Behind the Story: Shane and Brandon

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

 

As he walked…

into the Wendy’s restaurant, it didn’t take long to realize: this dude is quite a character. Everyone working in the restaurant began to smile as Shane, wearing a US Marine hat strolled to the counter and ordered. Friendly and gregarious, smiles abounded on the faces of the workers.

Clearly, he was a “regular” and favorite of the employees. I noticed a slight limp as Shane made his way to a nearby table, carefully carrying his hamburger, fries, and coke. Shane turned to me and asked, “how are you, sir? Are you from around here?”.

“Well, I am a Virginian,” I said, “My wife and I are heading toward our home in Botetourt.”

“How about that,” he said. “I am originally from West Virginia. The wife and I retired here in Farmville years ago.”.

I noticed Shane’s right leg was stretched out a bit as if he was nursing a war injury.  “Where did you serve in Vietnam?”, I asked. After 20 minutes of swapping stories, I noticed tears welling up in his eyes. Words flowed freely from this new friend.

“Well, I served in several spots. Most of the action I faced occurred near Liberty Bridge.  By far, the toughest night of my life, occurred when a battalion of over 500 Viet Cong suicide soldiers attacked our little marine unit of 120. At eighteen years old, convinced I was going to die, I fought continuously for over four hours. Can’t imagine how many people I killed.”

I knew this story had to be told. I mentioned that I too was a veteran, as well as an author of combat survivor stories, and asked if he would be interested in sharing his story with me for an upcoming book.

“I would sure consider it,” he responded, giving me his phone number. “Might even be able to convince my son to give you his story also. He served in Iraq for three tours and fought in the battle for Fallujah, Iraq. He doesn’t want to share much. It may take some doing to get him to talk.” We left it at that, shook hands, and parted.  

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I met Shane, his son Brandon, and the family matriarch, Elizabeth, who “hung the moon” in the words of Shane. She is the energy for the entire family, clearly adored by both dad and son. Brandon, with his arms around his mom, reluctantly shared his story.  Elizabeth even talked Brandon into giving me a poem he wrote while in the combat zone. Powerful! Powerful!

After interviewing the Seaborne Marines, and speaking with me, the local newspaper in Farmville, VA wrote a feature story on these two. Brandon and Shane, shared freely with the reporter, recounting details of their combat. I am privileged to call these two “friends for life” and glad to be a small part of sharing this back story with each of you.

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If you know a veteran who would like to share their story with me for a future book, just ask them to visit the contact page of my website, or click the button below. 

If you enjoyed this blog, please like and share it with your friends on social media to help spread the word about Combat Survivor Heroes. A portion of all book proceeds is donated to local veteran causes. 

Be among the first 1,000 people to receive an advanced, signed copy of Angels on the Battlefield. You can contact me for details by clicking the button below.

You can also use the link below If you would like a signed copy of my first published book of combat survivor stories When Heaven Visits: dramatic accounts of military heroes. For a discount on your purchase, leave a review of the book on Amazon, take a screenshot of your review, and email it to combatsurvivorheroes@gmail.com.

 

contact me

               

Details of the two wonderful veteran causes we support can be found under the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

Cover Image: Shane and wife, Elizabeth. Above: Brandon and Mom, Elizabeth.

Musings, Cars, and Two Stories

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Laura…

my brother Gordon is going to the auto auction in Richmond. Want to tag along? I see there are some state vehicles we may be able to buy for a decent price.”

“As long as you promise me we won’t buy something we don’t need”, she conceded. 

“I’ll do my best to avoid bidding”, I promised.

She responded that she would be watching me like a hawk.

Upon arrival, we soon discovered that state cars were going to sell for way more than we were willing to pay. I resigned myself to a quiet bench in one of the bays, watching the sales proceed. There was a constant stream of bidding chatter. “How do these guys talk so fast?”, I wondered.

Meanwhile, Laura was nowhere in sight.

