Veteran's Stories

FORWARD In accordance with historians and family members, people, places, and things that are important to James Mapes Pool are included in this last revised addition, to include but not limited to, biographical photos of families that, in successive generations, have been documented and identified with the development of a nation called the United States of America. The Book includes early historical settlements of Pool, Mapes', and Mӧbs families who originally immigrated from Germany and Bohemia, to include the Dutch American Pool Family from Holland, and the Netherlands, along with the Bosgra, Eason, other members of James’ family from Bergum, Tietjerksteradeel, Hollan ...

If you had to write a fantastic story about a fascinating character who has superhero powers, which details would you include? The idea of this project started a few years ago on Facebook when people would engage in a 30 Days of Thanks project starting in November and carrying on thru Thanksgiving. They’d post something once per day that they were thankful for, like their family or their friends or their job or even their car. Normally, they'd quit after a couple days. Obviously, I didn't. One of my ideas was “30 Days of Dad”; an entire month filled with stories about my father, a former Navy SEAL in Vietnam who raised his family in Texas in peace, far from the riverbanks of the s ...

William F. Birdsall fought in WWII as part of Task Force Mars in central Asia. Born in rural Powell, PA he entered basic training a country boy ready to serve his country. This collection of his letters to and from home during WWII give us insight into his thoughts and experiences as he journeys through basic training, to war, and back.

"Because of Francis Brock's wartime diary and sharp recollections of events eighty years ago, "Sub Chaser" gives a rare and intimate look into the daily life of small boat sailors in the Pacific during WWII. An enlightening read for anyone interested in history, this book gives renewed appreciation for the everyday young men who answered their country's call to arms during a time of great global conflict." - US Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) Dean H. Hines "Fortunately for us, when eastern Ohio farm boy Francis Brock enlisted in the Navy on his seventeenth birthday in 1943, he decided to keep a logbook. As a result, we now have the opportunity, eight decades later, to relive the humdrum of s ...

The Eighteenth Engineers tells the story of the incredible work performed by the men of the 18th Engineers Regiment in WW1. They were among the first 75,000 A. E. F. troops to arrive in France in late August of 1917. There they built massive docks large enough to berth 10 transport ships end to end. Then they constructed huge warehouses to receive and store tons of cargo. Finally, they designed and built a complex, multi-functional railroad track system, along with unique cargo handling equipment allowing them the ability to unload men and cargo quickly and efficiently from the ships hold. The 18th Engineers built this massive base depot in record time under difficult conditio ...

Patricia Newman, licensed clinical social worker at the Bogalusa, Louisiana veterans’ outpatient clinic, helps veterans who struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder learn how to forgive and let go of difficult emotions and memories. Ms. Newman’s therapeutic concept that “revealing is healing” resulted in Warriors’ Own Words, “You Had To Be There”. The book includes incredible stories of sacrifice and service from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. The idea for writing this book came from discussions with veterans about their military service. They often said that they never talked about their combat experiences because it was easier to keep those memories to the ...