THE FUNNY THING ABOUT WAR: A Historical Fiction Account of the Vietnamese War based upon a Sailor's Westpac experiences

by Al Campo

It’s 1972, and under Nixon’s direction U.S. troops are being withdrawn while the U.S. Navy’s presence and role is elevated. He orders the Navy to mine major harbors and waterways in the North, blockading supplies and armaments sent by the Soviet Union and Communist China from entering the country. Campaigns named Linebacker, Lam Son and Sea Dragon are conducted to counter and reverse gains made by the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive against the Republic of Vietnam. These campaigns called upon the full complement of the US Navy Task Force 77 to unleash punishing raids against coastal installations, supply routes and depots in the north, as well as continue to provide fire support for allied forces in the south.
Chris Columbo, a once promising officer candidate, following a devastating heartbreak, forfeits his NROTC scholarship, abandons his studies and dream of becoming a naval aviator. His life careens into an abyss of self-pity, where he immerses himself in a lifestyle that only leads to a succession of failures. Upon hitting rock bottom, the Navy offers him a lifeline. They invoke a provision of his scholarship contract and order him to report for active duty. Desperate to escape his downward spiral, he accepts that lifeline and despite his opposition to the war reports for active duty. Within three weeks of receiving his orders he finds himself in Subic Bay, crossing a gangplank where he reports aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Lawrence (DDG-4) as a seaman 3rd class.
A week later the ship and crew arrive off the coast of Vietnam as active participants in the war, a fact which was immediately punctuated to Chris as he witnessed the nearby shoreline erupt in fireballs and smoke from a payload of bombs unleashed from a B-52 above. A disciplined life aboard the ship, the camaraderie of the crew, the rigors of combat, the long days at sea, the sights sounds and pleasures of exotic locations throughout the South China Sea would cause Chris to come of age and change the course of his life. He only needs to survive their final and most terrifying firing mission deep into well defended Haiphong Harbor.

443 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2024

About the author

Al Campo is a retired mortgage-banking executive of 30 years and Vietnam War Veteran having served aboard the USS Lawrence from 1972 to 1974 as a boatswain mate and operations specialist. Before entering the Navy and starting his career in business he attended the Universities of Missouri and Hofstra. Nowadays when he isn’t tending to his gardens or riding his Harley, he is plying his acquired boatswain mate’s skills tying fishing knots on his boat the Moody Blues along the southern shores of Long Island. THE FUNNY THING ABOUT WAR is his first novel.

Reviews

[mac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this three stars, because it was compelling enough that I read it quickly. At first I did not like the conversational style of writing, but after a while I got used to it. It read kind of like a memoir or diary in the third person, as odd as that sounds. I thought the author spent great deal of time discussing the r&r portion of the tour. ESpecially the sexual exploits of columbo and his pals.
One thing that was distracting was typos , in this age of electronic spelling and grammar automated checking, why would there be so many typos? Words out of place, it's like no one ever proof read it.
Anyway, I had never been in the military so I'm always interested in the experiences of soldiers and what they do for us all. I believe I read that the author is a Vietnam vet himself, which of course lends credibility and I'd like to say thank you for your service!
One thing I would love to know from my esteemed reader Peers did columbo die at the very end?

[R Locke]

Jogged some memories

While Lawrence was in Vietnam, I was on a DE in the med. Escorted the Intrepid during her last deployment. Recall the racial tensions of that time. Navy solution was to require everyone to attend a "racial awareness seminar". Those were truly f'd up and did more to exacerbate the problem.
Couldn't relate to the pornographic portions of the liberty port stories; European bar girls were different and not as aggressive IIRC. Otherwise a good snapshot of shipboard lifr.

[Tom Grippa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author shares many stories and experiences as a sailor in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war. I enjoyed reading about his exploits during a very difficult time for our country. His historical fiction brings you along for the ride as he deals with very challenging circumstances.

[John Rosenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rude, vulgar and pornographic. Not very good.