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Robert Heath Author, Blowing Rock, NC (2025)

03/31/2025

April is MILITARY BRATS’ MONTH!
As the 3rd of 9 Army Brats brought into this world by Sgt. Maj. and Mrs. Heath, I am forever thankful for the life we were all provided.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dad was drafted into the Army. Mom and Dad had been engaged throughout most of his training. During that time, Mom started going to one-room school house teachers’ college Wautoma, WI.
In June of ’42, Dad was at Ft. Crook, NE and Mom was on spring break from school. He called her, saying, “I think we should get married soon, and I know you plan to keep going to school to be a teacher. If you’ll quit school and marry me, I’ll provide you with your own kindergarten!” Shortly afterwards she was on her way to Omaha to get married. The 1st of the 9 Brat kindergartners was conceived just before Dad was shipped off to N. Africa to join the war.
Being a Brat is what inspired me to write our historical memoire, Growing Up Army. In that process, it became clear to me that growing up in the military was fun for many of us, but also very difficult for others. For me personally, it was just, "OK, when are we going, and where?" I believe that, having a family with 8 siblings made it easier for us. Below are a couple of thoughts about it.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

02/02/2025

SMaj. Dad, the Occasional Curmudgeon’s Birthday

I’m running about a week late on this – Jan. 26th marked Sgt. Major Dad’s 104th birthday – we all miss him a lot and thank him often for the life he and the Army provided Mom and their 9 kids, growing up around our world.
National Curmudgeon Day (Jan. 29th) reminded me of this next thing. As much as we love and honor Dad, who, while he served our country honorably and was generally friendly and loved to have fun, he had a few “curmudgeon” moments, which are noted in the historical – sometimes, hysterical - memoir, Growing Up Army. I often wonder if other Brats experienced some of those moments growing up with military dads.
One such curmudgeon-ish moment came when he was stationed at Ft. Gordon, GA. Dad told us, over the years, that getting Cs on a report card was OK, because Cs are average and most of the world is average. Well, suddenly, he wanted to promote straight As, so he offered $20 to anyone bringing home straight As. (At this time, the oldest 4 of 9 Brats had left the nest.) Brat 6, Jim, decided to go for it, and he did, with one of them being an A-. Did Jim get his $20 from Sgt. Maj. Dad? NO! He said, “An A- is NOT an A!” Fortunately for Jim, Mom later (secretly) handed him the $20, saying, “You earned this!”. Jim never went for it again.
Rest in peace, Dad. We love, honor and respect you, and always will.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

02/02/2025

SMaj. Dad, the Fun, Happy, Occasional Curmudgeon’s Birthday

I’m running about a week late on this – Jan. 26th marked Sgt. Major Dad’s 104th birthday – we all miss him a lot and thank him often for the life he and the Army provided Mom and their 9 kids, growing up around our world.
National Curmudgeon Day (Jan. 29th) reminded me of this next thing. As much as we love and honor Dad, who, while he served our country honorably and was generally friendly and loved to have fun, he had a few “curmudgeon” moments, which are noted in the historical – sometimes, hysterical - memoir, Growing Up Army. I often wonder if other Brats experienced some of those moments growing up with military dads.
One such curmudgeon-ish moment came when he was stationed at Ft. Gordon, GA. Dad told us, over the years, that getting Cs on a report card was OK, because Cs are average and most of the world is average. Well, suddenly, he wanted to promote straight As, so he offered $20 to anyone bringing home straight As. (At this time, the oldest 4 of 9 Brats had left the nest.) Brat 6, Jim, decided to go for it, and he did, with one of them being an A-. Did Jim get his $20 from Sgt. Maj. Dad? NO! He said, “An A- is NOT an A!” Fortunately for Jim, Mom later (secretly) handed him the $20, saying, “You earned this!”. Jim never went for it again.
Rest in peace, Dad. We love, honor and respect you, and always will.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

