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00:03Welcome to Operation Healing Heroes. Join us today as we honor the memory of Chief
00:09Warrant Officer Stephen Dwyer. These are the faces of heroes. Many still bearing
00:19the 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?
00:35You know, what have I done to deserve to be here? Our mission is listening and
00:44hearing, helping and healing for those who sacrificed and those who continue to
00:52sacrifice. The mission today and every day is Operation Healing Heroes. Brought to
01:02you by Great Clips.
01:08Minnesota Key Beach in Inglewood, Florida is recognized as the shark tooth capital of
01:15the world. The sun and the surf have been a welcome getaway for families for
01:20generations. For Gold Star wife Allie Dwyer, a getaway from the pain that they've
01:27endured is much needed. Hey Allie, thank you so much for coming to sunny Florida.
01:32We're looking forward to meeting you, learning more about you and the boys and
01:36absolutely excited about preserving Steve's legacy and talking about his
01:40heroism. I can't say thank you enough for taking the time to come down here and meet
01:44with us. Thanks for having us. We're super excited. The boys are pumped. Yeah? Love it.
01:49They're ready to do some fishing, some swimming. Yeah, all the things. They'll do anything.
01:53They're boys, aren't they? Wild, wild boys. Yes.
01:57Well, we want to make sure that you're comfortable throughout this whole process.
02:00We want to make sure that you only share with us what you want to share as far as
02:05Steve's story and your life and your personal life but it's important. You and I had a nice
02:09conversation yesterday on the way from the airport and we talked about family and
02:14friends and the importance of all that stuff. Yeah, that was, Steve was huge on
02:18family. Didn't get a ton of time at home busy with work a lot but every moment he
02:24did have at home family was the most important all the time so we built a
02:29really good friends away from family and just made it such a top priority so I hope
02:36to keep that up for the boys. Steve grew up military, born into the military. All he
02:41knew was army life. So for me it was adapting to his normal and coming into
02:48that military life. It was a lot to learn. It's a whole different world. It's a world
02:53I don't think you realize what it is until you live in it.
02:55Yeah. So how often did you guys have to move while Steve was in the military or did
03:00you not have to? We were at four different duty stations. Fort Campbell was our longest
03:07one. We were there for seven and a half years but typically every two to three
03:11years you would move. Was it hard to make friends? I thought it was a little harder
03:17to make friends than Steve. He could make friends with a tree. Everything was his
03:21friend. Really? He just grew up moving every two or three years so making friends just came
03:27natural to him and he just had a way of bringing people in and making them feel like they were
03:31his best friend and they truly were. Everyone he met was so important to him and so just
03:36kind of feeding off of him. I met so many people through him and then had to be you know
03:42very outgoing when you move so much you make friends really quick. That's something that
03:46the military teaches you. You don't have a lot of time to waste on small talk with people.
03:51You just really get to know someone really fast. So I've made some of my best friends
03:56that I'll have for my whole life just through being in this military world. My friends
04:00you know with family being far away when you're in the military you're not always
04:04close by. Your friends become your family and mine have definitely kept me standing over
04:12the last year and a half but I would be lost without all my friends. Well we know that this
04:16is going to be a difficult time sharing all this personal information and stories with us
04:20so we wanted to make sure that you felt comfortable and so we actually invited one of your friends
04:25to be here with you if that's okay. Really? Yeah. Is that okay? Who? Yeah. You turn around.
04:31Hi Julie! You ready? You too! I was going to text you and I was like oh maybe she'll be
04:37around in business or something. Yes!
04:40Oh my gosh! Thanks for coming! Oh my gosh!
04:42We thought it was appropriate since... Random friends! I love you! Yeah!
04:46And looking for your guitar! I did! Yes I might play for you guys later so...
04:50Oh my gosh! Awesome! Yeah! But I'm happy to be here to support you you know whatever you need I'm
04:54here for so...
04:55Oh how cool! You're sneaky! I'm sneaky! So I met Ally at the Ryman and she shared with me what
05:03happened to her husband Steve.
05:05And I was just so moved by the story just as a human and then also as a songwriter I
05:12went home that night and just felt the inspiration to try to write a song about their love story and
05:19you know her trying to navigate life without him.
05:23Steve grew up an army kid. Both of his parents graduated from West Point. All he ever knew was the
05:31military. I mean he wanted to go to West Point since he was in second grade.
05:35Steve was an army ranger? Yeah. I thought he was like a park ranger or something. I had no idea.
