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Angel's Wing: A Year in the Skies of Vietnam

by Joseph R. Finch

Non-Fiction, Vietnam, Memoir

$16.95

Angel’s Wing is Joe Finch’s account of the year he spent with A Company, the “Little Bears” during the Vietnam War. His story is raw and authentic, unflinching in its honesty. Sometimes his tale is humorous. Sometimes it’s tragic. Whether he writes of a preposterous moment or of brutality and death, his personal account is powerful. If you weren’t there, at times his experiences in Vietnam are hard to imagine: the blood, the noise, the smells.  At other times, you will open your eyes in wonder at the dedication that the young men fighting there demonstrated.

REVIEWS:

"The Angel's Wing was a "very bad place" to the helicopter pilots of Viet Nam but to the men on the ground the "Angels" were the pilots themselves. For the pilots it was the hotly contested no-mans land along the Cambodian border. To those soldiers on the ground who were injured or hungry or needing support, the helicopter units like the "Little Bears" and so many others, were the Angels who came upon "rotary" wings. The book is also a story of the soldiers in those helicopters who made the rules up as they went. They learned as they lived and died." -- LTC Hugh L. Mills, jr. scout pilot, Viet Nam
 

PURCHASE HERE:

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MWSA Review

Coyote Jack: Drawing meaning from Life and Vietnam

by Jack Lyndon Thomas

Hard Cover, Color Photos, Maps

Non-fiction, Memoir, Art/Photography, Vietnam

$28.95

Coyote Jack overlays a fascinating exposition of life and death in the most enigmatic of American conflicts with an individual's struggle to free himself from the enemy that stands ready to thwart a full and authentic life.  Through Jack, we live in sandbag bunkers, bathe out of wells, and dodge booby traps, as he learns the privations and landmines of his personal life are as complex as the clashing cultures and divisive politics that created, and ended the war in Vietnam.

Thomas was an Infantry Lieutenant who lived and fought with South Vietnamese Regional and Popular Forces.

REVIEWS:

"A Soldier's Trip Through War and Peace…This book is a very interesting confluence of personal combat experience, difficult family dynamics, and the pain of unresolved emotions and questions of purpose told by an articulate and complex man… The remainder of the book, concentrating on his participation as a leader of Mobile Advisory Team III-56, attached to the Regional Forces/Popular Forces in Hau Nghia Province, is a slow but steady revelation of how Jack becomes disillusioned with the war, yet is proud of what he and his team are trying to do for the people of Viet Nam. The dangers, conflicts, frustrations and successes meld into an entertaining read; not full of "shoot `em up" combat stories, but rich with the dynamics of men in conflict..." - Lawrence Mayes

"An Important, Relevant Memoir of a Viet Nam Veteran …I particularly enjoyed the profound poems and statements that introduced each chapter. Part II of the book with Maps and beautiful colored photographs awakened all my senses to the culture, the country, and the people who impacted the life of young Jack Lyndon Thomas through his Viet Nam experience… Thomas is a gifted, creative, and articulate …" - Richard R. Blake

"A soldier returns to Viet Nam…The treasure of "Coyote Jack" lies in his telling of the small details of Vietnam life. The author's narrative - not his fanciful descriptions - but the straightforward stories bring the people and places alive. Appealing children, stoic adults, terrible deprivations, horrific accidents, humidity and mud, and ever-present danger - the listing for this rich account could be long indeed, and altogether it allows the country and its people to become very real…" - Marcelline 'Marcy' Burns, Reader Views www.readerviews.com

"A journey into the past ...Vietnam haunted the author for over thirty years. This memoir is about his journey back to Vietnam to visit the battlefields he had once known so intimately."- Arnold Howard

PURCHASE INFO: 

Signed Copy from JackLyndonThomas@comcast.net for $31.95 including S&H via Paypal

Also available via Barnes & Noble Online & Amazon

www.lyndonjacks.com

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MWSA Review

D.E.R.O.S.

by John Rider

Published by Booklocker

Fiction, Vietnam

$15.95

The year is 1968.  Wired in-series, trip-hammer shocks jolt the country... The capture of the USS Pueblo, Tet, LBJ declines to run, the murders of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy…

In Vietnam, a USAF pilot gets news that, to him, is every bit as jarring as those electrifying events: An airline wants to interview him for a cockpit job.  In Dallas, three weeks from now. They have no idea he’s in Vietnam. 

