A Story of Sadness About a Wounded Warrior

It has been a while since my last post. I hope this is a start of many more post.

It has been sad to see how many of my fellow veterans are struggling. It breaks my heart when I hear their stories. I will share one here, and hope you will support him.

Sgt Michael Thorin was deployed to Afghanistan. He was a platoon leader of a escort unit protecting the caravans of vehicles traveling.

One day he was escorting a caravan, when the vehicle in front of him caught on fire for no reason. It burst into flames very quickly. Sgt Thorin jumped out of his rig and ran to try to save his men. They couldn’t get close, because of the heat of the flames. Two of his men burnt to death.

When I interviewed him this was the toughest part for him to talk about.

To be helpless and watch your men die has to be hard at best.

This is not the end of the story for Sgt Thorin. During his deployment he contracted some virus, or germ. This tore into his lungs. When he got out, he attempted to be a firefighter, and did well for a while. He had to stop working later because his lungs were closing down.

Today he is still alive, but needs a double lung transplant.

He is a very strong Christian, and he said that is what is keeping him going. He posts a lot on Facebook to share his love for the Lord. Go to Facebook and put in his name, Michael Thorin, and be blessed.

There are many more stories like this in my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

What about you? Are you struggling? Please understand the you are not alone. There are over 7,000 followers of this blog and they are in the same boat with you.

Reach out by making a comment and we will support you 100%

Don’t let the dark side take over your life.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!!

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

________________________________________________________________

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.

__________________________________________________________________

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.

________________________________________________________________

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.

________________________________________________________

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!

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.

_____________________________________________

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!