Memorial Day: More Than a Long Weekend
Episode Description:
In this heartfelt Memorial Day episode, Michael O’Connell and podcast host, Pete Waggoner, reflect on what the holiday truly means. They explore the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, the importance of honoring fallen service members, and the meaningful traditions that surround military funerals.
You’ll also hear about local efforts to recognize veterans, how communities can support flag retirements, and why passing down remembrance traditions to younger generations matters now more than ever.
Whether you’ve served, know someone who has, or simply want to understand how to show respect, this episode is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made and the freedoms we enjoy because of them.
Takeaways:
- Memorial Day honors those who died in wartime service
- Veterans Day celebrates all who served—living or deceased
- Military funeral honors must be requested in advance with discharge papers
- You can volunteer or donate to support your local American Legion or VFW
In This Episode:
- [1:30] Michael opens up about caregiver overwhelm
- [3:30] The meaning of Memorial Day vs. Veterans Day
- [6:15] Who places the flags at cemeteries?
- [9:00] How younger generations can get involved
- [12:00] Common misconceptions about veteran funeral benefits
- [16:00] What’s required for military funeral honors
- [20:00] Free veteran grave markers: what’s included
- [23:00] Retiring flags with cremated veterans
Resources:
Flag Retirement Drop-Off Available at All Locations
Quote from Michael:
“We have freedom today because of those who sacrificed for us. Honoring them—on this day and every day—is the least we can do.” - Mike O'Connell
“Some veterans gave their lives. The rest gave their time, their health, their families. That deserves more than a passing thought.” - Mike O'Connell
Transcript Disclaimer:
[00:00:00]
[00:00:17] Pete Waggoner, Host: Hello, this is Good Grief, the podcast from the O'Connell Family Funeral Homes.
[00:00:22] Pete Waggoner, Host: I'm Pete Waggoner, joined by Michael O'Connell on a, I'd say a run up or a buildup to Memorial Day. And we'll be talking a lot about Memorial Day and, and all of the things that surround that. And I'm sure Michael just based off what we've discussed and looked at here, there'll be a lot of things in clarifications, really about Memorial Day and what it's about.
[00:00:42] Pete Waggoner, Host: But before we get into that, hello. Good morning, and how are you? I'm very
[00:00:46] Mike O’Connell: good. I'm good. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at times, but overall I'm good. Thanks for asking. There's never enough time of the day. Pete is overwhelmed. This is a fair
[00:00:56] Pete Waggoner, Host: question. Is that a good thing or [00:01:00] because you're busy and you have a lot of work, or is that a bad thing or
[00:01:03] Mike O’Connell: is it,
[00:01:03] Pete Waggoner, Host: you know, it's an interesting,
[00:01:04] Mike O’Connell: it's a dichotomy.
[00:01:05] Mike O’Connell: Yeah. I've often said when people say, oh, I see you're busy and. Before the internet, we could always hide that. And we did People say, are you busy? No, because somebody doesn't really care if you're busy. That family wants to know that they're being heard. And if they're not being heard, then because you're too busy.
[00:01:24] Mike O’Connell: So there's never an excuse to say, you're too busy.
[00:01:27] Pete Waggoner, Host: Let's be fair. You work in a business that is unpredictable. No two days clearly can't be the same. And you don't really make appointments necessarily for things that come up and they come up at any time, I assume, correct? Oh,
[00:01:42] Mike O’Connell: absolutely. And it's always, you know, they want answers right now, and when they want answers right now, we want to give them answers.
[00:01:50] Mike O’Connell: And the overwhelming feeling comes from, I can't give you those answers when you want, like, we're in a podcast and it, it, it's overwhelming to me to think people are trying, maybe [00:02:00] trying to reach out that I can't answer them while I'm doing this. That's my own internal dealing it is taking the time to chunk away.
[00:02:07] Mike O’Connell: Sometimes you there's not a lot. It's interesting. Funeral directors are caregivers by heart, and when we can't, you know, be everything to everybody, which is unrealistic. Right, right. Then we feel, well, I feel unworthy. Well, it's
[00:02:23] Pete Waggoner, Host: interesting because I think. There's a expectation when it comes from the public.
[00:02:29] Pete Waggoner, Host: We're not talking Memorial Day, but I'm finding this interesting to, to what you should receive from a funeral director and how that all works.
