Books by Eric Douglas

Thriller fiction and Non-fiction

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Do your part for World Oceans Day

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Considering that yesterday was National Doughnut Day it seems like there is a “day’ for just about everything any more. I think World Oceans Dayis one we should all celebrate and support, though.

 

(From the World Oceans Day website) Why Should I Celebrate World Oceans Day?
  • Generates most of the oxygen we breathe
  • Helps feed us
  • Regulates our climate
  • Cleans the water we drink
  • Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
  • Provides limitless inspiration! 

I like to think of the ocean as “mine”. The last one on the list is especially true for me; all of my novels, most of my short stories and most of my non-fiction writing involve the ocean. It inspires me, calms me and excites me all at the same time. When I’m out on the water (or under it) I find myself smiling. Especially when I’m diving, I often daydream and end up writing portions of upcoming stories while I float along.

 

You might be saying to yourself, I don’t live anywhere near the ocean. What does World Oceans Day have to do with me? How do my actions affect the ocean? Taking care of water in your own backyard directly influences the health of the ocean. Pollution, chemicals and litter all make it to the ocean through small streams and watersheds. 

What can I do? Here’s what other people are doing (again from the World Oceans Day site):

  • I promise to bring reusable bags to the grocery store
  • I promise to get a reusable water bottle
  • I promise to take shorter showers.
  • I promise to take public transportation to school/work once a week.
  • I promise to only eat sustainably harvested seafood.
  • I promise to participate in a litter clean-up.
  • I promise to not use toxic pesticides on my lawn.
A couple of the things on this list that I do involve plastic bottles and bags. I make a concerted effort to recycle all of the plastic bottles (along with paper and aluminum) that come through my house and I try to always use reusable shopping bags at the store. I have seen those flimsy shopping bags littering pristine beaches and water bottles coating shore lines in my travels. It makes me sick to see them and I don’t want to contribute to the problem.

A good friend of mine always referred to the ocean as “hers” and she has worked her entire professional career to protect it and support ocean causes. That’s where I picked up the phrase and it influences my everyday actions. Honestly, I think we would all be better off if we all thought of the ocean as “mine”.

 

If you want to learn more about how your own efforts at home can support World Oceans Day and the health of the ocean that provides life for all of us, visit the website and make a promise.

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Invading France: June of 1944

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Four of the 46 West Virginia war veterans I interviewed as part of the West Virginia Voices of War project landed on the beaches of France as part of the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1994, commonly referred to as D Day. What follows are excerpts from their oral histories included in the companion book Common Valor. Two of the men were involved in the invasion on June 6 and the other two followed soon after as Allied Forces began the build up to retake France.

John Cavender

We were getting ready for the invasion, stocking up the south of England with war material and everything. There was a lot of stocking up they had to do. Millions of tons of stuff that had to go. They were building hospitals and flying the nurses. You don’t just have to feed them and clothe them. You have to do all these other things. 

We took off at midnight on D-Day with a load of 82ndairborne paratroopers including General James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin, the commander of troops for the 82nd Airborne Division. The weather was real bad, flying through clouds. A formation of 1000 planes. We were supposed to drop our troops off at Sainte-Mère-Église. I went back through the plane and saw a man I went to school with. After the war I asked him if we dropped him right and he said “right on the money” so my troops got dropped right. They were loaded down and the Germans flooded swamps. If the paratroopers hit that they just sunk.

 

They were shooting at us. One in 10 was a tracer. For every one you see there were 10 more after you. And then there were “88” bursts around you. 

Paul Wesley Harris

I woke one morning and the roar was incredible. I didn’t know they could get that many planes in the air. A few days later I was following them. On June 17th, we were on our way to France. We landed on Utah Beach. D Day + 10. It was high tide on the beach so we couldn’t get in. We had to wait there in the open. German airplanes would come over at tree top level spraying bullets everywhere. 

Up on the hill was a little church. Out from it was a graveyard. One day, I went up there. What I saw was military personnel soaked with oil where they had fished them out of the surf. I didn’t stay long. It was heartbreaking. That was the only time I went up there.

 

Jesse Allen Frazier

Went in on Normandy Beach, but two days behind the invasion. It was rough. I was a front-line medic. You didn’t have time to think about yourself. We were busy doctoring people up so they could be evacuated. We weren’t allowed to carry weapons, just your fist. I rode across France with Patton’s army. 

Eugene Lusk

We just had enough to eat, to keep the hunger down. We went to chow one night, they asked “What do you want to eat?” It shocked us. We said “what do you mean?” We knew something was up but we didn’t know what. It lasted one day and then the next night we shipped out. 

We went inland to an old camp and then the next morning they got us up bright and early, there was a catholic chaplain and a protestant chaplain. One of them said, “Where we’re going some of you will make it and some of you won’t.” You heard some groans but that was about it.

