As Walter Gatlin, a former soldier turned trucker, I've navigated more than just highways—I've journeyed from military service to life behind the wheel, carrying lessons of camaraderie and respect with me. This Memorial Day, join me for a stirring tribute to those who have worn the uniform, and discover the parallels between the bonds formed in the armed forces and our trucking community. We're not just sharing the road; we're sharing stories that weave the fabric of America, learning from each other regardless of whether you're a rookie or a road-tested veteran.
In a special narrative, we highlight the commitment of Army Sergeant Michael Fuentes, who shifted gears from his role as a motor transport operator to join a mission in Normandy searching for fallen World War II heroes. His story is a testament to the enduring spirit of service and the deep sense of honor that transcends occupation. Through stirring anecdotes and an excerpt from "We Were Soldiers," we grasp the essence of unity—both in the military and across the endless miles truckers travel. This episode is more than just a podcast; it's a heartfelt salute to the shared values that drive us, as truckers and as patriots, shaping the landscape of our great nation.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
As Walter Gatlin, a former soldier turned trucker, I've navigated more than just highways—I've journeyed from military service to life behind the wheel, carrying lessons of camaraderie and respect with me. This Memorial Day, join me for a stirring tribute to those who have worn the uniform, and discover the parallels between the bonds formed in the armed forces and our trucking community. We're not just sharing the road; we're sharing stories that weave the fabric of America, learning from each other regardless of whether you're a rookie or a road-tested veteran.
In a special narrative, we highlight the commitment of Army Sergeant Michael Fuentes, who shifted gears from his role as a motor transport operator to join a mission in Normandy searching for fallen World War II heroes. His story is a testament to the enduring spirit of service and the deep sense of honor that transcends occupation. Through stirring anecdotes and an excerpt from "We Were Soldiers," we grasp the essence of unity—both in the military and across the endless miles truckers travel. This episode is more than just a podcast; it's a heartfelt salute to the shared values that drive us, as truckers and as patriots, shaping the landscape of our great nation.
Text me anytime with news, suggestions, and stories at (641) 990-5641. God bless, be safe, and keep it between the lines drivers.
Speaker 1:
Welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. This 40-year veteran is here for anyone wanting to stay up to date with the trucking world. Grab your coffee, hop on board and let's get on down the road with Walter Gatlin.
Speaker 2:
Hello drivers and welcome to Rollin' 18 Podcast. I appreciate you folks listening and or downloading my podcast. I am also putting a visual of the same exact audio podcast on Rumble each and every episode, and that way you can watch my truck drive down the road as you're listening to the podcast, if that's the way you prefer it Some people do. Today is going to be a special Memorial Day broadcast because I want to remind all of you drivers before we became truck drivers, we were something else and some of you may have started right out of the gate, but for the most part, people did other things Me personally. I joined the United States Army and when I got out of the Army I decided to become a truck driver. I have also done other things throughout my years. I helped my dad. Even prior to the United States Army, I helped my dad. He had a mechanic shop and a towing outfit, so I was experienced in a lot of things. Then I got more experience driving a truck. That's why I suggest to all drivers out there to respect everybody. It doesn't matter what kind of truck you drive. It doesn't matter if you're a rookie or a 40-year veteran. None of that matters. What matters is that we teach each other. We learn every single day, because that's exactly what happens when you drive a truck you learn something new all the time. Nobody is going to tell me that they don't learn something new throughout their career, and it doesn't matter. Like I said, 40 years or 40 weeks, it doesn't make any difference.
Speaker 2:
Today's story is going to be about a truck driver that assists in the search for missing World War II airmen. A 25-member team from the Defense POW MIA accounting agency is in the Normandy region of France and they are searching for three missing airmen whose C-47A aircraft was presumably shot down by German anti-aircraft fire on D-Day, june 6, 1944. It's imperative that we understand each other. It's imperative that we know each other. Army Sergeant Michael Fuentes, a motor transport vehicle operator, said he volunteered to be on the recovery mission, which is his first. This is completely outside of my job, which is cool because it's a new experience. Obviously, the mission itself is something unique that we don't usually get the opportunity to do, he said. I feel honored that we get to give these families peace of mind by recovering the remains of their loved ones. The work itself, he said, involves a lot of manual labor shoveling dirt into buckets and then sifting the dirt in search of remains.
Speaker 2:
Fuentes joined the Army in April of 2018, his hometown of Santa Ana, california, where his wife and two daughters are now. Both of his parents are from Mexico and they taught him Spanish when he was a youngster. They were not too thrilled when they learned he was going into the army because they thought it would be dangerous, but now they're okay with it. He said it doesn't matter our background, it doesn't matter anything, because when you go to war, you are one, and that's the way I would like to see it in the trucking business, because, although we're not risking our lives for our country, we are risking our lives for our families, and that's something we need to understand. Here's a little clip that I took off of we Were Soldiers, because I think it is the most powerful speech in the entire movie Look around you.
