Send Free Printed Postcards to U.S. Troops Stationed Overseas

Visit the Let's Say Thanks site hosted by Xerox right now and send a free postcard to a member of our armed services.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Stories of Women Who Served in Vietnam Needed

Author Kerry Pardue sent out this request:

I am beginning to write another book and it is about women who have served during war. The women who served in Vietnam are the forgotten ones and not considered to have endured any hardships, many are closet vets. I want their stories to be told and shared as our generation is beginning to go away.

This book will be about women who served during the Revolutionary War to the current situation in Afghan and Iraq. From Rosie the Riveter to the nurse to the air traffic controller to the donut dollie.

Each of these has certainly paid a price and paid their dues with their blood, sweat, tears, and their hearts and minds. I would also like to include something from a woman who lost a husband or parent, or a child that lost a parent.

I need your story, your photo back then to one that is current, your writings, your reasons for becoming one, your experiences how that time was for you, how was your homecoming, your memories now of how the guys treated you, your regrets, your losses, and would you do it over again or not.

What happened to you after you came back to the world? What do you want other women to know about you and your service?

I know that I am asking a lot but it will be an important work; most of the proceeds will be donated to the Vietnam Women's Memorial for education.

Please consider being a part of this work and please send this on to your network of women that you know have been a part of serving their country during war time and peace.

If anyone has any questions please contact me at kerrypardue247@yahoo.com or 480 250-6021 (cell phone).

I would like to have everything in by March 1st so that I can begin to work on the material and putting it together. I have set a goal to have the book released on Veterans Day 2010.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Documentary THE WAY WE GET BY Tells of Seniors Who Greet the Troops in Bangor, Maine

The documentary THE WAY WE GET BY tells the story of seniors in Bangor, Maine, who since 2003 have greeted the planes taking troops to and from Iraq and Afghanistan.

It's especially moving to see these seniors thank the men and women soldiers of today -- and to see these men and women soldiers thank those seniors who were veterans of WWII and other previous wars.

Through December 12 you can watch the entire documentary online.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Showing Gratitude for Our Troops

In honor of Thanksgiving Day, take a few minutes to watch some of the documentary and film clips at www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

By watching these clips you will understand how grateful we as a nation must be for all the men and women who have served since before the founding of the United States of America up until today.

As Nancy Brown and I said at the end of each BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com, God bless our troops.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Walmart Supports Our Troops

For my project www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com I've been researching possible corporate sponsors. I was impressed when I came across what Walmart does to support our troops.

Check out the page on Walmart's site that talks about how Walmart supports our troops.

And on the right-hand side of the page click on "Military Support Fact Sheet" for examples of recent Walmart support of our troops. The fact sheet is very extensive.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Free Ebooks Now Available for Deployed Military Personnel

I just came across the September 11th blog post "Smashwords Supports Operation Ebook Drop." The post begins:

The other day on the Amazon Kindle message boards, Smashwords author Ed Patterson met a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq who wanted to download ebooks for his Kindle, yet Whispernet (Amazon's wireless download service) didn't work in Iraq.

Ed offered to email the soldier all 13 of his ebooks, for free. The soldier gratefully accepted.

Following the chance encounter with the soldier, Ed, himself an Army veteran, queried other indie authors on the Kindleboards message boards, asking if they too would be willing to offer their ebooks for free to troops deployed overseas.

Read the entire post and then help spread the word. This is a terrific project to support our troops!
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Fast Company Article Describes Hollywood's Help to Prepare Soldiers for Roadside Attacks

The FastCompany.com November 8, 2009, article by Alissa Walker headlined "Inside the IED Battle Drill: How Hollywood Is Prepping Soldiers for Roadside Attacks" begins:

So," the smiling publicist asked cheerily, "do you want to get blown up, or not?"

Not a question I routinely get asked when reporting stories. But nothing about my visit to this non-descript office park about 40 miles north of Los Angeles could be described as routine. Here, in the shadow of the dozen or so roller coasters of Six Flags Magic Mountain, a team of more than a dozen Hollywood creatives and theme park engineers are debuting their latest creation.

