“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” — President George Washington
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, an d for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”— President Abraham Lincoln 1865
“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.” — President Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official.” –President Theodore Roosevelt
“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” — President Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” —President Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” — President John F. Kennedy
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States in remembrance of the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. It is observed the last Monday of May.
Originally, there were two different holidays celebrated by the North and the South to honor their Civil War dead in 1868. After World War One, the two holidays were combined to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.
Veterans Day, which honors all U.S. veterans, is celebrated annually on November 11th–the day that WWI officially ended. V-E Day (Victory in Europe), May 8th, 1945 is the date United States and Great Britain celebrated defeating the Nazi war machine.
We at Chanticleer Reviews are honored to present four excellent reads that exemplify the honor and courage of the men and women who serve in the U.S. military. For information about each book, please click on the link provided.
GySgt. Bussler served three tours of duty in Iraq in 2003. The last tour (2005 -2006) proves to be the most challenging when Bussler narrowly escapes an IED blast with his life and sent home with injuries. The year proved challenging not just for Bussler, but for his whole team and it leaves each one of them forever changed. After recovery, Bussler then served as a Mortuary Affairs officer.
Though now retired from the Marines, GySgt L. Christian Bussler is still active in the veteran community and acts as a mentor for other veterans. A truly magnificent and heartfelt memoir, No Tougher Duty, No Greater Honor is a must-read for every American.
“I went away to war one person and came back another, and in my wildest dreams would never have chosen to be the one who came back.” – Christopher Oelerich
For those who suffer from PTSD, understanding that they are not alone and that they can help themselves is a huge step toward embracing a recovery program. Oelerich, as one who has experienced combat and traumatic events, wrote this book as a “How To” guide for combat soldiers, like himself, who suffer from PTSD.
Christopher Oelerich relates his own personal history, beginning from when he was drafted into the military during the Vietnam War, and continuing through his return to civilian life and his own rocky road to recovery.
GENERAL in COMMAND – The Life of Major General John B. Anderson by Michael M. Van Ness
A remarkable biography chronicling the adventures of a farm boy born in 1891 who rose high rank in the US military and served with distinction in two world wars as a combatant, officer, and sage observer. He served in the Mexican War, WWI, the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Great Depression, and WWII.
A farm boy from the hills of Coker Creek, Tennessee to driving tanks across France and into Germany as part of an initiative that ultimately saw the end of Hitler’s Third Reich. A heartfelt recollection of the sacrifices of America’s soldiers in WWII.
The often-unknown role of women in wartime as travel nurses and pilots, as well as the use of herbs for natural healing, adds interesting and relative historical content to the story. The WASP pilots and their active role in the war effort was particularly fascinating reflecting Shawgo’s vigilance with her medical and military history research.
After the prologue shows Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, establishing the World War II setting, the story begins on September 23, 1940 in New York.
Readers may find it interesting that Shawgo, along with being an award winning novelist, is also a travel nurse who goes where and when she is needed for national disasters.
A riveting portrayal of the lives of children whose parents serve in the armed forces. Being a teenager is hard enough, but adding the constant uprooting and moving from base to base adds its own unique challenges as well as rewards.
The story focuses around young Stephen, a “military brat”—a term that these children use to distinguish themselves from their civilian counterparts. Stephen finds himself uprooted once again from his most recent home in California and moved across the country to Quantico Bay, Virginia. His father is a Marine and relocating often has become a part of Stephen’s life. However, becoming accustomed to something is not the same as liking it.
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.“ Mark Twain
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” —Joseph Campbell
Remembering those who have served and made the ultimate sacrifice….
As my father who passed in 1981 from 100% service-connected disabilities (a Marine Corps lifer with WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam conflict in his military service) repeated,
“May we never forget freedom isn’t free.” —Unknown
What Opens but Never Closes? The Opening Day of Boating Season
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Opening Day of Boating Season
Here are five of our favorite reads from authors who followed their dreams to sail away.
