Table of Contents
Map xi
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1 One Night in a New York City Bar-The Colonel's Challenge 1
Chapter 2 Gathering the Names 11
Chapter 3 Setting Sail 15
Chapter 4 Voyage to Vietnam 21
Chapter 5 Anchored off Qui Nhon 27
Chapter 6 Looking for Chuckles's Brother 31
Chapter 7 The Texan Couldn't Care Less About Orders 39
Chapter 8 The Good Samaritan in An Khe Looked Familiar 43
Chapter 9 LZ Tombstone 49
Chapter 10 "Who's This Guy?!" 57
Chapter 11 "Wait a Minute-You Don't Have to Be Here, and You're Here?!" 61
Chapter 12 Firefight at the Ambush Post 65
Chapter 13 Screams on the Night Road 73
Chapter 14 An Air Force Pilot Does Me a Favor 79
Chapter 15 Stuck in Saigon 85
Chapter 16 American Money Is Good for Bribes 89
Chapter 17 The Caravelle Rooftop Bar 93
Chapter 18 Finding a Seafaring Friend 97
Chapter 19 Happy New Year, Baby 101
Chapter 20 Beaucoup VC 109
Chapter 21 Broken Truce 115
Chapter 22 The American Embassy Under Siege 119
Chapter 23 Battle at the President's Palace 129
Chapter 24 Am I Dead and in Purgatory? 135
Chapter 25 Befriending a South Vietnamese Cop 141
Chapter 26 A Giant Floating Freezer Full of Food in the Midst of Famine 145
Chapter 27 Coast Guard Brass: A Big Job on a Big Ship 153
Chapter 28 Australian Marines Lock the Caravelle Up Tight 159
Chapter 29 Finding Bobby 163
Chapter 30 Explosion at Long Binh 171
Chapter 31 Helping a Descendant of the Mayans 181
Chapter 32 C.D., Phone Home 185
Chapter 33 Please Do Feed the Animals 189
Chapter 34 "We Cannot Win" 197
Chapter 35 "We're Outta Here!" 201
Chapter 36 I Kiss the Ground 205
Afterword: Reflections on the Journey 209
Where Are They Now? 215
Addendum: The Neighborhood-Inwood, Manhattan, New York City 225
Bonus Chapter: BBQ and a Beer-Can Shoot with a Powerful Stranger 231
Acknowledgments 241
Bibliography 245
Photo Credits 249