Except this team is working not for the hottest Hollywood studio but for the Department of Defense. And this is no blockbuster film. It's a simulated IED attack.

Read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Ignore the Film Title and See the Movie THE MESSENGER

The new film THE MESSENGER would be much better served with the title NEXT OF KIN. While THE MESSENGER could refer to any number of movies -- and is an unmemorable title -- NEXT OF KIN is powerful, memorable and pinpoints the emotional rollercoaster of this compelling film.

This film does NOT bash the military or the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead it provides a window into the lives of military personnel and their families who are forever changed by death.

As those of you who are regular readers of this blog know, I've written a great deal about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Nancy Brown and I interviewed numerous people on this subject for our BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com. And my new site FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com offers a free report on recognizing the signs of PTSD.

In fact, in the scenes when the two protagonists of THE MESSENGER deliver the death notification to next of kin, it is vividly demonstrated how that moment in time can give PTSD to someone who has never seen combat.

I recommend that everyone see this movie in order to understand the sacrifices that our military men and women and their families are making for our freedom.

Then show your gratitude to our military personnel and their families. Many of the posts on this blog describe organizations that are supporting our troops and need your help to do so.

And after you see this movie, come back to this post and leave a comment about the film.

For now, visit the film site now for more information at www.themessengermovie.com.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

BlogTalkRadio Show Your Military Life Ends Regularly Scheduled Segments

From November 2008 to November 2009 the 30-minute BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life was regularly scheduled on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. Eastern with the replays available at www.YourMilitaryLife.com.

When Nancy Brown of YourMilitary.com and I started co-hosting these shows a year ago, neither one of us was as busy as we are now. Yet Nancy and I finally had to accept that each one of us is only one person and we can't continue to function as if each of us were two people. Thus the conclusion of the regularly scheduled BlogTalkRadio shows.

But we are still keeping the show account so that we can do special shows when appropriate. And we'll list those special shows at www.YourMilitaryLife.com as well as get out the word through Twitter, etc.

We are both so appreciative that in the past year we have been exposed to so many wonderful people -- many of them doing incredible things to support our troops. A special thanks to all these wonderful guests we've had on the show. You made the show a success!
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Transitioning From the Military to the Civilian World Requires New Skill Sets

Eileen Terry of Eileen Terry Consulting and client Lyle Forcum, a retired USMC lieutenant colonel, talked on BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com about transitioning from the military to post-military careers.

Eileen explained the different types of skill sets required in a command environment (the military) and in a collaborative environment (civilian life). Lyle was eloquent in describing, for example, how he had to learn to listen to people's opinions -- including those of his own children -- in order to succeed in a non-military environment.

Visit Eileen's website www.etconsult.biz to learn more and then listen to the interview to hear some very insightful advice.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Kaziah Hancock’s Project Compassion Started with a News Announcement in 2003

Portrait artist Kaziah Hancock remembers the moment in 2003 when the newly launched war in Iraq was brought home to her. She was listening to the news about an American soldier who had been killed.

In that instant she determined to do something for the family of the soldier.

She called the news station to find out how to contact the soldier’s family so that she could offer to paint a portrait of the fallen soldier. She was asked what about the other Utah soldier who had just been killed. She said she would also contact the family of that soldier. And one thing led to another …

Now six-and-a-half years later she’s personally painted over 668 portraits and she also has other artists working on the project. She explained on the BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com how she draws the strength to keep going on this project thanks to the strength she sees in the photos of the fallen soldiers whose portraits she paints.

But supplies such as canvas, paints, and frames are not free. Although she doesn’t take a penny for her own work, she does need funding for the portrait supplies and the administration of this project. (The shipping costs and packaging materials are donated.) And she always is on the lookout for more portrait painters.

Go to her Project Compassion project website now at www.heropaintings.com to learn how you can help this incredible project. You can also request a portrait of a fallen soldier.

And then listen to the interview of Kaziah Hancock – the strength of her amazing personality comes through loud and clear.

