Killing Peace

By Sam Tabalno

Pineapple Sam finds himself thrust from safe and secure Marine boot camp into the jungles of Vietnam.
Daydreams of a better time with friends and lovers in Hawaii intertwine with the death of a country at war with itself. Follow Pineapple Sam and his military brothers as they embark on a journey through the hell that was the Vietnam War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of the world, as seen through the eyes of one Marine who was there. Open the pages to Killing Peace and be prepared for a 100 percent authentic look into the mind and life of a highly trained Marine, a man trained to kill or be killed, all in the name of forcing communism out and making room for supposed freedom and justice. Perhaps if you take a look at the Vietnam conflict from Sam’s perspective, you’ll have plenty of questions of your own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sam Tabalno
• Release date: Mar 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466019942

Sam Tabalno

Pineapple Sam is the character that embodies the life and stories of Sam Tabalno, who grew up on the shores of the Hawaiian Islands and later ventured outward in the world to embark on many fascinating adventures. Pineapple Sam loved to “talk story” as they say on the islands and decided to write his stories. Now many of his friends, family, and readers like you, can share in his adventures.

Book preview

The Life and Adventures of Pineapple Sam

Killing Peace

by Pineapple Sam

Copyright © 2011 Pineapple Sam

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be reproduced, resold, or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my faithful readers and listeners. Without you, my stories would be nothing but jumbled letters, tossed together with no meaning. Thank you for giving me a purpose, a reason to continue telling my stories with passion and enjoyment. If you are not a reader or a listener at heart, please pass this work on so the adventures of Pineapple Sam can be discovered and enjoyed by others who are.

Disclaimer

The following memoirs are constructed from what I (and others with whom I conferred) can remember of the times depicted. While each and every event may not be true in every detail, the events described herein contain a larger truth that I refer to as emotional truth. These are the ways the memories have presented themselves to me and have grown in my mind as I have made a concerted effort to recall and reflect on the gifts of the past. I look forward to hearing from others who may remember things differently so that we may all learn from each other in our shared recollections.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Twilight Secrets

Why South Vietnam

First Firefight

Rogue Team

Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

About the Author

Introduction

In Kauai, a Hawaiian Island, I am known as Pineapple Sam. I have always enjoyed telling stories about my life experiences to my friends or anyone else who would listen. More often than not, the stories involve something that happened to me personally. This allows me to express the true sentiment and feeling behind the stories so that you, as a reader or listener, can experience each moment in a way that cannot be found in a fictional story. I have found that stories are more compelling if they come straight from the horse’s mouth, as they say.

Having adventures in life has always been easy for me; it is the writing that is difficult. Even though I enjoy talking story more than writing the tales of my life, I know that if I do not record them, my stories will end when I’m no longer on this beautiful, amazing Earth to share them. Since I can’t live forever, I want to leave a legacy, of sorts—to leave stories behind so people can enjoy them and have some idea of Pineapple Sam’s life. I strongly feel that this incredible, educational, entertaining life I’ve lived for over a half a century is a gift that must be shared.

Twilight Secrets

The cool evening breeze whistled through the bamboo trees, making the leaves hum, whispering their twilight secrets like clandestine lovers in the darkness. Through the dark, hidden paths, our patrol fire team moved cautiously, step by step. There was Weasel, the rifleman and assistant team leader; Lacherco, our grenadier; Mr. Clean, our radioman; Chief, our automatic rifleman; and me, our point man. I listened to my jungle boots slosh in the mud, sucking air with each careful step. The warm, muddy water squished out through riveted brass holes on the sides of my Marine-issued footwear. My feet were waterlogged, my socks dripping wet and begging for drier conditions before the nasty jungle rot could take up residence on my feet.

Like any good point man, I stopped every few minutes to survey our surroundings with my bare-eyes night-vision, concentrating on discreet sounds and smells for signs of hostility. A lengthy minute or two passed as I paused, with bated breath, straining to listen for any distinct sound other than the pounding of my heart in my ears. I am brave. I cannot reveal how scared I am, for fear is the mind-killer, a driver for panic and insanity. A Marine kills or gets killed!