American by Intention

by Patrick R Ritchen

It is May1982. Blake Gibbs, a former door gunner in Vietnam and the sole physical therapist for the Aspen Grove nursing home in Denver, grits his teeth in silent protest. Flogged daily by the ennui of post Vietnam America, he is coy about his service both at home and work. His colleagues offer no respite. Neil Rotterdam, facility manager and former Green Beret, continually invites Gibbs to grieve while Elissa Redd, the beautiful and predatory Activities Director, implores Gibbs to peel back his emotional scabs. As if taunting him, Aspen Grove’s television lounged blares forth Donahue's endless parade of veterans describing their lurid dreams and barely suppressed violent impulses. Yet despite the indifference and hostility accompanying his homecoming Gibbs unconsciously yearns to love his country. But how? His chance encounter with Bao Nguyen, a former Vietnamese Ranger, jars Gibbs’ dormant sense of patriotism. Soon thereafter, he begins Alphonse Merkowitz’s post op rehab, learning that he is a former French Resistance fighter. Nguyen and Merkowitz unwittingly launch Gibbs on a journey from a blank slate of patriotic indifference to an American by Intention in the summer and fall of 1982. Gibbs’ odyssey and reconciliation with America culminates at the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial where he meets the father of a dead comrade. Part memoir, part history and part love story, American by Intention is a multi layered homage to patriotism with all the ambiguity that that word conveys in modern America.

560 pages, Paperback

Published June 15, 2020

Reviews

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review


American by Intention by Patrick Ritchen is a work of fiction although, throughout the book, it often reads like a memoir. The author refers to this story as part memoir, part history, and part love story. Ritchen’s tale begins with Vietnam veteran Blake Gibbs, the main character who suffers from PTSD. The author describes the insidious disorder with a depth and breadth that only someone who has experienced it can convey.

Gibbs sorts through the labyrinth of emotions about his troubled marriage, his job as a physical therapist for the Aspen Grove nursing home, and his relationships with his co-workers. Everything he thinks about and feels is tainted by the war he fought on the other side of the world. He struggles with alcohol abuse, flashbacks, and sleepless nights. While searching for answers on dealing with people who have never experienced war, death, and destruction, Gibbs connects with a World War II veteran. Gibbs begins to see all the puzzling pieces of his existence come together after meeting and developing a relationship with an unlikely person: a Vietnamese soldier and immigrant, Bao Nguyen.

At the end of this multi-layered story, loose ends are tied up, and we see Gibbs coming to terms with his demons while he finds his place in history. Patrick Ritchen’s story will resonate with many veterans and others who have a dark period in their past.

Review by Nancy Panko (May 2022)

[Mary Aandahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic in scale yet written with a keen eye for fine details, the little moments that convey great meaning, Patrick R. Ritchen's "American by Intention" takes us on a journey from ennui to understanding and purpose in the life of former Vietnam door gunner Blake Gibbs. The story takes place in Denver in 1982. Gibbs is abandoned by his wife Alma, who dumps him to live with Kim, a lesbian New Age feminist poseur, on a communal farm. At his job working as a physical therapist at the Aspen Grove Nursing Home, he's misread and harassed by the manager and the activities director, who insist that because he's a Vietnam vet, he must be emotionally wounded. Gibbs doesn't feel emotionally wounded, he just feels blah, trapped in a meaningless existence where his elderly patients thank him by biting him and his only pleasure is playing recreational basketball. Gibbs' journey into a purposeful life begins when he meets two men, both of them immigrants -- a patient named Alphonse Merkowitz, a former member of the French Resistance who fought against the Nazis in World War Two, and the owner of a small liquor store, Bao Nguyen, a former Vietnamese Ranger who fought against the Vietcong in Nam, each of whom is grateful to be in America. Through these two teachers, one garrulous, the other terse, Blake Gibbs gradually leaves his blahs behind and finds new meaning in patriotic pride. It's a compelling story that's exceptionally well told. I was struck by Ritchen's intelligence and professional literary style, by the sharp bite of his satire and his sly sense of humor, but most of all by his ability to create richly layered, complicated, believable characters. If you want to read an exceptionally entertaining novel with a powerful message, read "American by Intention."

[Ron Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a work of fiction we see through Blake Gibbs, that the author has been in this place. Ultimately, people who did not experience combat in Vietnam or have a similar trauma such as 911 or violent police work for example, do not fully comprehend what these people went through. PTSD takes many forms, some subtle some overt. Some handle it, others do not. We watch our fictional Blake Gibbs sort through his emotions about the war and his love life as he reacts to various characters who have different, similar or indifferent perspectives. He wonders about his experiences and how they effect his everyday decisions and interactions with other people. How they view the war and his or anyones participation in it. There is genuine confusion and want of clarity. Eventually his feelings coalesce in the last chapters, especially the last when Alma and Blake as well finally get it. The last chapter brought all things together and was the crowning touch to a very thoughtful and well written book. Patrick Ritchen does capture some of the essence of a very confusing and difficult period in American history for veterans and non veterans alike. My compliments to the author.

[Jeff Rettaliata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Ritchen’s book is an honest and real story of a young man asked to serve in an unpopular and unsupported war in a strange country ten thousand miles from home. In the book he shines a light on emotional struggle that will be a part of his life for years as he tries to accept a very confusing experience and at the same time retaining his self respect and love of the country that sent him to Vietnam. A page turner and great real story. As a Vietnam Vet myself, I identify and applaud Mr. Ritchen’s decision to remain a patriot.