The VetsConnection Podcast

Ep. 30 - Bob DeMascola - A Vietnam Veteran's Journey and Homecoming

• Scott McLean • Episode 30

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Imagine being thrust into a world of chaos just as a historic offensive looms on the horizon. Bob DeMascola, a Vietnam veteran, takes us through his gripping journey from civilian life as a mechanic and night student to a soldier deployed in the crucible of the Vietnam War. Bob shares his experiences from basic and artillery training, his deployment to Dong Tam, and the unique challenges of adapting to the harsh conditions and constant threats of booby traps. His compelling narrative offers an intimate look at the unpredictable daily life of soldiers in Vietnam, where even his mechanical skills found unexpected utility in the motor pool.

Transitioning from the battlefield to the safety of home is a journey fraught with its own set of challenges. Bob candidly recounts his return after 14 intense months in a war zone, highlighting the camaraderie among soldiers and the immense relief of concluding their deployment. The emotional rollercoaster of moving from survival mode to civilian life is vividly brought to life, offering insights into the resilience and bravery required to manage such profound shifts. Bob's stories capture the essence of a soldier's journey home, emphasizing the brotherhood that eases this transition.

The scars of war extend beyond the battlefield, as Bob reflects on the struggles of recognition and honor that Vietnam veterans faced upon returning. The episode explores the healing pathways through family, therapy, and veteran communities, and highlights the importance of recognizing their service through places like the hidden military museum and events such as the Honor Flight. Bob's reflections underline the significance of honoring veterans, leading us to discuss the One Man, One Mic Foundation, which supports veterans through meaningful initiatives. Stay until the end for a special public service announcement that provides valuable resources for veterans and their families.

Scott McLean:

Welcome to the podcast. I'm Scott McLean. My guest today is Bob DiMascola. Bob is an Army veteran, Vietnam veteran, and he's the father of a friend of mine, Nick and Bob and I have crossed paths a number of times over the years and we always end up talking about our time in the military, and I just thought this would be a good Veterans Day episode to talk to Bob, who's a, like I said, Vietnam veteran. So hey, Bob, welcome to the podcast.

Bob DeMascola:

Okay, thank you.

Scott McLean:

So let's get right into it. What year did you go in?

Bob DeMascola:

August 1967.

Scott McLean:

August 1967. Right Drafted yes, all right. What were you doing before then?

Bob DeMascola:

I was a mechanic and I was going to college at night for a technical school and then when I finished that, they grabbed me. I got drafted because I didn't have any exemption. So that's how I got drafted.

Scott McLean:

Any of your friends get drafted with you.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, some of them. Okay, yeah, some guys.

Scott McLean:

Any of your friends get drafted with you? Yeah, some of them. Okay, yeah, some guys. And so back then, when you got drafted, did they choose the branch of service for you?

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, it was Army. I don't know if there was any choice, but that's what I got.

Scott McLean:

That was the no choice. You got yeah. And what did you do when you were in?

Bob DeMascola:

They put me in the artillery. I did basic training in Fort Jackson for two months. I did two months in Fort Sill, oklahoma, for artillery.

Scott McLean:

They gave me three weeks leave and then they shipped me to Nam and where did you end up?

Bob DeMascola:

in Nam, it's called Dong Tam. It was 60 miles south of Saigon and we had 105 artillery. But we were on barges because we were the most southern tip of Vietnam and you can only go by air or water. So we had 105s on barges and going around supporting the infantry and stuff.

Scott McLean:

And a 105 for the listeners.

Bob DeMascola:

It was a 105 Howitzer artillery. Okay.

Scott McLean:

So you get out of basic training and they stick you on a plane. What's going through your head?

Bob DeMascola:

Well, here's the thing you did two months of basic yeah. So then you got your orders we're going to send you to Fort Sill, oklahoma, for artillery training. That was another two months and then, like the last week, you kind of know everybody's going to NAMM, you know, like 99% of them. So I had to call my folks and you know, tell them what's going on. And they gave me, like I said, I had the three weeks leave and then that was it, january 68, I was gone and I was in country two weeks and the Tet Offensive hit and we were on a perimeter for three days and three nights because they were trying to overrun our base camp. And that was my introduction. So it didn't take long. No, and really no, we got into. It was 22 hours from Oakland Air Force Base to Saigon, because you can make a couple of stops and they give you like a day of all basic booby trap stuff, and that was it.

