Weapon Mishap Survivor interview-John 

Just wow. I'm in awe. The detail, the raw emotion, the memories. This man is a miracle and his story is literally amazing. He has lived a long full life against all odds and I'm so grateful to have heard his story. Be thankful for what you have. This man is unforgettable.

This is the type of story that has the possibility to completely change a person's outlook on life, I have nothing but respect and admiration for him, his family, and the people who saved him. I really hope things get better for him.

No drugs. No "daddy issues". No childhood abuse. Just a man with a story...could have been any one of us.

I love this man! I think he’s one of my favourites. I love his honesty, realness and vulnerability. That “mode” he is talking about is PTSD. I wish him so much love, happiness, strength, healing and peace. Cheers, from Country Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

Does he have a Modelo can in his photograph, but said he hasn't had a drink since Dec? I hope he finds peace with his situation.

Powerful story. I'd like to see him again. About his wife: He was drunk all the time, so verbally abusing her when he was drunk could have been most of the day, every day. It's also just incredibly draining to look after an alcoholic.

Alcohol..... The destroyer of lives.

Love him. Hope his wife sees this and at the least goes and talks with him and let him see his birds

There are certain people that have an innate ability to handle really serious experiences, like being blown up. It sounds like the alcohol got the better of him and he doesn't have a lot of fight left in him. His wife probably dealt with a lot, and it's too little too late at this point. A lot of damage has been done. Wishing them both healing. 🩵🩵 Mark, it's great to see the variety of guests you've been interviewing this year.

I’m 60 with 24/7 tinnitus for the past few years, like a screeching train in my head when I wake up, when I try to sleep and every moment day & night. After listening to John describe the ringing that has been with him since the explosion when he was 15, I have a newfound appreciation for the miracle of life, even with the hardships we must endure. God bless you John.🙏

WOW JOHN YOU ARE A HERO IN YOUR OWN RIGHT!!!!! AS I WAS WATCHING YOUR STORY I FELT SO EMPOWERED BY YOUR COURAGE TO NOT BE DEFEATED IN YOUR LIFE!!!!!!!!! WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!! ^_^!!!!

I’m just speechless. This is one of the rawest interviews I’ve ever seen and also one of my favorites. I hate that he is experiencing so much pain and loss after his wife leaving him, I can truly feel how sorry he is. Thank you, John, for sharing your story and thank you, Mark, for introducing the world to John!

They say time heals all wounds... but 55 years later, John can still feel the pain of that moment like it was yesterday.

He was 15 when this happened. This man has carried these emotions and scars for most of his life. Riveting story and kudos to John.

A person can suffer through many things including physical damage but a broken heart who can bear it.

Much love to this man. He has suffered in ways I can't imagine.

Such a heart wrenching story, full of raw emotion and this man reliving his horrific memories. Such a strong man, I wish him well

it’s 3:18 am in bc canada and i can’t sleep - grateful for the late night uploading mark ❤

Accountability sir… at his grown age to lose his wife over drinking one would realize that this man has had more times to change & chance after chance, but after 38 yrs his wife finally had it , I can probably guess that she’s not getting any younger & weighted out her options of her spending the last years of her life being in peace or continuing her misery of continuous episodes of being verbally abused by this man who is supposed to be her partner & leader…. Good for her for choosing her , and sir if u ever read this I’m telling u that u letting her go will hurt terribly but her being in peace without u should be the bigger picture if u truly ever loved her , she didn’t leave u over money or infidelities, she left after 38 years because of u & your choices, u had 38 years of her life and ultimately didn’t value her overall enough to do anything and everything not to lose her … I’m sure she stood by u when u were hurt & going through some of the toughest things u mentioned yet u beat her dwn mentally, sir I speak to u with respect as if that was my own mother and u my dad , leave that woman alone and go live your life and pick yourself up , dnt worry about her for now & let her be in peace … maybe if u do work on yourself she will see changes in you instead of hearing empty promises u made previously… but if she doesn’t ever come back around that fine as well, I’m sure she wants to see u ok no matter what at the end of the day. I hope u get it together and man up to your situation at hand and your own decisions moving forward. Good luck to u & no more drinks bro

Alcohol never fixes anything, only makes it worse. And yet he had so many reasons to turn to it. It breaks my heart for him to have had to deal with so much. I hope someone is around to help guide him thru these latter years. And praying his wife can heal from the toll or took on her and can at least find forgiveness enough to be there at least in case of emergencies.