One couple (with two teenagers in tow – yikes!) started by building their boat in the backyard of their suburban home; two who started only with the love for each other, the support of friends and family, and a dilapidated hull and a three cylinder iron works engine; one whose true story will make you reconsider taking to the tall seas; one whose story will inspire you to look beyond society’s conventional solutions and rationalizations and to plot your own course; and one who shares how an everyday couple made their dream come true of sailing the Pacific Ocean on a 31-foot boat and a tight budget.
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]Boating season begins in the Pacific Northwest on the first Saturday in May, a tradition which goes back to the 1920’s. To celebrate, we thought we would offer you this superb reading list of true story boating adventures by local northwest authors.
After all, if you are going to be spending time boating this summer, or enjoy dreaming about boating from your lawn chair, stocking your library is just as important as stocking your galley!
More Faster Backwards: Rebuilding David B by Christine Smith
“Christine Smith and her husband Jeffrey race against time, money, and natural elements to save the David B—the vessel that they bet all of their resources on in hopes of making their dream of owning and operating a small expedition cruise boat in the Pacific Northwest come true.
“More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B” seamlessly mixes nautical terms with natural elements and boat builder’s craft. Those who enjoy cooking and baking will also discover it a delightful read. Seafaring people will sail through the narrative like soul mates, but landlubbers might appreciate a glossary of boating terms. The map provides great references and the photo albums heighten the pleasure.
More Faster Backwards, Rebuilding David B by Christine Smith won the Grand Prize of the Journey Awards for Narrative Non-fiction, a division of Chanticleer Book Reviews Blue Ribbon Writing Competitions.”Read full review…
Christine Smith started working on tour and whale watching boats in 2001. It combined her love for nature and her interest in helping others to enjoy it. She is also an avid birder, and has worked as a volunteer interpreter for the Eagle Watchers on the Skagit River from 1997 to 2008, she helps visitors observe the local eagle population. She is also a founding member of the Northwest Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which became part of Whatcom Humane Society in 2014. She served for two years as a board member and Secretary for the North Cascades Audubon Society in Bellingham, Washington. When not watching birds or cooking on the David B, Christine enjoys running, ice skating and downhill skiing. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare by Réanne Hemingway-Douglass
“In Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare,” Réanne Hemingway-Douglass vividly recreates a sailing voyage in which she and her husband Don set out to round Cape Horn. As the reader discovers, they never quite got there. Meanwhile, Hemingway-Douglass shares the heady magic of starlit nights and breathtaking dawns, grueling and toilsome days, emotions ranging from joy to absolute terror, and a determination not to give up hope when all seems lost.” Read full review…
Réanne Hemingway-Douglass is a sailor, writer, cyclist and language teacher. Here articles have appeared in numerous outdoor magazines. Her best-selling book, Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare, has been published in French and Italian and is being translated into Spanish. In the 1980s, Réanne led the first women’s bicycling team to cross Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”#f8fafb” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”4px” bordercolor=”#4687bf” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Home on the Waves by Patrick Hill
“Family, love, and adventure are all tied together in Patrick Hill’s alluring travel memoir “Home on the Waves.” It’s a story set in the 1970’s that provides remarkable insight into the lives of a family exploring the open ocean and discovering new cultures and people.
Hill’s memoir is an excellent read for everyone interested in reading about out-of-the-ordinary lifestyles and family adventures, even if they have never set foot on a boat.
“Home on the Waves” brings life to exotic cultures, sailing, and family life in 1970’s America. It’s a true story that will inspire readers to seek their own adventures and find ways of making dreams come true.”Read the full review…
Patrick Hill, with wife Heather and family, have been sailing out of Vancouver, B.C. for years. They’ve owned nine sailboats from a 17′ to a 42′ boat, Sky OneHundred which they built. They have cruised extensively, written articles for magazines, made presentations to yacht clubs, libraries, the Vancouver Aquarium, and a major Alaskan cruise line[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Prepare to Come About by Christine Wallace
“Christine struggles with her loss of identity as a successful professional, a role model, a caring mother, and a supportive spouse while she battles with the economic recession, personal depression, and, worst of all, her own loss of trust in herself and her capabilities.
