Author Description

Bill Goines is an American hero with an exceptional life story—they say it’s destined for the Big Screen. He completed three tours in Vietnam fighting the Communist Viet Cong and orchestrated over 100 dangerous missions without ever getting shot before attaining the highest enlisted rank in the navy. While the community of U.S Navy SEALs largely accepted him for his superior abilities, he still struggled for racial acceptance at home during the Civil Rights era–many anecdotal experiences are described in the segregated town of Norfolk, Virginia. Goines, who had to teach himself how to swim because there were no public swimming pools for blacks, became highly favored in the SEALs and was selected to lead over one hundred Montagnard ethnic villagers. He successfully turned them into an elite commando force which earned him an award of recognition throughout a province in the Mekong Delta. Throughout his life Goines had gained inspiration from cultural icons such as the father of Nikki Giovanni, the distinguished professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech university, and his running mate, the first black Navy diver, Carl Brashear whose life story was subject to the film "Men of Honor" starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Robert De Niro.<br/>His story reflects the core essence of the films: “Hidden Figures”, “Black Panther” “Captain America” and “Forrest Gump” all rolled into one. And his Combat V awards tell the story.