Til Death Due Us Part

Jimmy, Katie and Bobby were cut from the fabric of Americana. They were the three amigos. They were Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Gary Cooper. They were "One for all, and all for one." They were the Hardy boys meet Shirley Temple. Then they became Americana meets Vietnam.

Til Death Due Us Part takes the reader through the trilogy of dramatic and unsettling contrasts. It begin in the Norman Rockwell tranquility of small-town America complete with all the images one might expect...baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, best buddies, and boy meets girl.

With little forewarning, their story shifts from the idyllic heartland of Middle America to the savagery of war in the jungles of Vietnam. Tranquility meets brutality. Yet, even when the author takes us into the deathly trenches of warfare, he continues to tease us with the anticipation of a heroic happy ending.

Only to then be thrust into equally traumatic tragedy of a post-war transition that rivaled the horrors and dilemmas of war itself. In this spectrum of human emotions, there is no greater contrast than the tranquil setting of small- town America colliding with the horrific struggles of jungle warfare. If there is, it would be the range of emotions experienced when true love is confronted by circumstances that beg for that love to die.

Til Death Due Us Part is a mixture of all of that and more.

The misspelling of the title is not a misprint. It is not the miswording of one of the most well-worn phrases in the English language. Instead, it is an expression of hope, desires, and expectations these high school sweethearts had for each other and for themselves. They were due to reunite and spend their lives together. They were due to know the happiness that everyone around them had anticipated. Given all they had encountered they were due to live happily ever after. Would it happen?

Their due was an expected return to the life they once knew from one of the most horrific interruptions known to mankind.

There is an expression that says "It takes a village." In this case, the combination of love, tested by the savagery of war, threatened to destroy that village.

Love stories typically have both heroes and villains. They invariably distinguish themselves with white hats and black hats. But, what happens when they don't wear hats? Or worse, if they change their hats in mid-stream? What happen when life after the war is as horrible and tragic as the war itself?

As for Jimmy, Katie and Bobby, which of them are the winners and who are the losers? Are there really any winners?

Author: Jim Chancellor
Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
Published: 12/30/2019
Pages: 300
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.31lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.81d
ISBN: 9781642378726

About the Author
Chancellor, Jim: - Jim Chancellor is a 71 year old combat veteran who served in Vietnam from 1969 through 1970. He is married to Regina and their blended family consists of 5 children and 6 grandchildren. Jim, a likable mixture of sincerity and intensity is a gentleman of dedication and humor. A Vietnam veteran whose mission is to let his hard earned lessons of the past direct him to healing and healthy choices in the future. While serving as a door gunner with the 119th. Assault Helicopter Company his ship was shot down. and he was awarded the Purple Heart and a Heroism medal for Valor. He has made special presentations of the rings from the American Veterans Collection to the late General William Westmoreland, the late great Bob Hope, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sammy L. Davis and country music super star Toby Keith. Having a professional style he has been featured on the same agenda as President Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Vice President Al Gore, Ross Perot, and President Barack Obama. In 2016 Mr. Chancellor was both honored and humbled to be inducted into the State of Indiana Veterans Hall of Fame. Athletic in appearance and spontaneous Jim is well educated on the issues and is comfortable on stage with all types of media. This is a man for whom wartime stress was a reality. His insights are earned and respecting him is unavoidable. Jim is driven to educate America on the full cost of war, not in dollars and cents, but in the psychological toll it has on our veterans. Jim's 60 minute presentation is targeted at our students, because they are indeed the decision makers of tomorrow and they need to know what it really means to put boots on the ground in some far away land. Jim shares his real life decisions made during war. He will speak of killing and the escape from reality through drugs and alcohol. This riveting presentation speaks from the very souls of war and it's devastation on our warriors. Jim Chancellor has been described in many different ways, John Davis from the Northwest Indiana Forum says, "Jim is on a mission, a healing mission. He speaks from the soul and believes he can make a difference." "The war doesn't simply end when a veterans comes home, for some it only begins," says Chancellor..."Given a chance, I believe I can make a difference, perhaps in the future of America."