Cooperative Living August 2022 - 9

WAR STORIES
Drama, Tears and Dignity
by Steven Johnson, Staff Writer
Author focuses on courage, challenges
in dramatic military accounts
T
he road from civil engineering
to writing stories about the
survivors of horrific combat
is not a linear one.
But for Jerry Barnes, it's been
incredibly rewarding. The Troutville,
Va., resident has just published " So
Help Me God, " his second collection
of powerful war stories certain to
move even the most stoic reader.
" The common thread is a deep
admiration for the people who volunteer
for this country, " says Barnes, a member
of Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative.
" Combat veterans will talk to another
veteran and once they talk to a veteran
they know is listening, they'll pour out
their heart. "
Instead of constructing things as a
civil engineer, Barnes has deconstructed
combat veteran stories - more than 100
to date, with books three and four on the
drawing board.
ROAD CREW
Barnes started on his path in rural
Dinwiddie County, watching with the
wonderment of a seven-year-old as the
state paved the road he lived on.
When the project superintendent
invited him to tag along in his truck, a
career was born. " I became the assistant
to the guy who was running the job, "
Barnes says. " That's where the dream was
to become a civil engineer and I never
lost it to this day. "
Barnes landed at Virginia Tech as
part of the Corps of Cadets. He took a
detour when previously undetected
colorblindness disqualified him from
piloting a jet.
Dejected, he wandered into the
Army's office in Blacksburg, hoping for
better luck. The Army signed him up for
co-opliving.com
" This injured two of the
police reservists. One
story will chill your bones
and restore your faith. "
Laura and Jerry Barnes
its Corps of Engineers. Barnes spent
more than three decades with the Corps
and in civilian-related work, at one point
directing the 1,200-employee strong
district in St. Louis.
The irony: Barnes never actually built
anything. Higher-ups, impressed with
his briefing and public speaking skills,
moved him into public affairs where he
toured the world and briefed top officials
as a congressional liaison.
" It all got started with my mother's
gift of gab that got translated to her son
- the ability to listen to mad politicians
and promise I would do the best I can to
solve problems, " he says. " Listen well,
and you can have a good career. "
PENMANSHIP
The ability to listen came in handy
after Barnes retired in 2007. He
assembled 120 short stories about his
career, and clueless about the publishing
business, took them to a Christian
writer's conference.
Les Stobbe, a well-regarded editor,
coach and literary agent, looked at
them, and suggested Barnes focus
on a Reader's Digest type of treatment
of combat stories. Don't embellish
them, but don't downplay them,
Stobbe advised.
Another career was born. Barnes
started with three stories, including one
in which he missed hopping on a
helicopter by 30 seconds; the chopper
went down, killing all but one passenger.
" When Heaven Visits: Dramatic
Accounts of Military Heroes " was
published in 2019 with 24 stories. His
wife, Laura, served as his first editor,
disgustedly asking after an early draft,
" Did you pay any attention in English
class in Blacksburg? " " No, " Barnes says,
" but I married someone who did. "
The market has expanded as Barnes
has become known as the go-to author
of combat survivor accounts, though
readers should know not all the stories
have happy conclusions. He's held back
on a couple of stories because he did not
feel he could relate them in a dignified
way.
" This old man who got a C in
English never designed a thing. All I did
was deal with mad politicians, but I've
had a career most people only dream
about because of the ability to talk and
the ability to listen. " 
For more, visit combatsurvivorheroes.com,
where you can purchase signed copies
of Barnes's works or contact him about
stories or appearances.
August 2022 ● Cooperative Living ●
7
http://www.combatsurvivorheroes.com http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living August 2022

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