This book provides a different perspective on the Vietnam conflict. Journey to South Vietnam is a story of real life events, including my career in the military services–the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Air Force (USAF). These compelling and life-altering experiences seemed to defy the imagination. I was also searching for my god.
I volunteered for South Vietnam when the United States was in turmoil and the military was not respected by the media or the American public. I worked behind the lines at Da Nang Air Base and not in the field where the action occurred, but still, a bounty was placed on my head for $10,000.
While serving in the Marine Corps, I was transferred to the Caribbean Sea, in an operation during the Dominican Republic crisis, CARIB 4-65. During that time, my friends and fellow marines were being killed on a mountain known as Monkey Mountain, or Hill 621.
This hill is situated south of the Son Tra Mountain Range. It overlooks Da Nang Harbor and China Beach in the Republic of South Vietnam. Their base camp was overrun by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Vietcong (VC). After I was discharged from the marines, I felt I needed to get more involved in combat. I wanted to go back into the military to be placed into the gauntlet of fire. It wasn’t until much later that I realized I was struggling with PTSD.
I joined the air force and, within a few months, volunteered for Da Nang, South Vietnam, near where a lot of my friends perished. I tried to inject a little humor in the work situation, but it was always misinterpreted. During this phase of my life, I had many close encounters, but God’s presence was always there. As I look back, I now realize that God intervenes not just in my life but in all of our lives.