What's Your Goal?

Do you set goals or a resolution for the New Year? How did yours go in 2021?

Did 2021 hit you with a curveball? Maybe you didn’t quite hit that goal. In fact, perhaps you hit the ground running, and a week, two weeks, or a month later, you found yourself overwhelmed, defeated, or with outside factors influencing your ability to reach your target.

This year, realizing I take on more than I can humanly accomplish when setting goals, I was encouraged to form smaller, more manageable objectives, and you know what? I did. And I met them. However, I had to work through my all-or-nothing mentality, feeling that the goals weren’t quite good enough. I’m so great at giving grace to others, but I am not as generous to myself. When I finally did extend kindness to myself, when I backtracked, because yes, I did that even with the mini-goals. I did not give up, but instead pressed on, and while I’m not exactly where I planned--- I have made progress, and for that, I celebrate!

We reached out to our Teams and asked…

What is your goal/resolution for 2022? AND

What is something you are looking forward to in 2022?

Here’s what they said…

My goal for 2022 is to find joy in all of the moments, the good and the bad; there is joy to be found. Pam

My goal for the new year is to go back to school. It’s something I have been hoping to do for the past 10 years. This last year we had started the tradition of doing a family vacation and letting the kids pick the activities to do on the vacation. It was a hit, and everyone got to enjoy something they liked. Mayra

[My] New Year Goal/Resolution is to take and pass my practical exam and start building my clientele. 2022 will be a year of hard work and hustle to build a life free from financial strain and set our family up for less stress related to money. Christy

Although I don't usually put much thought into a New Year's Resolution, it is always my goal to do better than the year before; meaning react better to difficult situations, be better financially, be better about self-care, just be better at everything than I was the year before. Lacy

I am looking forward to watching my oldest graduate from High School in 2022. Lacy

I don't have a new year's resolution or anything like that, I just look forward to spending more time with my boys than anything else. Malcolm

My goal for 2022 is to connect with others through physical means: give hugs, meet for coffee, mail cards, deliver cookies, and whatever else I can think of! Liz

Let’s wish these inspiring veterans and caregivers the very best in 2022!

What’s Your New Year Resolution or Goal?

5 Tips to Reduce Stress Around the Holidays

It’s December, and we don’t have to tell you the holiday season is in full swing. From Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Year’s and everything in between- this time of year can be incredibly stressful for wounded veterans and their families. Injuries both visible & invisible can become even tougher- couple that with the financial stressors, and many may wish away a season that used to be a joyful time of year.

Here are 5 helpful tips for reducing stress around the holidays, plus advice from veteran families!

Plan Ahead

Make a plan! Decide who you will see and what gatherings you will attend. Is it easier to host or attend? Talk it over with your loved one(s) and make the best choice for your family.

Don’t Over-Schedule

Give yourself permission to say no. You may not be able to do everything this year, and that is okay. Parties, sports, extra-curriculars, seasonal activities, shopping, baking, cooking, cleaning… the list goes on. Doing it all may leave you exhausted and running on fumes. You can always unmake plans if you realize you may have over-committed or today is not a good day.

Take Time for You

Schedule opportunities for a breather and capitalize on those moments when unexpected downtime occurs. Read, take a walk, listen to music, color, watch TV, take a nap, play a game. It’s essential to do the things that help you recharge!

Make an Exit Strategy

You can’t anticipate every situation, word that may be exchanged, or feeling that could occur, so creating a backup plan if you need to make a quick getaway may be helpful. Whether it’s taking two cars, a code word to leave, going to a quiet room, taking a breather outdoors, etc. Planning in advance may make all the difference!

Add Mindfulness or Meditation to Your Daily Practice

Among many benefits, research shows these habits can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Apps like Calm or Headspace are available to guide you through this tool.

Bonus Tip!!

Stay in the Moment

It’s easy to start thinking about all the activities that are to come in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Try to focus on today and stay present. Today has enough worries that focusing on tomorrow’s possible stressors can add to today’s.

