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00:03Welcome to Operation Healing Heroes in historic Kokomo, Indiana.
00:07Join us today as we feature retired United States Marine Corps veteran Eddie Jaramillo.
00:12These are the faces of heroes.
00:17Many still bearing the invisible wounds of war, PTSD, and trauma.
00:24I left Vietnam, but Vietnam never left me.
00:29That's how I'm living.
00:31Why did I come back?
00:33Why are they gone and I'm not?
00:35You know, what have I done to deserve to be here?
00:41Our mission is listening and hearing, helping and healing,
00:47for those who sacrificed and those who continue to sacrifice.
00:53The mission today and every day is Operation Healing Heroes.
01:00Brought to you by Great Clips.
01:09Kokomo, Indiana.
01:10The city of firsts.
01:12Built by people who believe in doing things with their hands.
01:16And standing by what they've built.
01:19This isn't a boat on a lake.
01:21It isn't a fishing trip.
01:23But for Eddie, this place carries the same weight.
01:29Welcome, guys.
01:31Great to finally meet you, man.
01:32Absolutely.
01:33Appreciate it.
01:33Thanks for taking the time to do this.
01:35Eddie, I did a ton of research.
01:37We got the best in the business going right here.
01:39I'm so excited to get these tattoos.
01:40I appreciate it.
01:41Let's do it.
01:42All right, man.
01:42Thank you so much again for having us.
01:44Yeah, of course.
01:44You're going to love this dude.
01:45People from around the world come to Timothy Boer for their tattoos.
01:51It only hurts for a little while.
01:53Just, we'll see.
01:55Just during the tattoo part.
01:56That's all.
01:57Only for three hours.
01:59We should be okay.
02:00You're going to be fine.
02:03Oh, man.
02:03Get the stencil on you.
02:04And you can kind of check it out and see if you like where it's at.
02:07And then we'll get rolling.
02:10Some places don't ask you to talk.
02:13They ask you to stay still.
02:15You're active duty.
02:16To trust the process.
02:17I saw it a few months ago.
02:18To let something permanent take shape.
02:20Oh, my God.
02:21Where not every story is told out loud.
02:24Oh, do you want to hop up, look at it in the mirror?
02:27All right.
02:28See if you like what it looks like.
02:30It works.
02:30That's pretty awesome.
02:31All right.
02:32It works.
02:33All right.
02:33Just kick back for a minute.
02:35Oh.
02:36Got the approval from their wife.
02:38Oh, did you show it to her?
02:39I was like, just in time.
02:40She loved the picture, so we're good.
02:42Just in time.
02:43Yeah.
02:43Make sure you save that.
02:45You said it was all right.
02:50All right, man.
02:56How is it?
02:58Could be worse.
03:00So I understand you grew up in Florida?
03:03I did.
03:03My younger years actually lived in Columbia.
03:07I wasn't raised by my mom.
03:09I was raised by my aunt, my uncle.
03:11They were my mom and dad.
03:13At one point, she decided she wanted to be a mom.
03:16And that's how I ended up full-time in Florida with her.
03:20What about your dad?
03:22I never met my dad.
03:24Really?
03:25Yeah.
03:26I've never met him.
03:26Never met your dad?
03:28Nope.
03:28To this day?
03:29To this day.
03:30The difficult part was just living with my mother.
03:34Really?
03:34She was pretty abusive.
03:37She was pretty abusive.
03:37Not physically abusive.
03:38Just verbally and, you know, psychologically abusive.
03:42And she's the reason I joined the Marines.
03:46She's the reason you joined the Marines?
03:48Yep.
03:48I just wanted to get away from her.
03:50Really?
03:52Yep.
03:52That's the only reason I joined.
03:54Really?
03:55Yeah.
03:56I graduated high school.
03:58The day after, I was gone.
04:02Studies have long shown that turbulent family dynamics often push young men toward military
04:08service.
04:09For Eddie, the Marines weren't about glory.
04:13They were an exit.
04:14A way out of a home defined by control and fear.
04:21Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips.
04:27Bohemian Tattoo Club.
04:29And by Suzuki Marine.
04:36Operation Healing Heroes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the lives of our U.S. military veterans.
04:43In addition, we also provide financial support and treatment for post-traumatic stress.
04:48Your donation will help heal our heroes.
05:01I mean, seven years of verbally abusive.
05:05He works on you.
05:06Yeah.
05:07And to this point, I don't speak to my mom.
