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Facing the possibility of being drafted and sent to Vietnam, Roger Durham secured a deferment when he enrolled in college. Devoting more time to anti-war protests than to studies, he became immersed in the late 1960s counterculture, flunked out and was drafted anyway. Deployed to Vietnam with the U.S. Army's 18th Engineer Brigade Headquarters, he was assigned to a helicopter base "behind the wire," far from the action. Or so he thought--the action came to him as the base drew mortar, rocket and sapper attacks.
Durham's clear-eyed memoir relates an often untold experience of the Vietnam War--that of the counterculture soldier whose opposition to war did not end when he was inducted. Adjusting to life in-country, he finds a thriving drug culture and a brotherhood of like-minded warriors, who resist both the enemy and the culture of zealous militarism that prosecutes what they see as an immoral war, against American national interests. Durham undergoes changes in perspective, extending his tour of duty when the thought of going home fills him with anxiety and anticipation.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction
¿1.¿The Lost Boys
¿2.¿The Tunnel at the End of the Light
¿3.¿Flirting with Disaster
¿4.¿Like Boy Scouts with Guns
¿5.¿The Good, the Bad and the Indifferent
¿6.¿Dudes, Duty and Diversions: 18th Engineer Brigade
¿7.¿Heavy Weather
¿8.¿A Temporary Reality
¿9.¿Duty Calls
10.¿"Who is this chick? Where the hell am I? What am I doing here?": R&R #1
11.¿Stand-Down, Let Down
12.¿Crusader Switch: 35th Engineer Group
13.¿Like There Was No Tomorrow: R&R #2
14.¿Dudes, Duty and Diversions: 35th Engineer Group
15.¿The Incorrigibles
16.¿Bourke Street Again: R&R #3
17.¿Straight On Till Morning
18.¿Wandering and Wondering
19.¿To the Wicky Wick Woods
Roger S. Durham Service History
Index
About the author
Roger S. Durham has worked for over 35 years as a historian for several state and federal agencies and authored numerous books and magazine articles on military history. He lives in Statesboro, Georgia.
