Tag: depression

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There Were Wall to Wall Saloons!

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 2,900 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in one year. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Our goal for 2015, is to make it to 4,000.

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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+ Here is the latest update on the progress of the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

August 17,  2015

I met with two publishers, and four literary agents on August 10-13th. That is six chances to connect with someone who may get my book published. The two publishers rejected my proposal and said I needed an agent.

So the rest of my time I concentrated on Agents. I met with four of them. Three were very positive. Of the three positive meetings, I had two asking me to sent a proposal to the office. Both thought I had a incredibly good platform. (Connections.)

I will be sending those proposals this week. Then the waiting game starts up again. I am hopeful that one of those two will see the merits of a military book that reaches out to those suffering in the military.

I have added the following sections to the book to cover most everything that a military person may face:

  • PTSD
  • Deployment
  • Domestic violence
  • The spouses left behind
  • Death in the families
  • Basic training problems
  • Foreign assignment stories
  • Loneliness, fear, anxiety, depression, doubt, and the many other usual suspects
  • Personal thoughts
  • More

I will update you on the outcome of the two proposals sent to the agents.

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One of the chapters I wrote speaks about  a stop-over we had when we were being shipped to Korea on the U.S.S Mitchell. It was Okinawa, Japan. I was a shy, naive 18 year old kid when we walked off the ship. What happened is the actual chapter out of the book:

   Stop Over in Okinawa, Japan
On our way to Korea, on the U.S.S. Mitchell, we had an overnight stay in Okinawa, Japan. We were told we could go ashore, but to be careful about being lured into things we may not want to be part of.
Being and eighteen year old kid, I had no idea what they meant. I assumed you had to look out for thieves, and robbers.
When we got off the ship, people didn’t have to guess who we were. We all had on military uniforms. Apparently that was a signal to the natives to try to get whatever they could out of the soldiers. It was like we had a bulls eye on our backs to help them zero in on the targets.
I was with my buddies, and I was awe struck. This was my first time of being on a foreign soil. The people looked so different. They were speaking a strange language. We were the foreigners.
We were obviously the target, since everyone kept coming up to us to try to sell us something they thought was special and we needed it.
After we got through the maze of sellers, we came around a corner and saw the main street that was near the ship. I was in shock! It was wall to wall saloons, on both sides of the street.
Out in front of every saloon were girls waving at us to come to see them. These, I found out quickly, were the area prostitutes. I had never seen a prostitute before, so I was a little fearful of them. I didn’t know what to expect when I came near one.
They turned out to Okay people just trying to make a living like anyone else. I still stayed clear of them because I was a pretty shy guy.
One of my buddies wasn’t very shy, and he disappeared pretty quickly with one of the girls. I didn’t see him for a couple of hours. He was smiling big time when he came back. He wouldn’t tell us what happened, but even I had a pretty good picture in my mind.
I was able to taste Sake for the first time, and it burned my throat as it went down. But I felt like I was finally fitting in a little better with the other guys. (Not that I had to.)
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you didn’t fit in? Were there times when you felt lost and alone?
In the military, this happens a lot. It is hard, at best to find a niche of friends. The soldiers are from all over the country. They have their own styles, and are used to their own type of conversations. Some love to cuss. Others would rather read a book than interact with others. There are the barrack clowns you sometimes hate, because they are doing things to make other people look silly. They often ended up being part of a blanket party I mentioned in another part of this book. (That is where some of the men throw a blanket over a guy and beat the tar out of him. He never knew who did it.)
I was one of those who wondered, “Can’t we all just get along?” I sometimes was called a wimp for stressing this, but I didn’t see any reason to make our time in the military one of fear and stress.
If you are having difficulty making friends in the military, or feel alone, take a giant step forward and get to know the soldiers around you. They very well could be just like you and are feeling alone, and an outcast. You may get turned away a few times, but in the long run you will build positive relationships with many of the fellow soldiers around you.
This could very true for all the veterans out there as well. Do you feel isolated? Do you feel like you have been left alone, and have no one to turn to?
The appendix of this book is loaded with places to get help. It covers every conceivable problem you may be facing. Use it daily. Keep this book near you to use as a reference to get help when you need it.
IWILL
Please do not go into hiding during your service to your country, or after you are discharged. Stay connected with those you made friends with during your time in the service. Have gathering times once a year to touch base, and catch up with each other. It will help relieve the tension, and stress you are enduring, and will bring back some positive times you had with your buddies.
Think About This
Isn’t it interesting how much better we feel when we surround ourselves with friends?

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I have 200 pages of others stories from the military, and thoughts on how to cope during your time there. I may share a chapter now and then to let you get the fell of the book.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up,

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Being Deployed to the Bay of Pigs

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 2,870 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in one year. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Our goal for 2015, is to make it to 4,000.

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.

