What A Horrible Year We Have Been Through in 2020

Thank you for the connection.

Doug

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Whew!! What a horrible year we have had. 2020 will be one we will try to forger but probably will not. Just too many negatives in one year:

The pandemic is still raising its ugly head.. We still don’t know for sure who our next president will be. We faced wild fires like we have never seen before. The rioting took its toll as well. Other than that 2020 was fine. 🙁

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I got a great Christmas present! My wife gave me a subscription to Netflix. . It was so needed. I had run out of “free,” movies,” to watch that were mediocre at best.

Now I have my subscription all set up for only the kind of movies I like. What kind? Military movies of course. I have watched three or four of them already.

Three of them were true stories. Two of them broke my heart. I will be sharing the titles with you as I go through the list of movies.

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I just can’t forget my brothers and sisters who are deployed and in harms way. Talk about loneliness!

One of the movies I watched was about a British company that was sent to Africa to protect to people from the rebels who were trying to overcome the people.

There were 150 British soldiers, and they were attacked by 1,500 rebel warriors. The British held them off for three days, and then had to surrender, because of the overwhelming numbers against them.

The real story here, was that not one man was killed of British troops, but hundreds of the enemy were. The soldiers never gave up. They were going to fight until the last man, but their commander decided he didn’t want any of his men slaughtered.

A interesting side story is that the commander went to the city, and went into a bar to have a drink. He met a man who invited him to drink Cognac with him. The commander did and they got along fine. Then the commander found out the the leader of the enemy was this same man.

The two of them actually met in the middle of the battlefield to discuss surrender. The enemy soldier ask the commander to surrender, because he has so many men on his side that wanted to kill them all. The commander said, “Actually I was going to ask you to surrender.”

The enemy leader was impressed, and reached out his hand and they shook hands, and each went back to their lines.

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I will leave you up in the air as to the final outcome. Here is the title of the movie. Watch it if you can:

The Siege at Jadotville

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Well…I have done my movie review for the day. It is time to check up on you.

How are you doing.? The Christmas rush is over. However, are you still feeling the jet lag?

Does is seem like each hour is like a month?

You are not lone, my friend. There are over 10,610 fellow veterans here that have your back.

I know there are times you feel you can’t handle things. If so GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that is free 24/7. Their advice is even free. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.

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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USS Aircraft Carrier Found in the South Pacific

I am going back to sharing some military stories. Many are very recent. Some are short and some are very informative.

USS Hornet Found in South Pacific

The wreckage of a U.S. aircraft carrier famous for launching a bombing raid on Japan four months after the Pearl Harbor attack was discovered in January.

B-52 bombers took off from the Hornet took off on April 18th, 1942 to attack the Japanese mainland. The attack was led by Lt Col James H. Doolittle.

Six months later the Hornet was put out of commission after being struck by multiple bombs and torpedoes.

While being towed by the USS Northampton the Hornet was attacked again by 11 Japanese bombers.

To prevent its capture, U.S. ships scuttled the Hornet with 16 torpedoes. When it finally sank It took the bodies of 140 sailors with it.

The estate of Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, funded the operation to find it.

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I have another interview to share with you from my upcoming book:

In my book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life,

I have many interviews. Here is part of one of many:

I had the honor of accidentally connecting with a WWII veteran while shopping at my local grocery store. I saw him as I walked down the first aisle. I walked past him and then thought, Why didn’t I say hello and thank him for his service.

Then when I came into the milk aisle I saw him again. I walked over to him and told him thank you for his service. He said he was in Okinawa during the war. That was one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

We said our goodbyes, and went on. Then I wondered why I didn’t ask him if I could interview him. I was very angry with myself.

I got all my groceries and was heading towards a register. They have those dividers between each register so you can’t see the head of the line until you get there.

I came around the divider and there was the WWII veteran right ahead of me. That did it. I quickly asked him if we could meet and let me interview him. He said he would be glad to do it.

He gave me a card with his phone number on it and we parted our ways.

The next day I arranged to meet him at his home.

Here is what happened during the interview

I sat on the couch close to him because his hearing wasn’t good. I found out he was 98 years old. He look great for that age.

I began to ask him questions

DB

What did you do while in Okinawa?

