Hendersonville, TN, April 25, 2024 — Along with the release of his book, The Hope of War, author and retired Navy chaplain Larry Cripps will host a catered fundraiser to benefit veterans and military families. The event will take place on June 1, 2024 at Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. All proceeds from ticket sales and a portion of sponsorship funds will benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and Mighty Oaks Foundation.

Attendees get a chance to connect, relax, enjoy a meal and hear from speakers who were eyewitnesses to Cripps’ journey. They’ll also have a chance to connect with aligned sponsors, events and resources that offer hope, healing and redemption.

Cripps’ memoir carries a message of hope gathered from more than 30 years of military service. From the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia in 1969 to service at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 (9/11), he became an influential leader who spearheaded the development of combat and operational stress programs and family readiness initiatives still in use today.

The Hope of War details Cripps’ struggles with transition, survivor’s guilt and grief, and how he turned his “mess” into a “message.” By partnering with the Wounded Warrior Project and Mighty Oaks Foundation, Cripps aims to empower other veterans and families to find glimmers of hope and embers of purpose in their service and suffering.

Together, Cripps believes, we can turn the tide against isolation, despair, addiction and suicide among veterans — if we’re willing to acknowledge and discuss openly what we normally keep hidden.

“[Larry] has tackled the important and difficult subject of the horrors of war and the challenging return to civilian life.” - Bill Hagerty (U.S. Senate, TN).