South Vietnam's Army - Equipped to Lose
"My doctor told me to forget every bad thing in the past." It was not only Tung who had a difficult time as the interviews for Uprooted progressed. His brother, Co, also struggled with the stresses brought on by recalling the traumas of war. Co's experiences were, if anything, more acute. He fought for the ARVN [Army of the Republic of South Vietnam] from 1963 till 1970, before being transferred to training duties. Like his fellow northerners, who had fled Communist persecuti
There Aren't Enough Pages in a Book – Mitch's Story
Leslie's father Mitch was in the U.S. Marines and served his Vietnam tour in 1966/67. When I began Uprooted it was my intention to incorporate his story into that of Tung's, as it would provide an American counter-point to the Vietnamese perspective. He agreed to let me interview him, but said from the outset that Tung should be the focus of the book. He passed away in the summer of 2009. Despite having done only two interviews, I was determined to make his story a significan
A History of What Ifs
Thank you to everyone who responded to my Facebook pestering. It's not much of a marketing strategy, but it does offer some instant validation which is always appreciated. I had hoped the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War would have generated a few more column inches to augment my efforts. Apparently our news organizations forgot the event entirely. Liverpool vs Blackburn Rovers received more coverage in the United States it seemed. I didn't get the dates wrong. So are medi
The Hard - as in Anxious - Sell
The family is now reading the book. This is potentially the most combustible part of the entire writing and publication process. A couple of years ago I sent out an earlier version to get corrections and comments back. I got a few brief notes, but overall the response was muted. I could have taken that as a Cease and Desist notice, but I'd already put in too much work. Worst case scenario, I thought, I'll just change all the names and locations. Even put it out under a pseudo
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