Scott McLean:

You were shipped to your unit. Basic booby trap stuff. Explain to us what basic booby trap stuff is.

Bob DeMascola:

Well, they just. You know you're in the jungle. So they got trip wires. They got they'll take like a tree branch and sharpen it up and put poison on it, hang it from the tree. Or they got heavy weights from the tree like look like a steel ball with spikes on it and if you trip the wire it'll come down and take you out. And they were so a lot of ingenuity it would take two what do you call it? Like a can of food cut the tops off and they put leaves in between it and they'd make that you step on it, make contact and set you off as a booby trap, try to blow you up.

Bob DeMascola:

So you get off. First of all you get off the plane. It's 110 degrees, seven days a week. You know humidity and all that. And then you get in. You know you got to worry about heat stroke right away Because you know you never was to that situation. So I was in about two weeks and we were in formation and I went to the motor pool. I was a mechanic before I got drafted here. So I talked to the warrant officer and he said man, I need you guys bad. So he made a call to the division and they swapped me over to the motor pool but I was still involved with the artillery. Also. I ran a crane so we could load ammo for the artillery, because we had to airlift a lot of stuff out plus work on all the equipment. And then I had to take care of all the generators because even back then they called it a fire direction control to gauge the artillery. You still needed generators, even though you're out in the field and stuff. So I had like three M MOSs from moving around.

Scott McLean:

So the Tet Offensive kicked off.

Bob DeMascola:

Right.

Scott McLean:

What was going on leading up to that? How was the feel of the camp or wherever you were?

Bob DeMascola:

Well, first of all, you're scared to death, naturally, because you don't know what's going on. We had a base camp and basically it was a new base camp, so we were living in tents and besides doing everything, we started building barracks actually where we could live. And then you know, you go out in the field, you're out there for a while and you come back into the base camp and you know stuff like that. Just a non-seer, every day was different depending on what positions we were in, and stuff like that, because we supported all the infantry with the artillery, so we were always different spots, you know, and that kind of stuff.

Scott McLean:

So you get up in the morning it's like, okay, we're going to go out, right, and this is where we're going today, right? How long would it take to get to some of these places?

Bob DeMascola:

Well, if you had to go by water, it's pretty slow because the barge only went like 10 miles an hour. Then we did convoys, also with trucks and that kind of stuff. Then when I was in base camp, I had to be on call because I ran a record besides doing all the other nonsense. So sometimes I'd be out there till midnight, you know, depending on the situations and stuff. And then so you know you're out in the heat all day. You know you're drinking water like no tomorrow.

Bob DeMascola:

And they gave us the theory then was they gave you these big salt pills, salt pills, and that's supposed to keep you. So your fatigues are freaking white from sweating so much. But the heat was brutal, you know, between the bugs and the heat. And then I got ringworm a couple of times because the water if you're in any of that, you know jungle water, the ringworm, you get welts all over you and the only way you can stop that is you have to dry yourself and be clean. You can't be, you know, to dry it out. So you know you got all that stuff to mess with. Besides, it's one thing after the other.

Scott McLean:

So when you're going up on a river, yeah, rivers. That had to be a little hairy.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, well, the scary part was, like I said, these things went slow and a lot of these canals or rivers were narrow, so they had like you're going through there and there's like, say, hills on both sides and you can only go. You know, the boat tank doesn't go that fast and they're sitting on top of the 122 rocket trying to pick you off, you know. And at night it was brutal because you can't see your hand at night. That's the scariest part. You can't see Terrible. That's you know stuff like that.

Scott McLean:

So when the Tet Offensive kicked off, run us through that.

Bob DeMascola:

All right. Well, like I said, it was only in about two weeks, and so we're going to up our base camp camp. We basically like the whole front area. We just surrounded ourselves with artillery and M16s, and all that because they thought the VC was going to overrun us on the ground, physical. So the only time we'd go in and take a break, get something to eat or something. So finally, after like three days between the attacks, we finally backed them off and then we kind of went back to normal stuff. You know, normal routines as far as because daytime usually was fairly safe, but one night was when most of the time the action was going on. So that kind of stuff.