John says he thought about suicide but "not right now", when you start to normalize the idea in your head it's a slippery slope, now its the time to get help I wish John the very best and he might find the light he needs

This is why unexploaded ordinance is so dangerous, id done the same as him going picking up that stuff.

This probably the hardest interview ive ever watched. You can he his such humble and kind hearted person. Incredible story, thank you gor sharing and may life bless you for humbleness.

Obviously we see why the wife wants a divorce and no contact. He wants a heart to heart and says she's full of hostility but it seems she can't deal or won't deal with it all anymore. That's 38 years but we don't know how bad it was.

This is very similar to my husbands story.. he will be 69 in 2 weeks. His uncle brought home stuff from the war .. had it in the attic. He and siblings went up in attic and found things. He and his brother were throwing so they found back and forth.. ended up being a grenade of some sort. It landed on the sidewalk and blew. He lost his leg, stomach was blown out.. lungs would have to be drained daily. He was in a unit in Augusta Georgia for months. His brother lost a toe . The explosion blew all the windows out of the house and church across the street. My husband is one of the strongest people I have ever known.. ended up being a vice president of a Coca Cola for 27 years. He has had a prosthetic since 8 years old. I have never heard him complain…sad part is his parents had no insurance.. as he ages the stump is shrinking and has had a bit more issues with his leg fitting.. never complains.

I feel bad for this guy tbh. I used to cut bullets and shotgun shells open when i was younger, luckily never got hurt in the process unless i cut a finger or something small. Hopefully he beats the depression because he has people in his life still and he looks pretty damn healthy for his age.

I'm German too and know exactly what you're talking about John! My heart goes out to you but try cannabis and AVOID ALCOHOL....please. It is SO toxic, so are women sometimes but we know this too! The system is falling apart but YOU are keeping your $hit together in spite of all the things you have experienced. Hang with us John, we're here and we need each other to stay strong. You are a tough dude so we all KNOW you can do whatever you choose to do. Thank you for sharing your life with us!

So he hasn't had any alcohol since December, yet he has a Modelo can in his wheelchair. There's more to his story however he was clearly done talking.

What a story teller.. Could listen for hours to him. Someone mentioned he has a Philly accent and indeed he does. What a life, what a man.

He could easily pass as 50.

7:41am getting off from a 12hr backshift and this is the perfect listening material, what a story. Thanks

I’ve watched almost all of Mark’s interviews on here and this one by far is the most gut wrenching of them all. I hope and pray his wife comes around for him.

The man says if it wasn’t for the army medics he would’ve died. He clearly cried out to God while heading to the pits of hell for being an atheist, but yet he still doesn’t give our Father credit. I left my body at 9yrs of age while hospitalized. I’ve seen a small part of Heaven and hell. Both are very real. We don’t die. Mark my words! Keep disbelieving, see where you find yourself after you leave your body!

💕💕 I hope he has a quicker healing process!! My mother is a BTK amputee…we figured it was 12/29/15 when my mom fell in her bathroom…figured she hit the bathtub…shattered her femur which cut the circulation of blood. Her arm was stuck under her, she said she’d pass out with pain every time she tried to get her arm out. She had laid there for 3 days before we realized…no one had heard from her. They tried everything to save her leg…1st with an external rod to straighten the femur bone, that was cutting the blood flow. After 3 days it wasn’t working…so they took her into surgery to place an internal rod from hip to knee. Then they tried cutting up both sides of her calf(fascia) to get flow to her foot…after another few days, you could see that too was not working & was starting to rot! Then the prognosis was BTK amputation 😔 She was on propofol(“Michael Jackson’s milk”) for about 2wks…she/her body felt pain but she doesn’t remember ANYTHING! She also lost her thumb, the circulation was cut off to her arm as well, when she was on the floor…that was quite disturbing to watch…it took about 30days to “demarcate” before they took her into surgery to amputate the thumb. 😔 She spent a month & half in hospital and a month & half in rehab. We found her on New Year’s Day of 2016…I never went back to work & have been taking care of her since! She just turned 82 this month & many ailments later 😔 I guess watching this gentleman break down 🥹 I guess I felt compelled to tell her story because that is something I have never seen my mom do after all this…WE all have cried MANY times! I’ve spoke with family, expressing my concerns…it’s OK to cry, it’s OK to get angry, it’s OK to be depressed/sad…I didn’t want her to hold it in all the time 😔 but here we are almost 8yrs later!! I just want to hug him!! 💕 I wish him the best!!

