Voices for Voices®

Medal of Honor: Telling Sammy Lee Davis’s Story in Cudgel with Nathan and Todd Tetreault | Ep 386

• Founder of Voices for Voices®, Justin Alan Hayes • Season 4 • Episode 386

Share episode

Medal of Honor: Telling Sammy Lee Davis’s Story in Cudgel with Nathan and Todd Tetreault | Ep 386

A harmonica playing Shenandoah. A vow to never leave a brother behind. A night in Vietnam when an ordinary soldier did something extraordinary and love carried him across a river under fire. We sit down with the Teacher Brothers—veterans turned filmmakers—to share the heart and vision behind Cudgel, their feature film about Medal of Honor recipient Sammy Lee Davis.

You’ll hear how a chance meeting became a mission: from a Veterans Day stage to time at Sammy’s Indiana home, fishing poles and old guitars giving way to interviews and a short documentary, For My Brothers. We walk through the defining moments of Sammy’s story—blast waves, shrapnel, a makeshift raft, and a rescue that echoes through generations. We also explore the quieter miracles: a Black infantryman’s blood saving Sammy in a 1967 hospital, a living bridge across division; a joyful veteran who plays for the fallen and invites others to share their own stories, letting light into locked rooms.

This episode doubles as a manifesto for telling the truth well. We reflect on how Hollywood often overlooks veterans or narrows them into clichés, why audiences are craving real heroes without superpowers, and how faith, grit, and redemption can live onscreen without preaching. We talk SEO-rich essentials—Vietnam veterans, Medal of Honor, military storytelling, faith-based filmmaking—and the practical path to getting a meaningful indie film made: grassroots support, community sharing, and relentless perseverance. If you care about honoring service, healing through story, and changing culture with courage, this conversation will stay with you.

Help bring Cudgel to life: visit cudgelmovie.com, donate if you can, and share the link with five friends. If this moved you, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what real-life story you want the world to see next.

Chapter Markers

0:00 Setting The Stage And Big Mission

2:10 Meet The Teacher Brothers And Their Film

5:05 The Moment They Met Sammy Lee Davis

9:40 Why True Stories Of Veterans Matter

14:30 Vision: Light, Redemption, And Real Heroes

20:30 Film As Healing: Faith, Grit, And Purpose

26:40 Vietnam, Stigma, And Telling It Right

33:00 Sammy’s Night Of Courage In Detail

41:20 Brotherhood, Race, And A Life-Saving Transfusion

46:10 Music, Memorials, And Welcome Home

51:30 Industry Pushback And Building Alternatives

57:10 Story As Ministry: Reaching The Unreached

1:03:20 Faith, Culture, And Subtle Storytelling

1:10:20 Mobilizing Support: Website, GoFundMe, Social

1:16:30 Perseverance, Family Loss, And Calling

1:22:00 Closing Gratitude And Holiday Sendoff


#MedalOfHonor #SammyLeeDavis #CudgelMovie #VeteranStories #NathanTetreault #ToddTetreault #MilitaryHistory #TrueHeroism #WarStories #PersonalJourney #HeroicTales #DiscoveringHistory #justiceforsurvivors #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion #TikTok #Instagram #truth #Jesusaire #VoiceForChange #HealingTogether #VoicesForVoices386

Support the show

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Hey everyone, Justin Alhays here, Voices for Voices. Thank you so much for joining us on all our episodes, uh, especially this uh very special episode. Uh, now that we are over 300 total episodes, on our way to 400. You've heard the the spiel before. We're uh we're reaching uh 100 countries, territories, as well as a thousand cities, not only here in the United States, uh where we reside, uh, but across the world, Antarctica, Greenland, you name it, we're uh we're reaching it, and it's really incredible. Uh, I'm gonna do very little talking on on this particular show for very good reason, and you're going to uh see and and hear exactly why. And first things we're gonna do is uh there's an intro video that I want to play for our viewers and our listeners uh to get us teed up, and then uh David is going to help guide us through uh the conversations, and uh we're just we're thankful and humbled to uh use our platform again to help people. We have the big goal of wanting to help three billion people over the course of our lifetime and beyond. And uh veterans is a very uh uh uh demographic. Uh I I have not served my my dad and my grandparents have, and uh you're gonna you're gonna see how uh how important our veterans are in this episode. So if you're watching at home, you're gonna see me go to the uh share the screen, and then we are going to get started. We're gonna share the sound because that's super important.

SPEAKER_06:

Okay, so let's make this like that.

SPEAKER_03:

And I heard you look at those guys, huh? Yeah, I'm gonna make a movie. Hey, what's going on? I'm Nathan, and I'm Todd. We're the Teacher Brothers. We're both veterans, we both serve their country, and we're excited about telling a story about another veteran who happens to be a Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War.

SPEAKER_02:

And he is also one of our friends, and we are telling the story to bring light to the Vietnam War itself.

SPEAKER_01:

Even though he did not know his brother enough, he risked his life to save him and other brothers. So we wanna show that uh there's still love out there, and we wanna make a film with love of redemption because this one needs more love, especially this time.

SPEAKER_03:

And it's gonna be great if we need your support. So we're coming to you today to ask you to financially support us by giving us your donations and helping us to get this project funded so we can make it happen. So uh like it, comment on it, help us get the word out. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06:

Excellent. So we're gonna head back to our main screen.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

All right, David. So uh if you could help us uh get uh our conversation going with the uh with the with the brothers, uh we're grateful again for everybody being here, uh making that work in their schedules. And and for those at home, you're gonna see me share a screen with the Instagram, the uh website, and and all that information. So you can make sure you can uh you know get all that down as we're we're going through this episode. So, David, thank you again for joining us and for all you you do for survivors. Um, and and thank you for making this a reality. Uh you can have the floor.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. You know, uh today we're in for some amazing guests. I followed this for a very long time, and their story is inspirational, and it's a story of hope. And I I am touched by their story, by what they've accomplished. I'm gonna let uh Todd and Nathan take over. I want to hear for the audience how it all started for you. What what got you to do this? I'd like to hear it from you guys.

SPEAKER_02:

All right. Uh so hi, I'm Nathan. I'm uh one of the uh filmmakers here with my brother Todd. Um what started us off? Uh wow. Um, I would say we've always had a a hunger and a desire to tell story. And it wasn't until we realized, hey, we need to uh, you know, start making stories that that um we really want to see um and that will highlight positive things um and uh also real life events. So basically, um, long story short, we got invited to a Veterans Day event and we met where we met Samuel Lee Davis, the Medal of Honor recipient that uh uh for My Brothers, which is a short documentary, is about, and also the feature film that we are developing called Cudgel. Um, it's about Samuel Lee Davis. So, anyways, he's over there, he's playing his harmonica, he's telling his story, and my brother and I both look at each other. We turn in the middle of the theater and we're like, dude, we gotta make a movie about this guy. And uh I'll let Todd tell you the rest of what happened after that.

SPEAKER_01:

So um, so after basically he after his speech, and then we went outside and he was doing a book sign and had his all his books. And uh Nathan and I were like, Oh, we gotta go meet him. Uh, we definitely have to tell a story. Um, the especially when he plays a harmonica, it just it just pulls on the heartstrings. And then while you know why he plays it, he plays it uh in memory of all his brothers uh from Vietnam. And um, and it's for really all the all the uh uh veterans out there too. And the the song is of course Shenandoah, so it's very um very near and dear song to a lot of people, and people understand what that song's about, right? So um, but when we went outside uh at Disney Studios, um uh we went and there were no books, right, Nathan? There were no books, right? Yeah, no books. There were no books. Dan's like, well, I'm sorry, gentlemen, I'll I'll I'll send one to you. And um, so uh then after we got a photo with um, uh which you saw in that promo fundraising video um with Nathan and I with Sammy where he's in the center of the table with the I think it's a pink background or something. That was Disney Disney Studios. And um he uh after he said uh he'll send a book to us, Nathan shook his hand, and Sammy puts his business card in Nathan's hand and he goes, Let's make a movie. And I was like, What? So um yeah, and I guess the rest is history after that. Uh we got to know him, and I'll let Nathan uh chime in here a little bit on uh when we visit him in Indiana. Oh, you want to get into that?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I think because that's why we uh started. So so um we ended up building a relationship with him, and I definitely got to give Todd credit because he really he really was diligent about um about following up and getting to know Sammy. And um, and I mean I reached out too, but Todd was very diligent and it paid off because he ended up inviting us out to his home in Indiana to spend time with him and his wife, Dixie. And uh he took us fishing with his son. He, you know, we got to pick uh gr uh picking grin. Uh he brought down his banjo. He brought down old Gertie, which is like this old guitar from the 1930s that was given to him before he went to uh Vietnam. And so yeah, we just we just had a good time, some good old country living, and uh, you know, and now we're now we're here.

