Yesterday's Soldier

by Tom Keating

Yesterday’s Soldier” is a different Vietnam War memoir. Packed into this tidy book is the story of a young man's coming of age in troubled times. The book is about of his transformation from infantryman to conscientious objector and his experiences in Vietnam. War, religion, and morality are always in the background of his story and they move to the surface in every chapter.The author, after years of studying for the priesthood in a religious seminary, leaves and is quickly exposed to the Selective Service. His belief in God and his country inspired him to enlist in the US Army during the Vietnam war, and he proceeds through the Army’s infantry training cycle of weapons and war tactics, which clash with his years of prayer. His faith and his ideals caused him to struggle with being trained to kill, and so he becomes a conscientious objector. He survives the Army’s systematic punishment (“the Treatment”) during the long months of waiting for a decision in his case as he defies the will of his family, his church, and faces criminal charges by the US Army. “Yesterday’ Soldier” is his story of that journey from prayer to war.

175 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2020

About the author

Tom Keating , Author of Yesterday’s Soldier, A Passage From Prayer to the Vietnam War
Tom Keating is a graduate of Stonehill College, where he studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary for five years before serving in the United States Army, including a tour of Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 as a conscientious objector. He served with the 47th Military History Detachment, then served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Logistical Command, and Headquarters Company, US Army Vietnam, (USARV) also in Long Binh. His service earned him two Army Commendation Medal. His memoir of his military experiences in the US Army, Yesterday’s Soldier, A Passage From Prayer to the Vietnam War is the story of his journey from Infantry Officer Candidate to conscientious objector.
After his military service, Tom attended Boston University and completed his Master’s degree in Education, and taught at the high school in Burlington, MA for eight years. A career in corporate communications and learning with companies like Wang Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM and EMC Corporation followed. He also produced news and public affairs broadcasts for local Boston television and national cable television programs.
Tom joined the AGAPE writing program for veterans at the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College under the direction of Roxana Von Kraus. He attended the Joiner Institute Master Writing Program at the Joiner Institute Writers’ Workshop Festival held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 2017 and 2018.
Excerpts from his memoir have appeared in national anthologies. “Convoy for the Con Voi” was published in “War Stories 2017”, an anthology edited by Sean Davis, writer, artist and combat veteran of Iraq. . Another excerpt, “Shakedown” appears in Complacency Kills, an anthology published by Warrior Writers Boston in their book.
Tom and his wife, the artist Kathleen Keating, live in Massachusetts where he is an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is committed to assisting veterans of all ages.