Carry Me Home

by John M. Del Vecchio

In this powerful and poignant epic, Del Vecchio transports the soldiers of the Vietnam experience to their final battlefield—the home front.  High Meadow Farm, in the fertile hill country of central Pennsylvania, would be their salvation. In Vietnam they had fought side by side, brothers in arms. Now in the face of personal tragedy and bureaucratic deception, they would create a more enduring allegiance, an alliance of the spirit and the soil. Carry Me Home is the remarkable story of their struggle to find each other and themselves, a saga spanning fifteen years—fifteen years lost in a wilderness called America. In its scope, breadth, and brilliance, Carry Me Home is much more than a novel about Vietnam and Vietnam veterans. It is a testament to history and hope, to hometowns and homecomings, to love and lost, to faith and family. It is a novel about two decades in our collective lives and the cleansing of our spirit—and inspiring and unforgettable novel about American itself.

Genres: Fiction, War

720 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

John M. Del Vecchio graduated from Lafeyette College in 1969. He was drafted and sent to Vietnam in 1970, where he served as combat correspondent in the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). In 1971 he was awarded a Bronze Star for Heroism in Ground Combat. He is author of The 13th Valley, Darkness Falls, Carry Me Home, For the Sake of All Living Things, and other works.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Del Vecchio's "The 13th Valley", I was really looking forward to reading another of his books. Let me explain my rating then of just two stars.

The first half of the book was great. Definitely five star material. But the second half of the book just did not work for me. It was pretentious and just not realistic even though a work of fiction. The terminology used was stilted and not practical for these vets to be using. And when he delved into bio molecular definitions and the like, I almost closed the book for good.

I wished this book ended about 350 pages before it did. It was too long and tedious to be a good book. Sorry, John, this one was not good.

[Gerhard Bartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

at times long winded, but not offensively so; at times a deja vu kick in the brain; not for the faint nor not for someone looking for a pleasant read; it WAS a pleasant read but then i am the target audience.

[Jim Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific account of the post-war experience of America's Vietnam veterans. It really highlights the many different ways they struggled and the military's inability to help them figure it out. This is definitely a five-star story but I only gave it four stars because it gets lost in philosophical soliloquies from time to time. It felt as if those could have been shortened and still made the point. All in all, however, this is a sensational story and truly sheds light on the hard homecoming so many Vietnam veterans experienced.

[Richard Taylor]

Important story, hard read

I took longer to read this book than any I can remember. although I always knew where it was taking me,it was almost too personal and took too long to get there. This is an important reality but not an easy one to face.

[Drew]

Carry Me Home by John Delvecchio (1995)