The Pandemic is bad, but Memories Help us

It has been a long few weeks around here. Being in a lock down is because of the Pandemic, not fun. I am climbing the walls, and want the freedom to do what I want in life. Of course, that is not possible, and we should obey the rules for the sake of others.

When I was in basic training, I had some interesting times. Let me share one of them:

We were done at the firing range one day, and our platoon leader had something he had to do so he asked a Warrant Officer to march us back to the barracks.

A few of us realized that this Officer had no idea on how to lead a group in a march. So before he brought us to attention we whispered among us that we were going to follow his commands only if the were Army commands.

He told us to start marching. We froze. He ordered us to start marching. Still no movement. Finally another platoon leader came over to help him, by saying, “Company attention! Forward march! ” We started marching. We were going along OK until he saw that we were marching towards a boat ramp. He yelled, “Stop!” We kept marching. He screamed, “Stop now.” We kept marching. The front of the group was starting into the water! The frustrated officer finally screamed for help, and a Army soldier came over and yelled, “Company Halt!” We stopped, and then he yelled, “About face.'” We turned the other way, and he said “Forward march.!” By this time there were many of the platoon swimming in the water, laughing their heads off. We decided that was enough torture for the officer, and obeyed all of his commands after that.

The next morning when we were in formation, the company commander came out and scolded us for our adventure, and started laughing on his way back to his office.

I have many other stories like this in my up coming book called, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.” I am almost finished. I will keep you posted.

Have you been deployed, and had a bad experience. Did you get PTSD, TMI, Depression, etc.

You are not alone. Be strong, and know that many veterans read this blog, and are in the same boat with you. Just tell us about it and we have your six. Use the comment section below to do that. No need to say your name.

This blog has about 8,000 followers. That is because veterans can come here and find hope.

If you like what you see, please subscribe, by clicking on the icon at the top of this page. When you do you will receive any future posts right in your inbox. Please let other veterans know about this site who you think may benefit from it.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

Too Many Veterans Are Committing Suicide.

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  We just past 3,9792 new subscribers. That was a huge increase in 2016. We only had 1,000 two years ago. In 2017 help us to make it to 4,000.

We are only 8 away of reaching our goal.  We will be giving a prize to the person who is our 4,000th person to subscribe. Somebody will win in the next few days. 

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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We have just added a fantastic product for people who are suffering from PTSD. I have looked at the video myself. It is a little long, but it is very valuable. Go to   https://sites.google.com/site/v4vweaponspackage/  to see for yourself. It will change your life if you suffer from PTSD. 

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It has been far too long since I last posted here. My apologizes, and I hope I will be posting on a regular basis from now on. Today I am speaking about suicide. A tough subject, but needs to be addressed.

I had a wonderful Veteran’s Day. I was asked to be a speaker that a Veterans Day event in Sherwood, Oregon.

There were two other speakers ahead of me. They were excellent, and I began to worry if my talk would be good enough. They asked me to share some of my military experiences, and share about a non profit I am a board member for called, Victory for Veterans Foundation.

I started out telling stories about my basic training, and deployment, plus my after deployment time. The audience was laughing at some of my stories and I felt much more comfortable. All of my military stories are actually also written in a book called, Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life. (Keep coming back to find when it will be published.)

I moved on to talking about the Victory for Veterans Foundation, and the audience was dead silent. I knew they would be, because I talked about suicide. They were also told a bunch of statistics and they were saddened. Here are some of the statistics I shared:

  • 22 Veterans commit suicide to end their own lives daily.
  • Many veterans are struggling with PTSD, TBI, depression, etc.
  • There are far too many homeless veterans in our nation.
  • Many are on assistance for food. (My brother-in-law is in charge of taking meals out to needy people, and he told me that out of 100 meals he delivers in a week, 75 of them are military families.)
  • A good number are unemployed, because their training doesn’t fit many jobs in the private sector.

There is more, but I am sure you get the picture.

Victory for Veterans Foundation, reaches out to these heroes and give them the help they need. We need to reach out and help these warriors to stop them from suicide.

Go to http://www.victoryforveterans.org to find how you can help out.

If you are a veteran stand strong and be proud of how you served your country. Stand strong against all the dark side fears.

Here is a helpline that runs 24/7

1-800-273-8255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…

Never, ever, give up!

Some Veteran’s Stories Will Melt Your Heart

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 2,996 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in one year. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 3,000. We are so close. We are only four subscribers away. Could you be the one that puts us over the top?

Help us continue to grow by subscribing today if you haven’t already. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that.

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We are listening! I asked you to subscribe if you like having posts about the military, and the response was very clear. The subscription rate doubled this week from the previous week. That is telling us you want more posts about the military, so they will keep coming, plus updates on the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

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I told you yesterday I would be sharing the titles of  my chapters, from the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”  (This is called a “hook,” in the writer business.)

Well, here are a few more chapter titles:

  • Sometimes the Answers Are Available for You

I had a very stressful time trying to pass bed inspection in basic training until I learn a secret.

  • Missing the Right Stop

On our way to Ft. Devens, Massachusetts we missed the right stop and went screaming by it.

  • I was Almost Blown Away

No not by a grenade, but by a hurricane. We were stuck in a parade field.

  • It’s Tough Being the New Kid on the Block

Sometimes you have to take the first step to be accepted by others.

  • Stop Over in Okinawa, Japan

There was wall to wall bars, and ladies calling to me as I walked the street.

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If the last chapter synopsis doesn’t get your curiosity up there is something wrong with you. Each of these chapters have some pretty amazing happenings in them, and are true. The life of a soldier isn’t all spent in a trench.

I found that out when I  interviewed several veterans who had been there and done that. I interviewed some WWII veterans, Vietnam veterans, Korean veterans, and some current Iraq, and Afghanistan veterans. Their stories will melt your heart, and let you know that we should be proud of all veterans no matter where or when they served.

I want to thank all the veterans that have and are serving and remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!