American Airman A Memoir of a Wounded Veteran

by Jonathon Benjamin

A retired Airman and wounded veteran of the United States Air Force, Jonathon Benjamin was told that he would never walk again after a catastrophic car crash overseas left him with a severe traumatic brain injury and lingering deficits that took more than 5 years to overcome.

Still, against all the odds, Benjamin received a degree from George Washington University at the age of 24, under the GI Bill. It is luck, fate, discipline, and tenacity that kept him from giving up many times, even when he saw other veterans fall victim to their own demons and felt like he did not belong in this world – including an instance that would have made him part of the statistic.

This veteran’s story is illuminating and heartbreaking, but it should not shock the public. The veteran suicide epidemic continues to rage in the United States. This narrative focuses a hot lens on the difficulties that veterans must face when they re-enter the real world, especially when support is unavailable and civilians can’t begin to understand their plight.

Genres:
United States Military Veterans History, African American Demographic Studies, Memoirs

ISBN:
979-8885256230

Pub Date:
May 17, 2022

Print Length:
264 pages

Endorsements

  • “I was immediately drawn in and could not put this book down. 5.0 out of 5 stars” – Kathy Bateman

  • “‘American Airman: A Memoir of a Wounded Veteran’ by Jonathon Benjamin is a bittersweet life story about self-discovery after physical and psychological traumas.

    The book captivates from the first page, where the author, unable to call his parents by their names, nicknames them male and female biologicals. The reader can’t stop thinking about what horrors the author has faced because the most harrowing contemporary memoirs still tend to provide some family background and talk openly about the parents. The story starts with the author being a teenager in an unstable family, going through constant verbal abuse – and beatings when he was younger – from his father. To escape the suffocating ‘love’ of his family, the author joins the Air Force and works first in an avionics unit, then in England as a post clerk. The car accident that nearly kills him changes his life forever.

    Despite the incomprehensible mental suffering in childhood and after the car accident, when the author was left under the care of his biologicals, ‘American Airman’ is a story of resilience. The book demonstrates how piece by piece, the author discovers himself through relationships with other people. Longing for the unconditional love his parents didn’t give him, Jonathon Benjamin subsequently joins two families that become his support system – and loses both of them. However, he finds his voice in creative writing, advocating for the veterans who committed suicide, unable to overcome their traumas. The author’s journey may become an excellent veteran’s guide into civilian life. It shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that the fight is worth fighting.” – Darya Silman

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