Ebook437 pages6 hours
Privileges of War: A Good Story of American Service in Vietnam
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
Privileges of War is a collection of positive stories about wartime service during one of the most negative and controversial periods in American history. While the stories told here are relatively simple and straightforward, they are also powerful, with the potential of changing viewpoints, opinions, and even lives.
Soldiers did not commit the U.S. military to war in Vietnam. However, they did bear the brunt of that commitment on both foreign battlefields and in their own hometowns when they returned. Not only did they fight battles against an enemy who hated them, but upon returning home they often faced countrymen who seemed to hate them as well.
Events of September 11th bound our country together, while events surrounding the Vietnam War nearly tore it apart.
Few Americans who served in Southeast Asia were pot smoking, cursing, killing machines, as they have too often been portrayed. The great majority of the more than three million men and women who spent time in Vietnam were decent people who either felt they were fulfilling their patriotic duty or simply believed they were serving their country. Most of them were young, either still in or scarcely out of their teens when they were asked to shoulder heavy responsibility and face life-and-death situations, some of them on a daily basis. I know, I was there I was one of those soldiers. Privileges of War is a firsthand account of the many acts of selfless heroism and courage I witnessed during my tour of duty as a military advisor in Vietnam.
Many books currently available about the Vietnam War tell provocative stories with messages that are often dark and brooding. And, while there were without question many repulsive and brutal occurrences in Vietnam, with the atrocities at My Lai being perhaps the most notorious, this book dares to tell a very different story about the war in Vietnam and those who served in it. Privileges of War treats neither the politics of the war nor the conflict itself, but depicts some of those who were there and presents the spirit lifting manner in which they served. It is a detailed, action-filled account that will give readers a real, often frightening, idea of what it was like to be on the ground, or in the air over the Vietnamese jungle during that conflict.
PART I of this book documents day-to-day life in Vietnam, which could be both gut wrenching and exhilarating. PART II presents the obscure and relatively unreported story of the "Rescue in the Valley of the Tigers." The story of the rescue recounts a life saving mission mounted by a small group of daring Americans determined to give the gift of freedom to inhabitants of a mountain village who had been held and used as slaves for more than eight years. It is an American story of resourcefulness, integrity and courage that demonstrates the true nature of those who represented our country on the Vietnam battlefield.
While this book shares many bright stories of the dedication and patriotism that the author was privileged to witness in Vietnam, they are not presented as a goody-goody gloss over of ugly occurrences that took place there. They are, however, offered as a vital piece of the American historical puzzle that has been missing.
Privileges of War was written to honor those who served. And, especially for the wives, mothers, children, other relatives, and friends or anyone who knows a Vietnam veteran who would like a different perspective. One needs no military experience to understand and follow the stories in this book. One simply needs an interest.
Soldiers did not commit the U.S. military to war in Vietnam. However, they did bear the brunt of that commitment on both foreign battlefields and in their own hometowns when they returned. Not only did they fight battles against an enemy who hated them, but upon returning home they often faced countrymen who seemed to hate them as well.
Events of September 11th bound our country together, while events surrounding the Vietnam War nearly tore it apart.
Few Americans who served in Southeast Asia were pot smoking, cursing, killing machines, as they have too often been portrayed. The great majority of the more than three million men and women who spent time in Vietnam were decent people who either felt they were fulfilling their patriotic duty or simply believed they were serving their country. Most of them were young, either still in or scarcely out of their teens when they were asked to shoulder heavy responsibility and face life-and-death situations, some of them on a daily basis. I know, I was there I was one of those soldiers. Privileges of War is a firsthand account of the many acts of selfless heroism and courage I witnessed during my tour of duty as a military advisor in Vietnam.
Many books currently available about the Vietnam War tell provocative stories with messages that are often dark and brooding. And, while there were without question many repulsive and brutal occurrences in Vietnam, with the atrocities at My Lai being perhaps the most notorious, this book dares to tell a very different story about the war in Vietnam and those who served in it. Privileges of War treats neither the politics of the war nor the conflict itself, but depicts some of those who were there and presents the spirit lifting manner in which they served. It is a detailed, action-filled account that will give readers a real, often frightening, idea of what it was like to be on the ground, or in the air over the Vietnamese jungle during that conflict.
PART I of this book documents day-to-day life in Vietnam, which could be both gut wrenching and exhilarating. PART II presents the obscure and relatively unreported story of the "Rescue in the Valley of the Tigers." The story of the rescue recounts a life saving mission mounted by a small group of daring Americans determined to give the gift of freedom to inhabitants of a mountain village who had been held and used as slaves for more than eight years. It is an American story of resourcefulness, integrity and courage that demonstrates the true nature of those who represented our country on the Vietnam battlefield.
While this book shares many bright stories of the dedication and patriotism that the author was privileged to witness in Vietnam, they are not presented as a goody-goody gloss over of ugly occurrences that took place there. They are, however, offered as a vital piece of the American historical puzzle that has been missing.
Privileges of War was written to honor those who served. And, especially for the wives, mothers, children, other relatives, and friends or anyone who knows a Vietnam veteran who would like a different perspective. One needs no military experience to understand and follow the stories in this book. One simply needs an interest.