SPEAKER_00:

So wow, and you guys, I've followed this for a long time because I met Todd when I was trying to produce one of my TV shows. And when I learned what you guys were doing, you guys have really defined the industry making a difference and telling stories that you normally don't hear about. You know, we hear about uh we hear about small bill uh arrow flash, which I got to have the honor of helping with, but we don't hear stories about veterans. We don't hear stories that are based on real events often. We see a lot of fiction, but we don't see a lot of nonfiction like what you guys are putting out. And I've seen you guys at the awards, and I've seen just so much difference and impact. I talked to some of my uh fellow actor friends who even know who you are, and they're like, I've never seen anything like it. They're making a difference in the industry in a way that I can't put words to describe. That's what uh Jason said. He said, I don't, I can't describe it. It seeing what they're doing is what the industry needs to become, telling stories of hope in a time of darkness and desperation. And you guys are fulfilling that role and doing that. I mean, with this project, and I know you've done others. What is your vision after this project? What do you want to do?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, well, thanks. Thanks for all that. Uh, that's definitely meaningful. Um, one thing I will touch on before I say that is I mean, we all we all love our fantasy uh, you know, superhero cape wearing movies and TV shows. And at the same time, it's great to see what a real hero is in real life that doesn't have superpowers, only the only the you know, the the provenance of God, you know, and uh, but uh we're just thankful that we can that we can tell uh stories like this. And I think what this is gonna do is open doors uh for us to tell stories that have meaning, that have impact, um, you know, that can uplift and let people know that, hey, um, you know, there's there's more to life than what we're seeing on our TV screens. There's more to life than what has been um you know brought to us. And uh I think it's I think it's important to to really just the the beautiful thing about film is you can really show the human condition. I mean, we're both theater, we're we both come from the theater, you know, and one thing I one thing I said was that no matter what happens with all this new technology and this innovation, which I think it's great to have innovation, it's great to have tools, but it's nothing's ever gonna replace the the human heartbeat, and nothing can. Nothing can be made. Um, you know, uh nothing can be made like the the simplicity of a uh of a flower. It's so complex and how it's made, but it's so yet the beauty is so simplistic. And I think when it comes to telling true uh true stories uh that can that can really make people think about their lives. And here's the thing everybody, I don't care who they are, what kind of ideology they have, everybody wants to know how they got here, you know, why they're here, and where the heck they're going afterwards. And I think that we can through through uh the life that's been given to us, I think we can at least light the path to help people see that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean I agree what you said. Um I really believe the story uh just like David.

SPEAKER_00:

That's what I'm trying to do. I started my own. Can you hear me now?

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I was.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, now we're good. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh yeah, you're loud and clear now.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, yeah, I was saying you guys are making such an impact with storytelling like this, people can learn from example of you. I've even learned, like as a writer, you know, it really inspired me seeing you out there telling these stories, and I've gotten so much pushback from trying to be the change in the industry. And boy, am I getting attacked for it. And there has to be hope in a world of darkness. You guys are bringing that to the forefront. You mentioned uh leading people to ask questions of truth and why they're here, and that's uh this week, my nine-year-old son dropped his book. We're gonna produce it as a TV show. Um, it's changes like that that impact lives. And I'm just honored to see you guys do this and make a difference in so many. And you know, veterans aren't talked about at all in Hollywood. I'm gonna tell you that right now. It's just not. Um, there's one show that I sort of helped with, which was uh SEAL team, and that is the only military drama that I know of that has actually been correct or even cared to talk about these issues. And I I gotta hand my hat off to you. You've made such the big impact in the industry like from here, are you gonna do um are you gonna do more with that? Are you going to morph into other stories of other veterans? What what do you see yourselves doing?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, David, uh I'll touch a little bit on what you said. You said uh not many things are done with vets in the industry. Um uh, you know, since this is about truth, and um, you know, I'm gonna go out on the limb here and speak truth. Um over the years, I've seen the only times we are utilized or used in the industry is when there's incentives to expose us. And and I see that a lot, you know. Um, however, there are great people out there too, and there are great platforms that that do want to give to the veteran community community. Um but uh like Nathan was saying earlier, um we want to specialize as as brothers, as filmmakers, um, into basically telling stories of of light, right? We're gonna show the darkness of the real world and redemption isn't easy, faith isn't easy. It's like clawing through the dirt to get where you're going, and your fingernails have fallen off, your fingers could be falling off, you just keep going, right? So um, you know, those are the type of stories we want to we want to tell. Uh, we truly believe too, um, as a filmmaking team and as brothers and as as uh as believers in God that uh everyone has a story, and the three things story really does is it really connects people, it heals people, and it inspires people.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

And that that is like what we're trying to stick to, right? Those three those three things, and then the things of like truth, uh hope, redemption, grit, what what real love and integrity is, right? You know, uh what doing the right thing when everyone will hate you for doing the right thing is, you know, those are the characters and those are the things you want to want to uh bring to the screen, or or the or the um ordinary man doing extraordinary things, an ordinary woman doing extraordinary things, you know, uh like Sammy, like Sammy Davis, ordinary man from Indiana, goes into Vietnam and boom, he's doing extraordinary things all because he answers a call of courage because he loves his brothers. So it's it's love. It's it and it and I think not enough movies show what a real love is in life. They show the romance between a man and a man, a woman and a woman, or you know, all this stuff on film, but they never go into what like a true love is, right? And I um it seems like we all understand that uh the the truest love is when you're willing to lay your life down for another one, right? For another person, for another friend. And um, I really don't believe people understand what that means. And uh most people, I think if they were uh challenged with that in their life, um, they wouldn't answer that call. I see it every day, you know. So um we really want to uplift those those people, you know, and and tell those stories. And it so happened to be this one was Sammy, a Vietnam soldier, and he so happened to earn the Medal of Honor for the brave uh actions he did in order to save another person and just just keep saving them out of love, just keep going, just keep going until he just was gassed out.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, and I I would I would like to add on to that. So when it comes to telling this story um about Sammy Lee Davis, um it's one of those stories. So you mentioned about you know they're not really talking about veterans, or when they do talk about veterans, it's usually on a negative side, it's usually uh drunks, druggies, uh in jail. Don't get me wrong, I'm not I'm not knocking any of those movies. I think They're all fine filmmakers. And I think we know what we're talking, you know, from from you know from the 70s until now, whatever. But I'm just saying that a lot of the times it comes down to uh being uh less than, and the thing about veterans is it's it's it's uh when we were serving it was one percent, but now it's less than one percent, although things are turning around, so it's probably a little bit now it's back to probably one percent. But here's the thing um uh this is an opportunity to tell a story about one of the most controversial wars, yes, uh, and put and and here's a beautiful thing, I'll tell you. So Sammy says he loves to so being a Medal of Honor recipient, he has to travel, he travels all around the world and he talks and he speaks about maybe 200 times a year. And and he I uh we asked him, Sammy, who do you enjoy speaking to the most? Or what what he loves to speak to kids, so he loves to go to schools and talk to little just little ones that are you know in grade school, right? And then he said he also loves talking to veterans, and he said what he loves talking about veterans the most is that he says if he can share his story, he can give an uh an opportunity for other vets to say, you know what, maybe I can share mine. And and in doing so, when they do that, they let a little bit of the light in. Whatever that story is that you know is just being bottled up, not talked about. Um it just gives an opportunity to look at a man who, yes, he's a medal of honor recipient. And so that puts him in a in a in a in the echelon of people where people look up to those kinds of people, right? Um not to not to you know idolize them, but to look up to them and say, wow, that you know, this person stands for courage, this person stands for being an upright citizen, this person is sharing their story, and he's he's very um, he has joy. And I haven't met a lot of of combat war veterans who who show joy. And so um just the fact in that, it's just like there's something different about this man, and his story is so special, and it's gonna just give an opportunity to shed light on the Vietnam War. I mean, we obviously know that story you need to have, you need to have conflict or you don't have stories. So it's a great, obviously, it's a great backdrop to tell a story on, but it's we're not, we're not like you know, putting an agenda together and saying, oh yeah, let's let's tell this and do this and do this. This story tells itself. And it's just because one man had care for another per another man who needed help. And he's like, I'm gonna go and help that man. And yes, his mom taught him when he was a young kid not to leave your little brother behind. And so he always had that ingrained in him. And his mom also taught him, you don't lose until you quit trying, which is his, which is his motto, you know, that he that he tells us all the time and tells everybody else. And it just gives people, it gives people an opportunity to say, you know what? If I don't quit, then there's an opportunity that I might be able to go and and get through this this darkness or get on the other side of this dark canal that he swims across, but metaphorically in our own lives, like if we quit, then then that's when we lose. But if we don't quit, we can keep moving forward and keep just like what Todd was saying, perseverance. And that's the thing that we want, that's what we want to show people is like, hey, I mean, you know as well, David and Justin, like making films or making TV shows, whatever it is, you need perseverance. If you don't have perseverance, if you don't have grit, if you don't have uh an understanding of why you're doing it, what you're doing, then you're not gonna, you're not gonna be able to get it done, you know. And so I I think that this would just inspire it, kind of brings back that old way of making films from like the 90s, early 2000s that we lost um due to all this streaming and all this other stuff that like it kind of brings us back there in a way, and like, hey, let's let's you know, let's let's let's tell stories that have um some kind of of of substance substance to them.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Yeah, I'll I'll I'll jump in, Dave, real quick if I can. Uh yeah, and and I it in my mind, I I I think about you know, World War II and the I don't say the cosmetic cosmetic parts of the war, unless, like you said, unless there's an incentive, uh, one reason or another, the Vietnam War just isn't isn't talked about. And World War II and other other wars and other conflicts are talked, and then more statues and more walls, and and uh and I just find it so remarkable that Sammy has that he still has that no quit attitude. He's he's coming out, he's stepping out of the darkness, which we all uh can relate to some kind of darkness in our in our own lives. But to tell that story, I remember so many uh just across my 44 years of of living, uh you know, combat war veterans that they they don't like to talk about the conflicts because of the things that they they they've seen and heard, and it's it's this really this grabs at the heartstrings just just as a human being that somebody is stepping out is like, hey, here's what I went through. Yeah, I I helped my fellow brother, but I was just doing what I was taught to do by my my mom. And and all those little uh just just being a human being that we all the DNA and and that we're all connected, and I I love the music aspect uh as well. Music is one of my uh preferred with therapies and coping mechanisms with my mental health, and I just love seeing you know the harmonica and the guitar, the bass. I and it's just it's just incredible, and I'm so grateful that you uh Todd and Nathan were able to meet Sani and to even have the thought of putting a film together. And for our viewers and listeners, uh you you can see hopefully on the screen, cudgelmovie.com is a website, Instagram, uh the two Instagram uh for for our guests there. Uh reach out, donate. Let's get this project done. Let's get it moving. I think going into 2026, what better way to uh get a good jumpstart on some good real life uh drama that doesn't have to be quote unquote produced uh in in the sense of like we have to like fill this in because we got we have to have that car chasing scene or we have uh all the you know the the checking the boxes that we have a human being and that what's better than just telling the human story because no matter where we're at in the world, we can connect with the with a human story. So thank you for uh for you both for for taking on this. And like you said, when uh the the uh the business cards and the looks at at that those uh those early times came that I can just tell that you have that you just want to help people like at your core. So that's what that's how it is. It just we want to help people, whether uh you know, whether you know somebody that's homeless, if they're an addict, you know, we all have our our different things. And uh it is absolutely I think imperative that this project gets completed because we do, we need we need a feel-good story, but also mixed in a lot of darkness that uh Sammy went through, and we've all gone through some type of darkness, some some more than more than others. And I I just want to just reiterate to our viewers and listeners, this is uh a real life superhero. And as you mentioned, uh you don't have to wear a cape, you don't have to and that's what uh you know a lot a lot of uh a lot of films and shows in in David is uh one of one of the best at. Uh but really just talking about the human story, I mean, it can't get more pure and authentic as that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Um what you're saying, so uh Nathan and I were uh part of a live script show, I believe it was last week, and uh it was a great script. It was it was it was taking place in Vietnam and the Philippines. And the reason I bring that up is we met the writer, which is John McCarney, and um it took him to 65 years old to write a script because he was not proud of his service, right? And these types of films can help people like talk it out, right? Imagine if he met someone like Sammy or someone else that could just get him to talk, another brother, right? And he wouldn't have to wait the 65 years to to you know get a story out, right? Um, and uh, you know, and and and uh you know he talks, he gets a story out, he's got therapy for himself, therapy for others, you know, and um uh the director that directed the show is uh John Lee Hancock. So, you know, of a very uh a big hitter in Hollywood, and uh uh because he's he spoke about a story, it brought him to where he was and brought him to the opportunities, right? So going into Sammy's story, and that's what I like about it. It's not it's not a war story, it's really a coming-of-age story, right? Set in Indiana, and it goes through to boot camp and into war in Vietnam, and he finds love in Vietnam. Like he literally finds love. Like he's he's just shot up everywhere. He two blast waves of RPG hit him. He he had his ribs separated from his chest, his spine was shot 30 times, so it was basically broken all over the place, fractured everywhere, concussion. Uh uh, what what else do you have, Nathan? With the uh he had some tears, shot in uh in the leg.

