(Completed 12/21/18) Transcript by Rev.Com Page 1 of 16
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Derek Coy: My best friend was killed by gun violence- Gabe Ramos: Wow. Derek Coy: ... when I was 19. This happened, ironically enough, September 11th, 2004. Gabe Ramos: This is Sit Rep, the New York City Department of Veteran Services podcast, where we aim to inform and inspire by bringing you the stories of New York City veterans, military service members, their families, and civilian supporters. I'm your host, Gabe Ramos, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and deputy press secretary here at DVS. Gabe Ramos: On today's episode, we hear from Marine Corps veteran Derek Coy. Derek is an absolute rockstar in the veteran and advocacy space. He's used his passion for service at organizations like the ACLU, the Doe Fund, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. We'll chat about some of the formative experiences that led him to military service in the first place, and ultimately the decision to pursue college afterwards. You'll hear him talk about making the transition from his hometown in Texas to New York City, and how he considers the Big Apple the best place in the world to be a veteran. Enjoy the show. Gabe Ramos: All right, so we are here with Derek Coy. Derek Coy is the veterans' health officer at New York State Foundation. He's a Marine Corps veteran. He's had positions at the Doe Fund, the ACLU, IAVA, and most of all, he's just a really good-looking dude and a great dude. Derek Coy: I appreciate that. Gabe Ramos: I'm really happy to be sitting across from him, and really happy to have you here. Derek, welcome. Derek Coy: Thanks for having me, man. I appreciate this. Gabe Ramos: Let's just kick this off. Just tell us a little bit about yourself and then we'll take it from there. Derek Coy: Yeah, man. Originally I grew up in Texas, right outside of Houston. I followed in my pop's footsteps. He was a Marine. His dad was a Marine. It was something I'd always wanted to do. I ended up enlisting when I was 19. Did four years in the Marine Corps. Did a year- long pump in Iraq, another year-long pump on the USS Essex, traveling all over southeast Asia. That was amazing. Got out and I used my ... which was still ... I think it was the old Montgomery GI Bill, whatever it was. I'm dating myself here but whatever. Gabe Ramos: What year was that? Derek Coy: '08, '09, before like the new one kicked in. Gabe Ramos: Yeah. That was right before the new one. SITREP_EP04_FINAL_20181220_105629 (Completed 12/21/18) Page 1 of 16 Transcript by Rev.com Derek Coy: Yeah, yeah. For sure. Gabe Ramos: Okay. Derek Coy: I wrapped up my undergrad at the University of Houston, and then I had the new post- 9/11 GI Bill after that, or enough left over, so I moved to New York to go to grad school at City College and study history there. I got really involved in the veteran committee, nonprofit committee in general, more specifically in the veterans' space. I've been here for eight years now. Gabe Ramos: Awesome. There's a lot there. You fast-forwarded through pretty much from birth to [inaudible 00:02:28], so let's take you back. Your old man was a Marine? Derek Coy: Yeah. Gabe Ramos: Who else in your family served? Derek Coy: Quite a few people. My dad and his brother, they're a year apart, but actually joined together. They went to boot camp together and all that stuff, so I always heard all these really cool stories about them serving. Both my grandfathers were World War Two vets. One was a Coastie. The other was Marine Corps as well, so always had that tradition. Actually, my dad's uncle [inaudible 00:03:00] but I guess my great-uncle, Roy P. Benavidez, he received a Medal of Honor in Vietnam, Green Beret, really bad-ass dude. Give that guy [inaudible 00:03:07]. He's pretty amazing. There's always been ... I think what we're learning now statistically, that warrior caste, it's kind of like that system that you're raised in. So yeah, quite a few members. I've got a cousin. A cousin of mine joined right after I did. My dad's [inaudible 00:03:24]. Gabe Ramos: So it's very much a part of your upbringing, your DNA, would you say? It's pretty