My name is Terry L. Gould.

I was born in April 1949. Before entering the U.S. Navy as an E3 Radioman, I was living in Southwest Missouri in the Ozark Mountains cutting timber and trying to make a living with my dad. It was just the two of us trying to make enough to buy groceries for the family.
Dad served in the Navy during WWII and was wounded in the Pacific and received the Purple Heart. Two of my brothers, Kenneth and Robert, also served in the Navy. We were all three in at the same time during the Vietnam War. I initially took my physical with the intent of joining the Marines. But my girlfriend at the time convinced me it wasn’t such a good idea. My dad had served in the Navy and my two brothers were already serving in the in the Navy, so I enlisted with the Navy. I took a Greyhound bus to St. Louis; a train ride to Chicago and a short bus ride to the Great Lakes Training Facility for boot camp and electronics school, followed by radio school in Bainbridge, Maryland.

We are a family of Navy Veterans. This is my parent’s wedding picture. Thanks to Dad for his service and to Mom for her dedication to Dad while he was overseas, and to my brothers for their service to our country. It seems like a long time ago, which it was! Attached are photos of my brothers, Kenny, Bobby and myself. Bobby is on the top right, Kenny on the lower right and I am on the left. Kenny, my oldest brother, was also a radioman and spent 18 months in Northern Ireland and 18 months on board a minesweeper. Bobby (second oldest) was an aviation electrician. He served on the USS Enterprise, and while serving two tours to Vietnam, earned the Navy Unit Citation and the Meritorious Unit Commendation. He later spent another year in Vietnam as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Army. Mike was also an aviation maintenance technician on the aircraft carrier, USS Ranger. I served on the Ranger in 1970, and Mike was on the Ranger during 1979-80 timeframe. Mike also did a tour on the USS Kitty Hawk. The group picture of my brothers taken in recent years sadly does not include our brother Mike who was the 4th of us to serve in the Navy. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Thanksgiving Day only 8 months after he left the Navy.

My dad was a true disciplinarian and we were expected to do labor-intensive work from a very young age. The farm work and cutting timber was the absolute hardest job of my life. So, I was in fairly good physical shape, and Dad had toughened us mentally, which made the transition to the military fairly easy. I actually enjoyed barracks life. I was getting three meals a day for the first time in many years…

After radio school, I was involved in a terrific car accident and was transported to the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. Unfortunately, I missed out on serving in Vietnam. I still have guilt feelings about it, but life and fate don’t always turn out the way we plan. I spent the next fifteen months in the Naval Hospital with severely wounded Marines from Vietnam. It changed my life forever…
I never forgot my experience of sharing the hospital ward space with combat-wounded Marines and discovered what war can do to human beings, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It took me more than thirty years to get my memories of that experience down on paper. I started sometime in the late 70’s and the emotions were just too much to continue the writing. I would put it away along with the memories and after three, four or five years at a time, I would resurrect the file and try again. Finally, in 2009, I finished HOW CAN YOU MEND THIS PURPLE HEART. I am the proud recipient of the 2010 MWSA Silver Medal Award and 2013 Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, James Webb Award.

“This is a veteran’s story, an inspiring story, a story of brotherhood and love growing from the horrific ground of traumatic injuries and combat-shattered bodies. Healing isn’t quick. It’s like climbing a 10-klick hill with a 100-pound rock in 100-degree heat every day for years. Through Terry Gould’s story we feel the weight, the pain, the effort; and we are awed by the will to overcome.” ~ John M. Del Vecchio, Vietnam Veteran and author of The 13th Valley.

My wife, Barb and I are pictured here on our “hard-earned” vacation in Cancun for the New Year2016. What a special time we had to really wind down, reflect on the past eighteen months with my struggle against cancer. We were able to recuperate a bit, share promises for the future, count all the blessings of our lives together and begin the New Year refreshed and ready.

This year, 2016, is going to be awesome!
~ Terry Gould, Vietnam Era Veteran and author of How Can You Mend This Purple Heart available on Amazon www.amazon.com/How-Mend-This…/…/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2… …

STORY LINK: medium.com/@SoldiersWhisper/how-can-you-mend-this-purple-heart-2f407f04f730#.1ltocjgy3

We are very grateful to Terry for sharing his personal story and invite you to share your family photos &/or stories of those who served.

God Bless all who serve and keep us safe.

FOLLOW OUR VETERAN STORIES INTERVIEWED & COLLECTED BY Jenny Lasala
www.JennyLasala.com