Military Loss

A love story and an inspirational tale of recovery and self-discovery, Marie Tillman opens up for the first time about her marriage to ex-NFL star Pat Tillman, and her journey to rebuild her life after his death. In 2003, Pat Tillman, serving in the US Army, hastily wrote a "just in case" letter to his wife, Marie. When he returned on leave before his departure to Afghanistan, he placed the letter on top of their bedroom dresser. In the days following his death, it was Pat's letter that kept her going.

A letter penned in 1944 uncovers the powerful and heartfelt story of Helen Gregg, the daughter of Irish immigrant parents who grew up in the miseries of Hell's Kitchen during the Great Depression, and Clarence Raymond Stephenson, a young aspiring B-17 pilot raised in the small, struggling city of Ironton, Ohio. Fate brings them together in New York's Central Park in 1942. From the moment their eyes first met, they knew their lives would never be the same.

But the summer days seemed to go on forever – and British families were determined to make the best of their paralysed country. For evacuated children, this meant freedom that is unimaginable today: discovering wildlife, foraging from orchards and hedgerows and swimming in the streams. Elsewhere, country estates were requisitioned for the war efforts. Caroline Taggart shows us how Britons succeeded in keeping spirits up with this entertaining collection of first-hand reminiscences from people who lived through those six long years.

What should have been a normal life path of childhood, college, and military service took a major detour for David Szumowski in 1969 in Vietnam. After 40 days leading his Army tank platoon, Szumowski's life changed. Whatever path in life he thought he would have, he now confronted a life without sight.

Echoes of Military Souls is a power-packed package of art that promises to keep you on the edge of your seat. It is a roller coaster stream of emotion. The poems forcefully remind us that soldiers lay down their lives for fellow humans. But do we really value this singular sacrifice? The theatrical ambience of the poems imprints indelible vistas of hope for the indefatigable human spirit!