Surviving Vietnam: The Writings of One Soldier—The Feelings of Many

By James Toscano

Jimmy Toscano was smart, talented, and the rock in his family. When he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War at age twenty-two, he willingly accepted the request from Uncle Sam. After all, Jimmy, who was always up for a challenge, was full of life, drive, and a determination to make the world a better place.

In a posthumous collection of poems, Jimmy leads others down a lyrical path through the experiences he endured during the Vietnam War as he fought alongside over two million other soldiers, and after as he returned to an unwelcoming America. Jimmys poems shine a light on the effects war has on a soldiers family, what it is like to stare death in the face, the brutality of combat, how the war transformed energetic young men into broken souls, and the challenges that accompanied their return home as they learned to battle a new enemy: the haunting memories of war.

Surviving Vietnam shares poignant and candid poems from a war veteran that expose the realities of the battlefield and beyond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781532009099

James Toscano

James Toscano was a man who was always smiling- always a character. He graduated with honors from the Hibbing Community College in Hibbing, Mn and attended the University of Mn, Duluth Campus. He proudly served his country with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam from 1968-1970. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge of Honor and the Bronze Star Medal for Valor. He passed away in 2011 from cancer (possibly caused by agent orange) at the age of 64.

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Copyright © 2017 James Toscano.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-0910-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0909-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016918476

iUniverse rev. date: 12/14/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

1 Mom

2 Combat (B-52s)

3 Combat (Affects Back Home)

4 Combat (All Over)

5 Combat (On the Spot)

6 First Time

7 God’s Wisdom?

8 A Grunt’s Poem

9 The First Encounter

10 Water and Fear

11 Medals in Glass

12 Ambush by the Numbers

13 Spooky (USAF)

14 Homecoming, or Coming Home

15 Healthy Body, Sick Mind

16 Shrapnel in my Heart

17 Doc

18 Sydney

19 Combat (Type O+)

20 Combat (In Between)

21 Girl Back Home

22 Braniff Airlines

23 Wheels

24 Point Man

25 Birthday 1969

26 First Firefight

27 RTO (Radio Telephone Operator)

28 Stars Tonight

29 Mail Call

30 Water

31 Come Home

32 Dedicated to the Kraut and/or Jane Fonda (Hanoi Jane)

Glossary

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

This book of poems was written by my brother, James Toscano. He was born on October 2, 1946, and passed away on April 23, 2011, at the age of sixty-four from cancer (possibly caused by Agent Orange). Jimmy was smart and talented, played his trombone in the marching band, swam on the swim team, and played on the football team. He was fun loving and, yes, even sometimes mischievous. He always kept us hopping.

Jimmy was the best brother, friend, husband and father anyone could ever ask for and a great soldier. We grew up in a very close-knit and loving Italian family, and he was the only boy of