I have the rare privilege of talking to my dad every night at 10 p.m. and hearing about what he did that day.

But one of the things I learned is that when you fight for something you believe in and you tell the truth and you do your best, you can always hold your head up high and no one can take that away from you.

You're blinded by lights and you see all these people who come out, and it's exciting. It's scary and it's exciting all rolled into one.

It was definitely a part of our life. I mean, my mom had both her brothers and her fiancee in Vietnam at the same time, so it wasn't just my dad's story, it was my mom's story too. And we definitely grew up listening to the stories.

I was very close to my mother, and her death, which left a gaping hole in my life, has been very difficult for me and my father in a lot of ways.

I, for one, am actually still incredibly idealistic, and I still can credibly or very strongly believe that you have to keep fighting for what you believe in, because it's only when you stop that you've truly lost.

We don't necessarily always agree, but hopefully we make each other think, and that's what matters.