[00:02:36] Mike O’Connell: Oh, yes. Yeah.
[00:02:37] Pete Waggoner, Host: And the one thing I can say about you, what I've learned about this is the process is very interpersonal. It's very real. It has a, a, a lot of love and a lot of care that comes from all the right places, and it's very obvious to see.
[00:02:51] Pete Waggoner, Host: That's what you as a group
[00:02:52] Mike O’Connell: do here at O'Connell Family. Oh, huge. I, when you say it that way, it makes me think what other business, and I'm not saying this to be [00:03:00] like the martyr, like, wow, poor us. 'cause that's just not how we operate. But your doctor, all these different professions that you work with, if you call 'em after five, they're out.
[00:03:10] Mike O’Connell: They're done. Yeah. Whereas we're texting, we're calling, we're communicating, we're emailing. And so many families will tell me like. It did you need to fix your clock on your, your computer? 'cause it looked like you sent that at 2:30 AM And I'll say that's 'cause I did. Why were you doing that at two 30?
[00:03:28] Mike O’Connell: Because I had a moment to do it. And that's sometimes what happens when you drive past here and you see a light on a two 30 and someone's sitting at the computer maybe making a video or a card or something. It's 'cause that's when we have time. That's so that's the overwhelming
[00:03:41] Pete Waggoner, Host: part. Right. I can only imagine.
[00:03:44] Pete Waggoner, Host: And I'm sure that is something we all know and appreciate for sure. So let's get into Memorial Day and the meaning of it. I mean, the one thing we think of immediately is as it's really a day off in a great time of the year [00:04:00] where spring is turning into summer and we have longer weekends to spend as a family and do the things we need to do.
[00:04:06] Pete Waggoner, Host: But really what is the true meaning
[00:04:08] Mike O’Connell: of Memorial Day? Well, I'm gonna put you on the spot then, Pete. Sorry. You're gonna be the one thrown under the bus here. What are you doing this weekend?
[00:04:16] Pete Waggoner, Host: This weekend I will be visiting my father's Graves. Well, among other things. Oh, grave Site at
[00:04:22] Mike O’Connell: fort Snelling
[00:04:23] Mike O’Connell: No. Are you saying that Pete, because we're doing a podcast, are you really doing it? Maybe
[00:04:26] Pete Waggoner, Host: a little. No, I, no, actually it's kind of a tradition and you know, it's so busy on that day and it always makes me think, why do we have to come this day? We should come other days. Right. But there are things that surround it too.
[00:04:41] Pete Waggoner, Host: And I think he, having served in Korea mm-hmm. Carries a little bit of extra meaning to it. Sure. For me, and though there's a little, there's sort of a fellowship around those that are there visiting. So, that's part of it. Otherwise grilling out at weather permitting. Mm-hmm. May go see a band somewhere and hang [00:05:00] out.
[00:05:00] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yep. Maybe pull some weeds in the backyard too.
[00:05:03] Mike O’Connell: So Memorial Day started back in the mid like 1860s if I'm not mistaken back following the Civil War when people would honor those that were killed in the union to help for, for freedom. And so it then got some.
[00:05:25] Mike O’Connell: Some wind behind it after World War I that it became called, it was called Decorations Day. Mm-hmm. And it wasn't until 1971, if I'm not mistaken, that it officially became Memorial Day on the last Monday of in May. Why do you think they used decorations? Why did they call it that? Or why? Yeah, why? What was the meaning behind that?
[00:05:48] Mike O’Connell: Because they would mark the graves with flowers and say some prayers. Mm. And so back at that time, you know, cemeteries didn't have monuments and different things, so they would mark the graves [00:06:00] with flowers to recognize that they miss 'em, they love 'em, and just to recognize their sacrifice they gave. So that was the action.
[00:06:09] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yeah, that's, and then they switched it to Memorial Day. Now there's a difference between that and which is my birthday Veteran's Day, which is 11. 11. Yep. What are the differences
[00:06:20] Mike O’Connell: between those? It's actually. Quite profound actually, when you think of it. So Memorial Day is honoring military people that have been killed in a wartime activity.
[00:06:34] Mike O’Connell: And although it has kind of, for most people in society, when you go to the Memorial Day Services, it's, I'm here. My grandpa was in World War ii, or he was in Korea. He was in this or that. And so it's kind of blossomed that way, but the true meaning is to honor those that have died. In the act of war now.
