Fighting Shadows in Vietnam: A Combat Memoir

by Michael P. Moynihan Jr.

In this memoir, set as deeply in his mind as in the Southeast Asian jungle, a young American soldier embarks on a journey to a war that, for him, will never be over. The world was a playground for Mickey, a naive Irish American kid bored with his life. His father served in World War II, his brother was a Marine in Vietnam; now it was his turn. His 365 days in the hell that was Vietnam builds in torment until an attack on a bunker complex in Cambodia. Wounded, his friend captured, he becomes a tormented survivor knowing he is always just a heartbeat from death. His adventure-turned-nightmare brings a visceral understanding of the words penned by Thoreau, the very same words Mickey's father spoke throughout Mickey's youth: "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," especially those at war. This memoir chronicles the key perspective-shaping experiences of a U.S. Army grunt fighting in Vietnam.

220 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2013

Reviews

[Robert B. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

A similar story to my own. I got back after becoming a Army correspondent and combat photographer. I would surely have been a casualty of stayed on line.

[R D Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, a thoughtful, Honest

A well-recalled journey through Vietnam, from Nui Ba Ra, to Cambodia, and a resulting war wound, and a transfer to the relative safety of a waiters job in an officers dining room away from the bulk of the fighting.

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review pending on H-Net.