12/27/2024

Monday, December 30th marks the 80th anniversary of the German air raid on the 431st AAA AW Battalion, H.Q. Battery in Mutzig, France in 1944 - a little over 4 months prior to the German's surrender. Staff Sgt. Richard Heath (our Dad) was among those wounded in that strike. Mom's parents received the telegram, which they took to our Mom.
After Dad recovered from his wound and was honorably discharged, he worked in civilian life for 1 1/2 years, didn't like it, and re-enlisted in the Army. He and Mom had 9 kids throughout Dad's career - I'm 3rd of 9 adventurous brats.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

08/22/2024

Re: National Cousins Day – July 24

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about Growing Up Army, but when I saw a couple posts about National Cousins Day, it struck a cord inside me. As an adult, I’ve gotten to know, distantly, a few of my cousins – I have many, but sadly, I know very few of them.
Any military brat can relate to this, because we never stayed in any place very long, and were often either overseas in another country, or on the other side of our country from where our cousins lived. For me and my 8 siblings, our location in the world changed every 1 – 3 years.
Spending any amount of time with extended family only occurred for brief periods when we returned from overseas, or just before we left the states to go far away. That always meant time with grandparents, and maybe a little time with an aunt and uncle or two and their kids. A few pics of those times are attached.
That said, I have been very pleased as an adult that my own kids have gotten to know all of their cousins quite well, due to many annual family gatherings since Dad retired from the Army.

Growing Up Army is available at warrenpublishing.net , Amazon, Books-A-Million and most other online book outlets. You can contact the author (me) at [email protected] .
Robert Heath Author

04/04/2024

Here we are - it's Military Brats' Month! Being a Brat is what inspired me to write Growing Up Army. In that process, it became clear to me that growing up in the military was fun for many of us, but also very difficult for many of us. For me personally, it was just, "OK, when are we going, and where?" I believe that, having a family with 8 siblings made it all easier for us. Below are a couple of thoughts about it.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

03/08/2024

For this International Women’s Day, it is my honor, on behalf of myself and my 8 siblings, to celebrate our mother, Virginia Mae Heath. Mom grew up in the Great Depression and lived a nomadic life as her dad took on various carpentry jobs around Wisconsin. Graduating from Waupaca H.S. in 1942, her classmates lauded her as a “geometry wizard”, “really smart in Chemistry”, and “the girl who always knew a lot in English”.
After they had been engaged for a year, she married Dad, who had been drafted shortly after Pearl Harbor. They were able to be together for a few months before he was sent to join the war in North Africa. Mom gave birth to our oldest brother 4 days after the end of the N. Africa campaign, defeating the Axis forces. Dad was in Tunisia then.
Dad continued his service in the army after the war, and Mom and the ever-growing brood of Brats followed him around our world. Because Dad was usually gone a month or more before we joined him, our amazing Mom was responsible to make sure we all got our vaccinations and were packed and ready to go when she got our port call. She did this, and so much more, without any angst or confusion and she never got upset. She just let us know what we needed to do and made sure we did it.
GINNY MAE LIVED TO THE AGE OF 100 + 3 WEEKS, hanging on until just after her 100th birthday party. We all love her, miss her and are so thankful for the life she and our Dad provided us.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author

01/15/2024

Warren Publishing, Inc.
January 10 at 4:00 PM ·
Rave Review Rollout Time! We are highlighting the awesome review that Robert R. Heath, Sr. received for his memoir Growing Up Army from D. Donovan with Midwest Book Review. Growing Up Army chronicles The Heath Brat Platoon of nines many exploits, where brat number three has shared their wonderful and joyous family adventures. Check it out below.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/.../Growing_Up_Army...
Robert Heath Author See less

01/15/2024

Rave Review Rollout Time! We are highlighting the awesome review that Robert R. Heath, Sr. received for his memoir Growing Up Army from D. Donovan with Midwest Book Review. Growing Up Army chronicles The Heath Brat Platoon of nines many exploits, where brat number three has shared their wonderful and joyous family adventures. Check it out below.
https://www.warrenpublishing.net/store/p467/Growing_Up_Army_%28Hard_Cover%29_By_Robert_Heath_Sr..html
Robert Heath Author