[00:06:55] Mike O’Connell: So that's more of a reverence day, right? You're, you're, it's somber. [00:07:00] Veterans Day, on the other hand, is you are celebrating, raising up all veterans for what they do. There's parades, right? Mm-hmm. There's different things that are more in celebratory mode versus reverence like Memorial Day. So Memorial Day for.
[00:07:20] Mike O’Connell: People killed in war. Whereas Veteran Day is honoring just veterans, plain and simple.
[00:07:26] Pete Waggoner, Host: So really the day I should be going out and visiting his grave site should be 11. 11 for the, I mean, just to say, yeah, I mean, but it's kind of been morphed into, it almost feels like that's really fascinating to know there is a difference.
[00:07:40] Pete Waggoner, Host: Mm-hmm. Because you do often wonder, it's like, well. And I just felt like there were two days. Mm-hmm. And so, one is more for those who have died, as you said, which is Memorial Day, and then Veteran's Day. No. Veteran's Day is re representing those that haven't but have served. Yep. Just anything simply alive or dead.
[00:07:58] Pete Waggoner, Host: Alive. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's [00:08:00] just, it's just acknowledging thank you for what you've done. Yeah.
[00:08:02] Mike O’Connell: Okay. Versus those that have sacrificed. But Memorial Day now, I think for the general. Yeah, society is, it's a kickoff of summer. It's gonna be going to the cabin, it's gonna be burgers, barbecue, beer, it's gonna be all of that, which I get right.
[00:08:19] Mike O’Connell: But the true meaning is to honor our fallen heroes.
[00:08:23] Pete Waggoner, Host: To be fair I think maybe, I don't know how many people think this way, but I tend to always have that in the back of my mind the entire weekend. I always am thinking about that what that's all about. Mm-hmm. Which is, which is definitely and, and, and it is interesting because for some reason I've always tied that whole concept of Memorial Day and what we're really there for, believe it or not, with the car race at Indy.
[00:08:50] Pete Waggoner, Host: I don't know why, because I think they've always done a nice job of Yep. Recognizing them on their coverage. Mm-hmm. And so it always kind of went hand in hand of like. Oh yeah, [00:09:00] this is really why we're here. Mm-hmm. Which is a great thing. How about all of the, the, the flags that are out now? Is that someone doing a really, like being a do-gooder there?
[00:09:11] Pete Waggoner, Host: Or who puts
[00:09:12] Mike O’Connell: those there? You know, that's, it's funny you say that. So you go to Fort Snelling, you know what, that's the, that's the government. It's all those. But when you go to your local, smaller city cemeteries. Whether it be Will over in Hudson or Baldwin Cemetery, Ellsworth, maple Grove and, and the Catholic Cemeteries, it's done by your local American legions.
[00:09:32] Mike O’Connell: Oh really? Yeah. They work with us to get a list and so when families say, can I get that little bronze thing that with the star? So what they do is they've got a working list and then every year they amend it, they'll ask for us to say what veterans have died. And so they'll go out and they'll put those, it's a stake that goes in the ground with a bronze star on it, and it's a flag holder.
[00:09:59] Mike O’Connell: Mm-hmm. And they'll [00:10:00] put those by all the veterans that they are aware of that's going back to World War I and everything. They do that at their expense. So do you have a growing list of that? Is that how that work? The, the cemeteries? Well, it's always gonna be a growing list because they go off of what, who it was.
[00:10:17] Mike O’Connell: Passed away last year. And then we add to it of what veterans go in there this year. So they've got their work cut out for 'em. And if you think of it, there's more and more of a year, but less and less people are volunteering at the legion levels. Right. And VFWs to do that. It's not a, you know, it's the, like you say, the Korean or Vietnam vets that are doing this.
[00:10:40] Mike O’Connell: And so there's not many 20, or I, I, if I'm thinking, I don't know of any 2030 I. Maybe a couple 40 year olds even involved in that in the honors. I'm sure there may be some involved in the Legion, but that's the big difference too of the I don't wanna say commitment or it's just the honor that [00:11:00] I know that the local that, that are on the honor squad and those that are active within the Legion take a lot of pride in that.