WWII VET

I was a Captain, and in charge of a company of shipping crews. We unloaded the ships as they came into the harbor.

DB

You actually unloaded the supplies, ammo, and equipment for those that were on the front not far from you? That was a pretty vital mission.

WWII VET

Yes it was, and we were being bombed by the Japanese constantly.

DB

What was your worst moment?

WWII Vet

I was on one of the ships and I fell overboard right between a barge and the ship. They were very close together. I had to struggle and swim to the end of the ship to get out.

I also had to keep our men safe from all the bombing.

There is much more to this interview, but you will have to buy the book to find out what else he said. (This is called a hook!)

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As a veteran, if you are struggling with the world as you know it, and having trouble mixing in the civilian world, you certainly are not alone. There thousands of your fellow brothers and sisters struggling along with you.

It is not showing you are weak by getting help. 22 veterans take their own lives every day. Many didn’t even try to seek help.

If you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, anxiety, depression, get help and do it now. There is a 24/7 connection for you to call at:

1-800-273-8255

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never ever, give up!

Daily News for Veterans/Excerpt From New Book

I want to start today with some military news that may be interesting for you.

2020 Census Wants Military Spouses

The 2020 census will be held this year, and it needs hundreds of temporary workers. The Census Bureau believe military spouses and veterans are prime candidates for those jobs.

Jobs include census taking, recruiting assistants, office staff, and supervisory staff.

To be eligible applicants must be 18 years old, have a valid Social Security number, be a U.S. citizen, have a valid email address, complete an application, and answer assessment questions.

To apply call 1-855-JOB-2020 select option 3, or go to http://2020census.gov/en/jobs/how-to-apply.html

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Medal of Honor Museum to be Built in Texas.

The directors of the National Medal of Honor has selected a permanent site in Arlington, Texas.

This museum will honor the 3,507 Medal of Honor recipients of whom 71 are still living.

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Post Office Issues The Purple Heart Stamp

The U.S. Postal Service began selling the Purple Heart Medal 2019 stamp. It honors the sacrifice of the men and women who served in the military.

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OK…

Earlier I promised you that I would share an interview I had with a veteran. This interview is actually funny even though the veteran I have interviewed was severely injured in Vietnam.

I talked to the Vietnam veteran over the phone. I had hear about him from a friend who lives in Yachats, Oregon. She shared with me that he was severely injured and may not want to talk much. She gave me his phone number.

I connected with him, and she was right. He did not want to talk about his wounds. He said he is trying to forget the past, but would tell me a story that happened while he was out in the jungle. I accepted that, and he proceeded to share.

He told me that he and a buddy were resting under a palm tree and he noticed all the monkeys in the trees above him. He told the buddy, “I sure would like to have one those monkeys for a pet.” His buddy said, “No problem!” He took a quarter out of his pocket. He got a coconut and cut a hole in it. He drained the “Milk,” out of and proceeded to put the quarter inside the coconut.

This really had my interviewee confused. His buddy just told him to wait. Sure enough. Several monkeys were very curious what the shiny thing in that coconut was. One of them got too curious and stuck his hand in the coconut. He tried to pull the quarter out and his hand was stuck. The buddy said, “There you go!”

My friend caught the monkey and made a home for him. It was a large area that had wiring around it. He even made a padding for the monley to sleep on. Eventually the monkey liked where he was, because he got fed every day.

Not known to my friend the monkey found a way to escape the home area and go out taking things from the other soldiers. He would then go back into his home and eat, or play with what he brought home.

One of the soldiers didn’t like this going on so he made a tiny parachute tied it to the monkey and threw him over a big cliff. The monkey was able to land safely. My friend was heart broken. He couldn’t figure out what happened to his monkey.

One day as they sat around the campfire, my friend looked at the edge of the jungle and saw his monkey walking towards him with the parachute dragging behind him.

All the soldiers laughed, even the one who threw him over the cliff.

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How are you Doing?

I have no idea who you are, but I worry about you every day. We are brothers. If you are having any distress, please call the following number for help. (877-247-4645. They will do all they can to help you.

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never unloved.

You are never forsaken.

And above all…never, ever, give up!