James Osborne's Blog, page 7

Hallelujah!SECRET SHEPHERD has just gone live on Amazon...

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Hallelujah!

SECRET SHEPHERD has just gone live on Amazon!

Received word this morning from my publisher, Solstice Publishing Inc., that Amazon has completed posting the listings for both the paperback and the ebook editions. So we’re good to go!

There’s a story behind the story, as there often is. You know that SECRET SHEPHERD is a sequel to The Maidstone Conspiracy. It is the second mystery/suspense novel in the series, and I hope it will keep you captivated and entertained right to the very last page!

But as the plot was evolving, I must confess my attention kept being drawn reluctantly to the anger and to the violence that we are forced to endure on the social media and the news media.

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It was in that context, I stumbled across a quote that came to inspire SECRET SHEPHERD (as did my lovely spouse Sharolie!) The quote is by Michael Kelly from his book, “The Rhythm of Life”: “We all need people in our lives, who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the best version of ourselves.”  

So while SECRET SHEPHERD does indeed pursue vigorously that perpetual struggle between good and evil, it also is about the irresistible power of hope.  Maybe it’s time for a tidal wave of hope and dignity!

These sentiments are represented on the cover: The dark background reflects mystery, the key represents secrets to be unlocked, and in the center of the key is a white rosebud representing the blossoming of hope.

As noted in the Postscript to the novel, “The true measure of a person’s worth is not in what they own, but in how they treat themselves and others.”

Oh, yes… here are the links: to the paperback edition, www.amazon.com/dp/1730955630, and to the ebook edition, www.amazon.com/dp/B07K7S1WBM.

Finally, here’s a summary of the plot, calculated of course to tantalize you and to entice you into using the conveniently located links above!

    Paul and Anne Winston are on a noble mission, but face deadly opposition from cruel and powerful people who fear the wealthy young couple’s ultimate end game: bringing hope and dignity to deserving people… despite overwhelming odds.

    After rescuing a gifted youth from an international drug cartel, the gang retaliates with huge rewards for the murders of them and their two young children.

    But that is just the start of the wealthy couple’s troubles—Paul has discovered the drug boss is having an affair with Anne’s mother. Then things gets worse… police forbid him from telling newly pregnant Anne about it, forcing Paul to break a solemn vow between them.

    SECRET SHEPHERD is a mystery/suspense novel about bringing hope and dignity to deserving people while battling deadly opposition.

 

 

We’re Almost There!

Whew!

Secret Shepherd has just completed it’s rewrite phase and is now being proofread at my publisher’s in preparation for being released to the world! We’ll keep you posted! Meanwhile, today we can share with you THE COVER!

Ta Da!

So, what’s all that stuff on the cover about?

Well, Secret Shepherd is a mystery/suspense novel, so there’s an air of the unknown and of uncertainty built into the cover design. [image error]The graphics include a key to a lock, which represents two dimensions of “Secret” that you’ll find in the novel, and there is a white rosebud, representing the “Shepherd” part, that is, the many up-beat dimensions of the novel. And of course there’s the foreboding look of the background and color, to intrigue you just a wee bit more.

Secret Shepherd is Book Two in a series that began with The Maidstone Conspiracy. This story takes place during a time gap in Maidstone and covers the early years in the marriage of the main characters, Paul and Anne Winston. The novel takes you on a journey of discovery that sends Anne and Paul on a mission— investing their great good fortune in the futures of deserving people around the world.

But, hold on… it’s not all that simple, right? Is it ever? Of course, not!

A really big glitch is that Paul and Anne have run afoul of cruel and powerful people. Their unforgiveable transgression was rescuing a promising young man from the clutches of these unsavory folks, who just happen to be leaders of an international drug smuggling syndicate. Paul and Anne’s efforts inadvertently shut down one of the syndicate’s largest drug distribution operations. Oops!

As you can image, that didn’t sit too well with those brutal fellows, who plot revenge by posting a bounty for the deaths of Anne and Paul and their two young children. Then, some bad guys set out to hunt down the young family as they travel around the world, hoping to claim the bounties.

The big question is, will this lovely young family survive?

Coming soon… the many ways that you can find out the answer!

Stay tuned!    [image error]

Just as soon as our friends at Solstice Publishing Inc. have a release date for Secret Shepherd you will definitely be among the first to know! Thank you…

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Mighty Pleased!

