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Elizabeth McKenna

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Elizabeth McKenna

Tag Archives: military

World War I: Letters from Camp Zachary Taylor

11 Sunday Nov 2018

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Uncategorized

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1918, 1919, Armistice Day, Camp Zachary Taylor, Flu, History, Letters, military, Pandemic, Veterans Day, war, World War I, WWI

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, later known as Veterans Day. On November 11, 1918 – at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month – World War I ended. It is estimated that the “war to end all wars” killed 20 million and wounded 25 million. From the United States, 116,516 soldiers were killed and 204,002 wounded.

My great uncle Tom Slattery (8/3/1888-2/7/1974) was stationed at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, along with 50,000 other soldiers. Though over the years I have learned about WWI, I didn’t know what was going on stateside during this time until I read Tom’s weekly letters to his family back in Covington, Indiana. He ran a medical ward at the camp’s hospital and did not hold back when describing the illnesses, deaths, and suicides that became part of his daily life.

At thirty years old, he was the tenth child of eleven born to Eliza McCabe (Trim, Ireland) and John Slattery II (Limerick, Ireland). Not all of the children made it to adulthood, including the eleventh son, so Tom was considered the baby of the family. In the family photo, Tom is the boy in the lower right-hand corner.

Tom arrived at the camp in March 1918 and for the first six months, he thought life there was pretty “swell.” He writes about the variety of entertainment available to the soldiers – all for free – and the abundance of food that is making him fat. He expects any day to be sent “over there” (France) along with his friends, but instead, he continues to take care of the sick, earning a few promotions along the way.

In September/October, the camp was overrun with the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. Suddenly, Tom is comparing the camp to hell.

September 30, 1918

Dear Folks:

Well we are sure having a time of it now. The whole camp (it seems) is getting influenza (Spanish type). An epidemic which is in several camps over the country. The Great Lake camp is in quarantine with most of the men sick. It started three days ago and I have been working most all the time since. This is my fourth night on duty and two days. We are about all in and there is no sign of a stop of the stream of patients coming in. Have been admitting better than five hundred every day and today it was 600. We all had to move out of our barracks this morning to give room to them. Made wards out of every available building. We are sleeping in tents (or will when we get a chance). I am Ward Master in a big barracks of four rooms and porches and every inch of them full of bed. Have from 6 to 9 orderlys under me. Have from 175 to 200 patients. Are very short of nurses to since have had to open so many new wards. Everything will be filled up here today and then I don’t know what we will do with them. Hang them on nails I guess.

October 5, 1918

Dear Folks

This is one H-L of a place. Working 24 hours a day and everybody about all in. Admitting about a 1,000 influenzas a day and they are getting pneumonia by the hundreds. 21 died yesterday that was the ones I know of. There is no telling how many more. Every available place has a cot. We are sure having a time taking care of them. I have worked all day and night 2 days this week and to 11 pm every nite. Some Dr haven’t been to bed at all. I am feeling as good as ever though. Just get a little tired. We are quarantined so can’t leave if we wanted to or had time.

October 9, 1918

Dear Folks:

Conditions are not getting any better. Admitting about 1000 influenza patients a day. And a big percentage of them change to pneumonia. Death rate has been awful. I have nothing but pneumonia on my ward or barracks. Sent out all Influ’s yesterday and got in 125 pneumonias all with a temperature of 104 and up. Had five die already in one hour. We are all about crazy. Working about 18 or 19 hours a day and still not get any thing done.

It is estimated that 25 million Americans contracted the flu, and it killed 675,000. According to the Camp Zachary Taylor Historical Society, the flu killed 21,000 servicemen in the United States, with 950 of them at Camp Taylor. Approximately 43,000 servicemen died worldwide of the flu.

I inherited Tom’s letters from April 1918 to July 1919. After the war ended in November 1918, he hoped he would be discharged right away, but soon realized, as a member of the medical staff, he would be one of the last to be let go. Unfortunately, I don’t have that final letter from September 1919 where he would have shared the good news with his family, but I do have dozens of other interesting ones. I have transcribed the letters below. If you are a history buff, I hope you find them as fascinating as I did.

