Reminiscing about SGT Steven DeLuzio and Bubble Gum

[Explicit Content Warning] This is part 2 of my talk with Wes Black. If you haven’t listened to part 1, go check that out now. You really don’t want to miss that one. In this episode, we pick up where we left off and begin by talking about my brother Steven. Wes was on the mission that Steven was killed on, so he opens up about how that mission went. Wes and I also share some light hearted stories about Steven that are sure to get a laugh. If you knew my brother, you’d know that it’s hard to tell a story – even one about his death – without there being a funny story involved. Transcript Scott DeLuzio:    00:02    Hey everybody, this is the Drive On Podcast where we talk about issues affecting veterans after they get out of the military. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio and now let’s get on with the show. Scott DeLuzio:    00:14    This is Part 2 of a two-part episode with Wes Black.  Part 1 came up last week and if you haven’t listened to that episode yet, go ahead and give it a listen, too. In that episode we talked a bit about Wes, his military career and some medical issues that he had stemming from his service. Our conversation lasted for well over two hours and I didn’t want to cut out anything from our conversation so I decided to break it out into two parts. And so, in this episode we’re going to talk about my brother, Steven and tell some funny stories and also some serious stories about combat and the circumstances surrounding his death and other things that went on during his life. So, without further delay, let’s get on with the second part of this episode. Scott DeLuzio:    01:00    We talked a little bit about, how you guys met at Norwich [University].  You said you had already been in the guard. You already went to basic training at the point where you met him.  Were you one of the guys who talked him into joining the guard or, Wes Black:    01:21    So I was not, I was not one of the guys that talked Steve into joining. Steve at the first time I met Steve was actually at a drill weekend and it was Halloween weekend and it was like a MUDA4, so, it was a Saturday, Sunday non-remain overnight. And so, Saturday night we got cut loose. And so, because I had been in the unit for a little over a year, I knew to bring civilian clothes to the drill. Because if we got released, we’d go out into Burlington and raise hell. And so, it’s Halloween night. Right? And Steve looks at me and he’s like, Bro, I don’t have any clothes. I don’t have any civilian clothes. Because at the time he was a freshman at Norwich, so freshmen aren’t allowed according to the Rook, you’re not allowed to have civilian clothes. Wes Black:    02:07    You could if you were in the guard. But Steven only recently just come to drill and didn’t know the rules. And so, I said, I was like, fuck it man. It’s Halloween. Like, just tell everybody you’re a soldier. At the time it was 2004 and I was like, just tell everybody you’re a fucking soldier. Everybody loves fucking soldiers. I mean, we’re fucking heroes, man. Just fucking go as a soldier. So, he says, all right, so we go downtown, right? And I’m in civilian clothes. I think I had stopped and grabbed a stupid mask or something at one of the Halloween party stores. So, we’re downtown in Burlington eating pizza and drinking beer at, oh, what was it? Manhattan pizza or Mr. Mix or something like one of the pizza shops. Wes Black:    02:53   I had actually scratched my ID, the back of my military ID because I was born in 1985. I had scratched it where the five connects down to the bottom, I scratched away that side. And then on the other side I scratched it so it looked like a three and then used the sharpie to color it in like a fine point Sharpie. So, I actually had an ID that said I was like two or three years older than I really w...