today may 31st
2021
is a day known as memorial day in the
united states
it's a day that we set aside to remember
the men and women
who have died in service to this great
nation
i myself am a veteran with multiple
combat tours
and i've lost more friends over the
years than i can count
today is a very important
and solemn day for me
rather than show the type of video i
normally show on this channel
i would like to take a minute today to
tell you the stories of two men
who had a tremendous impact on my life
and career
and also died in service to this nation
the first man that i would like to tell
you about is daniel crabtree
when i first joined the army and got to
my first unit
that's where i met dan dan was a little
bit more senior than i was
believe he was already a sergeant at the
time
what i remember about dan is he was full
of enthusiasm
always had a smile on his face and every
task that needed to be done
dan knew how to do i remember as a young
soldier looking up to dan
and saying to myself someday
i'm going to be like that guy the last
time that i saw dan
was when he was preparing to leave my
unit to go to
special forces selection dan qualified
for special forces
completed his training and was assigned
to the 19th
special forces group where he was later
deployed to iraq
on june 8 2006 in
alcut iraq sergeant first class
daniel crabtree was killed by a roadside
bomb
on that day our nation lost
a soldier a husband
and a father the next man i would like
to tell you about
is my friend todd bates todd grew up in
a small town in southern ohio called bel
air
todd didn't come from a stable family
and he was actually
raised by his grandmother he believed
that the only way he could
make something of himself was by joining
the army
and that's what he did the only problem
was
at the time he wanted to enlist he was
about a hundred pounds overweight
todd dedicated himself and lost a
hundred pounds
the summer prior to enlisting in the
army
shortly after completing basic training
todd bates was assigned to me to be my
machine gunner
as we prepared to deploy into iraq
todd served flawlessly as my machine
gunner
during the entire 12-month deployment he
was loved by
everybody was probably the most popular
guy in the platoon
on december the 10th 2003
while on a riverboat patrol in the
tigris river
todd bates stripped off his gear and
dove in the water to try to save a
soldier who had fallen overboard
todd did not return to the surface alive
he was 20 years old if you're fortunate
enough
to live inside the united states and you
have the day off from work today
please enjoy your time with your family
enjoy your cookouts but take a moment to
remember
the men and women who gave their lives
making this possible
you