Columns and News Articles
For most of my career, I was an editor, fine-tuning the work of others. But I never lost my desire to write and to tell a good story. These are a few of the columns and news articles I wrote during the course of my career as a journalist.
The Letter in a Recipe Box - saluting Mart's Uncle Hugh
Dad, Death, and Dora - why we hate Nazis
Farewell to the Texas Prison Rodeo - a day inside the walls
Leaving Tracks Through Life - on the dunes at White Sands
Thanks, Bob Hope, For Remembering - the column I almost didn't write
South Rim By Sixty - a quest to reach the top
Rainy Night in North Carolina - on friendships
Above it All at Acoma - a trip into the past
Where the Buffalo Roamed - taking back the prairie
Unheralded Sacrifice - saluting a forgotten hero of D-Day
Fewer Half-Read Books - a celebration of reading
Storytelling
My Army background made me the go-to writer for all things military. I enjoyed finding untold stories about forgotten heroes, traveling with World War II veterans on six Heroes Flights to Washington, D.C., and someturging them to finally share their experiences with others.
Silence in the Gardens of Stone - reflections on Arlington
Milk Run on the Nine-O-Nine - a rattling good time in a B-17
Saigon, Sweat and Spades - my aversion to card games
The Empty Grave in Mrs. Lee's Garden - a Civil War story
Michael Davis O'Donnell - Vietnam's warrior poet
World War II Heroes - finally have their own monument
Forged By War - memorials to veterans refuse to let us forget
Flash in the Pan - an airman my grandmother adopted—who never came home
Reflections and Observations
Sometimes my columns were simply reflections on life, common sense observations, and lessons learned - sometimes the hard way.
Columns and News Articles
Counting Votes and Baking Bread - a hundred election nights
Cousins, Kindness, and Enos Slaughter - a salute to cousins
The Nuts and Bolts of Life - lessons learned in a toolbox
I'll be Home for Christmas - this song made my mother cry
The Finer Points of Plowing - a moment of Zen on the tractor
The Power of Encouragement - seeking out encouragers
Knowing When to Get Off - lessons about hard work
Sky Vu In My Rearview Mirror - on going home again
Passages and Transitions - on moving through life
My Road Less Traveled - on making life choices