05:41I didn't even know what West Point was. He told me he went there and I was like that's cool
05:47I went to A&M and he was like okay. So I had no idea what it was.
05:50My family asked where I went to school and I was like I don't know some place called West Point
05:54and they were like oh my gosh.
05:56So I just was very naive I think going into everything.
06:00Yeah Steve loved that I had no clue what he did. I think he loved that I loved him for
06:07him and I wasn't about whatever badge he wore on his uniform.
06:11He's a total beast in the gym. The strongest guy I've ever seen or known. I mean he could throw
06:17up weight like you wouldn't believe.
06:19But super strong and was just the best husband and the best dad to our boys.
06:26So where did Steve get that toughness from?
06:30Well probably from his mom. Well and his dad too but his mom is super tough. She wrote a book
06:36called Tough as Nails and it's about her time at West Point and he just grew up knowing nothing but
06:43you have to be tough if you want to make it.
06:45So we have a mutual friend Becky who was at the Ryman that night that I met you and she
06:51said you guys had a wonderful love story. How long did you and Steve date before you got engaged?
06:57So we met June of 2013 and he proposed over Thanksgiving. So five months. Quick. Yeah really quick. It was
07:06one of those love at first sight things. When you know you know.
07:09And then we got married the next August in Mexico Beach Florida which is where his parents live and it
07:15was like Steve's favorite place ever.
07:17Steve lived every day full throttle. Every day was truly his best day. That was just how he lived his
07:24life. He didn't let anything get him down.
07:26If something got him down. It didn't last long. He was going to turn it around to be something better.
07:32And I think he brought that out in me and our kids too.
07:38Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips. Beach Walk by Manasota Key and by Suzuki Marine.
07:53Operation Healing Heroes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the lives of our US military veterans. In addition, we
08:01also provide financial support and treatment for post traumatic stress. Your donation will help heal our heroes.
08:16Oh it's a big one. Keep going. A trip to Florida just isn't complete without a little fishing. Keep going.
08:23Look Brody. Nice job buddy. Dude that's a big one. Hold your string. Can I kiss it? And after the
08:33fishing, a quick trip to the beach.
08:45Steve Dwyer was a West Point graduate and an Army Ranger. And Allie lived with the dangers that Steve faced
08:53every day.
08:54I didn't really register until he deployed to Afghanistan. I was at home with our two year old and our
09:00newborn that I thought, oh my gosh, this is serious. Like this is scary. And they willingly go on that
09:09deployment when they're called on.
09:12And being a spouse, you essentially willingly support them from home.
09:19But Steve had a dream to fly. After graduating first in his class in flight school, Steve chose to fly
09:26Blackhawks.
09:28I would say I was probably the most against him flying. I just didn't love the idea of it. It
09:34was very scary to me. But the 160th was his ultimate goal. So he had made it. And he was
09:41so glad. And I was proud of him. His family was proud of him. It was just, you know, it's
09:46good to see him like reach the goal that he wanted. But with that comes a lot more worry. A
09:53lot more time away from home.
09:56Hey, buddy. I hope you guys are having a good day today. Daddy loves you and misses you so much.
10:03That's just for Landon, Duke and Brody. I really, really, really miss you guys. I love you guys so much.
10:11Give your mom a big kiss for me. I love you.
10:13Deployments are super long. The days feel really long. For me, I personally didn't sleep like at all. I would,
10:22he would tell me when they were going to take off, about how long they would fly.
10:26And if I fell asleep, it was very lightly and I would jolt back up at the time he should
10:30be done. My body just worked like clockwork. I'd either stay awake or wake up when he should be done
10:37flying to check my phone to see if they had landed. So that might have been what made the days
10:42feel so long.
10:43When you're in a high stress thought process, it, you know, it's very long. So that flight that comes home
10:53when you know like today's the day is such a relief.
10:56And I'll never forget seeing him come off of the plane from Afghanistan. And I was holding Landon and Duke.
11:04And you just feel all the feels when they come off of that flight. Like as soon as I saw
11:09him, my heart like raced. I was so excited. Like he was back on American soil and I could see
11:16him walking. He was fine.
11:19Um, and then there's also like so much like heartbreak behind it too. Like we've missed out on so much
11:25together. Like our kids are so big and they keep you separated, which is really cruel and all that. You
11:30can't run straight to him on the airfield. You have to wait. So he walks by, the kids want to
11:35see him and they go and then they have to go on and be in formation. Then you have to
11:39wait in the bleachers for them to get out of formation.
