Andy Adkins, Author

A Veteran's Journey - Volume 3
A Collection of "Still More" Short Stories (2021-2023)

Published by: Andy Adkins
Release date: October 2023
Format: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 281
ISBN: 978-1-7363878-6-3 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-7363878-7-0 (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) From the Flight Deck: Indescribable Beauty
(2) Adieu Kitty Hawk... and Thank You!
(3) After Weeks at Sea... Finally, PI Liberty Pt 1: The Day Before
(4) After Weeks at Sea... Finally, PI Liberty Pt 2: Party Time
(5) See You at the Red Light
(6) Pearl Harbor: Never Forget
(7) Christmas '75: Coming Home...
(8) Emergency Breakaway... This is NOT a Drill!!!
(9) A New Chapter... Saying Goodbye to a Great Lady
(10) The Four Chaplains
(11) Navy "Orienteering"
(12) "Eject! Eject!" Excitement from the Flight Deck
(13) "Another Day in Paradise..."
(14) Those Dastardly "Triggers"
(15) Never Forget...
(16) A Veteran's "Bond"
(17) "Mail Call"
(18) Memorial Day 2022... What it means to THIS veteran
(19) No Better Place to Die
(20) Merging the Past with the Present
(21) The "Decision"
(22) "Three-two..." & Other Navy Numbers I Can Never Forget
(23) I Thought I'd Heard Everything, Part 3
(24) Nighttime on the Flight Deck Part 1: Launch
(25) Nighttime on the Flight Deck Part 2: Recovery
(26) World War II: The Bloody Moselle River Crossing
(27) Rig the Barricade
(28) Into the Aftermath
(29) I May Have Left the Navy But…
(30) Veteran's Day 2022
(31) Japan Air Lines 747: Engine Out
(32) The Navy That Stayed with Me Through the Years
(33) A Veteran's Christmas
(34) Quotes... and Happy New Year!
(35) You Mean There's More to a Carrier Than the Flight Deck?
(36) What Makes the Flight Deck So Exciting?
(37) Hookers...
(38) Sleep Problems
(39) Is This What I Signed Up For?
(40) Car v. Utility Pole: Never a Good Scenario
(41) Letter Writing: A Different Generation
(42) An Unexpected Delight
(43) Flight Ops... Around the Clock
(44) An Unexpected (and UNWANTED) Journey
(45) Anniversaries...
(46) Short? "Five Days and a Wake-up"
(47) The Seabag
(48) Return to the Aftermath
(49) Never Forget
(50) The "Dream Sheet"

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ANDY ADKINS