Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

Peter McShane, a young man of twenty-two, landed at the Cam Ranh Bay Repo Depot in 1967 to serve a tour of duty as a Green Beret medic. He believed what the recruiter had said about valor, heroism, and stopping the spread of communism, but barely five months later he lay in a hospital bed with a grievous bullet wound to the chest, suffering even worse psychological wounds from all he’d seen and done—and not done.

After leaving the Army, he tried to put Vietnam behind and lead a normal life. Though he’d go on to be outwardly successful, on the inside he battled demons of anger, guilt, traumatic memories, and inability to trust, leading eventually to divorce and other destroyed relationships. Almost forty years later, after a breakdown and PTSD diagnosis, Peter began to examine his torment through writing. This book is the gripping story of his experience in Vietnam and how it shaped his life for decades to come.

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Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

Peter McShane, a young man of twenty-two, landed at the Cam Ranh Bay Repo Depot in 1967 to serve a tour of duty as a Green Beret medic. He believed what the recruiter had said about valor, heroism, and stopping the spread of communism, but barely five months later he lay in a hospital bed with a grievous bullet wound to the chest, suffering even worse psychological wounds from all he’d seen and done—and not done.

After leaving the Army, he tried to put Vietnam behind and lead a normal life. Though he’d go on to be outwardly successful, on the inside he battled demons of anger, guilt, traumatic memories, and inability to trust, leading eventually to divorce and other destroyed relationships. Almost forty years later, after a breakdown and PTSD diagnosis, Peter began to examine his torment through writing. This book is the gripping story of his experience in Vietnam and how it shaped his life for decades to come.

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Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

by Peter McShane
Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

Save a Life, Take a Life: Green Beret Medic in Vietnam and the Passage Home

by Peter McShane

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Overview

Peter McShane, a young man of twenty-two, landed at the Cam Ranh Bay Repo Depot in 1967 to serve a tour of duty as a Green Beret medic. He believed what the recruiter had said about valor, heroism, and stopping the spread of communism, but barely five months later he lay in a hospital bed with a grievous bullet wound to the chest, suffering even worse psychological wounds from all he’d seen and done—and not done.

After leaving the Army, he tried to put Vietnam behind and lead a normal life. Though he’d go on to be outwardly successful, on the inside he battled demons of anger, guilt, traumatic memories, and inability to trust, leading eventually to divorce and other destroyed relationships. Almost forty years later, after a breakdown and PTSD diagnosis, Peter began to examine his torment through writing. This book is the gripping story of his experience in Vietnam and how it shaped his life for decades to come.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781732265417
Publisher: Lost Parachute Press LLC
Publication date: 07/06/2018
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 300
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

The author served from 1967 to 1968 as a US Army Special Forces medic during the Vietnam conflict. Holding an MBA from Syracuse University, he had a career in banking and finance before turning to writing. He has completed a collection of short stories, a novella, and a number of personal essays. His other interests include hiking, cycling, and listening to rhythm and blues.

Table of Contents

PART I: WAR ZONE–AN AWAKENING  1

Cam Ranh Bay  3

Nha Trang  9

Saigon  21

Devil’s Triangle  29

Long Hái  43

Dispensary  55

Katum  59

Grand Hotel  71

Minefield  79

Bunard  85

St. Albans  93

10th Special Forces Group  97

PART II : THE WAR ZONE AT HOME  103

Back on Campus  105

Big Decision  111

The Banker  121

Trust  129

Groveling for Cash  137

Bob M  153

Financial Storm  161

The Split  167

PART III : COMING TO TERMS  173

Cape Cod  175

David C  185

Memory  189

VA Shrink  199

Reunion  207

PART IV: THERAPY AND HEALING  219

Despair  221

VA Disability Compensation  229

VA Counseling  235

Little Pine Creek Club  241

Jo  249

Perez  257

Daddy, Did You Kill Anybody in Vietnam?  265

Sharing the Scourge of War  271

Al  275

Veterans Writing Groups  283

MILITARY TERMS DEFINED  286

ABOUT THE AUTHOR  289

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