CLAY: Did you see this story over the weekend the last member of E Company from the Band of Brothers group — 99 years old, I believe, that he was. For those of you who read that fantastic book, one of the most remarkable stories about the Band of Brothers in World War II is, Buck, the first time that those guys had ever been in an airplane…
We’re talking about kids who had grown up, 17, 18 years old, farms, rural areas as they are training in Georgia. The Band of Brothers group, E Company that would be a part of the 101st Airborne. The first time most of them ever got on an airplane, Buck, they parachuted out of it. When I read that story ’cause it’s such a fantastic book, Band of Brothers.
And obviously I know a lot of you watched the HBO miniseries as well. Can you imagine the sheer testicular fortitude from those guys? Think about however old you are, the first time you ever got the on an airplane, how scared, how nervous you were. The first time those guys ever got on an airplane, Buck, they went up in the air and they jumped out with parachutes. I mean, that’s just different level of bravery, man.
BUCK: It is. It is. I would say the first time I ever got into a helicopter, Clay, it was a Black Hawk with a couple of 240 Gulfs on it that the actually had ready to roll because we were in a war zone. So that was my first ever helicopter ride. (laughs)
CLAY: That’s pretty scary too.
BUCK: That was interesting, I gotta say and it wasn’t a one-off. There was a lot of that going on, Blackhawks, chinooks, that kind of stuff but I will say you were thankful be in the air because at least then you didn’t have to worry about the IEDs on the ground. When I was in Humvees and other things, that was always more concerning in the immediate sense, although when you’re up in a helo and there are guys who are all armed up, you just hope that it’s a good day’s flight. That much I can tell you.
CLAY: You know, my uncle, who served in Vietnam, he was in Vietnam, and he was in charge of helicopter repair, when you mentioned that. And do you know what the number one responsibility of helicopter repair was? They had to be the first guys to go up after they fixed the helicopter. So that’s really a fascinating thing. I don’t know if they have that same rule in place.
BUCK: I think door gunners — and the problem whenever I say anything about Italy many history with this audience is if it’s off…
CLAY: Yeah.
BUCK: You try to sneak in the wrong the figure for like German casualties in a battle in World War II and I’m gonna get the angry email. But I think door gunners in Vietnam were among the highest casualty percentage per capita occupation. Those helicopters were just magnets for enemy fire.
CLAY: Well, and I just always thought that was so interesting that the way that they made sure that they did the absolute best maintenance job repairing those things getting blown up was the first people to go up in them after they got fixed were the crews that were working on them.
BUCK: Helo maintenance is critical. It was one of the big problems with when we were pulling out of Afghanistan. The moment you took out U.S. contractors, the Afghans aren’t gonna keep those helos in the sky. Everyone knows. There’s no way they’re gonna be able to keep the Blackhawks and other things. Now of course the Taliban, we’ll see if they’re able keep them in the air too. They’ll be cannibalizing parts within six months and they won’t know what to do. But, yeah, man, Band of Brothers, it’s a great series, by the way. I mean, The Pacific is great. HBO, for all of its woke madness, has done some pretty fantastic stuff too.
CLAY: So thanks to that generation. Bob Dole, obviously, we should mention Bob Dole as well, one of that Greatest Generation. Also just in terms of a sheer resume, one of the greatest accomplishments, true American hero out of Kansas. Bob Dole also was that generation dying over the weekend. I mean, just a legendary man in so many different respects.
BUCK: A great hero, and worth remembering that the Democrat media made him seem like he was some kind of wooden guy. Oh, he was too old? He was too old for the job!
CLAY: I remember.
BUCK: Grinning full of you-know-what Biden is fine for the job, but actual American hero Bob Dole? Oh, no. Let’s have… I can’t even use the words on radio for him, that fellow, Bill Clinton. Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea. Unbelievable.