He still has fifty-six days and a wake-up before he can leave.

Jack Boland is a Forward Air Controller pilot, part of a small USAF detachment stationed with a U.S. Army brigade, at a base camp in the jungle, seventy-five miles north of Saigon.

Flying small, vulnerable spotter aircraft, the FACs fly over the jungle, looking for VC -- and when Brigade grunts get in trouble, bring in jet fighters to get Charlie off their backs.

The story is at times funny, as well as brutal, terrifying, idiotic, and in the end, tragic..Catch-22 in Vietnam.
 

REVIEWS:

"John tells it as it happens in combat. He captures the love, hate, jealousy, envy and personal competition as well as the military politics, combined with a great story, which is not too far fetched. Having once been in combat most pilots do not yearn to repeat the experience, but never forget having been there." ~'Wally' Wallesverd, Korean War veteran.

"This book, well written, even though fictional describes the functions and life in Vietnam as a FAC PILOT... at any rate whether pilot or not you'll find the book interesting from beginning to the end. D.E.R.OS." ~ Carl L. Bailey
 

PURCHASE HERE
 

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MWSA Review

Fire Mission: The World of Nam -- a Marine's Story

by Earl J. Gorman

Non-fiction

Publisher- Red Desert Press (Clarendon Hills),

Retail $19.95; a 30% discount for members

A Marine’s memoir of a life-changing 2007 adventure back to Vietnam with a medical mission team that weaves in his 1965-66 combat experiences. Against all odds, the author searched for his two Vietnamese friends. The therapy derived from the reconciliation work and his successful reunion (after 41 years) with his friends, closed the mental wounds of his war experience. The monkey was off his back! A deadly Viet Cong sapper attack as well as episodes from Operation Hastings are featured combat stories.

REVIEWS:

First Marine Captured in Vietnam
A Biography of Donald G. Cook
Donald L. Price
ISBN 978-0-7864-2804-5

Publisher: McFarland
67 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
334 pp. softcover
price: $35
Non-Fiction, Vietnam War

Colonel Donald Gilbert Cook was the first U.S. Marine captured in Vietnam; the first and only Marine in history to earn the Medal of Honor while in captivity; and the first Marine POW to have a U.S. Navy ship named in his honor, the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75). On December 31, 1964, while serving as an observer with a South Vietnamese Marine Corps battalion on a combat operation against Viet Cong forces, he was captured near the village of Binh Gia in South Vietnam. Until his death in captivity in December 1967, Cook led ten POWs in a series of primitive jungle camps. His leadership and adherence to the U.S. Military Code of Conduct earned him the nation’s highest military award, but Cook never received historical attention commensurate with his enormous accomplishments.
 

REVIEW:

“Brings back the terror and heartache of these times...thoroughly-researched...highly recommended!”—Midwest Book Review

“[the author] has done a great service in his book...I highly recommend this book”—Marine Corps Gazette

“Very impressive...a captivating read”—Purple Heart Magazine

“riveting...extensive research”—U.S. Naval Institute

"Portions of the book are painful and poignant, but most are inspiring and compelling... (Col Cook) epitomized the best of America. (Price) has written a fitting tribute to him"--Vietnam Magazine

PURCHASE HERE:

Purchase through McFarland. Orders only Tel: 800-253-2187, Orders only FAX: 336-246-4403 or

www.mcfarlandpub.com/

 

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MWSA Review

The Ghosts of Thua Thien

by John A. Nesser

McFarland

$29.95

Drafted in October 1968, John A. Nesser left behind his wife and young son to fight in the controversial Vietnam War. Like many in his generation, he was deeply at odds with himself over the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, instilled with a strong sense of duty to his country but uncertain about its mission and his role in it.

Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war’s heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before transferring to become a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky. The accounts are richly illustrated with Nesser’s own photographs of the military firebases and aircraft, the landscapes, and the people he encountered.

REVIEWS:

“I knew John Nesser for years, and never knew him. I read his book. Now I will never forget. He wrote many years after his Vietnam experience and he has forgotten much. But his heart has not. John’s story of adventure (for adventure it was) is as poignant now (in the days of the Iraq debacle and its aftermath) as it was the day he returned to the world. John was a soldier once. Part of him will never be anything else”—Henry Shovic, author of When There’s Only You: Safe Living for Women.

PURCHASE HERE

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Highest Traditions: Memories of War

By Tony Lazzarini

Memoir

$18.95

This is the author's memories of his two years in Vietnam serving as a helicopter door gunner in a UH-1D (Huey) helicopter. He flew over 250 missions between April, 1966 and November 1967 with the 25th Aviation "A" Company LITTLE BEARS.

REVIEWS: 

"Lazzarini does an outstanding job!" - MilitaryReadingList.com

"Touching and thrilling at the same time." - Heartland Reviews

"Best memoir 2004" - RebeccaReads.com

PURCHASE HERE.

Deep in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest live an eclectic assortment of loggers, loners, survivalist, and people who just want to disappear.
After 3 long years of bloodshed in Vietnam and another 20 plus as a covert agent for the US Government, the Major belonged in the last category. Diabetic, slightly overweight and on the wrong side of 55, he just wanted to be left alone to enjoy his little slice of forested heaven.
One foggy autumn night he finds himself targeted by what appears to be a Special Operations Team. The Major is forced to resume hunting, in the old way, again. Next, his peaceful life is completely shattered when his Montagnard War Brother, Y'Ang, is brutally tortured and killed in a cabin just down the road. Y'Ang's daughter is kidnapped, and now the killers are headed for their true prey - the Major. Only his combat and survival skills can save him and his brother's daughter, and allow him to avenge his brother's death. But first he must discover who wants him dead, and what long-lost secret the Asian jungle hides.

REVIEWS

"A tense thriller painted on a dark palette, suffused with the heavy, cedary incense of the rugged northwest forests." Michael Curtis Ford

"HONOR DUE is filled with suspense and action, modern technology and a tender love story." American Authors Association

"D. H. Brown's HONOR DUE is a mind-gripping action-packed adventure. D. H. Brown paints with words like an Old Master."
Seniors Sunset Times

"D. H. BROWN has written a pulse pounding story with a strong unique voice, an unforgettable character, and a mesmerizingly clever plot." David H. Dun

D. H. BROWN gives us a character we can connect with. If I was in a tight spot, I'd want the Major as a friend and by my side.Buzz the Book Reviews

"HONOR DUE is an action-packed book that I could not put down." Reader Views

PURCHASE HERE

OR

WEBSITE: http://www.dhbrownbooks.com

Hunting with Tigers

By Gene Basilici

Fiction, Vietnam, Thriller

$29.95

REVIEW:

This is a high-energy, high-octane, combat thriller that you will not be able to put down until you have read the last word on the final page! This is a must read book! -- Bill McDonald

PURCHASE HERE:

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MWSA Review

Is Anybody Listening?

by Barbara Birchim

Nonfiction, Vietnam

AuthorHouse

Hardcover:  $ 31.50

Softcover:  $ 21.75

IS ANYBODY LISTENING? tells of dignitaries, presidents and those involved with the POW/MIA issue as I’ve known it since November 1968 when my husband, a Special Forces officer, became missing-in-action.

The pages reveal my feelings and torment during my 

many trips to Southeast Asia in search of answers, and my frustrations while wandering the halls of Washington D.C. for help.

The book was written to show the issue’s insidious  

cover-up and my commitment to the truth.

