Tag: WWII veteran

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This WWII Soldier Should Have Died

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It is hump day. The rest is down hill for the week.

I have decided to share with you the story of Don Malarkey. He was a WWII veterans who servid in Easy Company for the 101st Airborne division. (The Screamin Eagles)

Why am I sharing his story? He is from my home town of Salem, Oregon.

His company was written in a book called, “The Band of brothers.” He was one of the main caharcters. The book was later made into a mini series with the same name. He was a main charcter in that as well, and played by Scott Grimes.

He was 96 when he passed.

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Don was dreafted out of University of Oregon.

Something that wouldn’t happen today. He decided to become a paratrooper. Within months he was assigned to the 101st Airborne division.

During the early hours on D-Day June 6th, 1944, Malarkey parachuted behind enemy lines in support of the allied invasion. Later that day, in a pitched battle, he helped knock out four German 105 mm artillery battery, in action now called the Bre’court Manor Assault. This is still studied at West Point as a classic example of small-unit attack tactics and leadership in overcoming a large enemy force.

Marlarkey was award, among other awards, the Bronze star, the Purple Heart, and in 2009 the Legion of Honor Medal, the highest honor awarded by the French Government.

Back to the “Band of Brothers,” book and mini series. Mararkey appeared on several of the introductory segments that were incorporated into the show.

After the mini series, Malarkey and his Band of Brothers counterparts practically became household names. Malarkey spoke often to college students, and other groups of his experiences. He also traveled with the USO to Army Posts and hospitals in the United States and Europe.

He wa asked how he felt about telling all the experiences he had. he said he was humbled and even a lttle bit embarrassed by the attention he and his fellow Easy Company members had received.

Then he said, “But, then I remember that I owed it to the guys who did not return, as I tell of their courage, trauma and accomplishments.”

It was still a little overwhelming for him , but he was grateful for the letters from people who wanted to say thank you, ask questions, and wanted pictures autographed.

I have another story coming up about another Band of Brothers, who also lived in Oregon. He just passed away last week.

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I have been able to interview several WWII veterans.I will tell you about one veteran, and you have to read the book, “Sign of Hope for the Military: In and out of the Trenches of life.,” to see the interview.

Ira Feldman was at the end of WWIl, and was actaully honorabley discharged. Then the Korean war was started, and they drafted him again, because of his knowledge. The following story is about this part of his military carreer:

When he got to the airport to be sent to Korea he happened to see a buudy of his from WWII. They met and told many strores. Then they were separted. In the hanger they were waiting in to fly, a Sargent was calling out names of who was flying on one of the two planes leaving. Ira figured out that his buddy wasn’t going to be on the same plane with him. He went up to the sargent and asked if he could change planes to be with his buddy. The sargent barked and told him no!

Ira was trying to figure out what to do, when he saw an officer along the edge of the hanger looking like he was in cahrge of the whole operation. Ira got brave and walked up to him and asked him the same question. The office got irritated and told him to get back with his men. Ira didn’t budge. He knew this was his last change to fly with his buddy. He explained again to the officer how important it was to be with his friend. The officer finally yelled, “Get out of my face and get on the other plane with your buddy!”

So he was with his buddy and they even sat together. The two planes took off at the same time. Things were going great until he heard from the cockpit that the other plane had crashed. Everyone was killed, and he was suppose to be on that plane!!

There is a trmemneous interview with him on his feelings about the crash and what happened while he was fighting in Korea.

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BTW… I just got exciting news about my up coming book, “Signs of Hope for the military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” I have a publisher who is very interested. We are in the negotiation stage, and I think we will be working together. More news on this later.

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This is a pretty long post, but I really enjoyed sharing it with you.

How are you doing?

Do the days seem hard and long. Are there days you wish you could forget? You certainly are not alone my friend. There are over 9,600 fellow veterans here who have your back. Reach out to them if you need help.

If it is just too overwhelming right now, GET HELP!

Here is a 24/7mtoll free number for you to call. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8225 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!

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Sad, but Honest Endorsement by a Daughter Who lost Her Dad to Suicide

+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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I was going to share some more stats, and short stories about veterans, but today I am going to get you caught up on how my book is doing.

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I keep getting more endorsements by the day. Here’s a very appreciated endorsement from a daughter who lost her WWII father to suicide:

Learn from the best, Douglas Bolton, U.S. Army Veteran who has written a great book for all veterans, active duty service members of all branches, military families, friends and non-veterans. It provides a thorough understanding, knowledge, and the real stories among those who have served and their families that compliment today’s American Veterans.  Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life can make a big difference in today’s understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its affects.  As the daughter of Vietnam Marine Veteran that suffered all of his life with PTSD and then finally ended his own life, it will make a big difference in your life as you read the personal stories.  This author does a great job of creating a sense of urgency by calling it a “must-read,” and ends with a powerful “call to action” for the reader. 

