Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Running with Cannibals

  • Memorial Day 2023: Remembering our History and Honoring Those Who Died in Service

    Memorial Day 2023: Remembering our History and Honoring Those Who Died in Service

    Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the USA to honor and remember those who died in service to our nation. The date of the holiday changes but it always falls on the last Monday of May.

    In the U.S.A., Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance of those who died in service to their country. The holiday was officially proclaimed in 1868 to honor Union and Confederate soldiers who loss their lives in the Civil War.

    The latest historical research has the Civil War death toll at 850,000. This number has surpassed all the other wars the U.S.A. has fought in combined. The population was estimated to be approximately 31 million (not counting Native Americans or Black Americans).

    Click here to access the U.S. Census Memorial Day Infographic for more information and the complete infographic.

    An image of part of the Memorial Day Infograph that's too small to read.

    The important takeaway from this graphic is that all other wars, skirmishes, conflicts, and battles that the US has been involved with combined, none have taken the toll that the war that took place on the U.S. soil—the Civil War—has. Period.

    Civil War Death Toll: 850,000 deaths (latest research)

    All Other US Military Involvements since 1870s until 2020:  707,081 deaths

    Memorial Day is one of three official days The United States has to honor those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces.

    A poster showing the difference between Veterans Day, Memorial day, and Armed Forces Day

    1. Memorial Day, a federal holiday, is observed the last Monday in May, honors those who have lost their lives in action in service to our nation.
    2. Veterans Day, a federal holiday, that is observed every year on November 11th to honor all those who have served in the Armed Forces.
    3. Armed Forces Day is a celebration day that honors all active and former personnel across the six branches of the United States military. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of every May. This year’s (2023) has already passed on on May 20.

    As any of you know, the head and founder of Chanticleer Book Reviews, Kiffer Brown is a self-described military brat. Her father, brother, her Aunt Ellen, nephews, and cousins have served or are serving in the military. Recognizing and honoring the service of those in the Armed Forces is a longstanding tradition for her and her family.

    National Moment of Remembrance

    On Memorial Day, remember that there is a National Moment of Remembrance. To honor the moment, pause for one minute at 3 p.m. at your local time, and remember those who have died in service to this nation.

    Second Lieutenant Billy Wayne Flynn was killed in action, Vietnam, January 23, 1967. He was 24 years old. (He gave to me my first book of poetry before he left for Vietnam. I still have it. Kiffer Brown)

    The Military and Front Line Book Awards

    The Military and Front Line Awards Badge shows a medical jacket and a military fatigue jacket
    Submit by 10/31/23!
    The 2022 Grand Prize Winner for the Military and Front Line Awards, Lost in Beirut by Ashe & Magdalena Stevens

    Every year we receive several non-fiction books that deal with serving in the military or some other front line capacity in service to our nation. This year the number and quality of submissions was great enough that we are excited to announce the new division that recognizes work focusing on those in Military or Front Line Service.

    The new Division honors the following Non-Fiction Narratives:

    • Military and Armed Forces Service Narratives
    • Medical Stories focused on Nurses, Doctors, Health Care Workers, and other Essential Workers
    • Stories of Community Service Workers such as Firefighters and Police
    • CARE, Peace Corps, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and other service organizations
    • Work in Agencies that serve their Community and Government
    • Families of those who serve in these Community Roles

    Keep Telling Stories – They Are Needed!

    We are always honored to be trusted with any book at Chanticleer. It is a pleasure to be able to highlight these stories in particular with their own division.

    • “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

    Got a Military OR Wartime Fiction Story?

    Ernest Hemingway looking off to the right
    Submit by 10/31/23!

    We now also have the Hemingway Awards for 20th C. Military Fiction.

    Running with Cannibals Cover
    The 2022 Hemingway Grand Prize Winner, Running with Cannibals by Robert W. Smith

    The 2023 CIBAs are open.
    If you don’t submit, you can’t win!

    Thank you to veterans everywhere!

    All of us at Chanticleer have family who have served, and that makes holidays like Memorial Day important to us. We ask you to take time out of your day to remember the veterans in your life and those who have died in active service on this day of reflection.

  • RUNNING WITH CANNIBALS by Robert W. Smith – Philippine-American War, Historical Fiction, Military History

    Robert W. Smith tells the story of a forgotten war and the fractured peace that follows in his powerful historical fiction novel, Running with Cannibals.

    It has been said that “War is hell.” It has also been opined that “It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.” Running with Cannibals is a no-holds-barred, candid portrayal of a war that is glossed over in U.S. history, the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902. It was the first war fought overseas by the U.S.

    Running with Cannibals begins with an unnamed man on the run from an unjust accusation bought with blood and money.

    At first, the reader may wonder how this man ends up halfway around the world to the Philippines, a soldier hiding among other soldiers.

    Through the eyes of Sergeant Ethan Cooper, the reader has an intimate view of the self-fulfilling shibboleths that empower and provoke the U.S. Army into stupidity, atrocity, and self-aggrandizement. They squander the genuine possibility of cooperation and partnership with the Filipinos who were colonized by Spain.

    Running with Cannibals is a story where the truth sets one man, Ethan Cooper, free of the past that dogs his every step. He keeps his head down, desperately trying not to draw attention to himself. So afraid of being seen, Cooper participates in committing monstrous acts against the Filipino people with his fellow soldiers – even against his better judgment.

    When Cooper and his unit leave the capital for the remote villages on a mission that is doomed to fail because of the ignorance and racism of its commanding officer, Cooper’s eyes and the reader’s are fully opened to the U.S. true intent to subdue and subjugate the Filipinos into starvation and death. The more brutality Cooper sees, the more he questions what he’s been told. Not just about the supposed enemy, but about his own side.

    Running with Cannibals is both an adventure and a philosophical and sometimes even angst-ridden journey told through a very close third-person point of view.

    Smith crafts his story with exceptional skill, enabling readers an up-close look at Cooper’s ultimate metamorphosis. Ethan Cooper’s desperate desire to not see what is going on all around him does change over the course of his adventures into a soul-searching journey of purpose and fulfillment.

    Running with Cannibals is an epic tale of war, hell, and redemption that will stick with readers long after reading the last page. Highly recommended.

     

     

     

     

    5 Stars! Best Book Chanticleer Book Reviews