REVIEWS:

This book is very good...It is well written and a fast read. I could not put it down.  The story is gut-wrenching and I have come away, once again, very angry and frustrated with out government!  It tells a story of a POW'S wife and her quest for the "real" truth behind her husband's disappearance. The lengths she has gone to to get answers are unreal. She is a hero herself for standing up and never giving up. This is one of my more favorite books regarding the Vietnam Pow's. ~ C. O'neal
 

This is a heart breaking account of seeking the truth through the govt. red tape. Evidence supports the fact that we left servicemen behind in Laos and Cambodia. As former military, I am deeply saddened by what appears to be true. Through the pipeline, President Reagan was the last Commander in Chief to sanction rescue missions into S.E. Asia to search for POW s. Former SPEC OP WARRIORS are very tight lipped on this subject. Former Special Forces Sgt. Isaac Camacho escaped from Laos in 1965 and was never debriefed until the early seventies. Only a handful of military men escaped from captivity during the Vietnam War. Why did the govt. never utilize their knowledge? General Tighe, former director of the Defense Intell. Agency 1974 - 1981 has stated that he believed we had indeed left servicemen behind. ~ FRANK ROCKER "ROCKN IN SO CAL

PURCHASE HERE

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From 'Nam With Love: An Infantry Soldier's Vietnam

By Lloyd A. King

Poetry

$12.95

From 'Nam with Love is a heartbreaking journey into the soul of a young man who documents his world during the ugliest year of his life.  King tackles topics like "First Kill," "Leach Island," and "Chopper Down."  Highly decorated for his deeds in Vietnam, the poets grief encompasses the reader.

FROM 'NAM WITH LOVE IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE MWSA 2006 GOLD MEDAL FOR POETRY!

REVIEWS:

PURCHASE HERE

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MWSA Review

Last Full Measure of Devotion: A Tribute to America's Heroes of the Vietnam War

by Donald J. Farinacci

Publisher: Authorhouse

Pub. Date: November 2007

ISBN-13: 9781434318572

148pp

Hardcover (6x9) - $13.70

Paperback (6x9) - $8.70

There were no marching bands welcoming home returning troops from Vietnam, no ticker-tape parades for its heroes and no celebrations in Time Square. Instead, returning Vets were confronted with a range of reactions, not the least of which were indifference, silent disapproval, criticism, hostility and even contempt, in some quarters, for their lack of cleverness in not avoiding service in a war zone.

Most returning Vietnam warriors were bewildered by the reactions of their fellow countrymen; but, then how could they possibly comprehend the psychological phenomenon which was only beginning to take hold and would later be named the "Vietnam Syndrome", a phenomenon which, at its extremes, was manifested in a revulsion to all things military? Even those who were proud of the returning servicemen and women were hardly effusive in their praise and greeted them with only muted enthusiasm.
 

REVIEWS:

50th Infantry Assoc. Book Reviewer: '..Farinacci does a fantastic job of bringing the action to life...I highly recommend this book.' Robert R. McMillan, former Commissioner of the Panama Canal: 'A Great Book.'

PURCHASE HERE

Lucky Enough

By Eddie Beesley

Memoir

Book: $12.95

CD: $15.00

In August, 1965, Marine Corporal Eddie Beesley stepped on a landmine near Chu Lai in Vietnam.  The resulting explosion changes his life forever.  Lucky Enough is the inspiring story of how Eddie dealt with the most terrible moment of his life. 

REVIEWS: 

Eddie Beesley not only puts you there  but makes you feel proud to be an American." -- Tony Orlando

"Outstanding account of his Viet Nam experience.  How it affected his life and how he has positively dealt with it." --  Sgt Grit, Don Whitton

PURCHASE HERE.

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The Making of a Soldier

Lt. Col. George Powers

History, Memoir, Vietnam

$15.80

The Making of a Soldier  is the life story of a man who believed, from his youth that he was gifted as a soldier to rise to the highest rank as a Commissioned Officer; who volunteered to learn his craft through Ranger School, Airborne School, and the John F. Kennedy Warfare School,  eventually becoming a Master Parachutist; who was called upon to serve thirty months in combat in Vietnam as an Infantry Officer; whose life was dramatically changed by encountering  his God in flight above the Delta en-route from Can Tho to Saigon in an Air America aircraft. God spoke to him in an unmistakably direct, though inaudible voice, an invitation to change the focus of his life career. The book seeks to show how God is at work developing many of us into spiritual soldiers, warriors who are invited to serve in His Army, often with far less prestige and fame than is experienced in the military services. And amazingly, as the author discovered, God uses much of the lessons learned by the military in a parallel spiritual application to advance His Kingdom on the earth.

