Ware, Ezell - By Duty Bound

[Judy Hamilton]

I recommend "BY DUTY BOUND" as required reading for all teen agers as an example that with perserverance they can realize their dreams and success is obtainable. ...Life may not be a cake walk, however whatever one sets their mind to is possible. This is a NON FICTION account of the tenacious survival of a man raised in proverty stricken Mississippi, as a Black American in the 40's 50's and 60's, facing the odds daily, in a society and that promised him less than nothing.

Ezell Ware used the ugly in his life, harsh experiences Blacks endured under the intolerable degrading Jim Crow Laws, turning negatives into stepping stones to accomplish his life's seemingly insurmountable goals and dreams.

This book traces the true story of how one of the handful of black helicopter pilots in Vietnam, the author, a well deserved highly decorated war hero overcame stifling poverty and cruel racism of the Jim Crow Laws Americans unrepentantly practiced throughout the segregated South during the 40's 50's and 60's, only to find himself struggling for sheer survival, evading capture by the Viet Cong alongside his "born-raised-and-throughly-bred" Ku Klux Klan-member Captain, after their helicopter was downed in the jungles of Vietnam.

"By Duty Bound" is a riveting book. It cost me a night's sleep

Judy

PS
What I consider a rich find in this book is the intimate view offered into the daily lives
of Black Americans and their stoic survival under the oppressive Jim Crow Laws. Thank God America
has come a long way since my childhood days of the mindless riddle "eeny-meeny-my-nee-mo"



Judy
.

[Judy Hamilton]

Busy as you are and probably low on interest in books of this type
i will place internet reviews of this man and his story that has captured
my interest

Why ??

I always find a success story of the underdog invigorating, be
this true stories of Jews overcoming insurountable odds and excaping Nazi death camps, or as with this story of a man who achieved his dreams in the face of adversity

If they (he) can find success ..then I can also, and so can you, I encourage you to be encouraged and find another path if the road to fulfillment of your dreams seems blocked


here is an Internet blurp of this amazing man and his story

Ezell Ware, who grew up in a dirt floor home in segregated Mississippi has a strong sense of family and credits his success to the sacrifice of his grandparents who raised him. Although they didn’t have much, he often went to school with only a sweet potato to eat or parts of sandwiches shared from a young man he befriended while in school, but he always knew he was loved. His Grandmother’s death was devastating, and it took him 20 years to return to Mississippi after her passing, although he still speaks to her in heaven on a daily basis.


Focused on giving back, Ware has served as a Marine, a policeman, an Army pilot and an officer, which placed him in Vietnam attempting to survive in the jungle after being shot down while flying helicopter gunships in 1968. Ware recounted the grueling experiences he and his partner shared during monsoon season as they tried to survive three weeks in Cameron Bay, Vietnam, to include wounds being filled with gangrene and maggots, extreme hunger, exhaustion and being covered in leeches from the waist down. It was during that time he found out his partner was a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, but through it all, leaving him behind, despite his prejudice and racist beliefs, was not an option. His experiences are written in great detail in his book.

“In the jungle, color and race do not come in to play” said Ware.



“We live in a world that while it is connected, it is disconnected. We don’t have time to be disconnected as Americans” said Ware.

Rather than react resentfully, Ware took his personal discrimination experiences and used them to benefit the military. Lt. Col. Valerie Mueck, state equal employment manager, noted that Ware was one of the persons who served on a think tank that led to the development of the Defense Race Relations Institute, now serving as the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute which provides equal opportunity and human relations training for the Department of Defense and is the sole producer of military Equal Opportunity Advisors.

“Brig. Gen. Ware is a champion of equal opportunity for everyone,” said Mueck.

Mentorship was also a central theme of Ware’s briefing. “You don’t become a brigadier general without people watching out for you…(but) you’ve got to give your mentors something to work with” said Ware, noting all of his mentors were white.

“If you want to win,” said Ware, you’ve got to be in a winning position so that you can’t be denied. Be the best you can be.”

He is still upset due to receiving a score of 98 percent on his initial military entrance exam over 40 years ago.

Ware encouraged everyone to strive for excellence in everything they did. “Always be better qualified than your peers,” recommended Ware. “Don’t put people in the position to analyze and evaluate you.”

“I probably lost 9 out of 10 things that I tried, but that 10th one was always great,” said Ware. He encouraged participants that they could be anything they wanted through persistence.

Americans responsibility to one another was a central theme for Ware. “The idea that we are not connected is crazy – we are Americans. We may have our differences, debates and skirmishes, but we are Americans and live in the best country in the world,” said Ware.

“He is an inspirational, all-American leader” said Lt. Col. Valeria Gonzalez-Kerr, human resources officer, Florida National Guard. “I really enjoyed him because he focused on our unity as Americans.”

“I’m still in school,” noted Ware, who enrolled in classes at a local community college. “I’m learning Spanish, speed reading and guitar – you never stop learning.”

Ware always wants to be the best and asked the audience: “Are you willing to pay the price?…If you died today, wouldn’t it be horrible if you only gave 50 or 75 percent?”