ABOUT
GARY DeRIGNE - Author and Speaker
Gary DeRigne
is a combat veteran of Vietnam, where he served as an infantryman and
platoon sergeant with the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He returned
home both physically and emotionally scarred, to quickly learn that his
perspective, his emotional state, and indeed his life, had
been altered... forever.
A victim of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder, Gary fell victim to anxiety, depression, and a range of
other emotional issues. His mental state caused his later divorce from
his first wife, the woman who had waited through agonizing months at home
while he'd served in Vietnam.
After four more years of
struggle he re-married, and later became the father
of two fine sons. He often claims that those two little boys saved his
life.
Gary went on to a successful business
career and eventually became a teacher and philanthropist. But the
war continued to haunt him. He was
divorced for the second time in 1999.
In 2004 he was inspired to begin writing about the war, and he published his
first novel, One Young Soldier,
in 2007. With that success came many opportunities to speak about his
war experiences and the plight of many of America's veterans, and he began
to use those opportunities and a portion of the proceeds from book sales to
help support several Veterans' Charities.
One Young Soldier
became a hit among Vietnam veterans, since it
realistically told the story of what it was like to be an infantryman in
combat, a story many veterans had never been able to tell their loved-ones
themselves.
Now retired from business, happily married,
and a proud father and grandfather, Gary spends much of his free time
writing and speaking about Veterans' issues. His second novel, Angie's War,
a sequel to One Young Soldier,
was published in May, 2019. It brings the stories of America's wars
forward to modern times, and serves to help Americans more fully understand
the everlasting human cost of war.
Please browse this website, and
purchase a signed copy of Angie's War or perhaps a set of two including his first novel,One Young Soldier. $5 from the sale of each book
through this website will be donated to a supported Veterans' Charity.
Also
consider requesting an author's talk and book-signing for any
organization you're a part of. There is no fee for these talks, and no
travel expenses for any talk conducted within 150 miles of Kansas City.
$5 from the sale of each book at an author's
talk and book-signing
will be donated to a supported Veterans' Charity.
Thank you for your interest!
ABOUT