As the daughter/granddaughter/niece of Veterans, I've always held a special place in my heart for those who have served in the US military.  My grandfather enlisted in the Army during WWII, his brother in the Marine Corps.  My father was career Air Force, his two brothers, Army.  Even my grandmother did her patriotic duty, working as a "Rosie the Riveter" in the Seattle shipyards, building Liberty ships.

Growing up as an Air Force "Brat" opened my eyes, and heart, to things others took for granted.  We stood for the National Anthem; we saluted the flag; we knew those who fought and bled for our country; we took pride in America and her Veterans.  History held a special meaning as I connected the places and dates from history books to the stories I'd heard growing up.  It wasn't until I babysat for a man who was a POW in Vietnam that I realized it wasn't just those who died who paid a price for our freedom.  It then dawned on me that the men and women around me were American Veterans, and had fought to ensure my freedom, and now stood guard to preserve it.

And I was proud of these men and women who wore, or had worn, the various uniforms of the US military.  But sadly, not everyone saw what I saw, or felt what I felt.  Veteran's Day was just another Federal holiday where banks closed and mail stopped, an excuse for retailers to have a sale; Memorial Day was just a three day weekend, the beginning of summer, and the end of the school year.  Memorials and monuments were just places for politicians to stand and give speeches, or for the occasional tourist to snap a few photographs.
 
It wasn't that America was ashamed of her Veterans; it was far worse than that--she had forgotten them.
 
But not the citizens of a small, quiet, West-Central Nebraska town.  They were proud of their Veterans--America's Veterans.  And so they set out to build a memorial to honor ALL of America's 20th Century Veterans--WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm--men and women who proudly wore their uniform, some who’d paid for the freedom we enjoy with their lives.

 

This memorial is our way of saying thank you.  Thank you for the sacrifices you made so we may have freedom of speech and religion, the right to bear arms, the right to demonstrate, and the privilege to elect our own government officials.  Thank you for protecting us from tyranny; thank you for laying down your life for those of us who were not able to carry a gun and fight beside you.  Thank you.  We are grateful; and we are proud.

I asked myself what I could do to help this memorial become a reality--to show my gratitude to America's Veterans.  I've submitted short stories to anthologies for charitable organizations, and while researching for a WWII novel, came across many Veterans' stories, filled with courage and hope.  And the idea of Let Us Not Forget: A Tribute to America's 20th Century Veterans was born.  This anthology is filled with stories honoring American Veterans, stories that need to be told, to be read, to be remembered and not forgotten.  ALL royalties will go to the America's 20th Century Veterans Memorial Fund, for the completion of the memorial located in North Platte, Nebraska.  The anthology will be published through iUniverse, with a release date for July 2002.
 
 
This book is my way of saying thank you.

If you’d like more information on the America’s 20th Century Veteran’s Memorial, visit their website at: www.20thcvetsmem.org.

 Contributing Authors

Linda Adams                                            Steve Manchester

Vince Alessi                                             Margaret Marr     

Mary Emma Allen                                     Ruth McCauley

                                                                   Emerson Thomas McMullen

Willis Baker                                              Mauro J Messina

Barbara Baldwin                                       Janet Miller

Monte Ballew                                            Sherrie Misura

Bernie (Lyn) Barenbrugge                       Vanessa Mullins          

Kym Boelter-Muckler            

John E. Bogers                                        Deborah Nigro

     (Candice Bogers Schwark)                                                                

James Braly                                             Robin D Owens

Janice Feagin Britton

                                                         Chris Poersch

Jim Christley                                            Helen Kay Polaski

Mary Colby                                               David A Rabert

Don Cook                                                 John F Richter

Don C Craig                                             Rick Riehl

                                                                  Shannon Riggs

Millie Dalrymple                                        Marie A Roy

Frank Delear

Mac Doresy                                              Kevin Sanders

                                                                  Eileen Sateriale

Jacqueline Elliott                                     Richard (Jean) Schafer

John R Eustace                                       Anne Schmidt

                                                                  Pat Sexton

Bob Festa                                                Rae Shapiro

Dorothy R Folchert                                  Anne Smith

Brain Francis                                            Pamela Gayle Smith

                                                                  Terri Smith

LeRoy E Graves                                      Ann Sommer

Meg Greene                                             Leroy Stratton

                                                                  Eleanor Sampeck Sullo

Bernice Falk Haydu                                           

Joyce Good Henderson                          Charity Tahmaseb

Charles Hinton                                          Lucien Thomas

Wally Hoffman                                          Patrick A Tillery

Sharron Hollen                                          Vurlee A Toomey

Jamie Houdyshell                                     Darlene Torday

                                                                   Fred C Tripp (Donna

Harvey Jacobs                                               Gurciullo & Mary    

Bette Milleson James                                    Ann Ziccardi)

 

Ruby J Kelsch                                           John Walseth

Marty Kendall                                             Kate Walsh

Lee Anne Kinghorn                                   Orville Wohler

 

Tim Lickness                                             Bill Yenofsky

Jo Lovejoy                             

                                                                   Lori Zecca

 

     With the Foreword by WWII Veteran and Senator, Bob Dole, and the Introduction written by Vietnam Veteran and Senator, Bob Kerrey.

   

WWI

  • 4,743,800 served

  • 53,513 Killed in Action (KIA) + 63,195 other deaths

  • 204,002 wounded

  • +30,000 women served in Army and Navy Nurse Corps, as Navy Yeoman, and in the Marines and Coast Guard

WWII

  • 16,353,700 served

  • 292,131 KIA + 115,185 other deaths

  • 670,846 wounded

  • 130,201 POW's

  • +200 Army Nurses died

  • +500 women served in the SW Pacific Area

  • +8000 WAC's served in Europe

Korea

  • 6,807,000 served worldwide

  • 1,789,000 served in Theater

  • 33,742 KIA (including 4735 MIA presumed dead)

  • 103,284 wounded

  • 120,000 women were active duty

  • 8176 MIA (Missing in Action)

  • of the MIA's, 2045 were POW's, 1794 were KIA, 4245 are MIA and 892 are classified as non-battle

  • 7245 POW's

  •  of the POW's, 4418 were returned, 2806 died in captivity and 21 refused to be repatriated

Vietnam

  • 9,087,000 served

  • 7,484 women served in country

  • 6,250 of the women were nurses

  • 47,369 KIA + 10,799 other deaths

  • 8 nurses died, of which 1 was KIA

  • 153,303 wounded

  • 2338 still listed as MIA

  • 766 POW's, of which 114 died in captivity

Desert Storm

  • 2,750,000 served

  • 148 KIA + 145 other deaths

  • 19 listed as MIA until remains can be identified

  • 21 POW's

  • 467 wounded

  • +40,000 women served in key combat-support positions throughout the Persian Gulf

  • 16 women died

  • 2 women were POW's

 

 

                                       

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