Scott McLean:

Lose any friends. Oh, yeah, yeah.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, that's the sad part.

Scott McLean:

And I know I don't want to sound like this is morbid, but what's that? What's going on in your head when that's going on?

Bob DeMascola:

Horrible, yeah, it's very bad. And then when it's, you know, a couple of guys get wiped out, or a lot of times, you know, we get mortar attacked and you know guys get banged up pretty good. And then we lost a guy on a boat one time because it was at night and I don't know if he passed out or whatever, and they didn't discover him until the morning because it was dark and the boat was going slow. And then they finally found him like a week later floating and we had to go identify him. The guy was, you know, very distorted from being in the water. Yeah, yeah, it's just the place, but I guess you get numb after the point. You try to, you know, keep a camaraderie, to keep everybody strong and, you know, do the best you can and get the heck out of there and try to get home in one piece, you know.

Scott McLean:

And how long were you there? For 14 months, 14 months, and this went on every day. Yeah, 14 months. Yeah, no days off.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, they gave you a they call it R&R Right, and you get five days and they gave you like five you could go to Hong Kong, australia, hawaii Hawaii was basically if you were married, because you had a chance maybe to be with your family for a couple of days. But then Bangkok, philippines, might have been, it was only like four or five and we went on a commercial plane, right. So you went there, you got a break for five days and come back to the nonsense you know it was, it was it.

Scott McLean:

I don't know is it even worth it like to just come back and go.

Bob DeMascola:

Here we go here we go again you just try to, you know you get a mental state that basically you're just trying to stay alive and keep everybody else alive. You know, and you know, try to be alert as much as you can. You know you question the officers a lot. You know a lot of their decisions. You know, because the biggest thing that scared us is we had, they call them, we call them 90-day wonders. They do the OCS and they're two second lieutenants and they come over. They think they're like a general author or something. They know everything. You know, we've been there for six months, nine months. He's trying to tell them hey, man, you know there's a lot of hairy stuff here, but a lot of them got hurt because they wouldn't listen to anybody or they knew everything. So you know a lot of problems like that.

Scott McLean:

Had a couple second lieutenants in the Philippines Not the same situation. Right, it was a little hairy over there at the time. I was there Not comparing to your hairy, I don't know, but I know what you're talking about, right? Yeah, they come over there and they're going to make a difference.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, they read the book so they know everything. Yeah, I mean, you know we're trying to worry about everybody staying alive and you want some clown coming over here that's green, you know and wind up getting people hurt. We had guys got hurt because these guys I was on a they put us on an LST for three days we had to hump 10,000 rounds of ammo airlift off this LST. So we on the ship we had 105 is 33 and a half pound one round. They come two in a box in a wooden crate. So what you got to do is you got to take them out of the box and we had they call it an 822 bag. I think it was 820. It's a canvas bag. You stack them and it's 40 rounds to a bag. I think it was 820.

Bob DeMascola:

It's a canvas bag. You stack them and it's 40 rounds to a bag. And then I got to sling it up and a Chinook comes in CH-47 Chinook and I fly out four bags at a time, 120 rounds, it was 160. So I got to stand on top of these with a donut strapped and hook it to the chopper. So now if the chopper doesn't, if the light doesn't go off, they just keep blowing the chopper and I'm between the chopper and the bags and then once they hook, I got to jump because I'm going with them.

Bob DeMascola:

But meantime the funniest part was that I'm on top of this LST, on the top deck with these bags, and the chopper comes and the wind power of a Chinook is like insane. And these guys are doing the Navy guys, they're chipping paint, they're sitting on the side. They thought the world was coming to them and stuff's flying off the boat. I was laughing like hell. They couldn't wait until we got off that boat and that was like a grind because we had a time limit, had to fly all that stuff out of there pretty quick.

Scott McLean:

LST means.

Bob DeMascola:

LST is a ship that I think the bow opens where they can drive trucks on and off, but it's a full ship. It's a pretty good size ship.

