"Hi Mom, I'm O.K." and Other Lies From Vietnam

About the Book

Served in the Nam from Nov. 67 to Dec 68 with the First Air Cav, which had the misfortune of being Westmoreland's favored unit. Our unit was hit hard during my tenure; being involved in the Tet offensive, the battles of Hue, & Khe Sahn, among others. I wasn’t in the field long before the incident that sent me to AnKhe, where I was almost killed. Someone up there must have liked me because, despite the fact that I was severely wounded, briefly stopping my heart, & went on to have close escapes from death no less than 3 more times, I came home in one piece, more or less! To protect my mom, a worrier, and my dad, who had a heart condition, I adjusted the truth in my letters home. As a proud disabled Vietnam Vet, it is time to tell the truth. In that spirit I Wrote, "Hi Mom, I'm O.K." and Other Lies from Vietnam, which contains excerpts of those letters, "the truth", candid commentary, and lots of photos. It is not all serious; part of keeping myself sane during the war was using my sense of humor. By reading the collection of letters, and seeing the photos, my readers are transported back in time to the Vietnam War and begin to see feelings and insight from the war zone. The fresh perspective provides some insight on the war not provided in ordinary military biographies and books. In honor of all vets and their families, I am excited to provide this opportunity for history buffs, military fans and my fellow vets to see the Vietnam experience from a new angle. My hope is that what I've written will resonate with all who are or have been in combat, as well as those who have, or are writing loved ones overseas. This is not only a story of heroes in the usual sense, but also a reminder of and dedicated to the sacrifices made by soldiers and their loved ones at home. Those who have read this book use words like "fantastic" to describe it. Web page: http://otherliesfromvietnam.snappages.com/home.htm Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mom-Im-OK-And-Other-Lies-from-Vietnam/117877458250112?ref=ts

About the Author

Born March 5, 1944 as a WW II “just in case” baby. Attended Thomas Jefferson H.S. in Brooklyn. Drafted 5/67. Served with First Air Cav.; 2nd Battalion 12 infantry; A & Headquarters Companies in Vietnam 11/67-12/68. Wounded at AnKhe. Awarded Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, CIB, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Combat Metal with 2 O/S bars, and the NYS Conspicuous Service Cross. Briefly involved in politics upon return from Vietnam. Earned A.A.-Queens College (Business Admin.); B.A.-Queens College (Psychology); M.S.-C.W. Post (Counseling Ed); Post Masters -Hofstra University + C.W. Post + Queens College + NCC; P.D./ Adv. Cert.-Brooklyn College (Ed Admin. & Supervision). He spent 23 years in the business world mostly as a middle manager in law, airfreight claims, collections, personnel mgmt for a Fortune 100 company, hypnotherapy, and counseling. Howard’s love of children convinced him to become an educator. Now, retired from the NYC Department of Education after 22 years of service as an Assistant Principal, computer & math specialist, speaker and teacher. Howard was a Long Beach resident in 1969 but moved to Queens when his father became ill. He moved back to Long Beach in 1980 and has lived in the area ever since. The pride and joy of Howard’s life is his lovely daughter Heather, who attended Brooklyn Law School on a partial scholarship before passing the bar and is not a practicing attorney. When not involved in educational, consumer advocate, or veteran’s activities, he spends his time helping others though various volunteer organizations including Make-A-Wish, Big Brothers Big Sisters of L.I., City Harvest, Island harvest and others. Howard’s hobby is surfing the web. In addition to being a life member of both the DAV & American Legion, where Howard is Post Commander, he is also Junior Vice (Post) Commander as well as a life member of the VFW.