THE WATER BOY-The Life and Trials of Jimmy C. Cameron
My book is about several different events in my life. First, it’s a testimony to God Almighty for his greatness and mercy. It describes a covenant that was formed over 40 years ago on the battle fields of Viet Nam among three young US Marines and God.
Their story manifested in Operation Hastings, one of the most storied battles of the Vietnam War. It’s the story of L/Cpl Jimmy C. Cameron ‘s 3 man fire team, which also included Pfc John Douglas Carey and Pfc Norman Edward Dawson. They were in, “G company 2nd battalion, 4th Marines, 3rdMarDiv”.
On July 16, 1966 they were on the point for about two thousands Marines and support troops while sweeping down the Song Ngan river, located in a valley in Quang Tri , South Vietnam, just south of the DMZ with North Vietnam at the time.
The point position for edification is used as a trip wire or early warning mechanism for danger for a lot of military operations like we were involved in that day. My three man fire team was strectched out like a probe reaching out about 100 yards in front of the rest of the main body of troops that included both “G” and “H” companies of the 2nd Battallion 4th Marines.
Secondly, the book is a standalone advocate for truth and justice. It speaks truth to power in that it makes a case for reparation both from a legal standpoint, and more importantly, from a moral perspective.
I have a unique and powerful perspective from which to voice my opinion on reparations. From a human standpoint, my story dates back five generations through my great- great granddaddy Dan Cameron, who was a slave in the state of Georgia starting in 1820 and continues unabated, up thru today,2010, my family’s history is chronicled and is an eye- witness for legal financial reparations.
While the legal argument is powerful, it pales when compared with the moral reason that I use , a moral justification that I got in talks with God Almighty himself on a Battle Field in Vietnam in 1966, over forty years ago.
And thirdly, it's a human story of me, my family and in a larger context the story of a people- Americans of African descent. Two Hundred years of their history is told in allegories embedded in the digital images on the cover before the first page is read. It traces their story from slavery to freedom through a period that I refer to as political purgatory.