April 1918

May 1918

June 1918

July 1918

August 1918

September 1918

October 1918

November 1918

December 1918

January 1919

February 1919

March 1919

April 1919

May 1919

June 1919

July 1919

If you are interested in seeing the original letters that I scanned and then donated to the Camp Zachary Taylor Historical Society, please click here.

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Deadly Premonitions by Kennedy Layne – Book Tour

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Book Tour

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Tags

Crime, military, Mystery, Romance, suspense, Thriller

About DEADLY PREMONITIONS

USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne brings the Safeguard Series to a stunning conclusion with your favorite characters that will have you staying wide awake until the very last page is turned…

The ominous knock on the front door in the middle of the night should have given Shailyn Doyle fair warning, but she answered it despite her palpable fear. Her past had finally come back to haunt her. It would be nothing more than her worst nightmares come to life.

Townes Calvert had been given a brief glimpse of nirvana before having it ripped from his grasp. He now has a chance to reclaim what was taken from him, but he must first hunt down the man responsible for murdering eighteen women and risk all that he loves.

Townes and Shailyn have no choice but to play a sadistic serial killer’s twisted game in their search to reclaim the love they had once been forced to sacrifice. They both have envisioned what could be…but will they end up with nothing more than deadly premonitions?

Add DEADLY PREMONITIONS to your Goodreads list here!

Get your hands on DEADLY PREMONITIONS now!

✦Amazon http://amzn.to/2iiBZGL
✦iBooks http://apple.co/2iR3Dd4
✦Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/2r1CQdX
✦Kobo http://bit.ly/2jkms90

About Kennedy Layne

Kennedy Layne is a USA Today bestselling author. She draws inspiration for her military romantic suspense novels in part from her not-so-secret second life as a wife of a retired Marine Master Sergeant. He doubles as her critique partner, beta reader, and military consultant. They live in the Midwest with their teenage son and menagerie of pets. The loyal dogs and mischievous cats appreciate her writing days as much as she does, usually curled up in front of the fireplace. She loves hearing from readers–find out how to connect with her at www.kennedylayne.com.

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Releasing the Demons by L.D. Rose – Book Tour

10 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Elizabeth McKenna - Author in Book Tour, Uncategorized

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Fantasy, military, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires

 

Releasing the Demons 
 
By L. D. Rose

BOOK BLURB:

Blaze Knight has been through hell and back, but the nightmares aren’t over yet.

Five years after Blaze was maimed by Cyrus Chimola, a powerful vampire with a penchant for torture, he’s still trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered life. As a genetically engineered mercenary with the ability to bend fire to his will and to see in infrared, Blaze’s mission is to protect what’s left of humanity. When Chimola and his crew return to the Bronx gunning for Blaze’s blood, Blaze is forced to face the demons of his past. Hell-bent on revenge, he seeks the help of Valerie Medeiros, an NYPD detective who manages to steal his heart and save his life in more ways than one.

Motivated by her sister’s gruesome death, Valerie has made it her life’s goal to bury every vampire in the ground where they belong. When she brings in Blaze Knight for suspected murder, she discovers he’s not only innocent, he isn’t a man at all—he’s a half-vampire hybrid working with a band of brothers for the U.S. military. Valerie has a hard time trusting anything with fangs, yet she quickly falls headlong into Blaze’s life, a life full of darkness and horror she can’t even begin to fathom. The bodies are stacking up, but Valerie can’t seem to let go of this hybrid, a beautiful monster filled with pain, rage, and passion unlike anything she’s ever known.

In a world where the line between good and evil is blurred, Blaze and Valerie will find danger at every turn, risking everything they’ve come to know and love, including one another.

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1NSy9xi

EXCERPT:

Valerie kept her eyes locked on the glass windows covered with cigarette prices and beer ads, watching Tattoos pay up at the cash register. Once she reached the side of the building, she pressed her back against the warm brick wall. Sweat trickled down her spine and she wiped her clammy hands on her jeans before she drew her Beretta. She listened for the bell hanging above the store entrance, and when it jingled, she peered past the corner of the building.

