3651 – May 26, 2025 – Memorial Day 2025

Freedom’s Call – by Susan Helene Kramer

We show our thankfulness in prayer
This honor you deserve
Giving all for freedom’s call
That we may live without reserve.

“All gave some, some gave all” 

John 15: 13 – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

We’ve produced many Memorial shows throughout the 14 years of CSC Talk Radio AND… I’ve shared the origin and how it was mean to unite a broken nation. These days it designates the first day of summer and Americans all are encouraged to bring out the swimsuits and start up the BBQs…

But maybe… just maybe we’ve lost who we are… we’ve lost the reverence of this day in our history.

Recently in this small town, they tore down an OLD hospital. I confess I was a bit upset about losing another “old” building, but alas, my carpenter husband and son said NO WAY does anyone want to refurbish OR pay what it would cost to bring such a building up to code. WELL, in its place Moniteau County built a little park, Veterans Memorial Park, with a wall honoring the names all veterans from Moniteau County and a spot for those who “Gave All.”

 As I was sitting down to put today’s show together, I had this epiphany (I believe it was divine)… I should ask my brother-in-law to join us on the show today… As you know, my dad served during WW2 as did my father-in-law… and he was a POW… my brother served as a Marine in Vietnam and my son served in the Army… during peace —for which I was thankful … My brother-in-law Kelly, however, lost his dad during the Korean War. What a better way to tribute this day, than to honor one of our fallen… Kelly was only a few months old and only had those few months of time with his dad… so he has not memories on his own… BUT he has a story to tell… as we honor his dad… Kelly Clayton Odneal, Marine

Hear his story in the podcast.

The post Memorial Day 2025 appeared first on CSC Talk Radio.

[00:00:01] Hey, where are you going? I gotta get home. America, it's time to come home. It's time to come home! By bringing common sense back into the nonsense. Welcome to Common Sense Coalition Talk Radio, where America comes home. Down this dirt road, you're going to find determination and grit, opinions that matter, and a big ol' helping of good discernment.

[00:00:28] And now, the woman that wishes the D.C. occupiers would stop making her use her mom voice. Do not make me come down there. Here's your host, and the voice of common sense, Beth Ann. And I welcome you today to CSC Talk Radio. It is my honor, my privilege, and my pleasure to be here with you today. I thank you for joining me on this special occasion, Memorial Day. We're going to start it like we do every show. We're going to go straight to the Lord in prayer.

[00:00:55] For such a time as this, most gracious Heavenly Father, we come before you. Father, we come before you with grateful hearts, thankful hearts. And Father, may we show our thankfulness in prayer.

[00:01:21] Father, may we ask you to honor you. To honor those, Father, in our nation who gave all for freedom, for liberty, for religious freedom, Father. That the rest of us will live in freedom.

[00:01:50] All gave some, and some gave all. And Father, as you have commanded me, I pray for President Donald J. Trump and his protection. His family's protection. And Father, for all the servicemen out there serving today. I pray that you will protect them. Let them feel your presence in their lives. As they serve their country.

[00:02:20] Father, I ask you to bless today's show. Bless my guest, Kelly, and his family. May we do our best to honor those who have gone before us. Serving our country. For such a time as this, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, happy Memorial Day. We've produced many Memorial Day shows throughout the 14 years of CSC Talk Radio.

[00:02:50] I've shared the origin, history, and how it was meant to unite our nation. These days, it signifies the first day of summer. All Americans are encouraged to bring out the swimsuits and start the barbecues. But maybe, just maybe, we lost who we are somehow, some way.

[00:03:16] Anyway, we've lost the reverence of this day in our history. Recently, in this small town, they tore down an old hospital. I confess, I was a bit upset about losing another old building. But alas, my carpenter husband and son said, No way does anyone want to refurbish or pay what it would cost to bring such a building up to code.

[00:03:46] Well, it's in its place. In its place, they built a park. And this park is called Veterans Memorial Park for this particular county of Monotau County. And on the wall, it's honoring the names of all veterans who the families turned in the names. And these are all from Monotau County. And then there's a spot for those who gave all.

[00:04:13] There's a lyric to a song, Some Gave All. It was by, I was really surprised. I didn't realize Billy Ray Cyrus did this song. He said, I knew a man called him Sandy Kane. Few folks even knew his name. But a hero was he. Left a boy. Came back a man. Still, many just don't understand. About the reasons we are free.

[00:04:37] I can't forget the look in his eyes or the tears he cried as he said these words to me. All gave some. Some gave all. Some stood through the red, white, and blue. And some had to fall. And if you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall. Some gave all. Some gave all.

[00:05:06] I've seen those tears in the eyes of my own brother. As he told the stories of his comrades who fell. A Marine who came back a man after serving in Vietnam. As I was sitting down to put today's show together for you, I had an epiphany of sorts. I actually believe it was divine.

[00:05:35] That I should ask my brother-in-law to join us on the show today. As you know, I've told you before, my dad served in World War II, as did my father-in-law, who was also a POW. My brother served as a Marine in Vietnam, and he suffers today from Agent Orange, as many of them do. And my son served in the Army during peace, for which I was very thankful.

[00:06:02] My brother-in-law, Kelly, however, lost his dad during the Korean War. What a better way to tribute this day than to honor one of our fallen. Kelly was only a few months old and only had those few months of time with his dad. So, of course, he doesn't remember much of that, if any.

[00:06:25] So, he has no memories of his own, but he has stories that were told to him about his dad that he can honor. His father was Corporal Kelly Clayton O'Neill, Marine. Small Town USA is unique in the fact that most of our young men knew each other very well, or know each other very well. Some even related.

[00:06:56] Most, and so, when the call came for those who went to the Korean War, because they were drafted. And there was four of them we talked about when Kelly came in the office that were drafted at the same time. His father, Kelly Clayton O'Neill Sr., Gail Wittenberger, Oscar Nerum, Dorsey Alpers, Jackie Butcher.

[00:07:25] All gave some. Some gave all. And out of that group, one gave all. And that was Corporal Kelly Clayton O'Neill. It is for these that we work together to bring America home. And with that, I'm going to bring on Kelly before we go into the first break.

[00:07:48] Kelly, thank you for coming today and telling your dad's story and a few of the stories you've got, because we always know you're full of stories. Yes, I am, I guess. But it's my pleasure, Beth. Good, good. Kelly was telling me when we were kind of reminiscing and talking about doing this that he really was so busy with life that he didn't give it. Of course, he was just five months old when he lost his dad.

[00:08:16] So he was raised by a stepdad, and he and his stepbrother, or half-brother, grew up together. But the stories of his father came kind of later, didn't they, as far as really getting down and studying? Yeah, it was really quite interesting in that I was born in Prairie Home, the same town as our, grew up in Prairie Home, where my dad had grown up.

[00:08:42] But was around the people that he had went to school with, and I know some of those very well, and most of them have passed now. But not any stories about their ball playing. He had two brothers that were around Prairie Home that were slightly older than him that he played ball with, and not really, didn't learn much about him any at all throughout my lifetime.

[00:09:11] My mother never really talked about him, and Grandpa and Grandma didn't talk about him either. Quite painful. We've got the music going, and we're going to head into a break. When we come back, we're going to talk about some unusual things that Kelly does have that match his father. That their likes, their dislikes, maybe not their dislikes, we'll just talk about their likes.

[00:09:36] And their wants, and how he's living his father's life through him. Or his father lived his life through Kelly Jr., even though he didn't know Kelly Jr. as he grew up. You're listening to CSC Talk Radio. This is Beth Ann, and we'll be right back. The American Crisis Continues. The reviews are in.

[00:10:05] This is a book worth reading. A book that lays out both the fundamental issues and offers a solution. The American Crisis Continues informed me about the battle between good and evil. It inspired me to get involved in the author's quest to bring America home to God, family, and country. At a time in history when America is being attacked from within by those who have a secular, socialist view of America, this book quenched my thirst for a perspective of the America I know and love.