11:42So, I mean, your heart is just like, I just want to go give him a hug. Um, but they
11:47make you wait and getting that hug and kiss is like, there's nothing like it. Just the best feeling in
11:54the world, knowing that he was home safe. And, um, just like the relief that you feel, like all that
12:02tension in your body that you carry for nine months just relaxes and you feel like you can breathe again
12:08and you feel like you can sleep again.
12:10And then everything just falls back in and get a chance to feel normal for a second.
12:16Normal can be difficult when your life is the military.
12:21We had a couple of weeks together and in that time is when we got to go see George Strait
12:25in Atlanta and it ended up being our last date.
12:29Um, Steve got a call that he was going to leave in a week and my heart like immediately sank.
12:40I was terrified.
12:42I had just panic come all over me and in my closet, like on the floor, having a full blown
12:50panic attack, which I don't usually have.
12:52Um, and he just held me and assured me he would be okay.
12:58And it felt scary to me. I don't know if it was, it was his first deployment with the 160th.
13:03We were going to have Thanksgiving and Christmas and all of that at home.
13:06And it went from, I'm leaving in a week and I'm not going to be back for two months.
13:10But he told Landon, I'll be back before your birthday. I'll be back January 6th.
13:15Um, so I took him up to the compound and I just had such a bad feeling about this one.
13:26Um, I, he hugged me and squeezed me so tight and I like came up to his chest and his
13:36chest was just full of tears.
13:37And I just told him, I feel like this is going to be the last time I'll ever hug and
13:41kiss you.
13:42And I can't shake that feeling. Like, I don't know. This one just doesn't feel right.
13:48Um, and he assured me he would be okay.
13:52And I just couldn't think that way. He's like, you can't think that way. You've got to be positive.
13:55And I just couldn't shake it. This one felt so different than the last two.
14:01And he loaded up his stuff and I watched him walk away.
14:05And I actually took a picture of him walking away because I thought that was going to be the last
14:10time I would ever see him.
14:11Like, I just had such a bad, bad feeling.
14:17Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Cliffs, Blue Water Boat Club, and by St. Croix Rocks.
14:37I got you.
14:39Go on that way.
14:43Ready? Go. Catch him.
14:45Ready? Catch him.
14:47If you'd like to see more behind-the-scenes footage, follow us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube
14:52channel.
14:54If you'd like to learn more and go deeper into the subject of healing,
14:57tune in to the all-new Operation Healing Heroes podcast, Feel the Heal.
15:02Hear from veterans, first responders, doctors, nonprofit leaders, and Gold Star families
15:07as they share powerful stories of hope, healing, and resiliency.
15:11Tune in and feel the heel.
15:18The last time I ever saw him was November 6th, and so on the 10th, he called me on and
15:30off.
15:30I didn't even know where he was.
15:32You don't get to know that information.
15:34And so he called me, and in our last conversation, he told me it was a bad night to fly.
15:41And I was like, why are y'all flying if it's a bad night to fly?
15:45And he said there's like zero loom in the sky.
15:48There's not a star out.
15:50And he's like, it's so dark.
15:52But dark in the middle of the ocean is different than dark on land.
15:57He also told me, this is how we're trained to fly, and it'll be okay.
16:01I'll call or text you when we're done.
16:03The call or text from Steve would never come.
16:07It gets to eight hours, and I still don't hear anything.
16:10So I texted him, are you okay?
16:13And the message was green.
16:16And the message is never green.
16:21Barely slept that night.
16:22Wasn't hearing anything.
16:24I didn't get any message back.
16:26And I just knew at that moment, like, something was wrong.
16:30A few hours later, Allie's worst fears were confirmed.
16:35And I heard a knock at the door.
16:37And no one knocks on our door.
16:38All the kids ring the doorbell.
16:40But I heard a really heavy knock at the door.
16:43And my heart absolutely stopped.
16:46Um, I didn't even have to open the door to know who was there.
16:51But I looked around the corner, and there were two uniformed soldiers standing on my front porch.
17:00Um, and I took off through the house, screaming out my back door.
17:07And the door, didn't even open the door.
17:09And just screaming on the back porch, like, no, no, no, no, no.
17:15Um, and then Duke opened the door.
17:18And so I went back in, and he's standing in front of these two soldiers, just, he's five.
