I can understand this as my own Granddad was a WWII veteran who was lost, presumed dead. The author says that hearing WWII veterans say that they wish they had talked to their family more, has been an important factor in his decision to writing this book. I was amazed to discover that captured, and rehabilitated Viet Cong, were used by the army as Tiger Scouts, and sent out in front of the soldiers to find the booby traps, punji pits, daisy chains and explosives set by their ex-comrades. The detailed descriptions of army life in Vietnam, and how he survived it, is absorbing reading.

Fighting the Viet Cong, and the North Vietnamese Army under terrible conditions, losing many of his ammo bearers to booby traps, and for me, one of the saddest things was that they never said hello, because then they would never have to say goodbye… The author freely admits that he was changed in irrevocable ways, and reading his story, how can he not have been.

Thus began his tour of duty in that hell hole, where for nearly seven long months he served as an M-60 machine gunner. However the US military had other plans, the war in Vietnam needed soldiers and he was called up for draft.īefore leaving for basic training, his uncle Gene, a WWII veteran advised him to take something which would give him comfort, with him, and he chose his First Communion rosary, something which would sustain him through the months of conflict.Īfter he had completed his training, he left his homeland for the Tan Son Nhut Republic of South Vietnam. In November 1968, Fred Krebsbach had just turned twenty-one, he had finished his education with a tech degree in engineering, and was looking forward to a bright future.

Okay Okay by Fred Krebsbach