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Thus began a lengthy period wherein I would write down the particulars of each rescue, while Craig researched and produced maps from the grid coordinates I supplied. We were also able to scan and use the old pictures I had taken while over there. We decided to produce our efforts on standard typing paper, bound with a ‘comb’ format. Since this would be a ‘legacy’ of sorts to my children, I was faced with the problem of what sort of format it would take. After much soul-searching, I decided to write my own (very unauthorized) history of the Vietnam War for their benefit.
My final format was as follows:
- An Introductory Letter to my (now 4) sons
- A Table of Contents
- The Unauthorized History
- A section, titled, ‘In the Beginning’, detailing day to day events in the life of a Jolly Green pilot not related to any specific rescue
- The Rescues, themselves
- A Section, titled, ‘Bits & Pieces’, relating non-rescue experiences I had
- A section, titled, ‘This Way to the Egress’, which closed out the narrative section
- A section, titled, ‘Jargon’, defining the military terms used.
- In January of 2003, we printed 10 copies under the title, ‘An Old Helicopter Pilot Remembers Vietnam’ on a laser printer and distributed them between the boys and myself. It had been fun, but I was glad it was over. This was the First Edition.
Then, friends and other family members found out about this project and began requesting copies for themselves. Initially, I copied everything onto a CD and sent one to those who asked for a copy. I also added a few anecdotes which I had failed to include in the original version. This became the Second Edition.
The Third Edition came about when I discovered a method of producing your own paperback books. Determined to try it, I produced six copies, which included minor typographical changes. My experience was that, although producing your own paperback books is fun, it is also extremely time consuming, so I once again resigned from the book writing business.
To be continued . . .
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