____________________________________________________________

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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+ Here is the latest update on the progress of the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

July 9, 2015

The main body of the book is about finished. I am now working on the appendix, and putting the Table of Contents in order. This means that it is getting very close to being complete.

Last week, I sent out three mini proposals to two publishers and an agent. The proposals will be read and given back to me on August 11th (My birthday BTW..)at a writer’s conference. They may like what they see and meet with me at that time.

Hopefully this book will reach out to the many military people currently serving their country, and the millions of those who are now veterans.

It really doesn’t matter what country you are from. Much of what is being written pertains to any country.

I have added the following sections to the book to cover most everything that a military person may face:

  • PTSD
  • Deployment
  • Domestic violence
  • The spouses left behind
  • Death in the families
  • Basic training problems
  • Foreign assignment stories
  • Loneliness, fear, anxiety, depression, doubt, and the many other usual suspects
  • Personal thoughts
  • More

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I have a son that is retired from the Army. He was a Colonel. He had two tours in Iraq being commander of a field hospital. (Nothing like MASH!)

He doesn’t like to share too much about his time in the service. Some of it is too painful to share. Do you have experiences to share? Were there times when you faced fear? Did you have moments of depression, or anxiety. I sure did when I was in the military.

My time of fear came when I was stationed at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. It was the end of my duty time for the military. I only had days left before I was to be discharged.

Just when I thought that all I had to do was put in my time, the intercom came to life saying, “All soldiers report to headquarters immediately. This is not a drill.”

I had heard this before, and they have all been drills, but he said this wasn’t a drill. I ran as fast as I could to headquarters, and got into formation. The commanding officer walked up to the mike and said, “The commanding general of the Army has notified me that we are to get ready to be deployed to the Bay of Pigs. This will put you in harms way. Get your gear fast and report back here.”

What? I only have a few days left and I am being deployed into a war zone? I packed quickly and reported back.

They loaded us into buses and took us to the base airport. They then marched us to several planes and started loading us into them. We were in full combat gear.

I sat on the plane with my M-1 rifle between my legs. Those legs were shacking. I looked at the other men, and they too looked very concerned.

Then the plane engines started to roar. The plane started moving to the take-off area.

I began to think about home, and that I may not make it back home if I am going into combat.

The engines got louder like they were ready to take off. Then the plane turned around and headed back to the departure spot. The pilot came on and said, “The mission has been aborted, we are going back to unload you!”

You could see the relief on the men’s faces, and some even began shouting for joy. We came a breath away to being in a war, and on the front lines.

This really happened and is a chapter in the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of”Life.”

I will have more stories about the military. So keep coming back to find out what is going on.

To make sure you know when there is a new post about the military, subscribe to this blog by clicking on the icon right after the title. You will then be notified each time there is a new post.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

 

 

Posted on

Never Forget the Sacrifice of Our Military

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 2,820 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in one year. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Our goal for 2015, is to make it to 4,000.

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.

____________________________________________________________

We are listening! I asked you to subscribe if you like having guest bloggers write 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.”

____________________________________________________________________

+ Here is the latest update on the progress of the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

May 7th, 2015

When I first reported to you there were 22 chapters done for the book. As of this morning there are now 49. I can see that there may be another 10 or so more chapters because I keep getting ideas from people on Facebook, and through emails on what I should cover, and the list keeps coming in.

I just finished a chapter on domestic violence in the military, which is a definite problem that keeps raising its ugly head. This chapter will help in that it has suggestions for help, and defines the problems domestic violence can have on a marriage.

I am working hard on a new chapter discussing PTSD. ( Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) It is an extremely hard chapter to write. I am doing lots of research to put this chapter together. I want it to be as accurate and helpful as possible.

Keep checking in here to see further progress. Better yet, subscribe so that you will get the updates every time I post. Just click on the icon right after the title to do that.

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I have invited back Dennis Booth to talk to us more about the tragedy that happened 100 years ago this month in his country of Australia. His short post is gut wrenching and makes us not forget any past battles or accomplishments that our own military’s have done. Thank you again Dennis.

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Dennis Booth

I think today of the towns, villages and hamlets almost wiped out of young and old men in WW1……Lest We Forget.
I think of the POW’s who passed away in captivity often in horrendous circumstances and those who returned with haunting and often perpetual nightmares….Lest We Forget.


I think of the women, who back home did their own military service in the Land Armies or in munitions factories like my mother did…Lest We Forget.


I think of the widows and mothers who received a telegram saying their husband or son had been killed in action……Lest We Forget.


I apologise on behalf of those who wont, for the way they treated returning troops from Vietnam….Lest We Forget.


I think of those lying in graves throughout the world who are Australian Services personnel…some with names, some unknown….We Will Never Forget.


And I think today that this country more than ever may be in some part of convict stock but it is very definitely of sacrificial stock and biased or not there is no country like ours nor might I say our neighbours New Zealand…….Lest We Forget.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!