Vet's Tribute

a moving audio tribute to Veterans by long-time radio personality and proud Vietnam Veteran, Bob Leonard.

Follow the link below.

Vet's Tribute

Thank you, Bob!

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Memorial Day 2011, quote1

Everything up there was spooky, and it would have been that way even if there had been no war. You were in a place where you didn’t belong, where things were glimpsed for which you would have to pay and where things went un-glimpsed for which you would also have to pay, a place where they didn’t play with the mystery but killed you straight off for trespassing. The towns had names that laid a quick, chilly touch on your bones: Kontum, Dak Mak Lop, Dak Roman Peng, Poli Klang, Buon Blech, Pleiku, Pleime, Plei Vi Drin. Just moving through those towns or being based somewhere above them spaced you out, and every time I’d have that vision of myself lying dead somewhere, it was always up there, in the Highlands. –Michael Herr, writer (1940-)

Spring eBook Sale - 'Mosaics'

March is almost here, welcome in the Spring season a new eBook.

'Mosaics', a collection of travels, essays, and memoirs that includes many of my best-known works, is now on sale at Smashwords only for 2.99, a dollar off the list price.

Included in this volume are: Remembering the Dugout and Larry Lisciotti, Paper and Fire, On a Beach on Nantucket, Worms, Leigh Lake, and many more.

Also included are three stories from my years of service in the US Army: Murder at Midnight (about the tragic deaths of two American MPs, James Workman and Eugene Cox, in a Saigon bar in 1969), Bridge Inspection (a strange night mission during the Vietnam War), and Burial Detail (some Army details take you to unexpected places).

Timeless and emotive, these 41 stories hold something for everyone.

'Mosaics' is available for download in all the popular eReader formats for use on your handheld device or your PC.

To begin, create a free account at Smashwords with an email address and a password.

Then, follow the link below and use coupon code ET93G at checkout

Mosaics

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Pilgrimage

I want to thank everyone for their warm comments about my story 'Pilgrimage', a tale spanning almost 40 years revolving around the experiences of an Army nurse that served in the Vietnam war.

Read it at the link below.

Pilgrimage

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Signposts to Afghanistan, two years on....

Today, December 31 of 2008, is the second anniversary of the genesis of my story, 'Signposts to Afghanistan', written in early 2007. That story meant a lot to me at the time, and it still does today. It was the first time I had put down into words my motivations for joining the Army in the time of the Vietnam War, how I recalled my experiences gained during those service years, and how I came to follow the path I did after I was discharged from the Army.

Today, one year after writing that story, I am every bit as distressed over our presence in Iraq, and at the horror we have allowed to continue in Afghanistan, as I was then. After having served a year in Vietnam, I was an Afghanistan Analyst for Military Intelligence at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I fell in love with the country of Afghanistan, and I dreamed of visiting it one day. But life didn't work out that way.

What is going to happen to the current war veterans and their families of today, what with the stresses of multiple deployments and separation, the interruption of careers. I fear that America is going to pay a fierce price for this war and their service. In this day of the assault on the middle class, and CEOs making billions in bonuses by shipping work off to foreign shores, what opportunities await the foot soldier here in America after three tours in Iraq?

To read the entire story follow the link below.

Signposts to Afghanistan

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Saxby Chambliss, Elected but Guilty

As all America looks at the cheaters and swindlers that have brought us to where we are, we ought to take a fresh look at Saxby Chambliss. He is the Republican that accused Max Cleland of failure to defend the Constitution. The three limbs Cleland sacrificed in Vietnam wasn't enough. When it is time to make the CIOs of AIG and other financial institutions that have gone bust accountable for their actions, it is high time to look at this Cretin for the lies and deceit he has spread on the honorable service of others

That the hollow Sarah Palin became a part of this spectacle in Georgia is not surprising. Ambition aside, every time she opens her mouth she reveals the ugly truth about herself: aside from ambition, she offers naught but ignorance and hate.

Real veterans will remember.

Capitalism in Hanoi Today

Harold Meyerson, political cartoonist and columnist-at-large, has been a regular op-ed columnist at the Washington Post since 2003. A friend sent me his column from July 9, a piece about American businesses in China and Vietnam, and it really upset me. I am not upset at his words, for they carry the ring of truth, what really upset me is the apparent disregard that American Capitalism has for anything that America supposedly stands for.

The short story is this: as wages go up in China, American business is searching out repressive regimes that have low wages with no unions or free speech, or any other unpleasantness associated with democracy; next stop, Hanoi.

As a Vietnam veteran, I am disheartened over these developing relationships, and the negative impact that they have on the establishment of democratic values in these emerging nations.

I also fear for those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today, because their loyal service and sacrifice is not about American values, but about a future bottom line in a global economy that they will not be a part of, and an America that will not do justice to their service.

Follow the link below to read Harold Meyerson's article for yourself.

Why Were We In Vietnam

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Signposts to Afghanistan, one year on.....

"It is December 31, 2006, and on this morning in Los Angeles, on the last day of the year, I am enjoying a good cup of coffee while reading the Los Angeles Times. I read the articles on Iraq and Afghanistan with concern for the military men and women serving there, and for what they all must experience and endure. There is one article in particular that catches my attention. It describes in some detail the Ring Road, a road shaped like a circle that lies within the borders of Afghanistan and connects the major towns and cities. I read the article with some interest; there was a time when the country of Afghanistan played a major role in my daily life. That was many years ago when I was a young man in uniform, serving in turbulent times, while an unpopular war was polarizing the country. However, today is, after all, the day for the remembrance of things past, so I sit back and relax and let my thoughts drift back in time."

Above is the opening paragraph of my story, 'Signposts to Afghanistan', written in early 2007. That story meant a lot to me at the time, it still does today. It was the first time I had put down into words my motivations for joining the Army in the time of the Vietnam War, how I recalled my experiences gained during those service years, and how I came to follow the path I did after I was discharged from the Army.

Today, one year after writing that story, I am every bit as distressed over our presence in Iraq, and at the horror we have allowed to continue in Afghanistan, as I was then. After having served a year in Vietnam, I was an Afghanistan Analyst for Military Intelligence at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I fell in love with the country of Afghanistan, and I dreamed of visiting it one day. But life didn't work out that way.

What is going to happen to the current war veterans and their families of today, what with the stresses of multiple deployments and separation, the interruption of careers. I fear that America is going to pay a fierce price for this war and their service. In this day of the assault on the middle class, and CEOs making billions in bonuses by shipping work off to foreign shores, what opportunities await the foot soldier here in America after three tours in Iraq?

To read the entire story follow the link below.

Signposts to Afghanistan

Laudizen King