This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Uh What if your Bible could do more than just be read? Experience the innovative, awe-inspiring Filament Bible app. When you pair your Filament-enabled Bible with the free Filament app, you'll unlock thousands of study notes, hundreds of videos, interactive maps, devotionals, audio Bibles, and more, all designed to deepen your understanding of and enrich your time in God's Word.
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And we continue with our American stories. Up next, a story about a song. Lee Bryce's, I drive your truck. Yeah. It's a day Paul Monty never forgot.
The day he got the news military parents dread. his thirty year old son, U. S. Army Sergeant First Class Jared Monty, had been killed while serving with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. Paul a recently retired teacher from Raynam, Massachusetts.
instantly joined the ranks of Gold Star parents. In two thousand six. Paul didn't know what to do or say when he got the news, let alone how to process his grief. A few months later, on his first Veterans' Day visit to his son's grave site, at the seven hundred and eighty acre Massachusetts National Cemetery, he noticed something odd. there wasn't a flag on display at any of the seventy eight thousand graves in the cemetery.
Not one. The flags weren't there, Paul learned, because ground crews complained they made it harder for them to cut the cemetery grass. Not pleased with that explanation, Paul did what any gold star dad or mom would do. He fought the Department of Veterans Affairs until the rule was changed. But this Gold Star Dad's mission was only partially complete.
He then launched Operation Flags for Vets, an organization dedicated to placing flags on every grave at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, every memorial. and Veterans Day. all to preserve the memory of the sacrifices that so many in that cemetery made for their country. including his son.
Okay. During the first Flags for Veterans ceremony, a Memorial Day in 2011, Paul's vision became a reality as an army of volunteers spread out across the massive military cemetery and adorned 62,000 graves with flags. Here is what Paul told the assembled crowd. In the crowd around you, there are many Gold Star families. Please, as you place a flag, say a small prayer for these veterans.
Maybe if you could write down their names. Go home. and look them up on the internet. You'll be surprised at what you'll find. Paul was later interviewed that day by NPR, fighting back tears, as he told a story about a new kitchen set Jared and his Army pals purchased.
for their home only to give it away. One day his buddies came home and the kitchen set was missing. They asked him where it was, and Jared said, Well, I was over at one of my soldiers' houses. and his kids were eating on the floor.
So I figured they needed the kitchen set more than we did. And so the $700 kitchen set Well, it just disappeared. That's what Jared did. His father described his son as a man who didn't crave attention. All his medals went in a sock drawer.
No one ever saw him. He didn't want to stand out. In 2009, his son posthumously received the highest commendation any American soldier can be awarded. The Congressional Medal of Honor. But the most powerful part of Paul's story revolved around Jared's truck.
Why he didn't sell it? and why he still drove it. What can I tell you? It's him. It's got his DNA all over it.
I love driving it because it reminds me of him. though I don't need the truck. They remind me of them. I think about him every hour. of every day.
Paul shared details of his son's Dodge 4x4 Ram 1500 truck. Adorned with decals, including the 10th Mountain Division, the 82nd Airborne Division. an American flag. and a Go Army decal. Then came the most emotional part of the interview.
You know, I think it's important for people to understand what gold star parents go through. Your child is your future. And when you lose your child. You've lost your future. And I think one of the reasons so many Gold Star parents drive their children's trucks is because they have to hold on.
They just have to hold on. I'll never forget that interview because I was listening to it on a sunny Memorial Day in a Walmart parking lot in my own hometown. Unable to get out of my SUV, because I was crying so hard. crying like I used to cry when I was a child. crying as if I'd just lost.
My child. I wasn't the only one sitting alone in my car crying that Memorial Day back in 2011. Nashville songwriter Connie Harrington was in her car listening to the same story. Moved to tears, she did what writers do. She pulled over and scribbled down details of the story.
but she wouldn't forget them. When she got back home, one part of Paul's story kept crying out to her. The story of that truck. With the help of two songwriter friends, Harrington turned that part of the Monty story, and all of that emotion, into a song. which country singer Lee Bryce recorded.
