This is the story of my time in the Army, from being drafted to going through boot camp to being sent overseas to Vietnam to returning home. I wanted to give as complete a picture as possible of the entire cycle, which is much more than the time in Vietnam.
In April 1968, we were a country at war with ourselves and increasingly with a small country halfway around the world: Vietnam. I don’t recall ever thinking about Vietnam when I started college in 1963. By 1968, it was all any of us could think about. The book begins with my being drafted into the Army and ends with my return to civilian life. I wrote this for my grandchildren, but it will give anyone some sense of what it was like to serve a tour of duty in Vietnam. The job I had gave me an excellent overview of how the gears of the war machine meshed together. I have tried to convey this as best I can.
This is a memoir with a point of view. In these times, when we seem to be constantly marching off to yet another war in yet another faraway place, creating yet more generations of wounded warriors, the lessons learned (and forgotten) from Vietnam are more important than ever.
Excerpt
Eventually my DEROS date arrived. Me and another buddy who had arrived on the same day were going home together. I was offered a chance to drop the rest of my tour (about 6 months) if I would extend for a month in Vietnam. I said thanks, but no thanks. By then, the thought of one extra minute in that place was more than I could handle. We took a last chopper ride to Bien Hoa, where we processed out for the trip home.
There is a scene that is indelibly stamped in my mind’s eye. We were sitting on metal folding chairs in a large hangar, still wearing our jungle fatigues and combat boots, waiting for our Freedom Bird to arrive, actually a World Airways commercial jetliner with real live stewardesses. Parked outside was an assortment of fixed wing aircraft, including this sleek cigar-shaped craft with extremely long wings, painted a matte black. A U-2 spy plane. Suddenly, above the tops of the parked planes, we could see the tail of a plane with World Air markings gliding serenely past on its way to our hangar. Our Freedom Bird had landed.
We waited patiently for the plane to pull into our area. Soon the door opened, and a stairway was pushed up so that the passengers could deplane. Out from the plane emerged a fresh shipment of newbies, looking very nervous and uncertain in their newly issued fatigues. Their first sight was a bunch of grubby looking soldiers, young men with very old eyes looking at them and through them to the world they hoped was still waiting for them after a very long year. Those of us sitting in the chairs saw the green recruits and from our throats emerged this primal wail … the release of a year’s worth of tension and anger and fear, and a mournful warning to the newbies of what awaited them. This passing of the guard was an emotionally charged moment … knowing that it was over, that we were really going home.
Professional Reviews
Good Read
This is not an action packed thriller of combat stories. It is a view of daily life in Vietnam, more over. "A poignant observation of life in the Nam". The Authors remembrance of events and his Ideology of the "Big Picture" is captivating to say the least. You will not be disapointed in reading this well written work.
Quite poignant and personal
G. J. Lau's recollection of his year in Vietnam was quite moving. Like a previous reviewer stated, it's not an action-packed war memoir. It is simply his memory of what the war was like for him. There isn't a lot of dialogue in this book. It reads more like hearing him tell the story.
This is a good book that adds another piece of the puzzle to our understanding of the war in southeast Asia that had so much impact on our nation and our culture. It's a different perspective from many. It is worth reading. Thank you, Mr. Lau for sharing your story.
I enjoyed reading this book
This book was really well written. I had a very good picture in my mind as things were described. A relaxing well paced book. I definitely recommend it.
The experience of a young adult trying to figure out what they want to do for employment or education can be overwhelming. My book will give them insight to what it means to be a carpenter. And the progress unions have made in discrimination.
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