Tag: interviews

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A National Guard Soldier Became a Hero During the Riots

What a wild weekend with no end in sight. Protesters are causing much damage and injury. It is senseless, because it isn’t about the death of someone any more. It is just plain anarchy.

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A story I saw today on TV was that a SUV was racing towards a crowd of protesters. The National Guard tried to get him to stop. He kept coming. They tried other methods to try to stop him. He kept coming.

A hero is born.

A Lone National Guard soldier fired three shots at the vehicle, because the driver was also heading toward some police officers who were right behind him .

All three bullets hit the SUV. The driver panicked and drove away.

That National Guardsman, saved many lives with his courage. He didn’t want to kill. He just shot at the rig and not at the windows.

You probably won’t hear much about this in the Fake news, but he is my hero.

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I thought I would share another interview with you today. This one may make you cry, or be angry:

Sgt Michael Thorin, was in charge of a group of vehicles, which was to guard the carvens that move from place to place. Their job was to fight off any agressers when they attack.

On one of the days they were ride along with a convoy, when the rig right in front of Sgt Thorn caught on fire with two men in it. Sgt Thorin jumped out of his rig and raced to the scene. It was too late. There was a massive fire immediately. He had to watch while his buddies burned to death.

He is still dealing with that today.

There is a much longer story and interview about this hero in my up coming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life.

I have many such interviews. Many very sad. Some very funny. I will try to let you see them as time goes by.

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How are you doing?

Have you lost buddies in battles? Have you been injured?

It is hard at best to face life, when things happen you can’t control.

I want you to know right here and now that I am here for you. I have your six. Please use the comment section to let me know any problems you are battling. Your comments will not be published unless you agree to let that happen.

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*If you like what you are reading, subscribe to this site by clicking on the subscribe button at the top of this page. When you do, you will receive all future posts right in your inbox. Please let others know about this site. Especially if they are veterans.

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Remember:

You are not alone.

You are not forsaken.

You are not unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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What is Life Like as a Sniper?

On Tuesday I wrote about one of my adventures while in the military. I will do that from time to time, but this site is for you. Today I will speak directly to you.

I assume many of you were deployed during your time in the military I was sent to South Korea. I had many adventures there which I will be sharing from time to time.

I came back a different person, like many of you, I am sure did too. I lost a buddy, and saw some things that will be hard to share. However, I will wait until later on.

Some of you may be battling PTSD, TMI, Depression, or war wounds. I feel your pain.

I would love it if you would share your story in the comment section. You do not need to share your name. Tell us your story so we can understand you more.

I have done many interviews of veterans for my book. I will share one of them with you knowing that there are many others that will be in the book.

A Sniper

I interview a veteran from Texas. I got to know him through RallyPoint. This is a social network for only veterans. I highly recommend it. You will find many fellow veterans who are the same boat with you.

The veteran from Texas was a sniper in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Here is the exchange:

I was honored to be able interview a veteran who was an Afghanistan/Iraq veteran.

Here is the rough draft for the book:

SOH

What did you do while you were in the Army?

William I was a sniper.

SOH

You are in El Paso. It can be very cold there.

William

Yes it can.

SOH

So, do you have family?

William

I am divorced, but I have three children.

SOH

When did you go into the service?

William

Right out of High school. I was seventeen.

SOH

You mentioned that you had a couple of buddies that were killed?

William

Actually, twelve of my buddies were killed.

SOH

How were you able to handle that?

William

You don’t allow yourself to think about it

SOH

Were you very close to any of them?

William

I was close to all of them.

SOH

I had close friends in Korea as well.

SOH

Why did you enlist in the first place?

William

It is a family tradition. My Brothers and my grandfather enlisted. I was honored to serve my country.

SOH

Interesting, I also had a family tradition. My three uncles served in WWII. My brother and I Served, and my son just retired as a Colonel from the Army.

SOH

If you could would you go back in again?

William

Oh ya!! I wouldn’t change anything. 22 years

SOH

If there was one thing you could change about the Army, what would that be?

William

I would spend more time with family. My job came first back then.

SOH

What would be your advice to soldiers who are struggling?

William

Don’t give up. If you are deployed, or getting ready to be deployed you don’t think about it. 

SOH

Do you have PTSD?

William

Yes, and because of this I recommend that it be mandatory to get counseling when you are discharged from the military.

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This is an on going interview. I want to get back to him and ask more specifc questions about being a sniper.

What does it feel like to kill someone?

What did you think of when you have an enemy in the cross hairs?

Did you ever regret shooting someone?

There will be many other questions. Stay tuned as I get more information.

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If you are struggling get help. It is not something to be ashamed of if you need help. Got to get the tough military guy/girl out of your head and find help.

*If you like what you are reading just go to the top of this page and click on subscribe. Wen you do you will get each future post directly to your inbox. Please let other veterans know about this site. It may help them as well.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And…never, ever, give up!

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A Sniper Shares His Hurts and Regrets

Today is Red Friday. We should all be wearing red to show support our active duty military.

I’ve had some amazing interviews with veterans while putting my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I interviewed WW ll, Korean, Vietnam Iraq, and Afghanistan soldiers.

Some of the interviews were funny; some were sad; and some were hard to listen to.

Today I will share one interview to show you some of the fear, disappointments and anger our veterans have gone through.

Interview with a Sniper

I talked to a veteran from El Paso, Texas. He was a Sargent First Class. His duties were being a sniper.

He was asked if it was hard to shot another person. His answer was, “Not since I was helping my buddies stay alive.”

Death of His Buddies

The next question I asked him was how many of his buddies were killed. He said,”Fifteen or sixteen.” I said, “That must have been hard on you.” He said, They were my friends, what can I say.”

It is Hard on Families

He was getting irritated, so I switched to his family. I asked him if he was married. He said, “I was, but I am divorced now.” I then asked, “Can you tell me why that happened? ” He said, “The separation was to hard on both of us. She went her own way because she was so lonely.” He also said he had three children that he only sees once and a while.

There is much more to this interview, but you can see that he had a very rough time while in the military.

Many other stories like this

I have many more interviews to share. Be sure to subscribe to make sure you do not miss one. Just go to the top and click on the subscribe icon. Then all further posts will go directly to your inbox.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!