How's this for a LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

 Remembering Martha Raye

Most of the old time entertainers were made of a lot sterner stuff than today's crop. An honorary member of the Green Beret Special Forces, Raye was considered a "hawk" for going to Vietnam. Hollywood called her names and cruelly blacklisted her for more then ten years.

The following information is from an Army Aviator who takes a trip down memory lane: "It was just before Thanksgiving '67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku.

We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back.

All of a sudden, we heard a 'take-charge' woman's voice in the rear.

There was singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a Special Forces beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard.  Maggie' had been visiting her Special Forces (SF) 'heroes' out 'west'.

We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku.

As we all started unloading our sad pax's, a USAF Captain said to Martha.... "Ms Raye, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!"

To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said "Captain, see this eagle? I am a full 'Bird' in the US Army Reserve, and this is a 'Caduceus' which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty.... now, take me to your wounded!"

He said, "Yes ma'am.... follow me."

Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would 'cover' a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break.
Wounded twice while visiting Green Beret's, Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft Bragg.

Winter's Kiss by Darlene Fredette blog hop and GIVE AWAY.

     Thank you, Darlene, for including us on your

                                BLOG HOP/GIVE AWAY. 

 Nothing thaws the chill faster than a warm winter kiss.

    Return to beautiful Redford Falls: 

                        a woman who knows what she wants

                        and a man who knows what he needs

    She’s been on a flight from hell for over eight hours, lost four hours of daylight, and arrived in temperatures twenty degrees lower than accustomed to. Disliking winter for a reason she refuses to discuss, Danielle Lerato would rather be anywhere than in Redford Falls. She needs to get the job done and return home before getting caught up in the small town’s charm…and the arms of the handsome, brown-eyed restaurant owner.

   Andrew Haley’s first encounter with the buttery blonde didn’t go so well, and he well-remembers the chill of the glass of water she dumped over his head. Now, two years later, a raging storm drops Danielle back into his life. She’s determined to leave, but he’ll do whatever it takes to convince her to fall in love with Redford Falls…and him.

   Your sweet romance sounds wonderful. Now lets get personal. I'll throw a log in the wood stove, and a few questions at you! 

What made this book special for you?

It’s the return to Redford Falls, which is my favourite fictional town. I’m thrilled to bring readers back to this beautiful place.

Was there a specific event or idea that triggered the main plot for your story?

I wanted to have an event that brought the hero and heroine together in a fun way and being caught in a winter storm seemed the perfect route.

If you could be reincarnated would you come back as a man or a woman?

A kick-a$$ woman.

Other than family members and Jesus, if you could have dinner with anyone living or dead (no not like the walking dead they’d look normal) who would it be?

Does Jesus from The Walking Dead count? lol! I’d like to meet and chat with Carol Burnett. She’s my favourite female actress/comedian.

What would you like to be for 48 hours—a rock star, butterfly, a tree etc. Maybe a background singer for Michael Buble. I love his music.

What is in your TBR pile?

What isn’t? I have so many books sitting on my eReader, but the reads at the top are: The Sheikh’s Convenient Princess by Liz Fielding, A Cowboy to Keep by Karen Rock, and Bliss by Gini Rifkin 

                                             What great answers!      
           Here's were to find a copy of Winter's Kiss. 

Purchase Links: 
Escape Publishing 

On my Escape page, click on the ‘BUY EBOOK’ button to find purchase links to Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and more!

To enter the GIVE AWAY simply leave a comment here, additional chances if you also leave a comment on Darlene's blog 

Bio:

Darlene resides on the East Coast of Canada with her husband, daughter, and Yellow Lab. When not working on her next book, she enjoys spending time with her family. An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loves to develop the many stories swimming in her head. She writes heartwarming contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners.

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The midnight ride of ...Sybil Ludington

       Born in 1761 in Connecticut, Sybil Ludington was the eldest of twelve children. Her family settled in Dutchess County, New York, and in addition to being a farmer, Sybil's father held various positions within the small town and served in the military for over sixty years.  

He was loyal to the British crown until 1773, when he joined the rebel cause. Soon promoted to Colonel, he led his local regiment and commanded the vulnerable route that the British could take between Connecticut and the coast of Long Island Sound. 

When British troops and British loyalists attacked the nearby town, of Danbury, a rider came to warn Ludington and ask for the local regiment’s help. At the time, the Colonel’s men were disbanded for planting season, and all of the soldiers were miles apart at their respective farms.  

As the rider was too tired to continue, Colonel Ludington asked his barely sixteen-year-old daughter Sybil to ride through the night, alerting his men of the danger and urging them to come together to fight back. 

 Sybil rode all night through the dark woods, covering forty miles (a significantly longer distance than Paul Revere rode), and because of her bravery, almost the whole regiment was gathered by daybreak to fight the British.

After the battle at Danbury, George Washington went to the Ludington home to personally thank Sybil for her help. After the war, Ludington married a Catskill lawyer named Edward Ogden; they had one son.  She passed away in 1839. 

                                

  Although Ludington never gained the widespread fame of Paul Revere, she was honored with a stamp by the Postal Service in 1975. There is a statue of her by Lake Gleneida in Carmel, New York, and there are historical markers tracing the route of her ride through Putnam County.