SGT. RODNEY M. DAVIS “The Making of a Hero”
Paperback – March 15, 2018
[maxbutton id="1" text="Ebook | $7.99" url="/product/the-making-of-a-hero-ebook/"] [maxbutton id="2" text="Paperback | $17.95" url="#"]How Far Would You Go to Honor a Code?
Honor. Courage. Commitment. These are the pillars of United States Marine Corps values.
So why Sgt. Rodney M. Davis lunged atop that enemy grenade at the expense of his own life on Sept. 6, 1967 is the quintessential question that has haunted not only those who stood closest to him at that critical moment, but his own family and friends for over fifty years now.
Why would a young African-American with a beautiful wife and two infant children eagerly awaiting his return home from Vietnam commit such a noble and courageous, yet sacrificial act? And for Marines he barely knew if at all? And for a country that often treated him like a second-class citizen at the time?
“He was a brave man and a good Marine. My grandfather always told me that if [Davis] had not jumped on that grenade, every Marine in that trench would have been seriously injured or killed. My grandfather believed that he would have died that day. My mother would have been an orphan at the age of one, and I would have never known my grandfather.
In a time when the United States was ravaged by racial tension, I wonder what kind of bond men form while fighting a war, for him to have saved the lives of a bunch of white men – including a Texan officer – that he knew for a short period of time?
[Davis] was a modern-day hero, and the kind of Marine I strive to live up to.”
Steven Brackeen Turunc, the eldest grandson of Davis’ late platoon commander, John Brackeen. Turunc graduated from Officer Candidates School in November 2014 and is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps.
That Davis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House on March, 26, 1969 did little to assuage the heartbreak felt by his grieving family and the many friends he left behind.
But looking after his own had always been Davis’ calling.
This is his story.
STATEMENTS FROM THE OFFICIAL MEDAL OF HONOR INVESTIGATION INTO SGT. RODNEY M. DAVIS
“On 6 September 1967, we were engaged with the enemy when they outflanked us on all the sides. We pulled back and regrouped in a trench surrounding a bomb crater. There were about seven people in a 20-foot in this trench when the enemy started their advance. We were putting out a base of fire when we started to receive incoming grenades when one grenade landed about eight feet to my right on the other side of Lance Corporal
[Lonnie] Hinshaw. Lance Corporal Hinshaw jumped from the trench to safety, but failed to mention the presence of the grenade to anyone. At this time, Sgt. Davis saw the danger to himself and the rest of the Marines in the area. He threw himself intentionally on this grenade and sacrificed his life to save the men in the trench. I believe he should receive this award for service above and beyond the call of duty. Myself, my platoon commander and Lance Corporal Hinshaw are alive today because of Sgt. Davis’ act of heroism.” Lance Corporal Gregory G. Crandall (USMC)
“On 6 September 1967, I witnessed the actions of Sergeant Davis while on Operation Swift. My platoon was pinned down around a bomb crater when the NVA started attacking our position with heavy automatic fire. Sgt. Davis effectively directed his men’s fire to stave off the attacking enemy. The enemy again assaulted our position, this time getting within hand grenade range. I believe there were about four [grenades] thrown at us, three of them landed outside the trench, the other one hit me in the leg and fell into the trench as I rolled out of the trench. At this time, Sergeant Davis saw the hand grenade and the danger to the men left in the trench. Sergeant Davis, seeing the grenade, dropped down on it, using his body to protect the other men in the trench from the explosion. I feel that he knew what he was doing and gave his life to save the five lives of his fellow Marines. I am alive today due to his actions.” Lance Corporal Lonnie R. Hinshaw (USMC)
Straight Dirt: New York’s Premier Landscape Designer Tells it Like It Is.
Straight Dirt is Steve Griggs’s “tell all” book about the inner workings of a landscape design firm in the TriState area. Griggs has been designing and installing residential backyards spaces in affluent areas in and around the New York metro area for the past thirty-five years. Straight Dirt is not a “how to” book on doing your own backyard. Rather, it gives expert insight on how to work with designers and contractors to create dream backyards and rooftop terraces in New York City. It includes segments on design and execution, with special sections on Grigg’s favorite plants, dos and don’ts for pools, and an invaluable list of tips on how to deal with your landscape contractor in “What Google Won’t Find For You.”
Griggs combines an artist’s sensibility with a commitment to client satisfaction. His passion is contagious and tell-it-like-it-is attitude gets the job done. He transforms every environment from ordinary to extraordinary, and the book is a masterful reflection of his work ethic (“Do it Once, Do It Right”) and attitude, (“Anyone can shower you with roses. I bring the thorns…and the cutter. Translation: Don’t believe the B.S. I tell it like it is” ).
Loaded with pictures from six showcased homes and stories from a handful of clients, Straight Dirt not only illustrates the various elements of landscape design and construction, it also gives the reader insight into how clients should feel at the completion of their project: “I had spent much of my life dealing with designers and contractors. Steve is very much unique. He is an artist and is someone who tacks on pride to what he does. What he created for us is extraordinary. We are grateful.” —Linda and Regis Boff
Straight Dirt is to the point, oftentimes funny, and the reader will never look at your backyard the same again.
