Michael Trout

I returned from Vietnam in 1969, at the ripe old age of twenty. At the time, public opinion and to some extent my own emotions kept me from talking about my Vietnam experiences, but I made a resolution to someday tell my story. Although many of the events were permanently seared into my memory, I wanted to ensure that when the time came to make good on my promise, I could recall the events truthfully and accurately. So soon after returning from Vietnam, I started writing extensive notes on my experiences.

Five years later I started writing my Vietnam memoirs, but my life was full of commitments and distractions in those days. So, the project was frequently sidelined for long periods of time. Finally in 1990, after ending my career with a national sporting goods retailer, I took a year off to finish my Vietnam book. By the end of the year, the 631 page manuscript was finished and I started the painful process of trying to find a publisher. After sending out countless query letters and receiving countless rejection letters, I finally received a handful of requests for the entire manuscript. Ultimately, two publishers expressed an interest in the book, but only on the condition that I cut the book in half, which is much more difficult than it sounds. I couldn't just throw out half the chapters and call it good. So, the project was again sidelined and then forgotten as I embarked on a new career.

Another twenty four years slipped by and when I turned 65, I came to the realization that I was running out of time to fulfill the promise that I made to myself, which over the years, I had also come to consider an obligation to the 58,000 who never had the opportunity to tell their story.

So, in 2014 I started to wade through my original manuscript and I quickly realized that the project was much bigger than I anticipated. As a result, I decided to publish the revised works as a series of episodes in e-book format. Although, I knew my decision to publish the story as a series would disappoint and even alienate some readers, it was the best way I could think of to ensure that at least a portion of the story would get told. Two years and ten episodes later, I finally finished telling my story and the final episode was published in October of 2016, which coincidentally, was almost exactly 48 years after I arrived in Vietnam.

My Vietnam experience was full of adventure, laughter, tears, joy, and heartbreak. As people read my story, I hope they will feel some of the same emotions that I felt.