(Portrait of fallen soldier painted by Kaziah Hancock.)
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

RETURNING HOME PROJECT Website Launches Following First Showing of Documentary THE WAY WE GET BY

The documentary THE WAY WE GET BY first aired on Veterans Day 2009: "Sometimes all it takes is a handshake to change a life." The documentary is now available online in its entirety through December 12, 2009, at www.pbs.org/pov:

On call 24 hours a day for the past five years, a group of senior citizens has made history by greeting over 900,000 American troops at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine.

The Way We Get By is an intimate look at three of these greeters as they confront the universal losses that come with aging and rediscover their reason for living.

Bill Knight, Jerry Mundy and Joan Gaudet find the strength to overcome their personal battles and transform their lives through service. This inspirational and surprising story shatters the stereotypes of today's senior citizens as the greeters redefine the meaning of community.

The RETURNING HOME PROJECT was developed by THE WAY WE GET BY filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly along with the Bluehouse Group and through the Bay Area Video Coalition's program Producers Institute for New Media Technologies.

Visit the RETURNING HOME PROJECT website, which just launched, to ensure that American soldiers are not forgotten.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

RETURN TO DUTY Airs on MTV for Veterans Day

Real World Presents: Return to Duty - MTV Shows

Above is the clip from the MTV Veterans Day special RETURN TO DUTY. This documentary follows Ryan Conklin from the show "The Real World Brooklyn" as he is re-deployed to Iraq.

I recommend you see this documentary, which provides an up-close-and-personal look at what our troops are doing in Iraq right now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Former Military Personnel Helps Transition From Frontline to Home Front

Gabrielle Bourne, a former Army personnel, shared insights on smoothing the transition from the frontline to the home front on the BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com.

Gabrielle, who deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq as a Civil Affairs personnel, has a unique perspective with which to help with this transition. You can learn more about her at www.gabriellebourne.com and by listening to the interview now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Twitter Provides Online Place for People to Thank Police Officer Kim Munley

Reprinted from a blog post of Phyllis Zimbler Miller as a National Internet Business Examiner.

The November 7-8 Wall Street Journal’s page-one story about the shooting at Fort Hood included this sentence in the section on Kim Munley’s courageous efforts to stop the shooter:

“Her Twitter account filled with messages of thanks and admiration from strangers world-wide.”

Kim Munley’s username on Twitter is @hope2forget30, and besides her name and location (Killeen, TX), here’s what she wrote in her bio:

“I live a good life....a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life.”

When I checked she had only tweeted three times, the last time July 6th. How prescient that bio was – “knowing that I may have made a difference in someone’s life.”

I searched on @hope2forget30 and found the messages. You can read them yourself.

And you can also read the tweets about her by name if you search on Kim Munley.

In conclusion, we can all be thankful that she has indeed “made a difference in someone’s life.”

FYI – If you are on Twitter and would like me to add you to my Twitter list of U.S. troops supporters (@ZimblerMiller/us-troops-supporters) please tweet me. And you can also check out my site www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Former Army Medic Writes of His Time in Iraq

Michael Anthony recently completed six years in the U.S. Army Reserves, during which time he spent a year in Iraq. He is the author of MASS CASUALTIES: A Young Medic’s True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq (Adams Media, October 2009). The book is drawn from his personal journals during the year he spent serving in Iraq. It is a non-partisan look at what really goes on within the military.

Below is a guest post:

President Obama recently stated that sending more troops into harm’s way in Afghanistan is a solemn decision -— one that he would not rush. As a veteran, I find the decision to send troops into harm’s way without an effective military mental health program in place beyond solemn. It’s deeply disturbing. Keeping soldiers mentally fit should be as important as keeping them physically fit.

Since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started, nearly 2,000 active-service soldiers have killed themselves, according to a report by the San Antonio Express-News earlier this year. Even more alarming is the fact that every day, five active-duty service members attempt suicide. In the past eight years, that means up to 14,000 have felt their life is not worth living.