SPEAKER_02:

Um shot in the leg. He got blown up by his RPGs. Um and and then you you mentioned the 30 bhive b beehive rounds, right? In the butt talks. No, I'm just joking. But yeah, but uh just basically his lower extremity, like mid-back to lower extremities, he got he got shot point blank by the so basically what happens with artillery is when the enemy is taking over, so he could see the enemy like you know, we asked him, you know, questions, and he said because he we asked him like who was there, and and he told us, and I said, How do you know? He goes, because they were right in front of my effing face, so it's like okay, uh they were right.

SPEAKER_01:

They're eyes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

That's so yeah, this is pitch black at night, too. And so you have to be that close, right? But so what happened is they thought he was dead. Um uh the the gunner, the gunner across from where Sammy was positioned, when he got blown up, he landed in a foxhole, his butt was up, facing up, and his he was face down and you know in the foxhole. And so as the enemy is trying to take over their their cannon, you don't let the enemy do that. So the the guy that was shooting the cannon behind Sammy thought they were all dead, so he put his Howard Sir to direct fire, and he he directly fired at all the the um the NVA and the Viet Cong um, you know, insurgents or people that were raiding them, the enemy. And what happened was those they're like these razor-sharp darts when they fire this thing, direct fire. And 30 of them lodged into Sammy. They they took out the enemy that was trying to take the Howard's over, but they also lodge into Sammy. And he was already passed out though. So when he got hit, it just pushed him down further into the foxhole. And then he said, and other this is another thing too we love about the story is he said he turned when he woke up, he turned over and he felt like there were there were fire ants like eating, eating them up. And he turns over, he looks up at the night sky and he sees the tracers coming over, and they're red, green, and blue, uh, you know, green as you know, communist, I think he was saying, and there's just all these different colors. And he looks up, he goes he thought it was Christmas. He literally thought it was Christmas time. He looks up and he's just thinking about Christmas back home, and then he realizes that he's that he's actually in, you know, he's alive and he now he has to go and like you know take care of business and and and uh make sure that they don't take over the base, right? So I don't know, just these things that when we talk to other people, we don't hear these stories about like, oh yeah, I was shot and blown up, and then I all I thought it was Christmas time, you know, and and and also you you'd also don't know no one really knows how they're gonna react until something like that happens. But he didn't he didn't seek his own his own well-being. You know, he went and he he did his job as a soldier, and then when it was all said and done, uh he hears a voice across the river saying, Help, I'm a G I don't shoot. And he's like, Man, someone's gotta go help him. So he you know finds a raft and gets a mattress, he makes into a makeshift raft and swims across the river and a rescuing three men. One one has a uh uh a formarial, uh, I mean sorry, uh a major artery wound that he has to you know treat right away. But the other one, it's very fascinating. It's there's stuff written on this. His name's Jim Dyster. He's alive today. He was shot. He had a he had a uh point, he had a uh bullet wound to the head. I think it went into his cheek and out. But anyway, some of his brains were seeping out of his skull, and Sammy put them back in and then swam across the river with the guy, thinking that they all thought he was dead. And to this day, Sammy gets to hold Jim Dyster's grandbaby. I mean, how what I mean, that's just a gift. I mean, imagine um that's a gift, right? Like, not only did he rescue this man, but later on in life he finds out that this man ended up having uh a child, uh, you know, a baby, and then that baby grew up to have a baby to where he can have a grandbaby, and he he's alive today to tell you know to tell the story.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Absolutely. David, if you want to uh jump in, there we go.

SPEAKER_00:

Sorry about that. The uh the Santa winds kicked my internet out.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh that's right. You got a San Anna Winds today. Yes, they're kicking up.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my goodness. It's like right in the center and it just blows.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh man. Yeah, it's good we had all that rain earlier in the uh in the beginning of the winter. Um otherwise it was dry and needed some fires.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I mean at Malibu, it was a mess.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh yeah. We were there.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we're at the Pelletades fire.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep, yeah. You were uh, if I remember right, you guys were affected by it, right?

SPEAKER_01:

No, um, we uh were firefighters in the front line there. I I was there for about a month and a week, and Nathan was there for uh several days.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, remember I uh you messaged me and I was praying for your safety because you told me that, and I was like, oh my goodness, God I'm safe.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, thank you for your prayers. Thank you for the giveaway.

SPEAKER_00:

So you guys, I missed a little bit, but that's okay. I gotta be sure. Um, like as filmmakers, because I'm producing a film, I'm getting pushed back for the same reason I'm telling a really hard story, and I want light to be brought to a place that really isn't talked about. And I can really relate to what you guys said about that, and that you know, your your story about vets, um, and some vets don't want to talk about these things, and then they hear Sammy's story, and then you know, they're like, Well, if he can, maybe I can. And that's kind of the reason I'm telling my story, um, and the reason I'm doing production the way I am is because uh because of my experience, maybe it can help someone else to tell theirs and to inspire those. Um that's why I write, actually, is to help people and to lift people up. That's awesome. Thank you. And from day one, I I think I met Todd, what, three years ago, Todd? Three, four?

SPEAKER_01:

I think it was three or four years ago, yeah. I was trying to pinpoint it and let my brother know, but I forgot like how or when, but I knew it was about three or four years ago.

SPEAKER_00:

I was making a Christian superhero series.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, okay, okay, okay, like what from like like from figures from the Bible?

SPEAKER_00:

Um, no, actually. Modern day. So God gives this incredible strength to people in moments of need, like the firefighter who is trying to get a kid out, but is gonna get burned alive. There's stories in Malibu of that speaking of. Um or the person that takes a bullet for someone just because they want to do the right thing and then don't die. What what about those stories? Um, or my father, the the family who's missionaries in a country that hates Christians, and the mom prays to make us invisible so our family can get out, and God makes them invisible. And those are those are the stories I told in that story, and that really made people go, Whoa! And that's kind of uh I have my own platform now, it's about a hundred thousand viewers now, followers. Um, and I write about myths, folk, folklore, and culture, and it's become a ministry, and so I want to make the first alternative to Marvel N DC to bring in folklore, but to also bring in reality of what's going on today. One of the major pushbacks that I'm getting is I want to make an African American. American story because it's relevant to where I grew up. And if you read the treatment in the story, it tells a really hard story. But it tells a story of faith, courage, and endurance. And yes, there is military in it because, of course, the dad served, so we deal with PDSD, we deal with that's judged in the church. People don't like to talk about that. And my dad served, and so I can I can kind of relate to that. And so you you mentioned the industry, and I wasn't gonna ask this, but I'm going to anyway, because I'm facing the same challenge, you know. I say industry, but I was in the industry and I saw that they were part of the problem, and we need to make stories that aren't mainstream because the stories they tell I guess the right word, is so select. They're so select in their stories, and it's the same thing. It's literally a label with the same name on it, and and so that's why I started uh my own production and doing things that way, and I've really been inspired from the first day I talked to you, actually, to pursue my career even more, and uh, and for Justin too, we've been in this together. We we fired our one line producer. Um we're looking for another, and uh it's a journey to see how much impact film can have on the way people think. Your story alone is gonna change people who see it, and I think you know that they're gonna start a conversation. You mentioned that of huh. Remember that war? What war? Vietnam. Oh, yeah, that war. I don't really know much about it. And we've really we've seen movies of Captain America and World War II and World War One, but we never talk about Vietnam.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh no, it it's crazy, even today, it's controversial. I I don't understand. I mean, I I do understand, but I like it shouldn't be, right? And uh one thing I want to because you said uh uh the God gives you power in those moments, just like Sammy. Like he he basically said uh you know to God one more for the round when it wasn't working, one more, God, one more, you know. Um very similar to Desmond Dawes did in at Hacksaw Ridge in World War II. He kept saying, one more, one more, you know. And um, I I think God, when you put yourself forward and you have that just undying faith, um, and you really like give it all your heart and soul and might to God, and you ask him one more, you know, that divine nature that comes in you, that that that's not human anymore. You know, there's humanity in it, but like the the there's I'm fascinated by what happens when you ask, when you're so down, you're your your tribulation, you're struggling, you're you're just at your wit's end in these in these moments in life. And when you ask God something, it's coming from everything, it's not surface, it's you know, it's it's real. And then I'm intrigued that like what happens, what makes that happen, right? And so I'm with you on that. Um, one Nathan, I want to touch on one thing that Nathan didn't. Um, so uh Cudgel is just it it bridges so many gaps, it has so many things. Um Sammy is an amazing person. The story around him, the the events and opportunities that God gave him, it just shows so much. Like I said, it's a coming-of-age film. It so happened to be, you know, he found love in Vietnam. But now in Vietnam, the same guy, um Gwendol Holloway, one of the guys he saved across the river, um, when Sammy's in the hospital later later on. So we'll actually we'll wind a little bit back. He gets the three people, uh, three brothers back to the um mainland, we'll say from the canal, right? It's about 25 meters long, uh, wide, goes to goes back to the land. And Sammy's just exhausted, right? Um, and uh he sees like this Roman soldier and then stops and falls back in the water. And uh one of his brothers pulls him out of the water. And you know, he just he doesn't, like Nathan said, he doesn't think about himself. He lit after all that, he literally goes back to a cannon that's working and he joins his crew, whoever's alive still, right? Um, and he just does his job as a soldier, not until when they're basically going out and doing the AAR, uh the after action report, and they're going out and uh holding everything accountable, you know, bodies, uh um material, ammo, unexplosive devices, stuff like that. You gotta you gotta rally and and tally that up, right? And so not to after that does he pass out. So he didn't even quit. So you don't lose too quick trying, it's so true, right? Um, he didn't even quit, you know. Uh and when he's in the hospital, he's still not quitting, but he has a fever of about 107 degrees. They throw him in the hallway. And it's sad to say, but the army, yes, and all the branches. When you're and you don't even have to be in combat, it's just if you're in an area where there's just so much chaos going on, they don't have the supplies, they don't have the manpower, they will put you in a hallway to die. And so they took Sammy after all what he did, they put him in a hallway to die. All right. Then a guy comes along and basically basically pleads with the doctor that uh he needs to do something, you know. What do we do? We put people with the die in the house in a hospital after they, you know, after they're heroes. And it so happened to be Gwendol Holloway, and literally the doctor said we can't do anything. He needs blood, he's had a high fever. And Gwendol Holloway says, I have his blood. They go in for a transfusion and he rescues Sammy now. He saves Sammy. Now, what that what that basically bridges is a racial issue. Gwendol Holloway's a black infantryman, it's in the 60s, 67, right? So there's still segregation, still all that stuff going on, right? Sammy didn't see that. He didn't see color, he didn't see uh where he grew up, you know, he didn't see any of that. He saw a brother in need, right? Another human being in need. It's humanity at its core, and Sammy is probably like the only vet that I know, and I'm in I'm I'm saying even above Nathan and I, that is so wholesome and he has so much humility for what he'd been through, right? And um, he is he is not the normal narrative Hollywood does, like Nathan said. Um, and you know, it bridges so many things. There's so many things, and it's it's just like it's just it's like God just showing everyone, you know, you know, you you've been hating on each other for too long. You just need love, you know, because it's all about love. He, I mean, he found love in Vietnam. Like, yeah, there's a brotherhood love, and there's you know, love in the military, but he found like a lot of love in Vietnam. And of all the wars we talk about, we usually talk crap on Vietnam. You know, the soldiers are are babykillers or or they're this, they're that. It's nothing but negativity. You know, this film is gonna bring light in Vietnam, you know, and we're both hoping that it really lifts that veil and shows people a different opportunity or possibility to look at that war, you know. Um, and you know, that that's the what we really want people to see is is it's humanity at its core, right? It's it's it's the it's the relationship of of the two men from Shawshank Redemption, if you saw that movie, you know, met with the brotherhood of Saving Pride Ryan, and then met with the un the undying steadfast faith of Hacksaw Rich. So it's all those three films in one. And I mean, it's an amazing story, you know. It's Sammy and it's God. We're just blessed that God picked us to tell it.

SPEAKER_02:

Very well said, and here's another thing, David. Uh, I want to jump in here too. Um, you were you were bringing up some stuff about faith and stuff. So two things. One on faith, one on Vietnam. Okay, so the when we when we did the short documentary, we didn't we didn't talk much about, but it was the the it's called For My Brothers. Um, Sammy plays Shenandoah on his harmonica for his brothers, right? He goes all whenever he travels, he always plays it, and he says it's because it's for his brothers. Now, when you have you all any of you been to the Vietnam War Memorial in DC?

