Featured Charli Jane Speaker
A guy’s Guy and a true American Hero – Guy D. Gruters
The term “hero” is used a lot these days, so we may have become a little jaded when we hear it. If there ever was a person who deserved to be called a Hero, however, it is father of seven, riveting and seasoned Professional Speaker & Family Homesteading Consultant Guy D. Gruters. He is a retired U.S. Air Force Captain & Fighter Pilot, former Vietnam War POW, and successful corporate leader. During the time before and after his service in Vietnam, Guy and his wife Sandy were blessed with seven children, and he draws on his experience as a father in his current work with families.
Growing up in New Jersey, his favorite interests were camping, hunting and trapping. After graduating from the Air Force Academy with a BS in Engineering Science, Guy earned his Master’s Degree in Astronautical Engineering from Purdue University. After Pilot Training and fighter gunnery school, he volunteered for Vietnam and served six years there, more than five of which were as a POW. He completed more than 400 combat missions as an FAC, first for the 173rd Airborne Brigade flying O-1 aircraft and then flying F-100s for the MISTY Fast FACS flying over North Vietnam. He was awarded more than 30 combat awards including two Silver Stars, two DFCs, two purple hearts, two bronze stars for valor, a Presidential Unit citation, POW medal, 20 air medals and numerous other medals. He was shot down twice and captured the second time, on December 20, 1967. Guy joined Eastern Airlines as a pilot, flying DC-9s and Boeing 727s, and retired as a Captain in 1991.
In his book, “Locked Up With God, My Best Thirteen Speeches,” Guy shares life-changing insights and experiences on Faith, Family, and Combat and Prison Camp. There have been two additional books written with stories about Guy, “Bury Us Upside Down,” by Rick Newman and Don Shepperd, and “Misty,” by Major General Don Shepperd, USAF (Ret.).
Partnering with his brother, Peter, Guy now works to strengthen families by facilitating their return to traditional living on five-ten countryside acre plots with large gardens and numerous domestic animals.
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