Her fractured family makes an unorthodox choice that pivots them all into unfamiliar waters. Their lifeline comes in the form of a tall ship named Zodiac and its enigmatic captain. Life or death challenges and unforeseen moments of wonder and awe await Christine and her family. As they venture forth together in this new venture, the family members reconnect and rebuild their lives.” Read full review…
Christine Wallace is the author of two books including The Pocket Doula and Prepare to Come About. Her work has appeared in the literary journal Clover (vol. 3, 2012, vol. 6, 2014). Christine was founder and CEO of “Gracewinds Perinatal”, a nationally award winning business. Christine currently resides in the Pacific Northwest onboard an ex-forestry boat with her husband, youngest daughter and a seaworthy tabby named Lucky Jack. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container backgroundcolor=”#f8fafb” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”4px” bordercolor=”#4687bf” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”20px” paddingright=”20px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]
Tightwads on the Loose by Wendy Hinman
“Tightwads on the Loose – A Seven Year Pacific Odyssey” opens with a map of the Pacific Ocean that showed the voyage of the sailing vessel Velella starting and ending in Seattle. Soon the reader is immersed in the plans of Wendy and her husband, Garth, to set sail on their open-ended adventure. And we wonder how long an introvert, whose motto is “always be prepared,” can live in tight quarters with an extrovert whose motto is “just wing it.”
This book will definitely appeal to those who are curious about sea voyaging. Armchair travelers will find a diversity of cultural experiences, historical details, and adventures for their entertainment and education. Come on board and sail away with the intrepid Wendy Hinman and her humorous and ingenious insights about life at sea.” Read full review…
Wendy Hinman, author, editor, and speaker, has shared her sailing adventures through emails and her blog. She is a regular contributor to the Magazines 48 North and Latitude 38. Wendy’s also been featured in Sail, Cruising World, Sailing, CYC Leadline, Hebe Jebees (Hong Kong) and Kazi Magazine (Japan).[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Enjoy getting to know these intrepid souls by visiting their websites for more information and the latest updates on their adventures.
In Cape Horn: One Man’s Dream, One Woman’s Nightmare, Réanne Hemingway-Douglass vividly recreates a sailing voyage in which she and her husband Don set out to round Cape Horn. As the reader discovers, they never quite got there. Meanwhile, Hemingway-Douglass shares the heady magic of starlit nights and breathtaking dawns, grueling and toilsome days, emotions ranging from joy to absolute terror, and a determination not to give up hope when all seems lost.
Situated on the southernmost tip of South America, Cape Horn is surrounded by some of the most treacherous waters on the planet due to its gigantic waves, lurking icebergs, strong currents, and high winds. The Panama Canal was built at huge expense as a way to avoid Cape Horn. To this day, the Horn is a dangerous challenge for even the most experienced yachtsmen. The author’s husband, Don, had dreamed all his life of rounding the Horn. Réanne Hemingway-Douglass knew this when she married him, and dutifully agreed to accompany him as crew.
Five hundred miles northwest of Cape Horn, the Douglass’s 42 foot sailboat, Le Dauphin Amical, was pitchpoled by a monster rogue wave (more than 80 to 100 feet high) in a Force 11 storm. Hemingway-Douglass and her husband spent the next 42 days struggling to reach safety aboard their crippled vessel. Surviving each day was a miracle, a true adventure in living.
In recounting their story, the author broaches the love-hate relationship of a ship’s captain and its crew. Captains are solitary humans driven by their own goals, agendas, and methods. The captain is the one who must make the hard decisions—no matter how difficult, dangerous, or demanding they are for the crew.
Don Douglass, captain of the Le Dauphin, was no exception. Fortunately, he was also highly competent, extremely driven, and unrelenting—all characteristics required for survival in dangerous situations.
A novice sailor, Hemingway-Douglass discovered that Don’s role of captain superseded his role as her husband and lover—for better or for worse. I know of no other nautical book that accurately and honestly portrays this transformation. It is a forthright perspective about life onboard that all sailors, captains and crews, should acknowledge before setting sail together.