[00:11:06] Mike O’Connell: Not that the young ones don't, but they're working and they just have a lot of other, I'll say, commitments or even, distractions that keep them from wanting to do the joining club, and that goes along with the Lions or the Knights of Columbus or any of those fraternal groups that people don't, you know,
[00:11:25] Pete Waggoner, Host: sign, sign up for.
[00:11:25] Pete Waggoner, Host: Do you, you need to be a part of an elite Allegion or VFW. If you wanted to volunteer and this this struck you when you heard this, say, Hey, get ahold of those pe anybody that's in charge of that and say, I'd like to help. I, I
[00:11:38] Mike O’Connell: think that would be a cool thing. I think they would love it. Yeah, that's really, if anybody has questions listening to this, then you know, call the funeral and we'll give you the commander at the VFW or American Legion of, of who you could contact to help them.
[00:11:50] Mike O’Connell: But absolutely it doesn't have to be look at the auxiliary, or the wives of the veterans, male or female. So yeah,
[00:12:00] they're volunteering is great. So tell
[00:12:03] Pete Waggoner, Host: me about the veteran funeral. And how all of that works? Or like, or, or how, how we know the 21 gallon slu, is that automatic, what other things surround that?
[00:12:17] Pete Waggoner, Host: Sure.
[00:12:19] Mike O’Connell: So unfortunately some people think, and I probably get it about six times a year, that people will come in and they'll say, usually it's my dad or my dad's a veteran, and so he wants a, a state funeral or a military funeral. And they'll pay for that. Right? And I have to educate them and say, no, no, the government's not going to pay for a veteran's funeral unless they're active and they die in the act of a war event, then they will cover that.
[00:12:55] Mike O’Connell: But if you are, you know, a veteran of the Legion or [00:13:00] VFW at somehow. You may get some privileges, but they are not going to pay for your funeral. If you are a veteran and you're receiving financial benefits currently, be it for hearing loss or s you know, maybe you got diabetes or Parkinson's while you were in the military, then you have a claim number and you get a financial benefit.
[00:13:24] Mike O’Connell: That's what I always kind of tell people is the easiest way to decipher if you're gonna get benefits. Is if you're getting something financially right now, then you might be eligible for some reimbursement levels. And usually if they are, it's only a, a portion of the transportation to the cemetery or crematory or from the place of death if you died in a VA hospital or a VA contracted nursing home.
[00:13:49] Mike O’Connell: So when it comes down to it, not a lot of reimbursement's there. Do you have to check,
[00:13:54] Pete Waggoner, Host: you know, when you're going through this process? Versus honorably or dishonorably [00:14:00] discharged as well. Does that factor
[00:14:01] Mike O’Connell: into that too? Absolutely. If you're dishonorably discharged, you don't get anything. Mm-hmm.
[00:14:07] Mike O’Connell: Period. Amen. And so like for burial and Fort Snelling or a national cemetery, or even state cemetery. If we don't have discharge papers, it's a non-starter. We have to have those in hand before we can even talk about a burial. They won't pencil us in saying, oh yeah, get back to us. It doesn't work that way.
[00:14:25] Mike O’Connell: We have to have those requirements ahead of time, or they won't just even consider it. Now you had mentioned 21 gun salute. That's usually for the sitting president or past presidents or state of head departments. Right. And people just see it as well. They're shooting guns and there's three volleys and sometimes there is 21 guns going off.
[00:14:50] Mike O’Connell: Most of the time it might, the legions are putting these honor guards together, and so they might have three guys on guns or five. [00:15:00] And so if that'd be the case, it would be a 15 gun salute. But people just see, and they think it's just 21. But 21 is typically is, is reserved for the president or department heads.
[00:15:12] Mike O’Connell: So what happens is, is people tell us they're veterans, they give us the military DD two 14, which is the discharge papers or separation papers for the navy or what have you. And then we tell them what they're eligible for. What they're eligible for would be a free grave in a national or state cemetery.
[00:15:34] Mike O’Connell: Okay. For the veteran now at a federal or at Fort Snelling, the wife or husband of said veteran also gets a free grave in burial. At the state levels, though they don't. They have to pay their way. For the, for the spouse, they're also entitled, like you just mentioned, to have the gun salute. And so with that comes, they'll do the, the [00:16:00] presentation of the flag.
[00:16:02] Mike O’Connell: They'll do the gun volleys and then they'll play taps.