17:27Looking up at them, and I hear him say, did my daddy die?
17:32And it was the absolute worst thing that I could have ever imagined seeing.
17:38And it was awful.
17:39And so I slammed the door in their face.
17:41And I was like, Duke, stay inside.
17:43Don't go outside.
17:45Something's wrong.
17:45But don't go outside.
17:47They don't leave.
17:48They have to stay.
17:50And so I opened the door, and I ran past them.
17:53And I jumped off the steps of our front porch and ran into the middle of our cul-de-sac.
17:57And it was one of those things that I couldn't see anything going on around me.
18:03Like, the world around me was black.
18:05I couldn't see anything.
18:06I don't even know if my screams were making a sound.
18:10Um, and they kind of followed me around.
18:13And they eventually held my shoulders to, like, hold me still.
18:19And told me they were so sorry.
18:22And I was like, no.
18:25Like, all I could say was no.
18:28And they just kept staring at me.
18:30And I was like, are you here to tell me what I think you're about to tell me?
18:34And they both nodded their head.
18:36And, I mean, my world as I knew was over.
18:40The casualty assistance officers told Allie that Steve was missing after his Black Hawk helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.
18:51I knew our life would never be the same.
18:54And our love, our protection, our happiness.
18:57Like, Steve embodied all of that.
19:00And he was our world, and we were his.
19:07And so they told me that they had been looking for 24 hours, and they couldn't find him.
19:14At that point, they called the search and tell you, you know, we believe he's deceased.
19:21And I'll never forget, like, hearing that word.
19:25Like, that and Steve don't go together.
19:28Like, Steve is full of life and everything good.
19:32And deceased was not Steve.
19:36I don't know where Duke ended up.
19:38And I think Brody was going to the bathroom.
19:40And Landon was actually upstairs and could hear me screaming in the street.
19:44And he opened his window and heard me screaming and saw the soldiers there.
19:50And so he found out from the window by himself.
19:55And I later found out, like, when he realized he just laid on the floor and cried in the room
20:02by himself.
20:03Like, no gentle way to tell him.
20:06And, you know, there's no easy way to break your kid's heart.
20:11All of it was just so chaotic.
20:13And if I could take their pain away, I would take it away in a heartbeat.
20:19It got dark eventually outside.
20:21I didn't feel like I could go back inside.
20:23And I just stayed in the street.
20:26And Landon, who's such a daddy's boy, went in and got his flannel blanket and came back out.
20:33And he covered me up with the blanket.
20:35And we both covered up all the way over underneath the blanket and laid down in the middle of the
20:40street.
20:41And it was November, so it was kind of cold out.
20:44And I just told him, I was like, if we stay here long enough, they'll go away.
20:48And this won't be true.
20:50Like, this cannot be true.
20:52So we stayed under that blanket.
20:54I don't know how long it felt like forever.
20:57Landon's so sweet.
20:57He was seven.
20:58And he just wiped my tears and told me, it's okay, Mommy.
21:02We're going to find him.
21:03It's okay.
21:03They don't know where to look.
21:05And I was like, you're right.
21:06They don't know where to look.
21:07They're looking in all the wrong places.
21:10And he was like, you know, Daddy is the strongest.
21:12If anyone's going to make it out, it's Daddy.
21:15Like, I know it.
21:16And you have to believe it.
21:18And he was like, God will protect him.
21:21Like, I know it.
21:21And I was like, okay, I'm going to believe what you believe.
21:25And so my seven-year-old, like, consoling me in the street under a blanket.
21:30Like, no seven-year-old should ever have to live that moment in their life.
21:42The mission of the Dwyer Fire Gold Star Foundation is to provide unwavering support to Gold Star children
21:49and help them discover the life-changing power of sports and fitness.
21:58Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Battle Born Batteries, Beach Walk by Manasota Key, and by SKB Cases.
22:13Landon is so compassionate.
22:16Always has been.
22:17Always has been the caretaker of his brothers, just naturally.
22:23And before Steve would leave, he'd say, you're the man of the house.
22:28And Landon takes every bit of that to heart.
22:33He feels like he has to protect me and his brothers, and he helps out any way that he can.
22:40And he truly does mean that, you know, he's going to try to be the man of the house.
22:46And I just wanted to be a kid as much as possible, just be a kid.
22:50But by nature, he's so protective and so caring for others.
22:55The oldest of three brothers, seven-year-old Landon laid under a blanket with his mother in the middle of
23:02their cul-de-sac, trying to console her.
