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by Lee H. Jr. Houston (Author)
If you are interested in infantry combat, this book may appeal you. I tell this story from my point of view as an enlisted man in one of the most successful combat operations in the Vietnam War, Operation Fairfax. It is an overlooked point of view for our part of the war was often close and personal. I am testifying as one of the soldiers who did the fighting and the killing. It has been more than fifty years since I was a machine gunner in the 199th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. Consequently, I do not remember many of the names of the men with whom I fought nor the precise places we did battle nor the exact sequence of events for some of my memories are a bit sketchy particularly the more painful ones. However, I have done my best to be as close to the truth as my recollections will permit.This book does more than what the title says; using the language of GIs, it exposes the thinking of the time. It takes the reader on a brief journey over an exciting decade: from the end segregation to the start of integration; from Search and Destroy missions to the era of protest and changing values; from a male dominated world to the beginning of a gender-neutral society, it's in this book.I also write about learning to live with many violent combat experiences that contribute to my Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Trying to pick the encounters that caused my problems is kind of like sprinting through a great briar patch and then looking back to see which briars cut me. Many of the cuts are still bleeding for I relive them almost every night. That is the reason for the book. For decades, I avoided even mentioning that I am a Vietnam veteran and had no desire for friendships with my Vietnam comrades. I lived the life of a success driven workaholic. This book was to identify painful recollections. I found that writing them down in an organized fashion took these memories out of my dreams and put them into my past where they belong.