Sometimes, I have the right to remain silent, but not the ability. A shiny, gold Nissan Sentra was entering the sales booth. There was stark silence. No one made a bid on the car. The words “$200” burst from my mouth. “$200 is bid, will someone give me $300? 300, 300, 300.”, the auctioneer quickly said.

Silence.

“Sold to the man in the Virginia Tech hat for $200″, shouted the auctioneer.

I sat quietly in my chair as a lady approached me and said: “Sir, I represent the finance company who owns this car. I am not willing to sell the car for $200, but will take $600 for it”.

I told her that I would check it out and let her know. A few moments later, the engine running quietly, and no tears on the upholstery, I said, “I’m willing to pay the $600″.

About that time, adult supervision disguised as Laura returned, looked at me incredulously, and said, “Why did you buy that ugly thing?”

“Because it is worth more than $600”, I retorted.

“Well, I am not going to ride in it. I hope you plan to sell it”, she insisted.

“I do”, I said.

Laura followed me home in our Honda,  just to be sure the Nissan would make it. I stopped at my buddy’s filling station in Daleville and asked, “Do you care if I leave this here with a For Sale sign on it. I marked the sign with $2500 or best offer. Two days later I got a call and went to meet the fellow. He drove the Nissan and said, “Would you take $2200 for it?”   

 “Yes”, I said, and we drove to the Bank of Botetourt to settle the sale.

Twenty minutes later, I had a certified check for $2200. Laura grabbed the check and said, “this is going in the book account”. We can use the money to pay book editors!

On the way home from the sale, Laura and I stopped at the Wendy’s in Farmville. A fellow walked in the Wendy’s and we struck up a conversation. He gave me a terrific story of his service at Liberty Bridge in Viet Nam and led me to a second story, from his son, who was also a marine, and fought in the bloody Battle of Fallujah, Iraq. Both stories are in our first book and will be mentioned more in a future blog.

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If you enjoyed this blog, please like and share it with your friends on social media to help spread the word about Combat Survivor Heroes. A portion of all book proceeds is donated to local veteran causes. 

Be among the first 1,000 people to receive an advanced, signed copy of Angels on the Battlefield. You can contact me for details by clicking the button below.

If you are interested in a signed copy of our first published book of combat survivor stories, When Heaven Visits: dramatic accounts of military heroes, you can also click the link below. For a discount on your purchase, leave a review of the book on Amazon, take a screenshot of your review, and email it to combatsurvivorheroes@gmail.com.

 

contact me

               

Details of the two wonderful veteran causes we support can be found under the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

 

Above: Jerry Barnes, Author of Combat Survivor Stories, and wife Laura Barnes

 

The Power of the Short Story

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

In 2011…

Julian Stood wrote an informative piece of work entitled, Small can be beautiful. Why short, powerful stories can be more effective than novels in the learning process.

Stories and storytelling sit at the very heart of effective communication. Stories build rapport and empathy, creating and sharing ideas of shared understanding. They give understanding and knowledge in a structured and predictable way.

Our friends at Readers Digest built an impressive following based on the premise of the effective tool of communication we know as the “short story”.

I will share with you the powerful words my friend Les Stobbe said to me nearly three years ago. He said, “Jerry, I believe a book of combat survivor stories, some of them near death accounts, each story written in a format of say, 1,000 to 3,000 words can be a powerful means to inform and give honor to these heroes. Will you consider bringing these stories to light?”

My dilemma was simple. Comfortable in retirement, the first thoughts popping into my 72-year-old mind, were: “you are 72. What in the world are you thinking? Beginning a new career at the age of 72 may well be viewed by some as total lunacy!”

My dear wife Laura, ever helpful, wisely offered, “you are an engineer, have little concept of how to write, and even less experience in writing. Why would you ever consider that? Besides, you got a ‘C’ in English in college.”

Her true words rang in my ears, but I did have a lasting thought. Laura did pay attention in English class and got a good grade. Perhaps she can help me.

