Tales from an American Soldier's Diary

By EM. EM. Genesis

Giovanni Giordano McDonnell is the son of Italian immigrants with ties to the Mafia but he was determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps. He joined the military to serve his country but the horrors he witnessed at war will nearly destroy him. Besides the tragedies of war, he also suffered tremendous personal betrayal by those very close him. He lost everything that mattered in his life and was about to lose his own life! Read the story of this American soldier’s determination to live, love and forgive!

• Language: English
• Publisher: EM. EM. Genesis
• Release date: Sep 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465846730

EM. EM. Genesis

EM.EM. Genesis is a dynamic author of fictional books, self-help and motivational books, cookery books all written for entertainment purposes. EM.EM. is an enterpreneur in Real Estate, Fashion who enjoys writing, living life, international travels, cultures, and most importantly, family and love.EM.EM is very passionate about fairness and justice for all people!Please visit us here at www.booksbyememgenesis.com for updates on EM.EM.Genesis and new books.

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Tales from an American Soldier’s Diary

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EM.EM.GENESIS 2011

Tales from an American Soldier’s Diary

A Soldier’s life’s experiences. Betrayal by those closest to him. Love and Forgiveness!

Giovanni Giordano-McDonnell, the son of Italian immigrants with ties to the Mafia, was determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps, so, in order to gain the discipline that he craved, he enlisted in the Military to serve his country!

Not only will the horrors of war destroy him, the tremendous personal betrayal by those very close him will devastate his life. 

Having lost everything that mattered in his life, how could he live in this cruel world!

How would he cope with the losses he experienced?

Read the story of this American soldier’s determination to live, love and forgive!

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This work is a combination of fiction and non-fiction.  All characters, organizations and events portrayed in this book are mostly products of the writer’s imagination.

Tales from an American Soldier’s Diary

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Copyright © 2012 EM.EM GENESIS

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, translated in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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ISBN-13: 978-1466306233

Prologue!

I’m in a great mood tonight. I’m at the local bar enjoying Thursday night – Veterans’ night. I love coming here. It allows me to get away from all my troubles.

It’s going to be a great night!

My favorite music is playing. Celebrate Good Times, Come on!  The DJ was playing old school music by one of my favorite bands - the Kool and the Gang. 

I’m in a happy mood, drunk as usual but, who cares? I’m having a good time. I haven’t always been a drunk, but a lot has happened in my life in the last few years! There’s so much even a tough guy like me can take.

Life has been cruel to me, too many times, too often, so, I cannot forgive the emotional cruelty which I’ve had to endure, nor would I forgive those who inflicted the pain on me!

But it’s a great night tonight – all my problems and worries - forgotten – at least for now. I’m humming, singing, head shaking, finger snapping, dancing, drinking vodka on the rocks and just having a great time. The girls are all looking beautiful tonight! But do I really care about their looks. I have lost count of how many times I have taken a girl home from a night out at the bar only to wake asking myself what the hell did I bring home?

I was having a good time and noticed two girls at the bar next to me trying to get drinks. I yelled out to the bartender that I was buying their drinks. One of the girls, the brunette looked towards me with the cutest smile and said, are you sure; I smiled back and said yes. Her name was Becky, and her friend was Katrina. They were both beautiful girls but, Katrina was stunning, and very exotic looking.

I leaned over to talk to her –she was from Ukraine, but, was in the USA studying Medicine. I whispered sweet nothings in her ears, she giggled like a schoolgirl. She caressed my face.  I could feel her friend Becky close to me, holding me from behind, and, rubbing against me.

Darn, both want me? It’s going to be a great night. These girls love a guy in uniform.  I’m always prepared for them. I’ve been single since Diana my ex-fiancé dumped me, and, threw me out of her apartment. It’s a shame she didn’t see it fit to return the engagement ring I paid for, but I won’t ask for it back.

Diana can keep the ring especially after everything I put her through. Yes, there are beautiful girls everywhere, but I wished Diana would take me back. I’m a relationship type of guy even after adultery and the lies I’ve had to put up with.

It’s been 4 months since Diana, and I split up. I tried to get her back. I sent flowers, candies, I called but no response. I couldn’t blame her for not wanting anything to do with me. She had to protect herself and her daughter from my violent outburst and excessive drinking.

My step-father would be ashamed of the man I have turned out to be. He would tell me you’re a better man than this G (he called me G) and would remind me to get a hold over myself but, he would understand why a man like me would fall into pieces.

You see, Diana dumped me a few months ago! She’d had enough of me. Who could fault her?  I would have had enough of me too! She had to put up with a lot from me.  The final straw for Diana was when I kicked and broke the front door after a heavy night of drinking. 

