Through the Water and the Fire: A Swift Boat Sailor's Story

by Charles Hunt

A true war story of combat on the murky waterways of the Mekong Delta in South Vietnam. Based on his letters and pictures sent home, Charles Hunt allows the reader a glance through a window into the mind, heart, and emotions of a combat sailor as well as glimpse his reflections of the Vietnam era as a retired veteran decades later.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 21, 2018

About the author

Charles Hunt joined the Navy Reserves in hopes of staying out of combat in Vietnam. In 1969, the Navy sent him to South Vietnam where he spent 345 days as Engineman and aft gunner on a fifty-foot patrol boat. The Navy awarded Petty Officer Hunt the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" for courage under fire. When he returned home, he married his wife Claire and began their family. In 1976, Charles accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and went on to serve in his local church in many capacities. Since 2011 he has battled cancer that is presumed to be the result of his exposure to Agent Orange, the defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War. Charles still serves the Lord through various mission trips and ministries at Calvary Chapel of Mercer County, N.J.

Reviews

[Ed Feola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read

I thought it was a very interesting method to tell a great deal of the story through letters written home. Definitely added a very personal approach. As a fellow Vietnam veteran (USCGC Campbell, Operation Market Time 67-68) it is always of my interest to read others depictions. Hopefully his health issues will stay stabilized but AO is slowly killing many Vietnam Vets.w Welcome Home brothers.