12/30/2023

On this day 79 years ago, Dad was wounded in an air raid while positioned near Mutzig, France. The war would be over within a few months and he was honorably discharged once his wound healed. After civilian life for a year and a half, he reenlisted and was sent to Yokohama, Japan, where I was born.
Attached is a picture of him, probably in Sardinia, holding a dandelion, and a copy of the Morning Report describing the air raid in which he was wounded.
Read more about his time in the war and our times Growing Up Army, available through WarrenPublishing.net, Amazon, and most online book stores.

12/19/2023

This is a bit lengthy, but it speaks so truly to what so many of us experienced as military brats. My best friend from 12th grade (my 3rd HS), Duncan Grant, owner and publisher of Sporting Classics magazine, read my book recently (Growing Up Army) and wrote this incredible review. The last line struck me very deeply:

Growing Up Army is about the lives of an American soldier, Sgt. Major Dick Heath, his wife Jinny and their nine adventurous children. Employing the viewpoints of these children, born during and following World War II, the book provides unique insight into their military-centered, very mobile lives. By the end of the book, you’ll understand why today the Heaths and many others like them proudly call themselves “Military Brats.”
I met the author, Robert R. Heath, in the 12th grade at Lower Richland High School in the fall of 1965. He sat right behind me in physics class. On learning that his father was in the Army and Bob had been in Columbia only a year or so, I felt sorry for him. It must be terrible to be yanked out of a school and moved hundreds, or thousands of miles away from friends, I thought.
As I got to know him better, our differences seemed to grow. I grew up on my grandfather’s farm. I had roots. Bob grew up in Japan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Taiwan, Washington and Germany. I was in awe of his “world view.” Little seemed to faze him, his brothers or his sister. (At seven years old, he was arrested by Taiwan’s Chiang Kai-shek). On the other hand, he and I were united by music, girls, cars and that sense of freedom and optimism that seems to infect young people the most.
Bob and I have now been friends for nearly 60 years. From his modest upbringing, I watched him put himself through college, raise a family of his own, get a Ph.D, become a SC Middle School Principal Of The Year, then a college professor. Now, he’s written this powerful book. I’m not surprised. He had great parents who taught him to stand on his own two feet while never letting him forget that he was loved. Still, this book was eye-opening for me. I learned something: I had roots. Bob and his siblings had wings.

Growing Up Army is available at warrenpublishing.net , and at most online book sales locations.

11/25/2023

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! As we have done for the last 6 decades since Sgt. Major Dad retired from the Army, we have all gathered for Thanksgiving. We lost Dad in 2005 and Mom in 2022, a few weeks after her 100th birthday party.
We got these Proud Army Brat t-shirts for each of our sibs for this year's Thanksgiving, both to honor Dad & Mom and to demonstrate our forever thanks for growing up as Army Brats. The front of each shirt denotes each Brat's place in the Heath Brat Platoon - I'm 3rd of 9. Note that there is only ONE pink Proud Army Brat in the Platoon. You'll also note Brats 7 & 9 are holding 8's t-shirt between them, as he was AWOL for this year's celebration. Click on the link below to order a copy of our story, Growing Up Army. It's also available on most other book sellers' websites.
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.warrenpublishing.net%2Fstore%2Fp467%2FGrowing_Up_Army_%2528Hard_Cover%2529_By_Robert_Heath_Sr..html&h=AT32suo0lhkv_gUu2SwdLRbL7Hu2f2GU7xyVUio6Pn461rmDsetJrLQZJ4cYN3xnu9rDQWoy1wE_iZZmRvcecie8z4lK7XaKurQZugyORrznsjEtQNLnDRrxcW6HOV6xY-iB&rms=v2&irms=true
Robert Heath Author

11/11/2023

Thank you to all Vets who have served and are serving our country!
One pic is Dad in Sardinia in WWII; after the war he reenlisted and served through '72; the other is my older brother Dave in Vietnam in '68. Oldest SibBrat Dan served before Vietnam in Ethiopia; I served on a submarine tender in Charleston, SC from '68-'70, and younger SibBrat Mike served in the Air Force National Guard from '70 - '72.
Also, my son Rob served in the Navy during Desert Storm and daughter Lisa served in the Army a couple years later.

