ANDY ADKINS
US Navy Veteran... City Firefighter... Engineer... Consultant... Author
"Life is a journey, one step followed by another..."
NOW AVAILABLE!
I'm pleased to announce that my debut novel, NEVER FORGET, is published and available on Amazon. It's a story of a veteran's journey for redemption and forgiveness.
NEVER FORGET is a work of fiction and is a multi-generational father, son, and grandson novel about WWII and Vietnam. It is not about combat; it is about overcoming personal conflicts caused by a war. The story reflects upon our current society of an older generation (WWII), aging baby boomers (Vietnam), and the current generation (global terrorism). It brings together multiple facets of dementia & Alzheimer's and PTSD & Survivor's Guilt in a moving, character-driven story of personal struggles and growing relationships.
I'm offering this book for free (download PDF, eBook formats) for all veterans. Actually, for a limited time, anyone can download it. But if you wish to have a paperback, it's also available at Amazon.
For more information, click HERE.
Also available in audio
My latest blog post: 1/14/25 #184 - Navy Longo
When I was a younger lad (many, MANY years ago), I always wanted to learn a foreign language. I believe it was Miss Warren in the seventh grade at Westwood Junior High School who, when I first walked into her Spanish class - only a few minutes late - said to me, "Bueno Dias, Senor Andre..."
At such a tender age, Miss Warren was... how shall I gracefully say this... the most beautiful teacher I'd had in my entire 12 years on this earth. I was gob smacked. I don't know what she said, but all I remember was staring at her gorgeous blue eyes, highlighted by shoulder-length blonde hair... for six months.
I'm sure I learned something that year, but every now and then when someone speaks Spanish to me, I'll politely respond, "Oui, Senorita" or "Gracias, Mademoiselle."
Oh... my wife hates that - mixing two languages. But that's about all I learned from junior high school Spanish and French.
There's a great line in the Bruce Willis movie, The Fifth Element (1997), where Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) states, "I only speak two languages, English and bad English."
That may be true, but when I enlisted in the US Navy for four years, I was soon to learn a whole new language. In fact, the cover of my Navy memoir (Three Years, Eleven Months, and 29 Days - But Who's Counting) has a disclaimer:
Some readers may find two of the languages offensive.
I thought I'd share a few of my favorite semi-clean Navy terms and phrases. For a more complete list, feel free to visit my website and download the Navy glossary. And just because I love all my military brothers, there are a few other "glossaries," just for you.
Books written by Andy Adkins
80th Division (WWII) Books edited by Andy Adkins
