world war i. we ll recap his remarks. it s takes place at home for the 100th anniversary for the armistice that ended that war. coming up, the president and ceo of that museum will join us to talk about the significance of this day. but first a tribute at the museum in flowers for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. the poppy is a symbol of world war i. it represents hope and rebirth. this field is planted with 9,000 toys. each one represents 1,000 combat vets. we ll have more from the national world war i museum and memorial here in kansas city when we come back in a few minutes.
that date because it s very personal. and when he said grand marshal i said you know, let me get back to you and i called up some of the guys that i was with on that memorial day. i wanted to make sure they knew it was going to be a bigger parade than anything that they ve seen. we are brothers. that s all it is. combat vets. we always stick together. we always have each other s back. it was an honor. memorial day, it s a tough day. a lot of people like to go out there and enjoy themselves barbecue it up and maybe have a few and that s fine, but i like to remember. not just for the people that we lost, but the people before us. we are pretty fortunate to be in a place that we are at and it s because of them that we are able to do a lot of the stuff that we are able to do today. it s not veterans today, it s
so when you come home you almost don t know how to vocalize that with the people you are close to. especially your family and your friends that you knew before. essentially to them it s two different people. the person they knew before you deployed versus the person that comes home. arthel: well, there is certainly nothing weak about what it is about what you have done and continue to do. how challenging is it to care, for you to care for the returning combat vets? do you assist their families as well? basically, i have kept up an outreach with the numerous people i serve with or anyone i met after the service. that the ret rans. we didn t that the veterans and that we didn t serve together. i make it a point to let them know they have options. it could be a friend. someone like myself. i would be the family, the loved ones the spouse. reaching out to the v.a. if they have the benefits and
altogether. it just makes it a little bit easier. the commander of the american legion called me up one day and asked me if i wanted to do it and i wasn t sure if i di did. i don t ever want to do stuff on that day, it s very personal and when he said grand marshal, i said let me get back to you and i called up some of the guys that i was with on that memorial day. i wanted to make sure they knew that it was going to be a bigger parade than anything that they ve seen. we are brothers. that s all it is. combat vets. we always stick together. we always have each other s back. so it was an honor. memorial day, it s a tough day. a lot of people like to go out there and enjoy themselves and barbecue it up and maybe have a few and that s fine, but i like
for these combat veterans from fallujah, iraq and afghanistan, this sound sure beats the sound of bullets. this is a good therapy for anybody, combat veteran who is suffering from ptsd and just to be together with people that have been through the same thing you ve been through and they know what you have been through and you don t have to talk about it. that s the whole point of this, the brain child of former marine martinez. getting fellow combat vets who seen and heard the worst of war and still deal with its impact out on the high seas to focus on fishing and camaraderie. i was separated from my wife. had just had a 6 month old son born at the time. but i was doing a lot of drinking. i had hit rock bottom so starting this, i now have a purpose once again in life.