11/05/2023

2 pics didn't upload, so I'm re-doing this:
The pictures are Mom with oldest Brat Dan in '43 - Dad was in Tunisia during WWII; the 2nd pic is Dad with baby Brat Pat in '63 in Heidelberg, Germany. Seven additional Brats joined the Heath Brat Platoon in those 20 yrs. between these two in various places around our world. Mom was the primary organizer for most of our moves - as is probably the case for most military families.
Needless to say, Dad was excited to hear about his 1st-born son. Among other things, he wrote to Mom, "When the war is over I think a good idea would be to have a family reunion and do a little showing off of my little family. I'm mighty proud of them and they are two of the swellest people to show off that I know of."
Growing Up Army can be found at warrenpublishing.net , Amazon, Barnes & Noble and most other online book sales.

09/26/2023

Friends wanted an autographed copy of Growing Up Army and we were meeting them the other evening. Nancy wanted to put it in a gift bag and she looked through some that she had on hand - the picture was what was on both sides of the bag. It couldn't have been more perfect! My immediate thought: "It's time to move, kids!"
Growing Up Army is available at WarrenPublishing.net, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million and many others.

09/04/2023

HAPPY LABOR DAY-ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NOT LABORING!
Growing up in the Army, we were stationed in Taiwan from '52 -'55 and lived in dependents housing on what we called "Grass Mountain" - our compound was next door to Chiang Kai-shek's summer cottage.
A week ago I met an Asian lady here in Boone, NC and asked where she grew up - Taiwan, near Taipei! I described to her where we lived and she grew up about 10 minutes from there - and her Mom lives there today. She said that if I ever wanted to visit Taiwan, she would be happy to me my personal tour guide!
The pic is me, sis Rachel and bro Mike ready to go to Taipei American School.
My book, GROWING UP ARMY just published and is available on Amazon, Books-A-Million and many others.

08/23/2023

GROWING UP ARMY - The Book is now published!
When (recently drafted in the Army) Dad proposed to Mom, his girlfriend of two years, he suggested that if she quit teachers' college and married him, he would to provide her with her own kindergarten. She agreed and they were soon married - and a few months later, he was off to N. Africa and WWII.
As the nine members of the Heath Brat Platoon arrived in several places around the US and the world, they proved to be a Platoon of wildly curious, energetic, and fun-loving Brats. None of the foreign places to which MSgt Dad was stationed slowed down the Brats’ adventures, even as they witnessed historically significant events all over the globe.
In this hilarious and engaging military memoir, Robert R. Heath Sr. recounts his time growing up as the third of nine Army Brats and learning that survival comes in many shapes and sizes. It is currently available on Amazon, Books-A-Million, WarrenPublishing.net and others. Your review of Growing Up Army sent to Warren Publishing will be most appreciated!
Robert Heath Author

08/14/2023

Back to Newport News - this came up at a friend's 75th birthday party a few days ago (I just hit 75 a few mos. ago too), she had a sheet with all of the happenings in 1948. On the sheet, it noted the cost of a new home to be $11,900. Shortly after Dad was assigned to Ft. Eustis in March of '49, he and Mom bought a brand new house - I have the receipt for their $10.00 down payment on the $8,200 house. One of the pics shows us in '51 in front of the house after the addition of Brats 4 & 5 - the baby in Dan's arms is Rachie - the 1st and only girl-Brat in the Heath Brat Platoon. Keep your eyes open for GROWING UP ARMY, in print NOW!

Robert Heath Author

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