Advice from Veteran Families: 

For Christmas, I also order everything online and hide the presents in my closet. The kids know where they are, and I'm shocked that no one has tried to peek "yet"... ~Beth

Communicating expectations has been a game-changer for us. It's not perfect, but better than years past. Hosting parties at our house has been the best for our family. We get to see family in a comfortable environment for my husband, my husband has a 'safe place' he can escape to if he needs a break, and I am able to continue socializing. Sometimes he will rejoin the party, and sometimes he needs more time to recharge. With communication, we are able to better enjoy the holidays.  ~Tiffany

Go on vacation alone. ~Melissa 

I like to cook everything a day before Thanksgiving and just leave the turkey for last. I order most of the gifts online that way, my children can't peek, and I hide them in the Christmas tree box (it's a huge box!) ~Emily

Taking deep breaths; it gets hard when my husband's PTSD is in full effect. We have a word we use, and when he says it, then I know it's time for us to go. Explaining to family members or friends-sometimes they just do not understand. It has really helped my husband go out, and I am at ease when around friends and family or out in a crowd. ~Joy

Simple is good! I try to split the family's favorites between Holidays. Everyone has a favorite pie; however, I don't want to make 4 different ones. I make some for Thanksgiving, different ones for Christmas, and the final favorites for New Year. It saves me time and work and adds variety. ~Christina

The best present you can give is the gift of your presence. Put the phone away and be present in the moment. ~Pam

Being a Part of the Heroes Thanking Heroes Program

I’ll start out by introducing myself. I am Joy Marshall, a Military spouse and a Military Mother while I provide care for my veteran husband, Trey. He enlisted with the United States Army in September 2007 at the age of 28. He deployed to Iraq the following June. 

Trey was wounded in Iraq by a mortar that hit 35-40 yards away from his Humvee in March 2009. The blast threw him out of his gunner’s seat and onto the hard ground at a weird angle. With all the heavy gear he was wearing, it was a massive fall. It twisted his neck while his body went the other direction. He ruptured some discs and was knocked unconscious for almost 10 minutes. He doesn’t remember being injured, only waking up. He finished up his year-long deployment, not realizing the extent of his injuries until he was back home and went into the WTU until retiring out of the Army.

I also have two sons, one who served in OIF in Iraq, in which he sustained injuries and PTSD. My oldest son is still full active with a wife and daughter. Trey and I have two beautiful daughters with a total of 4 grandchildren.

I am currently working in the Heroes Thanking Heroes Program. I am the Assistant Team Lead for the Quality Assurance Department, and I also make calls to our wonderful donors to thank them for their support in helping our wounded veterans and their families. I still think about one donor I spoke with not too long ago...

He was stationed at Pearl Harbor and was on the ship USS Oklahoma that was bombed in the early hours as he was sleeping in their bunks on the ship. When the bomb hit, the ship was going down; as the gentlemen stated, they were treading in the cold water with other military men- fighting off the sharks as they were waiting for help for hours on end. It really touched my heart that day to hear what those soldiers went through and know they are helping our wounded veterans today. 

Having the opportunity to connect with other veteran families has helped. Being involved with the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes has been a huge blessing for my husband and me. We have met a lot of wonderful, wounded veterans along the way and have been able to participate in some really cool activities and programs that have helped restore hope to our family. 

Thank you to The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes for all you have done for My husband and me and so many wounded veterans. 

Marshall Family

Partnership and Communication in Marriage

The way that you communicate and see your marriage is the way that is going to reflect to the world. I learned very early in my marriage that effective communication helped me understand my spouse and vice versa. But how do you communicate? Do you yell, do you give the silent-treatment, or do you put it under the rug and let it go? I realized that was not the most effective way to communicate with my spouse.

First, no one is really listening, even when we are yelling. This is the point where we don’t want to get to; we want to be able to speak our feeling and thoughts to our partners without having to yell. It has taken me a good minute to get here, and some of the ways that have helped me have been with this simple opening statement “ I am not here to fight with you, I am here to speak with you and for you to understand how I am feeling …” then you put your emotions into words. How do you feel? Do you feel frustrated, happy, sad, angry, resentful, tired? And you go with your statement. At the beginning, it might be uncomfortable to speak up, but we must be able to learn and exercise our communications skills with our partners. The sooner you learn to communicate with each other, the better the relationship gets because you are building trust with each other.  