SPEAKER_00:

I have. My dad served okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, I know I know you mentioned your dad served, but I didn't know if so you been, you've seen it. He's okay, so oh he did, okay. Yeah, um it so there's 58,000 men and women on that wall, right? And that wall is designed to cause one to reflect, right? So it's transparent to look at it, to reflect. Okay. So we were told you talk about perseverance, this might help you too, uh, when you guys are both pitching your stuff or doing your your projects. We were told not that we wouldn't be able to film there. So don't like, don't try it because it's expensive, it's gonna be really hard to do. And the second thing is we also reached out to people we thought would maybe you know provide an opportunity to do so, and they can. And they we were met with um opposition from them, and so we were like, okay, well, we're just trying to get this shot. So, hey, uh Sammy, um, how do you feel about doing a shot in DC? You wearing your service uniform, playing their monica next to the Vietnam War Memorial. Oh, great, that sounds great. And then so he brought us out to uh to uh um a uh event uh that they do every year. It's the it's the National Medal of Honor, uh Medal of Honor uh weekend. It's or National Medal of Honor Day weekend. It's in March, right? And so um he brought us out to that event and then he gave us um the next day to to to film them at the wall, right? And so when you watch the when you watch the the short doc, you'll see you'll see that shot. You'll see those shots and how important it is not only to the story that we're telling, but we're we're also we're we're veterans. We're saying, hey, look, every veteran that served, thank you. And especially the Vietnam veterans, like, hey, welcome home. You know, and we they did not get a welcome home. And actually in the movie we're doing with Sammy, we're showing how he was treated horribly when he got back, even beef, even before he got to his hometown, like in San Francisco. I won't I won't go into details, but he was treated horribly and did not retaliate, did like literally turn the turn the other cheek and did not retaliate. And that is very powerful to to to have an audience just see that. To go from all this to see that, it's like wow. And then the second thing I wanted to tell you was was um you gotta if you look if you think about the gospel and you think about faith, you look at you look at a man who who became flesh as a baby, right? That's what the whole that's why Chris, that's why there's a the only reason why there's hope in this whole entire world is because of the Christmas story that God would would would because he loves because he loves his creation, that he would come and he would say, Hey, the only only only he can only he can provide salvation. No, no man can, right? So the fact that he he intervenes and brings brings Jesus into the world, where Jesus is God, but I'm just saying like becomes a baby, right? Adam and Eve were not babies, they they they were full grown, right? Yeah, so Jesus becomes a baby, but I want to tell you this as he grows up, he doesn't have a place to lay his head. The gospel says in the gospels it says it, right? Like foxes have holes, and oh, but he doesn't have a place to lay lay his head. Okay, everyone you talk to that is either skeptical, a skeptic, or is an atheist, or who is uh um um whatever, however, whatever you want to say that they'll say, Oh, he was a great teacher. Okay, okay, well, I I have more for you here. So he didn't have a place to lay his head when he was on earth, right? In his ministry. He did not have a place here at all. Yet he died in our place for our sins and said, I will go and prepare a place for you in heaven, right? So he not only didn't he didn't have a place here, and and and the people that didn't want him it pushed him away. And he even said, if the world hates me, they're gonna hate you. So he pushed them away, or they pushed him away. In fact, when he started saying the truth, that's when they wanted to kill him, right? But what I'm trying to say, I'm just trying to give you an example here, is he didn't have a place, yet he died in our place because he could that he he only could, no one else could. And so praise God for that. And then he goes and prepares a place for those who believe in him in heaven. I mean, it's just a beautiful, it's kind of like it's just a beautiful story, right? And God uses a story to get people to know who he is, and so he gives us an opportunity to create with him in the sense of having art. You were talking about like PTSD and mental health and stuff. Art is so important to this world. Yes, you need your engineers to to get us, you know, to innovate and get us to space and get us to have business, but you also need art. You you need you need the Shakespeare, you need the poets, you need the you need the you need the uh the great writers of our time, you know, and yeah, painters, uh filmmakers, all of it. You need all of it in order to to have meaning, right? And the beautiful thing is God didn't use you know a math problem. Yeah, he talked about money a lot in this in the scripture, but he didn't use a math problem, use a story. Because story is is how we can relate with one one another. Like even if we don't, even if we don't have the same culture, we can watch a story about someone else's culture and say, there is something hum there's something about humanity in that. And then you can say, wow, I can relate to this because maybe I've been through it. Maybe it's grief. Everyone deals with grief. Maybe it's maybe it's falling in love. Oh wow, you know, or maybe it's just the joy of having a having a pet or a baby, right? Like anybody can, it doesn't you don't need to have any kind of uh of demographic or culture to to to to to understand that. And so that's the beautiful thing about story. And I just wanted to share that with you because you mentioned stuff about what you can do to to keep getting your projects forward. You have some great ideas. Um, you know, I I think the industry definitely does have a huge spot for faith-based content, you know. Um, and we are not so much saying, hey, we're gonna tell faith-based stories. I mean, I think that's great. I mean, and we don't have a problem with doing that. I just think it's it's there's there's something really cool when when we don't have to say, we don't have to say as much in the movie, but to where it can be a kind of a talking piece to when someone talks to you, you can be like, oh, yeah, this is this is what's going on here, right? So I think uh, I mean, everyone has different ways of telling story. I mean, if you look at we're in the we're in the holiday season right now, right? So whoop-dee-woop. No. So we're in the holiday season right now, right? You've seen Home Alone, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Have you not seen the I I I probably shouldn't mention this because I should know my the characters, but have you not seen the man that they're all scared of that's shoveling the snow? Have you seen all the things that there's things in the film that they do specifically that kind of that kind of set this man apart from everyone else? Yeah, right? Yeah, and it's interesting because he's looked at as the like everyone, all the young kids are oh, that guy's gonna that guy's gonna hurt you, stay away from him. But he ends up he ends up coming to uh um the little one's rescue, right? Yeah, you know what I'm talking, you know what I'm talking about, right? Absolutely when you see when you see home alone, yeah. And he also has uh he also has a cloth on his hand, and it's red. And and again, I don't want to get too deep, but it it's very interesting that this movie they put this man in this position to where when you watch it, because remember, film, if you if you go the other way, it there's a lot of subliminal messages that film uses even since we were kids. If you watch all these Little Mermaid and all these other movies, Lion King, you if you go back, you can see these subliminal messages that condition our brains to to go a certain way and to go the way the world wants. Yes, right. But as believers and as people of faith, like we're called to be set apart. So there's there's ways to still be called set apart, but to still bring bring others across the river, like Sammy does, bring others and say, Hey, this is this is the truth. And again, watch Home Alone and you'll see and you'll see what you'll see it there. You're like, wow, like you don't really see that. Like when I was a kid, I didn't see it.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, that's yeah, like the book I'm writing right now, which I'm screenplaying, it I tried to present the gospel in a way where you don't preach it, you show it and you don't shove it in someone's face, you show how it can impact and how to apply it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

People don't want to go to the movie theater and go, I'm going to hell. People want to know why they should care about if they're gonna go to hell, not if they're gonna go to hell.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. And so you you you you keep the academia out, and then you see you you show spirituality is what you're doing. And yeah, uh and another thing that what Nathan said, I'd even go a little deeper. I tell this to people, some people most people get upset, but the true storytellers just know it is, and even non believers will tell me, Yeah, you're right. There's not one story that has never been done out there that hasn't been inspired by the Bible.

SPEAKER_00:

That's right.

SPEAKER_01:

The Bible inspires every story, every story. And that's the thing is God didn't take STEM, He took Ark to tell his story, right? And and uh uh I like that you put that, Nathan, but I tell people that all the time. Like since biblical times, since we were here on the earth, it's been story, but it's also every story is taken from the Bible. I mean, all the superheroes are taken from the Bible at one point or another for something of their nature, of the of the story, uh, everything. I mean, you have you I mean, horror films taken from the Bible. I mean, everything's taken from the Bible. Um, because you that's truly the book that shows you truth of good and evil, and even the non-believer, it's innate in their heart because we are a creation of God, whether you believe in him or not.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, and it's interesting because you you look at we'll touch on this the demonic side of the industry. You see people go, oh, it's not real, it's not real. Well, tell me something. Why are we so obsessed with the dark? Why are we so obsessed? You know, we got meg, I think it's magnificent. The villain, the villains, Coretta de Ville, the vampire movie sinners were obsessed with this blood and the the the demonic. I get the vampires, I get there's stories out there, but why are we obsessed with the occult? Why is that there if there's not truth in what the Bible is saying? The Bible says darkness is that prove me wrong.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, there's no hope in these movies, it's demonic, yes, and David, you you mentioned something about SEAL team, and I want to tie this in because this is interesting. Uh, do you know who AJ Buckley is?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, you're looking at the man who stunt doubled him for what uh uh uh episode, Todd, or two? A couple episodes, yeah. Yeah, so Todd got to stunt double for AJ Buckley, which is really cool, right? Um so AJ Buckley just on his on his Instagram, uh he's doing this podcast called, what is it called? It's called The Real Fake Seal. The real fake seal, yeah. Okay. So obviously AJ Buckley was was in uh you you just went high pitch, man. So so no I don't like to drop, I I don't like I don't like to drop names, but this is very uh it goes along what you what you were saying, and it and it just I literally just watched it today. Like I just watched this, this uh this um what is it? A reel. You know when you put the videos on Instagram? So he literally he literally saying in there, it's not verbatim, but you can go on his go on his page and you'll see it. He talks about this. He says, he says, a story like the Bible written 2,000 years ago, right? Is still or to the 2,000 years ago, Jesus being here on earth, 2,000 years ago, it still holds up. That's what he that was his whole point. It still holds up. And I commented and I said, I said it because it's the word of God and it does not return void. Yes, it's gonna always hold up, right? Jesus even said that that that the heaven and earth will pass away, but the words of of God will not, right? So he mentions that on his on his um on his Instagram just recently, and I was like, Yeah, you brought up SEAL team, you talked about it, it it's like, yes, the the the Bible is gonna always hold up. You look at a story like uh it's not a story, but you look at like um um Watergate, the Watergate scandal, right? With Nixon, right? I think it took them three weeks to to fold and say what the truth was. What did the disciples do? They got sawed in half, they got hung upside down on a crowd. They they died because this is the truth, and this is what this is what this is just what it is. It it's it's it's it's truth.

