Nine From the Ninth

Rarely does a son get the opportunity to see his father's war stories down in print. They're more often like the final story in Nine from the Ninth, where a young lad asks to hear the story, but quickly moves on to something else. I have, however, the unique opportunity to read my dad's stories, written 30 years after the fact, and I am not quickly distracted by other things.

Nine From the Ninth is a compilation of war stories written by three Vietnam veterans of the Ninth Infantry Division. Two served as Rangers, while the third rode with them as a Public Information Officer. Each man wrote three stories, tied together only by the time in history and their life-long friendship.

In my biased view, the three written by Bob Wallace were the most enjoyable to read, each one comprised of a series of short vignettes showcasing aspects of his experience in Vietnam during 1969. Growing up, my dad didn't talk about the war, and the opportunity to see life through his eyes at the age of 24 is fascinating and poignant.

I have never fought in a war. There is a part of me that romanticizes military life and makes me view soldier and warriors as heroes. And they are. The situations described in this book put 20 year old men (boys, by some estimations) in a place where lives hung on their decisions. Their own, their teammates, and their enemies. There is a primal nature to the combat that is described that cannot be captured on Hollywood films, and is completely foreign to modern American life.

Nine from the Ninth is worth reading. It is written by regular guys, guys that got drafted into a war far from home and just wanted to do a good job and get home. They were not supermen, but they acted the part when their country called on them. For this, I admire my dad, along with all the others who served, all the more.

PS - While you can order the book from Amazon, if you'd like a personalized or autographed copy, drop me a line. I can probably hook you up with something.