By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor
Before he was at Fox News, Pete Hegseth was in foxholes.
Hegseth served three tours of duty in the U.S. Army prior to sitting on the network’s famous curvy couch as co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend,” a history that greatly impacts his faith and his view of the world.
The 40-year-old anchor told Faithwire about one instance in particular when — he believes — his mother’s trust in God kept him safe.
Hegseth recalled leading his platoon in an air assault raid in Baghdad, in search of an al Qaeda target, when an inexplicable calm overcame him. It wasn’t until a couple weeks later, he said, that his mother told him she “felt the need to drop to her knees and pray within the hour of the exact time of that mission,” a mysterious urging Hegseth doesn’t believe was coincidental.
“You quickly realize, especially when you’re in combat, that you’re only one bullet or one IED or one RPG away from Veterans Day turning into Memorial Day,” he said at another point, adding it’s “dumb luck” he didn’t lose his life during his tours of duty while so many other did.
Now home, Hegseth finds himself at the center of Fox News’ Memorial Day coverage.
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On Saturday, the host will present “Proud American: Tunnel to Towers Special,” focusing on the New York-based charity of the same name founded in honor of a first responder who lost his life on 9/11.
Hegseth will then helm “Modern Warriors: Reflections” on Sunday night, in which four U.S. veterans will give viewers an inside perspective into their time in the military, a show the host told Faithwire he’s “so grateful” to lead.
Fox News is also offering a year of free access to its streaming platform, Fox Nation, to all active U.S. military members and veterans. The offer is only available until Memorial Day, May 31.
Faithwire recently spoke with Hegseth about the Fox News special as well as his personal story. Some of his answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
A lot of people who watch you on Fox News might not know about your own service in the U.S. Army. Can you tell us a little about that?
I did the better part of 14-15 years, mostly in the National Guard in the Army as an infantry officer. I did three deployments. I can’t emphasize enough how much serving with the amazing men and women of the Army and military has shaped my life, and I’m just grateful for the opportunity to have served.
With Memorial Day in mind, how has your service in the military changed your view or perspective of the country?
First of all, for the country, it has only ripened my deep appreciation for how special America is. When you see other corners of the world, other ideologies, other systems, it makes you quickly realize — while every system is imperfect and everyone’s history is imperfect — America is a jewel and a blessing and a gift and we have hit the lucky lottery of life to have landed here by the grace of God. It increases my sense of responsibility and duty when I come home to continue to serve.
As far as Memorial Day, it ripens it because you quickly realize, especially when you’re in combat, that you’re only one bullet or one IED or one RPG away from Veterans Day turning into Memorial Day. And for me, it was an RPG that didn’t explode in the town of Samarra and, if it had, I wouldn’t be here right now. But for whatever reason, that day, it was a dud and it didn’t explode when it hit the Humvee right next to me. That’s dumb luck.
You realize that the men and women who didn’t come home, it is incumbent upon us to live worthy of their sacrifice. So I am just in awe and in reverence of those who gave everything and committed to trying to ensure, not just on Memorial Day but every day, that we honor that ultimate sacrifice.
Was there any moment during your time in the military that you ever thought, “What kind of mess have I gotten myself into?”
More than a few times. You step into a neighborhood or you round a corner on a street or you pursue somebody on foot in the middle of the night and you don’t know what’s around that next corner — and that’s where you lean on your brothers who are there with you, who are feeling the very same things and you lean on your training and, frankly, a little bit of peer pressure.
That’s why Memorial Day is so stark for people who served. You know that without the guys next to you, you couldn’t do a thing. They were willing to do it for you and you were willing to do it for them.
So many of those who have lost loved ones to combat lean on their faith. We’ve all heard the saying, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” How has your faith helped you in your military service?
The recognition that God has a plan and sometimes one we can’t see is definitely sharpened by the humbling experience of combat.
In one particular instance, I remember a night air assault raid that we did in Baghdad, where my platoon got inserted in Black Hawk helicopters and dropped in the wrong spot, had to make our way to the target house. It was one of my very first missions as a platoon leader, with night-vision goggles in unfriendly terrain, going to a known al Qaeda house. It didn’t go according to plan — no plan ever does.
I remember, though, feeling a sense of calm that I had no business feeling. I didn’t know why. And it wasn’t because I was G.I. Joe or anything like that. I just felt focused and in control of the situation as it was spiraling, and I didn’t know why.
A couple weeks later, I spoke to my mom on the phone and she told me — for whatever reason, I didn’t tell her about the mission — she said she felt the need to drop to her knees and pray within the hour of the exact time of that mission. I don’t know why she felt compelled to tell me, but she did, and, to me, it underscores the power and connection of prayer and I think that peace came from God and through the believing heart of my mother.
Why was it so important to you personally to be hosting this series of specials over the Memorial Day weekend?
I’m so grateful to be at a network that does right by Memorial Day, that sufficiently gives airtime to what it really means. This “Modern Warriors” special, it’s a series that we have done for a number of years now that is meant to broaden the conversation with post-9/11 veterans, because you can’t do justice to these men and women’s stories in a three-and-a-half minute segment.
So the “Modern Warriors” show is meant to get vets comfortable talking to other vets and get the real story. And maybe it’s not politically correct, maybe there’s some dark humor as you manage your emotions. But ultimately, there’s a lot of unvarnished truth and honesty that comes up, a lot of faith.
I think viewers connect to it because you don’t often get to sit in a room of guys of this caliber and hear them tell war stories and be honest about it.
The pandemic has changed and challenged people in a lot of ways. How has it changed your perspective of appreciating our military men and women?
It’s a recognition of how fragile our freedoms are, how quickly they can be erased for whatever rationalization or justification that maybe we didn’t vote for. In a sense, maybe it has awoken people’s reality of how fragile that really is, which is something you see on the battlefield as well.
I will not compare it to a deployment — it’s not. But one of the topics we talked about in “Modern Warriors” is what advice do vets have for everyday Americans coming out of COVID-19.
You’ve kind of come out of this bizarro world. How can you manage coming back into “normal life?” It’s totally different from being deployed with your unit to a battlefield and then coming home, but a lot of people have been shut in and away. What’s their advice to fortify people to re-embrace their former lives or getting back to normal. It’s an interesting conversation.
For families who have lost loved ones to combat and are still mourning and dealing with a lot of emotions that come with that, what is your message of encouragement and comfort to them?
We love you. We’re so grateful. We’re forever indebted to you.
I’m committed, as best I can, to honoring — fully understanding what Memorial Day is. It’s not Veterans Day. It’s not Armed Forces Day. It is to remember those who did not come home. The minute we forget them, we forget what the price of freedom really is.
I wear a bracelet on my wrist of Spc. Christopher Horton, who was killed in Afghanistan. I didn’t know him, but I got to know his widow, Jane Horton, very well. And, in honor of him, I wear it every day.
For me, every day is Memorial Day and I wanted to live that way: appreciating and recognizing how it was all purchased. I just think if you know of someone in your life who has experienced something like this, make sure they feel recognized on Memorial Day. Give them a call, reach out to them, tell them you love them and you appreciate them.
Sometimes it’s only time that heals. I’ve seen that firsthand, working with people who have lost loved ones. They just need to know that it’s appreciated and recognized and that their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
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