The Right Start: Build Your Brand to Survive and Thrive in Corporate America
Paperback – June 12th, 2020 
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Finally! A book for the corporate newbie that sheds light on the strange and mysterious world of Corporate America…
Often the difference between the hot-shot “brand builders” who rise to corporate success and the “brand burners” who crash and burn early in their careers is seldom about intelligence or even hard work. That would be too straightforward.
Corporate survival and ultimate success are more often about who understands the Unwritten Rules of Corporate America. Who knows—
- How to play the game properly?
- What stupid mistakes to avoid?
- When to raise their hand at the right time and in the right way to claim that shining, brand-building opportunity?
With 70+ years of combined corporate experience, Harrison and Heart share their stories of success and failure in order for the rest of us—corporate newbies and anyone who could use a primer on corporate culture—to best navigate around the common pitfalls and stumbling blocks of the early corporate years.
Under the Sphinx
UPDF Ebook – June 21st , 2021
TO ACCESS NEW UPDF – CLICK ON LINK INSIDE COVER PAGE OF UPDF
From the Foreword by Graham Hancock:
“There have always been misgivings about the view of prehistory promoted by mainstream archaeologists; there has always been dissent and a feeling that something important is absent from the picture. However, it was not until the early 1990’s that strong and compelling evidence began to be put forward that gave real substance to the doubts. This evidence focused initially on ancient Egypt and drew on the hard sciences of astronomy and geology to raise uncomfortable questions about the age of the Great Sphinx of Giza, the ultimate emblem and symbol of the high civilization of the Nile Valley….
Imagine my surprise, therefore, when Manu’s book…turned out to be the first substantial and significant addition to human knowledge concerning the Sphinx since the breakthroughs of 1990’s.
I’m not going to foreshadow at any great length the labyrinths of evidence, argument and erudition in this book… I’ll not say more here except to add that Manu is a gifted and determined researcher, who left no stone unturned in the investigation that led to Under the Sphinx. You will find yourself in the safe hands of a brilliant historical detective as he builds his very intriguing case.”
From Robert Bauval, co-author of The Message of the Sphinx (1996):
“Meticulously researched, scholarly, and very convincing, UNDER THE SPHINX is an exciting investigation into the possible existence of the legendary Hall of Records at Giza. Seyfzadeh may indeed have found the key to unravel this great mystery of antiquity by using a new approach that will rouse much attention and the interest his work deserves.”
For Gaia TV’s Energy Secrets of the Great Pyramid episode from the 2021 season of Deep Space featuring Manu Seyfzadeh see URL: https://www.gaia.com/video/preview-season-3-deep-space
LISTEN to COAST to COAST AM interview here: https://tinyurl.com/yzsatzlw
ORDER NOW
What Once Seemed Strange
Paperback – September 26th, 2013 (Ebook Jan 15, 2015)
[maxbutton id="1" text="Ebook | $5.99" url="/product/what-once-seemed-strange-ebook/"] [maxbutton id="2" text="Paperback | $14.95" url="#"]From Cairo to Austin: exiled at 12, Michele Kay takes her readers on a gut-wrenching, painfully lonely, but often exhilarating journey to “home.”
Through this memoir she tells the intensively personal stories of her family’s expulsion from Egypt during the 1956 Suez Canal crisis and devastating effects of this displacement on their lives.
No matter where her nomadic life took her—London, Hong Kong, Saigon, San Francisco, Paris, Tel Aviv, Washington, Texas—Michele proved, as she once wrote: “life is a series of opportunities…to grab.” Mother of two, grandmother of five, she was often described as a “fireball who thought fast, wrote fast and spoke very fast.”
Inspiring, fascinating: a reassuring story for anyone faced with unwanted, unexpected twists and turns in life. And that would be, of course, all of us.
Why You No Scream Viva?!
Paperback – June 26th, 2013
[maxbutton id="1" text="Ebook | $7.99" url="/product/scream-viva-ebook/"] [maxbutton id="2" text="Paperback | $17.95" url="#"]There is life after a broken heart-but you have to go out and find it! When you’re in the middle of a break-up, the last thing you probably feel is strong, capable, and able to move on with your life. Why You No Scream Viva?! chronicles the sometimes hilarious adventures Brooke Martellaro experiences. Rocked by the unexpected departure of her life partner, Martellaro found herself on the eve of her 40th birthday newly single and confused about her place in this world. Facing cultural barriers, strange characters, and moral dilemmas, Martellaro redefines herself as an individual for the first time in twenty years and reassesses what she wants for herself. Your BFF as you navigate through the ruins of a relationship… Travel with Brooke to the enchanting Playa del Carmen in Mexico where she learns that to “scream viva” means to find the courage to look for love again, make big decisions even though you may not know the outcome, and rely on good friends to help you through the inevitable transitions life throws at you. Why You No Scream Viva?! helps us all discover that life works far better when you’re having fun and that suffering is indeed optional.