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[00:13:05] And we have returned to listening to CSE Talk Radio. This is Beth Ann. Well, Kelly came in a few days before we decided we would do this, and he gave me a scrapbook that I've been looking at. And Kelly, just a week ago or so, maybe two weeks ago, I guess, I interviewed Riley Gaines. And you know who she is, right?

[00:13:27] And we talked about how so many of the things today were dehumanizing human life. And I think we've gotten so far away from the original Memorial Day, which was uniting Americans from the Civil War, uniting the brothers who fought against each other even, that we've forgotten. And so it's become this first day of summer.

[00:13:55] But as I was going through this and reading, in fact, I'll talk about this here in just a minute. Reading, I remember my brother being in Vietnam. And I wrote my brother, and he wrote me. And I think he saved most of his letters, and mine burned up when we lost the house in the fire. But when I read this letter from your dad to your aunt, right, I thought of my own brother. Dear sis, how is everything with you?

[00:14:26] Your loved life, how's your love life and everything? It sounds like a brother, doesn't it? It doesn't sound like a brother. How's your love life, sis? That's it. I'm fine, but sure do miss your sister, which is his wife. On the other side is the pretty song in the world. I will try to write later, but I'm pretty busy. We'll soon be back home for a few days.

[00:14:53] We may have to take a birthday, have a birthday party. Having a little trouble reading this. Love, I'll be home. Love you, but I'll be home on your... And something about be good and right. And it signs his name, Kelly. And I thought of my own letters to my brother, and how we were... I was in high school, and we wrote back and forth when he was in Vietnam.

[00:15:17] And how this really brought the human side of it back to me, as far as that goes. We always think, well, Kelly lost his dad. But it's so much more than that. And so I want you to talk a little bit about finding this paraphernalia, and then I want to talk about this article that was done on you in the paper, on you and your dad.

[00:15:42] So talk about your dad just a little bit, and how you came about all this paraphernalia that you hadn't seen for years. Yeah. First, with the letters and stuff, I have a thought about that. I have the last eight letters that my dad had sent back to my mother. One was even pokesmarked after he was killed.

[00:16:06] Probably no more than one a week, but it was absolutely amazing. In the first ones, he talked about maybe making a career out of being a Marine. And he was, during that time, he was in the process of training 18 other soldiers that were under him to fight the North Koreans.

[00:16:32] As those letters went on, you could see a breakdown mentally and the stress of being pinned down. He ended up having six of his 18 killed at the time that he was killed. He actually died trying to get one of them in cover while they were under mortar fire.

[00:16:59] He was out of the foxhole and was trying to find him and get him covered. But those letters are extremely interesting to understand what those soldiers went through with daytime highs of minus 20 and nights of minus 40. And cuddling together, they ran out of firewood. They cuddled together at night.

[00:17:27] Some other things in there that I'm not going to talk about on air, but it was very, very interesting. As far as discovering some things about my father later in life, as my grandfather's family farm was sold to the oldest boy, and then the oldest boy sold, they cleaned out the farmhouse,

[00:17:52] and in the attic of the farmhouse was a military coat and a military hat. Hanging on a nail. And my Uncle Louis, selling the house, he thought it was his from World War II, and when he went up to get it, it was a Marine emblem on the front of the hat,

[00:18:20] and underneath the coat was a box that said Kelly's stuff in it. And I was about 52 at the time, I think, about the time I retired from coaching and teaching. And I probably learned more about my dad in that box than what I had learned about my dad in my whole life up to that time.

[00:18:47] He had went to Southern Methodist University a year after he got out of high school, and that he had to work at the farm to make enough money. And while he was there, they recorded on a vinyl in a public speaking class a three-minute speech that he had given. And that was from like 1948. Wow.

[00:19:16] It was like I didn't know what to do with it, but I checked around, and about all the information I got was not to clean it with anything but soap and water. Did you want me to go on with the story about the tape? Yes, absolutely. Okay. Go on with the vinyl story. The vinyl story. I had it for 10 years, and I had what would have been my dad's first cousin. He was into photography.

