Chicken Soup for the Veteran's Soul: Stories to Stir the Pride and Honor the Courage of Our Veterans

by Canfield, Jack

• ISBN13: 9781558749375
• ISBN10: 1558749373
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781453280546
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: Hci

Summary

Chicken Soup for the Veteran's Soul will inspire and touch any veterans and their families, and allow others to appreciate the freedom for which they fought. A compelling collection of the true-life experiences of extraordinary men and women in every branch of service, who changed the course of history by their acts of valor in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War. Their experiences offer a glimpse of timeless history, revealing moments of compassion, bravery, respect and reverence. With chapters on Above and Beyond, The Home Front, The Front Lines, Coming Home, Healing, Brothers in Arms and Honoring Those Who Served, this collection relays heroic deeds, acts of compassion and empathy, fears confronted, and victories attained. This is a wonderful tribute to anyone who gave in service to their country, as well as to their families.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	xix
Share with Us	xxiii
The Warrior Spirit
Freedom Village	2	(4)
James F. Murphy Jr
Mike's Flag	6	(2)
John McCain
The Code Talkers	8	(5)
Bruce Watson
That Old Man Down the Street	13	(5)
Emerson D. Moran
The Postcard	18	(3)
Rocky Bleier
David Eberhart
The Harbinger	21	(3)
Bill Walker
The Final Battle	24	(4)
Senator Daniel Inouye
Wiggle Your Toes!	28	(4)
Walter W. Scott
``Go, Gunfighter, Go!''	32	(6)
General Colin L. Powell
Under Fire
Against the Odds	38	(4)
Elgin Staples
The Rescue	42	(4)
Robert E. Brooks Jr.
Kimberly D. Green
Sergeant Mills	46	(4)
John D. Governale
The True Face of Humanity	50	(4)
Thomas Lafayette Pool
One Hell of a Plan	54	(5)
Ronald C. Williams
The Alter Boy	59	(3)
Richard H. Kiley
The Vision	62	(2)
Paul Charlillo
Boom Boom	64	(4)
James R. Morgan
Prepare to Ditch	68	(4)
Jack Black
Patricia Black
Christmas in Korea	72	(3)
Larry Ebsch
Help from an Unexpected Source	75	(5)
Dr. Lester F. Rentmeester
Above and Beyond
Blind and Alone over North Korea	80	(7)
Kenneth A. Schechter
Do Not Resuscitate	87	(4)
Diane Carlson Evans
Colonel Maggie and the Blind Veteran	91	(2)
Susan M. Christiansen
The Stuff They Don't Give Medals For	93	(3)
Tim Watts
The Valley	96	(3)
Barry Vonder Mehden
The Mitzvah	99	(4)
Arnold Geier
Nurse Penny	103	(3)
Ernest L. Webb
The Four Chaplains The Chapel of Four Chaplains	106	(8)
On the Front Lines
My Most Memorable Christmas	114	(4)
Gene DuVall
To Any Service Member	118	(2)
Nick Hill
Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep	120	(4)
Diana Dwan Poole
Hot Lips	124	(3)
Philip Weiner
Lord of the Chinese Flies	127	(4)
Akira B. Chikami
A Show of Strength	131	(3)
Ivan W. Marion
Stalag Las Vegas	134	(4)
Robert D. Reeves
The Greatest Compliment	138	(2)
Thomas D. Phillips
Operation Chow Down	140	(1)
Richard Oakley
Amina's Way	141	(5)
Barbara K. Sherer
Sharon Linnea
Morse Code	146	(3)
Bernard Belasco
The Twelfth Man	149	(7)
Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn
The Home Front
Bob ``March Field'' Hope	156	(3)
Bob Hope
Melville Shavelson
A Flag of Any Size	159	(5)
Stacy Havlik McAnulty
Too Young to Understand	164	(5)
Barbara Sue Canale
I Have the Coffee On	169	(4)
Susan Grady Bristol
The ``Super Gunner''	173	(2)
Benedict Yedlin
Love Letters	175	(3)
Sarah H. Giachino
The Gift of Hope	178	(5)
Bill Livingstone
Brothers in Arms
A Joyful Noise	183	(5)
Everett Alvarez Jr.
More Than Brothers	188	(4)
William C. Newton
Bill Newton Jr.
The Watch	192	(4)
Bill Walker
Honor Bound	196	(3)
Jack Moskowitz
Combat Boots	199	(5)
Watts Caudill
The Nine Days	204	(4)
Walter F. Peters
Grandpa's Apple Pie	208	(3)
Heather L. Shepherd
Fellow Marines	211	(4)
Edward Andrusko
Ernie Pyle's Last Battle	215	(5)
William B. Breuer
Coming Home
Luther's Lumber	220	(4)
Joe Edwards
The Cabbie	224	(3)
Robert L. Schneider
Back to the World	227	(4)
Arthur B. Wiknik Jr.
Wounded	231	(4)
George W. Saumweber
Reunion on the Dock	235	(3)
Margaret Brown Marks
The Most Beautiful Man in the World	238	(4)
I. Kaufman
A Soldier Remembers	242	(2)
David R. Kiernan
Kids from Mars	244	(4)
Joe Kirkup
The Tradition	248	(5)
Antonio Camisa
The Light	253	(5)
Patricia S. Laye
Honoring Those Who Served
The Visit	258	(3)
Tre' M. Barron
The Russian Who Remembered	261	(6)
Charles Kuralt
A Monumental Task	267	(4)
Jan Craig Scruggs
A Voice in the Dark	271	(2)
Connie Stevens
The Doorman	273	(3)
Jean P. Brody
The Cub Scout	276	(4)
Robert A. Hall
The Waiting Room	280	(6)
Michael Manley
Pie in the Sky	286	(5)
Doug Sterner
A Daughter's Letter	291	(4)
Rani Nicola
Former Enemies	295	(5)
Reverend Peter Baldwin Panagore
Healing
The Search for ``Shorts''	300	(5)
Marta J. Sweek
Return to Hoa Quan Village	305	(5)
Robert R. Amon Jr
You're Never Alone on a Mission	310	(4)
Julie Beth Kink
Sunglasses	314	(2)
Stephen C. Klick
The Honey Man	316	(5)
Robin Lim
Just Like Me	321	(4)
Jerold S. Ewen
Ebony and Ivory	325	(7)
Karen L. Waldman
Remembrance
Remembrance Day	332	(4)
Christine Ann Maxwell-Osborn
Let Them in, Peter	336	(2)
John Gorka
When Winter Was Warm	338	(3)
Storm Stafford
Stars and Stripes from Odds and Ends	341	(3)
John Carlson
Sweet-Pea Summers	344	(2)
Susan Arnett-Hutson
History	346	(4)
Paul F. Reid
American Eagles	350	(3)
D. W. Jovanovic
Windows for Remy	353	(6)
Frank Perkins
More Chicken Soup?	359	(1)
Supporting Veterans and Our Troops	360	(4)
Who Is Jack Canfield?	364	(1)
Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?	365	(1)
Who Is Sidney R. Slagter?	366	(1)
Contributors	367	(13)
Permissions (continued)	380

