Book : Keeping Each Other Alive A Vietnam War Memoir - Hile,

-Titulo Original : Keeping Each Other Alive A Vietnam War Memoir

-Fabricante :

IUniverse

-Descripcion Original:

At the height of the Vietnam war, the U.S. Army drafted Norman Hile out of law school, trained him to be an artillery officer, and in August 1970 sent him to serve a one year combat tour in South Vietnams I Corps, where the war was hottest. Keeping Each Other Alive is Hiles memoir of that combat tour. Quoting from letters he wrote home from the field, using photos he personally took of combat operations, and recounting his memories of that unforgettable year in war, Hile describes what it felt like to be an artillery forward observer in the field with an infantry company, and then an aerial observer in light planes and helicopters flying over enemy territory. Keeping Each Other Alive is a very personal account of what one soldier endured in a war that had already been lost when he arrived to fight it. Hile recounts the terror of nighttime mortar attacks, sweltering in Vietnams tropical heat and humidity while carrying a heavy pack, trying to spice up C-rations, surviving a monsoon storm on a mountainside, providing aerial cover for a convoy heading to see Bob Hopes Christmas show, and being one of the first to arrive overhead at Firebase Mary Ann to witness one of the wars worst debacles. Hiles memoir allows the reader to experience not just the conditions that soldiers in the Vietnam war withstood, but also crackles with flashes of insanity, pathos and humor that soldiers in that war were bound to experience while trying to keep themselves and each other alive. Review “Anyone who wishes to understand what it was like to be drafted and fulfill your duty as a citizen, but to fight in a war you thought was misguided and futile, should read this well-crafted and insightful memoir. Norman Hile takes the reader from the terror and physical hardship of war on the ground to the dread of flying combat missions during the final days of the Vietnam War, when he and his fellow soldiers were wondering if they’d be the last one to die.”-Karl Marlantes, New York Times best selling author of The Matterhorn,What It Is Like To Go To War, and Deep River.“Norman Hile has written a powerful, personal memoir of his time in Vietnam. As someone who has read or watched most of the histories of that conflict, I found Keeping Each Other Alive to be a compelling, new and personal history that allows the reader to experience that time in a way more dramatic and human than those other stories. If you wish to experience the life of an articulate, observant soldier on the front lines during the most challenging times of that war, read this book. For anyone interested in the history of the Vietnam War, or in the broader experience of a brilliant observer on the front lines of combat, Keeping Each Other Alive is a must read.”-George E. Pataki, former three term Governor of New York.“For years, I have reported on attorney Norman Hile’s extraordinary dedication to death row clients, but I never quite understood his drive to save lives until I read his stirring account of his time in Vietnam, “Keeping Each Other Alive”. This is not an ordinary war memoir. It’s a soul- searching examination of the dilemmas faced by good people trying to hold onto their souls while staying alive.”-Erin Moriarty, correspondent for CBS News’ “48 Hours” and “Sunday Morning,”9 times National Emmy Award winner, co-author of “Death of a Dream.”“During the 11 years I’ve known Norm Hile, I had no clue he was a Vietnam War combat veteran. Nor did I know he had risked his life hundreds of times in ground and air missions where he functioned as a forward observer tasked with calling in artillery strikes. Nor did I know he twice risked being court-martialed for refusing direct orders he knew were either stupid or grossly immoral. Nor that he had been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart and numerous other medals. Nor that on his return from Vietnam, he joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War and marched down Broadway in New York City with t