[00:19:44] And he had a friend that did photography and sold that at a place in Roachport for the tourists. And she found out about this vinyl, and she had a friend that she worked with at Columbia Photo for 20 years,

[00:20:03] and he was reproducing music from vinyls to CDs and so on and so on, VHSs and CDs and so on. So shortening it down, we ended up getting it to him, and he worked on it. And he didn't get very much of the whole story about Kelly Sr.,

[00:20:28] but he worked on it and let me know that it was beyond repair. It had been in a farmhouse attic for 50 years, the heat and the cold and everything else. And then when he told me this, I explained to him about my dad. And he said, well, I'll work on it some more. There's always a possibility. I'll see what I can do. And no extra charge, so that was good.

[00:20:58] And in a couple weeks he called me back, and he said, Kelly, he said, I've got it. He said, it's very good. It came out very good. He had found a record player from that age, and the first record player apparently did not have a good needle on it. And then he found a better needle or found another player,

[00:21:25] and this time he was able to get enough of the sound that he could reproduce it, and it did come out very well. So in that I was three months old when Dad shipped out, I actually got to hear my dad's voice for the first time in 62, 63 years. So that's kind of interesting.

[00:21:53] I got the family together, my cousins, his two brothers, his sister, my wife, my two boys, my daughter, and we all listened to it at the same time. And they came to the conclusion, I thought it sounded like my uncle, Norman, that's 18 months older than my dad. The couple of kids and my wife thought that it sounded like Norman's boy, Paul,

[00:22:22] who I grew up with a year younger than me. So his voice is apparently the voice of the O'Neills, but I have a much baser voice, and I do not sound like him. So that was very interesting to get to hear my dad's voice, basically for first in my life, although he was around me my first three months. Yeah. Well, and in looking through your scrapbook, and of course I don't know if I explained this or not,

[00:22:50] but Kelly is married to my husband's youngest sister. So we're in small town USA, folks. We're both challenged a little, aren't we? We're both challenged, yes. So I want to tell a little bit about that story when we come back, as I went through his scrapbook last night and didn't memorize it, but there were some things that stood out. And we'll just share that when you come back. You're listening to CSE Talk Radio. Hold off on that barbecue, and you come right back,

[00:23:19] because we're working to bring America home.

[00:24:01] Looking for someone to educate and encourage your group? Invite Beth Ann and her Bring America Home message to your community or event. Call 573-796-2166 or email rudys at csctalkradio.com to invite Beth Ann to speak at your next event. Beth Ann has been behind the microphone for almost 30 years, fighting to bring America home. She brings her unique perspective, drawing from her many life experiences and her love for God and country.

[00:24:27] As a young girl, her family moved from the big city to a small rural community where she would grow up, marry her husband, and together raise five sons. Along the way, she worked in factories, retail, sales, and medical clinic, and now lights up the airwaves on CSE Talk Radio. As the D.C. occupiers continue to drive our society into socialism and anarchy, the message to bring America home grows more crucial by the day. Beth Ann brings that message with contagious passion wherever she speaks.

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[00:28:08] This is Beth Ann. I have Kelly O'Neill, Jr. And I told him we've never referred to him as Junior before. Maybe I'll just talk her and you Junior. Now, you have to look at Kelly. Kelly's like well over a six-foot-tall big guy. And so, yeah, he's the one, Rudy, I was telling you about that made fun of me in my high heels. Said even in your six-inch heels, you're short. You go ahead and call him Junior. I'm not going to. I get away with it. Anyway, he can't bend over as well as he used to. We're all getting to that age.

[00:28:38] But what really sparked the memories of this for us in the family is the local newspaper did an article on him hearing his dad's voice for basically really the first time. And I'm going to toot Rudy's horn just a little bit. Because when Kelly brought in the CD, I said, do you have this on an MP3 file? Because CDs are going out and pretty soon you won't have a way to play that. So I handed it over to Rudy and I said, can you put this on an MP3?