At last, what do you want from your partner with the information that you have given them? Are you seeking an apology? And if you are, you have to say it. For example, “Honey, I need you to apologize to me because this hurt me” or “I would like for this or that to change.” Sometimes our partners do not know how hurt we are. Or what is bothering us. We think “they SHOULD know!” but the reality is that they don’t! They can’t read your thoughts; there’s no way of them knowing if you don’t speak up. You might say, but they saw me crying, or they noticed I got upset. Yes, and you are right, but why were you crying, or why did you get upset. Learn to translate your feeling into words. Try to write them down to have more clarity when you speak and the desired outcome from the information you have provided.

I hope these simple and easy tips can help your marriage build trust and the ability to communicate effectively with your partner.

By Emily Hernandez

The Summer Adventures of C & J - Part 4 America The Beautiful

Oh, beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain. For purple mountains majesty above the fruited plains. America! America! God shed His grace on thee…

 ~ Music & Lyrics by: K. Bates, B. Sainte-Marie, S. Ward ~ 

A recap of our adventures this summer: We were evacuated from Mt. Shasta, California, due to fires, saw one of my veteran's ex flings, kayaked, and lived through a near-death experience on the Rogue River, enjoyed time with old friends, hung out on the beach in Astoria Oregon, visited my fellow Goonies, and watched Curtis chainsaw a Ford truck stuck on a log.

After spending a wonderful weekend visiting our favorite elementary and boarding school teachers, my veteran Curtis and I readied the RV to leave Spokane, Washington. A mutual friend from boarding school had just moved to Spokane, and we were able to spend a wonderful evening catching up. Sandy* was in absolute agreement that Curtis was a player back then and that she did not blame me for giving him a wide berth until he grew up. She told me a story of how he had found out that her aunt was one of the faculty living on the hill during the first week of school. He said, "Hey Sandy since you are doing laundry at your aunt's house could you do mine?" Sandy said she was so shocked by his boldness that she said yes and did his laundry. After the first time, she got wise and told him to do his own laundry. We all had a good laugh as Curtis reminded us, 'Don't hate the player, hate the game.' It was incredibly relaxing to spend time with people from our youth where Curtis was just Curtis and not a combat-wounded vet. It gave him a sense of normalcy that he had been craving.

Instead of going the shortest way home to Missouri through South Dakota, we decided to drop down through Montana and Wyoming to scope out Yellowstone National Park for next summer's adventure. Getting reservations this summer anywhere has been next to impossible. Between FEMA blocking out campgrounds for fire evacuees and restrictions lifting from COVID-19, people were outside in droves. I love seeing families out together, but seriously, stay home so we can get reservations. I am kidding; get out and breathe fresh air America! We arrived at Yellowstone at 0600 to get in line for a first-come campground in Mammoth. This was the first time either Curtis or myself had been to Yellowstone. Although the lyrics of America The Beautiful were based on the author's view of the Colorado Peaks, I think it is even truer of the beauty of Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in Montana. We stayed three days in Yellowstone and would have loved to have stayed longer.

After leaving the 'purple mountain majesties' of Montana and North West Wyoming, we experienced the 'amber waves of grain' through the prairies of Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. The night before returning home, we stayed at a mom-and-pop campground outside of Aurora, Nebraska. It was a scene straight out of 'Children of the Corn.' We were in bed, nearly asleep when a haggard-looking woman came knocking on my door. She said she did not know where her breaker was in her RV. I admit to reading way too many murder mysteries, but it seemed sketchy to me and even more so when he was gone nearly an hour. I had all sorts of crazy murder scenarios running through my head when Curtis finally got back to the RV. He told me that she was driving home alone because her husband had passed away in his sleep while attending the HOG rally in Sturgis, SD. It turned out that she and her husband had both served 20+ years in the Army. Her husband had been a decorated Desert Storm combat wounded veteran. All thoughts of being kidnapped or murdered in my sleep disappeared when I thought of the heartache of loss she must be experiencing. None of us know when our time to leave this earth will come, but knowing that is different than accepting it when a loved one is lost.