23:06Just has such a big heart.
23:07Like, I know he gets that from Steve.
23:09Such a huge heart to go outside and make sure I was okay.
23:12And I couldn't even think past, like, to wonder where the kids were.
23:15I had no idea.
23:16But he wanted to check on me and make sure I was okay.
23:19And just the most tender heart.
23:22And he has taken that full role as my protector since that day.
23:29But it was just awful.
23:32There's, like, there's nothing that can prepare you for that knock on your door or even the phone call that
23:39you may get.
23:40Like, I called Steve's parents to let them know.
23:44And the hardest phone call I've ever made.
23:47I don't even know if they could understand me.
23:49I think someone else got on the phone to talk to them.
23:51And so it was Steve and four others were on that helicopter, and the whole crew didn't make it home.
24:00With Steve still missing, Allie and the boys continued to hope.
24:05He was missing.
24:07They hadn't brought any remains home for 39 days.
24:11So for 39 days, we lived wondering if maybe he survived the crash, and they just couldn't find him.
24:18And I knew it was unlikely, but the boys were so hopeful for that, and I had to hold the
24:26hope of that, too.
24:27It was the only way to survive that.
24:31In the time that Steve was missing, the boys wanted to call him.
24:36He'll answer.
24:37Just keep calling.
24:39And so for 39 days, they kept calling, and it would go straight to voicemail.
24:45And it's heartbreaking, like, listening to your kids leave a message, knowing that that phone call is never going to
24:53be returned.
24:55And they were just so hopeful.
24:57And, you know, so then we had to go when they told us, like, remains were recovered.
25:07And I had to fly out to Dover.
25:10And so I was like, I can't get on a plane.
25:13Like, I'm not going to fly anywhere without my kids.
25:16So I was like, I'm not getting on anything.
25:17And I'm going to bring Steve's dog.
25:19And they were like, you can't bring his dog.
25:20And I was like, I don't know if that's, like, really going to be him, but I know his dog
25:25will know.
25:25And he found Lottie in the field at Fort Hood back before I had even met him.
25:30And Lottie and Steve were, like, the same personality.
25:33Like, if Steve was a dog, this was him as a dog.
25:35He's a black lab, and he's just the best.
25:38But so I canceled the flights, and my in-laws were so sweet.
25:42And they were like, we'll drive with you.
25:43Like, you can't drive by yourself.
25:46We went out to Dover, and two guys were recovered at the time of the accident, and they were brought
25:53home immediately.
25:55And then the other three went down with the helicopter.
25:58So it was Steve and the other pilot, and then another crew chief member went down.
26:02So all three of their remains came back at the same time.
26:07After 39 days, Steve and Dwyer came home.
26:13And that's, like, I think something, like, people don't understand.
26:16Like, you get your heart broken once, and then 39 days later, you hit a reset button, and you break
26:23it again.
26:24And there's all these different steps and ceremonies that happen in the military.
26:29So it's not like a normal death.
26:34It's over and over.
26:35Like, you have to do these things over and over.
26:38But I remember standing on that airfield, and I just thought, like, standing on the airfield when he landed and
26:47got home from Afghanistan, and I got to see him smile at us.
26:52And so relieved he was home.
26:54I stood there fully broken and with his dog, and I was just shaking like a leaf, like I couldn't
27:05stop shaking.
27:06And I knew I wasn't going to get that hug.
27:10I would never see that smile again.
27:13And just wrecked me, just crushed my soul.
27:18But they unloaded him one at a time, and Steve was unloaded first, and I didn't know that at the
27:25time.
27:25But when his casket came off, Lottie, like, was so alert and tracked it the whole time, all the way
27:34to the van.
27:34And then they unloaded the other two, but Lottie never took his eyes off while the other two guys were
27:41brought out.
27:42And the van went to pull away, and Lottie took off running down the airfield.
27:48And so I'm, like, trying to hold him back, but, like, he knew, he just knew that that was his
27:55dad.
27:55That was Steve.
27:56And from that moment on, like, he stood by my side and just protected me everywhere, whether I was going
28:02to the bathroom or crying on the floor in my closet or throwing up in the sink because I couldn't
28:08swallow any food.
28:10And Lottie was right there, and I just think, like, he just kind of took on, like, his protection over
28:18us.
28:21Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Thorn Brothers, Wiley X, and by Hoist Hydration.