05:10I haven't spoken to her.
05:12Since when?
05:13Since then.
05:14Since the day you joined the Marine Corps?
05:16No doubt.
05:18I'm sorry to hear that, but in the same token, it sounds like it's much healthier for you.
05:23You know what I mean?
05:23Yes, it was.
05:24Once I joined the Marine Corps, I didn't really have anybody.
05:27It was just me.
05:28Right.
05:28I didn't really have anybody or anywhere to go back to, so I didn't really have a home.
05:32You didn't have family or nothing?
05:34Like, did you, so when you went on leave, where did you go?
05:39I never went on leave.
05:40You didn't?
05:41Or, well, I started, once I got married, yeah.
05:45Yeah.
05:46And how many years did you serve?
05:48I was in for close to 12 years.
05:51Almost 12 years.
05:52And did you plan on being in career?
05:55I was.
05:55My plan was 20 years retired.
05:58That was the plan.
06:00This wasn't temporary for Eddie.
06:03Joining in 1994, Eddie was in it for the long haul.
06:08Paris Island forged him.
06:10El Toro and Miramar shaped him, ultimately anchoring his career in aviation.
06:16Then, 9-11 happened.
06:21Nobody said it.
06:22Nobody mentioned it.
06:23But we just knew, at this point, we're going to deploy somewhere.
06:28So we ended up in Kuwait for a little bit.
06:31From Kuwait, we ended up going out to an aircraft carrier off the coast.
06:36Then Marines and Army finally took Baghdad.
06:39They actually invaded Iraq and took it over.
06:42And that's how we ended up.
06:44A few weeks after that, we ended up at the airport in Baghdad.
06:47So what was your fear level like when you're heading over there?
06:53It's hard to measure a level of fear just because it's a new situation.
06:58It's something you've never been into.
07:00You know what the possibilities are.
07:02You can be the bravest person out there, and you're still going to have some fear.
07:06Just because of the possibilities.
07:08Yeah.
07:08So I was assigned to a helicopter squadron, a helicopter to a specific helicopter.
07:13And our mission was moving troops in and out.
07:18We did some evacuations as needed.
07:23Our main job was to move troops and gear between places.
07:27Okay.
07:28So whoever needed to go, whatever they needed to go, that was us.
07:33So when you're in enemy territory and you're actually doing these missions, I mean, what's it like the first time
07:38you actually engage with somebody?
07:41For us, it's a little bit different just because we're not on the ground facing the enemy.
07:45We're just kind of just going over it, flying around.
07:50The big issue with just going around, flying around is that there's that big target flying all over the place.
07:57So that's where everybody starts aiming at.
08:00So we got a few pop shots, you know, and that first time you get shot out and you know
08:07they're shooting at you, you freak out.
08:09Yeah.
08:09I mean, it's scary.
08:10Intimidating.
08:11But you don't know what they're shooting at you.
08:13It could be a simple, simple rifle round or it could be an RPG.
08:19You don't know what's coming at you.
08:20How much will those helicopters handle as far as?
08:23They don't.
08:24They don't?
08:24It just goes right through.
08:26Really?
08:27There is armor underneath.
08:29Overall, there isn't.
08:31There isn't.
08:32What we used to do, we take our flag jacket and we used to sit on them.
08:36Because more likely you're going to get shot from underneath.
08:39Underneath, right.
08:39That coming at you.
08:41So everybody used to lay all the flag jackets and kind of sit around them.
08:45So if you get shot from underneath, hopefully you won't get hit.
08:48Wow.
08:49How many get shot through a flag jacket or anything?
08:55I have.
08:55I just don't want to.
08:56Oh, gotcha.
08:57Okay.
08:57That's one of the things you don't want to talk about.
08:59Yeah, I get it.
08:59Yeah.
09:00I did.
09:02Eddie rarely speaks about the incident.
09:05While deployed in Baghdad, his helicopter took enemy fire from the ground.
09:10And he was hit.
09:12And that's where the story stops.
09:15Some moments are carried, not explained.
09:22Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Recon Boats, and by PowerPole.
09:38Lord, we will be caught up.
09:38What did you enjoy doing the most?
09:40Ah.
09:43And don't say the chow hall.
09:46Well, it was a Navy base.
09:47At that point, it was a Navy base, so it wasn't bad at all.
10:24Operation Iraqi Freedom was in full swing.
10:27The skies were crowded and helicopters made for easy targets.
