Combat Veterans

Not everyone has pulled shards of another man's skull from the palm of their hand. Not everyone has stood over the bodies of friends whose lives were lost in an instant. Not everyone has struggled to face their own reflection for years on end. But anyone who has experienced trauma or adversity will resonate with Legion Rising, the unflinchingly honest account of an army officer's journey through combat in the Iraq War and rising beyond the scars that trauma leaves behind.

May 6, 1986: Nick Popaditch arrives at the Receiving Barracks, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California. April 9, 2003: An AP photographer captures a striking image seen around the world of the Gunny Sergeant smoking a victory cigar in his tank, the haunting statue of Saddam Hussein hovering in the background. Popaditch is immortalized forever as "The Cigar Marine."

David W. Powell enlisted for a tour of duty in April 1966 with the US Marines after receiving an imminent draft notice. Believing he would be able to leverage his existing skills as a computer programmer, he never thought all they would see on his resume was his Karate expertise. Even less that he would wind up serving as a Rocket man in the jungles of Da Nang and Chu Lai for a 13 month tour in hell. David's journey from naive civilian to battle-hardened combat veteran shows us all how fragile our humanity really is.

Written with award-winning author Steven Weingartner, Faithful Warriors chronicles Dean Ladd's experiences as a junior officer in some of the fiercest fighting of the war in the Pacific. His recollections and descriptions of life - and death - on the far-flung island battlefronts of the Pacific War are vividly rendered, augmented by the recollections of a number of the men with whom he served. This memoir tells the story of how both Ladd and the Marine Corps came of age during history's greatest military conflict.

Battleship Marine recounts the decisive role the USS Wisconsin, a World War Two era battleship, played during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. There is very little historical information available on the Naval actions in the Persian Gulf during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This first hand account by the Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment on the Wisconsin helps to fill a part of the historical record. It provides an eye witness account of the ships deployment from Norfolk, Virginia. Her entrance into the Persian Gulf as the first Navy capital ship on station to defend against a ...

Col. Mark James Alexander was the only airborne officer to lead three different battalions into combat in World War II, successively commanding the 2nd and 1st Battalions, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 508 PIR, of the 82nd Airborne Division. A legend in his own time, he fought in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France, and even after being seriously wounded in Normandy, insisted on playing a role in the Battle of the Bulge.

In the grand tradition of John Keegan's enduring classic The Face of Battle comes a searing, unforgettable chronicle of war through the eyes of the American soldiers who fought in three of our most iconic battles: Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima. This is not a book about how great generals won their battles, nor is it a study in grand strategy. Men of War is instead a riveting, visceral, and astonishingly original look at ordinary soldiers under fire.

In Book Two, Nick Kilmer continues south on his ride with Deacon through Arizona and encounters a family that he befriended and helped during their most dire circumstances during their introduction into the United States. Escaping the wrath of Sadaam Hussein's forces that wants to eliminate the Kurds, Fatima's family and is granted asylee status. Nick finds himself influencing the single mother with five teenagers as they navigate into American Society. They disappear for 15 years, an unlikely reunion brings with them despicable Iranian opium smugglers and Mexican Cartel members. A disabled...

The gripping, forgotten tale of Ira Hayes—a Native American icon and World War II legend who famously helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima but spent the latter half of his life haunted by being a war hero. Ira Hayes breaks apart the complexities of Ira’s short life in honor of all Native veterans who have been to war in the service of the United States. This is equally their story.

When seasoned combat medic Linus "Doc" Winehouse embarks on a seemingly routine mission in Afghanistan, he soon finds himself and his squad ensnared in the fiercest battle they have ever encountered. With unwavering determination, Doc fights relentlessly to protect his comrades, pushing himself to the brink of exhaustion for the sake of their survival. Meanwhile, in the United States, young Carston Thomas harbors dreams of helping the homeless and scaling mountains—much to the chagrin of his protective mother, Chloe. Having been scarred by her tumultuous past, Chloe is determined to ...

Vietnam - There & Back: A Combat Medic's Chronicle is a candid account of the time when Jim Purtell and several other combat vets found themselves conducting operations in the jungles of Vietnam during and after the Tet Offensive. Purtell describes in gritty detail what it was like to live and fight with an infantry company only to return to anti-Vietnam sentiment so strong that he and his fellow veterans felt nobody cared about them or the sacrifices they made.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Combat Veterans’ Stories of Small Wars and Nation Building present 20 autobiographical stories of men and women that were in fire fights, raids, and other dangerous situations that exposed them to enemy ordnance. Their stories give readers an understanding of warfare, as the US military has experienced it since the Vietnam War.

Women are officially barred from combat in the American armed services, yet in today’s wars, where there are no front lines, the ban on combat is virtually meaningless. More than in any previous conflict in our history, American women are engaging with the enemy, suffering injuries, and even sacrificing their lives in the line of duty. When Janey Comes Marching Home juxtaposes forty-eight photographs by Sascha Pflaeging with oral histories collected by Laura Browder to provide a dramatic portrait of women at war.

Fred Tomasello Jr. served three years as an officer in the U. S. Marine Corps. He earned two Purple Hearts, five Air Medals and a heavy dose of Post Traumatic Stress. Born and raised in West Tampa, Florida, Fred graduated from the University of South Florida and worked 27 years at the Tampa Postal Service. Retiring in 1999, he and his wife Kathy Blair sold their home, bought a truck and trailer, and traveled cross-country for five years as full-time RV'ers before settling in Cheektowaga, NY, a suburb of Buffalo. Soon after September 11, 2001 Fred started writing and discovered the spiritual...

Caregivers need clinical training so they can triage mental health problems in ways that promote post-traumatic growth. In this audiobook, the concepts of moral injury, religious coping, and crisis intervention are discussed with the aim of equipping caregivers to engage with mental health issues. A guiding light is personal, pastoral experience as an emergency room chaplain.

A reconnaissance man and sniper, John Lewis Barkley served in Company K of the Fourth Infantry Regiment, a unit that participated in almost every major American battle. The York-like episode that earned Barkley his Congressional Medal of Honor occurred on October 7, 1918, when he climbed into an abandoned French tank and singlehandedly held off an advancing German force, killing hundreds of enemy soldiers.

Justice does not always come easily, and it comes in many guises. On the seedier side of London, a shopkeeper witnesses a brutal beating in “The Veteran” (read by Patrick Macnee). In a better neighborhood, a famous London auction house is scammed in “The Art of the Matter” (also read by Macnee).

LA County Veterans Court Judge Robert Solomon Needs the Wisdom of King Solomon Helping Veterans Suffering From Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Although this short story is fiction and meant to be entertaining, it is based on research and true anecdotes concerning veterans suffering from PTSD. It is the author's hope that readers will enjoy the story as well as be encouraged to understand and support veterans and others suffering from PTSD. ˃˃˃ Visit www.SolomonsJustice.com to learn more about PTSD Scroll up and get a copy today.

No one should have a grudge against a meditation-loving yoga teacher, but my bank-robbing father’s associates seem to believe that I know where he hid his missing fortune... and they’ll do anything to get their hands on it. Gruff giant Kade Campbell is determined to protect me, but I don’t want him in the firing line. The rugged former special forces soldier may be a badass—and able to give me butterflies like nobody’s business—but he isn’t immune to bullets.

This study in leadership is a result of a 32-year military career that culminated in recognition for excellence by President Barack Obama. The following pages contain brutally honest, real-life leadership examples taken directly from the combat zone as documented in the COMBAT JOURNAL book series. An ideal reference for future generations of military and corporate leaders. The format is a simple but effective one. The leadership issue is identified, followed by an expert analysis of the incident and supporting Army doctrine. After reading this book, you will see leadership in a whole new ...