Hi Folks

Its a great pleasure to tell you that I’ve just signed a contract for my latest novel!

The novel is called Secret Shepherd. Its a mystery/suspense and a sequel to my earlier mystery novel, The Maidstone Conspiracy. 

[image error]On the surface, Secret Shepherd looks much like a traditional mystery and suspense novel, but there are strong parallel themes … happy themes. The reason is this: My guess is other folks are as tired of the daily negativity in the news and on social media as I am. So I’ve knit into Secret Shepherd generous helpings of heart and compassion, to go along with lots of nail-biting suspense, adversity and challenge … of course!

Here’s a sneak peek at the story:

Just one act of kindness has put the lives of philanthropists Paul and Anne Winston in jeopardy. After they rescued a gifted youth from a life of crime, an angry international drug syndicate compromised by their rescue has retaliated with rich bounties for anyone who assassinates the wealthy young couple.

And that is just the start of their troubles: Paul has discovered the drug boss who ordered the hits is having an affair with Anne’s mother. 

Hope you’ll find that enticing!

Some folks may recall that last year The Maidstone Conspiracy won an international award in a competition sponsored by McGrath House of London, UK. That and lots of encouraging feedback from readers provided the incentive to get on with a sequel. So I did, after two years of research and writing.

The next steps now for Secret Shepherd are a cover design and to work with an editor from my publisher, Solstice Publishing Inc., of Farmington, MO. These steps can take months. I don’t have a release date yet. Its a bit early. Publishers have the final. But you can be sure I’ll keep you posted.

Also in the publication queue is the second editon of The Ultimate Threat, my thriller novel. As I announced earlier this summer, its currently in the process of being edited at Solstice.

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The second edition is an update of the original including current developments. I’m pleased to say it was a #1 Amazon bestseller twice, first on its original release in 2015 and again last November.

A new cover has been developed but a release date for that novel is still not set either, pending final editing. Yeah, these things do take time. But, hey, I’ll keep you posted on this one, too!

Hope you have a spectacular day!

Canada Proud

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A 2nd Edition Is Coming!

You were promised the next post here would be on a lighter vein than the last one. So here it is. Just signed a contract with my publisher for the second edition of my thriller novel, THE ULTIMATE THREAT.

The first edition was completed in 2014 and was published in June 2015. As you know, it became an Amazon bestseller twice, most recently last December.

The second edition will contain updates tracing the latest in the failed plans of ISIS to conquer territory in the Middle East. My research for the second edition confirms that [image error]barbaric movement’s new strategy: those isolated assaults against innocents on a global scale are part of their new plan. We can expect to see more and more of that, sadly.

Back to the happy news: My publisher, Solstice Publishing Inc., is working on a new cover design. I’ll share that with you when it’s ready to be announced. We don’t have a release date either, but it’s likely to be later this year or early in 2019. Yeah, there are long timelines in this business.

All of this came about after the original publisher in the UK was restructured; one of the original partners wanted out. That allowed me to repatriate the rights to publish THE ULTIMATE THREAT. Solstice picked up both ebook and print rights.

Kinda cool! Never thought any of my books would ever go to a second edition. I supposed we should never be surprised. There’s never a dull moment in this crazy business. Keep you posted!

A Grief Conversation

It’s a privilege to tell you that another of my articles has been chosen for publication, this time by a literary journal called, “Months To Years”. That’s an unusual name, but its purpose is extraordinary — both happy and sad.

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“Months To Years” is dedicated to assisting people who are dealing with an end of life event. Yes, I mean death – either their own or someone else close to them.

My article, called A Grief Conversation, was written with the hope that my journey may offer a small measure of comfort and hope for those who are losing, or who have lost, a spouse or a child or a parent, or someone else close to them. Its on pages 55 to 59.

I learned, painfully, that in the course of our lives we inevitably face the loss of people close to us, sometime the closest to us. The resulting trauma can be debilitating. Some professionals call it a form of PTSD. At these times the experience of others helps to guide us: as we manage our grief, as we work to refocus our lives, and as we struggle to endure despite the excruciating pain of our loss.

Some other lessons I learned: 1. The support that bestows the greatest value will come from others who have experienced similar tragedies. 2. Get professional advice, but understand that your recovery is a journey you must take on your own. 3. You will survive.

A close friend offered invaluable counsel from his experience when I needed it. He said the pain of grief from the loss of a loved one never goes away but in time I would, like he and others had, learn to manage it better. He also forewarned me not to be blindsided by events such as anniversaries, birthdays, Christmases and other milestones.

His advice came after we lost Judi on April 22, 2004 – our wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend and colleague.

A Grief Conversation is a chronicle of my personal journey through the trauma that followed. Fair warning: it describes in plain language many of the mistakes I made… well, as many as I can remember. Followers of this blog will find some accounts familiar. But all will encounter thoughts and feelings and experiences that have never before been disclosed, until now… even to those closest to me. I ask them to forgive that omission.

All of this might never have been shared except for a call for submissions from the co-founders of “Months To Years”. Their invitation was moving and profound. Both have been there. Most of all, their call helped me realize how unwise I had been to turn away from the support I was offered and how badly my decision making had become in the aftermath of Judi’s death. I allowed pain to blind good judgment; I retreated emotionally. Reflecting on all of this made me realize, finally, that I was ready to share my journey with others, and by doing so hopefully offer them hope.

Twenty-six other writers also contributed their healing advice to “Months To Years”, which draws its name from that dreaded prognosis often given cancer patients. Here is a link to access those often-poignant contributions: https://joom.ag/TCnY. You can order print editions on the website. You can also access the posts on Twitter @MonthsToYears and #MTYSpring18

Finally, a promise: next time on this site you will find a brighter and happier post. But, then, of course, bringing hope and comfort to others who are suffering for whatever reason can only have an upside, and that in itself is something bright and happy too. Right?

May you live well and be of good cheer.

Humboldt

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A Piano for Christmas

[image error]“It was the darndest thing,” George Crowchild told his family during Christmas Day dinner. “Tom and I were out checking our trap lines yesterday when we heard this piano music. Yeah! Out in the bush!

“You know? It sounded pretty darned good!”

The prevous day, Christmas Eve, several miles away another man had been driving his truck towards an address in the city.

Richard thought the job would be simple enough: pick up an upright piano and deliver it to an address on the nearby First Nation reserve. The caller said it was to be a Christmas surprise for a young relative who lived there.

No problem, he thought.

Richard pulled his truck up to the address he’d got over the phone, next to a foot-high snow bank on the side of the street. It had evidently been left by a city snowplow earlier that morning following the overnight blizzard.

He was counting on the help they had promised to load the piano onto the flatbed of his newly-polished red[image error] Ford one-ton.

The woman who answered the door was a head taller than Richard’s 5 foot 11 inch height and built like a sumo wrestler.

Good gracious! he thought. This lady could load a piano all by herself!

“My husband and I will give you a hand,” she said. A man the size of the Incredible Hulk joined her. The two filled the double front doorway of the bi-level bungalow.

“You can back your truck up the sidewalk to the door,” The Hulk told him.

Richard looked around the front yard at the expanse of deep new snow, searching for any sign of a sidewalk.[image error]

“Yeah, it’s under there,” The Hulk chuckled. “Somewhere.”

“Just back up to the door,” The Hulk repeated. “I’ll guide you.”

This guy could be The Hulk’s surrogate brother, Richard thought. But for darned sure The Hulk would be the handsome one of the two.

The scarred and bruised old upright piano was on the lower level. The three

wrestled it up the five steps to the landing at the front door. At that point, Mrs. Hulk insisted they stop for a break and a coffee.[image error]

Steaming coffee mugs in hand, the pair of Hulks literally plugged the steps leading up to the kitchen.

A slender Richard sat on the piano bench trying to resist the siren call of the piano keys. He caved.

“Wow!” said The Hulk, gulping and wiping at drips of unswallowed coffee dribbling down his chin. “What was that?”

“A bit of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2,” Richard replied looking regretfully at the new scratches on his fingers. The piece was a favorite. He thoroughly enjoyed playing classical compositions at home on his pride and joy, a huge shiny black grand piano.

Both of The Hulks gushed their unbridled amazement at Richard’s musical prowess while helping him wheel the heavy beast up two sturdy metal ramps onto the flatbed.

“You got ropes?” The Hulk asked.

“Tie downs,” Richard replied.

“I’ll help you,” The Hulk said.

“Thanks,” Richard replied, not meaning it. He much preferred to secure for himself items he hauled on his truck.

