About

All of a sudden, I was drafted into the United States Army, Uncle Sam called. After basic training, I was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana to a place they called “Tiger Land.” After finishing my training, I had orders to go and fight in Vietnam.  I was assigned to the 196th Infantry 3rd of the 21st America Division. On the 26th of December, we were on patrol, and my best friend, Johnny, stepped on a Bouncing Betty landmine. We were taken by a chopper to the 1st Marine Hospital in Chulie. I was in a coma for six days when I finally awoke. 

 

Pastor Billy Graham was sitting at the foot of my bed and said to me, “It’s about time you woke up.” I told the pastor that I was Catholic, and he asked me, “Do you believe in God?” I informed him, “Yes.” The next thing he asked me was, “Do you believe in Jesus?” I replied, “Yes.”  He said, I’ll do.”  The pastor handed me a helmet with a hole in the side of it, and he asked me, “What happened to the soldier who was wearing this?” I told him, “The soldier must have died.” The pastor informed me that the helmet was mine and that I had eight and a half hours of brain surgery. The pastor told me what wounds I had, and he said, “Your left eye was blown out, and the right eye was damaged.” I had a broken jaw, my right arm was paralyzed, and there was scrap metal throughout my body. I asked the pastor, “Was anyone else hit?” He informed me that Johnny was. 

 

Johnny and I kept communication through the pastor. Johnny was hit hard and lost both his legs. One day, the pastor walked in, sat on my bed and said, “Johnny is gone.” I asked the pastor, “Is Johnny on his way home to America?” He said, “No, Sonny, he is on his way to heaven. He has passed.” It was a very sad day in Vietnam. In time, I was transferred out and on my way back to America. 

    

After a couple years in the hospital, they fixed my right arm, but I became blind. I practiced my drums and became a pretty good musician.  I played and sang for forty years as a drummer in a band in Chicago. I started a business with my friend Rocco, and we owned a cocktail lounge.  I decided to start a new business called Sunshine Video Production. The Chicago Tribune did a front-page story on me called "A Blinded Veteran Travels Dark Road Up from Despair." A front- page picture of myself walking with my leader dog, and also on page 2 playing a gentleman named Rick Alfaro playing chess. We filmed bands and sold them for special occasions. I also owned a beauty shop and, after that, a major recording studio with my bass player, Jimmy. I built a beautiful home on a lake, but I was suffering from PTSD, which is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In Chicago, I was on television on the show People You Should Know, which made me pretty proud.  The person who put on the show was Harry Porterfield. I moved to Duluth, Minnesota, and for two years I was completely frozen. My next move was to Springfield, Missouri, where I currently reside. I quit playing drums and decided to get into real estate.  

 

From the day that the high school teacher told me to become a writer. When I went blind, I did. I wrote at least ten books, and when I was finished with each book, I put them away in my file cabinet. I ran into the Christian Writer’s Sanctuary, LLC group that was recommended by my friends. I met with the writer’s group and showed them my work. They informed me that they liked my writing ability. I have an interesting genre because some of my books are written about what I felt at the time.  I hope you enjoy reading some of my books, and thank you for reading them.