Tag: PTSD

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Stories From Our veterans Who Have Been there

I am back with some more interviews with veterans for my book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.”

I would like to share some current military news first. I will call this Facing the Tasks of Life. It will have stories from all over the world where our veterans are, and some stories from those who are now transitioned into civilian life. Hope it is interesting to you.

  1. A Iraq Veteran is now an astronaut for NASA. Lt. Colonel Anne McClain, blasted off from Kazakhstan December 3rd for a six month stay at a space station. She is only 39. She was a helicopter pilot in Iraq.
  2. Thank a Vietnam veteran on March 29th. It is Vietnam Veteran’s Day.
  3. A new law signed by Congress will “create jobs,” for veteran owned businesses. It will allow veteran owners to have access to military equipment that the military has no more use for.
  4. Senators question the VA on unused suicide prevention funds. Congress OKed 6.2 billion dollars to the military and yet only $57,000 of it has been used for suicide prevention. (What’s wrong with this picture!!)

Now I will share one interview I have done recently for the book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” This is only excerpts from the interview. You will have to buy the book to get “the rest of the story.”

I was able to talk to a vietnam veteran a while back. It was very hard to get him to answer anything about his actual combat. I did find out he has a purple heart, because of a serious injury. He is battling PTSD, and battled alcohol addiction for several years after he got out. He however said he would like to tell a uplifting story about his time there.

His group of men had settled down in the jungle to make camp. It turned out they stayed there for a long time. One day my soldier was sitting with a buddy and he looked up into the trees. There were monkeys everywhere. He told his buddy that he wanted one of those monkeys as a pet. His buddy said “No sweat!” He got a coconut and cut a hole in it. He cleaned it out and put a quarter in it. He tied a rope to it and put it out in a clearing.

Soon several monkeys came up to it because of curiosity. One reach in to get the quarter he tried to pull he hand out and couldn’t The buddy slowly pulled the monkey over to the soldier and said, “Here ya go!”

My soldier loved that monkey. He took very good care of him. He even built a cage to let him sleep in. Made a bed out of ferns etc. The monkey got very attached to the soldier. They were real buddies.

However, some of the other soldiers didn’t like the monkey because he was coming to their tents and stealing food. One soldier got so angry he made a parachute for the monkey and threw him over a cliff.

This made my soldier very angry. He was depressed and missed his monkey. Then one day coming through the tents came that same monkey with the parachute still attached to him. He didn’t give up , and found his way back to his master.

This is just one interview of many I have done for the book , Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” The rest of the book are stories from my time in the military, and how I survived. Each chapter will talk about survival, especially for those who struggle with PTSD, TMI, Depression, Anxiety, War wounds, etc.

Check back here often to read more stories from veterans like yourself.

You can get these posts delivered to your email box by subscribing to the blog. Just click on the “Subscribe” icon at the top and go from there.

Are you are a veteran and wonder why things are happening to you that you aren’t pleased with? You certainly are not alone. I was there. Millions of other veterans were there. The important thing is to realize you need help. Too many of our brothers and sisters hide their feelings and become part of the 22 veteran suicides EVERY day. Do not let that happen. Get help!! The 24/7 help line is 1-800-273-8255 Press 1.

You need to also remember.

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…Never, ever, give up!

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Interviews with Veterans From Wars

It has been a few days since I last posted. Very busy trying to finish my book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” I just need to finish three interviews, and then I will be sending it off to my publisher. I am interviewing soldiers who have been in wars from WWII through the Afghanistan wars.

I thought I would share with you a short example of what the interviews will be like. What follows are just a snippet of what some of the interviews are about. You will have to read the book to get the rest of the story.

Interview one

One interview I am just finishing up is with a sniper during his Afghanistan tour. No punches pulled here. I asked him if he had killed anyone, and he said yes. Then I asked how he felt about it, and he said he didn’t think about it because he was protecting his buddies. He goes on and talks about the PTSD he is going through. He shares how he would do things differently if he could start over.

Interview two

Another interview was by accident. I decided to stop and get a burger at a fast food restaurant. I got my food and was heading to my table when I spotted a vietnam veteran who was a Marine. I know that because he was wearing a hat that stated that. I sat down and watched him. He was in pain. You could see him shifting to try to stop the pain in his legs. He got up to leave and I could see how bad he was hurting. He walked very slowly and each step wass hard labor for him. I asked him to sit and talk with me, and he looked like that wasn’t what he wanted to do. I told him I was a veteran and that helped, he sat with me. We exchanged the normal greetings, and then I started asking him questions. I asked him what he did, and he said he was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. Their job was to send helicopters inland to pull wounded soldiers out, and to bring food and supplies to the civilians. The I asked what his worst moment was. Can’t tell you now, but it was horrific.

I have many more interviews with soldiers who have had some very bad experiences. Some had funny things happen, and some lost some friends who right next to them. Some interviews are from WWII, The Korean war, Vietnam war, and the Iraq and Afghanistan war. It covers all the wars in our lifetime.

Keep coming back!

So stay close and learn more in the coming days and weeks. I will be sharing more excerpts from the book, and keep you posted as to when the book is coming out.

You can follow daily by subscribing. Just click on the icon at the top that says subscribe, and then every time there is a post it will be sent right to your inbox.

For my fellow veterans:

Are you battling your demons for your service time? Do you still have nightmares about your time? You certainly are not alone. I feel your pain my friend. Stay strong and never let the dark side overcome you. If you need help, here is a hotline that will help you right away. It is:
(877-247-4645)

  • Remember:
  • You are never alone.
  • You are never forsaken.
  • You are never unloved.
  • And above all…never, ever, give up!!

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They Will Allow Recruits in Even if they Smoke Marijuana

Thanks to all of you who have been joining me here. We help bring change to lives. The response has been wonderful.  

We Made it to 5,000! Never dreamed we would do that. Thank you so much for the support. It also excites us that you are supporting veterans. That is our theme here right now. 

Help us make it to 6,000 by subscribing today if you haven’t already. As of today we have 5665.  This shows you care for veterans. Just click on the icon right after the title of this post and click on FEEDBLITZ , 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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They will Fight

If Russia moves against NATO  in the Baltic states or Poland, NATO will stand and fight, a key NATO commander said. This evokes thoughts of a cold war.

The “cold war” has become a problem in that there may be a major conflict causing increasing tensions.

They will stand united against any aggressor.

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The Deregulation President

The Federal Register, which contains all Federal rules, notices and regulations, topped 97,330 pages under President Obama. Under President Trump it has been shaved down to 45,678 pages.

The number of new rules for Trump was 65, way below the average of 213 rules from the last six presidents.

The cost for regulation soared from $68 billion under Bush, to $122 billion under Obama.

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The Army Relaxes Rules on Recruits and Marijuana

In an effort to boost its ranks and hot new targets for enlistees, the Army is relaxing its rules on granting waivers for marijuana use.

The catch is that the new recruits have to pledge to never use marijuana again. (Really?)

IN 2017 the Army granted 506 waivers-up from 191 in 2016.

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Could be a serious problems with a couple of the stories above. Allowing recruits to agree to not smoke marijuana again is pushing it. In the Vietnam days it was common for many of the soldiers to smoke.

Now they will be punished if they start again? Good luck with that.

The fact that NATO is willing to back us 100% is reassuring, but pray they never need to.

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Good evening fellow veterans. How are you doing? Have you had some struggles? Do you battle demons when you try to sleep? You are not alone. There are thousands just like you. We want you to be well, so if you are struggling seek help. If you are considering suicide, seek help.

There is a 24/7 helpline for just you. Call:

(877-247-4645)

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!!