Mỹ Buddha

by Tom Affourtit

Mỹ Buddha translates to American Buddha. Based on actual events during 1971 to 1975, this is an experience-based novel of people who lived and served under the Nixon Administration’s Vietnamization program. Tom Wilson accepts a job in Vietnam as a training officer for a construction firm during the Vietnamization Program. During his travels throughout Vietnam to effect turnover of the firm’s massive communication sites, Tom is protected by a mysterious underground anti-communist group.At the onset of the Easter Offensive by the North Vietnamese in 1972, Tom is activated as a Marine Corps Reservist, and serves on and off active duty as an advisor during his two-year assignment. After his wife returns to the United States to recover from hepatitis, Tom gets involved with a female journalist who is also seeking her husband, a flyer shot down somewhere in South Vietnam. At the same time, a rogue CIA Station Chief becomes enamored with the reporter, while also seeking to find her husband. But he vows to eliminate the reporter’s husband if found, as well as an interfering Tom, when the time comes. A climax is reached when the husband is discovered in a VC prison camp.Back in the United States and disgruntled by conditions there, Tom discovers that the reporter remains in Vietnam as the country is in the midst of the final North Vietnamese invasion that eventually results in the fall of South Vietnam to the Communists. Tom immediately returns to Vietnam with his long-time friend and fellow Marine advisor. They find the reporter as the last helicopter leaves the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. The author conveys Tom Wilson’s ordeal from a personal perspective, providing insight into the anomalies and nuances that affect counter-culture involvement.

676 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2019

About the author

Founder of the Interaction Research Institute, Inc. in 1975, Tom Affourtit has over 40 years of experience as an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist specializing in organizational development, leadership/management dynamics, program evaluation, motivational assessment, and intercultural communication.
Dr. Affourtit developed and conducted the Preparation for Overseas Duty program for U.S. Marine Corps advisors deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other regions for the USMC Special Operations Command (MARSOC) and the Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force Training Command Advisor Training Group. This program trains advisors to adapt more successfully to a counter-culture.
Dr. Affourtit designed training programs for foreign nationals in transition from traditional to sophisticated communication and engineering systems. He wrote Analysis of a Culture in Conflict, a series of studies focusing on the problems of developing nations adapting to modern industrial methods. He is also the author of the Intercultural Transaction Technique, a method of selecting, training, and evaluating advisors assigned overseas.
Dr. Affourtit developed a simulation methodology to assess cross-cultural training effectiveness for DoD, and he designed a training and intervention program to improve cross-cultural interaction and customer service for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He was the principal instructor and facilitator for the program conducted throughout the United States.
Dr. Affourtit was the head of the Management Assistance Review Team that conducted an evaluation of the programs at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS). The team developed indicators to assess end-of-course and long-term customer satisfaction and impact.
Dr. Affourtit designed surveys for numerous government and commercial organizations, including Allied Command Europe, the Joint Analysis Center, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, White House Military Office (WHMO), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). And, he conducted a study of and recommendations for the Pentagon after the September 11th attack.
For the U.S. Marine Corps, Dr. Affourtit designed the Leadership Evaluation and Analysis Program (LEAP) that was implemented on a worldwide basis for use by commanders in field environments. He created the "Whole Person" officer selection program for the Marine Corps Manpower Plans & Policy office. Developed as an alternative to reliance on SAT scores as the single indicator of potential effectiveness, the study derived a composite scoring method for the multiple factors (e.g., achievement, motivation) that predict effectiveness on duty.
Dr. Affourtit served in the Marine Corps in an active and Reserve capacity from 1954 to 1997. As a Corporal, he served in Korea from 1955 to 1956. In 1970 he was awarded a direct commission as First Lieutenant under the Specialist Officer Program. During the Vietnam conflict, Captain Affourtit served in both a civilian and military capacity from 1971 to 1973. As an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces (RVNAF), he was responsible for training U.S. engineers and their Vietnamese military counterparts in the management and eventual turnover of all Intercontinental Communication Sites (ICS), under the highly visible Vietnamization program.
Captain Affourtit also served on active duty with the Marine Advisory Unit (MAU) and the Marine Security Guard Battalion, and was attached to the RVNAF Airborne Division and the ARVN Political Warfare Division. During the Easter Invasion of 1972, he was awarded the Bronze Star with the combat “V” (for valor) for action during the recapture of Quang Tri City from NVA forces.
Dr. Affourtit and his wife live in Fairfax, VA.