Curtis and I have been blessed to have lived, traveled, and seen 'the fruited plains and alabaster cities gleam.' Every part of America has a story to tell and a beauty of its own. I would never be able to go on these adventures with my veteran if I had to work in an office. The Heroes Thanking Heroes (HTH) program has allowed me to work from home, RV, or even in the truck while traveling between destinations. Curtis's mental and physical health has improved with the freedom to travel and make new happy memories. This would not be possible without the generosity of donors, foundations, and organizations from 'sea to shining sea,' and we give our heartfelt thanks. The Coalition's HTH program saves lives in supporting America's wounded military heroes and their caregivers. 

Oh, beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life. America! America! God shed His grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea ~ America The Beautiful

Written by: Justina Lyn, Veteran Caregiver

The Summer Adventures of C & J - Part 3 Goonies, Beaches and Fords

If I found one-eyed Willy's rich stuff, I'd pay all my Dads bills, so maybe, he could get to sleep at night ~ Mikey from The Goonies

On a recap of our adventures, we were evacuated from Mt. Shasta, California, encountered one of my veteran's ex flings, kayaked, and lived through a near-death experience on the Rogue River (that's another story), and enjoyed time with old friends.

Having spent two weeks on the Rogue River, we decided that it was time to head to the beach. The west coast was experiencing the hottest summer in decades. The Bootleg fire to the east of us in Oregon had consumed over 200,000 acres. The smoke from that fire and the fires in Northern California were making breathing difficult. My veteran Curtis and I had both wanted to visit Astoria, Oregon, for different reasons. He wanted to go because his favorite elementary school teacher had taken her entire class to Fort Clatsop National Park to visit the Lewis and Clark museum. In my first blog, I mentioned how Curtis was on a mission to recapture the joy and peace of his youth. Revisiting places where he had made happy memories was part of his journey this summer. I wanted to go to Astoria because I am a massive fan of The Goonies, a movie released in 1985. 

On our way to Astoria, a woman got up next to our truck and appeared to flip Curtis off, acting somewhat agitated. We didn't know why she was so angry, but several seconds later, we realized she had been trying to warn us that one of the tires of our RV was smoking. We pulled over to find that the tread had melted off of the tire. We were lucky to get away with only a flat and no other damage to our fifth wheel. It goes to show that the actions of others can often be misunderstood. Who knows what would have happened had the lady not 'flipped' us off. It was a huge relief to arrive at Camp Rilea, an Army National Guard installation outside Astoria. The temperature had dropped to the low 60's, and the air was fresh and clean.

I felt like I was back in 1985 when we toured the beach, jail, and house where The Goonies was filmed. Unless you have seen the movie, it is too hard to explain how funny all of the characters were. Like many young teenage girls in the 80's, I had a huge crush on Cory Feldman, who played a lead role in the movie. Cory never made it to my bedroom wall like Tom Selleck, but he was still a cutie pie making teenage girls sigh with happiness. The Astoria Film Museum had it set up to record yourself in a scene of the movie. I mean, can you get any cooler than that? After purchasing my Goonies hoodie, I was ready to go home to Missouri.

The highlight for Curtis's Astoria experience happened the following day. We had driven our big Chevy dully out on the beach to eat our lunch when we both noticed a Ford truck hung up on a large stump and stuck. The driver was under the front end with a hammer and chisel, trying to get free. Curtis said to me, "figures that a Chevy is going to have to save a Ford." We have learned from previous experiences traveling across the states to carry a chainsaw. Curtis was highly entertained as he ate his lunch, laughing at the guy who had essentially taken a knife to a gunfight. After lunch, Curtis, the nice guy he can be at times, got his chain saw and cut away the stump. I wish I could paint a picture of how comical it looked to see this big burly guy in hiking boots carrying a chainsaw walking on the beach towards an unsuspecting man under a truck. It was a scene straight out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. All that was missing was the hockey mask.