Richard threw two big ‘moving blankets’ over the piano, thinking them redundant considering the scrapes and scars on the piano’s woodwork. He secured the blankets with bungee cords and then got The Hulk to help him push the piano around so its back was toward the truck cab.

[image error]He tossed the ends of four sturdy two-inch tiedown straps to The Hulk. Two went around the front of the piano, securing it to the steel uprights at the front of the flatbed. The other two went over the top of the piano, crisscrossed to help prevent slippage.

“You sure you know where to go?” The Hulk asked as they secured the last of the straps on either side of the upright piano.

“I’ve been on the reserve a few times,” Richard replied. “I know where the town is; I’ll get someone to show me the house.”

“Okay,” The Hulk said. “My niece Maria lives there. She’s nine. The piano’s for her. It a Christmas surprise.”

“I’ll take good care of it,” Richard said. “Gotta stop and pick up a helper and then I’ll be on my way. You said a couple of guys at the the other end will help unload?

“Yeah,” replied The Hulk. “My brother and his friend.”

“Good.”

Richard stopped at Bruce’s house and then headed out into the country. The overnight storm had left the roads treacherous. When they entered the hilly tree-covered Indian reserve, they discovered the road was even worse.

The narrow gravel roadway, not much more than a trail, was icy and followed a winding river, visible down a steep bank below them.[image error]

“Let’s just take our time,” Bruce said, nervous about their adventure and clearly regretting having agreed to help Richard… that was before the snowstorm had blown in overnight.

Richard was too busy concentrating on the road to offer solace. It was hard judging the snowdrifts, deciding which he could drive through and which were so deep and hard he needed to drive carefully around them lest they force the truck over the side.

“Look out!” Bruce shouted.

Richard instinctively swerved the truck to the right to avoid a deer that had leapt across the road from behind a grove of trees.[image error]

Oh oh, he thought, feeling the dual rear tires slide to the left and then over the side of the road.

“Shit! Richard muttered. “Double shit!”

The truck skidded to a stop. It wouldn’t move. The rear wheels spun helplessly. The truck was high centered on the sharp edge of the road. Richard felt a perverse sense of relief for a second, knowing the truck was unlikely to slide down into the river but also well aware they were stuck. He’d need a tow truck!

“Shit,” he muttered again. He would have said it still again except he was interrupted by a skidding sound, then four loud snapping sounds, then a loud scraping as the truck shook and rattled.

“Oh shit!” Richard said. “Shit… shit… shit!”

The piano!

Richard caught a glimpse of it in the side mirror as the piano slid off the back of the truck. He quickly opened the door and watched helplessly as the piano skidded on its back through the snow down the steep slope, flattening small trees and shrubs as it went.

With visions of it floating down the river, Richard jumped from the truck and began stumbled and sliding down the slope after the renegade piano. Bruce followed, cursing all the way.

Just about that time, and half a mile away, George Crowchild had stopped snowshoeing along the trapline he shared with Tom Cardinal. The two men squatted to re-set a weasel trap sprung by winds from the overnight blizzard.

He lifted his head and looked at his friend:

“Tom, do you hear that?”

“Yeah,” Tom replied. “Is your cellphone playing music?”

“Naw,” George replied. “I turned it off. Yours?”

“Can’t be,” Tom replied. “Left mine at home.”

The two First Nation trappers listened carefully and then pointed their snowshoes in the agreed upon direction of the sound.

They soon came to the reserve’s road, now crisscrossed with snowdrifts of various sizes. Between the drifts ice made it treacherous to use snowshoes. They stopped to take them off. The music was closer now.

George and Tom walked toward the sound. They couldn’t see past where the road curved around a hillside. Half way around they saw a truck, it’s back end hanging in the air over the edge.

“Nobody’s in the truck,” Tom said. “Hope everyone’s okay.”

“Let’s go see,” George said.

Both men walked to the truck, looked over the edge of the road and down the slope.

They saw one man just above the bank of the rushing river. He was leaning against a tree and drinking from a thermos. Later they discovered it wasn’t coffee he was gulping down convulsively.

Then they noticed the other man. What they saw startled and amused them.

There was Richard sitting on a piano bench in front of an upright piano tilting awkwardly to one side. It was partly hidden by a recently damaged bush and leaning precariously against a sturdy poplar tree. Richard was playing some complicated melody that George and Tom knew instinctively was extraordinarily good, but had never heard before.

“Sure sounds good!” George said, smiling at Tom.

