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Between the Lines
I wrote these letters between October 18, 1968, and October 1, 1969. I was an eighteen year old Marine serving in Vietnam as a rifleman.
I did not see these letters after I had sent them to my family for more than sixteen years. When I did see them again, it was my father who handed me a Hush Puppy shoebox which he had used to store my letters; this was in 1985.
When I began to read the letters, although I thought I wanted to look into my past, the letters upset me enough that I could not finish reading them. I put them back in the shoebox and left them untouched for another eleven years.
In 1996, I took them out of hiding with the intentions of writing a book based on the fact that what I had stated in the letters, and what had actually happened, were two different things. So I began to write a book that I thought would reveal things people needed to know, sort of like the 'between the line' stuff, so that they might have a clearer picture of my make-up.
The book was going well until I got to the part where I had been hospitalized for combat stress—also what the doctors had said could be referred to as battle fatigue. At that part of the story, I stopped writing; I had lost my drive to look back at Vietnam, although Vietnam had not lost its drive to come at me.
Another sixteen years passed before I found the way to finish the story. What I present to you has been a long time in coming, about something in my life, a long time ago...
I did not see these letters after I had sent them to my family for more than sixteen years. When I did see them again, it was my father who handed me a Hush Puppy shoebox which he had used to store my letters; this was in 1985.
When I began to read the letters, although I thought I wanted to look into my past, the letters upset me enough that I could not finish reading them. I put them back in the shoebox and left them untouched for another eleven years.
In 1996, I took them out of hiding with the intentions of writing a book based on the fact that what I had stated in the letters, and what had actually happened, were two different things. So I began to write a book that I thought would reveal things people needed to know, sort of like the 'between the line' stuff, so that they might have a clearer picture of my make-up.
The book was going well until I got to the part where I had been hospitalized for combat stress—also what the doctors had said could be referred to as battle fatigue. At that part of the story, I stopped writing; I had lost my drive to look back at Vietnam, although Vietnam had not lost its drive to come at me.
Another sixteen years passed before I found the way to finish the story. What I present to you has been a long time in coming, about something in my life, a long time ago...
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First published March 29, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 22, 2019
I can’t believe I’m the first person to review this book. It gave you a real sense of what it was like to be in Vietnam. It is very well written. A very real and raw look at what so many poor kids, and I mean kids, had to go through. I truly could not imagine.
February 25, 2020
I really liked how the author sent lots of letters during the war to his parents. And that he could look back at what he wrote and admit to the falsehoods he told. Gives a better picture of what the veterans went thru.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews