AFTER HAVING READ YOUR BOOK, I MUST ASK YOU HOW LONG IT TOOK TO COMPLETE?
DID SHE WRITE THE ENTIRE BOOK?
THE COMBINING OF THE STRICTLY HISTORICAL PART OF YOUR STORY ALONG WITH YOUR JOURNEY WILL
HELP THOSE READERS WHO NOT ONLY MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN ALL THE KEY PLAYERS, BUT WHO MIGHT HAVE
BEEN BORN AFTER THE VIETNAM WAR. WAS THAT THE PURPOSE OF YOUR BOOK?
HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED TO KEEP YOUR SANITY THROUGH ALL THIS?
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE THE READER TO COME AWAY WITH AFTER READING YOUR BOOK?
I took several years to find a ghostwriter whose personality fit mine. I needed to know
that the person I was working with would become emotionally vested, thus keeping the
purpose of this book in the forefront. It took us two years to complete the manuscript
as we waded through all of my books, documents, videos, journals and newspaper clippings.
Without Sue, this never would have come to fruition.
Sue organized the material, formulated the layout, wrote the historical part, and guided
me through my writing by correcting and suggesting how this enormous volume of information
might be better received by the reader.
That was one reason. I also wanted to get all of this information down for my children
so that if they ever want to know the whole story, they’ll have a place to read it. And,
if they never want to read it, that’s OK, too. I also wanted to show how good can come out
of all this.
That hasn’t been easy. I’ve been blessed with loving parents who gave me a strong grounding
in religion; friends who have stood by my side during the rough times; a counselor who,
because he is retired military and has dealt with returning prisoners of war, was able to
understand my questions and emotions; and a family that at times may have thought I was a
little daffy but never gave up on me.
The obvious answer is a better understanding of the POW/MIA issue. My latest mantra has been
to just be open to the possibilities in dealing with this issue. The bottom line is, these
men answered the call to duty and they don’t deserve to be left behind at the discretion of
our government.