My drinking, womanizing, were too much for her to handle.  But did she have to dump me on my birthday! Can a guy get a break?

After my divorce, I was playing around online when I met Diana on an online dating website dedicated to Military men and women. We chatted for a few months whilst I was still stationed in Afghanistan.  We finally met face to face after 4 months of chatting on the internet.

Anyway, tonight I’m having too much fun with these beautiful young girls, and, should not care about Diana. We’re laughing drinking and just have a good fashioned good time. I just want to have fun tonight. Forget about my troubles. Just laugh, just enjoy life tonight.

I know I self-destruct, and, I know why! 

I self-destruct to block out the horrors I witnessed at war and, everything I’ve been through with my family. There’s so much a human mind can handle.

The girls asked if I wanted to continue partying with them. I answered, hell yes.

I agreed to go back to their apartment with them. I got in the car to drive. I did not care that I was drunk and over the limit.  The next thing I remembered was waking up three weeks later, in a hospital bed, my head bandaged, in excruciating pain, unable to move or speak. According to reports from my family who had kept vigil, I had been in a coma for three weeks!

Chapter 1: Giordanos &Rossis

I was born into a stereotypical Italian family, one of three Boys, a chauvinistic father who never showed interest in his family, and, was hardly ever home, which left my mother basically raising three children all alone.

Culturally, the man is head of household in many Italian families.  He goes out to work and brings home the bacon; the wife stays home, cooks, cares for the children, and tends to her husband’s needs!

Although, I was born and raised in an Italian dominated neighborhood in Chicago, my parents emigrated from Italy to the US with their parents when they were children. Getting acclimatized to a different culture was difficult for both families but, it was better than staying in Italy and facing possibly, deadly consequences!

The Giordano and the Rossi families were fervent friends, and, both families moved to America together to start a new life.  My mother recalled how she hated being in America at first, because she was teased and bullied in school, and, how my father would always come to her rescue.

My Mother, Adriana is a beautiful, traditional Italian woman with gorgeous brown eyes, brown hair. Although, only 5’1 tall, but the way she walks you’ll be forgiven for thinking she was taller than she really is. She was simply captivating!

I could understand why my father was attracted to her apart from the fact that their families were friends, and they grew up together. When they were in school, he always protected her against bullies!

They’d both moved with their families from Naples, a city in Southern Italy, to Chicago, Illinois.

My mother was 10 years old and, my father, 13 years old. My mother often recounted exciting stories about her childhood in Italy, and how she missed all her friends when her family moved.

Both my parents were from well-known families in Italy.  Their fathers were business partners, and both very flamboyant and ostentatious.  It was rumored that they made their fortune under questionable circumstances, including connections to the The Camorra - the oldest and largest Mafia organizations in Italy, dating back to the 18th century. The families were quite close and lived just a few blocks away from each other, in Italy. 

The men lived enviable lifestyles.  Both had beautiful wives, cute kids, unlimited wealth, mansions, and the finest and most expensive cars that money could buy.

So, their prompt departure from their small town in Naples, was quite a shock to many of their friends and neighbors.

The Rossis were the first to leave.  The family drove to Cortina d'Ampezzo, a quaint village in Southern Italy where they stayed for a few days before driving to Vienna, Austria, then flew to the United States!

Upon their arrival in Chicago, Mr. Rossi bought a beautiful, quaint house in little Italy, where he also opened his first pizza joint – Rossi Pizza.

A few months later, they were joined by the Giordanos who bought a house a few blocks away.

Both families settled into life in the United States, however, getting used to the culture was hard for some of them, especially Mr. Giordano, who missed his homeland, and began to drink excessively, spending a fortune on gambling and was rumored to be cheating with the neighbor’s wife.  His wife of course stood by him, and, would plead with Mr. Rossi to talk to him but, it was pointless talking to Mr. Giordano about his downward spiral. He simply didn’t listen to anyone.

Mr. Rossi made every effort to help his friend but, to no avail.  They often had screaming matches, which would end with Mr. Giordano breaking something, before walking out.

He didn’t do much to help at the pizza parlor even though, he invested in the business with Mr. Rossi. He would disappear for days and when he showed up at home, he would reek of alcohol.

He hated being in America, but, was too scared to go back to Italy! Everyone was fed up with his behavior but the only person who would dare say anything to him was, Mr. Rossi! But, every time Mr. Rossi confronts his friend, they would get into a loud argument and had to be pulled back by family members.

During one of their explosive arguments, Mr. Giordano demanded that the pizza