I drive your truck, made its way quickly to number one on Billboard's country charts. The video has 50 million views and counting. But as remarkable as this story was, it didn't end there. Not long after Bryce's song became a hit. Paul was contacted by a woman he knew.
who had lost her son in the same battle. that took his son's life. She sent me a message that she'd heard the song. And then I had to listen to it. She knew I drove Jared's truck.
and she drove her son's truck. He confessed he was unable to make it through the whole song. I'd got into it just a few bars. And I kind of, well I just kind of welled up. What Paul didn't know was that it was his story that inspired the song.
the writers eventually tracked him down to celebrate the song's success. It won the Country Music Association's Award for Song of the Year in 2013. The song did what country music does best. Tell sad, beautiful stories. Here's the opening verse.
Encoursted. Uh Eighty nine cents in the ashtray. Half empty bottle of Gatorie rolling in the floor ball. That dirty brave's cap on the dash Dog tags hanging from the rear view. Old Skull Can and cowboy boots and a gold army shirt.
Fold it in the bag. This thing burns gas like crazy That's alright. People got their ways coping Oh no, I got mine. I drive your train I roll every window down and I'm burned up Every back roll in this town I find a field I tear it up till all the pains are cloud of dust Yeah, sometimes I drive your truck What we don't learn from the song were the circumstances of his son's death. In June of 2006, Jared's patrol came under fire, and one soldier who served under him was wounded.
and needed help. Despite a wicked firefight, Jared tried three times to help his fallen comrade. It was that last attempt. It got him killed. No one who knew Jared was surprised.
Here is his father. It's what he did. Jared didn't give up on people, and always. He tried to do the right thing. What led Jared to become the man he was?
one need not look far to figure it out. His father, it turns out, had the same passion for serving others, for doing the right thing. and for doing hard things. Paul Monty recently died at the age of 76 from cancer. in Raynam.
We learned from local media reports that he taught earth sciences at Stoughton High School for 35 years. and rarely talked about himself. He was too busy taking care of the people around him. Paul's daughter Nicole told reporters her dad, one of nine kids growing up. worked hard throughout his life.
He delivered newspapers and worked all kinds of odd jobs growing up. and worked two and sometimes three jobs to support his family. He didn't complain about it. or take credit for it. It was simply who he was.
On the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes website and Facebook page, His friends and colleagues wrote these words about him. Paul relentlessly pursued a life of helping others. being a role model and leading by example. He's left us to join his son Jared. in heaven.
It's a sublime final image of two lives beautifully lived. and God's just reward for doing so. It's why the story of Paul and Gerard Monte is one for the ages. It's proof that fathers matter in the lives of their sons and daughters. and the life of their communities too.
and proof that, as the saying goes, It's better to live a sermon. than to give one. The story of I Drive Your Truck. The story of Paul and Jared Monty. and the gold star mothers and fathers who were left behind.
Here. on our American stories. This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time.
And one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate. As a Jewish athlete my identity is something I am proud of. But I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted, even if you don't have the perfect words.
And sometimes standing next to someone is enough. And you can show support by sharing the blue square. What if your Bible could do more than just be read? Experience the innovative, awe-inspiring Filament Bible app. When you pair your Filament-enabled Bible with the free Filament app, you'll unlock thousands of study notes, hundreds of videos, interactive maps, devotionals, audio Bibles, and more, all designed to deepen your understanding of and enrich your time in God's Word.
Discover more ways to interact with God's Word. Learn more at filamentbibles.com. Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anibay. Anibay is the only designer sofa that's machine washable inside and out, starting at just $699.
Plus, Anibay sofas are pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and feature changeable slip covers and modular pieces. Get up to 60% off site-wide with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Visit washable sofas.com to get yours now. That's washable sofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.
At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it. It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill your craving for a tasty and yeah, healthy snack. At CVS, we're proud to serve your community because we believe where you get your medicine matters.
So visit us at cvs.com or just come by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.
Mm-hmm.
