The Forging of A Warrior's Worth

I have been asked numerous times why I wrote a book on my dad's unit in Vietnam. I can say that originally I had no intentions of writing a book. I set out to document my father's stories so one day my children and their children could read about my dad and get an idea of what the Vietnam War was really like and not what the movies portray it to be.

After interviewing my dad and documenting some of his stories he directed me to talk with his 1st platoon leader, Lt. Angus Macaulay. After my initial conversation with Angus I started contemplating writing a book. Angus began sending me numerous periodicals and directing me who to talk with and where to begin my research. From there my research efforts exploded and I dedicated myself to writing a book on F Troop.

As a husband and father of two with a full time job it was a demanding and daunting undertaking to start writing a book. It took me a total of four years of on again off again work to complete the book. I learned a lot while writing the book, specifically how not to write one. For my next book I plan on attacking it in a much more efficient manner. Work on the book was wholly dependant upon hearing from different troopers. After interviewing them I would document their stories and fit it into the framework of the book. When no new troopers contacted me then I was back to sitting and waiting on moving forward with the book. I interviewed approximately sixty troopers for the book.

I can tell you that as a military history buff I thought I knew what Vietnam was all about but even my thoughts on the war were scarred by decades of fictional works and one sided stories. Once I started talking to the men who were there I found that Vietnam was still alive in the hearts and minds of many troopers. Their stories and recollections created for me a whole new realization about what America was involved in over there. For many F Troopers, Vietnam would stand as a lone pillar in their lives to which all other events would be measured. It was a time that prematurely turned boys into men.