Related to Privileges of War
Related ebooks
Valor in Vietnam: Chronicles of Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice: 1963-1977 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNam Sense: Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vietnam: A View from the Front Lines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outside the Wire: Riding with the "Triple Deuce" in Vietnam, 1970 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVietnam; Honor and Sacrifice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo One Has More Love Than This...: Why We Remember Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeroes from the Wall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWelcome Home: The Lucky Ones Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWe Answered the Call: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections of a Soldier Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMemoirs of a Rear Echelon M***** F***** Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrunts View Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of a Confederate Boy in the Civil War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Rumor of War: The Classic Vietnam Memoir (40th Anniversary Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thirteen Soldiers: A Personal History of Americans at War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Hear a Soldier's Cry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGoodbye Vietnam Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Your Sons -- My Soldiers -- Our War: A Vietnam Commander's Struggle Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Regular Army Corporal: Growing up in the Depression, World War II, and the Korean and Cold Wars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rebel Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tom Sawyer’s Civil War Chronicles Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere’S Charlie?: Memories from a Time of War, 1965–68 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales from Monkey Mountain: Stories of the Vietnam War Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrenchy's Whore: A teenage paratrooper goes from high school to the point of the spear. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Father's War: Memories from Our Honored WWII Soldiers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTHE BEST VIEWS OF HEAVEN Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWe Few: U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darker Than Dark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKnow Me Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRecollections: Memories From My Military Years Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Military Biographies For You
Mein Kampf: The Original, Accurate, and Complete English Translation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScars and Stripes: An Unapologetically American Story of Fighting the Taliban, UFC Warriors, and Myself Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Caesar: Life of a Colossus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: The Mavericks Who Plotted Hitler's Defeat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Unbroken: by Laura Hillenbrand | Includes Analysis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pledge to America: One Man's Journey from Political Prisoner to U.S. Navy SEAL Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guerrilla Warfare Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Rumor of War: The Classic Vietnam Memoir (40th Anniversary Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America's Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Hell and Back: The Classic Memoir of World War II by America's Most Decorated Soldier Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Napoleon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military's Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Personal Memoirs Of U.s. Grant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Right Kind of Crazy: My Life as a Navy SEAL, Covert Operative, and Boy Scout from Hell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Operator: Firing the Shots that Killed Osama bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Privileges of War
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Privileges of War - Thomas A. Ross
E` book_preview_excerpt.html }ْF`S3[Koҕ-k*5*Ye$ @aIz0c61_2tYI@,w?WqW|C_Mơ6PbnXbT*pm[װ?4_)WehPXTqߵ؇1VTnqǺipGpj]U
zFc?c?u8?`Ї*k]w}|r@R\]qKͪUߧ/]s\1Pj}?;MzqlkAԱ-CquYG,%ĕ},"wWĘ0n8UF|înm
b(n*}7UvXO+,-vb1]еUlǴ7e_śTŻx3]qsxݷu,~8auh+}}чx1r`Yb1lqiԜ6jlB;Umme?xN}ݍ?]\]a,C5}.w]qhۊ_wĵ#V +Z#Nio}=WgG\*bKJh]Vx ]7v%5XتJ/c=p!$%Bj|xضa
ې˼vʦ?{|IV+巡P}܍}P2O>ⳋO_;umǐMWšw0ūz
t=F_tM86-6]*B
UX/i|+݁x`5aN4 U[],p}~
BVx{0tX@i} bO)[ʩmCG-x)M5;(t_}??<Ż//O.~ⳅ(ЏmͿnFXK]_n~˫xN4i;EfO 0
J3b sNQܒ%o7"PI.9Zո'5ָeRH!ԀO풵 {SŰōΗxU1=ş>$M^qfɧ,|ho>zZ&gp忽.{B,4k I=÷ Zxͫ"02؛ܝyyyw7OKWk*O<j߇_Mlx^Cp#qs_SO`}|Y_h oo =|scS ~|uԏ00ix
t:
!>-[̊3WaCo{ ʇb~x}Vh\C01I3c~= ͭ>A'W~+L!4w9~XwP=w16{{Nd>^&A!vY-7ǒ҃[?.7@9ȂYׇӳP:oxW/ܾ)+.5&Z"暝@+!qpH6EQq#NA"l++h|ɛC@h=M
ßM7
ttCcC]4 [?E|Q[FPc~0!Eu_o0<
sɌ K\qx}npʨ`w1 kEd;s~ "dѢޮ0?"4`B0o\jS1bzv>MM}]CT>7?vD@lb}V
m$%ݏ
Pcɦ+u P?
m[hԶ
]bZI] |n/o`{@q|7E Ea?4pqn}w`~_l$?|x9X2_?t_'l`kqÀ F]#FٌJ@$mh,|^8p>oA0ZO bL.?V.x D, t#t*@Ce)QAaw@
e8b]rÈ1es1Tl;,6GEھx{@kڕT@k(M(M!JyXXnUV;L]/%O[ATDֺ^:^cޱu;2u,F0_5u69!6CZ\{ak̢w&eI1
2'}ebwنehwh=vkS
sLexv\'E}b/YW6Քr )Ob