Scott McLean:

So you're getting close to your time.

Bob DeMascola:

That's a scary time.

Scott McLean:

Okay, that's what I was getting at. So what's going on then?

Bob DeMascola:

Being I was a mechanic and besides all my other stuff I took care of a lot of the generators, so they used to fly me out. But I get my toolbox, they get in the chopper and they fly me wherever to work on, mostly on the generators for the fire direction control. So I had two weeks to go. I went into my morning office and I threw my toolbox on the floor. I said I'm not leaving, I'm staying in base camp for these two weeks. I got to get out of here and he said, all right, take it easy, take it easy.

Bob DeMascola:

But I mean, every day you're in base camp because you got mortar attack, you're jumping all over the place, you know, because I had guys flying back to Saigon. Every day they got attacked, you know, even in the plane. Yeah. So now we get the. You had 707s, commercial planes, it was Pan Am, but they're all volunteers, it was all civilians flying us back and forth. So now you leave Saigon and they're shooting rockets at the frigging 707s. So until we got like 10,000 feet, we figured we were finally safe. When we finally, you know, flew out of there, you got a little bit of relief.

Scott McLean:

Right, right. So you get out. Right, you get out of country, heading back home. Right, what's the next stop?

Bob DeMascola:

Well, they fly us back to Oakland Air Force Base and it was a 24-hour separation. You got there. They had a mess hall open 24-7. If you could want steaks, anything, they gave you a new dress uniform and then by the next day we flew home.

Scott McLean:

Because that's what you wanted a new dress, uniform right yeah, After all that you want?

Bob DeMascola:

yeah, and the best is from the time we got to the Oakland Air Force the day I'm on the pay line for my last paycheck. They're still trying to get you to re-up and I said there's no way, you know.

Scott McLean:

Did you see anybody re-up.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, maybe one or two. I'll tell you this is 1969. I was an E-5. And they said we'll give you $10,000, which was a lot of money to re-up. And I says I don't have to worry about nothing because my mother would kill me if Charlie didn't kill me. So I says you know, the problem was it was a very political war and we had a lot of problems where we had to get permission to fire. We're getting attacked. It was. It was. That's the discouraging part. Like you, put me over there with no ammo, basically, Right, you know, put us in this. You know situations. And oh, we had to get a chain of command to get permission to fire back. And you know that was the depressing part.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, where were you from Florida?

Bob DeMascola:

No, it's from. I grew up in Brooklyn and then I lived on Long Island.

Scott McLean:

Ah, okay, belmont, okay, belmont, new York. So you get your new uniform. You get your last check Right. What happens then?

Bob DeMascola:

I get home, you know, hang out with the family, start looking for a job and get a job. I was a mechanic so I hooked up with a guy. I was very hostile, you know, I was very jumpy and I tried to calm myself down because you know you've got to deal with people I'm working on their cars and stuff and it didn't take too much to mind. You know I tried to make the best out of it and did that for a few years. You know that's what I was doing for 50-something years. I was a mechanic and eventually got married to my wife in 76. But you know I was into racing, all the drag racing on and off. And then I wasn't too. I guess because I was younger I wasn't as hostile. I didn't realize I had PTSD and all this other nonsense and you know I had a good marriage. But I'd flare up at times, you know anger tantrums and still nothing registered what was causing it. But you know I kind of did it. I would go by myself and either throw a hammer or something and calm myself down because I didn't want to take it out on my family at all. And then I got in with Eastern Airlines. I worked for them for nine and a half years until they closed down, and then I was with the city of Deerfield Beach for 17 years until I retired.

Bob DeMascola:

Well, I had another job in between, but then, as I say, when I finally got with the VA to, a friend of mine recommended I start finding out all the issues I had.

Bob DeMascola:

Well, my hearing is terrible from the artillery because we didn't have any protection and you know, finding out about the PTSD and some other, which was now it all came sense to me what all these issues were that I had, you know, and I went for anger management classes and that helped me a lot and the VA's helped me a lot of ways in other ways. Like I said, we've got to find everything's a secret with the VA. You've got certain benefits that I didn't even know about. I can't believe. You know. We hang out with a lot of vets a couple times a week and I say why does government have to have a handbook when you're discharged or whatever you want to call it, to help us out what you're entitled to and stuff? There's so much stuff that you're entitled to. You know you got to find out secondhand everything, yeah, so so let's go back to when you first got out.

