Don Bendell
Encyclopedia
Don Bendell, is an American
author of 26 books, including his brand new hardcover non-fiction book TRACKS OF HOPE . . .a Memoir and the popular new historical western novel STRONGHEART (Berkley Books, Sep. 2010), 4 military thriller novels about the Global War on Terrorism
, 4 autobiographical
Vietnam
Era books, 6 science fiction
novels (written under the pen name of Ron Stillman), and 10 historical Westerns – the "Colt" series—written from 1993-2000. He was born in Akron, Ohio
, and now owns a ranch outside Florence, Colorado
.
As an author of 26 books, Bendell draws his characters and storylines from a vivid imagination and personal life experience. A disabled Vietnam veteran he is a former United States Army Special Forces
captain and served in Vietnam
1968-1969, including a tour on a Green Beret A-team (Dak Pek) in Vietnam, was also in the Top Secret Phoenix Program
, and was medically-evacuated from South Vietnam in 1969. In the early 80s, he wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in a low-budget, martial arts/action movie, The Instructor which was shown in 164 countries worldwide. He also moved to Colorado
in the early 1980s becoming a big game guide and outfitter for a time and furthering his tracking skills gained through decades of bowhunting, scouting, Special Forces experience, and spending lots of days and nights in the wilderness. As a volunteer tracker, he has tracked children and adults lost in the mountains, trailed cop-killers, worked alongside trackers of the Navajo Tribal Police, ran down leads for the FBI, and has helped track, locate, and recover the bodies of lost hikers. To that end, after numerous requests, Don wrote his hardcover TRACKS OF HOPE . . .a Memoir released in August, 2011 by Gold Minds Publishing, LLC of Nashville in which Don details some of his tracking cases, several of which were national news stories. He has spoken around the country and was even made an Honorary Oklahoman by then-Lieutenant Governor but now Governor Mary Fallin and the state House of Representaives of Oklahoma. On September 27, 2006, Don was appointed to the Colorado Governor's Council on Physical Fitness by former Governor Bill Owens, and was re-appointed by current Governor Bill Ritter on November 13, 2008, and reappointed again in November 2010. In 2007, then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson honored John Elway and Don Bendell in a speech at the Denver VA Medical Center stating that Don Bendell was the ideal example of how a disabled Vietnam veteran could overcome numerous physical obstacles with a good exercise and diet program and live a healthy fulfilling life. Nicholson pointed out that at the time, Don was 60 years old but doing 1,000 pushups at a time and 1,000 crunches per day.
Bendell is a Grandmaster instructor in 4 martial arts (Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do, Freestyle Karate, Judo, Jujitsu)and is a Black Sash instructor in Muay Thai, has over 45 years of experience in the martial arts, is Head of Style of Shita Jujitsu and Shita Judo, is a 1995 inductee into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame, and owns karate
schools in southern Colorado
called Bendell Karate. His wife Shirley was also inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame in December, 2010, the third woman ever, making them the first couple in history to both be inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame. Don Bendell says he still teaches the martial arts to keep his sanity as an author and regards it more as a ministry of sorts. Bendell's editorials have been widely-published in newspapers and magazines like Red County, the Buffalo Gap News, the (Pueblo) Chieftain
, (Colorado Springs) Gazette
, New Media Journal, and have been circulated by millions all over the world on the Internet
. He has been interviewed by Martha McCallum on Fox News and on many radio
shows, and speaks all over the country. Working with the POWNetwork.org, he has also been very instrumental in exposing phony Green Berets and wannabe war heroes, such as federally-convicted former Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy.
Don Bendell is currently writing a new western novel, BLOOD-FEATHER which will be released worldwide in the May, 2012 by his publisher Berkley Books and is the sequel to the very popular STRONGHEART, which is drawing critical comparisons to the best works of Louis L'Amour
and Zane Grey
. Like STRONGHEART, his previous novel a contemporary military thriller about modern-day Delta Force called DETACHMENT DELTA and is available through [www.amazon.com] and at many stores and bookstores worldwide. It was released January 9, 2009 and STRONGHEART was released exactly one year later. Bendell's trilogy of military thrllers the CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DETACHMENT series is complete with the second and third book, BROKEN BORDERS, and BAMBOO BATTLEGROUND, also in release worldwide.
In Waco, Texas on June 11, 2011, Don was featured at a "Meet the Authors" Read West Foundation conference, along with western authors Stephen Harrigan and William Gronesman III and all three were presented with the first annual awards for Excellence in Western Literature.
Bendell is the father of 6 grown children, has 9 grandchildren, a Master of Science Degree in Leadership from Grand Canyom University and a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Colorado Christian University
. Don loves bowhunting for big game, fishing, dancing, sports, poetry, and the Denver Broncos. 2 of his 4 sons are currently also in the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets). His oldest daughter, Brooke, was a Christian missionary converting Muslims into Christians in India and Africa.
