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The Road to Empire
A young officer rises through the ranks until he must choose career or family. Wemlinger is masterful at leading you through it all. —US Army Colonel Tom Johnson (Retired)
Unable to forget the horrors of 9/11 or the Iraq war that killed his friends, aviation science student Jack Rigley enrolls in Western Michigan University’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. As Jack’s college graduation nears, he and his fiancée, Annie Miller, find themselves headed to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he will learn to fly helicopters. This career move, however, does not sit well with Danny Miller, Annie’s father, whose older brother was killed in Vietnam flying helicopters.
In spite of his objections, Jack and Annie choose the military and face the trials of military family separations caused by long deployments to dangerous combat zones, relocations to meet the needs of the service, deaths of loved ones, and the tug of heartstrings firmly rooted where each grew up, in Empire, Michigan. Ultimately, Jack will be forced to make a difficult family or career, the very same choice America’s truest heroes must make every day while serving our country.
I truly relate to this beautiful story. The author’s meticulous attention to military details couples eloquently with a tender love story to create a compelling read. —Cathy Johnson, wife of an Army aviator
Wemlinger answers the question of why we serve better than anyone with this bittersweet tale. —US Army Brigadier General Mike Kelleher (Retired)
The military is a way of life and not for the faint of heart. John Wemlinger makes that point in every chapter of this engrossing novel. — Linda Kelleher, Army wife
____________________
John Wemlinger is a retired US Army colonel with 27 years of military service. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he was a helicopter maintenance officer and pilot. The Road to Empire is his sixth novel. He speaks often at libraries, service clubs, churches, and book clubs about his books and his writing methods. In his spare time, he serves as a member of the Onekama Village Council. He lives for most of the year in northern Michigan, close to the Lake Michigan shoreline, with his wife, Diane, and their border collie, Sydney.
He can be contacted at his website, www.johnwemlinger.com, or you are invited to follow him on Facebook.
Unable to forget the horrors of 9/11 or the Iraq war that killed his friends, aviation science student Jack Rigley enrolls in Western Michigan University’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. As Jack’s college graduation nears, he and his fiancée, Annie Miller, find themselves headed to Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he will learn to fly helicopters. This career move, however, does not sit well with Danny Miller, Annie’s father, whose older brother was killed in Vietnam flying helicopters.
In spite of his objections, Jack and Annie choose the military and face the trials of military family separations caused by long deployments to dangerous combat zones, relocations to meet the needs of the service, deaths of loved ones, and the tug of heartstrings firmly rooted where each grew up, in Empire, Michigan. Ultimately, Jack will be forced to make a difficult family or career, the very same choice America’s truest heroes must make every day while serving our country.
I truly relate to this beautiful story. The author’s meticulous attention to military details couples eloquently with a tender love story to create a compelling read. —Cathy Johnson, wife of an Army aviator
Wemlinger answers the question of why we serve better than anyone with this bittersweet tale. —US Army Brigadier General Mike Kelleher (Retired)
The military is a way of life and not for the faint of heart. John Wemlinger makes that point in every chapter of this engrossing novel. — Linda Kelleher, Army wife
____________________
John Wemlinger is a retired US Army colonel with 27 years of military service. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he was a helicopter maintenance officer and pilot. The Road to Empire is his sixth novel. He speaks often at libraries, service clubs, churches, and book clubs about his books and his writing methods. In his spare time, he serves as a member of the Onekama Village Council. He lives for most of the year in northern Michigan, close to the Lake Michigan shoreline, with his wife, Diane, and their border collie, Sydney.
He can be contacted at his website, www.johnwemlinger.com, or you are invited to follow him on Facebook.
276 pages, Paperback
Published July 7, 2023
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February 19, 2024MWSA Review
The Road to Empire is author John Wemlinger’s semi-autobiographical novel of his years as a career Army officer. Wemlinger, a Vietnam veteran, has chosen a more contemporary period using the 9/11 attack on America as the linchpin for Jack Rigley’s 20-year journey from high school graduation through the many stops required by military professionals to his eventual rise to full bird colonel and brigade command.
This is not a military-only story. Empire is the small northern Michigan town where Jack and Annie spend their childhood. Despite living around the world, this is where their roots are planted. The genre of many of Wemlinger’s books could best be described as military-romance. He never forgets the story about wives, children, and other family members and the price they pay to support their loved ones.
Jack Rigley tells his story in the first person, occasionally alternating chapters narrated by his wife, Annie, who openly shares her joys, challenges, and frustrations living within the military framework. During Jack’s long deployments and intense training periods, Annie must run the household, raise the children, and deal with a dysfunctional extended family while trying to have a life of her own.