Scott McLean:

Right, we had a small discussion about the okay, this generation Baby Boom is the second. The last piece of the Baby Boom has got to hear about it, Right, and we weren't responsible for it, but the treatment and the attitude. Did you ever run into any of that With other people? As far as when you came back from the war, oh yeah.

Bob DeMascola:

Like I said, I didn't realize why I was kind of hostile and agitated and if somebody just said something the wrong way, I'd fly off the handle.

Scott McLean:

Did you get disrespected?

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll give you an example. We flew back 22 hours from NAMM, we landed at the Oakland Air Force Base and the hippies are out there burning flags and spitting at us. And then I get home, they get settled down a little bit, I go for a job and I was like a convict. Oh, you know, you did this and that I said what are you for real? I served my country and that's what I get in respect and that really got me that just added to the fire for the longest time. You know, yeah, until that, eventually, down the road, and to me, we didn't get recognition till Desert Storm came about. And then all of a sudden, now we get a wall, vietnam wall, and all that for how many years we were like, oh, we outcast or something.

Bob DeMascola:

You know, yeah, I didn't. We had guys that ran to Canada. Another thing that frustrated me is President Ford was in power, so he let all these guys. Well, they went to Canada and then when the war ended in 73 or 74, he lets them all, gives them amnesty. He says I'm not saying they have to go to war, make them do two years in the Peace Corps, make them do some kind of service to your country. No, I just want them to come back with no penalty. So how does that make us look?

Bob DeMascola:

yeah, and that just added to the anger, yeah, oh yeah, just keep the fire going when did it all start to kind of die down?

Bob DeMascola:

well, I guess a little bit when I got a little older and then when I started getting some help from the VA and I kind of some of it I did on my own, you know, and then because I got older and stuff and my kids I had to take care of all of them and all. So that calmed me down a little bit. Now the best thing I got today is I got eight grandkids and that's my therapy, because if I once I see them I don't care about anything they can do that oh yeah, the toughest guy, that's right.

Scott McLean:

Melt us, oh yeah, that's for sure. So, um that museum that you told me about, the one that's down by the, by the airport right, yeah can you tell us about?

Bob DeMascola:

that. Oh yeah, my friend of mine, brendan Boyle. He kind of runs the place. We volunteer I don't volunteer as much as I used to, but it's for all services. It's actually on the old airport grounds and who's at Ford, which president? They have his office. Where there was a pilot that was a pilot training center and they actually moved the museum a little bit was the old, uh fort london airport was actually a military and uh, it's pretty cool and they have uh all different branches and you go in there I don't have the address with me, but, right, they have uh all all different phase, all different services. They have a lot of model planes, plaques and uh, they do a lot of good stuff. It's at the end of the airport, right, yeah it's on 30.

Bob DeMascola:

It's right by the rust. Again like I don't have the address right I'll find it and I'll put it.

Scott McLean:

When I post this I'll put the address, but it's really like I never knew it was there until you told me about it and I went over there one day I was on duty. I was like what the fuck? I don't care, right, what are they going to do to me? Right? And I was like this place is pretty cool, this little hidden military gem that really not a lot of people know about. Right, and they should know about it. Veterans should know about it, right.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, and we do. You know, like usually all the holidays they have some kind of different ceremonies and stuff. You know, we had the guy who was the first black pilot, tuscan Indian, one of them. Five years ago we did a dedication to him and his wife was there. He was passed, but his wife was there. And this other fellow he passed about three, ray Romano. He was 93 or something. He was on a ship in Pearl Harbor when it got hit and they made a. We got a monument there. They took a boat like a small boat and it all commemorates him. I got some pictures somewhere I want to show you yeah.

Bob DeMascola:

Pretty cool stuff.

