Empty Tubes and Back Seat Memories: A Life Changing Experience

An enlisted soldier's back seat memories from Vietnam as crew chief aboard a Huey gunship.

The author writes about his service time as a crew chief/door gunner on Huey helicopters with the Aerial Rocket Artillery. Telling of some narrow escapes he and his fellow unit soldiers faced as well as some things that happened that you will make you laugh.

The author served 1 1/2 tours in Vietnam and serving in I, II and III Corps. His tour took him to places like the DMZ and into the A Shau Valley.

For those that served in Vietnam, you may feel you are right there as you read the book. For those who did not go there, this book may help you to understand why so many returned from Vietnam and other wars with PTSD.

The author touches on some of what happened. However, he tried to stay away from things that could to upsetting. He has firsthand knowledge of how hard it can be to read about war and Vietnam.

After Vietnam, the author learned to deal with his PTSD by writing. He was inspired to write a newspaper column for the unit in the Fist Calvary Division newspaper, which inspired him to start a veterans association for those who served in the ARA. Finding ARA Alumni, organizing reunions, collecting Aerial Rocket Artillery history and running his web site for the ARA are among his passions.

The author hopes that "Empty Tubes and Back Seat Memories" will help everyone have a better understanding of Vietnam and the effects that it had on those who served.