Prologue

BELIEVE NOTHING YOU HEAR, AND ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE — A Memoir of Service, Shame, and the Search for Truth

This prologue introduces the emotional and philosophical foundation of this memoir. While many of the events it alludes to are revealed later, it offers a glimpse of the deeper truths that shaped my life’s journey.

The Prologue

My father gave me that advice when I was a boy still learning to trust the world. “JR,” he said (short for Anthony Jr.), “believe nothing you hear, and only half of what you see.” I didn’t understand it then. I thought truth was obvious and justice inevitable. But as I got older, as life broke me down and built me back in ways I never expected, those words became my anchor.

I grew up in the long, complicated shadow of a Green Beret hero. My father was the kind of man little boys want to become, and grown men feel unworthy to follow. I spent my life trying to live up to his ideals—of duty, honor, country, family, courage—and paid a high price when I couldn’t.

I served my country–I wore the uniform. And later, I was a soldier and a healer. But under the surface, I was unraveling. Crushed by trauma I didn’t yet understand. Haunted by what I saw, by what I didn’t see, and worst of all, by what others chose to believe.

There’s a moment in every man’s life when he realizes the truth doesn’t always win. That moment came for me like a whisper—a rumor. One lie was enough to destroy a reputation I spent decades building. And it wasn’t the first. It wouldn’t be the last.

I’ve been judged for things I didn’t do. Lost friends, careers, my peace of mind. I’ve walked into rooms where the air went still. I’ve watched good people turn away because they heard something. That’s why I live by my father’s words now more than ever.

This memoir is not just about service—it’s about shame. It’s about how the system fails, how silence protects the wrong people, and how strength sometimes means learning to survive in your own skin.

I’m telling this story not to clear my name, but to reclaim my life. To show that even in the aftermath of lies, there is still truth worth telling—and a man still worth knowing.

So read what follows with open eyes. And remember what my father said.

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