Veteran - Counselor - Award-winning Journalist
Dennis L. Anderson
Dennis L. Anderson blends
his deep experience as
Army paratrooper,
war-embedded journalist,
and therapist for veterans
to engage with veterans and military families in trauma, helping them find their own
way to better living.
Bio / Profile
A U.S. Army veteran who served during the long Cold War, Dennis L. Anderson is a licensed clinical therapist who works with veterans and military families. He was awarded a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California in 2015, answering a calling to assist veterans coping with PTSD and other psychological and social impacts of service. His life and career passions ushered opportunities that resulted in an array of national journalism honors for telling real stories of people at war, at home and at work, with clarity, honesty, and eloquence.
The author and reporter began his career as an Army paratrooper in Cold War Europe, making more than 100 jumps with brothers in NATO service. With duties that included reconnaissance along Warsaw Pact borders, after the Army he shifted to reporting, often applying his experience in uniform to military journalism topics.
For more than 15 years, Dennis served as both reporter and editor for the national wire services. Beginning in Washington DC for UPI, he worked in the nation's capital, including the return American Embassy hostages from Iran, and the day President Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin. Moving to the AP in Los Angeles, he covered the NASA space shuttle program, the trials of O.J. Simpson, and emerging technologies of Hollywood. By 9/11 he had accepted the top editorial role at one of the only independent daily newspapers in California.
As Chief Editor of the Antelope Valley Press, he deployed twice to Iraq, also reporting for Editor & Publisher magazine. For his reporting on the Iraq War, as the only editor embedded with National Guard troops from his community, he was recognized as Journalist of the Year by Suburban Newspapers of America and the American Press Institute. He also was awarded 1st Place Honors by Military Reporters & Editors, and is a recipient of the California Newspaper Publishers Association's 1st Place award for Press Freedom. He is a Knight Journalism Fellow, and a distinguished visitor at the Army War College at Carlisle, PA. He is author of three critically hailed military-themed novels.
Dennis works as a therapist and social worker with an array of veteran organizations, and non-profits. He holds life memberships in the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. He is a professional speaker with history-rich, psycho-educational and motivational topics that include Avoiding The Suicide Trap for Veterans; PTSD: A War-Embedded Journalist, Veterans Counselor, and Military Dad Speaks Out; and A Family of Veterans: How the Tradition of Military Service Impacts Every Important Relationship.
Military History THRILLERS
Target Stealth
SUMMARY:
First published by Warner Books in 1990 under Cold War-era themed pen name Jack Merek. Using the author's expertise in the field of military aviation and development of stealth technologies, Anderson also used his journalism skills acquired at UPI and AP to do a deep dive into emerging terrorism threats. In the heyday of techno thrillers, this novel speculated on an American-trained team of Iranian combat pilots hijacking the nation's advanced technology bomber in an attack on America. Preceding the attacks of 9/11 by more than a decade the novel speculated how U.S. military strengths could be turned against it in an all-too-real attack on the nation's capital.
PRAISE:
"Fast paced...a natural for 'Hunt for Red October' Fans."
Lawrence Block
"Whew! Thank heavens this isn't happening in real life."
Gannett Newspapers
BlackBird
SUMMARY:
A Mach 3-Plus sequel to Target Stealth, authored by Dennis Lee Anderson under the pen name Jack Merek. The novel showcased the performance repertoire of the black world spy plane that still holds the record for flight speed a generation after its retirement. The novel, from the debut era of military techno-thrillers, speculated on a final mission over the Middle East by the SR-71 Blackbird and its Yeager-esque test pilot hero to determine evidence of chemical weapons stockpiles, published on the eve of Operation Desert Storm and the Cold War's climax.
PRAISE:
"Good reading...one of the few books that hits the right mix of fact and fiction. I enjoyed it very much."
Chuck Yeager
"Fast-moving, realistic and thought-provoking ... the new high ground for techno thrillers."
Walter Boyne,
founder of Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine and co-author of "The Wild Blue"
ArthuR, KING
SUMMARY:
A speculative novel about the Battle of Britain when civilization hung on the narrow margin of the pilot knights of the Royal Air Force. The first novel published under the author's name, Dennis Lee Anderson, Arthur, King is a military history thriller that combines with the alternate history-fantasy genres. King Arthur of Camelot is transported in time, and must learn his way in 20th century warfare, learning how to pilot an aircraft called a Spitfire, that is fittingly outfitted with a Merlin engine. His nemesis is Mordred, who has found his way through time to fly for Hermann Goering with the Nazi Luftwaffe. The novel includes a '40s romance between Flight Officer King and an RAF nurse, set to "Moonlight Serenade."
PRAISE:
"A great book for Arthur enthusiasts. World War II buffs
will also like it for the gritty realism of the outnumbered RAF and the ceaseless air war over Britain."
Rambles Magazine