 

We were not told until we were on that ship getting ready to land what was going on. We knew something was up, but they kept it that quiet. Went in on D-Day. 

They took us back to Plymouth and we boarded a ship, #226 on June 4. On #2 hold, it was stacked with 5 gallon jerry cans full of gas. And some of them were leaking. The whole company got on that ship. We were on the channel two full days. We were supposed to land on the fifth but a storm came up and we landed on June 6th. The channel was rough and I was sick.

 

On the morning of June 6th, we were in the tail of the convoy. We went up by Omaha Beach, but we were going on to Utah. We anchored at Utah Beach and those big battleships were broadside and firing on the beach. You would see the gun go off, and then hear it and then see the shell way back over yonder go off. 

I don’t know what time, but an LCP pulled up beside our ship and that was our ride to the beach. It bottomed out and we waded in with water clear up under our armpits. We were in a single line. If there had been a machine gun there it could have mowed every one of us down. We were sitting ducks but the beach had done been taken at that time.

Utah Beach was cut into three beaches. We were supposed to land on Tarry Green and I don’t know where we landed. The captain said if you get lost, go to the IP, Initial Point. I don’t know where that initial point is to this day. But none of us got lost. We all stayed together..

Excited for summer

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It’s been a long time since my schedule revolved around the arrival of summer. Now, it is my daughters who look forward to school being out; sleeping in, staying up later and no homework. In spite of my long separation from school, I still get excited for this time of year anyway. For what it’s worth, I still get excited to wake up in the morning to a covering of fresh snow on the ground too…as long as I don’t have to drive anywhere. That probably means I never fully grew up. I’m good with that.

Summer for me is a time to get outside and enjoy life: it is driving with the windows down and singing along with the radio at the top of my lungs; sitting outside and enjoying the night air; swimming, boating, diving and fishing; working in the yard and coaxing flowers to grow.

As a writer, I have a bit more flexibility with my schedule than the typical job. I can write in the mornings and evenings and get outside and enjoy the day when the sun is up. The downside to that is I’m never fully off work either. It’s not unusual for me to be working on a project, especially when a deadline is looming, late in the evening.

On the other hand, I often find myself “writing” when I’m nowhere near my computer. I take inspiration from the places I go and people I meet. I often make notes in my phone to transfer to my computer later about people or things I want to research further. There is a great likelihood those things will show up later. My friends know all-too-well things they say or do can be used against them in an upcoming blog, short story or novel.

That’s what makes summer such a great time for me. Even in the hottest, stickiest dog days of summer, people want to be outside– typically at the pool or on the river or a lake somewhere. As a diver, I typically try to be under the water at least part of the time as well. I like scuba diving in West Virginia. This is where I learned to dive and I will always come back here. True, it isn’t as colorful as diving on a coral reef, but you might be surprised what you can find underwater around here. For me, that’s true of summer in West Virginia in general. If you get out and look, you just might be surprised at what you can find.

Summer is here. Get out and get inspired, but be warned. If you see me coming toward you I might just be looking for a new character in a story.

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Watching people watch my work

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As a writer, I don’t often get a chance to be with people as they experience my creative work. It’s hard to quietly sit and watch people read. They generally don’t tolerate it. Even as a photographer, I’ve only been present when two or three people at a time have seen my photographs. Last night, watching 140 people experience the premiere of the documentary West Virginia Voices of War was nerve-wracking. I didn’t sit down the entire time. I stood in the back of the room and paced, holding my breath when an emotional high point was coming up, hoping it affected everyone in the room the way I expected.

I was fortunate that about 30 of the veterans I interviewed were present. A couple people told me that one of the most interesting parts of the presentation was watching the reactions of the veterans themselves. They told me about tears and difficult expressions on faces. While I certainly didn’t set out to make anyone upset, it was rewarding to know that it touched them on a personal level. After listening to the audio portion of the documentary a friend and veteran commented that it “neither demonized nor deified the veterans. It just told the story.” My goal all along was to have veterans, the ones I interviewed and others, look at me afterward and say “You got it right.” I hope I got it right.

The idea of putting together a project like West Virginia Voices of War grew from a number of different sources, but it was definitely a step out of “what I have done before”. That said, it was far from a solitary project. I owe a great deal of thanks to my family and friends for helping out, especially when it came time to roll it out: getting refreshments for the reception, distributing books, putting out more chairs when it became readily apparent about 15 minutes before we were ready to start that there weren’t enough—that’s a great problem to have.

Thanks also to the sponsors who made the event possible: Emmanuel Baptist Church for providing the venue and Industrial Bolting Technologies; Ray Winton and Kelley PLLC; Mr. and Mrs. Richard Sinclair; JD and Becky Pauley and; Danny Blairfor their donations. Their contributions allowed me to give copies of the book Common Valorand a DVD of the documentary to each of the veterans I interviewed, along with a recording of their interview. They also paid for the refreshments, flyers, letters and publicity postcards. Without their help, the premiere would not have been nearly as successful.

