Andy Adkins, Author

A Veteran's Journey - Volume 2
A Collection of "More" Short Stories (2020-2021)

Published by: Andy Adkins
Release date: October 2021
Format: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 293
ISBN: 978-1-7363878-4-9 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-7363878-5-6 (Digital Edition)

Buy the Book: Amazon
FREE for Veterans [click here]

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OVERVIEW

> USS Kitty Hawk

"A Veteran's Journey" is a weekly blog that I began Veteran's Day 2019, before the pandemic. Little did I know what a wonderful journey this blog would become. Not only do I recall and write about many of my Navy experiences, but I can also reach out to other military veterans. Reconnecting with old shipmates and watching other shipmates reconnect with those they hadn't seen nor heard from in years is truly rewarding.

I've written several military books over the years. My first was my dad's experiences during World War II (You Can't Get Much Closer Than This: Combat with the 80th 'Blue Ridge" Division World War II Europe); my second was my experiences in the Navy (Three Years, Eleven Months, & 29 Days: But Who's Counting). My third book is my first novel, NEVER FORGET. It's the story of a Vietnam veteran's journey for re-demption and forgiveness. Since I'd written about WWII and the Vietnam War era, I wanted to write a book that covered the period after the war, when a son returns home to a different life.

NEVER FORGET 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.

"A Veteran's Journey" blog is a way for me to continue writing every week... to continue to explore new ways of conveying my experiences--journeys--through life and through my careers. This book represents more of my short stories (i.e. "journeys") in the military, both my time in the Navy and my father's time in the Army during World War II.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(1) Shore Patrol: It's Not Just a Job, It's an Adventure
(2) 30 Days and a Wake Up!
(3) You Always Remember Your First
(4) Westpac '75 Aircraft Carrier Squadrons
(5) Here, Hold My Beer--Skydiving
(6) Veteran's Day & Happy 1st Anniversary
(7) That "70s Thing" We Did
(8) "Nuggets of Normalcy" Thanksgiving Style
(9) The Night We Foamed the Airport Runway
(10) December 7, 1941: "A date which will live in infamy"
(11) There's a Reason for the Flight Deck "Foul Line"
(12) Flight Deck Shenanigans
(13) Last Call... 2020
(14) "General Quarters, General Quarters..."
(15) IYAOYAS
(16) Paying it Forward
(17) Flight Ops: A Day in the Life of Crash & Salvage
(18) Flight Ops: Another Fine Day in the Navy!
(19) 100 Years Ago, Can You Imagine?
(20) "Chit," "Bird Farm," "Scuttlebutt"... What!?
(21) The Swear Jar
(22) "Those" Memorable Moments NAS Agana, Guam
(23) Boot Camp: Hello Dollys and Other Things I Can't Forget
(24) Spit Shining in COVID Times
(25) Work Hard, Play Hard: Liberty Call
(26) Set the Mail Buoy... FNG Tasks
(27) Bremerton Shipyards April '77: Adios
(28) WWII, 76 Years Ago: Buchenwald Horror
(29) What Did You Do in the Navy, Granddad?
(30) New Orders! That's NOT What I Asked For, But...
(31) Flight Deck Dangers: Launch & Recovery
(32) V-E Day (1945) & Beyond
(33) Flight Deck "Skittles"
(34) Those First Few Weeks...
(35) Memorial Day 2021
(36) I Thought I'd Heard it All... Personality Passwords
(37) I Thought I'd Heard it All... Pre-Text
(38) What's it Like... Fighting a Fire?
(39) Are We There Yet?
(40) Walking through Fire... Literally
(41) My Last Fire
(42) Flight Deck Operations: Aircraft Launch
(43) Birds of a Feather...
(44) Sivry, France: October 2, 1944
(45) Everything I Needed to Know About Life I Learned in... Boot Camp?
(46) Flight Ops: Aircraft Recovery
(47) Dismissed for Academic Reasons...
(48) Milestones
(49) From the Flight Deck: Indescribable Beauty
(50) Adieu Kitty Hawk... and Thank You!

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ANDY ADKINS