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!

What Can We do to Reach Out to Our Hurting Veterans?

Today I will share some news about military, and add some of my own thoughts.

Quick thoughts:

  1. Walgreens now accepts Tricare.
  2. One in ten Vietnam veterans have Hepatitis C and don’t even know it. Get tested!
  3. Becoming a gardener helps a lot with PTSD.
  4. The American Legion web site is one of the top resources for job seekers.

What can we do to reach out to our fellow veterans who are in need?

This questions has come up many times. What can we really do? I have some thoughts and ideas.

  1. Check out your very own neighborhood and see how many veterans live near you. Get to know them and help where they may need help.
  2. When you are in a restaurant, don’t be bashful. If you see a veteran with a hat on saying what branch he was in. Go greet him and talk to him.
  3. I was shopping at a grocery store and saw a WWll veteran. I thanked him and it lead to a great interview for my new book , Signs of Hope for the Military: IN and Out of the Trenches of Life. We have become good friends.
  4. I was having coffee with several fellow heart disease men and women after our workout at cardiac rehab. Three of them were veterans. Got three interviews from that and kept them as new friends.
  5. At church, I have found there are many veterans who go there. I have connected with many of them who have become friends. They love to sit and talk.

What about you who are having your own struggles?

Need some help yourself? This is the right place to be my friend. There are over 7,000 followers here who are in the same boat. Make a comment at the end of this post. and I know many will read it and reach out.

If you want to be able to read these posts in your inbox, just go to the top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you do, every time there is a post it will go directly to your inbox.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never ,ever, give up!

Veterans Battle the Change to Civilian Life

This is not a new subject. Most veterans struggle when they first get out. It is too difficult the “blend,” into society. They are use to so much structure.

I have talked to many of them while I have writing my book, Signs of Hope for the MIlitary: In and Out of the Trenches for Life.

A common thread is that they fear the unknown. They had set schedules while serving, and then they are turned loose into the private sector.

A horrible statistic is that 22 veterans/active duty soldiers take their own lives every day. Not every month, every day!

Much of this is because a soldier comes out into to the real world, and feels he/she has to be tough. Many do not seek help because it may show they are weak.

What do we do to help them?

There is a 24/7 emergency number to call for help. Please use it if you need it. The number is (877-247-4645).

Where can they go to get help with other matters in their lives, like job searches, mental health, etc.

I am a board member for the following resource you need to check out: http://victory forveterans.org. Check out the site and find many things you may need for help.

We do everything we can to help each veteran. We put flowers on every veterans graves on Memorial Day; We go on trips around the United States to make people aware of the needs for veterans; We own a military museum in Casper, Wyoming with all the proceeds helping veterans, and much more. Check out the site.

Another place that will help, are the VA centers. They help you with cheaper prescription prices, and doctor care. There are VA facilities in every state. Look up the ones for you state.

There are many more things that be helping you. I will be sharing those with you in future posts.

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Up Date on the progress on my new book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I am in the final stages of finishing the book. All I have left is a few more interviews with veterans. This has been my favorite part of putting this book together. I have had an interview and then went home crying. I have had interviews that got me laughing.

On my next post I will select an interview to give you a sneak peek. I will not share an interview every post. I would rather you see it in print than through this medium.

What’s Next?

I have several publishers interested. Now it is up to me to select one is best for me, and does a great publishing the book.

I’ve just started this week to investigate each company that is interested. I found one that doesn’t charge shipping to send me the books. That is huge, but I am very careful, and will keep checking every one out.

Keep in Touch

If you want to see the progress or see some interviews directly from the book, all you have to do is subscribe at the top of this page. If you do, all future posts will go directly to your inbox.

Those of you who are a veterans, or a family member of a veteran. God bless you!!

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!