A big thank you goes out to Jeff Ellis as well for allowing me to use his song The Line in both the opening and closing of the documentary. Listen to it and see why it was so perfect for this project.

You can watch the entire documentary, West Virginia Voices of War on my website for a limited time.

Veterans groups interested in showing the documentary as a fundraiser should contact me and we will set up a time.

Finally, thank you to all veterans, those I interviewed and all the rest, for your service..

Monday is Memorial Day

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Memorial Day signals the start of summer. It’s a chance to spend time with family and friends. There are cookouts, parties and festivals. It is a long weekend of celebration, a federal holiday since 1971.

The roots of Memorial Day are somewhat different, though. It was originally called Decoration Day and was intended as a day to decorate the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War, for both the North and the South, at Arlington National Cemetery. After World War I it morphed into a day to remember those who lost their lives fighting in any war for the United States. More recently, it has become a day for some to remember and decorate the graves of anyone who has died, whether it was in service to the country or not.

I have no issue with people taking the day to remember everyone who has died on Memorial Day. I’m fortunate in that no one in my family died in service to this country; no aunts, uncles, cousins or grandparents. That said, I still think it’s important to remember what Memorial Day is all about and take a moment to say remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The saying goes that “Freedom isn’t Free” and many men and women over the years have given themselves completely so that we might enjoy the freedoms we have.

Next Tuesday, the day after Memorial Day, I’m premiering my documentary West Virginia Voices of War. I wanted to have the premiere close to Memorial Day, but I didn’t want it to interfere with the holiday. I wanted people to have time with their families. On Memorial Day, I’ll be on the Dave Weekley radio show Hotline from 4 to 5 pm talking about the documentary and airing some portions of it. I’m not a veteran, but I have tremendous respect for those who have served. The West Virginia Voices of War project is my way to remember and say Thank you.

Happy Memorial Day! Enjoy your weekend. I plan to be out taking in live music all weekend at Live on the Levee tonight and at the Vandalia Festival on the Capitol Grounds over the weekend. In the midst of that celebration and family gathering, take a moment to think about what the holiday is all about and say Thanks.

If you get a chance, come out and join me at the premiere on Tuesday!.

West Virginia Voices of War premiere set for May 28

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Next week, on May 28, I will be premiering the documentary West Virginia Voices of War and a companion book Common Valor. To say this is the biggest project I have taken on would be an understatement.  

You can see the opening to the documentary on my website.

The book, in both print and ebook format, is now available through Amazon.

I ended up traveling more than 2000 miles and collecting 50 hours worth of oral histories from West Virginia war veterans. I completed interviews with 46 veterans from every major conflict since World War II and a number of smaller peace-keeping and humanitarian missions.  It took 15 months and somewhere over 500 hours, although I really have no idea how much time.

 

This project began when I learned from the director of the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress, at the end of 2011, that only 20 or so oral histories from West Virginia war veterans were in the archives. I’m not a veteran, but I’ve always been intrigued by the comradery that soldiers feel toward each other. There is an esprit de corps among those in the military that is unmatched anywhere else. 

I started talking to friends and dropped in on a couple local VFWs and offered to record oral histories. I knew it would turn into a documentary of some sort although at the time I had no idea what the “story” would be. That is often the nature of documentary work. You don’t know what the story is going to be; you just have to collect the information and see what happens. About halfway through the project, I began to realize how remarkably similar the stories were, regardless of when the veterans served.

 

Along the way, a friend suggested I come out one evening and listen to a veteran sing. Jeff Ellis was singing songs from his album The Line. His record label actually released it while he was home on leave from Iraq. As soon as I heard the title song The Line I knew I wanted to use it in the documentary if I could and fortunately, Jeff graciously allowed me to do just that. 

West Virginia Voices of War is a multimedia presentation, combining audio recordings with still portraits of each veteran. I couldn’t use comments from all of the veterans in the documentary, so I also included edited transcripts from all of the interviews in the book Common Valor. I chose that title because I came to realize that “valor” isn’t necessarily about heroes. In my mind, valor is men and women putting their lives on the line, doing their jobs and doing their best to come home safe and sound. Almost every veteran I interviewed talked about having nightmares or drinking too much when they came home. And almost every one of them said they were proud of what they did and would do it again in spite of the problems.

 

This project would not have been possible if it weren’t for the donors who supported it and the sponsors who are supporting the premiere. The gang at WVSU’s DigiSo provided invaluable service as well.
The documentary will premiere at 7 pm at Emmanuel Baptist Churchat 1401 Washington St W in Charleston on May 28; the day after Memorial Day. The premiere is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted for the Charleston Veterans Center on the West Side. Copies of Common Valor will be available for sale. Following the premiere, I plan to make the documentary available for local veterans groups and other organizations to show as fundraisers.

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