Once A Boy

Book excerpt: In Once a Boy Paul Gardner reveals in dramatic detail his harrowing accounts as a young, wide-eyed enlistee thrown into the combat zone in Vietnam in 1967. Gardner shares with the reader his fears, insecurities, and his resolve to stay alive. Imbued with raw humanity, his vivid descriptions of intense warzone chaos and survival are bound to leave an indelible mark on readers. Many readers who might feel politically and morally unsympathetic to those men and women who fought the North Vietnamese will doubtless gain a wider perspective and a newer appreciation for what perils American soldiers had to go through, in particular, young servicemen barely out of high school. Not only did they have to face a fierce and deadly enemy, but they had to do so knowing they had little support from Americans back home. Gardner, a helicopter gunship gunner, was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism in April 1968. The author also shares his profound insights into the real challenges that so many who suffered PTSD experienced upon their return home in the aftermath of the war.