28:40Early on in the beginning, I felt like Brody had amnesia, really, because he was three, and every day he
28:47would ask, is today the day that daddy comes home?
28:50And so not only do you have to tell your kids once when they're little, you have to tell them
28:56every day.
28:58And it's so hard as a mom to tell them those things over and over again, and it's just a
29:06heartbreak every day.
29:08Um, so he's starting to understand a little bit more, but it's on his mind all the time.
29:16Duke's kind of the sneaky one.
29:18Um, he is goofy, just like Steve was, and it broke my heart that he was the one that had
29:25to answer the door to the notification officers, and, um, he didn't really want to be around me for a
29:30little while.
29:31It was, I think, the way I freaked out scared him, and he was only five, and I think he
29:38thought for a little bit of time that some of it was his fault, and it wasn't his fault at
29:44all.
29:44He just ended up being the one at the door.
29:47He has Steve's smile and his dimples, and I look at him, and I see so much of Steve.
29:54He just looks exactly like him.
29:56He just has white hair and blue eyes, but he is Steve.
30:01Mommy!
30:02Mommy!
30:05Oh, there's two.
30:07Oh, there's two.
30:09Oh, my gosh, he's coming right at us.
30:15Oh!
30:18Um, the hat I'm wearing, the flag is part of Steve's flight suit, so every time I wear this hat,
30:25I have a little piece of him wear it before I go.
30:28The boys all have one, too, so they wear it with pride and knowing that their dad is a hero,
30:34and they love having as much of him with them as they possibly can.
30:38After 39 days of pain, heartbreak, and mourning, Allie returned home from the dignified transfer on December 23rd.
30:49It was time for Allie to tell the boys.
30:52I had to tell him two days before Christmas with my kids sitting in the living room next to a
30:58tree filled with gifts that I didn't go shopping for that everyone had generously just brought over because there's no
31:04way I was going to shop for Christmas.
31:05Um, I had to tell him he was never coming home.
31:10Steve had written me a letter before he went to Afghanistan, and in that letter, it said something along the
31:18lines of,
31:19Our country wouldn't be free if people didn't do what I do.
31:22And it's like, you have to be proud of that sacrifice because you, too, are part of that sacrifice, so
31:27be proud of it and own it.
31:29And reading that letter back, where our life is now, it's so different than it did in 2018.
31:38Um, and it's a sacrifice we never wanted to make.
31:43The boys got born into this Army life.
31:47It's a sacrifice that wasn't made by choice.
31:50So, when people say, thank you for your sacrifice, like, we didn't choose that.
31:56And if we could have it the other way, we absolutely would.
32:01But it was part of Steve's calling, and he followed his calling to serve our country.
32:08And his passion was flying helicopters.
32:12But me and the boys were his world.
32:15Um, we were his everything, and he was ours.
32:20Athleticism continues to run deep in the Dwyer household.
32:24What do you say, buddy?
32:25Hold that pace. Hold that pace.
32:27Sports and fitness were so huge for Steve.
32:30So, that's something we wanted to make sure we could keep going for the boys.
32:33Finish strong. Finish strong.
32:34So, our family and friends came together and started what's now called the Dwyer Fire Gold Star Foundation.
32:41And it is to help Gold Star kids with sports and fitness.
32:46It's just made a huge impact, and we hope to keep Steve's legacy alive through kids learning to love to
32:53be active, just like he did.
32:55That's amazing. I mean, it's so great that you can take such a horrible negative and turn it into a
33:01positive.
33:01And hopefully, those kids that you're going to affect their lives forever, right?
33:06I mean, it's so important that we take care of our Gold Star families.
33:11And having spent a short amount of time with your boys, I can tell you that they are amazing.
33:16I get the luxury of being able to hang out with them, take them fishing, and do some stuff.
33:22And I mean, it's, I don't know, I just can't say thank you enough.
33:25And I want you to know that this is just the beginning.
33:28Operation Healing Heroes is going to be here for not only you, but for those boys forever.
33:32And I mean that.
33:33Thank you so much.
33:34We're going to work with some other nonprofit organizations, but we're going to get their college taken care of.
33:39And I want you to know that I'm only a phone call away if you ever need anything.
33:44And I mean that.
33:45I really do.
33:46I mean that.
33:47There's so much that we might be able to help you with, with the pain.
33:50And I always say, make it tomorrow, making tomorrow better than today.
33:54But just know that you have a family in us now forever, and we're not leaving.