I did not think anything could top getting to visit the town where my favorite movie was filmed, and even Curtis agreed it was time to start making our way back east to Missouri. After a three-day stop in Spokane, Washington, where we visited with our favorite elementary and high school teachers, we were off to Yellowstone.

Written by Justina Lyn, Veteran Caregiver

The Summer Adventures of C & J - Part 2 Sun, Potlucks, and Love

In order to write about life, first you must live it ~Ernest Hemingway

For those who may not have read Part 1, my veteran Curtis and I had just been evacuated from the McFarland fire in Northern California. We were not ready to head home to Missouri and decided to continue our adventures north to Medford, Oregon.

An unfortunate circumstance of marrying someone who served in the military is the chance of running into one of their ex conquests. Although he is reluctant to admit it, there is no denying that women love a man in uniform, and he was well-loved. As Curtis often says, "Don't hate the player; hate the game." Another downside of knowing someone for as long as I have him is that I grew up with quite a few of his exes. That said, I found myself heading to Oregon to visit a mutual guy friend from high school. Our friend "Tom" ended up marrying an ex fling of Curtis. We had all attended high school together and although I was excited to visit our mutual friend, I wasn't fond of the negative emotions that were encompassing at the thought of seeing Curtis' ex, "Mary" again.

You are probably wondering by now what this has to do with the military and why I am writing about ex-girlfriends in a Heroes Thanking Heroes blog. Well, dear reader, it is like this. According to reports released by VA.gov, divorce among military couples is more than 80%, with divorce rates of wounded veterans being higher. Our wounded veterans have experienced extreme trauma, often coupled with a traumatic brain injury. I never served in the military, but I have experience with complex PTSD and a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Irrational jealousy, fear, distrust, and paranoia are symptoms of persons with PTSD and a TBI. Not being able to separate truth from fiction may contribute to the higher divorce rate among marriages of wounded veterans. I have many caregiver friends who report being falsely accused of all sorts of things that are not real. It is challenging to remain patient with someone who has been triggered by an event and is acting irrationally.

I grew up on a religious hippie commune where my father had lots of 'girlfriends.' This was not a lifestyle my mother approved of, and I saw her confidence wilt a little more with every woman my father paraded around. At one point, my mother ended up in a hospital for six weeks due to an emotional and physical breakdown. Even at a young age, I was able to associate the free-love hippie lifestyle with my mother's hospital stay. I cannot explain it, but while I have no issue with ex-wives, being around ex-girlfriends triggers unwarranted insecurities.

I will not bore you with how hard it was to get past the mental block of Curtis's brief fling 35 years in the past. What is important is that I was able to work through a lot of trauma from my childhood with the love and assurance of my veteran and best friend. My job as his full-time caregiver means that I am tasked with gently coaching him down off of the cliff of untruths. I am the one he leans on when he wakes up from nightmares and holds his hand as he fights to remain in the present instead of being sucked under from the past. He could have yelled at me, told me I was crazy and irrational. Instead, he held my hand and talked me off of the cliff of the lies my brain was telling me. There were times when it took all of my willpower not to pack a bag and catch the next flight home to Springfield. I wanted to run away, and that is a feeling that Curtis struggles with nearly daily from his battle with PTSD.

Many of us military caregivers successfully care for others because we have experienced some sort of trauma. We are empathetic because we have had to fight our demons and understand the fear of knowing something is not real but believing it to be real. Curtis and I spent two weeks on the Rogue River near Medford, Oregon. It was a beautiful campground where the back deck of our toy hauler sat out over the water. We enjoyed our morning coffee in peace and spent several days out on the river with our kayaks. Curtis and Tom went white water rafting every chance they got. We had Tom and Mary over for dinner a few times with other friends. I will never be friends with Mary, but that has less to do with her previous connection to Curtis and more with not having any shared interests. We plan to go back to the Rogue River next year but have invited classmates with whom we are both friends. We left the Medford area rested, emotionally closer, and ready for the next adventure as we headed to the coast of Astoria, Oregon.