Bella L. Burroughs

Daughter of WWII Veteran

Castle Rock, CO

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That really struck home with me. That is why I am writing the book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In an Out of the Trenches of Life.

There are over 22 veterans who take their own lives every day! Yes I said every day. That breaks ny heart, and hopefully this book will help some of them enough that they don’t take that final step.

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I shared a story for my basic training recently. Now I wil share one of the stories of when I was deloyed to Korea.

I came to Korea in not too bad of weather. I would learn later what they meant by, “The land of the frozen Chosen.”

My first day at Camp Red Cloud …

was scary of course. I knew no one! I fet like I was isolated on a tiny island. I got to my Quanset Hut, and unpacked. I was sitting on my bunk, when two guys came in. They were two very different guys. One looked like a line backer for football, and the other was very tall.

The line backer was from Alabama, and was black. The other was a “tall drink of water,” from Texas. They both looked very intiminating. I even wondered if this was a “hazing” like in college.

Instead they both walked up to me and reached out their hands for a shake. They both had a friendly look on their faces. They said they were glad I was there, and if needed anything to let them know. I was overcome with the greeting, and thank them for making me feel welcome

I stuck close to those two guys for the rest of my time in Korea. Why wouldn’t you want a linebacker, and a tall drink of water looking after you?

Those two guys would later get me into a lot of trouble. They loved to have fun, and they wanted me to be a part of it.

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Time to do bed check. How are you doing today? Are you having trouble facing the world?

You certainly are not alone my friend. There are 9,580 other veterans on this site, and they all have your back. Make a comment at the bottom if you want to reach out to them.

If it is getting too overwhelming, GET HELP! There is a toll free number you can call 24/7. It has highly quailified counselors there to help you. They will not hang up until they know you are OK.

Here is that number: 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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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Shocking Interview with a WWII Veteran

The rioting in Portland, Oregon is shameful! Last night a young man was shot to death, because he was a Trump supporter. That is called murder.

The Mayor, Ted Wheeler, ( a Democrat, ) had the nerve to blame it on our President. Meanwhile, he has allowed the rioting go on for over 90 days now. What’s wrong with this picture??

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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I have had a wonderful thing happening on Facebook. In just this month only my followers have increased by over 2000. Who are they? Veterans, everyone of them . Such an honor. If you want to join them just go to Facebook and put my name in the search area.

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I read today that two Russian jets flew with 100 yards of one of our B-52’s. That was pure intimation. I wonder what kind of message they are trying to send?

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In some previous posts I have shared some interviews with veterans for my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

Here is another one. The reason I am featuring him today is that he was on the front page of my local newspaper this morning. The paper was featuring him because he just had his 100th birthday!

Bob Coury is a man I have known for over 65 years. He is local man from my home town of Salem, Oregon. The reason I have known him that long is that he opened a fast food restaurant in 1955 near where I live. It was called, Bob’s Hamburgers when it first started. I walked by it every day from school ans a Sophomore in high school. His hamburgers were only 19 cents each . My mom would give me a quarter and I would have a hamburger every time I went by each day. I still had six cents left which I save to build up for the next hamburger. We were poor back in those days, and my mother scrapped up that quarter every day for me.

Bob was also a veteran of WWII. He was a Captain, and the officer in charge of a unit of men who unloaded ships as they came into the Okinawa harbor. They were in great danger at all times. There were Kamikaze planes trying to crash into the ships they were unloading.

Here are parts of the interview I had with him:

I asked him how he felt as he unloaded each ship. “I worried about my men getting killed. I went on to ask how the Kamikaze plane affected his work “We had to watch at all times, and get off the ship if it looked like one of them was going to be successful in hitting the ship.”

I also asked him what was his scariest moment. “One day I fell off a ship and there was a barge right next to the ship. I fell in between the two ships. I had a hard time getting out of there before I drowned.”

There is much more to this interview. Keep looking here as to when the book is coming out.

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Checking in on you. How are you doing? Are there good days, but also some bad days?

Please know that you are not alone. There are 9.156 fellow veterans on this site. They all have your six. Reach out if you need help.

As a a matter of fact here is a toll free number to call if you are overwhelmed:

1-800-273-8255

There are highly trained counselors there to help you. Do not wait!

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+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit for the site, please let them know about it. You may be saving a life. Your comments will not be seen by other people, just me, and I will connect with you to see if you are OK to share it.

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Remember:

You are ever alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!