Books published by Hellgate Press

The story follows Hank Kirby, a newly minted US Army second lieutenant, as he makes his way from college ROTC to the battlefield at the height of the Vietnam War. Ultimately, through a mix of blunders and accomplishments, he reveals himself to be an uncertain, iconoclastic, and very human hero.

Getting away from her abusive, soon-to-be-ex-husband, Susi Jury accepts the invitation of her lifelong best friend, Tracy, to attend the Navy Boot Camp graduation of her younger brother at Naval Station Great Lakes near Chicago. At a celebration for the graduates at a local bar, she accidentally spills red wine on a young, handsome sailor—Lance Wells. Love at first sight? Absolutely.  The next morning, as they lay in bed confessing their love for one another, she realizes that her life has just changed forever—and so far, for the better. Lance returns to the base and Susi to her home in Arizona. Soon comes the first hurdle in their relationship: Susi is pregnant.  What follows is a romance for the ages that spans more than twenty years. From a long distance courtship, followed by the birth of a daughter, then through marriage, overseas deployment, loss, loneliness, and eventually  coming to terms with  the effect that PTSD can have on a relationship.  As the years pass, Susi witnesses how Lance’s Navy experience as a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman changes him. A short deployment during Desert Storm, a horrific plane crash on Guam, the horrors of 9/11, and the Battle of Fallujah—all seem to drain the spirit out of a once vibrant and devoted husband, leading to an act of desperation that finds Susi in a situation she could never have imagined. 

The stirring story of Illinois native Philip Leckrone-one of the few American "Eagle" pilots to fight in the Battle of Britain during WWII.

Personal interviews capture unique experiences and vanishing history from WW II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, told by those who fought-military pilots, infantry soldiers, seamen, POW's and civilians share their compelling challenges as they confronted America's enemies with courage, bullets, and sheer determination.

Have you ever had the strong desire to move across the country and experience a dramatic change of lifestyle? What would happen if you did and how well would you adjust to it? Stay West, Young Woman! continues the true homesteading adventures from Go West, Young Woman!, the story of how an inexperienced military family makes the dramatic transition from eastern urban living to "retirement" on a rugged Montana mountainside. Continuing to face mercurial weather, unorthodox neighbors, wild animals, and the challenges of an ever expanding family of dogs and horses, they greet their days with determination and a sense of humor, as they decide their fate while living life along America's great Continental Divide.

Until exceeded by the tragic events of September 11, 2001, a little-known occurrence on the northern frontier would represent the highest number of civilians – perhaps as many as 800 – ever killed by hostile action on American soil.This is the story of a major Indian war that exploded suddenly in the relatively settled region of southern Minnesota in 1862 – a conflict that has come to be known as the Minnesota Uprising – and over the months that followed extended far west into the vast reaches of the Great Plains.Interspersed in that broader tale is the true-life story of members of three families brought together in the chaos of war by remarkable circumstances. Compiled from detailed family records, photographs, and correspondence, Fire in the North chronicles their triumphs and travails during this exceptional period in American history.Though often lost in the shadow cast by the cataclysmic events of the Civil War raging at the same time, the conflict along America’s frontier is an important episode in our history and deserves the detailed recounting that Fire in the North so aptly provides.

This is the inspiring memoir of an extraordinary warrior who fought bravely for his country and his faith..Shot in the head during a massacre in which sixty-eight of seventy men in his company were killed or wounded on a black mountain in Vietnam, Joe Ladensack had an out-of-body experience that inspired him to become a Roman Catholic priest.Back home in Arizona, Ladensack displayed the same valor and courage that earned him two Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars in Vietnam. He became the first priest to voluntarily testify before a grand jury about the worldwide clergy abuse scandal. He helped expose more than fifty sexual predators in the Diocese of Phoenix, brought down a bishop, and sent a half-dozen priests to prison or fleeing in exile.

Whenever John Romero was asked if he lost his eye when wounded in Vietnam, he always got a confused look when he replied, "No. Santo Domingo." As a former minor league baseball player with just six weeks left to serve in the Army, Romero's plans for making a comeback are interrupted when his unit is unexpectedly deployed to the Dominican Republic to protect Americans caught in a quickly escalating civil war. There he finds himself in a combat situation. While dodging bullets he meets the beautiful but aloof Ramona, a local woman who inflames the passions of the paratroopers that view her from their command post. Romero plots a course to win her affections, but the political intrigue and the carnage in the streets conspire to thwart his every move. Then one day he makes a drastic decision that literally blows up in his face.

Like two bright-eyed lambs trotting happily off to slaughter, Paul and Maureen Fattig had no idea what was in store when they bought the woebegone old cabin along Sterling Creek in the upper reaches of the beautiful Applegate Valley in southwest Oregon.After being ravaged by fire and vandals, the cabin was occupied by bats and rats, all itching for a fight. But the two childhood sweethearts jumped at the challenge of restoring the old place and discovering its rich history. They were soon wrestling with charred timbers, wielding drawknives to peel logs, shooing away feisty rattlesnakes, keeping an eye on an advancing wildfire and preparing for a presidential visit.In the midst of it all they rediscovered the love, the laughter and the joy of life that originally brought them together.  

During the early years of the Vietnam War, several small cadres of men served their country and their fellow comrades-in-arms from a remote airbase cut out of the jungles of northeast Thailand. The base was named Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, but the men assigned there had a special name for it: "Naked Fanny."

Bill Everett was eleven years old when he walked into the office of the Chief of Police with a bag of popcorn in one hand, his badge in the other, and identified himself as the lieutenant in charge of the safety patrol program. He explained that crime was running rampant at the school and that he lacked the authority to investigate. The chief subsequently provided a badge that identified him as a junior police officer. These events started a law enforcement career that began in the sixth grade and ended when Everett retired as the first agent in charge of the Austin, Texas, DEA office. His law enforcement career was almost cut short when two bad guys attempted to kill him by dropping a railroad tie on him during an undercover drug smuggling investigation. Bill survived with serious permanent injuries and continued doing undercover work and making significant cases, including one involving a Texas chief of police.

"Have you ever found a cougar on your swing set or a moose in your driveway? Go West, Young Woman! is the true story of one family's transition from beltway living in metro Washington, D.C. to what they thought would be a 'calmer' existence in rural Montana. They soon discover how unprepared they are for the challenges ahead, both comical and adventurous. The humor of their early encounters with cattle and local customs only masks the more ominous confrontations with predators and nature. Through their journey they discover the true meaning of 'the code of the West,' a concept which has not entirely vanished from the American way of life"--Provided by publishe