***Names have been changed to protect the identity

Dreams Come True if you Work Them. Energy, Pattern, Force and Form- Self Discipline is Worth the Work.

Hometown Ironman race, on my street even! Who would have ever thought this would be a reality. Here we are, though, the race of a lifetime. With nothing in a lull and full of high anticipation. It was a race that was full of exactly what the spirit of Triathlon represents. The cumulative energy of both athlete and spectator were above amazing; this was a transformation for my community. The Spirit of Triathlon came alive in Benzie County that day. It was amazing to see the whole community in support.

When Ironman rolled into town at the beginning of the week, it almost looked like a circus had rolled into town. The Tents were up as fast as they had got into town, and you could feel the excitement buzz around the locals questioning what was to be. Signs around town began to warn of road closures for the big event. Very few were heard to grumble, most locals willing to excuse the closure of M-22 for the day and postponed their vehicular travel. Making this an ideal opportunity for cyclists to preview the course in advance.

For myself, my preparation began to amount in some stress as I had previously ridden an old bike that had lots of miles and had been used in all of my races and training, lots of miles. Things at the last minute became unfixable. So the Hunt for a bike was on.

I had put the word out I was looking for a bike. Aid came, as Marines find their own, a brother came to my side and offered me aid. Randy Newbold, owner of Crystal Lake Adventure Sports, a local Veteran, offered me the assistance of his Bike shop and Mechanic, Bryan. We troubleshot on the bike and quickly came to the realization this was not the right bike for this race. With Randy's tenacity and grace he was able to navigate through his network and find an absolute miracle of an opportunity; in the local area, a 2019 Specialized Shiv TT bike was available. An avid bike collector Randy knew this was only happening because of divine intervention. He made the bike available for me to take to a local fitter, Mark Geraldo, of Ride Science, to get fitted properly. Upon fitting, we realized there were some technical difficulties. Mind you, please, this is all happening a week away from the race! We went over to Pat at Mission Cycles, and he was able to update the software, and I was on it!!!

Working on a new bike a week before race day, most would say, is nuts. Never change anything before race day. Well, my mind was made up, and I was able to ride the bike for about 20 miles before the race and be much more comfortable than my previous bike. It was amazing and a blessing. This was only the beginning of the excitement. As I was at Ride Science, I had been on the light table for the feet. It shows your arch in the foot. I had previously mentioned a bout with planters fasciitis from changing shoes a month earlier, and now I was fighting some issues. When we looked at my feet on the machine, it showed my right arch collapsing due to an injured metatarsal. I had been taking it easier the previous month due to an inflammation happening in my foot. I knew I had already made the decision to race. I went for a walk while Pat fixed my software issues; walking downtown in Traverse City, I stopped into Running Fit, the shoe store. I was immediately drawn to a pair of Adidas Bostons and knew beyond a doubt I needed this shoe as it was the one I was looking for before buying the shoes that caused the injury. Here we go, changing bikes and shoes before race day, breaking all the rules!

 

A Marine knows how to adapt, especially on the fly. OneMind, any weapon, these were my tools. It was time to go to work. I was ready to go. I gathered my things together the day before race day and headed down to Athlete check-in. I saw familiar faces and met with a local Athlete and lawyer, Fredrick Stig-Nielsen. With words of wisdom and encouragement for his first Ironman, I pointed him to the check-in tent. Linking up with Randy and his wife Elaine, giving hugs of celebration and community. It was a little bit of a party before the race with all of the excitement bubbling. The town began to flood with athletes from all over the country and world! I dropped my things off in transition and headed right down the street to have dinner with my Amber and the girls, my Mother and Aunt. It was a beautiful evening, and surprisingly I was able to get some rest.

 

The morning of the race was beyond perfect; I was able to drop my things off to Triathlon and go back home for my wetsuit and breakfast, to avoid the big anxiety of the crowds' anticipation, giving myself just enough time to get down to the swim start and mingle with the local athletes. I ran into Fredrik and waited in the swim chute with him as we talked through our excitement and race plan. Upon getting to the water, the music hit me, and I began to do a bit of a jig and dance before jumping in the Betsie Bay. Baptism! How absolutely blessed I was to have made it to this moment...I was in the water, and the cheers of the crowd began to drift. I was doing it; I was having my race.

