Abington Massachusetts Veterans Service Officer Adam Gunn reached out to me about interviewing two brothers who served during World War Two. Pat, “Skinny”, who is 101 years old and his brother Walter who is 99 years old grew up and served out of Abington, Massachusetts.
Walter served in Military Police in the Army. Skinny was a Supply Depot Manager in the Marine Corps. Skinny is the oldest person and Marine that I have ever had on Oscar Mike Radio.
Joining us was Massachusetts State Representative Allyson Sullivan who grew up in Abington and knows these Veterans well.
This story is unique that two brothers served in different branches, in different parts of the world and then came home and made lives for themselves after World War Two.
Thank you, Adam Gunn and State Representative Allyson Sullivan, for putting together my time with Walter and Skinny. World War Two Veterans are a treasure, and I appreciate how you both work to preserve the legacy they built for us.
Semper Savage is the official marinade and salad dressing for Oscar Mike Radio! Semper Savage is a Veteran Owned salad dressing and marinade company. Go to www.sempersavage.com and use “oscarmikeradio” at checkout for 10% off your order. Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business.
Bottom Gun Coffee
The official coffee of Oscar Mike Radio is Bottom Gun Coffee. Submariners know their coffee so go to www.bottomguncoffee.com and use “OMR” at checkout for 10% off your order! Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business
Caisson Shaving Company
The only shaving products I used on my face come from Travis Arnold’s company, Caisson Shaving Company. Travis is a Veteran and has created products that can be used anywhere. Use code “OMR10” for a 10% discount when you order
Sean Carnell is a Marine Corps Veteran. He has borne the cost of serving our country physically and in spirit. Seeing how the cost of service affected his fellow Marines and friends he started looking for a way to make a change so Veterans wouldn’t have to go through what he is still going through daily.
How does Sean Whalen fit into all this? Sean Whalen, amongst other things, runs the apparel company, Lions not Sheep. In 2016, he told a bunch of people including Sean Carnell that they had won a trip to Utah to go on an outdoor trip.
Sean Carnell and other Veterans were excited to get to go on a trip where they could relax and enjoy the company of a person, who at the time, was having a lot of success with his brand, Lions not Sheep. Sean Whalen never came through. Recently the FTC assessed a $211,335.00 judgment against Sean Whalen for making his apparel in China, then ripping out the tags and sewing made-in-America tags inside his apparel. We got a real American hero here folks. (Sarcasm intended for full effect).
Some might say Sean Whalen’s lack of follow-through is not a big deal. Quit whining, quit complaining, but to a Veteran suffering from PTSD, it is another promise broken, it raises questions if anyone truly cares. It was at this point in 2016 that Sean said enough is enough. Maybe others wouldn’t follow through on what they said, but he would, and now F.E.A.R. is underway.
You can reach out to Sean directly at sean.c@veteran.me
Semper Savage is the official marinade and salad dressing for Oscar Mike Radio! Semper Savage is a Veteran Owned salad dressing and marinade company. Go to www.sempersavage.com and use “oscarmikeradio” at checkout for 10% off your order. Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business.
Bottom Gun Coffee
The official coffee of Oscar Mike Radio is Bottom Gun Coffee. Submariners know their coffee so go to www.bottomguncoffee.com and use “OMR” at checkout for 10% off your order! Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business
Caisson Shaving Company
The only shaving products I used on my face come from Travis Arnold’s company, Caisson Shaving Company. Travis is a Veteran and has created products that can be used anywhere. Use code “OMR10” for a 10% discount when you order
I got a Facebook Message a couple of months ago from David Danforth who is a member of the Veterans Brotherhood M/C about talking with a World War II Veteran Caster Salemi. Caster served in the Army with an artillery battery and after boot camp was sent to the Philippines.
Caster brought me to different places in his life as if it were yesterday. For the first time, I heard about Pearl Harbor and the atomic bombing from someone who lived through that period of history.
Getting to talk with Caster was an honor. I couldn’t help it, I felt like a little kid talking to a larger-than-life character. Caster is engaging, and funny and was able to bring me back 50 years to a different time. I want to thank David for introducing me and Mistress Carrie for the great question. I am looking forward to having coffee with Caster soon. That is if I can get him to slow down enough for me to catch up with him. At 100 he is still working to serve Veterans locally and as an active member of the American Legion, Disabled American Veteran, VFW, and Friends of North Attleboro Veterans. Thank you, Caster.
The 2022 Veterans Podcast Awards voting is now open! Go to https://www.veteranpodcastawards.com/vote and look for Oscar Mike Radio in Best Overall and Best Marine Corps Category. Thank you to the Broken Jarhead Podcast, Shure Microphones, and The Non-Profit Architect Podcast for sponsoring the Awards!
Semper Savage is the official marinade and salad dressing for Oscar Mike Radio! Semper Savage is a Veteran Owned salad dressing and marinade company. Go to www.sempersavage.com and use “oscarmikeradio” at checkout for 10% off your order. Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business.
Bottom Gun Coffee
The official coffee of Oscar Mike Radio is Bottom Gun Coffee. Submariners know their coffee so go to www.bottomguncoffee.com and use “OMR” at checkout for 10% off your order! Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business
Caisson Shaving Company
The only shaving products I used on my face come from Travis Arnold’s company, Caisson Shaving Company. Travis is a Veteran and has created products that can be used anywhere. Use code “OMR10” for a 10% discount when you order
I got a Facebook Message from Mike Damon, “The Godfather”, that I should meet Amanda Coleman who is known in Law Enforcement as “Irish Angel”.
Amanda is from Ireland so I reached out and she told me that she was coming to Boston maybe we could meet in person. I met her and her Boston-based team at Sam Walkers and had a good time talking with her Board members and supporters. I met people who worked in Law Enforcement that were just as committed to helping their fellow officers out as we Veterans are when it comes to PTSD and other issues. Amanda and I agreed to meet later that week to talk in person.
I wanted to talk about what Irish Angel was doing now. This organization has been advocating as a non-profit for a while now and I thought it was interesting that this woman from Ireland was here in the U.S.
Amanda talked about the need for more support for Law Enforcement, EMS, and First Responders. We talked about how military and law enforcement differed in that many times we in the military don’t go home at night when a shift is over. We are deployed away from home whereas law enforcement and first responders must work to not bring the job home daily.
Currently, Irish Angel is working to gain more support to fund their programs. There is a lot of work underway which is why Amanda was in the U.S. I have made it clear in the past and now that I will always support those on the Thin Blue Line. I learned that change starts with one person.
Thank you for talking with me Amanda, and I am looking forward to supporting the work Irish Angel does on behalf of those who serve.
Irish Angel is growing and working to support those on the front lines.
Check out the following links to learn more and support the work.
Semper Savage is the official marinade and salad dressing for Oscar Mike Radio! Semper Savage is a Veteran Owned salad dressing and marinade company. Go to www.sempersavage.com and use “oscarmikeradio” at checkout for 10% off your order. Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business.
Bottom Gun Coffee
The official coffee of Oscar Mike Radio is Bottom Gun Coffee. Submariners know their coffee so go to www.bottomguncoffee.com and use “OMR” at checkout for 10% off your order! Thank you for supporting a Veteran Owned Business
Caisson Shaving Company
The only shaving products I used on my face come from Travis Arnold’s company, Caisson Shaving Company. Travis is a Veteran and has created products that can be used anywhere. Use code “OMR10” for a 10% discount when you order!