prevalent? Derek Coy: For sure. Not in a pushy way, though. You know what I mean? It's not like, "You're going to graduate high school, then you're going to the military" in general let alone the Marine Corps. It was actually kind of the opposite. My pop was always like, "Hey man, obviously all of us did this, but you should go to school. None of us went to school. I wish that's something I'd went." Of course, you never learn to your parents. You do the exact opposite. Gabe Ramos: Had he pushed you toward the Marine Corps or the military- Derek Coy: I'd have ran so far away, yeah. Gabe Ramos: You would have gone to med school. Derek Coy: For sure, man. Whatever the exact opposite of the Marine Corps is, which might be college, I guess. SITREP_EP04_FINAL_20181220_105629 (Completed 12/21/18) Page 2 of 16 Transcript by Rev.com Gabe Ramos: Yeah, I think probably. Jarhead's [inaudible 00:04:06]. Derek Coy: For sure. Yeah, man, so probably so, but it was definitely the appeal of, "Why don't you want me to do this? I kind of want to prove ..." So it definitely had that influence on me growing up. Gabe Ramos: So, you enlisted. Was it right out of high school? Derek Coy: No. I tried. I made an honest effort to try to listen to my dad's advice. I went to community college for three semesters, in the literal sense that I was doing whatever I needed to be enrolled. I was a server at a Mexican restaurant and making good money, so I was like, "Oh, college." I don't know. I just wasn't very ambitious ever, especially at that age. I didn't know what to do, so I thought, "As long as I keep one foot in college, something will pop up, and it'll make sense." I enlisted when I was 19. I turned 20 in boot camp, so had a little gap there. Gabe Ramos: Even there, you were one of the older kids in boot camp. Derek Coy: It felt like it. You wouldn't think that that would make that big of a difference, but definitely I felt like I was older, almost being 20 when there were people that were 17 and 18. Gabe Ramos: Yeah. I remember going in. I enlisted the summer of my junior year from my senior high school. All senior year, I knew that as soon as I got my diploma, I was heading out. I graduated in May. In July, I was in Parris Island. I remember being 17 or 18 years old, and the 20, 21-year-olds that were there, we looked at them like they were old guys, like they were old men. Derek Coy: Yeah, for sure. Gabe Ramos: There was somebody who was 23 years old. We were like, "Who's this [inaudible 00:05:34]?" Derek Coy: Yeah. No, absolutely, man. Yeah, just those few years definitely made me feel that way. I want say it gave me an edge or anything, but it gave me a little perspective. Gabe Ramos: You had a little bit more maturity. Derek Coy: Yeah. I'd say I was less immature- Gabe Ramos: As much as you could have. Derek Coy: ... is probably a better way. I wouldn't consider myself mature at that time, or even now. That's a different story, but yeah, definitely a little different, a little different perspective. SITREP_EP04_FINAL_20181220_105629 (Completed 12/21/18) Page 3 of 16 Transcript by Rev.com Derek Coy: That history, my culture that I grew up in, was always there, but I always questioned whether I had what it took to be a Marine. In particular, I thought about maybe one of the other branches. How could I serve? I didn't feel like I had it in me. I always felt like ... My dad's my hero. I look up to him, and I'm like, "Man, I'm not like you, I don't think. I'm going to boot camp, and they're going to kill me. I'm going to die in boot camp. I'm not even going to make it to the fleet." Gabe Ramos: Because there's so much, the prestige and all the aura that's associated with the few, the proud, being a Marine. Derek Coy: Yeah, for sure. Gabe Ramos: It's very much this constant questioning. Do I have what it takes? Do I have what it takes? Even once you're in boot camp and once you get to EGA, it's still like, "I've earned this, but did I really earn it?" Derek Coy: Yeah, I know. For sure. Gabe Ramos: It's very much ... Yeah, I totally identify with that. I feel like even when I was in the Marines, after boot camp, after combat training, checking into my first unit, it was very much ..