Tag: war wounds

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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.

___________________________________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

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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June 6th was the 75th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I can make up a bunch of excuses, but the bottom line is that I got burnt out and needed a break.

I am fresh and ready to write every day again.

Today’s post will be mostly about the invasion of Normandy 75 years ago. I have interesting stats pertained to the day:

156,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and many other allies partook during this invasion.

5 beaches along the 50 mile stretch of Normandy coast were targeted for landing, with the allied code names of Utah, Omaha, Gold, and Sword.

6,000 landing ships and crafts. .

50,000 vehicles were used.

11,000 Planes were used.

12,004 total killed , wounded, or missing. (United States 8,230, United Kingdom, 2,700, and Canada 1,074)

326,000 who reached the beaches by June 11th.

496, 777 WWII veterans who are still alive as of 2018.

_________________________________________________________________

This was a horrible day for lost soldiers, but in the end it was much needed and led to the victory for the allies later.

If you were one of the soldiers who fought on that day, God bless you and you are a bonafide hero. You truly are the “Great Generation.”

If for some reason you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, depression, war wounds, etc, Please get help. Here is a phone number you can call to get immediate help:

(877-247-4645)

In closing, I hope you like these type of posts. If you want to receive future posts without having to come back to this site, just go to the top of this page and subscribe. then you will receive every post in you inbox as they come.

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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!