A Steep Climb: Between Heaven and Hell

By J.M. Joseph

This book shares about the deep and dark struggles that a war-torn veteran went through. Little did he know that his childhood friend, who was also struggling, but on the spiritual plane, was also in search of their higher power. How will both be able to help each other while dealing with death?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writers Branding LLC
• Release date: Nov 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781639452781

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A Steep Climb

BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

J.M. Joseph

Copyright © 2021 by J.M. Joseph

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author who is the copyright owner, except in the case brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN: 978-1-63945-277-4 (Paperback)

978-1-63945-278-1 (E-book)

The views expressed in this book are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Contents

Chapter One: The Beginning of Wars

Chapter Two: Service to God, Family, and Country

Chapter Three: What is War like?

Chapter Four: Sleeping with the dead - Revelations

Chapter Five: The Monster emerges PTSD...Alcoholism...Anger

Chapter Six: Brother, where are you...are you still alive?

Chapter Seven: Natural...Spiritual

Chapter Eight: Hey God...Is that you?

Chapter Nine: Our higher power

Writings

Spiritual Confrontations May Occur In Different States

Spiritual Confrontations May Occur In Different Forms

Why Test The Spirits?

How Can The Presence of Evil Be Detected?

How to Gain Strength In Dealing With Evil

Self-Help For Souls

Bibliography

A STEEP CLIMB

This book shares the battles of what a war-torn veteran fought in order to regain his sanity and the life of his soul, while in search of his Higher Power. Little does he realize that his childhood friend is also going through the same struggles in life, but in a different dimension, that of the Spiritual.

by J.M. Joseph

(RLPJCS)

This book is not involved nor endorsed in any way or form by Alcoholic Anonymous World Services, Inc. All references made to any aspects of AAWS are strictly through conversations with the Veteran and his notes.

All references to Scripture are from various Christian Bibles.

This writing had its first copyright in 2011, then in 2015, and finally in 2021. Its inception dates back to 1973.

The author is grateful to all who contributed in any fashion and to those listed in the Bibliography, for the permissions extended to be included in this book.

A Steep Climb, copyright 2011, by J.M. Joseph (RLPJCS), has all rights reserved, and is produced in the United Stated of America. It is to be stated that no part of this writing is to be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without obtaining written permission from the author.

Copyright November, 2011

Copyright December, 2015

Copyright November, 2021

J.M.Joseph, Honolulu, Hawaii

(RLPJCS)

This book is dedicated to the Blessed Trinity, God Our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ Who has come in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit, Spouse of Mary Immaculate.

Chapter One: The Beginning of Wars

THE BEGINNING OF WARS

It began on such a beautiful Sunday morning, with blue skies and swaying palm trees. It was so picturesque of Hawaii, placid, relaxing and peaceful. The kingly, colossal, silver-gray battle ships were sitting still in shinning majesty on the sea-blue green carpet waters of Pearl Harbor. Basking under the golden rays of the emerging sun, these giants were unaware of their soon to be de-thronement.

BOOM….BOOM…BOOM! This scene of serenity was shattered by bombs of flying planes painted with the sun over Pearl Harbor! Even those assigned to the safety of the islands did not ascertain nor detect the oncoming slaughter from an enemy. Perhaps the off - hours social activities in the military at that time could have affected those before the radar screen somewhat. And the little frightened boy ran as fast as he could to find his mother wondering what was happening.

Mama, mama, ma…ma! he shouted with tears rolling down his cheeks and fear in every corner of his small framed body. Little did he know at such a tender age of 3, that one day he would face similar experiences in future conflicts in Korea, Japan, along with four tours in the Viet Nam War. It would be so remote in distance from his home in Hawaii and at that time, so far away of even being conceived in thought, on December 7, 1941.

Hurry, hurry, come into the house, shouted his mother, Ann, (really his grandmother, who adopted him). The radio was quickly turned on. The call for all military, government, and shipyard personnel at Pearl Harbor to report immediately was loudly stated without hesitation in a traumatic tone of voice by the radio announcer. In response, Lou’s adopted father, Henry (who was his grandfather) reported to the Pearl Harbor Shipping Yard. As his father would repeatedly say, his life was saved that day because he ducked in the nick of time behind huge cylinders as Japanese firefighter planes sprayed bullets aiming directly over his head. And Henry would continue on saying, That’s why I’m bald-headed! This tale was told endlessly the rest of his life. With a chuckle.