Scott McLean:

It is and, again, more people should know about it. You know what? I think I'm going to kind of make that a thing now. Yeah, I think I'm going to try. I'm going to help you promote that Good. I think there's a lot of veterans, a lot of younger veterans should know about that place. Yeah, it's cool Again. And I had no idea and you were like, yeah, it's right over there. I'm like I'm over there all the time and you could really drive right by it. It's like the perimeter road, perimeter road, right. Yeah, around the airport, right.

Bob DeMascola:

So that's something I'm going to and then they part of the garden. He's got a lot of stones with different, you know different names on yeah, yeah, and then for other people that if you can't get to washington, they have a a wall in pantagora, florida. That's a miniature and it's. It was fully privately funded and it's beautiful. I've been, I took my wife there a couple years ago and it's very impressive. I mean I've been to both. But yeah, and then a few years ago I went on the impressive.

Bob DeMascola:

I mean, I've been to both, but yeah. And then a few years ago I went on the honor flight which Nick must have told you about. Yeah, and that was unbelievable.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, he still talks about it. Yeah, I had just. Where was I? I was at some oh you know what? I was at a council meeting for the Broward County Mission United, which is the veteran arm of the United Way.

Bob DeMascola:

Okay.

Scott McLean:

And I got invited to go down to their council meeting and sit in and they're very active and they're very good at what they do, and one of the gentlemen there said that he goes I just got off the honor flight. If you've never been on it, and they all say the same thing if you've never been on it or you've never seen it. It's amazing, yeah. So yeah, I believe you.

Bob DeMascola:

Well, see back a few years ago, it was only World War II yeah, and then, as nobody left, the career and all that. And then we finally started going yeah, and my daughter, Nick's wife actually Katie's the one that wrote a letter to get me nominated Nice, Because at that time it was still touch and go. Who could go? Yeah, and then we were supposed to go when COVID hit and we got postponed two years. Yeah, Because of that. It got postponed two years because of that, but very impressive, because Mission Barbecue supplied the lunch for us. But the best part was they had a plane take us right to Washington and the plane stayed there and waited until you know we had to be at 4 o'clock in the morning.

Bob DeMascola:

We got back 10, 11 at night, but when you got there, as soon as you got off the plane, they had people Parades and everything Everybody saluting you.

Scott McLean:

Yes.

Bob DeMascola:

And we went to Arlington. But what was impressive too, was they had four buses, because they take you all around. It's different, and they had all military waiting on us, getting you water, lunch, escorting you around. Very impressive.

Scott McLean:

Which is what you should have got when you first came home.

Bob DeMascola:

Right.

Scott McLean:

So that reminded me of something. When I was a little kid, I had my POW bracelet that they used to buy them Like you could send away for them, and they were like five bucks, right. You got this little metal bracelet with and I remember this guy's name, sergeant Don McPhail. I'll never forget that that was my guy, okay, right, and I wore that bracelet religiously until I watched him literally get off the plane. They used to televise them when they came back.

Bob DeMascola:

Oh right, when the POWs came back, right.

Scott McLean:

And I saw him, I was like that's my guy, right, right, I was like I don't know, 10 years old maybe, right. And I asked my mom one time I said, because I grew up watching World War II movies, you know thing. And I said, how come these soldiers everybody was a soldier, right, no matter what to a kid, right, how come these soldiers didn't get a parade? And bob never forget, she just kind of looked at me, went mom, yeah, she just kind of didn't it, like she just didn't know what to say to them, right, you know, yeah, and she knew what she was gonna. How am going to understand that at 10 years?

Bob DeMascola:

old Right yeah.

Scott McLean:

So I'm glad you finally got your parade.

Bob DeMascola:

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, it was very impressive. And then we went to the Unknown Soldier.

Scott McLean:

Yeah.

Bob DeMascola:

And the same thing all the people lined up for us Very, very impressive.

Scott McLean:

So Veterans Day is coming up yeah, and this is my Veterans Day episode, oh, cool. And so what do you have planned on Veterans Day?

Bob DeMascola:

Anything, Well, for the last four or five years I go Lincoln-Nixon at the Silver Ridge Elementary School they have a lunch for veterans and we go up on the stage. So this is last year, because it was last year in elementary school. So I told them it was last year. I don, so I told them it's the last year. I don't even know if they're doing it I've got to talk to Katie about it but it was very nice and they go by grades, so they put you on the stage and take your picture and they cater on lunch. Nice, the kids get a kick out of it.

