Page 7 - Anthology

INTRODUCTION

During the process of researching and writing A Soldier’s Exposition, I was constantly
drawn away from that project with thoughts of how I could honor our nation’s Veterans,
active duty servicemen and servicewomen, and their families.

One morning it occurred to me. They needed a forum from which to tell their personal
stories; soldier to soldier; Veteran to Veteran; no luster, and no punches pulled – honest
– straight forward talk. I knew immediately it was my responsibility to collect and
publish their expositions.

It is my goal to provide accounts of the everyday, common, and remarkable soldier. I
consider every soldier remarkable. I also consider every soldier, regardless of time in
service or place of service, a hero; hence: HEROES AMONGST US.

The exposés you are about to read will be personal, informative, educative, and
humbling.

Each participant was given an interview form asking for basic information to establish
background statistics and for research. The words belong to the person establishing
the record. I, the author of A Soldier’s Anthology, assume no responsibility for the
accuracy of the information provided. There should be no expectation that the
interviews are re-counted verbatim.

The contents of this book should be considered historical and educational in nature.
Each participant tells their story, and in most cases, they have a message for today’s
youth. Each participant desires their words to be enlightening.

The military awards and decorations for many of these Veterans could not be obtained
or their official records were incomplete or destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel
Records Center in Saint Louis, Missouri. Research does indicate that many of these
Veterans were eligible for certain awards and decorations simply by serving with a
specific unit during a specified time-frame.

Use of the word soldier includes the ranks of all branches of the service.
The word Veteran is capitalized to reflect my respect.