Walt and Barb's Family Update — June 2025

Here are the contents of this month’s newsletter:

BIG NEWS: We’re relocating to the Atlanta area
My Dad’s story was featured in several media events on Memorial Day Weekend
At First Light makes a huge jump in Amazon sales rankings
“Get Outdoors!” — Today’s Christian Living column for May 2025
Dad’s book gifted to a newly commissioned Army officer

1. BIG NEWS: We’re relocating to the Atlanta area

Decatur, Georgia

Barb and I will be relocating from Colorado Springs to Decatur, GA (in the Atlanta area) sometime this summer. Our house will go on the market this week!

We’ve lived in the Springs longer than we’ve lived anywhere — almost 25 years. We’ll miss our close friends, amazing church family, and fruitful ministries (marriage, discipleship, and Bible study groups), but are certain the Lord has a new work and church community for us there

Our reasons for relocating to Atlanta are (1) family and (2) health. In Decatur, we’ll be very close to Scott, Jen, and the granddaughters and will cherish that. Also, my sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoxia (low oxygen levels) are altitude related. In Atlanta, I’ll hoping to be off CPAP and nighttime oxygen, will not need Inspire surgery, and it is likely my mild right heart issues will quickly normalize.

So, it’s time for a major move and a new chapter for us.

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2. My Dad’s story was featured in several media events on Memorial Day Weekend

Op-Ed in The Blaze

I was delighted to see stories about my father’s WWII exploits and heroics featured on several media outlets during the Memorial Day weekend.

My favorite was “The Army called him a handicap. History calls him a hero” that was an Op-Ed on Blaze Media on May 24.
On May 25, The Daily Wire ran an excerpt of Chapter 3 from the book, which was titled “A Day of Infamy.” The titled the excerpt, “From Picnic to Peril: How A Young Couple’s World Was Shattered by Japan’s Attack on Pearl Harbor. Philip Larimore Jr. understood that he was destined for war.”
I had the privilege of doing interviews on:
- A segment on the SiriusXM Patriot Channel’s The Wilkow Majority
- A segment on the SiriusXM David Webb show
- A segment on the Salem Radio’s Shaun Thompson show
I was also honored to be on the Heroes Behind the Headlines” podcast. I’ll let you know when it’s posted online.

**3. At First Light makes a huge jump in Amazon sales rankings**

Largely, I’m sure, due to the media events described above, At First Light: A True World War II Story of a Hero, His Bravery, and an Amazing Horse, jumped up in the Amazon Sales Rankings:

4. Dad’s book gifted to a newly commissioned Army officer

I was pleased to receive this note from an Army Infantry Captain from Dad’s unit, the 3rd Infantry Division:

Good evening, Dr. Larimore. Sir, please forgive me if I’m reaching you at too late of an hour, I don’t recall what time zone you may be in.

You met me as a 1LT … from the 3ID Protocol Team in 2023 [when Dad was inducted into the 3rd ID Marne Hall of Fame at Fort Stewart, Georgia]. I wanted to reach out to share a connection I had you may enjoy.

I am 2021 alumni of Missouri State University and while back visiting in 2022, I met a freshman ROTC cadet whom I gave my 3ID patch too, as we had a lot in common as we both grew up riding horses and she knew she wanted to go active duty.

Full circle, she reached out this year to tell me she received her first choice of Active Duty & got orders to 3ID.

As a commissioning gift, I ordered her a copy of your book, At First Light to continue to share the love of horses & our historic division.

It was a phenomenal read, and I wanted you to know your dad continues to inspire & change history.

Thanks for sharing his story. Have a wonderful night sir, it was an honor to meet you.

Truly, Ma’am, the honor was mine.

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5. Top Ten Blogs from May

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6. Memorial Day Weekend Blogs

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7. Last Month’s Family, Health, and WWII blogs

A. Last month’s family blogs

- Walt and Barb’s Family Update — May 2025

B. Last month’s health blogs

- Get Outdoors! — Today’s Christian Living May 2025
- Faith-Building Questions for Grandparents to Connect with Grandkids

C. Last month’s WWII blogs

I’m continuing a blog on most days following my father’s exploits and adventures during WWII. Each blog will represent what he and the men with whom he was fighting were doing 80 years ago on the exact day of the blog. Here are last month’s blogs:

D. All previous WWII blogs are listed here.

If you want to sign up to receive an email about each blog when it’s posted, sign up for free here.

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8. Last Month’s Happenings

May was a busy media month. The publisher of my WWII book, At First Light, is having a publicity push by the WooGirl PR agency in Nashville in honor of:
- The 250th anniversary of the birthday of the Army,
- The 100th anniversary of Dad’s birth,
- The 80th anniversary of the end of WWII and the birth of Army equine therapies that are today successful across our great nation because of the vision of my father when he was a 20-year-old amputee, and
- The 75th anniversary of military officers with a major limb loss being able to serve the military and the country they love because of a young amputee, my dad, who fought for them, their honor, and their future, instead of personal glory.
- You can see links to most of the interviews and stories above.
Barb finished her weekly teaching and fellowship with the “Moms to Moms” ministry at our church where “mature” moms mentored “young moms,” as well as her weekly neighborhood Bible study.
Both Barb and I completed our 10th semester directing a fruitful semester of our church’s ReEngage Marriage Enrichment ministry. This semester we graduated 13 couples, bringing it to 201 couples who have completed ReEngage. PTL for all He has done in and through us via this wonderful ministry.
The last two weeks, Barb and I (but particularly Barb) have worked to prepare our house for showing. We go live on the market the weekend of May 30-June 1.

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9. Upcoming events

Our house is on the market. We’re praying for just the right family to come along and purchase our wonderful home. Once that happens, we’ll be heading to Decatur to house shop.
I’m hosting the finale of my monthly men’s ministry meetings – the 1st Saturday of each month at our church’s monthly men’s breakfast ended the first week of May, while the others end in June: the 2nd Saturday with a group of physicians, the 3rd Saturday with a small men’s group, and the 4th Saturday with son-in-love, Charles.

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10. Past Three Family Newsletters

May 2025
- My father’s OSC Hall of Fame induction at Fort Benning
- YouTube released a video of my presentation: “The Teenage WWII Hero that Bullets Could Not Stop”
- A special 5-part series on my father’s top-secret mission in WWII to save the world-famous Lipizzaners
- A special 6-part series on my father’s heroism that cost him his leg and almost his life
April 2025
- A proven formula for increased quantity and quality of life
- My presentation at the Medal of Honor Gallery of the Center for American Values: The man that bullets could not stop
- Dad’s posthumous induction into the U.S. Army’s OSC Hall of Fame at Fort Benning
- Speaking event in Florida and visits with old friends
March 2025
- My Father’s posthumous induction into the U.S. Army’s OSC Hall of Fame at Fort Benning
- YouTube released a video of my presentation: “The Teenage WWII Hero that Bullets Could Not Stop”
- A special 5-part series on my father’s top-secret mission in WWII to save the world-famous Lipizzaners
- A special 6-part series on my father’s heroism that cost him his leg and almost his life