Heartbreaking story, this man is tough inside to survive an accident when he was a kid. He deserves much better support and help. hope he finds his way I hope he is able to come out on top.

Stationed in Okinawa now with a two year old son. This hits home. Unexploded ordinance are still found here on a weekly to monthly basis.

Timely Sirens in the background … fading. Apropos, into the abyss. Moving testimony. Thank you.

Wow that is a horrific thing to happen. Just have to say how proud I am of him. He really has had to go through a lot. So sorry about his divorce.

How sad

Best wishes John, keep trying. I'm sure you could give talks to people on your experiences. You are very interesting. Going around the schools maybe?

I haven’t had a drink since December… beer is in his wheelchair. And that’s not me being a hater. This guy is great. Not an abnormal occurrence for an addict.

One of the forgotten casualties of WW2 from millions of undetonated bombs, mines, grenades and mortars. So many people have continued to be victims of WW2 even long after it supposedly ended.

This is just a great story. He reminds me of my Daddy. He lost his leg but never had any problems with learning to walk he just got up and done it. I say God bless this man..and thank him for all that he has gone through to tell us about his life. I pray for him to walk again soon for him to come back to himself! Just amazing story😢

Alcohol is a Demon man! “Devils water” as I heard an old lady call it when I was young. And it’s true! I went for 44 years not drinking. After a hard, toxic and roller coaster ride of marriage ended for me in 2013, I started drinking here and there on weekends. Weekends turned into every afternoon. 6-packs grew to 18 packs, case of beer. It really does take control of you. Wishing this guy much success in turning things around!

So sad to see him relive the trauma of that terrible day, and all the other things that happened. Looks like the drinking didn't help either....

Amazing story and an amazing man but I will say my verbally abusive alcoholic ex had me considering suicide. People don’t realise how verbal abuse can affect you. My ex still doesn’t understand what he was doing wrong and he never will. He’s still boozing too, he won’t give it up.

My heart breaks for John. His honesty and raw pain is both admirable and palpable. I pray that his wife sees that he has changed for the better and that they can somehow reconcile. 38 years is a long time to just throw away a marriage! May the Lord bless him and convict his heart to seek Him. He is the only way, the truth, and the life eternal. 🙏✝️

I feel for this man he strong as fuck if I went through sum like this I don’t think I could be a strong as he a real trooper

John has so much PTSD....i feels so sad for him. There's hope, John...there really is. You've come this far, don't give up. Please.

One of my favorite interviews, Mark. As real and as powerful as it gets!

I'm going through a divorce myself and your story brought me to tears. 6 months ago, my father died, after a long and painful fight and he died in my arms. Then a month later, I got breast cancer, 2 months after that my partner of 21 years left me and went to the Philippines for 2 months, 3 days before my radiation treatments. Then on my last day of radiation, my sister went missing and made national news (Tracie Shoe). Through this shitshow of how my life has been lately, the divorce is the worst. I connected with you about that and it's probably why I'm typing through my tears. Good luck! I hope your wife can forgive you (as well as forgive yourself).

He needs to get help. For the divorce. Dont self medicate. It's being alone after 38years thats going to kill him. But she's not coming back. When this happens, it kills a little more inside of you each day until you become bitter and resentful. It will take time for both of them to heal. What a story. Thanks for sharing. Mark I need more . And how's Ray and the family?

@17:52 Divorce did not happen "right away." That trauma as a teenager colored every facet of your existence, John. Including the 38-years of marriage.

Best interview ever. Been there--drinking and my gf of 10 years left me. I just want to give this guy a hug.

Jesus this guy is evoking a feeling in me. That’s uncommon. He’s so raw. So vulnerable. Holy shit.

I wonder if he could get involved with a program that helps veterans with PTSD. I think the benefits could flow both ways.

Theres going to be more stories like this in the future because of the use of cluster munitions.

What an Inspiration for everyone that had a hard life ..definetly one of my favorites in your channel mark.i wish him nothing but happiness🙏

Such a kind soul getting on in his years. Fighting demons like all of us and such a strong willed man.

Brave ass man. And here are all of you complaining about your life and here this man is persevering. None of you ever can make any type of justification towards your whining and complaining anymore. Not after watching this interview. There’s no excuse with making it in life and succeeding after watching this video.

Who knew using a hacksaw on unused ordnance would be a bad idea?

Its these stories that make me so thankful and humbled his determination to be independent is an inspiration

I'm a little confused. Is he claiming he is sober? What about the beer can in his wheelchair? Did i miss something?

