Faded Glory

About the Book

Faded Glory is an accurate and factual account of the experiences seen through the eyes of a young and impressionable Marine Corps "grunt." However, what separates this book from other stories about the United States' involvement with an unpopular war in Vietnam, Faded Glory goes on to share the story of one veteran who goes back to the country he fought in years before to do humanitarian aid projects for the disenfranchised peoples of Vietnam, many of whom were relegated to second class citizenship after the takeover of The Republic of South Vietnam in April 1975 by the army of the North.

The first part of the book deals with the growing disillusionment experienced by the author who left college and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1968 thinking it was the patriotic thing to do. He was committed to assisting the people of South Vietnam whom he saw as threatened by Ho Chi Minh's invasion and intentions to subjugate the country to the will of the Communist party. While serving in the infantry in Vietnam from the spring of 1969 through the spring of 1970, the author suffered a continuing emotional loss of innocence as a result of witnessing the horrors of war and the mistreatment of the civilian population of the country by the troops who were, by definition, there to "save" them from Communism. His inability to stop the persecution manifested itself as nothing more than a very real sense of "faded glory."

The chapters about the author's tour of duty in Vietnam during the war are very basic words committed to the journal of a very young man in a very difficult place with no exaggerations, fabrications or explanations.

The text is not politically correct.

The experiences, observations and insights were set down in a time when it was acceptable to express honest feelings as opposed to pre-editing to write only what others wish to hear. The growing anger, disillusionment, and finally, despair, committed over the course of the author's tour of duty is not pretty, and often, somewhat reprehensible.

However, the author's many returns to Vietnam in the 1990s working on several humanitarian aid projects, some of which involved working for an American NGO and many more done on his own at his own expense, provided a desperately need catharsis. The book shares stories of the process of exorcizing old ghosts that haunted days and nights for over twenty years while experiencing the joys and satisfaction of truly "making a difference" in the lives of people whom he found himself unable to help in the years of his military service.

About the Author

David Gallup left college in 1968 and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps thinking he was doing the right thing, the patriotic thing. His intention was to help the repressed peoples of the Republic of South Vietnam. He ended up in the Marine Corps as a "grunt" in the spring of 1969. He returned to civilian life in 1970 a much older and changed man.

Years later he became involved with the Vietnam Veterans of America and the Veterans for Peace as a result of his disillusionment with his service and experiences during the war in Vietnam. In 1988 he became involved with a non-governmental organization based in Northern California. The Veterans Vietnam Restoration Project was born with the idea of sending Vietnam veterans back to Vietnam to do humanitarian aid projects for the people of Vietnam. It was intended as both a helping hand to the underprivileged of Vietnam but also as a way for American veterans to heal psychological wounds suffered during the war.

He became the Vice President of the organization as well as a member of the executive board of directors. His involvement led him to several returns to Vietnam, both as a member of the VVRP and later on his own, continuing to do humanitarian aid work throughout the country.

Faded Glory is both the story of the author's experiences during the war as a Marine Corps grunt and that of his adventures in Vietnam in the 1990s. Mr. Gallup is married to a Vietnamese wife and continues to support the people of Vietnam, not the Communist government, through volunteer work and contributions.