The Weight of What We Saw: A Veteran’s Reckoning with the Past with Author Joseph J Fontenot

My guest today on the Online for Authors podcast is Joseph J Fontenot, author of the book Sons of the Arghandab. Joseph “Fonty” Fontenot is a combat veteran who served 20 years in the US Army and retired as a First Sergeant, with combat deployments to Abu Ghraib, Iraq, and the Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan. Before enlisting in the army, he was a successful musician who gave up his career to serve during the global war on terror. After his year in Afghanistan, he was a Drill Sergeant and won Soldier of the year in 2015. He subsequently suffered multiple career-ending injuries and, despite several years in the warrior transition unit, chose to return to the 101st airborne division. Fontenot earned a bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology from Purdue Global University, and recently earned a certification as a Veteran Service Officer or VSO, to be able to continue helping veterans potentially with the VA.

In my book review, I stated Sons of the Arghandab is a memoir about his time in Afghanistan. This was not an easy read because conditions in the Arghandab Valley during 2010-2011 were anything but easy. From the temperatures, to the living quarters, to enemy fire, to losing buddies day in and day out ... I can't begin to comprehend what Joseph and his team went through. However, his book will help you get a better understanding of what our military endured and what they continue to endure now that they are back home.

By the end of the narrative, you will feel like you know the men Joseph knew, which will have you smiling when things go well and crying when they do not. My husband used to quote "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." I am beyond grateful that there are men like Joseph J Fontenot. What would our world be like without them?

As a nation, we need to do better by our returned soldiers, offering them the mental health care they need after seeing such violence and always working on the edge of certain death. Thank you, Joseph, for writing your memoir and helping the world understand what you did.

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Purchase Sons of the Arghandab on Amazon:

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4iHUJtQ

Ebook: https://amzn.to/4oLo4VV

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