The author passionately captures and vividly describes her months at sea with her husband, her captain, in this page-turner true adventure that tested their endurance and their marriage. Highly recommended.
The Shelburne Escape Line begins with MI-9 (British Military Intelligence) announcing “Bonjour tout le monde à la maison d’Alphonse” over the BBC shortwave French language service. The date: January 28, 1944. This announcement was a code for confirming the covert pickup of downed Allied aviators hidden by the French Resistance well within the Nazi occupiers’ patrol range.
Once you pick up this book by Réanne Hemingway-Douglass, you will not be able to put it down.
The author attended university in France in 1953. While there, she lived with a French family and heard their amazing stories about the French Resistance. During subsequent visits, the more accounts were shared with Réanne, the more engrossed she became in the stories about the French Underground with its safe houses for the Allied aviators its members rescued and hid. Réanne also learned of the British Royal Navy’s clandestine pickups of downed airmen, and London’s MI-9 involvement.
This is not a fictionalized tale of heroics, but one of everyday people who endangered their lives and those of their families, as they answered General Charles De Gaulle’s call to action to regain France and her liberty. And this meant fighting against her occupiers in any way possible. These ordinary people took extraordinary risks in creating an escape organization for the secret evacuation of Allied Forces.
Escape routes became instrumental as more and more Allied airmen were shot down in Nazi-occupied France. Getting these men back to English soil was more than just humanitarian aid; it was imperative to get these highly trained aviators back into the fight for freedom against the Nazi forces as quickly as possible. We learn that other escape routes had been infiltrated and collapsed due to Nazi-sympathizers.
The author shares the accounts told to her of the violence committed upon members of the various resistance groups in the Nazi’s effort to infiltrate and destroy them. She tells of the brutal treatment some underwent without revealing their secrets.
This book is divided into two distinct sections. Part II deals with a brief history of a small number of World War II French Resistance members and their staggering contributions to the escape and evasion efforts of Allied airmen, as well as the MI-9 agents and French patriots needing to escape to England. The Shelburne Escape Line, although short-lived, was the only such route never infiltrated by the Nazis.
The author chronicles the selfless giving of assistance by the people who, prior to the war, were bakers, teachers, farmers, and mechanics. We are reminded of the rationing and scarce food supplies these heroes shared with those they rescued and hid. They did this with the knowledge that, at any moment, their participation in the escape plans could mean their imprisonment in a horrid Gestapo prison camp or their execution as acting as spies for the Allied Forces.
Part II of the book deals with first person accounts of Allied airmen and their stories of how they were assisted in their escape and repatriation back to England. Several of these stories tell the tale of the airmen from their point of view; about the circumstances of their downing into occupied territory; the hazardous rescues by the French Resistance; the apprehensive time spent in hiding—not knowing if they would be able to escape before being discovered. The chance of being killed by enemy forces or friendly fire was immeasurable for everyone within the war-torn country.
We also learn about the harrowing stories of families and children who had their lives turned upside down by the Nazi occupation and the requirements to “work for the fatherland.” Each of these stories is a well-written account of a small slice of the war and the dangers and hardships, faced and overcome on a daily basis, by average citizens who endured the terrors of war in their own land. These are the unknown and unsung heroes of WWII who were instrumental in securing the freedom we have today.
As this reviewer stated at the beginning, this is as fast-paced a read as any thriller or suspense novel that I have read. The Shelburne Escape Line: Secret Rescues of the Allied Aviators by the French Underground, the British Royal Navy, and London’s MI-9 is an enthralling and well-researched read about actual events and the real men, women, and children who were involved in them.
Réanne Hemingway-Douglass has gathered this galvanizing collection of true-accounts, vividly portrayed historical details, and military tactics of these little known, but amazing, slices of WWII history. Her adept writing reminds the reader of the human elements of war. Highly recommended.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Reviewer’s Note: This book includes: a documented photo collection, a listing of the author’s interviews and correspondence, a comprehensive bibliography, a glossary of WWII military terms, and pilot accounts of missions flown. It also includes information about the Canadian military war efforts and the French Resistance’s perspectives of WWII. ][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