SPEAKER_00:

And the and well on the the massacre that no one's talking about right now. Not one person. There's a massacre. Uh one of my fellow pastors, there's a massacre in Africa right now. Nobody cares. Nobody.

SPEAKER_02:

We've lost is this in Nigeria?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep. We've already and what I find interesting is Nikki Nicki Minaj. Nikki Minaj, out of all the people you would because you would think she's in the system, she's speaking out against it. I mean, she's getting and she's getting hate because she's supporting what Trump is saying about it, but and we don't need to get a positive. I'm just saying, like, she's lit out of all the people to speak out against it, Nikki, Nicki Minaj is doing. I'm like, wow, you know, God's God's definitely doing you know something in in these people's hearts, you know, like he's yeah, so I mean for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

There is revival, and that's the other thing. Like, my son, my nine-year-old, he put out his book on spiritual warfare. Out of all things, he put it out 200-page book, spiritual warfare, dad. I want to write a book on spiritual warfare because of what I'm experiencing. Do it!

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, nine years that's cool. Yep, that's really cool with nine years old.

SPEAKER_00:

It's called The Search for Drake Colton. I want to produce it, he wants it to be a TV show. It's uh it's a powerful story that it just blows the mind that he wants to touch the world in that way. He sees the world spiritually because we've we've we've seen things because of what I've experienced, and he's gotten to grow in the word because he's addicted to it in ways that I I never could fathom until now. You know, he knows his Bible, I'll say that. And he really wants to touch the world in his stories. Tonight, he's actually writing his uh his new book, which is going to touch on another issue that he sees with his generation, and that is turning the cell phone off and saying, I want to talk to God, instead of saying, I'll do it tomorrow. And he wants to talk about uh social media affecting, and he wants to talk about the darkness of subliminal messages that he found, much to our surprise. We actually have an episode of him on talking about his vision for pointing these out and making kids aware that hey, you don't have to go this way, there is another path. Let me show you hope, and that's what he's doing. And so I'm so proud of him at nine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

His book is number 66 on kids' fiction on Amazon right now.

SPEAKER_02:

That's great, man. That's awesome. I think I think uh Todd and I were just climbing trees playing G.I. Joe at nine years old. I mean, that's pretty cool. That like he's writing books, man. Well, we might have been read we might have been reading some C.S. Lewis too, I think, at that age, too. But yeah, wow, that's um that's pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_00:

My family's goal. I don't know if you read up on you, probably don't know, but I run mythical creatures around the world, and it's a ministry. I talk about folklore from all over the world. However, I always tie it to the Bible, and it's interesting what you said. And I have Muslims, I have atheists, I have people that worship Satan, and I get all these messages that say, So who's God then? Who's Jesus? Why did you put that in there? I worship that God, or I know that creature, or I know UFOs, but you're saying the Bible has that in there. I never, huh? What Bible scriptures? I get those all the time. I had a witch doctor contact me and say, you know, I never thought of Jesus that way. I mean, I I I I worship Satan, and I said, Okay. And he goes, You're not afraid of me. And I said, Absolutely not. And he goes, I love your work. Um would Jesus save me? Like, because people hate the fact that I cast spells. And I said, Yes. No sin is greater than the other. And he came to God, he's a pastor. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

So see, see, see see how important the story is though, and and it gives an opportunity to have those talking points because like when you when when you think about the veteran community that I'm part of, like, and your dad is too, like, I've had we've had people, especially Vietnam, open up to like people don't talk, like, especially ones who weren't, they don't want to talk, but we've had we've had men open up to us. I had one, I had one guy from Afghanistan war tell me, I don't think Jesus, I don't think, I don't think Jesus can save me. I said, Well, why do you say that? And he just mentioned he just mentioned the the the the children, right? And we don't need to get into detail, but obviously they're they become combatants when they have certain you know things on them. And so, and that's that's an individual decision that they all that anybody in that situation has to make. And now they have to live with that and they feel like they can't. And and I had one one one of the he's my one of my friends, but he was like, he's like, I see how I see how like just how like much faith you have and how how like excited you are about about sharing it, but not like in a way where it's just cramming down my but I just see it in your life and how you live it out. I said, Well, that's only by God's grace. But he's like, Yeah, he's like, he's like, I just don't know if if God can save me. And I was like, and and I got a chance to talk to him and share the gospel with him, you know. And it's it's these things that that, yeah, the the storytelling is great, and and being able to do this, but like when it comes down to it, it's being able to have those conversations, you know, and you know, it's nothing we do. We're just we just become um, you know, uh what is it, vessels, broken vessels who get to share, share, share the message with people, uh, the message of hope.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, so and I I agree with that. And you know, right now we're uh I'm making the first Christian RPG, which is a role-playing game like Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, it's gonna have biblical characters. That's where my son is helping me with it. We actually designed some characters today, a little bit. Um, and then we want to build a Christian superhero alternative to what's out there because I believe that faith matters, and I believe that we can reach billions if we try. If we keep going like the industry and going, oh well, you know, they they hate me, or no one's ever gonna listen. We're never gonna okay. What do we do to make a change? What can we do to make a difference? And I've got an uh I've got a blacklisted because I truly want change, I truly want faith in my stories. I truly want to touch on topics that people do not like because the people that don't like them aren't comfortable with them, but the people going through them are the ones being judged.

SPEAKER_02:

Right. You know, have you had a chance? Have you had a chance to talk?

SPEAKER_00:

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02:

Go on, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh no, you were saying have you had a chance to go ahead.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, have you have you had a chance to talk with anybody in the industry that's doing what you want to do or that's that at least is that at least has uh started paving the road for for um you know faith-based storytellers, uh, because there's people out there that are doing it. Um and they've they've made they've caused a lot of they've caused a lot of um ripples, uh let's say uh a lot of people that would say no or completely turn it away would be like, oh, this is lucrative, right? And they and because you got to think about it, at the end of the day, it's it show business is a business. And if it's just art, there has to be an understanding of business, there has to be an understanding of of it what's how is this going to you know produce a you know capital, right? How is this going to uh you know, how is this going to um bring in ROI to the investors who come on board? You know, what is this, what how many, what kind of seats or what kind of streaming is this going to sell? It comes down to business, which is important. Um, and but at the same time, there's people that are doing it right now. And I think that if like have you have you already explored or have you talked to it's not always easy, but I'm I don't know. I don't know who you've spoken to or if you if you've been around, maybe Justin. I don't know if you guys talked to any of these these people that are doing it now.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, we've had a few meetings. I'm still trying to find out all of the players. Um the answer is no, because I've worked mainstream. Um and a lot of my actors that I know are Christian, and we want to do something that's never been done, and um we're we're kind of new to this this change. A part of that a part of that goes with why I became a writer. I think you know my story, but I'm a survivor of human trafficking, and I was taken to a foreign country and I got away. How I got away is I prayed to God, an angel blinded my captor, and I got away. And that inspired me so much. All the viewers will know my story, but it inspired me to tell stories of how real God is and how powerful God is, and that's what I want my impact to be in the in the industry, and that's why I write is to tell stories that inspire, but also challenge and make someone a better person at the end of the movie or the TV show or the script or or novel or comic, because I released my first comic. I want them to be challenged, and then I also want them to go, what can I do better? How can I be better?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I I I totally get that, and that's exactly what Nathan and I want to do. And and and and uh we know cudgel is a story that would do that, it would challenge people at the end, it will it would make them question things, it would give them a different opportunity or or uh uh challenge and the with a different mindset. So yeah, I I I really like that, David. Actually, that's that's really cool. That's one of the biggest things uh we want to do within the other things I want to show, right? And that has to do with love too, because love, like you it's like proverbs, right? Like the you know, do you want the do you want the kisses of an enemy or the wounds of a friend, right? And love will wound you, and you should allow it to wound you at the best times from the right people to better yourself and to grow from.

SPEAKER_00:

I love that, yeah. And like the story I'm writing tonight, it's a it's a novel, it'll be out for Christmas. I know. Like, I'm writing a novel in three days. Yeah, it's gonna happen. God put it on my heart, God put it on my heart.

SPEAKER_02:

So when God puts me on the case, and see that's it, you know, it's that's the thing when when he puts something on your heart, that's that's the driving force. Yeah, it's him, it's him opening doors, it's him closing doors, it's it's you know, um uh the Lord the Lord gives and takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. It's like you were mentioning something about your story. Thanks for sharing a little partial about it, but like you've seen Sound of Freedom, right?

SPEAKER_00:

As the audience knows I had a part in that, yep.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, great. So therefore, so yeah, right, exactly. So I'm just saying that like these these types of films, these types of these types of stories are people want to people want to see them, they want to know about them, right? But whether whatever part we have in these, and if we do have a part, then then being like, oh, well, where do I go to do it? You you already have that, you already know. So it's like it's just a matter of of getting people. You can't do anything without people, right? And with with and without capital. And so getting people that that see your vision, that's that that want to see the thing done, then there's people out there, right? And of course, like you said, the power of prayer. You just keep praying, and you know, things, things will, things will happen.

