Category: War

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June 6th was the 75th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I can make up a bunch of excuses, but the bottom line is that I got burnt out and needed a break.

I am fresh and ready to write every day again.

Today’s post will be mostly about the invasion of Normandy 75 years ago. I have interesting stats pertained to the day:

156,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and many other allies partook during this invasion.

5 beaches along the 50 mile stretch of Normandy coast were targeted for landing, with the allied code names of Utah, Omaha, Gold, and Sword.

6,000 landing ships and crafts. .

50,000 vehicles were used.

11,000 Planes were used.

12,004 total killed , wounded, or missing. (United States 8,230, United Kingdom, 2,700, and Canada 1,074)

326,000 who reached the beaches by June 11th.

496, 777 WWII veterans who are still alive as of 2018.

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This was a horrible day for lost soldiers, but in the end it was much needed and led to the victory for the allies later.

If you were one of the soldiers who fought on that day, God bless you and you are a bonafide hero. You truly are the “Great Generation.”

If for some reason you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, depression, war wounds, etc, Please get help. Here is a phone number you can call to get immediate help:

(877-247-4645)

In closing, I hope you like these type of posts. If you want to receive future posts without having to come back to this site, just go to the top of this page and subscribe. then you will receive every post in you inbox as they come.

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Interviews with Veterans From Wars

It has been a few days since I last posted. Very busy trying to finish my book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” I just need to finish three interviews, and then I will be sending it off to my publisher. I am interviewing soldiers who have been in wars from WWII through the Afghanistan wars.

I thought I would share with you a short example of what the interviews will be like. What follows are just a snippet of what some of the interviews are about. You will have to read the book to get the rest of the story.

Interview one

One interview I am just finishing up is with a sniper during his Afghanistan tour. No punches pulled here. I asked him if he had killed anyone, and he said yes. Then I asked how he felt about it, and he said he didn’t think about it because he was protecting his buddies. He goes on and talks about the PTSD he is going through. He shares how he would do things differently if he could start over.

Interview two

Another interview was by accident. I decided to stop and get a burger at a fast food restaurant. I got my food and was heading to my table when I spotted a vietnam veteran who was a Marine. I know that because he was wearing a hat that stated that. I sat down and watched him. He was in pain. You could see him shifting to try to stop the pain in his legs. He got up to leave and I could see how bad he was hurting. He walked very slowly and each step wass hard labor for him. I asked him to sit and talk with me, and he looked like that wasn’t what he wanted to do. I told him I was a veteran and that helped, he sat with me. We exchanged the normal greetings, and then I started asking him questions. I asked him what he did, and he said he was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. Their job was to send helicopters inland to pull wounded soldiers out, and to bring food and supplies to the civilians. The I asked what his worst moment was. Can’t tell you now, but it was horrific.

I have many more interviews with soldiers who have had some very bad experiences. Some had funny things happen, and some lost some friends who right next to them. Some interviews are from WWII, The Korean war, Vietnam war, and the Iraq and Afghanistan war. It covers all the wars in our lifetime.

Keep coming back!

So stay close and learn more in the coming days and weeks. I will be sharing more excerpts from the book, and keep you posted as to when the book is coming out.

You can follow daily by subscribing. Just click on the icon at the top that says subscribe, and then every time there is a post it will be sent right to your inbox.

For my fellow veterans:

Are you battling your demons for your service time? Do you still have nightmares about your time? You certainly are not alone. I feel your pain my friend. Stay strong and never let the dark side overcome you. If you need help, here is a hotline that will help you right away. It is:
(877-247-4645)

  • Remember:
  • You are never alone.
  • You are never forsaken.
  • You are never unloved.
  • And above all…never, ever, give up!!

Posted on

New Exciting Book for Veterans Coming

I have decided to talk to you directly this evening. I have been sharing Military news for several months, and I just wanted you to get to know me a little better. 

I am a veteran who served in the Army from 1959-1962. I had my basic training at Fort Ord, California, Which is now closed, and I was deployed to South Korea. I then was stationed at Ft Bragg, North Carolina until my discharge. 

I have many stories of my time in the military, and I am announcing that I have a book about the  military coming this next summer, called, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Here is an outline of what will be in the book:

  1. I will have stories from my time in the military, with each story ending with my thoughts on how you and I can be stronger, and face the civilian world better. 
  2. I will share some times and problems I had in South Korea. One was very hard in that two of my buddies and I enlisted together, and only two came back. 
  3. Then I will share one of my most frightening days of my life while at Ft Bragg. 
  4. The next section of the book will be full of interviews with actual veterans from all over this country. They will be sad stories, happy stories, or just plain frightening stories. 
  5. There will an actual letter sent home to a mom from 1944. 
  6. The final section will be full of resources for veterans. I have done a thorough search and put them all together for your use. 

It has taken more than three years to put this book together, because I keep finding more things that I feel should be in it. I have a publisher that is interested, and I have and editor who has been editing the book. 

Reason I wrote the book:

I have spent years and years floating this book around in my head. I got started writing when my first book was published called, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World. It was actually good therapy for me because I was writing it from journals I had been writing every day for over ten years. I saw my hurts, and my joys, and put them down on paper. The book won a national award from the Readers Favorite Awards. That helped me realize that I had  writing abilities. 

As I went through the journal again, just to make sure I covered everything, and I saw that many of the hurts were from my military days. The loneliness, fears, anxiety, depression, etc.  I thought that I need to write directly to my fellow veterans and give them hope. 

I will keep you posted here on my author as to the progress. So be sure to subscribe so that you will get the post delivered to you mail box. All you need to do is click on the subscribe icon, and fill it out. 

Stay tuned for the latest

In closing, I want to reach out to each of you right now. Are you fighting with the world? Do you have bouts of depression, anxiety, PTSD, TBI, etc? I have been there with you. I suggest you fight back as hard as you can. Never give up!! There is  a toll free number you can call if you need immediate help at: 

(877-247-4645)

Remember:

You are never alone. 

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….Never, ever, give up!!