The government doesn’t want you to know this. In spring of 2008, CBS news journalist Armen Keteyian exposed a Veterans Administration cover-up of suicide stats. The reporting revealed that every day 18 veterans kill themselves and roughly 1,000 attempt suicide each month. The VA’s head of Mental Health had claimed there were only 790 attempts in all of 2007, a far cry from the reality.

Among all veterans, over the eight years we’ve been at war in the Middle East, the statistics point that roughly 50,000 have committed suicide, with upwards of 44,000 attempting suicide. These figures only represent data gathered since 2001; this has been an ongoing and persistent problem since Vietnam -— and the numbers go up each day.

Recently, the Army made a big deal about giving $50 million to fund a five-year research project on military suicide. In their book The Three Trillion Dollar War Linda J. Bilmes and Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz figured the cost of the Iraq war at $12 billion a month. That means we spend more than $16 million an hour. If you do the math, the $50 million that went to suicide research is what we spend every three hours in Iraq.

The day after Christmas this year will mark our 3,000th day at war. At this point, we’ve heard a lot about suicide bombers, but what about suicide? Regardless of anyone’s feelings about our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, these soldiers deserve much more than three hours of our time.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Participate in the Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project was signed into law in 2000. Veterans' stories can be told through personal narratives (audio, video, written material), correspondence and visual materials. The website's home page states:

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

The Project collects first-hand accounts of
U.S. Veterans from the following wars:

* World War I (1914-1920)
* World War II (1939-1946)
* Korean War (1950-1955)
* Vietnam War (1961-1975)
* Persian Gulf War (1990-1995)
* Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present)

In addition, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories.

Visit the website now to learn how you can participate in the Veterans History Project.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Vietnam Marine Grunt Talks About His First Novel

Terry Rizzuti, author of the novel THE SECOND TOUR, was a guest on the BlogTalkRAdio show YourMilitaryLife.com to talk about his first novel, which is based on his experiences serving a 13-month-tour in Vietnam from 1966-67. (He was awarded a Purple Heart.)

The talk that Terry and I had is of a serious nature and quite compelling, ranging from PTSD to the redeployment of troops today to the therapeutic benefits of art.

FY -- The book title THE SECOND TOUR refers to the protagonist reliving his Vietnam tour -- it's as if he had a second tour. And Terry later emailed me that his book "really isn't for vets; it's for their families. That's where I'm getting most of my positive feedback."

You can visit Terry's website at http://thesecondtour.com and then listen to the interview.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

Unfit for Military Duty: 75% of Young Americans

In a November 3rd Sphere (part of AOL News) article by Andrea Stone entitled "75 Percent of Young Americans Are Unfit for Military Duty," she reported:

The latest Army statistics show a stunning 75 percent of military-age youth are ineligible to join the military because they are overweight, can't pass entrance exams, have dropped out of high school or had run-ins with the law.

So many young people between the prime recruiting ages of 17 and 24 cannot meet minimum standards that a group of retired military leaders is calling for more investment in early childhood education to combat the insidious effects of junk food and inadequate education.

Is this a matter of national security? Read the entire article now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.

For Veterans Day Join the Campaign The Flag Still Stands for Freedom

Retired Navy personnel Laura Kennedy spoke on the BlogTalkRadio show YourMilitaryLife.com about her campaign started this past 9/11 entitled: The Flag Still Stands for Freedom. The campaign encourages all of us to drape the U.S. in red, white and blue on Veterans Day.

You'll want to listen to this interview as Laura describes why she started this campaign, which will go on after Veterans Day, and how she will do a 24-hour radio show on Veterans Day.

You'll also learn why starting the campaign on 9/11 has so much meaning for her as she is a survivor of the second tower.

And please visit her site at www.flagstillstandsforfreedom.com to make a Veterans Day recording to be sent to deployed troops. This is NOT a fund-raising campaign. It is a participation campaign.

Listen to the interview now.
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Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of the novel MRS. LIEUTENANT and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. Her newest project is www.FilmsThatSupportOurTroops.com.

Phyllis' company MillerMosaicLLC.com does power marketing that combines traditional marketing principles and Internet marketing strategies to put power in your hands.