I grew up in a military town. Later, I was married to it for four years. I have seen how hard it is on families of those who have to leave for extended periods of time . . . sometimes without a guarantee that their loved one will even come home.
These men and women give their lives so that we have the option of chasing our dreams. My dream is writing and I know that if I lived in a different country, I may not have the freedom to do what I love doing so much . . . at least not publicly pursuing it.
Prisoner of War. Missing in Action. Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered.
Those are the categories assigned to those who never made it home from war, but they are so much more than just a status, more than just names carved in black granite on a wall in Washington. They are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and friends.
And they all have their own stories to tell.
In honor of those untold stories, I am holding a contest. I’ll be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card (winner’s choice) and an ARC of my upcoming novel Lullaby when it’s available.
Also for every new follower the blog (join to the right) and my Twitter account receives from this post and every new “Like” on on my Facebook Author page, I’ll donate $0.50 to the POW Network. So by all means, share this post, the more sharing, the higher the donation.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Feel free to leave comments about your favorite service members, past and present, what dreams you have that are possible because of these men and women. (Comments aren’t limited to these topics of course . . . feel free to comment however you like)
Then check out the other blogs remembering our POWs and MIAs the next few days.
Thank you for being a part of this hop! This is a very worthy cause and one that is very dear to me. I come from a long line of military men...All the way back to the Civil War and more recently, my son has enlisted this year. I am very proud of our men and women who serve. I say "Thank You" You are what makes this country great.
ReplyDeleteAs for the romantic gesture....my husband had the entire house professionally cleaned while I was in the hospital having our 5th son. It was so wonderful to have an amazingly clean house the week before Christmas. I could completely focus on our new son and the holiday.
mel
bournmelissa at hotmail dot com
Thanks for being a part of this blog for this cause.
ReplyDeleteAs for the most romantic gesture, well there is 2 that has happened in the last year to me personally
First would be my engagement-My fiance proposed to me during our tradition.
During Thanksgiving we have a tradition in our family that we say grace then we go around the table saying what we are thankful for in our lives..
Well when it came to my fiance, he said "I am thankful for having a wonderful and loving woman in my life, one that can put up with me being a pain" then he got down on his knee in front of me "will you marry me and annoying traits?"
Second would be that he has been (for the last 2 months) interested in what I am reading (there is not many men that would read a romance book)
Great Question
BeckeyWhiteATgmailDOTcom
Thanks so much for joining in -- I'm hoping next year will be bigger and more successful for such a worthy cause
ReplyDeleteKharisma . . . I'm sure it will grow. I'm in the process of starting a business that will have part focus on promoting for writers...we'll spread the word. :)
DeleteThe POW/MIA topic is one we tend to forget as a society, because we don't like to think about it. Thank you all for helping to draw attention to a worthy cause!
ReplyDeletevitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Thanks for the chance to win and for being a part of the hop!
ReplyDeletenatasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
I am very proud of the military of the US. I served four years and my husband retired after 23 years! Many of my family members were /are vets and my uncle was a POW in Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteYvette
yratpatrol@aol.com
I am outspoken in my support of the military because I grew up military and know what they go through and do to keep our freedom safe. My dad and granddad are my heroes particularly granddad. He's first gen Italian and he still went and fought in the European theater of WWII for his new adopted country.
ReplyDeletethanks for participating in the hop and for the giveaway opportunity.
thanks for joinging in this hop I come from a military family and am proud of our men and women in uniform and our vets ond our POW/MIA
ReplyDeletebmack31919@yahoo.com
My stepfather and grandfather were in wars and my mom wore a POW bracelet and had a POW bumper sticker on her car when I was a kid.
ReplyDeleteThank you for participating in the blog hop!
books4me67 at ymail dot com
I am very thankful for all the men and women that defend our country. Freedom is in no way free, and all too often people have to pay the ultimate price.
ReplyDeletebookaholicholly @ gmail . com
Our freedom is possible because of their sacrifices.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks to all of you for participating and commenting. It has been my pleasure to bring what little attention I have to those who make our dreaming possible. One more day for the giveaway...spread the word. :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete4 ME I"AM extremely APPRECIATE of my FREEDOM!!! God Bless the USA!
ReplyDeleteI Totally LOVE being born American:D!
redz041@yahoo.com
Thanks to these men and women I am able to live my life freely. I owe my life to them. Thank you for your donations. These men and women are an inspiration to us all for what they do for us each and every day :)
ReplyDeletecassandrahicks1989@yahoo.com
Thank you for the hop. My husband just retired from 24 years in the Navy, my da was in the Air Force, a lot of my family has served clear back to the revolutionary war. My husband's cousin is Jessica Lynch a former POW and we are so thankful to all those who helped resue her.
ReplyDeletez
Seawitch Reviews @ yahoo.com
I LOVE LOVE LOVE all of your comments and stories!!! We truly are blessed and I thank you all for sharing. One more hour and I'll be drawing the winner!
ReplyDeleteMy son spent 15 months in Iraq in 2006. Unfortunately he came home with severe PTSD and TBI. He lost his battle on January 2 2011, but he and all the members of the armed forces will always be my heros.
ReplyDeleteproudarmymom32(at)yahoo(dot)com