The following speech that former United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient Kyle Carpenter gives in the clip below is almost a half hour long, but upon watching it, somehow it feels like two minutes. It’s so engrossing, so fascinating, so moving that you find yourself getting lost, in both his words and details, but also the surrounding subtleties.

For one, his bravery and how he managed to somehow survive after falling on a grenade to save the life of a fellow Marine while serving in Afghanistan. But then upon processing this, you begin to realize that he’s talking to a crowd of people his own age, who are going to school with him at the University of South Carolina, but are mere babes to what he’s witnessed and withstood. Combine this with the fact that he’s speaking to them to inspire them to play a sport — a trivial game with, unlike the battlefield, no significant consequences — is a whole other boggle .

Funny thing is though, as you’ll see, Mr. Carpenter is fazed by none of these particulars.

Most humans fear public speaking with a terror normally reserved for darkness, but Kyle stands in front of a large crowd and orates like a seasoned senator. Like a man proud of himself, what he stands for and what he’s done.

Give it a play. It’ll not only lift your spirits, but you’ll learn a thing or two.

It’s hard evidence of what our heroes — our real heroes — can do and have done for all of us …