As I drove home, Les’ words rang in my ears. Then the thought hit me—where will I find a book of combat survivor short stories? Well, I do have one story of near-death survival—my own. That’s a start. With ideas floating in my head, brilliance attacked me.

“I will ask Rita, my friend from church. She works at the VA. I’m sure she knows some veterans with stories”.

God’s providence is so wonderful. A couple of days later, Rita offered: “well my cousin Ryan served in the Army Green Berets. He shared his story with us at the family reunion. It was exciting, to put it mildly. Let me ask him.”

Ryan’s story, The Ambush, the lead story in book one, was so good it snagged a publishing contract, and I was off and running, but that’s another story for a future blog. 

                                    ********

If you enjoyed this blog and want to help the author, please like our post on social media and share it with your friends!

Be among the first 1,000 people to receive an advanced, signed copy of Angels on the Battlefield. Contact me for details by clicking the button below. I promise the cost will not break your spending allowance.

If you are interested in a signed copy of our first published book of combat survivor stories, When Heaven Visits: dramatic accounts of military heroes, you can also click the link below. For a discount on your purchase, leave a review of the book on Amazon, take a screenshot of your review, and email it to combatsurvivorheroes@gmail.com.

 

contact me

               

As a reminder, we donate a portion of all of our proceeds to two veteran causes.  Details of these two wonderful causes are described under the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

Above, Jerry Barnes, Author of Combat Survivor Stories

The Killing Fields of Cambodia: Chou Te’s Story

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

my beloved husband…

the father of our children, struggled to walk through the jungle for several miles on a badly injured leg, seeking treatment from the primitive, Khmer Rouge jungle clinic. Five days later, he died there, alone in death. One of my teen-aged sons risked his life to bring the devastating news to us. Forbidden to travel without “authorization”, and leaving my elderly mother and young daughter, I ran toward the jungle clinic through dark hours, My dear husband lay on the ground alone, his eyes open in death. Through muted sobs, I gently closed his eyes and rested my head on his chest. My husband and crippled mother died during the hellish three and a half years we spent in the jungles of Cambodia. To this day, I don’t know where their bodies rest. We were told that Khmer Rouge soldiers, many of them teenagers, threw the dead and wounded in jungle caves. When the caves filled with bodies, they closed the openings with soil and found another cave.

The rest of this compelling story will appear in my second book, Angels on the Battlefield: dramatic accounts of military heroes. Publishing of “Angels” is expected in February ’21.

Be among the first 1,000 people to receive an advanced, signed copy of this wonderful book. Contact me for details by clicking the button below. I promise the cost will not break your spending allowance.

If you are interested in a signed copy of our first published book of combat survivor stories, When Heaven Visits: dramatic accounts of military heroes, you can also click the link below. For a discount on your purchase, leave a review of the book on Amazon, take a screenshot of your review, and email it to combatsurvivorheroes@gmail.com.

 

contact me

               

As a reminder, we donate a portion of all of our proceeds to two veteran causes.  Details of these two wonderful causes are described under the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

Credit to Bettman for the image above

The Champ

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Blisters covering his body…

the little guy couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old when frantic parents, brought him to our field medic station in Iraq. A pot of scalding cooking water fell on his left side, burning him from head to toe. Compounding the grim situation, his poor parents waited for two days before realizing that no home remedies were able to provide relief.

The chaotic scene brought instant thoughts of my three children in Illinois.

Lifting the crying little guy to the treatment table, assessing his pathetic situation, we knew some form of relief must be found.

Morphine? Can’t do that. I am not a Dr.

Let’s begin debridement, drain the blisters, then apply medicinal cream to soothe each area. 

The slow process began, enabled by loving care and mounds of chocolate cookies.

An hour later, cries reduced to an occasional whimper, The Champ realized we were bringing relief to his pain.

 A week later, he was running around like any little six-year-old.

 

 

 

 

The Champ is one of several medic mini-stories in our next book, Angles on the Battlefield, scheduled for a Feb ’21 publishing.

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Above: photo of The Champ featured in Angels on the Battlefield, 2021