He looks 25 yrs younger than he actually is 😮 That's what staying in good health will do for you. Awesome interview SWU

Sorry this hapenned to John as a child. It is a taste of America's medicine. Those shells and munitions were brought to Japan by Americans and were meant to explode on Japanese people - John's dad's career.

This guy looks every bit of 70+

Hay Mark u should do life after death experiences, there should be allot of experiences from all the people with problems. From all of testimonies there is allot of incredible and believable stories

Dude needs to come to terms with the trauma he suffered as a kid... AND forgive himself, not his fault... Just plain old bad luck. I wish him the best.

My Heart goes out to him !! My Thoughts and Prayers are with him 🙏 ❤

Haven’t slept all night what a treat for this download at 6 EST in the morning. Time to listen thank you for your consistency!❤ Here goes!

Just a glimpse at what our veterans have dealt with only to come back to an ungrateful country that gives them terrible to no care. Btw, there is a God and this gentleman got another chance at life and another chance to choose this time to not spend eternity in hell.

this mans father was of that time. Did not think about comforting his son, just the facts. It still kills him that his dad was so blunt.

I agree with others, not once does he mention any mental treatment for what he went through. I think it would help.

John: Thank you for sharing your story - unimaginable terror. Your incredible courage and strength leaves us in awe ..... Mark: John is 70, looks 70 ... false compliments only deter from the presentation. Stay real.

He lived a productive life after the accident, you can blame him for any setbacks, I wish him☮️

what's telling is the Modelo tall boy perched on his wheelchair, in his B&W portrait. he hasn't stopped drinking. he's a sweet-faced man & it aids his "innocence", but i feel like he could benefit from some serious therapy. he needs to own that "verbal abuse" of his wife instead of claiming it's not like him. perhaps if he could take counseling to heart & take responsibility for his part in the marriage failing, maybe his wife would listen to him & let him see his birds. there's a bit of denial going on that needs to be addressed before any sort of healing of his relationship with his wife can occur. i wish john strength & the open-mindedness to be truly honest with himself about himself. please don't give up, john, you can rise above all of this. you've got this, with some professional help, you've got this.

"I made some close friends and they are all here in my heart" beautiful person.

This poor guy is so traumatized. He's so lucky to be alive.

YOUR pain is real my heart breaks i am sure this has been a long long nightmare I am wondering if your open to thereapy??? I know ptsd is real I can tell you are mad as you should be you were just a young man GIVE YOURSELF GRACE!!!!

You’ve survived against tremendous odds. Don’t let this woman do you in !

This guy is fighting severe PTSD. A freak accident that still produces this much emotion, from that long ago, has not been dealt with… His biggest fear is being alone… I hope he gets the help he needs to put the demons to bed… God bless you sir..

John, is an extremely honest man with a gut wrenching horrific life experience alcohol is never a friend or a fixer. Understand the nature of his use when you have tinnitus it never stops for a second can drive you mad I have it so I can sympathize with the issue. To be with out his wife is destroying him once a woman makes up her it’s generally over with my op. Sadly

Every tongue shall call the name Jesus!

Listening to this man talk about divorce....i remember this kinda pain going thru mine. For us men that do desire family, divorce takes a lot out of us

He's rocking a modelo in his cup holder 👍

This guy seems pretty sharp.. he could probably find legitimate employment.

A Beautiful Man God Bless you John.Your Story was ❤breaking. Wishing you always the best. Hugs and love 💕 from Seattle Januari❤ 13:18 You will walk again I know you will. Never give up.❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

