Jello's Nam

This year is the 50th anniversary of my departure from Vietnam. My tour of duty in the area southwest of Da Nang began on June 18, 1967 and officially lasted until I hopped on the sweet silver bird on the Fourth of July in 1968. I began writing my memoir in 1970, two years after my return from Vietnam. During my tour of duty as a Marine 81mm mortarman, I occasionally found time to click away with my Instamatic camera, recording a visual record of certain aspects of life in the Nam. I have included some of these photos after the Epilogue. Enjoy. Additionally, I faithfully maintained a diary, on which I have relied to present a portrayal of my Vietnam War experience that is as accurate as possible. Occasionally, I have blended aspects of several events to expedite the narrative; when I did this, I was following my instincts as a writer as opposed to those of a historian. I have attempted to be as fastidious as possible, but if I fell short, please forgive me. I want the reader to be aware that my primary goal in Jello's Nam is to offer my recollection-a remembrance-and not a reflection about the events that creates the tapestry of my memoir. There will be those that find the crude language, pejorative terms and racial slurs to be offensive, which I understand; they are indeed. I, however, have chosen to present an accurate portrayal of the language that many young Marines in my memoir used in 1967 and 1968. Furthermore, I ask much of the reader concerning military terminology, so I am providing a quick course in Vietnam War lingo in the Preface for those whom might find this useful. While in Vietnam, I promised myself that if I survived, I would become a teacher with the purpose of helping my students to think critically; additionally, I made a commitment to write and to talk about my war experience to help enlighten people about the realities of war, which includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I spent 30 years of my adult life teaching middle school and high school students, and for 25 years I have spoken in high school classes about my war experience. Jello's Nam: A Memoir is my fourth book that deals with the topics of the Vietnam War and PTSD. Because death stared me in the eyes at least a half-dozen times, I realize that I have been blessed because I was given the gift of life. I share my experience in the hope that people will listen with their hearts and come away with a clearer understanding of the insidious nature of war.