Excerpts

Against the Odds It was the summer of 1942. I was nineteen years old and a signalman third class on the USS Astoria stationed in the South Pacific. One hot night in August, we found ourselves skirmishing with the Japanese for control of Guadalcanal, gearing up for the bloody battle that soon followed. At midnight, I finished my duty on watch. Still wearing my work detail uniform of dungarees and a T-shirt, and only pausing long enough to unstrap my standard-issue life belt and lay it beside me, I fell into an exhausted sleep. Two hours later, I was awakened abruptly by the sound of an explosion. I jumped to my feet, my heart pounding. Without thinking, I grabbed my life belt and strapped it on. In the ensuing chaos, I focused on dodging the rain of enemy shells that were inflicting death and destruction all around me. I took some shrapnel in my right shoulder and leg, but by some miracle, I avoided being killed. That first battle of Savo Island lasted for twenty minutes. After the enemy fire ceased, the men left standing helped with the wounded, while others manned the guns. I was making my way toward a gun turret when suddenly, the deck disappeared. My legs windmilled beneath me as I realized that an explosion had blasted me off the deck. My shock was immediately replaced by a stomach-clenching fear as I fell like a stone—thirty feet into the dark, shark-infested water below. I immediately inflated my life belt, weak with relief that I'd somehow remembered to put it on. I noticed between ten and thirty men bobbing in the water in the area, but we were too far away from each other to communicate. I began treading water, trying to stay calm as I felt things brushing against my legs, knowing that if a shark attacked me, any moment could be my last. And the sharks weren't the only danger: The powerful current threatened to sweep me out to sea. Four agonizing hours passed this way. It was getting light when I saw a ship—an American destroyer—approaching. The sailors on board threw me a line and hauled me aboard. Once on the ship, my legs buckled and I slid to the deck, unable to stand. I was fed and allowed to rest briefly. Then I was transported back to the Astoria, which, though disabled, was still afloat. The captain was attempting to beach the ship in order to make the necessary repairs. Back on board the Astoria, I spent the next six hours preparing the dead for burial at sea. As the hours passed, it became clear our vessel was damaged beyond help. The ship was taking on water and finally, around twelve hundred hours, the Astoria began to roll and go under. The last thing I wanted to do was to go into that water again, but I knew I had to. Filled with dread, I jumped off the high side of the sinking ship and began swimming. Although I still had my life belt on, it couldn't be inflated a second time. Luckily, I was soon picked up by another destroyer and transferred to the USS Jackson. Against all

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Excerpted from Chicken Soup for Veteran's Soul: Stories to Stir the Pride and Honor the Courage of Our Veterans by Jack L. Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Sidney R. Slagter, Jack Canfield, Sidney Slagter
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.