[00:29:08] And we did that for him and put it on a thumb drive so all the family can have it. You can plug it in and email the MP3 to them. And they'll all have it. But he heard his dad's voice for the first time. And he also found out, and I don't know, maybe he knew this prior to all this, but your dad had a love for athletics, in particular baseball. Now Kelly, Kelly is, you can brag about yourself if you want to a little bit, Kelly,

[00:29:38] in his softball. And he made the Softball Hall of Fame here in the state of Missouri. Or is it Coach's Hall of Fame? But anyway, so your dad was athletic like you and loved baseball. I want you to kind of talk about that a little bit, because I know that has to mean a lot to you. When I started getting into some of the information that was in the box that was in the attic,

[00:30:05] there was a postcard in there that had been sent back to his mother. And basically he was telling him and Grandpa had went to tryout with the Cardinals at the old sportsman's stadium. And the way they did it back then is they had Monday through Saturday six days of tryouts.

[00:30:29] And that on Thursday there was 300 left. And at that time the scouts told Grandpa that plan on him and Kelly being there through Saturday. So we know that from that standpoint.

[00:30:54] I knew that he had played with the town team from the time he was 16, playing with his older brothers and other people. But, you know, that was an interesting part. He also led his high school team in scoring and basketball his senior year.

[00:31:17] And I didn't know any of this stuff at all until I was retired from coaching and teaching when I was 52 years old. So my career went from playing Little League Babe Ruth baseball there at Prairie Home. We didn't have baseball in high school. We played fast pitch softball, and I pitched it, of course, underhanded when I was a senior.

[00:31:44] And then I went to Mizzou, passed up some basketball and baseball scholarships, but wanted to go to Mizzou, thought it would be a better education, better being able to get a job. And my sophomore year there, I had a friend that I pitched against from another school. He had tried out for the team, and he had made it the year before, and he was wondering why I wasn't trying out.

[00:32:14] So then my sophomore year I did try out, and I think we had about 40 pitchers try out, and they kept one as a walk-on. And so my sophomore and junior year I was able to at least be there for home games and practices, but I was the walk-on person and basically the batting practice pitcher. I got to pitch one inning against Kansas State in the snow my sophomore year,

[00:32:43] and I'm sure the coach did not want to take a chance on injuring any of his scholarship players. So Kelly was on a Marine team. I have a picture of 12 Marines in uniform, and they had their ball gloves, and they were all, said the Marine baseball team. I don't know what that amounts to. But anyway, he loved sports a lot.

[00:33:10] And jump ahead when Uncle Lewis died just a few years ago, three or four years ago. They cleaned his house out. They found a letter that was addressed to Kelly from apparently his girlfriend at Southern Methodist University, SMU. Not your mother.

[00:33:40] That's a year or so, two years before he met my mother. And she wrote in that letter to him, not going to talk about the mushy stuff, but asked if he was still – he was at Central Methodist. He did a year and a half at Central Methodist after he came back from SMU. She asked if he was still studying to be a coach.

[00:34:10] So that still sends shivers around on my body when I think about that and that I absolutely knew nothing about him being interested in coaching. And yet, by the time I was 16 years old, I had made my mind up that I wanted to be a coach. And baseball and basketball were my two loves.

[00:34:36] And I think I probably got a – probably was blessed with more talent maybe as a baseball person in that the pitcher pretty much dominates the game. And that's what I did from the time I was 10 years old. And I quit throwing batting practice when I was 52. And I can tell it when I try to sleep at night.

[00:35:03] The right arm is not what it used to be. Yeah, so that's kind of interesting. And my career was certainly blessed, just totally blessed. I mean, it's just crazy when you think about that one coach can go to 15 Final Fours in softball and five Final Fours in baseball.

[00:35:29] And I finished second nine times in softball. I got that record for eternity. But I did win three championships and then two championships in baseball. But just a blessed career. I just know it has to be something greater than just average life. Because I was just a regular old farm boy that worked hard and learned to play hard.

[00:35:57] And I think all the others was pretty much gifted to me. But as I got trying to understand more about my father and do this scrapbook, it was just absolutely amazing some of the similarities that happens. And, of course, people, when you're looking for them. But I wasn't looking for them. They just were there.

