What did you do in World War II?
Heart of a Military Woman| No Comments »Veterans Day 2010
Sat down with my father this afternoon, having cake at the dining room table, and asked a simple question: "Dad, what did you do in WWII?"
WOW! So glad I grabbed my iPhone and hit RECORD… for the next hour he told me! I had NO IDEA he was in 19 helicopter crashes while doing his job in the Army Corps of Engineers, and as a recalled Reservist. What an amazing man. At a perky 83, the stories flowed from him as if they happened yesterday! The detail. The places. The pride.
We need to HAVE those conversations! Thank YOU to ALL who serve(d).
-Sheryl Roush, Author of Heart of a Military Woman
Heart of a Military Woman: A Book of Tributes
Heart of a Military Woman| No Comments »
Heart of a
Military Woman:
A Book of Tributes
INTRODUCTION TO THE HEART OF A MILITARY WOMAN BOOK
When I sit and think about all the military influences in my own life today, I don’t have to look very far. I reflect first on my immediate family tree.
My father, Hiram Roush, served in the Army Corps of Engineers, and went on to become one of the best military aircraft design checkers, masterminded the hydraulic wheel lift system on the E-2, and saved the Apollo 11 black box from exploding on impact at the first landing on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Dad’s younger brother, Henry, was killed in a test flight at Miramar Air Station, taking another guy’s shift so he could be with his family.
Dad’s older brother, James Roush, was a B-52 Bombadier, noted for his accuracy and successful missions.
My mother, Beverly Roush, was a Rosie the Riveter, and met my father when working late shifts at the same plant. Several relatives are members of DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).
Living in a military base town such as San Diego, it was bound to happen that I would meet and marry a man in the Navy, an Air Traffic Controller (Top Gun), stationed on the USS Horne, and later USS Valley Forge. Not sure how “romantic” this was, but he proposed to me during an episode of M*A*S*H. I understand all too well, being a West-Pac Widow, as his ship was assigned to the USS Ranger during the Persian Gulf War. Although he was highly decorated for his merits, he came home a different man, and became an abusive alcoholic. I’ve since dated a Submarine Senior Chief, and a Marine (not that I’m dating my way through the ranks!).
As a professional trainer, many of my clients are from the military world, not only the individuals and their families, but also their service providers, their hospitals, their housing coordinators, and their transition teams.
I have a certain affinity and a special place in my heart for our military, so I’m proud to produce this book of stories from—and tributes to—each and every one: the service member and their loving, dedicated families.
—Sheryl Roush
The Heart of a Military Woman book was proudly released on Veterans Day, 11 Nov 2009. To purchase copies for yourself and as gifts, click here. To schedule co-authors swww.sherylroush.com and/or Eldonna Lewis Fernandez, female motivational and inspirational speakers for your event, click here.
Veterans Day: Bless You!
Heart of a Military Woman| No Comments »
Veterans Day: Bless You!
Today is Veterans Day.
A day we most reverently thank those who have served our country with their time, their energy, and their lives. Fighting for our freedoms, and often at high cost, and life.
Even though we have different words for the diagnosis, and different treatments for the symptoms, the ailments are the same as a hundred years ago. Multiple deployments are causing an all-time high rate of failed marriages, divorce, anti-depressant prescriptions and suicide.
Even more solemn for this year, following the Fort Hood shooting last week. One of our own, shooting our own, on our own homeland, on our own military base.
Co-author Eldonna Lewis Fernandez and I were interviewed on "Mornings with Lorri and Larry" during prime-time driving yesterday morning, and asked our thoughts about the horrific incident. Eldonna, having experienced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder during her military service, related her personal experiences. For myself, being an ex-Navy wife, and experiencing the direct effects of my ex-husband’s abuse, control and alcoholism, from the Persian Gulf crisis, could also relate.
We never know — and may ever know — what goes on in the mind of another being. We never truly understand their motives, religious beliefs, hidden agendas or secret societies. Yes, we need to handle the Fort Hood shooting, and put protocols into place. Yes, we can learn from it. No, we cannot discriminate against one another, and hold an entire culture responsible for an individual’s actions.
We do need to continue to believe in each other.
We do need to continue to believe in America.
We do need to continue to believe in God.
We do need to continue to be THANKFUL for those who have served our country with every ounce of pride, dignity, respect, service above self, honor, integrity, trust, accountability, and love they have in their bones. For the thousands upon thousands who have served–how long or how brief–fighting for to ensure our continued freedoms — THANK YOU!
This year, I changed by greetings of "Happy Veterans Day" to what I really mean: "Bless You" and "Thank You for everything you have endured that I can breathe and live free, here and now, today. It’s because of YOU. So, BLESS YOU."
May we honor not only today – or one day each year–but EVERY DAY!
Blessings to You Veterans!
Sheryl Roush is a female motivational and inspirational speaker, 13-time published author, releasing Heart of a Military Woman today on Veterans Day. Her father was an Army Corps of Engineers, her mother, a Rosie the Riveter, with a long line of military service members in her family tree. She is an internationally top-rated presenter in 106 countries, and is a proud American, grateful every day for our freedoms.