John, I’m so sorry for your divorce. I can see why losing your wife was more difficult than losing your legs. When we get married our spouse becomes a part of us. You were attached to your wife over twice as long as you were your legs when you lost them. What a terrible mourning. Perhaps time will help heal her wounds. In the meantime, continue in sobriety and also please give consideration to the sobering fact that when you die you will go one of two places; up or down. And you’ll spend the rest of eternity there. Can you say with certainty where you’re going? Are you going to heaven? Most people would say that they’ve been good enough to get into heaven. Would you pass the test? Let’s take a quick look! 1. How many lies have you told in your whole life? 2. Have you ever stolen anything no matter how little the value? 3. Ever had lust for someone who wasn’t your spouse or sex outside of marriage? 4. Ever used the Lord’s name in vain (like OMG)? These are just a few of the 10 Commandments and if you answered yes to these questions that would make YOU like the rest of US. And being judged by GOD’S standards, would you be innocent or guilty? Heaven or hell? The 10 Commandments are God’s moral law and we’ve all broken them. The Bible says the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) which means we have all EARNED death (hell). But the free gift of God is eternal life. God wants to see you in heaven (1 Timothy 2:4) and because of God’s love for you, he has provided a way to heaven (Romans 5:8). He sent his son Jesus Christ to pay our penalty. Jesus lived a sinless life, died on the cross for our sins (1 John 2:2) and rose bodily from the grave three days later defeating death, giving us life. Jesus took the punishment we deserve on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). If we believe and put our trust in Him, we too can have eternal life in heaven (Acts 16:31). Repent (which means turn from your sins and not live the life of a hypocrite) and TRUST Jesus today! A great place to begin reading the Bible is the gospel of John, found between Luke and Acts. Don’t make the same mistake I used to make and think that God will “know your heart” and that “you’re basically a good person” and He’ll give you a pass. It’s like this: a guy robs a bank and a few years down the road gets caught and then he stands in court and tells the judge, “judge I promise not to rob any more banks and I’m contributing to society now. I feed the homeless and give to charities and help little old ladies across the street…”. The judge is going to tell him good for you, you should be doing good things in society and not robbing banks but I’m still sending you to prison because you have to pay the penalty for your crime. It will be the same for us at judgement with God. The good things we do will not erase the sins we’ve committed. Our sentence will be according to our crimes and we won’t make it to heaven on our account. It’s all of Jesus and none of us. “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭6‬

Very irresponsible for our military to leave that ordinace scattered in the ocean like that. Tragic

Amazing story. Best to you John

Oh John you are a dear sweet man thank you for your story!!♥️🙏🎈 You will walk again, don’t give up!!❤

John, I'm very sorry about what happened to you. But I would like to try to cheer you up with a little message. I live in the middle between Hamburg, Hanover and Bremen, where I also grew up. I'm 41 now and just managed to go to Switzerland for 3 years to work and "see something of the world". Unfortunately, it was only enough to go to Hungary, Finland and Denmark to go on vacation. After you mentioned that you eventually went back to the USA or emigrated, I can only give you my personal conclusion that you did everything right. You are missing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING here 😁 You're also the first person I've heard speak so positively about Germany. I know, for example, that I will never be able to fly to the USA again in this lifetime, which of course would be an absolute dream. And without wanting to sound cynical, I can safely say it could be much, much, much worse when I see what is happening in many other parts of this world and how many many other people are living or trapped in/on it.. I wish you all the best for the future and a lot of strength ❤👋✌

I'm 66. Flip of the coin, could have been me. Except I don't think I would have understood how important it would have been to walk again. Smart dude. He has a perfect fine chance to blame his Dad, but didn't. Smart. Ringing in the ears combined to sleep getting harder anyways as we age, yeah, bad. Self-medicating. First time I was divorced thought about ending it, but decided to go fishing first. Then was fine. Second divorce at 60. Yeah they should at least change vows to be a little more realistic..."For as long as I feel like it. In sickness I'm gone." I'm so lucky. Selling my Phoenix house and moving to SE Asia. Maybe find a good young attractive wife, maybe even have kids. Crazy that option is available to me. Wish John could move on from the divorce. Can't really blame the wife because it's a human thing. We like to think people are capable of great caring, but most are nowhere close to being able to pull that off. It was a fantasy and now it's time to live in reality.

Thank You for sharing Your story John 🙏💖 it is very powerful and full of strength through adversity and wisdom 🌟🦉I admire Your honesty in talking about alcoholism and I hope that You can mend things with Your wife 🤞🙏💜 Bless You 🙏💗✌️ As always, Thank You Mark 🙏💝

Men listen to this... Never get married

That's an explosive ordinance mishap, not a weapons mishap.

Youth is wasted on the young, as they say. Kids do stupid things and often have disastrous results. Reminds me of when I was 15 and met this 15YO kid who had a hook for a hand. I asked him what happend and he said he climbed over the fence at a high-voltage fenced off substation to retrieve a Frisbee and got his hand fried off. We've all done dumb things as kids. It's a miracle that most of us survived. I pray for this man to find peace and joy in the Lord. 🙏

There are so many things i would've said and asked him during the interview.

You are a lovely man John. I hope you find peace.

If anybody deserves to have a drink or stay drunk all the time at 70 and his goddamn wife not take the easy way out it is this cat right here.