Don Bendell is a Decade Life Member and former President (2001–2003) of the Rocky Mountain Chapter (4/24) of the Special Forces Association, the Special Operations Association, Western Writers of America, Military Writers Society of America, ReadWest.org, Life member of the VFW, DAV, and a member of the American Legion.
When asked about his occupation, Don usually grins and replies, "I am an American cowboy with a real horse and a real ranch." His 190-acre ranch ranch south of Florence, Colorado is called the Strongheart Ranch after his new western character. He and Shirley have horses, and raise red and black angus cattle and peacocks.
’s Spur Award
, are:
All published by Signet Westerns (Penguin)
. He also wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in the motion picture The Instructor
(Shapiro Entertainment/Vestron, 1984).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of 26 books, including his brand new hardcover non-fiction book TRACKS OF HOPE . . .a Memoir and the popular new historical western novel STRONGHEART (Berkley Books, Sep. 2010), 4 military thriller novels about the Global War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, 4 autobiographical
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
Era books, 6 science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels (written under the pen name of Ron Stillman), and 10 historical Westerns – the "Colt" series—written from 1993-2000. He was born in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, and now owns a ranch outside Florence, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
As an author of 26 books, Bendell draws his characters and storylines from a vivid imagination and personal life experience. A disabled Vietnam veteran he is a former United States Army Special Forces
United States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
captain and served in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
1968-1969, including a tour on a Green Beret A-team (Dak Pek) in Vietnam, was also in the Top Secret Phoenix Program
Phoenix Program
The Phoenix Program |phoenix]]) was a controversial counterinsurgency program designed, coordinated, and executed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , United States special operations forces, and the Republic of Vietnam's security apparatus during the Vietnam War that operated...
, and was medically-evacuated from South Vietnam in 1969. In the early 80s, he wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in a low-budget, martial arts/action movie, The Instructor which was shown in 164 countries worldwide. He also moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the early 1980s becoming a big game guide and outfitter for a time and furthering his tracking skills gained through decades of bowhunting, scouting, Special Forces experience, and spending lots of days and nights in the wilderness. As a volunteer tracker, he has tracked children and adults lost in the mountains, trailed cop-killers, worked alongside trackers of the Navajo Tribal Police, ran down leads for the FBI, and has helped track, locate, and recover the bodies of lost hikers. To that end, after numerous requests, Don wrote his hardcover TRACKS OF HOPE . . .a Memoir released in August, 2011 by Gold Minds Publishing, LLC of Nashville in which Don details some of his tracking cases, several of which were national news stories. He has spoken around the country and was even made an Honorary Oklahoman by then-Lieutenant Governor but now Governor Mary Fallin and the state House of Representaives of Oklahoma. On September 27, 2006, Don was appointed to the Colorado Governor's Council on Physical Fitness by former Governor Bill Owens, and was re-appointed by current Governor Bill Ritter on November 13, 2008, and reappointed again in November 2010. In 2007, then-Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson honored John Elway and Don Bendell in a speech at the Denver VA Medical Center stating that Don Bendell was the ideal example of how a disabled Vietnam veteran could overcome numerous physical obstacles with a good exercise and diet program and live a healthy fulfilling life. Nicholson pointed out that at the time, Don was 60 years old but doing 1,000 pushups at a time and 1,000 crunches per day.
Bendell is a Grandmaster instructor in 4 martial arts (Song Moo Kwan Tae Kwon Do, Freestyle Karate, Judo, Jujitsu)and is a Black Sash instructor in Muay Thai, has over 45 years of experience in the martial arts, is Head of Style of Shita Jujitsu and Shita Judo, is a 1995 inductee into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame, and owns karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
schools in southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
called Bendell Karate. His wife Shirley was also inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame in December, 2010, the third woman ever, making them the first couple in history to both be inducted into the International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame. Don Bendell says he still teaches the martial arts to keep his sanity as an author and regards it more as a ministry of sorts. Bendell's editorials have been widely-published in newspapers and magazines like Red County, the Buffalo Gap News, the (Pueblo) Chieftain
Chieftain
Chieftain may refer to:The leader or head of a group:* a tribal chief or a village head.* a member of the 'House of chiefs'.* a captain, to which 'chieftain' is etymologically related.* Clan chief, the head of a Scottish clan....
, (Colorado Springs) Gazette
Gazette
A gazette is a public journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.In English- and French-speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name Gazette since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers bear the name The Gazette.Gazette is a loanword from the...
, New Media Journal, and have been circulated by millions all over the world on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. He has been interviewed by Martha McCallum on Fox News and on many radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
shows, and speaks all over the country. Working with the POWNetwork.org, he has also been very instrumental in exposing phony Green Berets and wannabe war heroes, such as federally-convicted former Atlantic City Mayor Bob Levy.
