Memorial Day: A Call to Remember

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were... Read More

Men and Ladders

I remember as a little girl seeing my dad climb ladders. He climbed ladders to get into our attic above the garage; he climbed ladders to build our playhouse. He climbed a ladder to look at something on the roof once.

Then I married a man and he climbs ladders. Lots of ladders all the... Read More

PTSD . . . the war within

In 1967-68, Phil Downer was a 19-year-old Marine lugging a M-60 machine gun through the jungles and rice patties of South Vietnam with the Second Battalion, Fifth Marines. Phil’s outfit saw some of the heaviest fighting in the Fall of 67 in Operations Swift and Essex. In one of these battles,... Read More

When war comes home

I’ve just spent the last several days with the HelpForMyLife editing team working through the videos we shot two weeks ago dealing with the issue of PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Wow! Talk about an intense topic.

This production has been especially tough, and yet so good.... Read More