“Yup!” Tom replied as both hopped up on the flatbed and dangled their feet over the edge to the tempo of the wonderful music.

They enjoyed all of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2 , so they learned later.

#

Postscript: Marie got her piano for Christmas. Richard made it into the city before the music store closed on Christmas Eve and found an electronic keyboard. It was exactly what Marie wanted and needed so she could ‘jam’ with her friends at their houses.

#

“A Piano for Christmas” is Copyright 2017 by James Osborne. All Rights Reserved

It’s A Bestseller!

 

Big surprise recently: Woke up a few days ago to find that Amazon had ranked my novel, THE ULTIMATE THREAT as the #1 bestseller in its Military-Thriller category.

Big celebration, to be sure.  But not to be caught up in the euphoria, since later that day it had slipped to second place, between two Tom Clancey novels. Still, we were in awesome company. Mighty humbling. And now, a few weeks later, THE ULTIMATE THREAT has stayed in the top 50, for now. [image error]

I should have posted the good news here sooner. Hey. I’m busy at work on it’s sibling… a.k.a., sequel. No name yet. One book at a time, right? I’m just about finished another book… the sequel to THE MAIDSTONE CONSPIRACY. You know, that’s the book that won a nice international award a few weeks ago. Lucky! Really lucky!

Anyway, that novel is another mystery/suspense with a heap of adventure and a whole bunch of heart. That’s why it’s working title is SECRET SHEPHERD. The publisher may have other ideas. They get to do things like that.

Below is the link if you’d like to have a look at THE ULTIMATE THREAT. Amazon allows you to read a few pages. They do that to tempt you! (I could get to like them!)

So if you order a print copy, I will make you this offer: I will sign and personalize it for you. Here’s how that works: you buy and have the book sent to my address (I’ll email my street address to you if you PM me on Facebook). Once signed, I’ll send it to you by mail at no extra charge. Such a deal, right?

Oh, yeah… here’s that link.

 

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Military Thrillers
Discover the best Military Thrillers in Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Kindle Store Best Sellers.


AMAZON.COM

Magnificent Humility: Tales of Two Heroes

These stories are about two war heroes, but not just about the actions that made them heroes. The stories are also about the extraordinary lives and personalities behind their heroism.

Tommy Prince

His name suggests a noble lineage but you’d never guess that was the case, judging from the humble way Tommy Price went about his life, although perhaps you would had you known how his bravery saved countless lives during the Second World War, and even years later.

After the war broke out in 1939, Tommy tried to enlist. The Canadian Army refused repeatedly to enlist him even though he easily met the requirements. He was finally signed up in June 1940 and went on to become Canada’s most decorated First Nation soldier, honored by Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States. France, South Korea and the United Nations.[image error]

Tommy grew up poor, one of 11 children on the Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation Reserve south of Lake Winnipeg.

Propelled by boundless energy and a passion to excel, Tommy at an early age became a superb marksman and exceptional tracker. Both skills were a result of years spent hunting in the wilderness around his home reserve.

As an adult he followed the example of his great-great grandfather, Saulteaux Chief Peguis who in the late 1700s paved the way for European settlement in southern Manitoba. During one brutal winter Chief Peguis was credited with saving the lives of scores of white settlers, even though many of them were in violation of treaties he had taken a lead role in negotiating.

Like his regal ancestor, Tommy became a leading advocate for indigenous people, and for several years represented the First Nations people of Manitoba in negotiations with the federal and provincial governments. He became respected for being quietly passionate yet doggedly persistent in his quest to gain equal rights for his people.

Tommy was once quoted as saying: “All my life I’ve wanted to do something to help my people recover their good name.” And so he did.

Tommy Prince built a prosperous cleaning business in Winnipeg, married and became the father of five children. While living there, his latent humanity and courage came to the fore one day when he ignored danger to himself and rescued a man from drowning at the Winnipeg docks.

His work on behalf of First Nations peoples often took him to Ottawa for extended periods and away from his family and business. He recruited some friends to look after his thriving business in his absence, only to find on his return they had allowed the business to fail and had sold the assets. Stoically, with a family to support, he went to work in lumber camps and at a concrete factory, his civilian life in sharp contrast to his wartime achievements.

