NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

Jan. 17, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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CenTex Vet’s Historic Novel Gives Insight into Life of a ‘Green Card Soldier’

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Bruce Zielsdorf’s book narrative treks across the globe during the Bosnian holocaust as a teenage soccer star escapes to America and joins the Army. While ultimately fiction, Green Card Soldier embodies the stories of 30,000-plus refugees currently dedicating their careers and lives to the United States’ military.

CONTACT: Bruce Zielsdorf, author

Phone (254) 338-0333

E-mail  Click here

 Ashland, Ore. – Set amidst the civil war-ravaged Balkans of the early 1990s, the novel Green Card Soldier fuses fact with fiction to tell the story of Andro Babich, a naïve Bosnian teen soccer star who escapes to America where he earns refugee status, receives a “green card” and joins the U.S. Army – ultimately earning citizenship and a new life.

The author, Bruce Zielsdorf, is a 23-year Air Force veteran and retired Army civilian public affairs specialist. “This is an historic novel based on true events,” Zielsdorf explains. “I’m convinced a lot of people are intrigued by the military’s citizenship program and want to learn more. Andro’s story personifies the tens of thousands of refugees who have served our nation as non-citizens.”

Synopsis: Green Card Soldier is the story of Andro Babich, a naive, but inquisitive Bosnian teenage soccer star. His tale is told by Heath Winslow, a cynical, self-deprecating war correspondent. Set amidst the civil-war ravaged Balkans of the early '90s, Winslow recounts Andro's exploits, including his daring escape to America where he receives a “green card” and joins the Army, ultimately earning his citizenship and a brand new life. Eventually he returns to post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina as a U.S. AID worker and discovers, through trial and tribulation, his life's purpose and his role in the rebirth of his homeland.

According to the Defense Department, there are currently 30,000-plus non-citizens (about 1.6 percent of the force) serving on active duty. More than 4,100 of these unique soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in all branches of the military. On March 21, 2003, Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez – a Guatemalan native and “green card” soldier – was the first U.S. service member killed in the Iraq war.

“Since our Revolutionary War, it’s not been uncommon for refugees to take pride in America and want to show their patriotism by serving,” the author notes. “Although newspaper, magazine and blog coverage of “green card” troops has been extensive, little has been done to tell the story through the heart and mind of an individual soldier. Through this literary voyage, that’s what I attempt to do.”

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Green Card Soldier is being printed by Hellgate Press of Ashland, Ore. The publishing house’s primary niche is military history and veteran memoirs, but it also specializes in non-fiction travel, as well as historical and adventure novels.

More information about Zielsdorf’s novel, Green Card Soldier – to include the prologue, photos, fact sheets and web links – is available online at the author’s website:

Click here.

Order information is available online at the publisher’s website:

Click here

Green Card Soldier is also offered through local bookstores, or online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Indie Bound.

Paperback ISBN:  978-1-55571-756-8

E-book ISBN: 978-1-55571-757-5

About the Author: For almost 40 years, Bruce Zielsdorf has worked as a military journalist, newspaper editor and Army civilian public relations practitioner at locations around the globe. From drafting feature stories during the Vietnam era through coverage of the Lake Placid Olympics, he's documented airmen at work worldwide through his writing, editing and photographic skills – an Air Force career that spanned 23 years.

He retired about four years ago as the civilian public affairs director at Fort Hood. That was after serving 11 years as the Army’s spokesperson in the “media capitol of the world” – New York City. Zielsdorf describes himself as a freelance writer and quality management consultant, pursuing a creative writing future in both fiction and non-fiction. Today, Bruce lives in Killeen, Central Texas.