Thank you very much for taking the time to visit this page. I know, it has absolutely nothing to do with selling books or promoting my weekly podcast “I HATE NAZIS!” but it has everything to do with something very dear to my heart and that is the brave people of Ukraine and their fight against invasion and tyranny and mass murder.
I have been there twice as a volunteer and I am looking forward very much to going back in the spring. On my first time there I worked with a rather remarkable young woman named Kateryna and another named Yulia. Both were taking it upon themselves to keep displaced and traumatized kids busy and active during the summer. It was an honor and a rare privilege to work with them. They are my heroes.
My second trip involved me and my buddy Blake driving in a 10 truck aid convoy from near Birmingham, UK to Lviv, Ukraine. We delivered 10 trucks full of medical aid and netting for camouflage. Several of the trucks left early the next morning for the front, and the rest joined them in service in a day or two. If YOU are one of the folks who contributed, know that your action saved lives. Not theoretically. Not possibly. MOST DEFINITELY! Thank you!
The trucks are slowly being picked off one by one. The first one from our group lasted 10 days at the front. The trucks are used to haul water, food, ammunition and more to the front and haul wounded soldiers out to aid stations. That truck had already saved over 40 lives when it was hit by two drones. My truck lasted about five weeks. The rest are still in service as far as I know, but their days are numbered. Some have already been converted to be highly mobile anti-aircraft gun platforms that can be rapidly moved as needed.
But what about the wounded at the front? How are they going to get out now? One thing I learned about Ukrainians and the soldiers in particular is they are probably the most resourceful folks around. They have come up with what I think is a genius solution born out of urgent need: Remote rolling drones! Of course, they have to have a macabre name so the soldiers call them “Rolling Coffins” but they love them. Here is a link from one such mission just a week or so ago, and while watching remember this is not Hollywood, this is not AI, this is bloody, grim reality that these impossibly courageous men and women face each day. And try to grasp the desperation of this wounded man, scared and alone for 33 days behind enemy lines. The try to grasp what he felt when this miracle rolled up out of the smoke and explosions! Enjoy!
https://share.google/Zl1X6lNOEumhI18kw
All of the trucks in our convoy, and many others, were all donations and mostly from the good folks in the UK. These rolling drones can’t be donated….there aren’t any! They are making them one at a time and they are expensive, running a tad over $11,000 a pop. This is where you come in, this is where YOU can save lives through direct action, action that will have immediate results. Every dollar helps, every dollar goes to save lives directly. Every dollar will make a huge difference in the life of a young man or woman who is injured while fighting for those things we take for granted: FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!
“DRIVING UKRAINE” is the group that puts these convoys together and recruits people like me as volunteers to drive. To date DRIVING UKRAINE has sent over 273 vehicles in 50 convoys with 640 volunteer drivers (like Blake and me), with over $2M having been donated. They are a legitimate charity, registered in the UK and they do hero’s work night and day rounding up vehicles, cajoling donations and lassoing drivers. They are indefatigable in the extreme! For these drones they are acting as a collecting point for donations and fundraisers. They do a tremendous job organizing fundraisers in the UK.
They can’t do this one on hard work and a bit of mumping. For this one, they need our help and soon. The war is raging and good people are dying every single day. Every drone WILL cut down the number of KIAs. Every drone gives a wounded soldier a future, and Ukraine will need all of its brave fighters to rebuild their beautiful country. Won’t you please help them?
Here is a link to the site of DRIVING UKRAINE, along with a slide or two so you can see what it is they do for yourself. Please visit and check them out. I know these guys. I have seen them in action and I have seen the results. These young men and women pour their hearts into helping every day. If you would like to see what it feels like to save a life, then click the button and donate whatever you can afford. EVERY DOLLAR SAVES LIVES!
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/19paGSSjmIxjh7yCvqIEj_Nuec5qzADiXYyhlM6_DD2o/edit?usp=sharing
https://donorbox.org/garyukraine
Check out their page. They are all volunteers. We are all volunteers. I am very proud to be a part of this effort and you can be, too!
