
19:56It's a custom rod that was made for you.
19:58And, of course, you ain't going to look official without the amazing jerseys.
20:03Oh, I'm loving it.
20:03Operation Healing Heroes jersey with Dave Bray on the front, Bray on the back.
20:07That's for you.
20:08Thank you so much.
20:09Brother, I appreciate you more than you'll ever know.
20:12Thank you so much.
20:15Thank you, guys.
20:16Taking that fish in Operation Healing Heroes, man.
20:19Look at this.
20:20Let's go ride a bike and do some fishing.
20:22Let's do it, brother.
20:23Thank you so much, man.
20:24We appreciate you guys having me.
20:25God bless.
20:31If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes or nominate
20:35a veteran to be featured in a future episode, log on to our website, operationhealingheroes.org
20:41and click on the nominate button.
20:42And click on the nominate button.
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