Category: suicide

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Transcending from the military is Often Tough

Today I am just going to talk to you. I have been sharing military news, and now I am sharing with you directly.

What is happening in your life? Do you have times that you are depressed.? Are there times you wish you could just stay in bed all day? How about your daily routine? Do you avoid projects, because you fear failure?

There is much more of course, but I think you get the picture.

When we transcend from military life to civilian life, things can be very tough. People don’t understand you. They think you are still a soldier and some fear you. Finding work is a challenge. Your training does not fit most jobs.

If you are there I hear you.

When I first go out, I got a job as a grocery clerk. Not a job you really want to brag about, but my cousin got me the job and I was grateful. It was with Pigglly Wiggly, the grocery change with a funny name.

I decided I needed to get back to college, and get a degree. I had one term at George Fox College, and even played on the college football team. I was feeling good again.

The drive from Salem, Oregon to Newberg, Oregon was about a 40 mile drive each way.

One day early in the morning I was driving to school. It was cold and slippery and there was black ice. (Ice you can’t see.) I hit a patch of the ice and I was out of control. I hit a deep ditch that had water in it. I rolled several times. When the car stopped I was just above water. I was in pain, but I crawled out to safety.

My car was totaled and I had to quit college because I couldn’t afford getting a new car and paying for college at the same time.

I felt defeated, alone, and depressed.

I finally packed my family up and moved to California. I was told that Safeway, a huge grocery chain, was looking for new people. I got there and they put me through a training school and hired me.

Long story short….. I worked for them for eight years, and advanced quickly to being the “third,” man in one of the huge stores.

I still wasn’t happy!

We had added two more children, and I was working crazy hours. I never got to be with my family much. I decided to go back to college again in a Junior college. I did really well there. Had several terms of a 4.0 GPA.

I was feeling good again. However. Safeway asked me the important question: “Are you using your college training to advance with us or are you going elsewhere.”

Being honest I said I was planning to be a teacher. BOOM! They put me in the basement, and had me marking prices on cans. They didn’t want to have anything to do with me.

I transferred to Oregon State University, and got my degree in education. I had reached my dream, and the rest is history. I spent 22 years of joy working with children.

Finally, I made it to what I really wanted to do, but I hit a lot of walls, and disappointments to get there.

That may be how you will have to struggle once you get into civilian life. Many ups a downs, but a huge reward in the end. Let me share some suggestions to help you transcend into civilian life:

  1. There is always sunshine somewhere.
  2. The path may be rough but it leads to a smooth ending.
  3. Throw out the negative thoughts, and keep the positive ones.
  4. Perseverance should be your main word for life.
  5. Take one day at a time, and make them count.
  6. Above all…never, ever, give up!

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

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Daily News for Veterans/Excerpt From New Book

I want to start today with some military news that may be interesting for you.

2020 Census Wants Military Spouses

The 2020 census will be held this year, and it needs hundreds of temporary workers. The Census Bureau believe military spouses and veterans are prime candidates for those jobs.

Jobs include census taking, recruiting assistants, office staff, and supervisory staff.

To be eligible applicants must be 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, be a U.S. citizen, have a valid email address, complete an application, and answer assessment questions.

To apply call 1-855-JOB-2020 select option 3, or go to http://2020census.gov/en/jobs/how-to-apply.html

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Medal of Honor Museum to be Built in Texas.

The directors of the National Medal of Honor has selected a permanent site in Arlington, Texas.

This museum will honor the 3,507 Medal of Honor recipients of whom 71 are still living.

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Post Office Issues The Purple Heart Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service began selling the Purple Heart Medal 2019 stamp. It honors the sacrifice of the men and women who served in the military.

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OK…

Earlier I promised you that I would share an interview I had with a veteran. This interview is actually funny even though the veteran I have interviewed was severely injured in Vietnam.

I talked to the Vietnam veteran over the phone. I had hear about him from a friend who lives in Yachats, Oregon. She shared with me that he was severely injured and may not want to talk much. She gave me his phone number.