Even Lou’s stepfather, Ralph, who was working with the Registrar’s Department for the Territory of Hawaii at that time, was called to the scene to oversee and care for the dead. While the family came to grips as to what was happening, cars, trucks, and all sorts of vehicles raced towards Pearl Harbor on the main access street on which his house was located. In response to a call to return to base, a sailor speeding on a motorcycle lost control at an intersection in Kalihi when the traffic light turned red. The driver and motorcycle climbed the telephone pole almost up to the very top. The pole then dropped the motorcycle and sailor to the pavement below. Both permanently laid lifeless as speeding cars, trucks, and other vehicles whizzed by, some noticing them, some not. As the sailor’s blood painted the street red, Lou’s biological mother, Lana, stood by the window watching in horror.

Get away from there! shouted Ann, as she rushed towards the window pulling Lana, who was in her 7th month of pregnancy, away from the window.

Lou’s step dad, Ralph, worked ceaselessly into the endless hours of days and nights in makeshift tents of death. Lines of tables were set up to pile the bodies of the dead, of whom many were sailors, some from other branches of the military as well as civilians. When time permitted, Ralph would return home with the stench of death still within his nostrils and eyes.

Gosh, he would say to Lana, even though I covered my nose and mouth with my handkerchief, I still smell the decomposing bodies of those souls. Although he was a staunch man, Ralph portrayed the concern for each and every soul whose body lay on the tables. He would pray that these souls were in peace with the Almighty.

The blackouts then began. Black curtains were drawn at night, lest the enemy should find the islands through the slightest glimmer of light to continue its bombings. It was said that during the day, they had received assistance from supporters on the chain of islands in the Pacific. Rumor had it that they planted crops in the shape of arrows, row after row, to direct the Japanese planes towards the island of Oahu, the target for their bombings. As a result of this attack by Japan, the internment of Hawaii’s Japanese began in California, leaving the scars of the evil of war till this day. Lou did not know that he, too, would experience such scars of war in his lifetime.

As years passed by, Lou grew into a typical young boy who was impressed by rituals, with the least amount of its understandings. Dominus vobiscum, take and eat, this is my body, and this is my blood, Lou would blurt out with a grin on his face at breakfast time. His sister and two younger brothers would giggle as they knelt in front of a classic black Grand Piano bench in the living room. Lou gave them pieces of bread and grape juice from a wine glass that they found in the white paneled glass kitchen cabinet. Don’t bite my finger, now! he would instruct them as he shoved the pieces of bread into their mouth. Shoved he did along with chuckles. With glee and excitement, they all wanted to take turns at giving out bread over a small blue dish. What humorous merriment penetrated the household then!

Now where is that loaf of bread? his biological mother, Lana, would mutter as she moved from cabinet to cabinet in the kitchen. She could not understand what had happened to the loaf of bread that Ralph bought the day before. My, the kids are growing so much, they’re eating us out of house and lot, she would remark to her husband. The warm days in Hawaii helped account for the disappearance of the grape juice from the white refrigerator besides the children emulating ministers in the Consecration of the Holy Eucharist.

***

So where do I fit in Lou’s life? In my infancy, my parents moved our family from Amherst, Massachusetts to Hawaii. Lou and I lived next door to one another and grew up in the same neighborhood. We were close as childhood friends, as teenagers, and as adults. People would say that we were, like peanut butter and jelly. We were just like brothers. He was the oldest out of three boys besides one younger sister in his family and I, John, just happened to be the only other male around the neighborhood that lived close to him. We were of the same age, so we had a lot in common to share even though we attended different schools.

The years of youth passed by quickly, and in no time at all Lou was in high school. A high performing public high school is where he attended, while I went to a high performing private school. Oh, we did fight a bit even though we were buddies. We played on opposite teams in football. After one game, we disagreed on a play that he made. It got so heated up with yelling at first, then shoving, until finally I threw a punch at his face and his tooth came flying out. That ended it all. It took time to heal our relationship after that.

While in high school, Lou drove a 1947 Ford, dark green with white wall tires. Boy, did it stand out! That was the fad in those days, stark contrasting colors. A dark or solid colored car with white wall tires. Wow! That’s what most guys wanted to drive.

High School opened a new interest for Lou. He started to move towards singing roles in school plays. It was said that he had a voice like Mario Lanzo. You would know whenever he had a role as his voice, during practice, would reverberate off the mountain walls in the valley of which we lived. His voice was deep, rich, and strong, bellowing from the depth of his diaphragm. This was the inception of his love for the performing arts and the thought of a singing career at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

However, kismet did not hold this in store for him. As he ended his high school years, he fell deeply in love and preferred to marry his first love thinking it would last forever. A most beautiful baby boy was born, who became the love of his life and the reason to live. The real-life scenario had him selling cars and giving up plans of attending the Juilliard School of Music in New York. It all flowed over the waterfall. Such was life for a young husband and father.

Being so young and unprepared to handle life’s rude awakenings, he was divorced within nine months, and enlisted into the Army. When Lou left, I thought to