Tag: Afghanistan

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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!!

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The many ways to avoid trauma, fear and Depression.

One of the hardest things for a veteran to overcome are the trials and tribulations of coming home and having to deal with their everyday lives. They fight depression.

They fought hard for our country, but the battles left them traumatized and depressed.. They couldn’t cope.

I have been doing some research, and found some ideas and thoughts to help ease the pain.

They one I love the most is being a beekeeper.

I go to have coffee every Tuesday and Thursday, and meet with twelve to thirteen other men and women. There are many stories there. Many different backgrounds. The one that was most interesting to me was that two of the men were beekeepers.

One was a veteran. He said he spends hours working the hives. By doing that it distracts him from his past worries. It has helped him defeat depression.

I got my first jar of honey the other day, and it tastes wonderful.

Another way to get away from the world is painting. Going to centers that teach you how to paint has helped many veterans. One has been working at it so long he has art shows to show off his work. He has lost his depression.

Yet another way to find peace is gardening. I know several veterans who are wonderful at gardening. One of them brings his veggies to coffee each time we meet. The tomatoes were wonderful. He also raises peppers, of many kinds; squash, beans, and much more. It makes him proud to be able to share, and have us be happy with his work. He feels so much better and has lost his depression.

Another idea I am not as familiar with is horseback riding. I read up on this and it is wonderful therapy for many veterans. They feed the horses, walk them, and ride them.

There are many other ways to “escape.” Ask your VA representative for more ways to thrive in your world.

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Update on my upcoming book. “Signs of Hope for the MIlitary: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

I Am almost finished. I have a publisher, and they are ready to go. I am just finishing up some interviews with veterans. This has been the most rewarding part for me in this book. There will a section all by itself with many interviews, with WWII, Korean, Afghanistan, and Iraq veterans. They are too many of those interviews where there was sharing of losing friends, getting wounded, trauma for the wars themselves.

I am going to share one interview with you to show you what type of stories you will read if you get the book.

Ira Feldman was in WII and the Korean War. He was only 18 when he went in. He did his duty during WWII and was sent home. He started a new life, only to find out they had ordered him to come back in for the Korean War.

He was being shipped to Korea when he was in a huge hanger where they were loading planes. There were two planes. As he was waiting to hear his name for boarding he spotted an old friend from WWII. They met and got caught as fast up as they could.

Then Ira had to get back with his group. He was seeing that he was going to go on the first plane and his buddy was going on the second plane. He raised his hand and the sergeant barked at him. “What do you want?” Ira said, “I have a friend that is going to be on the second plane is there a way for me to switch?

The sergeant said, “Hell no!” Get back with the group. Ira them saw what looked like the commanding officer of the whole thing. He walked over to him and asked the same question, The Captain screamed at him, to leave him alone. Ira was persistent. The Captain finally yelled, “Go to the second plane and quite whining.”

Ira and his friend got on the second plane. They were very happy. The two planes took off and landed about half way for a refill. They took off from that spot and then the horrific news came over the speaker in his plane. “The first plane has crashed, and there is no one alive!”

I will leave you up in the air here. The complete interview will be in the book.

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If you are struggling and need help, please get that help. Here is one way to start getting some help.

(877-247-4645) Is available 24/7.

God bless you for your service!!

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never ever give up.!

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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!!