SPEAKER_00:

And we do that on the daily, like we we truly I pray a lot. I know my wife and my son too too. And I got newborn now, and that's a blessing on its own.

SPEAKER_02:

For sure. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_00:

It's it's been it's just been incredible, and to have that in your life, and to you know, it really opens your eyes, and it's even made me more strong in my faith, and and brought my wife closer. And uh my wife is also a writer too, so she's actually writing another book. Um she wants to she wants to make a movie too. We got halted because of uh production three years ago on her film, but we're gonna try to kick that back up. But um, yeah, what you said nailed it. Like God has really put this in my heart. Um what happened to me, the sound of freedom, you know. I have to be careful now because I've signed NDAs, but I had a big part because of my journey and what I went through. And uh and I had the honor and privilege and courage of working with uh said person that was the uh agent uh in that project. Project. Um, and my mom also was there on set as that movie was filmed. And uh and we I'm I'm hated for it because I ricocheted a moment in history that ignited that human trafficking happens all over.

SPEAKER_03:

And that didn't know they would do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. And that's why uh if you listen to my episode 208, um that's why I've ignited a war of going, this is unacceptable. No child is for sale. My mom came up with that. Um, and it's true. When I was taken, I was not for sale. The other 200 children that were there that still are there are not for sale, and that is what I stand by. That is the rock that I stand on. And no, I don't make trafficking uh in all my stories at all. But one story I want to tell is called the tracker. And you know, he is a family man. You're getting very robot any positions, maybe an alternative to that. Sorry. Is that any better?

SPEAKER_05:

Much better than where we were. Yeah. More clear.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Yeah. Well well David, um it not to uh cut cut you off, but uh wanted to uh uh being blessed that Zoom has given us 90 minutes, which I've never I mean I have the I I have this I have the I have the free version, and I I got it and uh it it says the max you'll get is 45 minutes. There's times where it's like 30 minutes and it's it just cuts off. And yeah, uh and so there's definitely a big reason why uh why why we've been uh now over nine 90 minutes, and um I just wanted to say um if it if it's alright to start rapping, uh how how powerful both of you are, how passionate you are, and that's how uh one of the ways I can judge an individual, you know, whether they're you know they're they're in it for the right reasons, and you mentioned you know, there's gotta be a capital in the people and that, and and then beyond that, is there the passion, or is it just yep, we're just we're going through the motions, and that's what I love about Kudgel, that's what I love about Sammy. Uh the fact that you went and met with him, that it wasn't like you you read stories and and and things online, and that's what you went off of. You're like, you actually met the man, and and and that had a profound impact on uh where where we're at and why we want individuals, organizations, investors, uh anybody that has an an interest and wants to see this uh come to fruition, which we believe it it will, because we're we're gonna blast this out like we always do. Um can we just give maybe uh you know Nathan and Todd like one one final uh push and and and wrap up, if that's okay.

SPEAKER_05:

Either one, you start doesn't no particular order.

SPEAKER_02:

Todd, you want to take it? You can take it, I guess I'll go left to you. All right, sure, why not? Alright, so come on, man. So uh Justin, what do you what do you what exactly you want me to do?

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Just uh just to wrap it up about cudgel, how they can how people can invest, how they can learn more about it, become more of a part of it. Um raise, just yeah, the the pitching.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, sure. Thank you. Well, thank you for having us on here. Uh it's been a pleasure. I enjoyed the conversation we had. Um, for all those out there who are listening, uh, if you go to Pudgelmovie.com, C U D G E L, right there, C U D G E L dot com uh is where you can find more information where there's a there's a page to uh donate because we're in development and as any filmmaker, independent filmmaker knows, um you need to we you need to get as much uh funds as you can to just to even get things moving in the right direction, right? And so we take every single every single proceed of that and we just we just put it towards uh getting this thing done. Getting we're just we're just pushing it up the hill and we'll just keep going and going and going. And um, so any little bit helps, whether you can you can put some money in the in the donation, whether you can take a uh copy and paste the the link to the website and share it with at least five of your friends. Uh we also did a we were we did a live CBS LA segment today, uh where we're now blasted out in Los Angeles, um, which is really cool. Uh so they you can go to that website and they do a thing called uh voices for veterans or veterans' voices, and they do it once, once a month. Um, and so our stories on that. You go on Instagram, which you see. Thank you for putting our Instagrams up there. Um anything you can do, whether it's it's liking, commenting, sharing, going on the page, actively donating, we will appreciate all of it. Uh Todd will have some more things to follow up with, some uh some of the some of the uh GoFundMe uh campaign thing we're doing. But um, yeah, I mean that's how you can find us. And if you want to reach out, chat about films, if you want to talk about cudgel, if you want to talk about faith, we're open. There's our personal Instagrams. Have at it. Thank you very much.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

You're welcome, Nathan. Thank you so much for joining us.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so uh thanks for having us, the Taetra brothers, on here. Uh, it's been a lot of fun. Um, I I thought the conversation was great and I thought it went to a good area. Uh, it's a bummer that we lost David um when he was telling us a really good story, uh, some important stuff there. Um, but uh yeah, so the McNatted said, Nathan, I'm gonna reiterate it because you know what? Everyone repeats themselves, and we're veterans, so we repeat ourselves. So um if you want to move to your left or right, I'm gonna say what the website is. All right. So it's cudgel, as you see there, c u d g movie.com. So it's cudgelmovie.com. Uh on that website, on the first page, if you scroll down, we have our promo fundraising video. And then below that, we have For My Brothers, which is the one behind me right here. Can't see For My Brothers because it's below, and I don't know how to bring the photo up. So um, and uh you can you can watch For My Brothers, you can barely see it in it. Because of the it's because of the um the background.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, my bad. I didn't say cudgelmovie.com. So thank you for mentioning that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so thank you. Again, it's uh cudgelmovie.com. You go there and you can find uh the promo fundraiser video which uh you showed today at the beginning. Um, and then also you can find for my brothers uh the documentary we did, the short documentary we did on Sammy, and he explains to you why he did what he did in Vietnam. Um uh also on Instagram cudgel movie on Instagram, cudgel movie on Facebook. Um when you go to the website, there is a GoFundMe. And some like people like PayPal, they're actually telling me they do both. So on the website, there's a PayPal link and there's a GoFundMe link. Uh all the proceeds go to uh making now cudgel, uh basically getting that in the right people's hands. It goes it goes all to that. So um we would really appreciate you giving what you can give. Like Nathan said earlier. I mean, I I wish, like, you know, for Christmas, a million people give a dollar. You know, a million people give a dollar on Christmas, you know. That would that would give us a million dollars, that would get us so many big Ps and investors that want to come in and do the rest, you know. We gotta bring some skin to the game, so we're asking you to help us do that and support us on that. Um it's a great story. Uh it, you know, we're like I said earlier, we're blessed to tell it, but really the story, it's God's story, and it's a story of Sammy. And uh we we really need this love during this time. Um, and uh like Nathan said, uh uh CBS LA did a new segment. We got three minutes of uh airtime today. It's pretty cool. Yeah, yeah, pretty cool video. Um it shows a lot and tells a lot, so uh we're really happy with it. So we're blessed that CBS LA wanted to do that on us. And uh that's that's pretty much it. You know, we're just looking for people to help. Like Nathan said too, you know, you can share it, you can you can uh send it to your family, friends, colleagues, you know. Um, I met a guy today at uh UCLA medical. Uh he was never a servant or anything. He said something that related to cudgel. I brought it up, and he literally just texts 20 of his Vietnam buddies right there. The the the website. So um, you know, that's cool. I yeah, so you you can share with anybody. I mean, that's that's you don't need to help uh with monetary value. You can share with your energy and your uh your network, you know. So uh we need a lot of help bringing it off the ground. Like you said earlier, we did put a lot of work into it, and um, we're just extremely like blessed and and and happy and and it's just joyful to be able to tell this story and to have the support we already had going forward, you know, it inspires us. You and David inspire us. Uh, we're inspired by people every day. And um, you know, we need to really keep telling our stories no matter who out there it. I really truly believe it's it's not surface, it's not hair, hot air like a lot of Hollywood is, like we're telling uh saying earlier. I truly do believe as a veteran with my own problems, and as a human being with my own problems and other people with their own problems, that when we have struggles and tribulation, right, we learn from that. And what we learn from that is our story, right? And that story really truly does connect, it heals, and it inspires. And and I think everyone out there should tell their own story because once we pass, that story's gone.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