[00:16:05] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yeah,
[00:16:06] Mike O’Connell: and it's very, it's very meaningful. It's very emotional. It's very neat. Now, sometimes you'll see two people in their attire. Be it Navy, be it Air Force, be it Coast Guard, army, Navy, all of those. And what we do on that, when families want the state will send two people up to fold and present the flag.
[00:16:34] Mike O’Connell: Oh, they will? Mm-hmm. They then do that while the local honor squad works with them to do the gun volleys. They only do the flag and the presentation of it. It, they don't have the personnel to send nine, 10 guys up. Or gals, they just, they just send two people that do the flag and so then we coordinate and, and have them play with each [00:17:00] other.
[00:17:00] Mike O’Connell: Wow. Okay. So,
[00:17:02] Pete Waggoner, Host: I mean, there could be multiples in a day and I don't think there's a ton of personnel to spread around
[00:17:08] Mike O’Connell: On the state you mean, or the. Or the local, the locals don't usually get overwhelmed. I mean, there's, they can have two in a day, but it would be spaced out not the same time. Okay. But the state, yeah.
[00:17:20] Mike O’Connell: They've got different teams that'll go around and, and do those. There's a
[00:17:24] Pete Waggoner, Host: lot of coordinating going on here that, that you don't really realize. Mm-hmm. That's, I mean, you, you don't realize that, oh, someone has to get this organized mm-hmm. To happen.
[00:17:36] Mike O’Connell: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that it's well. It goes to one of my things.
[00:17:40] Mike O’Connell: I've got a list of all the stuff we do behind the scene that nobody knows. Right. Even pastors don't know what we do. Yeah. You know, I've had pastors that we've done the work for them and they're like, I never even realized how much you do behind the scenes. And it's like, yeah, I know. Hey, follow me for a day.
[00:17:55] Mike O’Connell: Right, exactly. Yeah, it's interesting and, and also to note that. [00:18:00]
When the local American Legion VFWs do honors for a a local person, they get a $50 reimbursement. Oh, really? From the state? They do. They're not obviously making money, but when you think of it, the local legions, we just talked about it, they go to the cemeteries with those bronze stars with flags.
[00:18:18] Mike O’Connell: That's a fee to do that. And then they have to repack their shell casings. That's a fee. So they have fees. And so you would ask the question if people could volunteer? Sure. They could. But you can also give a donation to your local American Legion or VFW because they always have funds and you know, we watch the news.
[00:18:39] Mike O’Connell: There's a lot of cuts. Yeah, of course. And so, they're making it more of the local's responsibility to mm-hmm. Get reimbursed for these
[00:18:48] Pete Waggoner, Host: things. Got it. Well, that, that's makes a ton of sense. So, as we close down this podcast, what are you doing this Memorial Day? You know, I wanna go back to, oh, okay.
[00:18:57] Pete Waggoner, Host: I missed something there. Sorry.
[00:18:58] Mike O’Connell: There's one more thing that they're [00:19:00] entitled to get and that's a free grave marker. Oh yes. And so what is a grave marker? Well, it's gonna be either bronze and so a lot of people have seen the bronze.
[00:19:10] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yes.
[00:19:11] Mike O’Connell: And the bronze will have their name, their dates of. Birth and death, their military experience and what their rank was and what they've started to do here.
[00:19:25] Mike O’Connell: Oh, I suppose it's between five and 10 years, I guess. I don't know. But they allow a subjective saying in there. It could be he loves to fly here, he flies with the eagles now, or post command, past Commander of the American Legion Post. Different things like that, but they don't allow. World's best dad.
[00:19:46] Mike O’Connell: They don't allow subjective, but they do allow some terms of endearment. So
[00:19:52] Pete Waggoner, Host: is a marker one you see in the ground or is it up out of the ground, or both? It could be either. Okay.
[00:19:57] Mike O’Connell: So we'll call the gravestone. [00:20:00] Okay. That they can have the bronze that's set on concrete and either a monument company or maybe even a legion will help set that.
[00:20:09] Mike O’Connell: Then they also have a two by one granite, gray granite or white marble. Right. And why those colors? Just those two? It's very simple. They're plentiful and least expensive. And then they also, they look, they look good
[00:20:24] Pete Waggoner, Host: though.
[00:20:25] Mike O’Connell: They do. And they're clean is, I guess is what I would say. Oh, sure. Yeah. And then they also allow the one that's, that you would see maybe at a national cemetery with white marble and it's upright, so many.
