Mended Wings Nam history by Colin Cahoon

 

Valor Press (June 7, 2021)

249 pages
ISBN-13: ‎978-1733170727

Ebook $9.99

Print  $17.95

Buy on Amazon
 

Check out the author's trip to Vietnam.

Read about the inspiration behind the story.

You hear them first, the "whop, whop" sound of rotor blades chopping through the humid Vietnam air. Suddenly they appear, screaming toward the landing zone at treetop level. Gunships launch rockets into the nearby tree line. The resulting explosions announce the arrival of the lift helicopters, pointing their noses skyward like falcons coming out of a dive for landing. Unseen enemy respond with machinegun fire, spewing orange tracers toward the slowing birds. Bullets rip into the thin aluminum skin and plastic that surrounds the men who fly these machines. But on they come, determined to complete the mission no matter what the cost. When one pilot is hit, the other takes the controls and carries on. When one helicopter crashes in flames, the pilots in the others maintain formation and push ahead. Nothing deters these warriors, volunteers all, from flying on with the tenaciousness of zealots.

Who are these men? Where did they come from? Where have they gone?

Mended Wings is their story. Follow the lives of ten Purple Heart heroes as they relate the Vietnam War experience from the perspective of the helicopter cockpit. Get to know the generation of men who fought with pride, determination, skill, and courage only to be shunned when they brought their battered bodies and haunting memories home. Their fathers and uncles were heralded as the “greatest generation.” Meet the forgotten generation. Meet the men whose stories did not end as a name on a black wall in Washington D.C. Meet the survivors.

ColinP. Cahoon

Colin P. Cahoon is a writer of historical nonfiction and historically based fiction, a patent attorney, and former Army helicopter pilot. He grew up in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico and earned his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at New Mexico State University, which he attended on an Army ROTC scholarship. Colin received his Regular Army commission in 1983 and graduated with honors from the aero scout track of flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama in 1984. He served with distinction as an Aero Scout Platoon Leader in the 307th Attack Helicopter Battalion of the 7th Infantry Division, where he accumulated over 1000 hours of flight time in UH-1 and OH-58 helicopters. Captain Cahoon resigned his commission in 1988 to pursue a legal career, whereupon he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army’s second highest peacetime award for service. He subsequently earned his J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he met his wife, Susan. Colin has served the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Dallas as a Lay Eucharistic Minister, Stephen Minister, and Chancellor. Colin and Susan have three grown children and live in Dallas, Texas and Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where they both enjoy skiing, hiking, and fishing.

 

Charming Cat Adventure for a holiday read

 

My One Extraordinary Life: A Feline Memoir, TD Arkenberg
Outskirts Press, Denver, Colorado
c. December 2021, ebook, print, 268 pp
Fiction
 
Print paperback $18.95
Hardcover, $28.85

Ebook $8.99
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes and Noble
 
About the Book:
“Few humans lead an extraordinary life. I’ve come to that conclusion from my years of scrutinizing the tribe of upright walkers. My credentials? I’m a cat.”
 

And with that bold assertion, Fluff invites readers into his exceptional feline world. We meet the outspoken tabby as a kitten. He lives with his mother and siblings in a cardboard box in the heart of Brussels. Charmed by exotic tales of a seasoned street cat called Grumps, Fluff dreams of adventure. But he can’t quite muster the courage to venture out on his own. His family’s disappearance forces his paw. He sets out with Siamese newcomers, Penelope and Odysseus. Once posh and pampered housecats, the brother and sister won’t survive the urban jungle without their new friend’s help. The trio encounters unexpected dangers: two- and four-legged villains; their own naiveté; and a city swarming with animal traffickers. Strays are disappearing from the streets, Fluff’s family among them. In their bid to save the catnapped felines, the three companions become targets themselves. Adventure turns into a harrowing game of intrigue where they’re both cat and mouse.

 

My Review:

Although titled a memoir, this marvelous tail, er tale, is really a fictional autobiographical adventure of one Dickens-quoting, Twain-reading homeless camp cat, Fluff, who learns the world is bigger than his slightly squashed cardboard container. He has a role to play, even if the first step is to venture outside of one’s…box, in the European city of Brussels, a place author TD Arkenberg knows well from living there once upon a time.

 

In the territory of temporaries, there exist tribal hierarchies, Fluff learns, where all manner of creatures exist side by side, and humans are known as “uprights.” When Fluff comes home from one of his romps, only brother Auguste welcomes him. It’s not long before Fluff is abandoned with the dismal advice that “it happens to us all. Time for you to stand on your own four paws.” Grumps, an older cat, has filled Fluff’s head with tales of adventure, and when Fluff believes he’s been orphaned, he decides, though hesitant and fearful, to dream big and explore the world and hopefully find his lost family. As he waits for the right moment to leave the camp, he reaches out to newcomers, domesticated castoffs Penelope and Odysseus, to help them adjust and survive the harsh reality of their new status. When bullying pushes Penelope and Odysseus into fleeing the camp, they ask to join Fluff on his quest. “Dogs travel in packs, cats don’t,” Fluff says, but when dangerous conditions arise, he relents, and comes to learn that loyalty comes in all forms from all sides. It’s not always easy to know who to trust, and sometimes one just has to get his paws dirty to achieve results.

 

Betrayal and misconceptions abound, clarify, twist, and shimmer as these friends get separated, run into old chums and make new ones, reunite only to be recaptured, find themselves embroiled in “turf issues,” uncover a dastardly international trafficking scheme, and an even greater horror of biological terrorism and research. There’s a lot going on in this page-turning story. Tempted to stay on in certain posh situations when they occasionally meet a human they think of adopting, the friends overhear rotten plans and resolve to rescue the victims.

 

Friends need friends. When Fluff and Penelope realize they’re in over their heads, they reach out to both known and new two and four-leggeds to assist them as they work to thwart the traffickers and restore not only their own families, but those of their formerly misunderstood friends.

 

The story is told in perspective through Fluff’s narration. Early on, he reminisces, “But most things in life, I’ve learned, shouldn’t be defined in absolute terms.” Filled with delicious cat-themed puns, Brussels street life, danger, adventure, and even romance, readers of Lillian Jackson Braun will love My One Extraordinary Life. As we’re encouraged in the author’s introduction to recognize and appreciate our lives, this story of using our wits, paying attention to the small things, networking, and taking a risk should spark introspection and conversation. Great holiday gift.

 
About the Author

T.D. Arkenberg left the world of global airline executive more than a decade ago to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. He is the author of novels, short stories, and memoir. T.D. has an MBA from The University of Chicago and a BA in Literature from Northwestern University. He also studied at the London Business School. He’s active in several professional groups including the Barrington Writers Workshop, Off Campus Writers Workshop, and the Brussels Writers Circle. In 2016, T.D. and his spouse repatriated from Belgium. They make their home in the Chicago area along with their favorite Belgian souvenir, Puhi, a precocious tiger cat.