[00:36:25] So pretty interesting to find out those things when you don't know. And here again, nobody had ever told me. All his brothers and sisters, his mom and dad, probably several of the people in the community knew that he was trying to, you know, go into school to be a coach. Absolutely.

[00:36:45] And he was a coach. Never mentioned even once to me about it at all.

[00:37:13] He discovered his father had gone to school so he could achieve those same heights. And you did that. You did it. And we're headed into a break. When we come back, I'm going to share something that his dad wrote. And something that I found very touching and interesting. I'm not going to share the entire letter. But it was something he wrote to his own dad.

[00:37:40] And thinking of my family that served in the wars, I was moved by the words here in this letter. You're listening to CST Talk Radio. This is Beth Ann. We're remembering Memorial Day for those who gave all. And we'll be right back. Have you heard about vine-to-bar chocolate? It's the winemaker's chocolate.

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[00:39:02] Hear ye, hear ye. Read all about it. The American Crisis Continues. In her new book, The American Crisis Continues, Beth Ann elaborates on the crises America faces today. Invasion at the border, insurrections, lawlessness, climate change, and the cry for democracy. These are the times that try men's souls. Thomas Paine's words continue to speak to Americans today. We the people once again find ourselves under tyranny.

[00:39:31] In The American Crisis Continues, you'll glean wisdom from our founding fathers and an understanding why belief in Creator God is the foundation of this nation. Liberty is always in the hands of the people. But first, it must be a longing and a lust within their hearts. The American Crisis Continues is a must read. Order your copy today at csctalkradio.com or amazon.com.

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[00:41:48] That's 573-796-2166. Or send an email to beth at csctalkradio.com. And we have returned. You're listening to CSC Talk Radio. This is Beth Ann. So, when I was reading this letter, and it was written in 1952.

[00:42:16] That was way after you were born. Hey. Just kidding. Just kidding. Kelly's a year older than I am, and so we kind of poke at each other. Opposing schools. We were opposing schools. She was a cheerleader. I was. Kind of cute one, too. Even though I was short. So, I was going to ask you, did your dad type this or did somebody else type this? You typed it. Okay.

[00:42:45] So, I don't know how you got through it. I'm not going to read the entire letter. There's just a little bit of it that I want to share. Because I think we need to understand what our men and women go through when they're away from home. Now, Kelly said as he read his dad's notes and letters and postcards that he could see a difference emotionally. It wears on you. And I'm going to let you tell the story, what he said in one. Even though it's on the air, you can go ahead and tell it.

[00:43:14] Because this has to do with what they have to put up with out there in the field. What did your dad confess? Go ahead and tell it. Oh, yeah. One of the last couple letters that was sent home to mom, where they were sleeping in groups of five at night, so I like that to stay warm. No wood around to build a fire or anything. They'd used it all up.

[00:43:39] He mentioned, of all things, that he had gone 30 days without having his underwear changed. Which is a mother's nightmare. Yeah, start thinking about the mental things that people are thinking about and how bad of a situation they're in. But they fight to the end for us. Yes, they do.

[00:44:05] So here's a letter that he wrote in 1952 to his dad. And I remember just the style, some of the things that they say. And it's the same thing as when my brother wrote home. You know, I'm busy. I'll write more later. I'm busy, is what he said to your aunt. Dear Dad, I will try to write you a letter of some kind, although it may be slightly confused, because it is slightly confusing in this tent tonight. With everybody doing something different.

[00:44:35] But I will try to make it as sensible as possible, although I have not done anything sensible since I left the States. I sure can't see any sense in this police action. We aren't doing very much fighting, just sitting and waiting. Sort of like duck hunting. We stay behind in a blind and wait. That is what we are doing.

[00:45:01] We stay in a trench line all day and night. The place we were the first time up, we stood watch all night and slept in the daytime as a watch as much as possible.

[00:45:20] We are now in reserve and have been digging trench lines, fighting holes for riflemen and barmen, and also machine gunners. We are building a bunker for sleeping quarters and warming up purposes. Also bunkers for an office for the platoon and CO company.