Speaker 3:
In the 7th Cavalry. We've got a captain from the Ukraine, another from Puerto Rico, we've got Japanese, chinese, blacks, hispanics, cherokee Indians, jews and Gentiles all Americans. Now here in the States. Some men in this unit may experience discrimination because of race or creed, but for you and me now, all that is gone. We're moving into the valley of the shadow of death, where you will watch the back of the man next to you as he will watch yours, and you won't care what color he is or by what name he calls God. They say we're leaving home. We're going to what home was always supposed to be. So let us understand the situation.
Speaker 3:
We are going into battle against a tough and determined enemy. I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive, but this I swear before you and before Almighty God that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field and I'll be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind, Dead or alive. We will all come home together. So help me, God.
Speaker 2:
What do you think? What do you think about when you think about America? What do you think about when you think about the love that each American is supposed to have for one another? Just like he said in that speech? You know, when we go to battle, we're nothing other than for each other. We're trying to make at home alive and although, like I said before, we're not in the military and we're not, like I said before, we're not in the military and we're not fighting for our nation's freedoms. We're not in the fire department, we're not fighting a fire, we're not police officers, we're not fighting criminals, but we are out there every single day fighting to make sure we do our absolute best to be as safe as we can. So each and every day, when we park, we know that we did not hurt or kill somebody and we did not hurt or kill ourselves. All this nitpicking needs to go away. There are a lot of changes coming in the trucking industry and it's going to be basically financial and, I'm sorry to say, some of you are not going to make it, especially the owner-operators and the lease-operators. Some of you company drivers are going to lose your jobs. There is a big financial wave coming. I don't know if it's going to be this year or the beginning of next, but the warning signs are out there.
Speaker 2:
We all need to understand love. We all need to understand compassion. I understand we have stressful days. I understand that we constantly look at each other in a negative light, sometimes because of our stress levels, because of certain parking lots we pull into, because of trucks clogging the fuel island, because of traffic. There's all kinds of reasons. But the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag, I believe, has one of the most important words in the world and that is indivisible. We have to be united. We have to be united in everything we do. All of us want to have honor. All of us want to have compassion. All of us want good things for our children, good things for our husbands and our wives. We all want what's best for our families.
Speaker 2:
I know we're going to have a few bad apples in every situation. I've always said the world is 80% good, 20% bad and there's nothing we can do about that. It's been going on for thousands of years. But right now the percentage of people treating drivers poorly is greater than 60, 70 percent, and that's horrific. We're all twisted, we're all nervous, we're all upset, but we're all forgetting our roots. We're forgetting our love and understanding and our compassion that we had as children. We're letting other people dictate our mood. We can't do that, no more. We are the largest industry in the world and we really need to start acting like it again.
Speaker 2:
And days like today remind us that people lay down their lives for our freedoms, and I wish I had enough time on this podcast to explain to you exactly how many bodies still have not made it home. How many bodies are buried over in France? How many bodies are buried over in Germany? How many bodies are buried over in the UK? You know there's a lot of people out there that fought for this nation that never, ever, stepped foot back in America.
Speaker 2:
So what do we have to complain about? We haven't lost our lives for our country. We may have served our country. We may have went to war and seen some bad things, but we're home and now we're driving truck and we're actually enjoying our job. For the most part, we do a very important thing for this nation. If every single truck in this nation parked and did not move, half of the American people and a good well over a third of the world would starve to death within a few months. It's crazy to think that way, but the point is it's true. Drivers, we need to start getting along. We need to start treating each other better and today I suggest, if you can, go to your nearest cemetery, go to a gravesite where a person had fallen overseas in a war. Wherever, get down on bended knee and thank them for your freedoms.
Speaker 2:
And I got a message for you people that hate America and want to be socialists and want to turn this country into a socialist country. It's never going to happen. The American people are united enough to know that there's no way we're going to allow that to happen. We may be bickering like little children at this point in time because of the economy and everything else. We may be getting upset because there's way too many things happening, such as bad traffic and stuff, but we will never, ever, ever, allow this country to be taken away by tyranny and by anybody that thinks they can turn this nation into a communist country and Marxism and all that. It's not going to happen. So you might as well get that out of your mind.
Speaker 2:
And let me let you know something else there are plenty of other countries that you can move to that welcome such a thing.
Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die. For us again, it's a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of our children who rest in this cemetery and others.
Speaker 2:
It's a day to be with the family and remember.
Speaker 2:
Driver. God bless you. God bless you and your family. Let's all try and get along. Let's try and do the best we can for each other and I guarantee you, if you think every single day of somebody that sacrificed their life for our country and your freedoms, you will be much happier.
Speaker 2:
Get your mind off this petty stuff that people have been trying to stick in there. Empty your head of all that garbage. We get up in the morning. We have a job to do and we want to do it to the best of our ability, and we want to keep everyone safe, and we want to do it to the best of our ability, and we want to keep everyone safe, and we want to make it home alive too. So do yourself a favor and get rid of that petty stuff. Start thanking each other, Start looking at each other in the eye at the truck stop, start lifting up your head and saying good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and start smiling at each other once again, because, basically, we're all on the same team. Come on, don't let people talk you out of your happiness. They're the ones that are the fools, not you. I know we can do this.
Speaker 1:
I will see you folks next time. Thank you for listening to Roland 18 Podcast. Please visit my website at MediaIowacom or the podcast page at Rolandland18podcastcom.