Outline of the book, Signs of Hope for the military

I am here to tell you that starting today, I will be changing the format a little. I will be talking more about my new up coming book to get you “hooked.”

What I will be doing in this post is to tell you why I even started writing the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

I am a veteran, and veterans are very close to my heart. I am on a National Board called Victory for Veterans, Inc. Check our website at: www.victoryforveterans.org.

While being on the board I began to see the need to help veterans even more when I saw this statistic: Twenty two (22) veterans committ suicide every day. Not every year, month, or week. EVERY DAY!

That was very sad for me. This veterans served their country and were placed in harm’s way. Things overwhelmed them and they ended their lives.

I decided I needed to reach out to try to help these veterans. I began my book about two years ago.

Why is it taking so long?

I need to make sure it is accurate and that I have some quality interviews. (More on that later.)

The book is divided into four sections:

  1. Basic training
  2. Deployment to South Korea.
  3. Ft. Bragg.
  4. Interviews with veterans.

You have read a few of my interviews and you can see the pain and hurt many of our veterans have.

The first section talks about my time in basic training, and it is full of humor and how i survived. Each chapter tells you about one of my adventures, and then share how you ccan be better if this has heppened to you.

The second section is about my time in Korea. It is not nearly as humorous. There were things that happened there that was hard for me to write down. One flash look is that I lost a buddy there.

The third section was my time at Ft. Bragg North Carolina. I had one very scary day there.

The fourth section is full of interviews from veterans. That is the part I am still working on.

If you subscribe, and follow this site, you will hear much more on each post. There are 8,185 veterans who have subscribed. I am very honored to have you

You can subscribe by going to the top of this page and clicking on “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will go directly to your inbox. Please tell others about this site so they can get help as well.

___________________________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

If You Are A Veteran and Struggling, Get Help!

What a ride!!! The last few days things have been hopping. Many new followers. I told you in my last post that we had just passed 8,000 followers. Well, just today alone there are 23 new followers and the day is only half over.

I know why it is happening, and with your help it will grow even faster.

There are far too many veterans, and current service members who are hurting.

This statistic is for real: There are 22 veterans who take their own lives EVERY day. Not every year or month, EVERY day!

That is why so many fellow veterans are coming here. They are searching for help and hope, two very important four letter words. I am hope to provide that here.

__________________________________________________________________________

I will be sharing a short interview excerpt today. I have many in my book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of life.”

The book has many endorsements from many levels of ranks in the military, from Sargeants. through Generals. They all know this book is much needed to help our veterans.

___________________________________________________________________________

This interview was done will stopping to eat lunch. I was driving along and decided to stop at a Carl’s Jr. I went in a got my order. As I was walking to my table I passed a Vietnam veteran. I knew he was in that war by the hat he was wearing. I thanked him for his service and sat down.

As I watched him I could see he was in pain. He had a cane, and looked like he had some battle scars.

When he was finished, he struggled to get to the garbage can to throw his waste away. He had to come right by me and I asked him if he wanted to sit and talk. He looked like he didn’t want to do that until I told him I was a veteran like him. He sat down and we exchanged some idle talk, and I asked him if would share some of his experiences.

He was able to do that and here is his story. I will not do this in a question and answer format like I may in the book, here is his testimony:

He told me he was a crewmember on a battleship that was stationed off of the coast of Vietnam. They were there to send helicopters to shore to rescue men, and to get much needed food and supplies to the villages.

This was a 24/7 operation. One of the days his very best friend, who was a helicopter pilot, was taking off from the ship with a load of supplies. His helicopter sputtered ; the blades stopped working and he and his co pilot crashed into the ocean right after take off. The helicopter sank very quickly sending both men to their death. They couldn’t even get them, because the water was too deep.

My friend had lost his very best friend.

I asked him what was the worst moment other than his friends death. He said it was when he had to walk through the terminal at the airport. People were screaming at him, spitting on him, and calling him a killer.

He felt like he had said enough because he was getting very emotional. We exchanged email addresses, and he left. I could see him struggling through the window and he walked to his hotel.

There is more to this interview in the book.

How about you? Are you struggling like my friend here? Have you lost a buddy? Were you wounded and are still suffering from it.

You are not alone!

There are many who are suffering each day from PTSD, TBI, anxiety, depression, etc.

I you need help get it!! Do not think you are weak to seek help. Help is availabe and they are good at helping.

Here s a help line to get the help you need:

800-273-8255.

__+If you like what you are reading, subscribe to this site by clicking on the subscribe icon at the top of this page. When you do, all future posts will come directly to your in box. Please tell others you know who also could use this site.

________________________________________________________

Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

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!