The Compassionate Warrior

By William A. Roper

A powerful example of what is possible in the aftermath of recovery from war-related injuries.
Learn how a soldier fought through negative perceptions, overcame his disability, and created a successful business career.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Mar 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781452564883

William A. Roper

Against all odds, William A. Roper recovered from a traumatic brain injury sustained while serving in the US Army during the Vietnam War. Since then, he has gone on to accomplish many goals that others told him were not possible. After graduating from Georgia State University in 1973, Bill became a successful businessman in the computer industry and today is pursuing a new career assisting veterans and soldiers returning from modern-day wars. Bill now lives in Culver City, California, where he enjoys frequent trips to his fitness center and occasional rounds of golf with friends.

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Copyright © 2012 William A. Roper

Editor: Kimberly McGinnis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6487-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6488-3 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-6489-0 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012923290

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Balboa Press rev. date: 8/6/2013

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Prequel: Life Before Vietnam

Chapter 1: In The Beginning

• 1967

• Dan

• Inner Knowing and Inner Guidance

• Tet

Chapter 2: The Power Within Us

• My Miracle

• Maximum Effort

• Mentors

• Let Go and Trust Your Inner Power

Chapter 3: Tapping Into the Power

• Mental Focus and TBI

• Gratitude

• Values

• Goals

Chapter 4: My Intention

• Vision and Purpose

• My Purpose for Vets

• Shad Meshad

• Aunt Gladys

• The Vision

Afterword

About The Author

This book is dedicated to the unsung heroes who have our backs when it matters the most:

My fellow veterans of Vietnam, and the veterans of all our modern-day wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This book is for you.

My hope is that my writing will help you come to terms with your own unique experiences you’ve had in war.

"It’s not what you achieve in life that matters the most—

It’s the adversity you overcome that makes all the difference."

~ Bill Roper

FOREWORD

When I returned from Vietnam on Christmas Eve in 1970, I accepted an invitation from Bob Fraser (one of my sergeants from Vietnam) to visit him in California. Two days after my arrival in Los Angeles, I met Dr. Philip May, head of the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute and director of the Brentwood VA Hospital in Los Angeles. When he learned I was an army psych officer who had just returned from Vietnam, he took an immediate interest in me. He wanted to know why so many vets were not using the services at the Veterans Administration (VA).

I took the job of helping him find out, going into the streets of Los Angeles to meet with vets, many of whom were homeless. What started as a summer job evolved into my being a VA case worker involved in the movement to recognize Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a diagnosis, and later, to my designing and co-authoring the Vet Center Program to help veterans transition back into civilian life.

After leaving the VA, I founded the National Veterans Foundation (NVF) in 1985. Our mission is to serve the crisis management, information and referral needs of all United States Veterans and their families. For over 26 years the NVF has manned its crisis hotline, joined now by online chat capability.

When I first met Bill Roper, we were both working out at the Jack LaLanne European Health Spa in Santa Monica, recovering from the traumas of war. Bill was rebuilding his body, which was racked by paralysis and the residual effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury. I was dealing with some injuries from Vietnam and the stress of working with thousands of Vietnam War veterans in Los Angeles. Bill and I quietly supported each other as we trained and used the gym as a therapeutic tool.

Although we began to see each other socially, Bill did not seem interested in the programs I was involved with at the VA. As a result, I was never aware of the depths of despair my friend Bill was experiencing at that time. Nor were any of us really aware of the significance of a Traumatic Brain Injury. It took another war to bring that lesson home to us.

I believe the experiences Bill has written about in this book will be helpful to soldiers who are currently serving, veterans of previous wars, or anyone dealing with trauma in their life. The book is one man’s journey, but it resonates with meaning for all of us. I confidently recommend this book to you.

~ Floyd Shad Meshad, President and Founder of the National Veterans Foundation

PREFACE

The Compassionate Warrior was a long time in coming, mostly because it literally took much of my lifetime to come to terms with writing about how the horrors of war affected me. I feel that most veterans who have been to war never adequately come to terms with this experience. War will change even the most