Rigley’s year spent learning to be a helicopter pilot is intense. The reader shares Rigley’s stress and anxiety, the successes and failures he experiences with his fellow pilot candidates, and the signs of leadership he often provides.
The story focuses on Rigley and his fellow officers; however, it’s the warrant officers (Chief) and senior NCOs (Top) who are often the quiet heroes. Wemlinger has great respect for the junior ranks.
Jack and Annie’s lives eventually come full circle, leading to the book’s title: The Road to Empire. They face significant health and family issues that require them to make life decisions that are never easy. This is a story of love, challenge, loyalty, and closure.
Review by James Elsener (February 2024)
The Road to Empire is author John Wemlinger’s semi-autobiographical novel of his years as a career Army officer. Wemlinger, a Vietnam veteran, has chosen a more contemporary period using the 9/11 attack on America as the linchpin for Jack Rigley’s 20-year journey from high school graduation through the many stops required by military professionals to his eventual rise to full bird colonel and brigade command.
This is not a military-only story. Empire is the small northern Michigan town where Jack and Annie spend their childhood. Despite living around the world, this is where their roots are planted. The genre of many of Wemlinger’s books could best be described as military-romance. He never forgets the story about wives, children, and other family members and the price they pay to support their loved ones.
Jack Rigley tells his story in the first person, occasionally alternating chapters narrated by his wife, Annie, who openly shares her joys, challenges, and frustrations living within the military framework. During Jack’s long deployments and intense training periods, Annie must run the household, raise the children, and deal with a dysfunctional extended family while trying to have a life of her own.
Rigley’s year spent learning to be a helicopter pilot is intense. The reader shares Rigley’s stress and anxiety, the successes and failures he experiences with his fellow pilot candidates, and the signs of leadership he often provides.
The story focuses on Rigley and his fellow officers; however, it’s the warrant officers (Chief) and senior NCOs (Top) who are often the quiet heroes. Wemlinger has great respect for the junior ranks.
Jack and Annie’s lives eventually come full circle, leading to the book’s title: The Road to Empire. They face significant health and family issues that require them to make life decisions that are never easy. This is a story of love, challenge, loyalty, and closure.
Review by James Elsener (February 2024)
July 8, 2023
4 + stars
This story really grabs hold of your attention. It begins in a classroom in Glen Lake on 9/11. Jack is waiting for his instructor to arrive, when he does, it is bad news. After graduation, many of his friends enlist and go off to fight. Jack takes a different path, going to aviation school at WMU. When two of his friends are killed he joins up and eventually becomes a helicopter pilot.
All this is happening along with his marriage and family life. There is strife between Jack and his pacifist father-in-law. His relationship with his own parents is strained for different reasons.
This book provides insight into the life of military families. Plus there is a ton about helicopters that I did not know.
This story really grabs hold of your attention. It begins in a classroom in Glen Lake on 9/11. Jack is waiting for his instructor to arrive, when he does, it is bad news. After graduation, many of his friends enlist and go off to fight. Jack takes a different path, going to aviation school at WMU. When two of his friends are killed he joins up and eventually becomes a helicopter pilot.
All this is happening along with his marriage and family life. There is strife between Jack and his pacifist father-in-law. His relationship with his own parents is strained for different reasons.
This book provides insight into the life of military families. Plus there is a ton about helicopters that I did not know.
October 24, 2023
Young Jack Rigley feels a strong urge to serve his country after the tragic event of September 11, 2001.
The story of this young man's military career and the love for his girlfriend Annie is a most compelling page turner. The reader will find many facets of interest within story. Romance, college ROTC experience, helicopter flight training, military career, military family sacrifice are all things that make the pages fly by. The draw to military service is strong, but also Jack's love for Annie compels him to return to that idyllic little town on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is a story for everyone who has been in the military, has had family in the military, or has simply been in love.
The story of this young man's military career and the love for his girlfriend Annie is a most compelling page turner. The reader will find many facets of interest within story. Romance, college ROTC experience, helicopter flight training, military career, military family sacrifice are all things that make the pages fly by. The draw to military service is strong, but also Jack's love for Annie compels him to return to that idyllic little town on the shores of Lake Michigan. This is a story for everyone who has been in the military, has had family in the military, or has simply been in love.
September 4, 2025
Loved it. So interesting to read about the moving of a family in the military. Got technical sometimes when talking about the military, but not so much that I skipped over those parts!
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