Two California State University, San Bernardino’s Written by Veterans project authors have recently garnered national attention.

Lt. Col. John J. McBrearty (U.S. Army retired), a former assistant professor of military science at CSUSB, was interviewed by CBS/KCAL Channel 9 for the network’s “On Your Side: Veterans’ Voices” program about the second in his series of books, “COMBAT ESSAYS – American History, a Veteran’s Perspective.” His interview was seen by over 100,000 viewers when it aired July 4 on CBS Los Angeles and will be repeated on weekends. The interview can be viewed online at “Retired Lt. Col. John McBrearty, U.S. Army veteran and author talks about his books.”

Charlie Frye, an Army veteran and author of the “Duty in the Call of Liberty” book series on the American Revolution, is an information scientist and the chief cartographer at global geographic information system company Esri, headquartered in Redlands. He will be an advisor to legendary filmmaker Ken Burns on his upcoming documentary series on the American Revolution. Frye will provide insights on historical maps and the geography of colonial America for the project. 

“I am so proud of our authors,” stated founder and facilitator of Written by Veterans, Andreas Kossak. “Their extensive professional experience and research are being recognized, and the opportunities that have emerged exceed anything they could have imagined when they began their writing journey with us.”

Written by Veterans is an initiative of CSUSB’s Veterans Success Center. Launched originally in 2014, it has evolved into a hybrid writing group for veterans to grow their writing skills and eventually publish their work through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. There is no cost to the participants to join or be members, and they retain all rights and proceeds from their book sales. The only cost they incur is the fee for registering their books’ copyrights.

As of 2022, more than 60 books have been published through the initiative’s efforts. Written by Veterans has been a regular at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books since 2015 and participates in other area book fairs. These gatherings allow veteran writers to connect with readers (and future readers) of their work.

“I cannot imagine anything more exciting than a writer seeing their words make such an impact,” said Agustin Ramirez, the Veterans Success Center director. “Writing can be such solitary work. News like this energizes the whole group.”

More information on the work of John J. McBrearty (“Col. Mack”) can be found at www.johnwriteshistory.com.

More information on Charlie Frye’s work can be found at the Duty in the Cause of Liberty website.

For more information, visit the Veterans Success Center website or contact the CSUSB Veterans Success Center at (909) 537-5195 or vsc@csusb.edu. And visit the Written by Veterans website for more information on the program.