Going Places Read online

  And then something else hit me. I knew exactly where I was going. I was going to college. During one of our many talks after he sold his house, Mr. Pirkle told me that the most difficult thing a man has to do in life is to open his heart to someone. In his mind, he had failed, but I knew different. I knew he had succeeded. And I knew that one day I would too.

  GHOST SOLDIERS

  by Hudson Wheeler

  (background notes)

  Medal of Honor

  -Established in 1861 by Abraham Lincoln

  -Has been awarded to 3516 recipients since its inception

  -The highest military honor for valor above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy force

  -Illegal to sell

  -Often awarded posthumously

  -Entitles the recipient to a salute from all troops, even those who outrank him/her

  -Entitles the recipient to a monthly stipend for life

  Battle of Iwo Jima (WWII)

  -Lasted 5 weeks

  -70,000 American soldiers participated

  -6800 Americans killed; 19,217 wounded

  -Of the 22,000 original Japanese combatants, nearly all died either from fighting or by ritual suicide.

  -Gave birth to one of the most memorable military photographs of all time, the raising of the flag over Mount Suribachi

  Major US War Military Fatalities

  -Civil War - 625,000

  -World War I - 116,516 American military

  -World War II - 405,399 American military

  -Vietnam - 58,209 American military

  -Afghanistan/Iraq - 6890+ (ongoing) American military

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, thank you to George Berla, who keeps me writing through his expectations, love, and belief in me.

  Thank you to Amberjack Publishing. Dayna, Kayla, Jenny, and Cami, I couldn’t ask for a more hardworking or insightful group to have my back.

  Many thanks to Jeremy, Lucas, Corey, and Samantha Berla, and Nishita for your love, support, feedback, glitch-fixing and general superior abilities.

  This book is dedicated to the men and women of the armed forces who have sacrificed their lives or their peace of mind on behalf of us all; and to the belief that generations must reach out to each other over the decades that separate us, to capture and preserve the hopefulness of youth and the wisdom of age.

  About the Author

  Kathryn Berla is the author of the young adult novels, 12 Hours in Paradise, Dream Me, and The House at 758. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.