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Fighting Shadows in Vietnam: A Combat Memoir
In this memoir, set as deeply in his mind as in the Southeast Asian jungle, a young American soldier embarks on a journey to a war that, for him, will never be over.
The world was a playground for Mickey, a naive Irish American kid bored with his life. His father served in World War II, his brother was a Marine in Vietnam; now it was his turn. His 365 days in the hell that was Vietnam builds in torment until an attack on a bunker complex in Cambodia. Wounded, his friend captured, he becomes a tormented survivor knowing he is always just a heartbeat from death. His adventure-turned-nightmare brings a visceral understanding of the words penned by Thoreau, the very same words Mickey's father spoke throughout Mickey's "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," especially those at war. This memoir chronicles the key perspective-shaping experiences of a U.S. Army grunt fighting in Vietnam.
The world was a playground for Mickey, a naive Irish American kid bored with his life. His father served in World War II, his brother was a Marine in Vietnam; now it was his turn. His 365 days in the hell that was Vietnam builds in torment until an attack on a bunker complex in Cambodia. Wounded, his friend captured, he becomes a tormented survivor knowing he is always just a heartbeat from death. His adventure-turned-nightmare brings a visceral understanding of the words penned by Thoreau, the very same words Mickey's father spoke throughout Mickey's "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," especially those at war. This memoir chronicles the key perspective-shaping experiences of a U.S. Army grunt fighting in Vietnam.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 27, 2019
Good read
A similar story to my own. I got back after becoming a Army correspondent and combat photographer. I would surely have been a casualty of stayed on line.
A similar story to my own. I got back after becoming a Army correspondent and combat photographer. I would surely have been a casualty of stayed on line.
February 22, 2017
Insightful, a thoughtful, Honest
A well-recalled journey through Vietnam, from Nui Ba Ra, to Cambodia, and a resulting war wound, and a transfer to the relative safety of a waiters job in an officers dining room away from the bulk of the fighting.
A well-recalled journey through Vietnam, from Nui Ba Ra, to Cambodia, and a resulting war wound, and a transfer to the relative safety of a waiters job in an officers dining room away from the bulk of the fighting.
May 2, 2015
Review pending on H-Net.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews