Vietnam ... One Soldier's Experience - Paperback

by Fredric a. Voto (Author)

"Vietnam ... One Soldier's Experience" reveals my deep personal struggles with fear, patriotism, authority, fidelity, racism, life, death, conscience, faith, justice, human tragedy and suffering. Although Vietnam may be the forgotten war, it remains relevant because America is just emerging from two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan. On the horizon are Syria and Iran. The idea for writing "Vietnam ... One Soldier's Experience" was born out of my forty-seven year need to tell my story. Although it is neither a war story filled with great heroic battles nor an historical, chronological narrative; it depicts a very real, personal experience of the fighting and types of operations that we conducted in Vietnam during 1966-1967 and the profound effects it had on my life and the lives of tens of thousands of ordinary young men and women who said "yes" to serving their country. Vietnam was "the silent war". Our enemy did not possess powerful weapons such as Germany had in WWII. The myth of war, as we Americans understand it, did not apply to Vietnam. Jungle or guerrilla warfare is not conventional. Vietnam was "the silent war" because our enemy used stealth, concealment, creative imagination and cunning. They were elusive far beyond what our generals could have imagined. The Viet Cong were invisible on the battlefield; tenacious and courageous in their tunnels. They were heroic in their fervor to defeat their enemy; to seize their country's sovereignty and shape its own destiny. What is it that we can't seem to learn from Vietnam? An administration's lies and deceptions seduced us as we blundered our way into Iraq. Subsequently we miscalculated the determination and resistance from the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. Fools rush in where wise men never tread Are we blind to the ruthless and brutal murder and killing of innocent men, women and children across the globe? Can we not see the horrific slaughter of our own children, our own flesh and blood that we are so willing to sacrifice them to a misguided and misinformed government. Have we as a nation grown immune to the savagery and merciless blood-letting that is war? Has America lost forever the virtues of love, peace and compassion which are the foundation for peaceful dialogue and diplomacy and which define a truly great and enlightened nation?

Author Biography

About the Author - Fredric A. Voto Raised in a small, ethnically mixed, predominately Catholic neighborhood on the outskirts of Boston, the author was greatly influenced by the Catholic Church. He attended Saint Patrick's Grammar School from grades five through eight where he was taught by the Sisters of Charity. The author attended Boston College High School where he received a classical education from the Jesuits. Upon graduation in 1961, he attended Boston College, a university also run by the Jesuits. He studied Theology and Philosophy for four years and later went on to receive a Master's Degree from Boston College School of Management. He served as a rifle platoon leader with the 25th Infantry Division based in Cu Chi, Vietnam. (1966 -1967)