To order directly from author call:

PURCHASE HERE:

M.P, A Novel of Vietnam

by John R. Schembra

Fiction, Vietnam

$12.99

June, 1967  As Vincent Torelli stepped off the plane at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam, he was almost overwhelmed by the stench in the hot, humid air. He still had a hard time realizing he was in Vietnam. Drafted into the armed forces five months earlier, he ended up becoming a Military Policeman, assigned to the 557^th MP Company at Long Binh Post just outside Bien Hoa City. His year tour of duty in Vietnam changes him from a somewhat naïve young man to a battle-hardened veteran. Through unlucky chance, Vince becomes involved in the ferocious ’68 Tet Offensive, barely surviving the night. He sees and experiences things he could never have imagined before Vietnam.

This is Vince’s story, of how he survived that year in Vietnam, how he coped with the hell he faced, of the friendships he formed, and of the sorrow of lives lost.

REVIEWS

"A very readable book and great entertainment" - Military Writers Society of America

"Well worth reading.  I highly recoommend this action packed book." - eBook Reviews Weekly

PURCHASE HERE

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Our Walk with God

By Tibor & Julia Anne Bierbaum

Memoir, Vietnam, Cold War

$24.95

REVIEWS:

From the Hungarian Revolution to Viet Nam as a Special Forces Officer, follow Major Tibor Bierbaum and his wife through war and beyond. “Tibor remind us that freedom is our heritage and also our responsibility to maintain”  --Jim Stewart, MWSA.

“Our Walk with God is a love story of God and country. It is a story of inspiration, courage, faith, and most of all, love” -- Michelle Converset, Fort Wayne Lutheran

 PURCHASE HERE:

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MWSA Review

Poems in the Keys of Life: Reflections of a Combat Medic

Author:  Kerry “Doc” Pardue

Poetry

Publisher:  PublishAmerica

$14.95

These poems are a reflective journey to find healing after the War in Vietnam.  35 years ago I was a combat medic.  When I came home I was determined to put Vietnam behind me.  Somehow, deep within my heart, soul, and spirit Vietnam was a part of who and what I became.  Finally, my journey to healing began and these poems are the result of that journey 35 years later.  These are a collection of poems about recovering from war and the effects of PTSD. They will make you cry, laugh, and appreciate friendships.

REVIEWS:

PURCHASE HERE

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See the Dragon: One Wolfhound's Vietnam Story

by Don Arndt

History, Memoir, Vietnam

Paper back…..19.95

Hard Back……26.95

This is the memories of a drafted Midwest farm boy’s tour in 1966 Vietnam. The author recalls his service with the 27^th Infantry Wolfhounds of the 25^th Division and the search for his buddies four decades after the war.

 Reviews:

"I highly recommend this book to anyone studying the Vietnam War or whose family or friends were part of the valorous unit known as the 25th Infantry Division “Wolfhounds.” - Tony Lazzarini, President, Military Writers Society of America

"Incredible book. I couldn't put the thing down." - SGT Brian Feild, 1st Cavalry Division

"If you were there, "See the Dragon" will take you back. If you weren't, it will take you there." - Guy B. Hinton, Vietnam 1968-69

"I can hardly put into words what I felt about what I read." - CPT Patrick F. Field, 4ID(M)

 "A book that any Vietnam Veteran can relate to. Very moving. - John Babbitt, Vietnam  1967-68

PURCHASE HERE:

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Underwater Demolition Team 13

Edited by: Steve Waterman, Pete Upton
Revised by: Steve Waterman
Republished April 2008

*Although unsigned, the illustrations in the book are the work of
Pete Carolan (click here to see more of his work).

