Ballad of Danny Deer

Book excerpt: The 1960s and 1970s were a magical time in America's history--rock and roll music, muscle cars, cruising, drive-ins, and Vietnam. Danny Deer was a young man just out of high school and ready to take on the world cruising with his buddies and girlfriend and racing cars made for an ideal life. But when one of Danny's friends crashes his car while drag racing, life suddenly starts to become real. Then the Vietnam draft of 1969 changed everything even more. Danny and his buddy enlisted in the marines and started an adventure that would change everyone's life, but not necessarily for the better. When they were training in boot camp and faced the challenges of Vietnam, their families were at home worrying about what could happen to their loved ones. His fiancee, Jenny, was doing all she could at home to start up their new life as a married couple when he came home. But dreams can be shattered in an instant. Anyone who has a loved one in the service knows the fear and pain of answering your front door and seeing uniformed officers standing there holding their hats. When Danny and his squad were trapped in the jungle of Vietnam, he knew he needed to think of a way to save everybody even if it meant sacrificing himself.