Wim Wetzel - Surviving Death By A Thousand Cuts

SURVIVING DEATH BY A THOUSANDCUTS

Copyright 2021 Wim Wetzel

Published by Wim Wetzel atSmashwords

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Printed in the United States ofAmerica

ISBN: 9780463558638

WimPen Publishing West Palm Beach,Florida

This book is dedicated to the most importantpeople in my life. My deceased wife of 32 years Zee, my currentwife Vikie, my deceased son Wim who tragically left this world atthe young age of 27, my grandchildren; Kali, Tyler, Carlie, andEdward and to the memory of my mother Gerry, my father Willy, andmy brother Roy. A special acknowledgement goes out to my beautifulsister Jane who always inspired me as a wonderful devoted andloving mother to her children. Jane died in November 2018 afterheroically battling many medical problems. To my brother Jim I wantto say how proud I am of you for your indomitable spirit andstrength to meet and exceed all the challenges and barriers thatlife put in your way.

I would like to thank my wife Vikie forsupporting me in my efforts to write this book. It has beendifficult for her to deal with a veteran suffering from PTSD andnumerous Viet Nam service-related medical problems, but she lovedand stood beside me all the way. Even though we have only beentogether six short years at the time of this writing, she neverfailed to encourage me to write.

Additionally, this is dedicated to all thewonderful people who made a significant difference in my life andwere there when I needed them the most. Without their support,guidance, and unconditional love I would not have survived my oftentroubled but full life.

They include Marilyn (Penny Krepps) Brumbaughwho brought joy, love, support, and inspiration for me to be thebest that I could be during my teenage years. Lt. Colonel GeorgePrewitt and his beautiful wife Jane and phenomenal children Lori,Lisa, and Phillip. I cannot forget my colleague and devoted friendAlberto (Al) Capone who came through with financial assistance tosupport my son and me when I was destitute and did not have a potto pee in.

To Jim and Nancy Thompson, Blain and LindaSheppard who helped, encouraged, and kept my spirits up through myrecovery from open heart and 360 radical back surgery. Jim neverleft my side and often fed me for three weeks while I recoveredfrom the heart surgery; Blain for always watching my back in VietNam and continuing to do so today. You are my brother from anothermother Blain and I am eternally grateful for your friendship andlove; Master Sergeant Mike Black who always inspired me to be abetter leader and manager during my last four years in the AirForce.

Last, but certainly not least, Steve Fisher atNEC, and one of my dear friends who inspired me to develop, buildand launch the NEC National Training Center in Texas. WithoutSteves dogged and intense drive to obtain the financial resourcesto develop the training center and NECs support for my trainingteam led by Leigh Wolfer. Without my highly professional trainingteam I would not have been successful in that endeavor. Theadvanced and modern technology Steve and I introduced, deployed,and maintained will give NEC the valuable edge it requires toincrease its business worldwide.

With the trepidation that I am forgetting somany other great and influential people in my life, I apologize toall those great people who I have missed in this acknowledgement.You are not forgotten. You are always in my heart, thoughts andprayers and I dedicate this book to you as well as all the greatpeople who have crossed my path, and whom I have had the honor andprivilege to meet.

I want to thank my mother for her strength andsurviving her terrible over 4-year incarceration in the World WarII Japanese concentration camps only to bring me into this world. Iwant to thank my father for teaching me to never give up, to seekand obtain my lifes goals with a sense of honor and backed by ourgood name and word. I also want to thank him for teaching me whatnot to do and how not to behave through his often-terribleexamples. I thank God that I was wise enough in my early youth tobe able to determine the difference between right and wrong and,more-often-than-not choose the correct paths to follow throughoutmy life.

This memoir, written in novel form, includesfamily pictures and exclusive historical photos. It bringstransparency and truth to a complicated family history and willdisparage past vicious rumors and attempts to rewrite the historyof the Wetzel family.

The untimely brutal death of my father, WillyWetzel, was 45 years ago but stories on the internet, writtenpublications and an unauthorized movie continue to circulateconcerning my family and the circumstances surrounding Dads death.They are all based on personal opinions and speculation intended toglorify his death and aggrandize the writers tales about a familyof whom they have little factual knowledge.

This is the true story of our legal immigrantfamily. We had a price on our head, a dream in our hearts and achance to come to America. We were Dutch-Indonesian colonistsliving in South East Asia until 1950 when we made a harrowingescape from Muslim rebel insurgents and fled back toHolland.

Our journey brought us from Holland to theUnited States in 1956 where my father, the family patriarch, builtan American dynasty around a successful family business introducingmainstream America to a previously close kept secret of Indonesianstyle martial arts. As children my two younger brothers, my sisterand I were trained and groomed by our father to become the firstPoekoelan Tjimindie karate instructors in the United States. AsWilly's oldest son it is my privilege to walk you down the uniquetumultuous path through history and my familys footprint init.

There were personal challenges and triumphsover a brutally dysfunctional family, undiagnosed dyslexia, typhoidfever, and the Vietnam war. My brothers and I came of age whileserving in some of the bloodiest battles of the Viet Nam war. Weall returned home with life altering physical and mental combatinjuries which ultimately caused Roy's early death, Jim's and myongoing battles with Agent Orange-related cancers and PostTraumatic Stress Disorder. Upon our return we were greeted by afamily in crisis so intense that Roy was ultimately forced tobrutally take our fathers life in order to save his own life inself-defense and to protect his beloved daughter. This is a storyof family love and forgiveness and as the Willy Wetzels oldestson, this is my story beyond my fathers death and my journeythrough the good and bad choices I made throughout mylife.

Included at the end of this book are fourbonus chapters:

1. An excerpt of the original transcript ofRoy's murder trial.

2. I share my personal experience in dealingwith the Veterans Administration (VA) to receive the medical andother benefits I earned with the goal to give other veterans hopesand directions on how to expedite their benefits awards.

3. A first-hand glimpse into the secret worldof Poekoelan Tjmindie.