"Going to War" ~ with the 26th Marines

Historical Biography of my Vietnam Experience

This book has been nine years in the writing. I began this journey nine years ago, from encouragements from fellow Marines with whom I served; 1st Platoon, Fox Trot, 2nd Battalion 26th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. My natural inclination as a writer is writing satire, with exception to the series of five book on photography. Writing about the war in Vietnam really doesn't come under the satire heading.

I made it through the first section of the took, and through most of the more brutal aspects of the war experiences, when old Demons were loosed from their deeper portions of the unconscious cellar, running free, like Viking Berserkers overrunning an English countryside. I had no defenses against that onslaught at the time. I had to put that work down.

Nine years later, I have been fortunate to have had a teacher of Hermetic Theosophy become a mentor of that ancient training in the mysteries of Hermetic teachings. The upside of that training is learning the simple fact that we humans are far more powerful than we are led to believe. And that, has given me ample defenses to handle old Demons; decisive abilities for that battle.

The focus of the book, is not a Fire & Fury, blood and guts tell all, but a basic primer to the conditions that create the framework of PTSD. That framework is built upon 'moral ambiguity', and that is derived from following orders that go against one's moral beliefs; a conundrum that cannot be squared logically, or theoretically. That festers over time, grows and amplifies within the individual's very core, haunting and attacking the individual's very conscious.

That is the flow of the story during my time in Vietnam with the 26th Marines, my wounding and return to country, and how my own version of PTSD carried on through my life, until my mentor taught me how to overcome that affliction. That is the focus of the story, with the final chapter unfolding the basics of that training, and how to use those tools for relief from the ravages of PTSD.

The story is finished, the chapters combined, and the cover designed, with the final read-through left to ensure there is nothing left out, or areas not well explained. This is not a "LOOK AT ME!" work, but something that holds a lot of meaning for me, as there are so many combat veterans who suffer from PTSD, that can use this material for their benefit, as I was given from my benefactor. For those Marines, and all combat servicemen, I say Semper Fi.