I do not Seek…
any recognition for what I am doing these days. In fact, I seek the opposite.
You see, the combat heroes I write about—they are the real ones needing the recognition. They are the ones who sacrificed, bled, suffered debilitating injuries, and came home with inexplicable wounds of combat. They are the ones whose families need the recognition, whose moms and dads worried, prayed, and sought God’s protection for their son or daughter. They are the ones who put their lives on the line for people in foreign lands, many of whom didn’t want them there in the first place.
They are the ones who truly deserve the recognition, not a near-senile old man, retired in the sunset years of life, truly enjoying the privilege of writing each story of a combat hero. They are truly are the ones we ought to be recognizing!
Yet, I am grateful, humbly grateful. It’s one of these humbling, sputtering moments where an old soldier, never at a loss for words, suddenly “doesn’t have a word to say”—or even mumble. I just stand there, looking around, seeing 22,000 people standing-cheering-clapping, while I think to myself, “my mom is proud. No actually, she’s crying, crying tears of gratitude for her boy”. I’m sure she looked down, smiled, and shed a heavenly tear.
Thank you, David. As usual, you outdid yourself. All I asked was for a contact who could find a couple of tickets for me to the Mets-Reds baseball game. I am more than willing to pay for them, in fact, even buy a ticket for you my brother.
Thank you, Patrick, Marketing Director for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. Thank you Reds fans. You’re all the best.
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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.
Jerry’s second book, So Help Me God is being reviewed and edited for a late fall publishing. His third book of combat stories is to be published in the late fall of 2022 and will be entitled: Stories from the ‘Bone: B1B bomber.
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.
Details of the two wonderful veteran causes we support can be found on the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website.
Above: Jerry Barnes, Author of Combat Survivor Stories, honored by the Cincinnati Reds.