Don Bendell is currently writing a new western novel, BLOOD-FEATHER which will be released worldwide in the May, 2012 by his publisher Berkley Books and is the sequel to the very popular STRONGHEART, which is drawing critical comparisons to the best works of Louis L'Amour
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
and Zane Grey
Zane Grey
Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular adventure novels and stories that presented an idealized image of the Old West. Riders of the Purple Sage was his bestselling book. In addition to the success of his printed works, they later had second lives and continuing influence...
. Like STRONGHEART, his previous novel a contemporary military thriller about modern-day Delta Force called DETACHMENT DELTA and is available through [www.amazon.com] and at many stores and bookstores worldwide. It was released January 9, 2009 and STRONGHEART was released exactly one year later. Bendell's trilogy of military thrllers the CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DETACHMENT series is complete with the second and third book, BROKEN BORDERS, and BAMBOO BATTLEGROUND, also in release worldwide.
In Waco, Texas on June 11, 2011, Don was featured at a "Meet the Authors" Read West Foundation conference, along with western authors Stephen Harrigan and William Gronesman III and all three were presented with the first annual awards for Excellence in Western Literature.
Bendell is the father of 6 grown children, has 9 grandchildren, a Master of Science Degree in Leadership from Grand Canyom University and a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Colorado Christian University
Colorado Christian University
Colorado Christian University is a private, interdenominational Christian liberal arts university in Lakewood, Colorado in the United States...
. Don loves bowhunting for big game, fishing, dancing, sports, poetry, and the Denver Broncos. 2 of his 4 sons are currently also in the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets). His oldest daughter, Brooke, was a Christian missionary converting Muslims into Christians in India and Africa.
Don Bendell is a Decade Life Member and former President (2001–2003) of the Rocky Mountain Chapter (4/24) of the Special Forces Association, the Special Operations Association, Western Writers of America, Military Writers Society of America, ReadWest.org, Life member of the VFW, DAV, and a member of the American Legion.
When asked about his occupation, Don usually grins and replies, "I am an American cowboy with a real horse and a real ranch." His 190-acre ranch ranch south of Florence, Colorado is called the Strongheart Ranch after his new western character. He and Shirley have horses, and raise red and black angus cattle and peacocks.
Code of the West
Bendell applies his version of the “Code of the West” to his Westerns and his life:- Cowboys should treat women like ladies, period.
- Cowboys fight fair, they fight only when they have to, and when they do have to fight, they win, period.
- You know exactly where you stand with a cowboy. There are no gray areas, only black and white, but not when it comes to skin color.
- A cowboy is only as good as his word.
- A cowboy protects his family, spread, and community.
- A cowboy will fight for, and take care of orphans, widows, and those who are oppressed.
- A cowboy will go out of his way to avoid a fight and is always willing to share his grub, campfire, and water.
- A cowboy believes in his GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, and he believes in AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and will fight and die to protect either.
Colt series
Westerns, "Colt" series, of which four were nominated for the prestigious Western Writers of AmericaWestern Writers of America
Western Writers of America, founded 1953, promotes literature, both fiction and non-fiction, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional western fiction, the more than five hundred current members also include historians and other non-fiction writers as well as authors...
’s Spur Award
Spur Award
The Spur Award is an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America. Founded in 1953 with only four categories , the award today has expanded to include the following categories:...
, are:
- Chief of Scouts (1993)
- Horse Soldiers (1993)
- Colt (1994)
- Coyote Run (1994)
- Warrior (1995)
- Justis Colt (1996)
- Eagle (1997)
- Matched Colts (1998)
- Blazing Colts (1999)
- War Bonnet (2000)
All published by Signet Westerns (Penguin)
Current novels
- Tracks of Hope . . . a Memoir (2011)
- Strongheart (2010)
- Detachment Delta (2009)
Other works
Don has also returned to writing motion picture screenplays with a Vietnam War script being negotiated entitled Yards. He is currently writing the sequel to Strongheart, which is entitled Blood Feather and which will be released worldwide in May, 2012 Berkley BooksBerkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of Penguin Group that began as an independent company in 1955. It was established by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein, who were working for Avon and formed "Chic News Company". They renamed it Berkley Publishing Co. in 1955. They soon found a niche in science fiction...
. He also wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in the motion picture The Instructor
The Instructor
The Instructor was an official periodical of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1930 and 1970, during which It was the official organ of the LDS Church's Sunday School auxiliary....
(Shapiro Entertainment/Vestron, 1984).
Also Current
- Criminal Investigation Detachment (2005)
- Broken Borders (2006)
- Bamboo Battleground (2007)
Vietnam Era books
- Crossbow (1990)
- The B-52 Overture (1992)
- Valley of Tears (1992)
- Snake-Eater (1994)
Science Fiction
(pen name "Ron Stillman" – but just the first six books in series were written by Bendell, who created the series)- Tracker (1990)
- Green Lightning (1990)
- Blood Money (1991)
- Black Phantom (1991)
- Firekill (1991)
- Death Hunt (1991)
External links
- http://www.donbendell.com/
- http://www.bendellkarate.com/
- http://strongheartranch.com/