Scott McLean:

Nice, nice, nice. Well, do you have any words of wisdom, words of advice, anything to a younger veteran that might be listening to this, that might have been over in the desert, over in Afghanistan?

Bob DeMascola:

Well, the biggest thing is sign up with the VA. I don't care if you have any problems at all, because you're entitled to a lot of benefits schooling, and even if you have kids if you have any kind of benefits schooling, you know, and even if you have kids, you can get. If you have any kind of disabilities, you're eligible for all kinds of schooling. My niece goes to college and they pay for it, as long as she keeps her grades up and you get tax exemptions for your house and a lot of things that you might not know about. And you know you're entitled to a lot of stuff Right Loans, va loans and you know you're entitled to a lot of stuff Right Loans, va loans and you know that's my biggest thing. Like I said, when I first signed up, my what do they call it? Vso officer said anybody you know, encourage them to come and see me, because even if it's a widow, she could be entitled to something. And you know you serve man, you're entitled to it.

Scott McLean:

The VA needs more advocates like you. You know their reputation and I watched it. I watched that ship turn.

Bob DeMascola:

Right.

Scott McLean:

You know from 20 years ago when.

Scott McLean:

I first went and they handed me the stack of paperwork and we talked before the podcast about this and then, you know, 20 years later, they were like we got you Right, we got you. So it's hard. They're trying to shake that reputation of what it used to be and I think, like you, they're doing a great job and they do have their pitfalls. It's a big machine, but it's better than nothing. It's way better than nothing, oh, definitely, but it's better than nothing. It's way better than nothing, oh, definitely. And as far as, maybe somebody who might think that you know, I don't need help, right, what do you have to say to that?

Bob DeMascola:

Everybody needs help, everybody, even if you just go talk to somebody. Yeah, plus, you know anything like that. And then I was impressed. About a week ago in California, the senator or somebody told the VA immediately you've got to provide housing for all the homeless vets in California. And they said immediately we want to hear. There's no excuses anymore. That's what hurts me. We send money everywhere in the world. You don't even take care of your own people. There shouldn't be any homeless people at all in this world, especially vets. Right, that just irks me to no end.

Scott McLean:

Yeah, that could be a whole other podcast, my friend.

Bob DeMascola:

You got that right.

Scott McLean:

Well, listen, my friend, I truly, truly appreciate your time, I appreciate you and I thank you for serving, and thank you because you laid the groundwork for me okay, men like you, men and women, right like you, laid the groundwork for me, so I thank you for your service I thank you for your service. Yes, and I. I and you know now that we're in this little love fest. Thanks for helping other veterans also.

Bob DeMascola:

Okay, I hope so.

Scott McLean:

Because there needs to be more veterans helping veterans. Definitely it's that peer-to-peer thing that I walked in your shoes, you're walking in my shoes type thing that really does help. And I'm starting to see a lot of that in the nonprofit world. There's a lot of great non-profits doing good stuff, and there's a lot of groups now in Broward and in Palm Beach County that you know, veteran networks. And so it's coming around. It's coming around, but it's never enough.

Bob DeMascola:

No, no, that's for sure so all right, Well again.

Scott McLean:

Thank you, Bob, I appreciate your time.

Bob DeMascola:

It was my pleasure to talk to you.

Scott McLean:

Yes, yes, this was a long time coming.

Bob DeMascola:

Oh, yeah, definitely.

Scott McLean:

So with that, I want to thank you for listening. If you like this podcast, share it. If you're interested in my foundation, I always do this cheap plug at the end Bob, why not the One man, one Mic Foundation? Go to onemanonemicfoundationorg and see the work that we're doing with veterans and yeah, with all that. Oh and yeah, this is great. Stick around. For the end of the podcast, there's a good public service announcement that's very relevant to veterans, families of veterans and basically anybody that's listening. There's some good information in there, so listen. It's only 30 seconds long, so just wait till the end and thank you and I'll see you on the other side.

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Scott McLean

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