10:33Eddie doesn't talk about the incident.
10:35He doesn't need to.
10:37What matters is what came after.
10:41Not long after coming home, a car accident reveals something far bigger than the crash itself.
10:48A few years after I got out, I ended up getting into a car accident.
10:53It was a pretty bad accident, so I ended up being taken to the hospital.
10:57Obviously, because of the accident, they did a CAT scan, all that kind of stuff.
11:03Ended up, I actually had cancer.
11:06Really?
11:06So, yeah, my kidney, I had kidney cancer.
11:10Years of breathing helicopter exhaust, fuel, smoke, and chemicals had settled into his body.
11:17What survived combat was quietly turning against him.
11:22I was actually told that I would have been dead within six months to a year because how progressed the
11:27cancer was.
11:28And you had no idea?
11:30I had no idea.
11:30You had no symptoms, no nothing?
11:32Nothing at all.
11:33Nothing related to the kidney.
11:35Wow.
11:36And the doctor, my primary, and my wife, actually, they kept telling me I should apply for a disability.
11:43I never did because I didn't think it was—I didn't need it, and I didn't, you know, I'm alive, so
11:49I don't really need disability.
11:50I figured I'd probably be rated like 10% because of a missing kidney or whatever and cancer.
11:57And within a month, I got my rating back, and it actually ended up being over 100% or 100%,
12:06so.
12:07But, yeah, it was all—it was all service-related.
12:11Being awarded 100% disability didn't change how Eddie saw himself.
12:15It just marked what his body had already endured.
12:19Check it out, man.
12:20See what you think.
12:20It's awesome.
12:22Love it.
12:23All right, let's see.
12:24Absolutely, man.
12:24My pleasure.
12:25Dude, that is so amazing.
12:27How crazy is that?
12:29It is pretty awesome.
12:31Look at how it looks like your skin is actually ripped up there.
12:33Yep.
12:34Where he's been is now etched in eight, and for the first time, Eddie gives himself permission to move forward.
12:44That tickles.
12:46Thanks for letting me be part of this.
12:48Thanks for sharing your story.
12:48I know it's a rough day both ways, pain emotionally and physically, so I appreciate it, man.
12:54It was an honor to be part of you.
12:56I appreciate it.
12:57All right, you ready?
12:58Your turn.
12:59All right, I'm ready.
13:01Let's do this.
13:02I'm excited.
13:04So can you believe that we've known each other for 10 years, and it took this long for us to
13:08get tattoos together?
13:09It's been a while, and it all started because of your truck.
13:13Driving down Bartlett, yeah.
13:15It's back in your driveway.
13:17My wife saw it, we saw it, and decided to sign up for Take-A-Vet fishing.
13:22Oh, that's cool.
13:23At least I know my advertising's paying off.
13:24It does.
13:25It works.
13:27Every year, volunteers come together to honor our heroes with a simple day on the water.
13:32Through Take-A-Vet fishing, moments of peace become memories that last.
13:38For veterans like Eddie, each cast is more than fishing, it's healing, a reminder they are not forgotten.
13:47So the first event that I actually showed up to wasn't my first event.
13:51It was my second event.
13:52Once I showed up, there was a lot of people there.
13:55So I got out of my truck, looked around, looked at everybody, and I couldn't do it.
14:01That just, that wasn't for me.
14:03I just couldn't do it.
14:03So I got back in my truck and...
14:05Drove home.
14:06Drove home.
14:08And your wife was like, what are you doing home, Eddie?
14:10Pretty much.
14:11She was kind of, she wasn't surprised because she understands.
14:15Yeah.
14:15So at that point, she decided, well, if she can't make it this time, you need to sign up for
14:19the next event.
14:21The second time, she actually came with me.
14:24It just makes it easier when you have somebody with you.
14:27I was going to say, so what was it that made you leave that day?
14:31Was that you didn't know anybody or, I mean, a combination, the crowd and all that stuff?
14:35It's a combination, the crowds and a bunch of strangers that I've never talked to, I've never met before.
14:41There's a physical reaction.
14:43Yeah.
14:44In situations like that, it's not, it's not just being uncomfortable.
14:47Because everybody goes through uncomfortable situations and you just power through them.
14:52It's when you start getting those physical chest pains and the sweats and the shaking and you just can't.
14:59It's hard to power through it when you're by yourself, when your body's reacting to the situations.
15:06From there, which is a lot easier, because after the first event, I got to meet you.
