Jim replied:
"I just want your story in your own words…I never fought in any war, so I do not believe that I have earned the right to speak on something which I have never personally experienced."
A Warning From The Author:
War zones are not pretty places and this is not a pretty book. The stories are in the words of actual veterans. These are hard men who fought in a hard war, and some of the stories contain hard and harsh words aimed at the government and at society. These are their views and opinions only. As the author of this book, I have taken the liberty of toning down some of the language to that of words found in the Australian Oxford Dictionary Second Edition. Also these are veterans’ own recollections of events which occurred many years ago, and thus may not be accurate in all details.
95 pages A4 soft-cover
Includes B&W photographs
Includes B&W photographs
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Stories and photographs from average everyday soldiers
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Background information about the Vietnam war - ideal for secondary school students
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Information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
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Details of charities that will benefit from book royalties
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A story from the Bouganville conflict (1944)
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Details about Jim Faggotter’s first book
(nominated for the 2001 Queensland Premiers' Literary Awards) |
Jim Faggotter’s first book was a collection of 24 true stories from soldiers who fought in World War II. Following on from that he placed advertisements in various Australian media asking for Vietnam War stories from the non-heroes of the Vietnam War.
Many veterans responded to those requests with their stories, however very few of them wanted their stories published. Most wanted to share their stories with Jim alone, to give him an insight into what he was undertaking.
One Vietnam War veteran wrote:
"I loved your term NON-HEROES. It sums it up perfectly! When you're a young 20 year old and put up against an unknown enemy, you bond with your mates in a way that I've never encountered since. You share your tucker and even your last water and so when the s**t hits the fan, there's no thought, just action. I can honestly say that I never considered my own personal danger, just the fact that all my bro's and me was in the s**t. God, they know how to weld young men together as a unit. Having said that, how the hell can you select a hero out of a welded group who would mindlessly die for each other. It's automatic and so beautiful looking back. We were all heroes or all piss-frightened as a group, so anyone who wants to select one above another has never been there. HEROES ARE A MYTH.”
He continued:
“Are your writings slanted to the heroic and glories, or the true reality of war? I have no desire to promote more 'piss in the pocket' hero books. There is a screaming need to expose war for what it is, a gross atrocity, but no author seems to want to tack against the wind and risk censure."