That's right. And thank you both again for your service too. I if I didn't say at the beginning, the uh incredibly grateful, uh I have haven't served, but uh very grateful to each and every uh veteran, whether they're in heaven, whether they're with us, uh, and and then those obviously currently serving, uh, very much appreciate. And uh whenever I'm out, uh especially traveling, uh see individuals in milk nano in uniform. I I try to just say, hey, thank you for your service because I wasn't able and uh to to do that. And uh there's so much divisiveness and everything, just something small like that. I figure, you know what, like that's what I can do at that moment as I'm wheeling my bag through the terminal or or wherever, and seeing seeing those individuals that are really putting it on the line. And we truly love having both of you on and uh just on so many levels, on the human level, on on the veteran level, on the filming level, uh being so so passionate and uh just really bringing you know Sammy, which it's his story, and what he's he went through what he went through for a reason, and he's still with us for a reason. And I think one of the big reasons is is for for this production to go through to uh to come to fruition, uh, and and for the masses to to to learn and know whether it's Sammy himself, his story, or just a little bit more about the war, and uh just like you said, just to have a conversation. It's uh sometimes that's the hardest thing to do is just to have that icebreaker of getting the conversation started, and the next next thing you know, like you mentioned, you're at the uh UCLA medical center, you're just talking to somebody that might not even have anything to do with cudgel, and then all of a sudden it's like, oh yeah, 25, it gets sent out, and so it comes in all forms, you know, monetary, uh, the the energy reaching out to networks and uh just sharing it. And uh you you never know uh who uh who's gonna see those messages, though those texts. And um thank you for doing what you have done in the past, uh, both on the military and in the filming, and then you know currently, and we we really are putting all of our prayers and all of our energy towards this because it's it's so needed. And it uh I mean I'm just gonna like goosebumps as both of you were sharing, because it it's like, oh my gosh, like this is this is something that the world does need, and whether somebody has served or they haven't, they're all human. Uh well, most of us, I guess. Um, and to to have uh the you know the opportunity to uh put this on uh on the screen or streaming or however the the plans work out. Uh and then David, I just wanted to see if you're uh if you can you can jump in here and close us out as well.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I just and I apologize, guys. No problem. It's such an honor and a privilege to have you guys on. This is this is why we have a platform to put people like this on that are making an impact and a difference. Uh it's truly inspirational to to hear you guys talk not only about your faith, but your courage and your endurance to put this out, to hear about this story, to hear what you guys have had to go through to get it here. And uh I I can't urge the audience enough to you know support this. This is a story that will impact culture and it will start a conversation. This is a story that will make a difference. This is the time for change, and it starts with you, Justin?

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Thank you, David. I couldn't say it better myself. So, Nathan, Todd, thank you so much for joining. Uh, we are going to get this turnaround out tomorrow morning, East Coast time, probably around 9 or 10 a.m. And we'll get all the links and and and everything uh out to you personally, and then where we we blast it on all our social media platforms and then do uh uh a TikTok live in in the evening, and that'll be what the focus will be for tomorrow's uh on top of everything. So uh just wanted to give you uh we we want to get this turned around as as quickly as possible. And uh again, thank you so much for everything that you you you've done and and for choosing us to have just a small part in sharing the the the message and the need and Sammy's story and and how uh anybody anywhere in the world can can help us make this uh come come to fruition. So until next time, thank you, RZ. Oh, yeah. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01:

Could I say something before we go? Um I'm just calling a say it, you know, and it's it's not not me being selfish, it's because what David said earlier, what you're saying now, um I want to inspire and challenge all you here, including Nathan and myself, to keep persevering forward. Um where this filmmaking of perseverance, of love, of redemption, and the the answer call courage and showing up, we didn't get into where it started. So I'm gonna just go real quick into that.

SPEAKER_06:

Um yeah, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, yeah. So our dad came down with lung cancer, and uh um he uh Nathan and I got the uh got the call, and we at the first time in our faith, we're new to the faith about a year, and we basically just thought as new Christians, oh, we should fast and pray. So we did. Uh Nathan got uh go see dad uh before the pathological report comes back. I got go now. So we did a red eye flight, we went out to Massachusetts, our dad was dying. We knew it right when we walked in the room. Um, and then when we were there, God came to me and basically said, You are you should film your dad, you know. And I saw I asked him on the porch one day, and he said, No, I don't want anyone to see me like this. I'm falling apart, you know, I'm disintegrating. And Nathan got mad at me too. Um, and I understand why. So um, and then I went upstairs and then the a voice came back to me, and I started, I'll be real with you. Like that's one thing that a Christian like me, I'm very real. I got really angry at God. I started swearing at him because I didn't want to ask my dad again. It felt uncomfortable with this and that. And then I went downstairs and asked him again, and he got right off of his walker, just right up, big boy smile on his face. He's like, sure, let's do it, son. And Nathan agreed. Uh, the family didn't want to do it. People were like, Kind of giving that like they didn't hate me, but they disliked what I was doing, right? They hated what I was doing. And the reason I tell you this is if you truly feel it's a calling from God, like you said, David earlier in your book, do it, man. Just do it. Don't don't get any validation, don't worry about, because I filmed this film just for my dad's service. But the people we shared it with said the world should see it. I still have not put it in a film festival yet. But I we we end up filming my dad's like three our our dad's last three weeks of life. And the things we got in that were just blessings. And that was my first film, Nathan's first film we directed and produced and put together ourselves. And it got me into one of the best schools. It got me actually accepted to USD, AFI, Chapman, LMU. I picked Chapman, and I got my TV and film produced and my my master's at Chapman. Um and so my so our dad is still helping us today, I feel. I really do feel that. Um, and I that's when I realized what story does. It it connects, it heals, it inspires. Because the the the theme in that film about showing up is everything, right? Jesus showed up for us, right? We showed up for our dad. Our dad showed up for us, you know. And and you know, you can't regret anything, but because I wanted validation, because I listened to other people, I didn't walk in their neck shells, I didn't film him certain times in a hospital, I didn't film him certain times in the house. And I'm telling you right now, there were miracles of sanctification right in front of our eyes, which no one thinks we can see. There were miracles of like God just doing just tangible miracles, which would have been great to show you know the public and especially the non-believers. We did get some really good footage, but because I didn't believe it 100%, it didn't happen the way I wanted to happen. However, I do believe in myself 100% now because God first believed in me. I do believe in my brother 100% because God first believed in him. I believe in you both 100%. So I'm telling you, do what you want with your stories, what you feel God's calling you to do. Because that is what brought us to here today. So, and and we were acting as in Stuntman prior to that, but we weren't storytellers or producers or anyone who could believe we could develop something. And we're here because of God and our dad today.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Amen. Thank you for sharing that. And come on, uh my my father uh he passed away last March 1st, uh uh uh cancer to spread, and and and so yeah, just seeing the deterioration and all the all the different tests and all the different ever everything that went through, I was like, I I've never seen like I thought I saw strong people before, but seeing all the infusions, all the things that went on, and never once said no, and then it was towards the end the end where it he was just like you know, let's let's just let this let this ride out. And uh and I I think that's part of why I'm I'm here uh to today with the the organization. We're right now a small nonprofit, but we have a mighty audience, which looking at numbers externally, it looks not like we do, but uh it's uh uh the the feedback that we've gotten and and and and David continues to uh just just push me and and and I continue to try to push him, like you mentioned. If there's something you want to do, you just gotta do it. And uh and thank you so much for for sharing that. Um you know, in the most vulnerable of states uh of uh you know human and and living and and and towards the end and at the end. And uh so yeah, I would I would echo you know what what what Todd what you you said and uh and and that's really how David and I connected was he went through a very I I can't even imagine the situation. I can only uh just listen to what what he went through and to have him step forward has shown me so much courage and and and strength. And uh just wanted to say thanks uh again to both you, Nathan and Todd and David, and all our viewers and listeners. You've heard me talk about this over and over again. Uh, but we uh we're here for a reason. We don't know how long we're gonna be here, uh like how many minutes, how many seconds, how many hours. And so let's just spend our time helping people and and and not the opposite is uh the way we go. So thank you, Nathan. Thank you, Todd, thank you, David, for facilitating this. We're gonna get this turned around ASAP, and we hope and uh we give all our all our prayers and energy uh to cudgel, to Sammy, to the both of you and anyone at any point that uh it comes on with the with the project that this is a very worthwhile project. There's lots of places people can send their money with the holiday season and others, but this is as real as it gets. It's as real as you know being a human being, and that's what we are. And uh I you know I have having not met you until uh this this evening, uh, I I can't think of you know two other uh individuals that I would want behind and running running the show with with this this project. And uh so please check out cudgelmovie.com. Uh do what you can now and consistently. And if the you know everything, even uh as uh Todd mentioned, if you're gonna text some some of your your buddies or your pals or relatives or colleagues or uh people that you know, uh that we we get surprised sometimes how how those turn into some uh some really really good uh outcomes. So thank you, viewers and listeners. Uh we love you. I have nothing but love and support, even our enemies that uh aren't on board with with us, that uh choose different paths. That's all okay. But we love you all the same as as humans, and we will see you on a future episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. So thank you all. Thank you. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Head Shot

Justin Alan Hayes

Host