Vietnam | Janelle Meraz Hooper, author

Bronze Star Award

This somehow got dropped off my blog and I just noticed it was missing. I’m reposting. It’s either late for last Memorial Day or early for next year, depending upon how you look at it…

Last Sunday, Memorial Day, my husband invited me to go with him on a 4-mile hike on the Foothills Trail (Okay, I used my wheel-scooter). During the walk, we passed a group of happy young adults –about 8 of them–coming from the other way. The young woman at the end of the group was waving a huge vintage Marine Corps flag back and forth. It was heavy; no wonder she was at the end! My husband joked with her, “What’s the matter? Couldn’t get into Ranger School?” We all laughed and went on our way. Then, the young woman turned around and shouted back at him, “Thank you for your service!” I almost cried because when my husband got back from Vietnam no one ever said that to him. He was scorned and even spit upon. “Thank you for your service!” the voice from Sunday lingers in my head. Oh, honey, I wish you knew what that thank you meant to him. He often repeats that phrase to other veterans. When he says it, it sounds like a prayer.

If you are old enough to remember the Vietnam war, think back. Remember how badly a lot of people treated our soldiers when they returned home? I could never understand that. Sure, hatred and disgust for our government who got us into the war, but why the hostility towards the poor soldier who was drafted and forced to go over there? It has always puzzled me.

Lately, with the news about how the Russian government manipulated us during our last election through our social media, I wonder: were the attitudes toward the American soldier coming home from Vietnam manipulated in similar ways? If so, how sad. And how disgraceful! To think how Americans have let themselves be led to such ugliness in a war or election by a foreign country is unforgivable. How could we be so gullible? It must never happen again. Our country may not survive it.

Note: I cropped the graphic because the person in the photo wanted to protect his privacy.

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My newest novel

A One-way Cruise to Africa, Terror on the Internet:

First lines: Maku, a rebel leader somewhere in the middle of the dark jungles of Nigeria, has just placed an order for a young woman who lives in the United States. It was easy. He did it all with his i-Pad. He orders and pays for all the women that he buys and re-sells that way—over the Internet—without ever having to leave his Hummer.

The purpose of this NA book is to entertain and warn young people about the dangers of human trafficking. Mixing drama with romance, it does not bury the reader in statistics. Romance/suspense. New Adult (NA) & up. Kindle.

If you have questions, please leave a message: Janellemhooper@comcast.net

Thanks for stopping by! Janelle

For me, every Friday is Popcorn for Breakfast Friday (No lie!). I started the gag on Facebook and it’s been a lot of fun. This is one of the shots I posted on Facebook. Janelle

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Dear Readers,

I’ve expanded my short story, Old Joe’s Pink Cadillac, and made it available on Amazon. Note: This is one of the back stories for my Turtle Trilogy (A Three-Turtle Summer, As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries, and Custer & His Naked Ladies).

A few lines from Old Joe’s Pink Cadillac, expanded version…

“…Ben’s effort to see that Joe was well and had everything he needed was always appreciated by the old guy. He didn’t have a phone, so on hot nights, Ben would walk across the alley to say hello and make sure the old man had ice for his icebox. During the summer, ice and water could be lifesavers when temperatures in the Oklahoma town could be over a hundred or more in the daytime during the summer, and the town’s senior citizens were sometimes known to suffer from dehydration.
Most of the time, Ben’s offer to bring Joe some ice wasn’t needed because Joe had bought a block of ice after work and had hand-carried it all the way home. Upon Ben’s arrival, Joe would pull two bottles of beer out of his icebox, and he and Ben would go outside and sit on Elizabeth’s hood to cool off. There, in the dark, they’d listen to the crickets chirp, and the cats fight and hiss at each other on the Victorian’s porch. Sometimes, houses away, they’d hear a couple squabbling until they both decided it was too hot to fight.
Too hot to love.
Too hot to sleep.
Eventually, cats and people would quiet down for the night, and Ben and Joe would be left under a star-filled sky with only the crickets, lightning bugs, and a few mosquitoes for company…”

Amazon Kindle, suitable for NA (New Adult) & up.

Author’s note: I drew on my memories of growing up in an Oklahoma town for this story. About 35,000 people without the army at the time, and less than 8 miles from Fort Sill.

Also new on Amazon: Harpy & Julianne’s Tomato War, Kindle. Suitable for all ages.

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Janelle Meraz Hooper, author

Literary blog

Tag Archives: Vietnam

Thank you for your service! A salute to veterans

Old Joe’s Pink Cadillac- expanded version

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