18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY october 24-30, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com Two retired soldiers from different cultures and generations are now fast friends on a new mission. By Pam Marino Blood Brothers Changiz Lahidji and Steve McCullough grew up on opposite sides of the planet—Lahidji in Iran, McCullough in Los Angeles County. Lahidji was raised in the Zoroastrian faith, McCullough is the son of a Baptist minister. Lahidji is always happy and laughs easily, McCullough is more serious. An entire generation separates them—Lahidji is 74, McCullough 54. They have two very important aspects in common: Both are retired U.S. Army soldiers who went through similar training and fought in similar regions and both share a love of all people. Each has survived perilous battle situations—Lahidji as a Green Beret in on Special Forces A-Teams in the 1980s and 1990s and then as a military contractor, McCullough as a rapid deployment combat engineer after graduating from West Point in 1992 until he was nearly killed in a bomb blast in 2002, leaving him permanently disabled and suffering from traumatic brain injury and severe post-traumatic stress disorder. It was a chance meeting at the Ord Community Commissary in Seaside earlier this year that brought the two Pacific Grove residents together, when Lahidji suggested McCullough read his 2018 autobiography, Full Battle Rattle, written with author Ralph Pezzullo, detailing Lahidji’s childhood in Iran, his 24 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces and 12 years as a military contractor. McCullough listened to the audiobook immediately after the meeting, amazed that they had attended the same Army schools and fought in some of the same hot spots. “We’ve been running around, getting into trouble ever since we met,” McCullough says. “We call each other blood brothers.” The brothers are now on a new mission, to bring more awareness to Lahidji’s autobiography and find someone willing to make a documentary about his extensive combat career, as well as to spread the word that immigrants like Lahidji are a vital part of the fabric that makes the U.S. strong. The mission is important, but maybe more important is the friendship that bolsters the two men as they face challenges. McCullough has taken on the role of protector and champion for Lahidji. Lahidji helps bring some peace and joy to McCullough’s challenging life as a disabled veteran. “He’s a very happy man,” McCullough says of his friend. “He’s seen it all and done it all, and unfortunately my head was injured in such a way that I don’t get much dopamine or serotonin, so I rarely smile—except when I’m around my wife and daughters.” Photos by Daniel Dreifuss
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