John Gilstrap was bored with his “day job” writing for trade journals so he decided to become a volunteer firefighter. Over the course of the next fifteen years he became an expert on explosives safety and hazardous waste. He never stopped writing and is now a New York Times bestselling author of action novels.
Christopher Paul Meyer’s off Broadway play has a successful opening weekend. The following Tuesday the 9/11 attacks took place and his life took a different direction, including proving Special Operations Support as a member of the US Army.
Twenty years later he has returned to the arts, founding the Veterans Repertory Theater to bring Veterans and First Responders into theater.
In 2014 Vince Gibson has just restored a 1969 El Camino when he was approached by a Veteran who had lost both legs to an IED. The Veteran commented that he wished he could have a “cool car like that”. With the help of buddy Scott Jones, American Warrior Garage was founded with the mission of “Restoring our heroes lives, one hot rod at a time.”
In 2006 Gina Elise became frustrated at news articles about under-funded Veteran’s healthcare and older Veterans who lay in bed day after day never receiving visitors.
Inspired by her grandfather’s service in World War II she founded Pin-Ups For Vets to raise funds for hospitalized Veterans and brighten up Veteran’s days. Their calendar features female service members in vintage “Pin-Up” style photos.