13 Moons over Vietnam—1st Moon: Innocence Why another memoir on Vietnam? There are already hundreds of publications on the Vietnam War. 13 Moons over Vietnam captures a unique perspective of a soldier’s experience of war, juxtaposing more than 150 stories between the lines of 280 uncensored letters to his wife, who was pregnant with their first child. These stories, describing actual experiences, are conveyed with raw emotions of anxiety and fear, refuting the nonchalant tone of his correspondence home. The effect is a stark and unsettling contrast between what is written home and what actually happens. 13 Moons over Vietnam is organized as a series segmented by lunar cycles that symbolize the author’s struggles with identity and faith as he confronts progressive incidents of social and emotional violence. Begin with 1st Moon: Innocence, and witness a metamorphosis that spirals through a moral and spiritual minefield.

Military Police enforce regulations and laws. However, some situations in war zones don't fit perfectly inside the lines. Follow the ongoing challenges that one MP faces as he grapples with gray areas between right and wrong in Vietnam.

This book is the third volume in a memoir series describing a military policeman’s moral and emotional dilemmas in the Vietnam war. Stories of actual experience are positioned sequentially among actual letters sent home to his new wife. He tries to censor his daily experiences in the letters in an effort to protect their relationship from the contradictions of his behavior and progressively disturbed thoughts.The soldier’s responses to temptation trigger an inner battle over values, identity, and spiritual well-being. His actions and subsequent turmoil prompt a transformation from naïve innocence toward alienated detachment. 3rd Moon: Discord highlights his responses to temptation that challenge his moral convictions. His journey through a minefield of ethical trials undercuts his strength of commitment and precipitates a metamorphosis of mind and spirit.

Military Police serving in the Vietnam War faced danger and challenges from not only the Viet Cong but also from an unexpected enemy. 13 Moons: Anticipation reveals the inner war encountered by one policeman and the moral and emotional turmoil because of his responses. Ben Thieu Long struggled with intense, conflicted emotions in the final month of his tour. Anxiously anticipating his return home, he reacted erratically to threats to his safety. When he crossed the line, his actions left him with a weight of rage and guilt that he would carry long after his tour ended.

War conditions test the courage, faith and resilience of people. One's ability to cope and adapt is crucial to survival, both physically and emotionally.

Military Police are typically hard-core and very disciplined. However, after nearly a year in Vietnam, even the most dedicated began to show signs of wavering. Follow one soldier's experience down the rabbit hole of war. Another argument over the war. We see more conflict in the hooch lately than outside the wire. “I’m with Luke,” Sergeant Kaminsky declared. John insisted, “This isn’t your fight.” The Sergeant stepped closer. “People like you are undermining our government.” “I don’t believe that ‘my country right or wrong’ crap!” Tucker scoffed. “Anybody in uniform who doesn’t support this war is a traitor. You’re worse than those anti-war assholes back home,” the Sergeant countered. “It’s a free country. I have the right to free speech." “You don’t have any rights. You follow orders – period!” the Sergeant bellowed. “You’re lucky that bullshit letter from the commie-loving Senator hasn’t been ripped up, Ben,” Luke interjected. Ben cringed. “That's private. It’s inside my footlocker.” Sergeant Kaminski pointed. “THAT isn’t private property. It belongs to the U.S. Government.” “Well, I still have the right to my opinion.” "Only if you keep it to yourself. We don’t want to hear it!”

Heartache: The Struggle to Protect Love The view that truth is the first casualty of war has a long lineage initially attributed to Aeschylus, the father of Greek tragedy. Our author poses that innocent love is truth's younger sibling and the second casualty. Love is the antithesis of war. Love radiates a protective and endearing orientation toward others, whereas war rides roughshod over civility and compassion. When bluntly executed, which is its very nature, war prioritizes the subjection or destruction of our fellow man. Love is an intense human emotion and a powerful influence on behavior. But, men take different paths to protect their spirit of love during wartime conditions. Some strive to sustain themselves by clinging to thoughts of love. They hope that focusing on love will provide a sanctuary from loneliness and the horror of war. Other men choose to bury their feelings, rationalizing their best survival chances will come from fully concentrating on immediate circumstances. Finally, another approach is taken by those believing they have the power to control the innate tension between love and war. These individuals kept their hearts open toward love while engaged in the violence of human conflict. Ben Thieu Long tried each approach in his struggle to protect love, with mixed results and costly consequences. War powerfully affects participants, as the experience can produce more emotional pain than physical injury. War mutilates the human psyche and leaves deep scars, while men are left vulnerable when their refuge of love collapses. One of the most damaging consequences of a wartime experience is the formation of a wedge partitioning a person's emotions into discrete, isolated chambers. Men may still experience love after a war, but some permanently have lost the fullness of their innocence. Instead, these men tend to withdraw to a corner, like an abused child nervously fearing the next painful blow. They lose their unguarded openness to others, e