[00:20:36] Mike O’Connell: I haven't had one of those for years. But those are all free for the veteran. Wow. Now they're free, but a company to set it is not, they have to have personnel to go out and do it. But the, the marker itself is free. That's crazy. So the veteran gets a flag honors and a gravestone and potentially a free grave.
[00:20:57] Mike O’Connell: That's quite a bit, yeah. [00:21:00] It's, it is
[00:21:00] Pete Waggoner, Host: quite a bit, but it's not enough, right? Correct. A hundred percent. So we've defined the differences between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. We learned what is provided and what, what happens after death. We, we learned really, to me, the thing that I grabbed from this the most is that there are a lot of people that are involved with this.
[00:21:22] Pete Waggoner, Host: And what gets my mind going is you're not seeing twenties and 30 somethings engaged in it. Mm-hmm. And but hopefully we can spark some interest for people to say, you know what, maybe I do need to get this. Is, this is a respect component to all of it.
[00:21:38] Mike O’Connell: That is very important. Yeah. And we have a program here I'd like to put a shout out to as well.
[00:21:44] Mike O’Connell: We collect used and tattered US flights. Oh really? And so the only way to. Dispose, or what they call retire a flag is to burn it. So some legions will do a flag burning [00:22:00] ceremony. What we do is we collect the flags and then when someone's cremated a veteran, only a veteran, when the veteran is cremated and they're in their alternative container, we put a flag over their alternative container to represent their service that they gave.
[00:22:16] Mike O’Connell: And to retire a used and tattered flag with them. Wow. So with this Memorial Day coming up if anyone has a used or tattered flag that they would like to retire, you can bring it to any of our funeral homes and we will retire it with a veteran and you can get a new flag up then for Memorial Day.
[00:22:37] Pete Waggoner, Host: That's wonderful. O'Connell funeral homes.com. I'm sure most everybody knows where the locations are. If they don't, you can go there to learn where those are, to do just what Michael said here. And then also I'd like to mention this is like such an important part of what we're talking about on your website.
[00:22:55] Pete Waggoner, Host: It says, our services, honor, love, loyalty, and, and [00:23:00] friendship. Yep. You know, it's all of the things we kind of spoke about here with
[00:23:03] Mike O’Connell: this. It is today. That's our logo, that's our mission. That's. And that falls right into the veterans. And we're exactly, we proudly serve veterans. Great stuff. And I didn't answer your question, what are, what am I doing?
[00:23:16] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yeah. What are you doing?
[00:23:17] Mike O’Connell: So most like everybody else, and I think that is a key component of honoring our veterans too, is spending time with your family. And so we have a birthday party for our youngest, and so we're gonna honor that. And she wants steak and so we're gonna get that. Love that. Yeah. Boy, what a sacrifice for me.
[00:23:35] Mike O’Connell: I know. I'm bummer. Oh geez. Bummer. And so, yep, we're gonna get some good Chicago style ribeyes and we're just gonna celebrate family. And I do believe that that's part of honoring our vets is we have freedoms today. Pete, you and I are sitting here. Right on. You know, I was watching one of those YouTube little clips and it was people in Kiev and what it's like to hear sirens and see missiles going over your head, [00:24:00] thinking, is that gonna hit us?
[00:24:01] Mike O’Connell: And how terrifying that must be. To know that day after day, year after year. Yeah. So there was people ahead of us that I, I think of my uncle that fought in the tinny islands. And that was either, you know, to be honest, it was either you kill or you get killed. Right. And it was hand to hand combat. And for some people in the military, it, it has been just absolutely brutal.
[00:24:27] Mike O’Connell: And they sacrificed. For us to be able to sit here without any concern in the world, and they took that upon themselves and endured what they did for us. It's the least we can do is honor them on one day of the year. A hundred percent. Well said.
[00:24:47] Pete Waggoner, Host: Yeah. Really good stuff. Wow. That's a, this is a great podcast.
[00:24:51] Pete Waggoner, Host: This has been. Very informative and entertaining for yours truly. So as always, you never cease to amaze. So I appreciate that [00:25:00] very much.
[00:25:01] Mike O’Connell: Well, thank you very much. Glad to do it. And to all our veterans out there that are listening to this, thank you so very much for your dedication to our country and our freedoms.
