For Self and Country: For the Wounded in Vietnam the Journey Home Took More Courage Than Going into Battle

by Rick Eilert

A teenage Marine severely wounded in Vietnam writes of sufferings endured and courage found as he fought his way back to life and recounts the unique fellowship of wounded veterans and their struggles with pain and misunderstanding

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Ed St Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a sleeper. I expected to hear about the time spent in Vietnam by the author, including battles, time spent in camp, etc.

Following the coverage of the first battle, and the wounds suffered by the author, this book quickly transitioned to the evacuation to a field hospital. After stabilization the patient started his transition back to the states and his eventual arrival at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital.

The remaining 18 chapters provided a day-by-day story of the wounded soldiers from battle in Vietnam. There is MUCH pain and suffering, several “dear John” letters, and broken dreams.

Many of the soldiers written about in this book have had their lives changed forever. In addition to the horrific injuries suffered by the soldiers, many of them were insulted by the population who felt we had no business being in Vietnam.

It was hard to put this book down! I have to admit I was not expecting the storyline. I’m very grateful that I checked this book out. I have already recommended this book to someone whom I think will enjoy reading this book.

[Alecia Burleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the opportunity to read this book my junior year in high school while completing my research paper on the Vietnam War. I found myself laughing and crying at the ups and mostly downs that many soldiers involved in the Vietnam War had to face post injury. It is a great read for young and old. Thank you Mr. Eilert for the reality of what the effects of the war had on both soldiers and their families.

[Jessie Mattis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an incredible source of information on a wounded soldier's plight in an American military hospital during the Vietnam War. Definitely an "R" rating, so I don't recommend as a light read or a book for young people, but if you want to dive deep into the nitty-gritty of this guy's experience, I recommend. It was a perfect resource for some research I was doing. Glad to have discovered it.

[Kay Akins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! Rick was the reason why I enlisted.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've retired from 40+ years in the biopharmaceuticals industry, rising from tightening test tubes on a tissue culture assembly line to Senior VP, Quality Assurance. That said, at 66 years old I must say I take more pride and satisfaction in having served four years as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman. Rick Elert's book brought back fond memories of serving at the Great Lakes Naval Hospital from 1970- 1971. After finishing Hospital Corps School and prior to entering Laboratory Tech School, I served on the Neurological Surgery ward of the base hospital for five months. During that period of time I principally served as a treatment and dressings corpsman for Navy and Marine Corps personnel who suffered some form of paralysis due to spinal cord injuries. These patients were remarkable young men. Oddly enough, few of them were wounded in combat. Many were Vietnam War vets who, back to the states after serving their tours in Vietnam, were injured in car crashes. I would guess that during my time on this ward I helped treat 80 or so patients. I can recall three who were injured during actual military service. One fell out of a watch tower in Vietnam. One fell through a hatch on a submarine, and one, a Navy Corpsman, was paralyzed below the waist when his 45 caliber pistol got caught up in some vines and discharged a shell into his spine.

Many of these patients were just how Eilert described his fellow patients. The Navy doctors and nurses I served under were just as professional and dedicated as those depicted in Eilert's book. Similarly, so were the fellow Corpsmen I served with.

Eilert writes a heart rendering story. It certainly brought back memories of serving at a hospital which cared for over 11,000 patients during the Vietnam War. I can't help but wonder what became of Marine Corps Sgt Gary Lomprez, a quadrapalegic who made my life hell the first couple of weeks I was on the ward. I couldn't do anything right for Gary, either feeding him correctly - "Miller! Quit feeding me meat, potatoes, green beans, meat, potatoes, green beans. I'll tell you when I want some damn green beans!"; or giving him a bed bath - "don't clean my ears with a wet q-tip! What the hell is wrong with you?!"; or turning him to a more comfortable position, there was never a more comfortable position for Sgt Lomprez. By day three he had talked me in exchanging my new leather watch wristband for his cheap plastic one because as Gary said "What the hell, you can always go and buy another damn wristband while I'm not getting out of this bed anytime soon." I have never forgotten Gary or Lance Corporal John Madsen, who after achieving an erection when I prepared him for a catherization got so excited that he pulled an instamatic camera from his bedside stand to take a photo to show to ward nurses and fellow ward mates. For days after that it was said "Get Miller to catheterize you. He has the touch!"

What a group of honorable young men. What a book about honorable young men. A very touching read.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and enlightening chronicle of one Marine's transition from being badly wounded by a boobytrap - what would now be called an IED - in Vietnam through the VA hospital system to being able to live independently. The book starts at the point at which the author, while walking point on a patrol, was blown up by a massive hidden bomb, nearly dying. He recounts his own and others' struggles with adjusting to the sudden change from being young men in the prime of life to living with major disabilities for the rest of their lives, their changed relationships with their families, the battles with physical and emotional pain, and the practical details of learning to work around their new limitations.
As a retired Marine and disabled vet (though to a much lesser degree than this author) and the brother of two other Marines who ended up permanently injured - one to about the same degree as I did, one who was left paraplegic and went through a similar odyssey in the VA - this is a powerful book for me. Rick Eilert is plain-spoken but articulate and tells his story as simply as possible. I would urge anyone contemplating military service to read this among other books - not that it is a wrong path to take, but one that should be embarked upon with one's eyes open and a realistic grasp of the possible outcomes.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up randomly in the Glenbard West library. I had this thing Senior year where I ate lunch in the Library and would pick a book at random from the shelf. This was one of them. It's about a 19-year-old boy who gets blown up by a land mine or a grenade or something in Vietnam. Most of the story takes place in a veterans hospital in Glenveiw Illinois. Basically he talks (it's a true story) about how it was to survive something like that and the other wounded soldiers around him during their months of recovery.

It's a hard book to find because it isn't famous and it is out of print. I had to buy it on the used books of Amazon. If you can find it, or want to barrow it, I would highly recommend reading it.

[John T. Randant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read and should be a must read for anyone dealing with wounded veterans. As a former Marine and Viet Nam veteran I thoroughly enjoyed this book.