Prelude to Reveille: A Vietnam Awakening

by S.D. Sawyer

Have we made things right with our Vietnam Veterans? It's been almost one-half century since American involvement in this unpopular war, but after reading Prelude to A Vietnam Awakening, readers understand why author S.D.Sawyer has written this novel and asked this question. Inspired by real-life experiences of the author and her husband, this historical fiction mines the personal histories of protagonist Tom Barrington and other soldiers during this turbulent period. Tom arrived at his first assignment, The Old Guard, in Arlington, VA, in December, 1967. Months later he was ordered to Ranger School, and finally deployed to Vietnam. His young wife, Meg, juggled her career as a new teacher while adapting to regulations required of an Army wife, before entering the foreboding world of the Waiting Wife. Wounded half-way through his tour, Tom went from combat on a jungle trail to surgery in Japan, to enrollment at a small college back home. Anti-war demonstrations and protests cordoned off returning veterans from what should have been safe soil. Ignored by institutions and support networks that had offered care to returning soldiers in past decades, these veterans could never have prepared for a peacetime home front that would prove as perilous and haunting as the theater of war they had faced in Southeast Asia. Sawyer presents a hard contrast between the repeatedly tested valor of such noble heroes, and the chilling response to them from this once-proud country. Prelude to A Vietnam Awakening possesses a sense of time and place that foreshadows issues still facing military families. Its tone and details make it resonate with those who lived during this era as well as future generations who will only learn of these conflicts from a history book. Bravery and commitment to America are not limited to times of triumph and national celebration, but remain steadfast and true in the face of protracted engagement, ambiguous mission and uncertain outcome. In this tribute to our soldiers, S.D. Sawyer invokes a call for the America of today to awaken to what Vietnam War era soldiers have lived through, and realize—many still need to be welcomed back home.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

A retired secondary teacher and writer, S.D. Sawyer's poetry began appearing in national literary magazines over 15 years ago. Because the Waiting Wife experience during the Vietnam War was such a defining time in her life, it became the focus of this, her first novel. In it, she recalls and shares events and feelings she, her husband, family and friends faced during this difficult period in American history. Sawyer and her husband reside on a farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania. They are parents of three adult children and four grandsons. She can be contacted online through www.sdsawyer.com

Reviews

[Will.K]

I would like to start with personally this is not a book i would recommend to people who like to read of an adventure or action. This book relates more to people who would like to read about nonfiction, ,true story's, or even drama. This book is about a simple military wife Meg and her military husband Lt. Tom Barrington. This book takes place during the Vietnam war were Tom serves as a heroic Lt. Through out this true story you live through the perspective of both Tom and Meg. You get to understand the hardship both Tom and Meg went through before and after the war. The story shows not just how Tom had to fight to survive the tragedy that was the Vietnam war, but it goes into detail about how Tom and his wife Meg were treated after the war. I wouldn't recommend this to friends but rather someone interested in learning what really happened to family's that survived the treacherous war.

[KyBunnies · Rating 5 out of 5]

***THIS WAS A GOODREADS.COM FIRST READ CONTEST WIN!***

This was a great read. The author provided insight to something I knew nothing about but had always wondered. This author shows what it was like for the person returning from the Vietnam War. She even shows what it was like for the family members of the person returning. This book was a little bit of a tearjerker for me. But it was well worth reading for everything the author showed and talked about. This is a well written novel. I praise the author for having the gut and knowledge to write something so wonderful and share a horrible time with others.

As the author wrote in the book "Remembering their sacrifice and service".

***THIS WAS A GOODREADS.COM FIRST READ CONTEST WIN!***

[Mary Seely · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was an Army wife in 1967-1970 and this book is exactly right. It gave me "butterflies in my stomach" all over again. These soldier and their families deserve much more respect and gratitude than they received. It's still not too late to thank them!! If you never read another book about military families during the Vietnam era, you must read this one.

[JoAnna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three-word review: Set in 1967, this story follows newlyweds Tom and Meg as they settle into the military life during the Vietnam War. The point of this book is obviously meant to illustrate the struggles Vietnam soldiers and their families had with fitting into the military mold, grappling with active duty, and returning to a country that disrespected and despised their commitments; I acknowledge this is a relevant and important issue to share with the wider world. However, the writing is wretched: unrealistic dialogue, plodding plot, and excessive detail.

[Rob Ballister · Rating 4 out of 5]

S.D. Sawyer 19s first novel, PRELUDE TO REVEILLE: A VIETNAM AWAKENING is an emotionally charged book about Meg and Tom, a young married couple struggling with the Army, the Vietnam War, and Tom 19s return as a wounded veteran.

2nd Lt Tom Barrington has a bright future in the Army, a beautiful wife named Meg, and his whole life ahead of him. But when he gets orders to Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader, the young officer and his pregnant wife must deal with separation and the horrors and uncertainty of war. Tom returns, and while his physical wounds have healed, the mental toll of war lingers long after, and jeopardize his life with his bride.

The characters are fictitious, but it 19s obvious that the author has walked the walk of the young Meg Barrington. Sawyer does an excellent job of developing both Tom and Meg so you feel their joy, their love, and at times their pain. I was particularly struck by how genuine the characters are, in both their speech and emotions. Overall the story does an excellent job of portraying this trying time in any military couple 19s life.

Vets and spouses alike will relate well to this book, and it could serve as a springboard for discussion for today 19s generation of warriors preparing to leave their spouses behind for a wartime deployment.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cri du coeur and a timely warning. The soldiers returning from serving their country in Iran and Afghanistan could well suffer the same fate as their brothers-in-arms who returned from Vietnam if ignorance spreads. This is the story of one wife's experiences of her husband's Vietnam 'adventure'.
Without being overly self-indulgent, this story, relating all too frequent events of the times, shows how tough life could be for the family as well as for a returning wounded warrior.
Although the work lacks literary finesse it is very readable, not least because it has been properly edited. It attempts to get inside soldier Tom's head as well as the narrator's and although not entirely successful it is a workmanlike effort.
It is always surprising how un-Christian so many Americans can be while professing to be followers of Jesus. The events portrayed do not go over-the-top; much worse happened. Let us hope a similar diary of events is not forthcoming in future conflicts.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare chance to step into the mind of a Vietnam Veteran and his wife as they deal with a country full of hate for their service and PTSD. War changes a person. This war changed the lives of thousands upon thousands and it wasn't just those that went to battle. I hope never to live long enough to see again our service men and women treated so cruelly upon re-entering the world that as these heros were. To every one of you that came home from that war from a wife of one of you, WELCOME HOME!

[Donna Fluharty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives me awhile new insight into the struggles of returning soldiers. America should be ashamed of the way these men and women were treated after sacrificing their time and sometimes health, if not their life for their country. Unfortunately another black mark on the history of a very great country.

[Jack Sakalauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Vietnam War hits home as a young woman marries an army 1st. Lt. Written from a wife and mother's perspective, it covers the time before, during and after deployment. A stark picture of the similarity and differences to conditions today.

[Therese]

$0.0

[Judy Sorensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an insight to our Viet Nam soldiers' lives, personal and military. Well done.

[Arnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great historical perspective. From an Army wife during Vietnam Era. In Washington D.C.

[Michael Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific Book

For anyone whom lived during Vietnam you will remember these times. Sad and good memories. Our Vietnam vets deserve the respect that has far too late.