Tag: combat heroes

Lakefest

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Sponsored by merchants…

in Clarksville, VA, LAKEFEST is a “happening”! Thirty-five to forty thousand people walked by the tents and tables of 150 venders, crafters, food merchants, and one old veteran author, lined up along the one main street of Clarksville. I feel blessed, the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce “adopted me” in 2019 and now 2021, to be one of the 150!

While hot and humid, the temperatures and humidity didn’t matter. People everywhere strolled by our table. We sold a lot of books and met a lot of people, eager to hear, why one old man and his silver-haired (and still pretty) wife, became authors at the age of 70some. “That’s amazing”, became a familiar frame. “You are donating your proceeds to veteran causes?”

“Yes, we don’t really need the money. It seems like the right thing to do for the privilege of writing combat survivor stories. After all, this is neither a burden nor a sacrifice; quite the contrary. It’s a privilege! As a veteran myself, the recognition rightfully deserves to flow to each of them, particularly those scarred by the trauma of combat. I enjoy the work. In fact, this beautiful hot day (96 degrees), is nothing compared to the heat and humidity of the middle-east desert.”

“God Bless you”, was a comment I heard several times. My respectful thought: no, God Bless the men and women in uniform, sweating through 100 plus degree temperatures, along with the stench of burnt, spent shells, explosive ordnances, fires,  and OH YES, the carnage and suffering of combat.

I thanked each one. Told them, a portion of all profits will be given to a charity or non-profit benefiting veterans or their families.

Oh yes, and thanks to Lakefest officials and the Chamber for adopting us. Can we return next year?

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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 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 on the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

 

Above: Photo from Clarksville Lake County Chamber of Commerce during Lakefest.

 

Recognition from ‘Outta the Blue

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

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.

 

contact me

               

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.

 

Thelma Lou

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Yes, I am writing about…

the actress who played Thelma Lou, Barney Fife’s girlfriend on the Andy Griffith show, also known as Mayberry, R.F.D. Still alive and in her 90s (ladies don’t want to give you their age), Thelma (Betty Lynn) now lives in Mount Airy, North Carolina, home of the Andy Griffith Museum.  Betty moved to this charming town in western NC, leaving her home in Los Angeles for the “peace and quiet” of the North Carolina town which prompted Andy Griffith to model the Mayberry show after. To say that Betty is the queen of Mount Airy is an understatement.

Still active, (age is classified), Betty appears at the Andy Griffith Museum on Fridays for a few hours to meet fans of the show and sign photographs.  A fan referred me to Betty who graciously chatted with me one Friday for about 30 minutes until “handlers” whisked her away for the autograph session. During our time together, Betty made one charming request: “Don’t show them a picture of me now, show them my young photograph”. She was and is charming and beautiful.

Betty broke into the entertainment business, in her home town of Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 17, singing in nightclubs of a family friend. USO representatives spotted her as an “entertainer of interest” and contracted her for East Coast/US hospitals to entertain troops wounded in WWII. When Betty turned 18, she joined a USO entertainment troop and entertained wounded troops for about six months. From there, her USO group began entertaining troops staging to be sent to the European War Zone.

Later, Betty and a guitar accompanist traveled to Burma to entertain troops in “safe areas”, where the British and US troops were driving out the Japanese.  It was here that Betty was given a fully loaded weapon to carry.

I’ve teased you enough. Betty’s story will appear in our next book, Angels on the Battlefield, expected to release in the fall of ’21.

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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 profits 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 tab of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

Above: Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou) during her time serving in the USO

 

Two Hard Heads Meet!

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Trigger, a baby goat…

greeted me as I walked in the door of the barber/ beauty shop.

“Don’t bother the customer, Trigger”, Helen said, while completing a lady’s blow-dry.  

As soon as I sat down, Trigger started butting my leg.

“Where did you get this critter, Helen?”

“Well, his mother had four of them, but only nursed two at a time. Trigger and his sister were not able to get enough milk to make it. We lost his sister and I got to Trigger just in time to rescue him”, Helen responded. “With me feeding him by bottle every couple of hours, it looks like he is going to survive.”

I picked Trigger up and started holding him.

“You want a goat, Jerry? I got three available”, Helen said.

“I can’t imagine what Laura might say if I walked in the door with a pet goat.  But I don’t think it would be that positive”.

My mind raced to a GI who picked up a stray puppy in Afghanistan and brought him back to base. Despite misgivings, the commander could see how the critter helped improve morale and gave a reluctant “OK” for the soldiers to keep him. Over time, the dog became the pet of the entire unit and did wonders to perk up the morale of young soldiers. The little guy reminded them of home, and diverted their minds from the horrors of war, if only temporarily. 

Then one day, the dog, traveling on patrol, was killed in a battle skirmish. There is no way to describe how this incident affected morale. Grown men were crying in the combat zone as if one of their best and closest friends had been lost.

In a measure of reflection, that is exactly what happened.

This story will appear in one of my future books.

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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 on the Resources page of the Combat Survivor Heroes website. 

 

Above: Jerry nuzzles Trigger the goat.

 

A True Marine

Posted on by Jerry Barnes

Claude Saunders…

a gem to meet and listen to, this 93-year-old hero quietly shared his inspiring story of marine service in two combat zones.  First, Claude served at Iwo Jima, arriving near the end of this bloody conflict and remaining with most of his marine company (about a hundred men) to clean up.

In our time together he said, “Jerry, it took months and months to gather up the discarded Japanese and American arms, and equipment after this battle. The abandoned arms were so extensive, it filled an entire Landing Vessel, over two hundred feet in length, to full and overflowing. We later took the ship to the Chinese Nationalists, then unloaded her, under constant duress, as Chinese communists fired on us”.

“From there, the Marine Corps sent me to Korea where I later fought in battles in and around the Pusan Reservoir during the early stages of the Korean War”.  

Claude’s story will appear in our third book, to be published in 2022. For more information on future books, sign up for our Friends of the Author newsletter. We will be announcing some exciting contest giveaways and other promotions for the second book,  Angels on the Battlefield.

*******

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 100 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:  American hero, Claude Saunders