Born From War: A Soldier’s Quest to Understand Vietnam, Iraq, and the Generational Impact of Conflict

Patrick Naughton’s father barely spoke of his time in Vietnam to his family, yet his service was the sole reason Patrick joined the U.S. Army as a teenager. Patrick Naughton Sr served in Vietnam with the 82nd Airborne and advising the South Vietnamese Army, while Patrick himself would serve in Iraq. Three decades of history and politics divided their service yet the similarities between their experiences are undeniably striking. Patrick’s attempts to understand his father led to a search for those who served with him in Vietnam, an examination of the personal relationship of a father and son whose few connections have been war, and a quest to understand war and its undeniable generational influence. The result is an engaging and eye-opening weaving together of the combat experiences of two generations of a military family. From the failure of grand stratagem, through personal combat stories, and the memories of those lost—America’s wars against communism and terror are laid raw through the experiences of one family. Table of Contents Prologue – By God, we’ve kicked the Vietnam syndrome Chapter 1 – What are you going to do with your life Chapter 2 – Get out of this house Chapter 3 – He never wanted to worry me Chapter 4 – Singing when the lights went out Chapter 5 – A little pissant war Chapter 6 – He cried on the way home Chapter 7 – I finally had my war Chapter 8 – A breaking point Chapter 9 – Huh, looks like Vietnam Chapter 10 – My men are a strange group Chapter 11 – No VC here Chapter 12 – The grenade belonged to him Chapter 13 – Must get some rest now Chapter 14 – Charlie’s shit is weak Chapter 15 – Luckily the beer arrived Chapter 16 – Disgusted with the whole business Chapter 17 – The majority of the company has gone Chapter 18 – The best part was the hot water Chapter 19 – Killing people is the easiest thing in the world Chapter 20 – The equal of the VC Chapter 21 – Your dad did some really heroic stuff Chapter 22 – The days are still long Chapter 23 – Arrived down under Chapter 24 – Is your Battalion Vietnamized Chapter 25 – We are still killing Cong Chapter 26 – The most unhappy thing Chapter 27 – Vietnam Fini Chapter 28 – You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about Chapter 29 – They threw as much gas on the fire as they could Chapter 30 – Still a nightmare that wakes me up Chapter 31 – I always wear my boots Chapter 32 – We were looking for George Washington Chapter 33 – Defend to the Death Chapter 34 – The mission is to destroy the enemy Epilogue – Vietnam is still with us — ASIN: 1636245145 | ISBN13: 9781636245140 | ISBN-13: 978-1636245140