There he is.

Holding a pack of Marlboros, he slipped it into his back pocket along with a silver money clip. He walked back toward the Chevelle, scanning the area one more time as he stepped off the concrete elevation.

This is it. Do it. Now!

With her gun pointed at the ground in a two-handed grip, Valerie pushed off the wall and turned the corner, staring at his back. Her voice was loud and clear as she called, “Blaze.”

He stopped and pivoted around. A fleeting expression of confusion filled his face, but it quickly turned into shock as she lifted her gun and shouted, “Freeze, NYPD!”

Gasps and shouts resounded as everyone turned their attention on her. Some people ducked while others gawked, and she wished they would just climb into their cars and get the hell out of here. She did her best to ignore them, keeping her focus solely on the man before her as she carefully approached him. He didn’t make any sudden movements, his brow furrowing as a muscle in his jaw ticked.

Valerie flashed her badge to prove she wasn’t bullshitting. “Get your hands in the air where I can see them.”

He slowly lifted his arms and spread his hands out wide. Then spoke with a voice like black gravel, matching his appearance all too well. “What’s going on here?”

She closed in on him, his presence becoming more and more overwhelming. Sirens resonated in the distance, sending a trickle of relief through her. He didn’t appear armed but that didn’t mean jack.

“Turn around and get down on the ground. Now!”

Anger consumed the confusion on his face but he surprisingly complied, giving her his back again before dropping to his knees with his hands above his head.

She kept her gun aimed and her mind submerged in the well of her calm. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d arrested someone; she usually shot to kill. “Cross your ankles,” she ordered, and he did so, crossing his booted ankles as if he’d done this before.

Valerie placed her foot in the space between his legs, so if he attempted to stand he would end up flat on his face. People finally backed away as she removed her tungsten carbide handcuffs from her utility belt, gripping the Beretta with knuckles white as chalk. Tungsten carbide was the only metal strong enough to hold a vampire, but she used it on everyone, regardless of species. Two New Rochelle cruisers whipped into the gas station, blocking off both exits before four officers leapt out of their respective vehicles. Valerie put the gun up and cuffed Blaze’s dominant hand, swinging his right arm around before latching onto the left.

He didn’t put up a fight. He didn’t even flinch. But he balled his big hands into fists at his back. She read him his Miranda rights as she cinched the cuffs around both of his thick wrists.

“You have the right to remain silent—”

“I have the right to know what’s going on,” he growled, showing her his savage profile.

“Anything you do or say can be used against you in a court of law.”

“What are you arresting me for?”

“You have the right to an attorney.”

“Fuck the attorney—”

She yanked the chain of his cuffs, bringing his solid body against her as the faint scent of cologne tickled her nose. She leaned into his ear, anger flashing through her as she thought of bloody grass and charred flesh.

“You’re under arrest for the murder of Elena Delgado. Now get the fuck up and move.”

 

BUY LINK: http://amzn.com/B013GVCC7I

BIO:

L.D. Rose is a neurotic physician by day, crazed writer by night, and all around wannabe superhero. She writes paranormal romance and urban fantasy, but she’s been known to delve into horror, sci-fi, and medical suspense on occasion. L.D. Rose is a member of the RWA, FF&P, NEC-RWA and CoLoNY. She currently lives in Rhode Island with her studly hubby, her hyperactive boxer, and her two devious cats.

Where to find her:
Website: writerldrose.com
Facebook: facebook.com/writerldrose
Author page: facebook.com/ldroseauthorpage
Twitter: twitter.com/ld_rose
Goodreads: goodreads.com/ldrose
Pinterest: pinterest.com/writerldrose
Tumblr: writerdoc.tumblr.com

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When Luke is arrested for the murder of the head coach of his club softball team, Emma and Grace go up against cutthroat parents willing to kill for a chance to get their daughters onto a premier college sports team.

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