A Marine’s Final Conversation with His Father
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, a Marine sits beside his dying father, a tough, no-nonsense veteran who refuses treatment and faces death on his own terms. Wanting one last moment of connection, the son asks for something simple: to hear the words “I love you.” What followed was not what he expected.
Our regular contributor, Bob McClellan, shares the story of his father’s final days and the realization that love is not always spoken, but shown.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.3 | Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. |
| 0:07.7 | Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand |
| 0:11.8 | new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. |
| 0:15.5 | Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the |
| 0:20.3 | biology of taunons and wampas |
| 0:22.2 | on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. |
| 0:28.4 | Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:44.3 | Ooh, yeah. your podcasts. This is our American stories, and we bring you stories of all kinds from the arts to sports |
| 0:49.7 | and from business to history. |
| 0:51.5 | And now it's time for the McClellan files, where we go deep inside the |
| 0:55.7 | life of Bob McClellan. Bob is one of our favorite features on the show, bringing us stories |
| 1:02.4 | about his own life, love, loss, comedy, tragedy, and success. Today, Bob brings us a tragedy, |
| 1:10.8 | the death of his father. |
| 1:12.8 | My father's doctor called to schedule a biopsy of lung tissue that they suspected might be lung |
| 1:17.9 | cancer. Since his lungs were in such poor condition, due to his emphysema, they wanted to use |
| 1:23.7 | surgery and come in through the back to obtain more tissue, to be sure. |
| 1:32.1 | This news finally penetrated the veneer of his indifference to his health, |
| 1:36.3 | and I heard the anxiousness in his voice when he called for me to come up to the hotel, |
| 1:37.9 | to talk to him about it. |
| 1:42.6 | His concern was compounded by the request to do it the very next morning. |
... |
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