Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Foreword by Colonel (Ret.) George R. Mauldin 1. The Infantry Weapons 5; Other Equipment 6; Tracker Dog Position 7; Dong Tam 8; Reality 9 2. Combat My First KIA 11; Flankers 13; It''s Not My Job to Shoot 13; Our Quarters 14; Air Mobile Operations 17 3. Preparation for War--Homefront Mom 21; Brother Tim 22; Guns 23; B.F. 24; Schooling 26; ROTC and Maturity 27 4.
Preparation--Military ROTC 29; Small World 34; Regular Army 34; Selecting Infantry 35; Active Duty 35; Jump School 36; IOBC 41; Ranger School 42; Following Ranger School 49; Jumpmaster School 50; The Ready Company 51; Stupid Idea 54; Leaving Jesus 55 5. The Wounded The Boobytrap 57; Punji Sticks (Punji Stakes) 57; Getting Wounded 58; Leeches and My Diaper 59; The Enemy Inside Us 60; What''s It Like. 62; Downtime 63 6. Leadership Leadership Personality 66; Rejection 67; A Dark Side of Behavior 68; In Formation 68; My Second KIA 69; One Too Many Leaders 70 7. Distractions The Refusal 72; "Shit Happens" 74; C-rations 75; Local USO Show 78; Sleeping 79; In the Navy 80; Extra Duty 80; R.E.M.F.
81; Aide Interview 82 8. Them & Us Vietnam History 84; The "American War" 85; Vietnamese People 88; The Viet Cong 89; War Protestors 91; Reason(s) 91; Sex 93; The Troops 93 9. Change of Plan My Third KIA 95; What If? 98; My Military Plan 98; Leaving 2nd Platoon 99; Point Man 99; Transition 100; Getting Wounded 101; My Seiko Watch 103; Adrenaline 105; End of the War 105; Close Calls . a Summary 106 10. Hospitalization Hospital in Japan 107; Arrival 108; Ward One 108; Cast Room 110; The Bath 111; Career Reconsidered 111; The Surgery Routine 112; PTSD 113; Being Left-Handed 114 11. Life at Walter Reed The Transition 116; The Daily Routine 117; Amputee Pain 117; The Punch List 118; Food 119; The O-Club 119; The Makeover 120; Proud to Be an American 120; Disabled American Veterans 121; One Beer Folly 121; The Library 122; The Body Shop 122; "How''s It Work?" 123 12. Lessons Learned: Reflections Without Smoke or Mirrors The Lessons 127 13. Serendipity: An Old World Start to a New Beginning Preparation 134; Bon Voyage 134; On My Own 135; Foods in Europe 136; Spain 136; R & R 137; Along the Way 138; Languages 139; Switzerland 139; Hong Kong and New Zealand 140; Passport Problem 141; Job Offers 142; Homeward Bound 142 14.
Careers: Achieving Work/Life Balance Eloise Alice Brown 144; Michael and Eloise Strand 145; Preparation for a Career 146; Fifteen Minutes of Fame 147; Other HR Positions 148; Professional Affiliations 148; Shift in Focus 149; Moving Up 150; Army Retirement and Beyond 150; Community Service Activities 150 15. Teaching: To Teach Is to Learn Baptism by Fire: NVCC 153; George Mason University 154; The Five-Page Paper 155; Grading 155; Three Songs--Three Stories 156; Motivation: Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic 157; A Learning Experience 157 16. Travels with Eloise: Far and Wide We Went China 159; Africa 161; Europe 162; Conflicts Along the Way 163 17. Private Lives: To Have and to Hold The Military Couple 165; Our Marriage 166; Our Dogs 166; 49 Years of Marriage 168 18. Activities: Fun Time That Challenged Body and Mind Skiing 170; Potomac Valley Skiers 171; Wintergreen 173; Men''s Book Gourmet Group 174 19. The 31st Infantry Regiment: Vietnam Remembered 31st Infantry Association 178; The Shanghai Bowl 181; The Shanghai Bowl Ceremony 182; The Wall 184 20. On Writing This Memoir: The Why and the How Appendix A.
Letters Home Appendix B. Jump Log Appendix C. A Final Event Afterword by Rhonda Herman About the Author Index.