New Historical Saga Explores the Human Bonds That Outlast War
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla., September. 11th, 2026 — History often focuses on battles won, armies defeated and nations transformed. Former U.S. Naval Officer Ray Deptula shifts the focus to the ordinary people whose lives were forever changed by those events.
His two-book series, A Dog Before a Soldier and Can’t Find My Way Home, invites readers to experience the American Revolution through a frightened teenager, an enslaved man and an unlikely friendship forged in the chaos of war.
Drawing on 24 years as a U.S. Naval Aviator and Political-Military Officer, along with meticulous research, Deptula creates an unforgettable saga that reveals the human experience of the Revolutionary War, informed by someone who understands military life from the inside.
“Once you enter into the military, you become stripped of the natural tendency to put yourself first,” Deptula said. “Your major motivation is not to let your comrades down because it can be truly life and death, even in peacetime. That is the motivation Jack has throughout the story, and that Jack and Custis have for each other as they try to find their way back home to Annapolis.”
Set against the volatile backdrop of colonial America, A Dog Before a Soldier (Book One) follows teenage Jack Halliday, who — fresh off three harrowing years on a slave ship — joins the British Army in 1774 out of sheer necessity. Sent to Boston as part of the security force to help suppress a growing rebellion, Jack understands little of the political turmoil as he fights in key battles, including Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Long Island and the capture of Philadelphia, before deserting the British Army and seeking refuge in Annapolis, Maryland.
After deserting, Jack finds his way to Annapolis, where he is fortuitously taken in by a wealthy landowner who ultimately asks him to act as his surrogate in the Continental Army alongside an enslaved man named Custis. In return, Jack is welcomed into the family and promised the landowner’s daughter’s hand in marriage.
Can’t Find My Way Home (Book Two) finds Jack and Custis serving with the Continental Army after enduring the harsh winter of 1780-81 at Washington’s army encampment in New Jersey. When spring arrives, they are swept into the Battle of Camden, where the Continental forces are decimated by the British, and along with it, the American hopes of ridding the southern provinces of Britain’s new and dangerous foothold.
Separated from their army and lost in the volatile South, the unlikely pair must survive together in a world where trust is scarce, and Custis’ value as property continually tests Jack’s moral compass. Their desperate struggle to find safety and return home inspired the title Can’t Find My Way Home.
“At its heart, the series is built on one simple truth: Those who fight their nation’s wars are typically those least able to avoid it,” Deptula added. “And the motivation to withstand hardships comes not from political ideology, but from the love of your comrades.”
A Dog Before A Soldier (Those Damned Yankees Book One)
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
ISBN-13: 979-8890224002
Available from: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Soldier-Those-Damned-Yankees/dp/B0GNW1VK48
Can’t Find My Way Home (Those Damned Yankees Book Two)
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
ISBN-13: 979-8890224170
Available from https://www.amazon.com/Cant-Find-Those-Damned-Yankees/dp/B0H3RCNGLZ
About Ray Deptula
Ray Deptula is an American historical fiction author and a 24-year U.S. Navy veteran. He serves as a unique voice in historical fiction by using his direct military background—having served as a naval aviator and political-military officer in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East—to write grounded, realistic accounts of combat and human survival.
Media Contact
Company Name: Ray Deptula
Contact Person: Media Manager
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Country: United States
Website: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Soldier-Those-Damned-Yankees/dp/B0GNW1VK48