Friends, and teammates, Ltjg Pete Upton and Photographer's Mate 1st Class Steve Waterman created the book in 1969 and had it printed in Japan. They spent a month there putting it together and getting the printing done. Then Pete and Steve hitchhiked back to Subic Bay on U. S. Air Force planes to bring the books to the guys in Team 13.

Underwater Demolition Team 13 was commissioned in 1968 to help take up the slack and give UDT-12 and UDT-11 more time stateside during the Vietnam War. Approximately 20 men from UDT-21 (Little Creek) volunteered to serve a tour with UDT-13 to help “flesh out” the team, which was made up of new men from UDT Training; some were from SEAL One, others were reserves asking to be recalled to active duty.

Many Naval commands make cruise books of their trips. Cruise books are photographic and written records of events and people on specific deployments.

The 1969 UDT THIRTEEN cruise book brings together a collection of first-hand textual and photographic impressions of its WESTPAC deployment. The harmonizing of these significant experiences, each unique in attitude and point of view, best conveys the reality of the deployment, to be relived and enjoyed in all its color, drama, and poignancy in the years to come.

PURCHASE

or

P. O. Box 43698 | Cleveland, OH 44143
216-486-4464 | (877) 882-6124
 

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The Wall of Broken Dreams

by Duke Barrett

Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Vietnam

$14.95

Duke will give MWSA members a significant discount.

The trajectory of the bullet that ripped into the young paratroopers chest, knocked him on his backside thus saving him the added indignity of laying face down in the mud of the monsoon drenched jungle floor. With life rapidly escaping his body through the gaping
wound, Johnny dreams of being with Mai, a beautiful Eurasian girl he’d only recently met and fell in love with on an in-country R&R at Vung Tau. To be back in the “world,” to play his guitar and to live out his life with Mai consumed his every thought.

Shortly after returning to his combat unit, Johnny Richards, a cocky Irish, blue-eyed blues guitarist from the streets of Chicago, is gravely wounded on a combat air-assault into an enemy stronghold, after taking a bullet for a buddy. Are Johnny and Mai allowed to live out their dreams? Does the bullet that cut him down cut short his young adventurous life and their dreams? In 1983, at The Vietnam Memorial, better known as “The Wall,” Johnny’s hopes, dreams and survival come face to face with the emotional but spiritual realization that is his.

The Wall Of Broken Dreams is an adventure for sure, as any Vietnam War story should be. More than that though, it is also an inspirational story of the hopes and dreams of a young man serving his country with an elite army combat platoon in Vietnam.

The story appeals not only to the military adventure reader but also to the reader seeking an inspirational message. The Wall Of Broken Dreams is an adventure with an emotional punch.

REVIEW:

“Duke Barrett takes the sacred elements of the “Nam Experience” and weaves them into a synthesis that is the true, fundamental foundation of any authentic story about the war in Vietnam, be it a memoir or a work of fiction, and makes it a
meaningful background to his novel.

“This story is an adventure but be prepared for an emotional and inspirational journey, as well. But then, when you wake up, maybe all that you just read was just a dream!” -- W. H. “Bill” McDonald Jr., Past President and founder of The Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)

So often we think about war in abstract terms but
Vietnam vet,  Duke Barrett, has made the traumatic
and long-lasting implications of battle spring to life
in this poignant story about the courage, loyalty,
patriotism and conflict of a young soldier.  We root
for him to realize his dreams, knowing fully well
that the deck is stacked against him. -- Sigrid Macdonald, editor and author of D'Amour Road

"They say that when death is near, one's life flashes before there eyes. "The Wall Of Broken Dreams" is a story of life, and trying to survive in the Vietnam War. Johnny Richards took a bullet for one of his companions and nearly died. He somehow survives and realizes what's important, life and his recently found love that he found on his tour of duty, Mai. A story that will inspire Vietnam vets and civilian alike, "The Wall Of broken Dreams" is highly recommended to those seeking a good historical fiction story." ~ Midwest Book Review

 

PURCHASE HERE:

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