A Surgeon's War: My Year in Vietnam by Dr Henry Ward Trueblood 921 Tru

I wouldn't have looked twice at the picture on the back of this book because he didn't look familiar.  If I had seen the wedding picture that is inside the book I would immediately have recognized the guy.  I grew up a block from his family home, his dad was my Doctor, my mom worked in his office and our families were friends.  So I loved the parts where he wrote about Indianola and his parents.

I grew up during the Vietnam era and every night I would see the coffins being returned.  In college I remember watching the draft numbers being drawn.  I didn't have any close friends who served there but I have had friends who married Vietnam vets and they all said the same thing - their spouses didn't want to talk about it.   I think I understand that a lot better now.  It blows my mind when I think of how one year of someone's life can have such a negative impact emotionally and psychologically that it never goes away.

This book was a good reminder of what happened to so many of those young men and the brave surgeons who did their jobs in horrible and dangerous conditions.

Click for availability.