The Ghosts of Thua Thien: An American Soldier's Memoir of Vietnam

by John A. Nesser

Overview

Drafted in October 1968, John A. Nesser left behind his wife and young son to fight in the controversial Vietnam War. Like many in his generation, he was deeply at odds with himself over the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, instilled with a strong sense of duty to his country but uncertain about its mission and his role in it.

Nesser was deployed to the Ashau Valley, site of some of the war's heaviest fighting, and served eight months as an infantry rifleman before transferring to become a door gunner for a Chinook helicopter. In this stirring memoir, he recalls in detail the exhausting missions in the mountainous jungle, the terror of walking into an ambush, the dull-edged anxiety that filled quiet days, and the steady fear of being shot out of the sky. The accounts are richly illustrated with Nesser's own photographs of the military firebases and aircraft, the landscapes, and the people he encountered.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786433247
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/18/2008
Pages:	207
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John A. Nesser is a retired United States Forest Service soil scientist. He lives in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction     
Prologue     

1. Drafted     
2. Welcome to Vietnam     
3. The Ashau Valley     
4. The Jungle     
5. Night Assault     
6. Body Count     
7. Firebase Bastogne     
8. Sapper Attack     
9. Walking Point     
10. Camp Sally     
11. The DMZ     
12. The Bridge     
13. Door Gunner     
14. Getting Short     
15. Welcome Home     
16. Dreams and Illusions     

Epilogue     
Glossary     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

I knew John Nesser for years, and never knew him. I read his book. Now I will never forget. He wrote many years after his Vietnam experience and he has forgotten much. But his heart has not. John’s story of adventure (for adventure it was) is as poignant now (in the days of the Iraq debacle and its aftermath) as it was the day he returned to the world. John was a soldier once. Part of him will never be anything else.”—Henry Shovic, author of When There’s Only You: Safe Living for Women.

From the Publisher

I knew John Nesser for years, and never knew him. I read his book. Now I will never forget. He wrote many years after his Vietnam experience and he has forgotten much. But his heart has not. John's story of adventure (for adventure it was) is as poignant now (in the days of the Iraq debacle and its aftermath) as it was the day he returned to the world. John was a soldier once. Part of him will never be anything else

author of When There's Only You: Safe Living for Women - Henry Shovic