Tommy had done exceptionally well in the army, first as a Field Engineer and then with the Canadian Parachute Battalion. He was among a select group chosen to train with a specialized assault team, the 1st Special Service Force, predecessor to today’s special forces  [image error]The SSF was so effective behind enemy lines that his team was nicknamed by the German Army as the Devil’s Brigade, with good reason. A motion picture by the same name was based on its exploits.

Posted to Italy in 1943, his Special Services battallion  was among the units that led the assault resulting in the liberation of Rome by the Allied forces.

Two of his remarkable individual achievements, and there were many, occurred in 1944 during the campaign to drive the Nazis out of Italy.

In the first, Sgt. Tommy Prince had been tasked to spy on the German forces. He set up an observation post in an abandoned farmhouse behind enemy lines. For three days he reported on the activity he was observing in the nearby German Army camp.

Soon, shelling severed his communication wire. Undaunted, Tommy donned civilian clothing and acted like an Italian peasant farmer tending his crops. While pretending to tie his shoes, in full view of enemy troops some 600 feet away, he successfully repaired the broken 4,600-foot telephone wire leading back to the Allied lines.

Before returning to his observation post, and while attempting to strengthen the ruse that he was a local peasant, Prince made a show of shaking his fist at both German soldiers and in the direction of the Allied lines. He continued to spy on the German army for the next 24 hours, resulting in the destruction of four German artillery batteries that had been shelling Allied positions.

Later that summer, he walked across miles of mountaneous terrain behind enemy lines, going days without food or water to locate and spy on a German Army camp. He returned to his unit with intelligence that resulted in the capture of 1,000 enemy troops and the destruction of the camp.

[image error]For those and other acts of bravery, Tommy was invited to Buckingham Palace after the war where King George VI presented him with Britain’s Military Medal and the United States Silver Star, two of 13 medal he would be awarded during WWII and the Korean War.

At the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Tommy re-enlisted in the Canadian Army to fight with Canada’s contribution to United Nations forces.

“As soon as I put on my uniform again I felt a better man,” he said.

Tommy joined the storied Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), the first Canadian regiment to arrive in the Korean war zone. He became famous for leading raids into enemy territory, in one case returning with two prisoners. Although successful, Tommy’s comanding officer cancelled the raids, calling them too risky.

Sgt. Prince was wounded in November 1952 during his second tour of duty in Korea during a battle in which the PPCLI successfully recaptured a strategic outpost. Five of his fellow soldiers were killed and eight others wounded.

Tommy returned home following the armistice and continued with the Army, first as a recruit instructor and then as a civilian employee until  September 1954.

It is a cruel irony that during all of the years Tommy gave of himself to his country bravely and unselfishly in time of war, our same country was refusing him the right to vote or to receive war veteran benefits, just because of his ancestry. [image error]

Those blatant discriminatory practices have since ended. Perhaps the efforts of Tommy Prince, in peace and in war, contributed in some way to the elimination of those dark elements of Canada’s history.

Tommy Prince was born on October 15, 1915 at Canterbury, Manitoba. He died at Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg on November 25, 1977. He was 62.

Since his death, a number of honors have been bestowed in his memory. These include:

 Sgt. Tommy Prince Street in  Winnipeg,
 Sgt. Tommy Prince School in Canterbury, Manitoba,
Tommy Prince Barracks at Canadain Forces Base Petawawa, ON,
Sgt. Tommy Prince Drill Hall at CFB Wainwright, AB,
Sgt. Tommy Prince Army Training Initiative to recruit First Nations personnel,
Tommy Prince Award, a scholarship sponsored by the Assembly of First Nations,
The Tommy Prince Scholarship by Sault College in Sault Ste. Marie, ON,
553 Sgt. Tommy Prince PPCLI Cadet Corps in Winnipeg, and
Tommy Prince Road at Currie Barracks in Calgary, AB.

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William Crawford

Perhaps it was the unassuming and humble way he carried himself, but day after day hundreds of cadets at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, would pass the janitor in the hall, oblivious to the greatness among them. [image error]

During the mid-1970s, William Crawford would spend one day sweeping the halls and another cleaning the bathrooms.

But it was a day some 30 years earlier that would create for him a special place in the history of war. Back in 1943, the only things Private William Crawford was cleaning out were German machine gun nests and bunkers durng the Allied campaign in Italy.

Under heavy fire and at great risk to himself, William Crawford’s gallantry was so audacious that it earned him the Medal of Honor, the highest military honor the United States can bestow on one of its heroes.

