Memorial Day isn’t a slogan, and it isn’t a “happy” holiday. We want it to be a real pause, the kind that remembers names, families, and the price that was paid so the rest of us could live ordinary lives in freedom. That’s why we sit down with Colonel Kevin Bouren, a West Point graduate, career Army officer, and combat commander, to talk about loss, service, and what meaningful remembrance should look like for civilians who want to do more than post online.

Kevin also shares the stunning turn his own military career took during the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. He explains why he refused the shot, the medical concerns he says were documented, and what it meant to be separated from the Army after 25 years in uniform. We talk informed consent, the ethics of coercion, and the ripple effects on families, careers, and identity when a service member is forced to choose between conscience and a paycheck.

Then we dig into what changed and what’s happening now: Kevin’s return to service and his role leading the COVID Reinstatement and Reconciliation Task Force, an effort focused on correcting records, restoring rank where appropriate, and pursuing reinstatement with back pay and benefits for those unlawfully separated across the services. We close by coming back to Memorial Day with practical guidance you can use today, including how to support Gold Star families and military spouses with tangible help and the simple gift of listening.

If this conversation helps you think clearer about Memorial Day, military service, and the COVID mandate fallout, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one way you’ve learned to honor the fallen with more than words?

Support the show