15:11I got to meet your wife and everybody else on the team.
15:14And everybody was just nice and welcoming.
15:18That's cool.
15:19So that made second, third, fourth, thereafter, a lot easier to show up to and just be okay with it.
15:33Take Event Fishing was created for those who served our great nation.
15:37A simple day of giving back has been the mission for over 20 years.
15:42Visit TakeEventFishing.org to sign up for an event near you.
15:48If you'd like to recognize a special veteran in your life and see them featured on our website,
15:53log on to OperationHealingHeroes.org and click on the Recognize button.
15:59Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, St. Croix Rods, and by Thorn Brothers.
16:21So Take Event Fishing kind of ignited this bug in you to want to go out fishing more.
16:26At what point did you decide that you wanted to be a guide as opposed to just a veteran and
16:31letting other guides take you out?
16:33I think, no, I thought it was great.
16:35People were willing to take me out fishing, but I feel bad.
16:39I don't like people catering to me.
16:42So I actually had the discussion with my wife.
16:45I need to get a boat and just take people out because I don't want people taking me out.
16:53Eddie was never comfortable being the one taken care of.
16:56So he bought a boat and became the guide instead.
17:00On the water, he's in motion, laughing, giving others the day he once needed himself.
17:11But even purpose can't always quiet the fight underneath.
17:16After one of the Take Event Fishing events, your wife had kind of reached out to me and said,
17:20Hey, listen, I learned about all the different modalities of healing that you guys have to offer.
17:25And she wanted to learn a little bit more about the Stalic Ganglion Block shot.
17:30And it wasn't too long after that that you reached back out and said, Hey, I'm willing to give it
17:34a try.
17:35Actually, the reason she ended up reaching out to you, it's about a week that I kind of locked myself
17:40up in my bedroom.
17:42And I wasn't coming out.
17:43She ended up taking me to the VA.
17:46And that's how this whole, we got to do something about it.
17:49I'm glad to hear that your first SGB shot provided you, you said, with like six to nine months of
17:55not going into the emergency room with an anxiety attack or a panic attack, thinking you were having a heart
18:01attack, right?
18:01Yeah, it's the physical reaction.
18:05Yeah, it feels like a heart attack, right?
18:07Yeah.
18:08Is it fair to say it brought you from a 10 on the scale of one to 10 down to
18:13a two, gave you the clarity and the ability to relax a little more, think a little more?
18:18You don't have those physical reactions anymore.
18:22The chest pains, the sweats, the shaking, which is the worst part of the anxiety part.
18:28The shot definitely, I mean, it really helped.
18:31At least six, seven months, it took that pain away.
18:36So, I don't know.
18:38I guess my feeling about it was it's if I take it, I'm taking that resource away from somebody else.
18:44And that's not what I want to do.
18:46That's not what I want to be.
18:47But I want to be the one helping people, not taking away from people.
18:51In order for you to be able to do what you just got done saying you're going to do and
18:54that's help other people, you have to be in a frame of mind that you can help others.
18:58And that's the key.
19:00The stellate ganglion block shot didn't completely erase Eddie's anxiety, but it quieted his body enough to tell him he
19:08wasn't dying.
19:09Healing came in pieces, through people, through programs, through doors that opened when he was ready.
19:17Today, Eddie gives that steadiness back on the water, in his community, still healing, still showing up.
19:24So, for the Red Cross, it's national deployments.
19:27So, pretty much any time there is a big, big disaster, we're asked to deploy it.
19:34And usually deployments are about two weeks long.
19:37So, what does your wife, Stephanie, and your daughters mean to you?
19:42No, life shouldn't be about just serving yourself.
19:44Life should be about helping other people and serving other people.
19:47And I want them to see that and understand.
19:50And it's not something I want to teach them.
19:52It's something I want them to feel natural.
19:55They're my support.
19:57They're always with me.
20:00So, I don't think I could do half the stuff that I do if it wasn't for them.
20:04That's awesome.
20:05Well, thank you for your service.
20:06It means the world to us.
20:08All right, man.
20:10Looks like we got it done.
20:11All done?
20:12Yeah.
20:16As you've just seen, the SGB shots that Eddie received provided great relief.
20:20Operation Healing Heroes remains committed to providing additional healing if Eddie should ever need it.
20:31If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes, or nominate a veteran
20:36to be featured in a future episode, log on to our website, operationhealingheroes.org, and click on the nominate button.
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