Van of Valor

She soared with his wings when he couldn’t. 💔

Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Wingman-Miss-Universe-Explore-Homefront-ebook/dp/B0GTK14XSR

Something truly special is unfolding right here in the heart of Southern Illinois—and it’s being etched into American history forever.

This past August, the Van of Valor rolled into the Standin’ Proud Veteran’s Tribute in Bartelso, and what happened next will give you chills.

We sat down with Chuck Deeters, a Vietnam War hero and Purple Heart recipient, whose story of survival is nothing short of miraculous. In the dense jungles north of Saigon, a bullet meant for Chuck’s head passed clean through an arm-sized tree—slowing just enough to bury itself less than half an inch into his skull. He reached back, pulled it out himself, and kept fighting.

🌴 That tree saved his life.

Chuck went on to serve 14 months in Vietnam, battled jungle rot for 15 years, and then spent 34 years in education—including as a principal at Scott Air Force Base, where he greeted 950 military children every single morning with that same smile he brought home from war.

His words still echo:
💬 “You’ve got to smile. Otherwise, you cry.”

📖 Read his full story in “The Tree That Saved Him” by Dr. Kevin P. Wallace—one of the most powerful oral histories we’ve ever recorded.

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🇺🇸 MORE HEROES. MORE STORIES. SAME TOWN.

While in Bartelso, we also sat with:

🔹 David Maue – A squad leader in the 1st Cavalry Division who lost his machine gunner, Jim Brady, in a Cambodian ambush. For decades, David carried the guilt. Then he connected with Jim’s brother—and finally found peace. His story, “The Ambush That Took His Brother,” is a gut-wrenching reminder: You fight for the man next to you.

🔹 Bob Pierce – A Ranger, senior NCO, and combat veteran of Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. After an IED and a Traumatic Brain Injury, he was told he was “too broken” to serve. But Bob didn’t stop fighting—he now leads other veterans into the woods, into connection, and back to life. His story, “The Fight After the Fight,” is a call to remember: The pursuit of happiness is a patrol. You take it one step at a time.

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📚 AND NOW… A STORY THAT WILL SHAKE YOU TO YOUR CORE.

This April, we’re releasing something we’ve held close for a long time.

“A Wingman for Miss Universe”
By L. Wright Wallace
📅 Launch Date: April 21, 2026

This is the true story of 1st Lt. Dennis Peek—a Marine Corps aviator from this very region—who was assigned as Miss USA’s escort at the 1967 Miss Universe pageant. What happened next wasn’t a romance. It was a promise.

Before shipping out to Vietnam, Dennis gave Sylvia Hitchcock his silver aviator wings and said:
💬 “So you remember there are guys like me who believe in what you’re doing.”

Months later, Sylvia received word: KIA.

This novel traces her 50-year journey to honor a man she knew for only days—and the profound way his life shaped hers forever.

📖 Inspired by the Peek family’s memories. Rooted in the soil of Southern Illinois. Coming April 21, 2026.

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🇺🇸 Bartelso, you are home to heroes.
To trees that saved lives.
To brothers lost and found.
To fights that never ended.
And to a story—finally being told—about a Marine whose wings still fly.

📸 Share this. Tag a veteran. Honor the fallen. And stay tuned.

👉 Pre-order info for “A Wingman for Miss Universe” coming soon.
👉 Read these full stories at www.HelpVoV.com