Sad, but Honest Endorsement by a Daughter Who lost Her Dad to Suicide

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I was going to share some more stats, and short stories about veterans, but today I am going to get you caught up on how my book is doing.

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I keep getting more endorsements by the day. Here’s a very appreciated endorsement from a daughter who lost her WWII father to suicide:

Learn from the best, Douglas Bolton, U.S. Army Veteran who has written a great book for all veterans, active duty service members of all branches, military families, friends and non-veterans. It provides a thorough understanding, knowledge, and the real stories among those who have served and their families that compliment today’s American Veterans.  Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life can make a big difference in today’s understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its affects.  As the daughter of Vietnam Marine Veteran that suffered all of his life with PTSD and then finally ended his own life, it will make a big difference in your life as you read the personal stories.  This author does a great job of creating a sense of urgency by calling it a “must-read,” and ends with a powerful “call to action” for the reader. 

Bella L. Burroughs

Daughter of WWII Veteran

Castle Rock, CO

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That really struck home with me. That is why I am writing the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life.

There are over 22 veterans who take their own lives every day! Yes I said every day. That breaks ny heart, and hopefully this book will help some of them enough that they don’t take that final step.

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I shared a story for my basic training recently. Now I wil share one of the stories of when I was deloyed to Korea.

I came to Korea in not too bad of weather. I would learn later what they meant by, “The land of the frozen Chosen.”

My first day at Camp Red Cloud

was scary of course. I knew no one! I fet like I was isolated on a tiny island. I got to my Quanset Hut, and unpacked. I was sitting on my bunk, when two guys came in. They were two very different guys. One looked like a line backer for football, and the other was very tall.

The line backer was from Alabama, and was black. The other was a “tall drink of water,” from Texas. They both looked very intiminating. I even wondered if this was a “hazing” like in college.

Instead they both walked up to me and reached out their hands for a shake. They both had a friendly look on their faces. They said they were glad I was there, and if needed anything to let them know. I was overcome with the greeting, and thank them for making me feel welcome

I stuck close to those two guys for the rest of my time in Korea. Why wouldn’t you want a linebacker, and a tall drink of water looking after you?


Those two guys would later get me into a lot of trouble. They loved to have fun, and they wanted me to be a part of it.

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Time to do bed check. How are you doing today? Are you having trouble facing the world?

You certainly are not alone my friend. There are 9,580 other veterans on this site, and they all have your back. Make a comment at the bottom if you want to reach out to them.

If it is getting too overwhelming, GET HELP! There is a toll free number you can call 24/7. It has highly quailified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

Here is that number: 1-800-273-8255 Option # 1

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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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Statistics Show Veterans Care for Others

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 3,930 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 70 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 weeks. 

Help us make it to 4,000 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post to do that, and the posts will come straight to your inbox.                            ____________________________________________________________

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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I am on a quest to bore you with statistics. I mean a lot of statistics. But if you the statistics carefully you will see lots of good things and some bad things. Here we go:

Stay in School…REALLY!

145,000 Americans who died in 2010 might have lived had they earned their high school diploma or GED. They would have better jobs, and better health coverage.

110,000 Americans might have lived longer if they would have finished their college degrees. Again more education; better jobs; and much better healthcare.

Veterans Compared to Civilians 

169: Average number of hours volunteered each year by veterans.

126: Average number of hours volunteered each year by civilians.

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73.8  percent of Veterans who vote in local elections.

57.2 percent of civilians who vote in local elections.

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59.2 percent of veterans who give to charities.

52.1  percent of civilians who give to charities.

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10.7 percent of veterans who work with neighbors to address issues.

7.6 percent of civilians who work with neighbors to address issues.

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18 percent of veterans who participate in service organizations.

6 Percent of civilians who participate in service organizations.

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There are many other statistics that show us that veterans care for their surroundings more than others. They have been to other countries and have seen why they love the U.S.A.

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If you are a veteran and are struggling, please know that you are not alone. There are thousands of other veterans who are praying for you. I have seen this on RallyPoint. (Check this out by going to the link I have provided above.) They have your six!

If you need immediate help you have help here:

There is always 24/7 help at 1-877-995-5247

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken,

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!