I connected with him, and she was right. He did not want to talk about his wounds. He said he is trying to forget the past, but would tell me a story that happened while he was out in the jungle. I accepted that, and he proceeded to share.

He told me that he and a buddy were resting under a palm tree and he noticed all the monkeys in the trees above him. He told the buddy, “I sure would like to have one those monkeys for a pet.” His buddy said, “No problem!” He took a quarter out of his pocket. He got a coconut and cut a hole in it. He drained the “Milk,” out of and proceeded to put the quarter inside the coconut.

This really had my interviewee confused. His buddy just told him to wait. Sure enough. Several monkeys were very curious what the shiny thing in that coconut was. One of them got too curious and stuck his hand in the coconut. He tried to pull the quarter out and his hand was stuck. The buddy said, “There you go!”

My friend caught the monkey and made a home for him. It was a large area that had wiring around it. He even made a padding for the monley to sleep on. Eventually the monkey liked where he was, because he got fed every day.

Not known to my friend the monkey found a way to escape the home area and go out taking things from the other soldiers. He would then go back into his home and eat, or play with what he brought home.

One of the soldiers didn’t like this going on so he made a tiny parachute tied it to the monkey and threw him over a big cliff. The monkey was able to land safely. My friend was heart broken. He couldn’t figure out what happened to his monkey.

One day as they sat around the campfire, my friend looked at the edge of the jungle and saw his monkey walking towards him with the parachute dragging behind him.

All the soldiers laughed, even the one who threw him over the cliff.

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How are you Doing?

I have no idea who you are, but I worry about you every day. We are brothers. If you are having any distress, please call the following number for help. (877-247-4645. They will do all they can to help you.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never unloved.

You are never forsaken.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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Veterans Battle the Change to Civilian Life

This is not a new subject. Most veterans struggle when they first get out. It is too difficult the “blend,” into society. They are use to so much structure.

I have talked to many of them while I have writing my book, Signs of Hope for the MIlitary: In and Out of the Trenches for Life.

A common thread is that they fear the unknown. They had set schedules while serving, and then they are turned loose into the private sector.

A horrible statistic is that 22 veterans/active duty soldiers take their own lives every day. Not every month, every day!

Much of this is because a soldier comes out into to the real world, and feels he/she has to be tough. Many do not seek help because it may show they are weak.

What do we do to help them?

There is a 24/7 emergency number to call for help. Please use it if you need it. The number is (877-247-4645).

Where can they go to get help with other matters in their lives, like job searches, mental health, etc.

I am a board member for the following resource you need to check out: http://victory forveterans.org. Check out the site and find many things you may need for help.

We do everything we can to help each veteran. We put flowers on every veterans graves on Memorial Day; We go on trips around the United States to make people aware of the needs for veterans; We own a military museum in Casper, Wyoming with all the proceeds helping veterans, and much more. Check out the site.

Another place that will help, are the VA centers. They help you with cheaper prescription prices, and doctor care. There are VA facilities in every state. Look up the ones for you state.

There are many more things that be helping you. I will be sharing those with you in future posts.

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Up Date on the progress on my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I am in the final stages of finishing the book. All I have left is a few more interviews with veterans. This has been my favorite part of putting this book together. I have had an interview and then went home crying. I have had interviews that got me laughing.

On my next post I will select an interview to give you a sneak peek. I will not share an interview every post. I would rather you see it in print than through this medium.

What’s Next?

I have several publishers interested. Now it is up to me to select one is best for me, and does a great publishing the book.

I’ve just started this week to investigate each company that is interested. I found one that doesn’t charge shipping to send me the books. That is huge, but I am very careful, and will keep checking every one out.

Keep in Touch

If you want to see the progress or see some interviews directly from the book, all you have to do is subscribe at the top of this page. If you do, all future posts will go directly to your inbox.

Those of you who are a veterans, or a family member of a veteran. God bless you!!

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!