Biography
Christopher McDonald
I am a retired U.S. Navy sailor and former Executive Director and co-founder of United Soldiers and Sailors of America. My service taught me
discipline and sacrifice, but also revealed betrayal, discrimination, and the cold indifference of institutions meant to protect us.
After separating from the Navy in 2011, I faced another battlefield
I am a retired U.S. Navy sailor and former Executive Director and co-founder of United Soldiers and Sailors of America. My service taught me
discipline and sacrifice, but also revealed betrayal, discrimination, and the cold indifference of institutions meant to protect us.
After separating from the Navy in 2011, I faced another battlefield in Washington, D.C., where I tried to rebuild my life as a civilian. But instead, I succumbed to alcoholism and fornication in an attempt to mask the sadness and betrayal that followed my service, while also suffering from worsening mental health conditions and disorders. Numbing the pain only deepened it. I came to understand that the only path forward was responsibility: returning to honor, discipline, and integrity, and becoming the man others had failed to be for me.
In the fall of 2014, I returned to Syracuse, New York, my home of record, and immersed myself in writing—processing my emotions through poetry, short stories, and novels. Through this inspirational writing, I transformed pain into words, finding meaning in the process and slowly untangling the betrayal, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe anxiety, and deep sorrow that had long shadowed me since leaving the Navy. In time, those words became my lifeline, guiding me toward sobriety and revealing that there is a far better way to live than to drown in sadness, depression, and fear.
After ten years living in New York, I moved to Florida to reacquaint with my mother. There, I unfortunately faced mistreatment by the Veterans Administration. And after only one year there, I relocated to Utah and ultimately settled in Kansas, where I now reside.
I am far from perfect, but I have confronted my mistakes head-on—acknowledging the harm of my self-destructive choices, making amends where I could, and refusing to repeat the same patterns. I’m rebuilding my life piece by piece: regaining my health, strengthening my mind, reestablishing my sense of discipline, and grounding myself in a moral purpose that cannot be shaken. My resilience and healing stories are not written from theory but from lived experience, shared to help others find strength in their own struggles. With my two loving cats at my side, I live with loyalty and intention. As a writer, I speak not for applause, but because silence enables corruption.
I am a voice for reform, a steadfast defender of justice, and an unwavering advocate for my fellow veterans. My advocacy is rooted in knowing what it means to serve with honor, courage, and sacrifice—and in knowing what it feels like to be abandoned after that service. We must fight for our veterans—they have earned dignity, respect, unwavering commitment, and lasting gratitude, not the neglect too many of us have endured.
I stand for truth, discipline, and responsibility—because responsibility is the foundation of liberty, the bedrock of a just and free society. My work draws on moral philosophy and truth, guided by an unshakable resolve to restore what is right, protect what is sacred, defend the freedoms we have bled for, and preserve the values that define us all.