[00:45:46] I know I shouldn't ever tell you this, but I am really getting good at a shovel and a pick. And as a mother, I got a big kick out of that, because I have a son that said he had to dig too many holes when he was working with his father on construction sites. He said, Dad just said, go dig a hole. Gave him a shovel, said go dig a hole.

[00:46:11] Gave him a shovel.

[00:46:40] Gave him a shovel. He said, God, I pray to him every night and in unsafe moments. I pray more often. It sure is a comfort and easing effect to know that he is for you. Most of the boys here say they never went to church before, let alone pray. But most of them never miss a service and pray most of the time.

[00:47:07] It sure comes from the heart, too. And it isn't such a hard job to do. I also read the Bible regularly. I thought this was interesting. It is easy to read once you get started. I read some of the New Testament while in the hospital. Sure was interesting. I am reading St. John now. That's just the first paragraph of this letter.

[00:47:33] And I thought of all the other men that are out there and women leaning on the Lord. But here your dad was from this small town. He had that foundation from your grandparents of going to church. And you've done that same thing for your children. And I've done that same thing for my children. But there are many, many out there that don't have that foundation.

[00:48:02] But they sure needed it. And they wanted it when they were in the foxholes. Yeah, I think a lot of people, as they age and just aging catches up. And you have illnesses and sicknesses. And your life is not so carefree. It gets to be very limited.

[00:48:27] A lot of people are searching on something better. And sometimes they can be led to the Lord during those types of situations. That is a tremendously greater situation than having to go to war and be shot at. And, you know, watch your comrades go down.

[00:48:57] And, I mean, my wife led me to the Lord. I grew up in a church. I went to church. I had confirmation summer after seventh grade. We met with the preacher every Saturday morning for like six months. We studied this. We learned verses. We did all that.

[00:49:23] I had a friend in college who tried to get me to go to the Methodist church with him. And that I played on their basketball team. And they had the Wesley Foundation in Columbia. So they had pool tables and ping pong tables. And it was a recreation area for my friend and I. My friend in eighth grade had tried to commit suicide. He got in with drugs and stuff in St. Louis.

[00:49:51] And he had turned his life totally around by trusting the Lord. And so he knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be. And he worked with me a little bit. Kay whipped you into shape, didn't she? Yeah, but a 19-year-old girl sure didn't have any trouble whipping me in shape. And so it's the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my whole life.

[00:50:17] And certainly much more than being Hall of Fame this and Hall of Fame that. And so I like that. It's all to her. We're about over here. Remember those who gave all to bring America home. God bless you. Kelly Clayton. Odenail Sr. And you.

[00:50:45] At CSC Talk Radio, there's always more to say than can fit into the show's four segments. But did you know there's a fifth segment? Several times a week, Bethann publishes Beyond the Microphone, the fifth segment. And you can get each publication delivered directly to your email for free. Just go to bethanncsctalkradio.substack.com and enter your email address to subscribe.

[00:51:11] Additionally, when you subscribe, you'll be given the opportunity to support the show with a monthly or yearly contribution. You choose. New supporters are always welcome. But you can always subscribe for free. In addition to getting the newest issue delivered to your inbox, you can browse through 100-plus articles on a variety of topics. Just go to bethanncsctalkradio.substack.com to subscribe today

[00:51:38] and dive deeper into the important topics that bring America home. Do we lack enthusiasm and understanding of the word liberty? Do we weep for liberty which we have lost? Or do we simply not understand the substance and sacrifice for which we were once privileged? Liberty. Webster defines liberty as the state of being free within society

[00:52:03] from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's life, behavior, or political views. Today we seem to want restrictions. Government micromanaging our lives? But do we realize the cost? Alexander Hamilton once stated, There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself in acts of bravery and heroism. As a republic, we the people must guard the liberty of others.

[00:52:30] We must continue the enthusiasm that will make men free. Visit csctalkradio.com where Bethann puts enthusiasm and common sense back into American liberty as she brings America home. Hi, this is Bethann. The inventor and CEO of MyPillow is always looking for ways to solve everyday problems. Have you ever picked up a towel set because it felt so soft in the store?

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