An Enlisted Man's Point of View: Lessons Learned in the 199th 1966-1967

"If you are interested in infantry combat, this book may appeal you. I tell this story from my point of view as an enlisted man in one of the most successful combat operations in the Vietnam War, Operation Fairfax. I am testifying as one of the soldiers who did the fighting and the killing. It has been more than fifty years since I was a machine gunner in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. Consequently, some of my memories are a bit sketchy, particularly the more painful ones. However, I have done my best to be as close to the truth as my recollections will permit. I also write about learning to live with many violent combat experiences that contribute to my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Trying to pick the encounters that caused my problems is kind of like sprinting through a great briar patch and then looking back to see which briars cut me. Many of the cuts are still bleeding for I relive them almost every night. That is the reason for this book. I found that writing them down in an organized fashion took these memories out of my dreams and put them into my past where they belong. In that process, I used the language of the time exposing a GI's worldview."--