 

I made it through the darkness of the water with relatively low anxiety and no real issues, other than the occasional thought of losing my watch or my timing chip, the other swimmers were courteous and gave space. I was almost out of the water; I could see land. Making it upon shore, I stripped my wet suit and began running to my bike. I pulled my goggles and swim cap off my head and pulled my arm through my sleeve. Intentionally leaving my swim cap and goggles. I felt something drop. I panicked for my new goggles I had just purchased the day before, another new thing before race day! Looking for them only allowing for seconds to search. Seeing nothing, I moved on to my bike. Transitioning over quickly grabbing my helmet, strapping it, grabbing my bike, and running with it as fast as I could though transition on this new super-fast bike. Hauling all over through my neck of the woods. It was a perfect course and an amazing day for a bike ride.

Upon coming back into town from the bike, I was met with the pain of my foot. But keeping my mind on the race and why I do these things. I do them to Honor my Brothers and Sisters. They gave me this opportunity to have this understanding of freedom. I put the pain aside and went to work on the run. I was blessed to see all of the athletes as they ran through the Betsie Valley Trail. It was a great day of celebrating everyone's hard efforts in training and finally showing up to such a gnarly race. I was able to make my run steady and stayed within my goal range. I came across the line at 5 hours and 25 minutes, running full stride across the finish line into the Arms of Josh Mills, the Mayor of our Town; he gave me my medal, and Kristine, his wife, gave me a much-needed water. When I wiped the sweat from my eyes, I saw my family. Amber and my girls Raya, Talullah, and Lilah, my mother and Aunt, a blessed Man I was. To be encouraged by this whole community, and to be blessed with this race of my dreams.

Randy opened up his bike shop to provide some much-needed recovery and respite. Allowing for myself to get a foot rub from myself and some rehydration. I gotta shout it out; my gratitude over bounds with joy and humbleness. Thank you to my local community for making this race a reality. For pulling together for me and supporting me. My undying loyalty to My Veteran Community and the efforts that each one of you makes to pursue their dreams. This is my why; this race was a testament to freedom. A testament of community. A Testament of the American Dream. Thank you all for being a part of my network. May you all be inspired to keep facing the day and whatever challenges are presented with a positive mind and achieve the things you never thought were possible. Many Blessing-Love y'all for Love Is Semper Fidelis. God Bless.

Written by: PFC Gerald Jennex' 01-'05, 3rd Battalion 1st Marines Infantryman

The Summer Adventures of C & J - Part 1 The Cow Didn’t Do It!

 

One dark night when we were all in bed. Mrs. O'Leary took a ladder to the shed and when the cow kicked it over, she yelled up in the night, it'll be a hot time in the old town tonight.

Fire! Fire! Fire! ~ Cad. L. Mays

In 1871 the great Chicago fire was blamed on Mrs. O'Leary's cow, but no one knows how it started. The same can be said of the many devastating fires ravaging through the northwest this summer. My veteran and I grew up in Northern California and were asked to be campground hosts on the south side of Mt. Shasta, CA. Campground hosting is one of those areas in marriage referred to as 'compromise.' My idea of fun is not spending the entire summer and early fall in an RV, running everything off of a generator, and worst of all, no internet! Many combat-wounded veterans, including my veteran Curtis, prefer the forest's isolation to the busyness of town and civilization.

We arrived at our destination in California to the beauty of Mt. Shasta and the heavenly scent of Ponderosa pines. The mountains covered in pine trees brought back many happy memories of roasting s'mores over the fire as a child. A few days after we arrived, the Lava fire started to the north of Mt. Shasta. The smoke billowing up over the peak gave the mountain an appearance of a volcanic eruption. The Lava fire began on June 25th. The Tennant, Salt, and Dixie fires followed shortly after. Curtis and I had driven down to Redding, CA, to use the library and were leaving town when the Salt fire started not far ahead of us on the interstate. At this point, we were both growing in concern as we now had major fires with zero containment to the north and south of our campground. 

Being a campground host was proving to be a challenge. Curtis and I were seeing our home state quite literally burn to the ground, and yet fires at individual campsites were still being allowed. In our minds, it seemed like a no-brainer to cease all fires due to the extreme heat, lack of water, and multiple fires already burning out of control. The air quality was terrible, making breathing difficult for Curtis, who is missing part of his left lung. Every day we woke up and went to bed in a haze of smoke. Drama with campers seemed to increase as the fires spread. Curtis felt like he was back in the military having to babysit privates. Several campers left fires unattended, which he had to douse. One camper used the entrance to the campground as his drag strip. After calling his license plate into the CHP for drag racing, we later found out there was a warrant for his arrest for drug and gang-related activity. Over July 4th weekend, we had a female camper that went to every, and I mean every single campsite, in an attempt to seduce men. Age, race, and marital status did not matter to her. She would make the rounds sporting her feminine wiles until her husband or children tracked her down, taking her back to camp. It is unknown if mental illness was to blame or if it was an excess of drinking. There were some friendly people that we met. Several campers that came through were Vietnam veterans. One veteran served in the Navy and did one tour in Vietnam as an EOD diver.

Ultimately, the McFarland fire sent us into a state of panic and forced us to evacuate. Curtis had driven two hours north to Medford, Oregon, to visit an old friend from high school when the forest ranger called and told him a fire had started a few miles north of our campground. Knowing how quickly fires can burn, Curtis called and told me to pack a go-bag, unlock my scooter and get ready to ride out. If you have never been evacuated, I want you to think about what you would pack for two people if you had to leave your home and accept it may not be there when you returned. My children's maternal and paternal grandparents and many of our friends lost their homes in the Campfire that burned the entire town of Paradise, CA. Oh, the conundrum of choosing from my favorite books, sandals, jewelry, clothing, and makeup. It was easy to pack for Curtis. He wears t-shirts, shorts and has two pairs of shoes, one of which he wears. Ultimately I chose sentimentality over practicality. I could always buy more sandals, clothing, and makeup, but I could not replace the jewelry, my bible, and gifts I had onboard that the children had given us.

I packed our laptops and essential documents in my backpack. I was ready to go. I took everything out to where my scooter was parked. At this moment, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) came through the campground on a loudspeaker, telling us to prepare to evacuate. Curtis had called and said he was a half-hour away. I spent the next half-hour getting the RV packed and ready to go on the chance Curtis got back in time. Fifteen minutes before his arrival, the CHP drove through again, giving the order to leave. By now, I could see the red of flames glowing brightly through the growing thickness of the smoke. I was starting to panic inside. I got on my scooter, rode through the campground, making sure all of the campers were packing up to leave, and prayed Curtis would get back in time to hook up the trailer.

On his rush back from Medford, Curtis was pulled over for going over 100mph. After explaining the situation to the officer, he was given police escort the rest of the way. He later told me it was like the parting of the red sea, complete with lights and sirens as people moved over to make way. We loaded our scooters, waited for the last of the campers to evacuate, and drove to safety. One of the campers had not taken the CHP seriously and had not packed up. Ultimately we had to force them to leave their camping gear, get into their car and follow us out. They seemed confused about the rush to go even with visible flames and bombers flying low overhead, dropping retardant less than a mile from the camp. I would have left everything had Curtis not made it back in time. I had accepted the inevitable loss of our beautiful fifth wheel. However, material things can be replaced, but lives cannot.

Curtis and I miss the California of our childhood. The once beautiful mountains covered in pine trees have been reduced to ashes, with desert shrub brush taking their place. The snow-capped peak of Mt. Shasta from our youth is now brown and bare. The pristine lakes we learned to water ski on are nothing more than muddy ponds. Curtis wanted to go to California to recapture the feelings of joy and peace from his childhood, the memories of war had overshadowed. Instead, he was empowered by overcoming the adversity of a wildfire, getting campers to safety, saving his RV, and best of all, he proved himself a hero in my eyes all over again.

Written by: Justina Lyn, Veteran Caregiver