Tag: grenade

Posted on

Two WWII Veteran Interviews

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 3,300 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2015. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 4,000.  Could you be the one that puts us over the top? Our goal for the end of this year is 6,000.

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.

____________________________________________________________

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 will be reaching 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. Doug sent off his mini proposal to an agent who is very interested in his concept. We will update you when we hear more. 

______________________________________________________________

 

Sorry… it has been a while since I last posted. been some illnesses, other commitments, etc.

Things are happening with my new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

On my blog http://www.dailysignsofhope.com. People have been coming in by the thousands to read my excerpts of interviews I have done with veterans. I had one high day of 5,879 hits in one day.

That tells me people are interested in anything that supports our military. I am blessed to be a veteran, and through my interviews I can see that we need to reach out to anyone who is a veteran. As I mentioned in the introduction section, there are 22 veteran suicides a day!

That is not acceptable. I will share here some a couple of the interviews I had with you here, and you can go to my blog at: http://www.dailysignsofhope.com to see others.

One interview I had was with a WWII veteran. He wasn’t too excited to talk about his time during the war, but he did share this:

Me- “What unit were you attached to?” Veteran- ” I was part of the tank Corp.” Me- “What was the worst moment you had during that time?”  Veteran- ” We were stopped to look out over a field ahead of us. We had the top open. A Japanese soldier dropped a grenade on us, and it killed my best friend to my side, and all of the rest of us were wounded.”

This veteran received to Purple Heart, and a Medal of Honor. It was difficult for me to go through the interview with this man. The reason was, he was my Uncle. I had known him from me birth, but didn’t know this story until the interview.

Another WWII veteran I spoke to is still alive today. He is ninety-two years old:

Me- “What branch of the Army were you in?” Veteran- “The infantry.” Me- “What was you worst moments during that time?” Veteran- “During a battle, I was wounded. I had to lay on the battle field pretending I was dead while the German soldiers came through to check the bodies.”

This Veteran also nearly broke my heart, because he also is my Uncle, and I didn’t know his story until I interviewed him.

Those are very shortened versions of the two interviews I had with these men. I also had interviews with a WWII nurse, three Vietnam military, and a couple Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. I am searching for more interviews, so if you are a veteran and are open to talking to me about your experience, leave a comment below and I will get back to you. No one has to have their name mentioned in the book.

I want you to know something right now. If you are a veteran or a family member/friend of a veteran, know that someone cares. You are not alone. You are not forsaken. You are not unloved.

One last plea is that you never, ever, give up!

Posted on

Don’t Ever Give up !

Thanks to all of you who have been joining us here. The response has been wonderful .  We just past 3,255 new subscribers. That is a huge increase in 2015. We only had 1,000 a year ago. Help us to make it to 4,000.  Could you be the one that puts us over the top? Our goal for the end of this year is 6,000.

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.

____________________________________________________________

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 will be reaching 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. Doug sent off his mini proposal to an agent who is very interested in his concept. We will update you when we hear more. 

______________________________________________________________

It has been a while since I last posted here. Many different illnesses, and interference’s.
I am going to Cardio rehab on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I found that there were three veterans that were also in rehab. I found out their names, and got to know them.
Two of them were in Korea like I was. Another was a Vietnam veteran. It is very interesting that there are so many veterans who are having heart problems, but I haven’t pursued that thought yet.
As I got to know the men, we found that we each had different experiences that should be shared with other veterans. I took it on myself to set-up official interviews with each of the men.
I will share so of the conversations with you on later posts.

The book “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life,” Is nearing the finish line. Just a few new added chapters, and finishing up with the large amount of interviews I have lined up, and the book will be ready for publication.
I will give you a quick sneak preview of some of the interviews I have had so far. No names; no places. Just quotes from some of the veterans. I will be disclosing names and places in the book. (This is called a hook, in the writing industry!)
One WWII soldier told me the story of him being a tanker in the war and having a Japanese soldier tossing a grenade into their tank. He said his close buddy next to him was killed instantly. He was wounded. He received the Purple Heart, and another medal for bravery.
Another WWII soldier said he was wounded and lying on the battle field pretending he was dead, as the German soldiers checked to see if anyone was alive. He survived that horrible ordeal, and received the Purple Heart.
A Vietnam era Medic told me about holding soldiers in his arms while they died. He also told me one soldier asked him if he was scared, and he said, “Yes I am.”
Another Vietnam Navy veteran told me he watched in horror as his best friend’s helicopter, he was the pilot of, lifted off of the ship and then crashed into the ocean. It sank with all the soldiers trapped inside. The water was too deep to rescue them, so they all perished.
The first Iraq war left many soldiers with PTSD. I have interviewed some of them and their stories are heartbreaking.
All these interviews and many more will be in the book.
I was in the military. I was deployed just like many other soldiers. I was extremely lucky not to be in a war zone. Many other soldiers were not.
The book will cover deployments, spouses left behind; domestic violence in the military; loneliness; some humor; individual interviews from many of the soldiers who were in the trenches, and many personal stories.
If you are a veteran, and current person in the military, or even a family member/friend of someone in the military, I feel this book will be very beneficial to you.
I am not plugging this book for fame or money. I am plugging this book to reachout to all of those veterans and military who maybe hurting.
Here is a statistic that I want to change some how:

•There are 22 suicides a day among the veterans and military. It has never gone below that figure for several years.

Please, if you are military, or a veteran, stand strong. Know that many people are praying for you. Don’t give into the negative thoughts in your head. That is Satan talking to you, and he would love to add you to his trophy wall of people who gave up.

You are a person of much worth. God made you in His image. He loves you. Cling to His promises, which are:
•You are never alone.
•You are never forsaken.
•You are never unloved.

And I must add…. above all…never, ever, give up!

Posted on

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.

____________________________________________________________

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.”

____________________________________________________________________

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.

_________________________________________________________

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!