33:58Thank you so much.
33:59I appreciate it.
34:00I really do.
34:01The boys will probably want to come live with you out here.
34:03Um, I do think that, um, that Steve is watching over us right now and proud of you, proud of
34:11the boys.
34:12Thank you for letting us do this.
34:16Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Recon Boats, Power Pole, and by Mustang Survival.
34:43Operation Healing Heroes is brought to you by Great Clips, Battle Born Batteries, and by SKB Cases.
34:58Um, our house was always very quiet when he was gone.
35:01And Steve was such a lover of music.
35:04He had music playing everywhere he went.
35:07There's a playlist for everything.
35:09He even made one for the boys, one for me.
35:11I didn't realize that he'd made a playlist for me.
35:13So when I got his iPad back, um, his phone didn't come back.
35:18But I got his iPad back.
35:19And I was scrolling through all his music.
35:21All I wanted to hear was his music again.
35:23And I found a playlist for me.
35:26And it's interesting kind of what he put in the playlist.
35:30There's a lot of, there's, I just find a lot of, like, hidden messages in the stuff he selected.
35:36And I just hear songs differently now.
35:39Um, like he's able to tell me something without being here.
35:43But he loved music.
35:45Our life together is kind of like a soundtrack.
35:47And he was the DJ for it.
35:49But, um, he loved music so much.
35:52Yeah.
35:53And when you shared some of that with me the night at the Ryman that we met, um, I mean,
35:58music is so powerful.
36:00And that was just so inspirational to me.
36:02Um, and the fact that Steve loved music so much, I just wanted to go home and write a song
36:07based off the stories that you had shared with me that night.
36:10Um, so this is called You Left Me a Song.
36:21Hiding under the covers, I've never been weaker than when they told me the news.
36:45I'll never feel your kiss again, but you left me something heaven said.
36:56And I feel it every time it plays through the speakers.
37:08You left me a song.
37:13You left me music.
37:18Our love carries on.
37:21Your heart beat is still beating strong when I hum the tune, tune of one woman who you left a
37:40song.
37:44The memory of your voice calling my name will fade with time as the years roll on.
37:59Fate mailed us both, uh, dear John.
38:10I'll dance to all of your favorite songs.
38:15I swear I can hear you singing along.
38:19As long as long as the melodies keep playing out, I'll be fine.
38:35The home that we built, the life that we lived, it's a song that I play with my windows down.
38:48I swear I can hear you singing along, shed a tear, wipe it away.
38:54Turn up your memory all over this town.
38:59You left me a song.
39:03You left me music
39:07Our love carries on
39:13Your heartbeat is still beating
39:19Strong when I hum the tune
39:22Tune of one woman
39:29You left a song
39:36You, you left me a song
39:48You're so good.
39:50Thank you so much.
39:52You are so welcome.
39:53Do y'all like that?
39:53Yeah, you cry.
39:54Yeah, it makes me cry.
39:56Did you guys have fun this trip?
39:58Yeah.
39:58Yeah?
40:00How big was that fish you caught?
40:03Let me see.
40:04Show me.
40:04How big?
40:06Oh, it grew.
40:08He's a true fisherman.
40:09I love it.
40:11All right.
40:11Well, I want to keep you guys fishing.
40:14So I got you guys a little something.
40:16Oh, my gosh.
40:18Can you guys look at things on me?
40:20Go check it out.
40:20All right.
40:21Since Brody caught the biggest fish, Brody, this is a fishing rod.
40:25It's got all the branches of service on there and the American flag and our logo on there.
40:30And then if you turn it around, it has your name on it.
40:32And it says Brody.
40:34Brody Dwyer.
40:35Brody Dwyer.
40:36What do you say?
40:38If you guys are going to be professional fishermen, then you need to look like professional fishermen.
40:42So guess what?
40:44Does anyone know a kid named Brody here?
40:47I'm Brody.
40:49Oh, you're Brody?
40:51Yeah, don't stab me with a fishing pole.
40:52Aw.
40:54Hey, you guys are always welcome to come back and go fishing with me.
40:57You know that, right?
40:58Look at that.
40:58This is so cool.
40:59Thank you so much.
41:00Have a whole weekend.
41:15If you'd like to personally thank a veteran that you've seen in one of our episodes or nominate
41:20a veteran to be featured in a future episode, log on to our website, operationhealingheroes.org
41:25and click on the nominate button.
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