This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," March 13, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GLENN BECK, HOST: I want to introduce to you to two of the most honorable men I know. This is one of the reasons I have been so emotional because I love these guys. They are like brothers to me.
First, Sergeant first class Greg Stube. He's U.S. Army Special Forces. He was seriously injured in combat in Afghanistan in 2006. A Taliban member detonated an IED which sent a one-pound piece of shrapnel through his hip and his intestines. Miraculously, he survived in addition to being lit on fire in the blast and losing part of his leg. He is with us today.
Also with us is retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell. He's the author of the book, I hope you've read this book — it's amazing — "Lone Survivor." Marcus was also injured in combat in Afghanistan in 2005 during an extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy Seal history. Marcus managed to crawl through the mountains for miles to safety. His story is absolutely remarkable.
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I wanted to talk to you guys, because I don't think we can — I don't think we can make any progress — first of all, thank you for your service, both of you guys.
SGT. GREG STUBE, U.S. ARMY (RET): Yes, thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
BECK: I mean, I look at — I look at the newspapers today. Here is Madoff going to jail. On the New York Times, here's a — here's a story about how Congress was meeting with banks behind the scenes and some of their — one of their — Maxine Waters' husband was on the board of directors at one of these banks, and — I mean, it just — we can't trust anyone.
Marcus, let me just ask you quickly, what is — how could you have survived or could you have survived if it wasn't for loyalty and honesty and honor?
MARCUS LUTRELL, NAVY SEAL (RET): Those are the core values that we survive on in the military, and especially in the SEAL teams. I was in a unique situation. The particular mission that I was on, obviously, I'm a SEAL team, I'm a — you know, being part of a team, I'm not an individual. And what happened to me is I lost my whole team. So, I had to go on everything else, you know, in order to survive.
And the loyalty and the honor and everything actually came by way of a Pushtun village when I managed to crawl seven miles to those mountains and wound up in that village, and they’re the ones that saved my life. It's one of those things, it's something — and a lot of people used those as a punch line or a word and they really don't know what the word means until you actually experience it.
You know, I looked at it, and there was a point in time when I was in the village after they had rescued me. And the Taliban had encircled the village and were in there trying to get me everyday and trying to kill and stuff like that and put a bounty on my head and whatnot. They have a custom and tradition, once they bring somebody in and they harbor them and they give them food and shelter, and they'll fight to the death to keep them alive.
Now, I spent most of my life after 9/11. When 9/11 went down, I was — I was pretty, you know — I was pissed, sir, to say the least. And, you know, I had one objective when I went over there, and that was to wreak as much havoc and pain to those people as humanly possible to pay back for what happened up here. I used to keep a laminated picture of a woman who died in the Twin Towers and every time I'd go out, I'd take a look at it, and I would be like, I got one more for you.
And it was quite the conundrum when I got into this village because I'm over here and I did everything I can to disrupt and cause as much pain to those people as humanly possible and even probably some of those people in that village, and here they are saving my life. You know, I couldn't walk out in the street if I was shot and get a ride to the hospital. And I crawl into this village, and honor and integrity and, you know, commitment to those people is a way of life. That's how you survive.
BECK: Greg, you talked to me on my radio program today about some — a piece of paper, that every time you guys come back from a mission, you have to — you have to — it's filled it out and it's a report on how you did. Can you explain this?
STUBE: Well, even for daily duties, our evaluation structure — it's a ratings system that evaluates our ability to live and work by these principles and values. So, I'm very proud to represent the Army today, very proud that the Army — America's Army, to be associated with these principles and values, I think is right on target, because it's an all-volunteer force that's come composed of people from small towns and big cities across this country.
And when you sign on, when you take that oath, you're accepting the fact that you'll have to overcome the fear of dying many times, to overcome challenges and accomplish the mission.
BECK: Could you tell you — I mean, did you happen to have — did you get the sheet for me of because — what you guys go through and what you are asked after a mission — I want to — I want to read it to you, and I want to ask you, America: you tell me if you think any of our politicians, or really, quite honestly, some of us, could actually be held up to the same standard?
Will you just tell the story that you told me right before you — right before we went on the air about what happened at the hotel? Could you tell that story?
STUBE: We arrived at the hotel here in New York City. And I walked down the street and I didn't get a lot of eye contacts from anybody. And I'm kind of a touchy feely guy, so, I like talking to people, especially when I come home to America.
BECK: You're a crier.
STUBE: I'm a weakling.
(LAUGHTER)
BECK: Real men don't cry — I'm just saying.
(LAUGHTER)
STUBE: I'm a green beret, what do you expect?
(LAUGHTER)
BECK: Anyway, so, you went at the hotel?
STUBE: We arrived at the front desk and there was an obvious American citizen looked just like me, who might have come from my kind of background, that was a bellboy. He was transporting our bags. There was an African-American gentleman. It turns up he was an African from Ghana.
He insisted on carrying our bags, and he kept pointing at the flag on my shoulder, and thanking me, and I didn't understand what was happening exactly, but when he we got to our room and unloaded our bags, he insisted on showing me photographs. He was so happy to see us he just wanted to touch us and say thank you.
BECK: Because you were wearing the uniform.
STUBE: Because I was wearing the uniform, he was thanking me and he showed me pictures of his children, his son and his daughter, who will be getting master's degrees because he's working hard here in New York City to earn that education for them. And I just thought that is an honorable American way of life, to come in the front door and earn your citizenship, and then create a better tomorrow.
BECK: Yes.
America, I don't know about you, but — I get great strength from the military. I trust the military more than anything else in this country right now. And I get great strength from our military. And it means something to me, and I wish — I wish we were more like these guys. We must start restoring honor and integrity — mean what you say and say what you mean.
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