This is Michael. He was a Sergeant when I filmed this in 2009 (though I’m sure he’s moved up).
He rode in the back of the helicopter with us when I was filming a documentary. He was kind enough to allow me to walk around the helicopter to get one of my favorite shots of my career (which also made it in the video):
He made us feel safe and welcome in his helicopter. Even though when I met him, he looked like darth vader:
I should mention that I was over in Kuwait/Iraq filming country singer Joe Nichols on his USO tour for the troops.
After we landed. Michael pulled me aside to tell me a story for my camera”
“The last night that I was home, my wife and I went to the country bar. And uh, the last song they played for the night for us was “I’ll wait for you” (a Joe Nichols song). That was the last song that I got to dance with my wife, back in January. And uh, when [Joe] played it in concert the other night, I had to walk away from the guys because I started welling up with tears. It just brought me home, made me think of my wife and my two kids that I’ve got. Made me miss my family.”
