#172 Lakota Warrior and Vietnam Veteran Dr. Robert Primeaux
Release Date: 11/20/2019
#174 Wreaths Across America w/ Wayne Hanson
Borne the Battle
Hanson discusses his time in the Army and the socio-political atmosphere of when he returned from Vietnam. He talks about transition and his gradual involvement to becoming the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Wreaths Across America. Lastly, he shares the four words from a stranger that kept him motivated to work even to this day.
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#173 On the Firing Line with Marine Veteran Dan Duitsman
Borne the Battle
Marine Veteran Dan Duitsman is Camp Valor Outdoors’ Shooting Sports Program Director. His role is to get disabled veterans into competitive shooting – no matter the disability. Currently, Camp Valor Outdoors’ shooting teams compete in professional matches all over the country.
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#172 Lakota Warrior and Vietnam Veteran Dr. Robert Primeaux
Borne the Battle
From reservation to the Army and later to Hollywood, Primeaux describes life as member of a Lakota tribe, his service during the Vietnam War, and shares the Four Cardinal Lakota Virtues in hopes of helping other Veterans. He credits the Lakota Four Virtues he had been taught as a young man for helping him recover from the war as well as from car accident.
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#171: Seven Summits w/ Benjamin Breckheimer
Borne the Battle
Army Veteran Benjamin Breckheimer discovered mountain climbing after his service and is now aiming to be the first Purple Heart recipient to climb the Seven Summits of the world. Breckheimer details on how he survived an IED blast, a divorce during his four-year recovery and the 2015 Nepal earthquake while on Mount Everest.
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#170: Dale Dye, Marine Corps Birthday Episode
Borne the Battle
When watching a movie, it’s easy to think that everything is real and true and lifelike. It's no surprise that that isn't always the case, especially with military movies. That's how Marine Veteran Dale Dye got involved. He wanted to tell Hollywood the right way to portray the military on screen. In this episode Dale Dye talks Vietnam, post-military careers, treating PTSD
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#169: Benefits Breakdown - Appeals Modernization
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Executive Director of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Appeals Management Office (AMO) and Army Veteran David McLenachen talks about the appeals modernization process.
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#168: Coaching NCAA Lacrosse with Marine Veteran Chris Burke and Mitchell Shafer
Borne the Battle
Chris Burke discusses his service in the Marines, including his injury and recovery from an IED explosion. However, Burke's real story begins on what he did after his service.
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#167: Paging Dr. Albert Weed, Green Beret Medic, Army Medical Officer, VA Surgeon
Borne the Battle
Dr. Weed's career has taken him from enlisted Green Beret Army medic to an Army medical officer to VA surgeon. Weed discussed his name, his family’s military background and medical experiences led him to, among other things, from peacekeeping in Egypt, to swimming in Saddam Hussein's pool, and receiving four different DD-214s. Listen as Weed recounts his experiences in the military and medical fields and his current work serving Veterans as a surgeon with the Salem VA Medical Center.
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#166: Navy to NASCAR w/ Jesse Iwuji
Borne the Battle
After his football career ended, Jesse found racing. However, he was at a disadvantage compared to his peers who started racing at a very early age: Iwuji started in his mid 20’s. He lacked sponsorship and he wasn’t born into a racing family. Despite this, his determination has led him to a variety of open doors. He funded the first part of his NASCAR K&N racing career through a variety of ways to include starting his own business. Currently he is racing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
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#165: The Battle of Mogadishu w/ Army Ranger Veteran, Jeff Struecker
Borne the Battle
This week’s Borne the Battle episode features Army Ranger Veteran Jeff Struecker. He discusses the Battle of Mogadishu and his life as a chaplain, a pastor, and an author.
info_outlineNative American Vietnam Veteran Robert Primeaux shared his journey from a Lakota reservation to the Army, to Hollywood.
As a young man, Primeaux was eager to get off the reservation and see the world. To leave, he decided to join the Army. He trained in Fort Lewis and Fort Knox before joining the 101st Airborne Division and sent off to Vietnam.
In 1972, Primeaux returned to the United States. His younger brother had been killed in a car accident, leaving Primeaux as the sole male survivor of his family.
However, he did not stay in the Army long. A car accident of his own put him in a coma for three weeks. After he recovered, he was discharged.
Primeaux then lived on his grandmother’s ranch while he recovered from his injuries. To help with his recovery, he began to self-rehab by working with the horses on the ranch. His love for horses gave him the opportunity to go to school through a rodeo scholarship from the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA).
Between school and living on his family ranch, Primeaux met Michael Apted on the set of Thunderheart in South Dakota. Through this meeting, he landed a stunt role on Thunderheart and become eligible for access to the Union of the Screen Actors Guild.
Later, Robert moved to LA to begin his film career where he landed roles in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and a more prominent role in Rough Riders. This role as Indian Bob was special to Primeaux because the director John Milius specifically created it with him in mind.
Recently, Robert has been advocating for fallen service-members to be enshrines in the NFL Hall of Fame.
Throughout his life, through thick and thin, Primeaux credited the Four Cardinal Lakota Virtues for helping him recover from the Vietnam War and his car accident.
From childhood, Lakota Warriors were taught these four virtues. Primeaux stated that warriors who were taught the true meaning of these virtues learn to treat their Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
#BtBattle Veteran of the Week:
- Army Veteran Herbert Buffalo Boy
For more information, find this Borne the Battle episode blog at blogs.va.gov