America Leads The Way: A Boomer's Perspective on Where We Were and How Get It Back

What made America strong-and how can we find our way back?In America Leads the Way, Gary A. Van Pelt offers a deeply personal reflection on the values, experiences, and defining moments that shaped his generation and the nation he loves.Born in 1947 and raised during the 1950s, Gary grew up in an America where independence, faith, personal responsibility, hard work, strong families, and love of country were woven into everyday life. Through childhood memories, family stories, lessons from American history, and thoughtful observations about the changes he has witnessed, he explores what once united Americans-and what has gradually been lost.From the courage of ordinary citizens during the American Revolution and the leadership of figures such as Joshua Chamberlain, to stories about Gary's first car, his mother, his first Bible, the tools passed down through generations, and the importance of gathering around the dinner table, each chapter connects America's past with the choices facing families and communities today.This is not simply a book about looking backward. It is a call to remember the principles that helped America prosper and to consider how those principles can be restored-beginning in our homes, our communities, and our expectations of government and leadership.Written by Gary A. Van Pelt with his daughter, April M. Lee, America Leads the Way combines one man's life experiences with a father-and-daughter perspective on freedom, family, citizenship, and the responsibility of passing America's story to the next generation.Thought-provoking, heartfelt, and grounded in a lifelong love of country, this book invites readers to reflect on where America has been, where it is now, and how its people can help lead it forward once again.