Onward Christmas Soldiers: Inspired by True Events and Others Not so True

When I was seven years old during the sixties, all I wanted for Christmas was a GI Joe. My best friend's little sister reluctantly let me improvise with her "Ken" doll, but I was tired of him. He didn't have an action grip like the real GI Joes' and the other guys were always beating him up. I nagged my parents incessantly. My mom always said she did not want me glorifying war as her reason for not getting me what I wanted. I knew that was only half the story. The other issue was really about money, or the lack thereof. Then one day my life changed...This is a tender and touching story of young boys, worlds and years apart who learn that the true spirit of Christmas is not just about giving, but personal sacrifice. These boys grow to manhood without their fathers. They are in pain and anger because of unanswered questions about what happened decades before to their dads in Vietnam. However, due to a series of miraculous events, the mystery, which the reader is privileged to behold is revealed to the boys, who come together as men through their connection - a GI Joe and their hearts are both healed by The Great Physician.This story is deeply personal for me because some of the events are true, others inspired and still others completely fiction. It will have you laughing one moment and crying the next, so be sure to have a box of tissues handy. It is a poignant story of Christmas, giving, sacrifice, war, love, overcoming trials and respect for our parents. It will challenge you to keep the spirit of Christmas all year round.

The events surrounding Mark getting a GI Joe as his favorite toy and then sending it to a missionary on an Indian reservation are true. So are the events related to Christian, his son, with whom he shares his experience years later. Many of the events involving the soldiers in training, Vietnam and as POWs are also based on true stories of those who were really there. The rest is mostly fiction designed to encapsulate the lessons learned in a dramatic and touching way. Mark has spent much of his finance and accounting career writing technically for his corporate audiences. Even though he has been a prolific writer of reports, analysis and strategic business plans, this is his first attempt at a novel. However, because he is such a natural story teller, he has plans for many more. Mark currently lives on the side of a mountain in a small town high in the Rockies. He is married to SherLynne, whom he adores and is the father of eleven children and grandfather to five.