And yet, for the cadets at the Air Force Academy, it would take one student’s study of the Allied campaign in Italy to realize who it was who walked among them. Once the cadets realized the humble janitor was a recipient of the nation’s highest military honor, none were ever able to look at him the same again. The secret was out.

William Crawford was born in 1918 in Pueblo, CO. For Crawford, he would always call the state of Colorado home despite serving a long career in the military where he was assigned to various duty stations. It was after retiring from the Army that he returned to Colorado and took up his job as a janitor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

The cadets would report that the shy janitor they had known only as Mr. Crawford simply blended into the background as he did his job without fanfare. But when that cadet began reading a book detailing the Allied advance through Italy he came upon the story of a Medal of Honor recipient named William Crawford.

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Talking to his roommate, the cadet made the connection and said: “I think our janitor is a recipient of the Medal of Honor.” The next day, the cadet took the book to Crawford and simply asked if this was him. Perhaps weighing whether it was worth it to expose his gallantry, Crawford stared at the book for a while then simply said, “That was a long time ago and one day in my life.”

He recounted that fateful day in Italy as only the man who had lived it could:

By September 1943, the Allies were pushing through southern Italy slugging it out with a resilient German army. For Crawford and the 36th infantry division, that would place them near Altavilla Silentina with orders to take Hill 424.

On September 13th, Company I was assaulting the enemy held position on the hill when the entire company was pinned down by intense machine-guns fire and mortars. Serving as the squad scout for third platoon, Private Crawford was near the front of this assault and located the first of the gun positions wreaking havoc on the company.

Without orders, he took it upon himself to eliminate the threat single-handedly. Under heavy fire, he crawled forward to within a few yards of the gun emplacement and lobbed a grenade directly on top of the three enemy soldiers.

Meanwhile, the rest of the company finally made it to the crest of the hill when they again came under heavy fire from two more machine gun nests entrenched on a higher ridge. Again on his own initiative, Crawford set out to destroy the threat. Crawling under a storm of bullets, Crawford came upon the first machine gun nest and with perfect accuracy once again landed a grenade right in their laps.

Moving on to the second gun, he was able to take it out of action causing the rest of the defenders to flee.

Thanks to Crawford’s gallant actions, Hill 424 was successfully taken and the Allied advance continued. Unfortunately for Crawford, his position at the front of the assault would eventually lead to his capture by the Germans during the chaos of the battle.

The rest of the company believed Crawford was killed in action as the reports of his [image error]gallantry advanced up the chain of command. For his actions that day in Italy, William Crawford was ‘posthumously’ awarded the Medal of Honor.

In 1944, the medal was presented to his father who accepted it on behalf of his son he presumed to have died in combat. But later in 1944 when a group of soldiers was rescued from German captivity, it turned out William Crawford was among them, oblivious to the fact that he was now the recipient of his nation’s highest military honor.

Crawford would continue to serve in the military after World War II and retired in 1967 with the rank of Master Sergeant. After his distinguished career in the military, this unassuming man took a job as a janitor at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

It was here in 1976 that the truth came out, and future Air Force officers would get a lesson in both gallantry and incredible humility. As the cadets looked upon their janitor with a newfound respect, they eventually coaxed the painfully shy man into speaking about his experience to the next generation of leaders.

In one exchange, Crawford mentioned that he had never personally received his Medal of Honor with any ceremony due to his captivity and presumed death. The students and staff of the Air Force Academy took note and made plans for him to have his day.

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In 1984 President Ronald Reagan came to speak at that year’s graduation ceremony. The Academy arranged for their gallant janitor to finally stand face-to-face with the President of the United States and receive his due commendation.

William Crawford died at the age of 81 in 2000 at his home in Colorado. Although Crawford was a veteran of the Army, he would become the only non-U.S. Air Force enlisted person ever to be buried at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

The cadets regarded him as one of their own and gave him all the respect such a man deserved.

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CREDITS: Much content for these stories first appeared on PacificParatrooper.com and is used with permission. My sincere thanks to blog host GP Cox. The Tommy Prince story draws also from the files of HistoricaCanada.ca and newspaper archives, and from listings for a movie about Tommy: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1539116/?.... Here’s the link to the Pacific Paratrooper story: https://pacificparatrooper.wordpress.com.

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Finally, to quote another Canadian icon… in tribute to them and to him:

“To serve others is the highest form of power” — Gord Downie 1964-2017