j.r. martinez is the grand marshal for this year's memorial day parade here in washington.h him about his service to our country and how he's making a difference in the lives of so many veterans. great to have you on the show today. thank you so much for joining us. i want to let you know that first of all i'm such a big fan of yours and you're a big inspiration to many people around the world. >> well, it's a pleasure to be able to be an example of what we all can accomplish if we believe and we don't give up and we embrace a positive attitude every single day and make the right choices. >> i know that operation finally home is really close to your heart and something that you really believe in. tell me why. >> when our troops come home, it's not just our service members that were overseas that have to adapt and our family members. one of the biggest things about the american dream is to be able to own a home and what operation finally home does is give them a key to that mortgage free custom home to service members who have been injured in iraq and afghanistan. that's jus

j.r. martinez is the grand marshal of this year's parade.t, of course a championship dancer as well. good to see you, sir. >> good to see you, too, man. thanks for having me on. >> did you ever think -- i'm familiar with your story. i know that in the days after that injury you sustained in 2003 where you were severely burned, those were dark days for you. those were days where you've talked openly about not wanting to live. and here you are tomorrow the grand marshal in this parade. how did you get here? >> just not quitting, not giving up. a lot of per severance, a lot o believing. in the end i believed in myself. i know that i can bring something to the table. although it's difficult for a lot of service members to come back and make a transition into civilian life, i received a couple of opportunities. when i got those opportunities, it was my moment to prove to them and myself and to everybody watching me that i can do this, and i was more than capable of it. for me ten years ago, i almost became, like a lot of service members, i almost

j.r. martinez, who joins us right now. you know him, of course, as being a hot dancer and all of that. big award and all of that. we know him as just a nice guy who overcame a hell of a lot to help his fellow heroes. j.r., how are you doing? >> i'm good, man. it's good to see you again. i always feel like you're the military guy that gives any a hard time. it's cool. it's all love. i'll take it with open arms. >> neil: as if i could give you a hard time. you'll be the grand marshal of this year's memorial day parade in washington, dc. that's a very big honor. you try to remind folks that wars might be controversial and come and go but the folks that fought them, we still have to look after them, don't we? >> absolutely. absolutely right. you have given me and a lot of military personnel the opportunity over the years to kind of share that message with your audience, and i thank you for that. that's what it is. we want to continue to remind people as they're enjoying another day off from work and they're going to open up a cold one and spend time at the pool with their friends or whatev

j.r. martinez will be here. up next "the ed show" with ed schultz. have a fantastic saturday night.d with new improved lithium and lithium plus batteries, you'll get a while lot more done in less time. plus, they'll improve the performance of every 18 volt tool we've ever made. now that's getting more power for your money. ryobi one plus. the one system that delivers more. available only one place. the home depot. this ryobi one+ drill and impact driver kit, now just $99. see, i knew testosterone could affect sex drive, but not energy or even my mood. that's when i talked with my doctor. he gave me some blood tests... showed it was low t. that's it. it was a number. [ male announcer ] today, men with low t have androgel 1.62% testosterone gel. the #1 prescribed topical testosterone replacement therapy increases testosterone when used daily. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or signs in a woman, which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in