Fighting Shadows in Vietnam

In this memoir, set as deeply in his mind as in the Southeast Asian jungle, a young American soldier embarks on a journey to a war that, for him, will never be over. The world was a playground for Mickey, a naïve Irish American kid bored with his life. His father served in World War II, his brother was a Marine in Vietnam; now it was his turn. His 365 days in the hell that was Vietnam builds in torment until an attack on a bunker complex in Cambodia. Wounded, his friend captured, he becomes a tormented survivor knowing he is always just a heartbeat from death. His adventure-turned-nightmare brings a visceral understanding of the words penned by Thoreau, the very same words Mickey’s father spoke throughout Mickey’s youth: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” especially those at war. This memoir chronicles the key perspective–shaping experiences of a U.S. Army grunt fighting in Vietnam.

Vietnam veteran Michael P. Moynihan, Jr., served as a radioman with the First Cavalry Division in 1970. He lives in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Michael P. Moynihan, Jr.

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7830-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1350-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Introduction 3
Letters I Never Sent 5
1. Warriors with Peace Signs 7
2. Shit, Shower, and Shave 17
3. From Broadway to the Bush 32
4. Welcome to the Jungle 54
5. The Ambush 83
6. Life as a Grunt 93
7. Next Stop: Cambodia 115
8. R.I.E. and 326 Tons 127
9. The Hill with No Name 140
10. Back to Buttons 158
11. In the Hands of Fate 173
12. The Transition 200
Index 211

• Finalist, The National Indie Excellence® Book Award, Military Nonfiction
• “Historians will find much valuable material in this memoir in addition to the fascinating narrative. Moynihan is a skilled storyteller who writes in a direct, earnest style”—H-Net Reviews
• “Moynihan…describes how he joined the army, his training, his experiences in the jungle, how he was wounded in an attack on a bunker complex in Cambodia, and how he returned after a year in service”—ProtoView