The Soldier Factory: A Window

By Ed Salven

A former soldier's poignant search for meaning in the American military experience.

When Ed Salven returned after thirty years to Fort Ord, where he was stationed in the late 1960s, he found a ghost town. The once bustling Sixth Army Infantry Processing Center in northern California sat in silent decay, and he was overwhelmed by recollections of his time there as a young draftee. Those memories became the basis for The Soldier Factory, a moving collection of meditations on being a part of the U.S. military machine at the height of the Vietnam War and on the essential questions Salven and his fellow soldiers confronted dealing with violence, authority, self-worth, honor, loss, and love.

Salven's reflections are accompanied by a series of paintingsvivid, anonymous portraits of soldiers. Fort Ord, once a community of more than 30,000 soldiers, was closed in the late 1990s; these paintings are now being used as window covers on several abandoned barracks. Also included are color photographs of the fort and the surrounding landscape in its strangely beautiful state today.

Veterans and soldiers alike will find this book particularly meaningful, as will anyone seeking to better understand this important period in U.S. history and its impact on those who lived through it. By turns amusing and heartbreaking, The Soldier Factory has the quiet, reverent quality of a memorial. Color illustrations throughout.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807615722
• ISBN13: 9780807615720
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Soldier Factory not fantasy

Unlike Mr. Cagel I enjoyed Mr. Salven's book. Though not in the Army at the time, I was serving in Southeast Asia with the Air Force. I cannot vouch for any accuracy of Army terms, rank, nor history, but I can state that I found the book thought provoking and in its way an insight into the military at the time. There was a fracture in society which was also evident in the services over what was happening in SEA, what our true purpose was there, and how that endeavor was to be achieved. Mr. Salven brings this to light as well as hurmous thoughts of his service at Fort Ord. Personally, I am glad Mr. Salven has his memories published along with poetry and photos in a presentation which reflects both his past and present. Thank you Ed Salven!

FTA all the way........

I served in the US Army from 1966 to 1968 and spent my final 9 months in South Vietnam. Early morning on November 7, 1966 I boarded a crowded bus in Los Angeles and settled in for the long, silent drive up the coast to Monterey. Final distination, Fort Ord. When we arrived well after dark a drill sargeant hopped on board and started screaming loudly for everyone to get off the bus. The screaming didn't stop for the next 8 to 10 weeks. Basic training, I was told, is 8 weeks but they have this time period they call "ZERO WEEK" which is supposed to be one week of testing, getting your uniforms, getting screamed at, etc. Mr. Salven's book was spot on and hit the mark on what a lot of people were thinking at that time. It brought back good and some bad memories. Most of all it made me laugh out loud. Stillwell Hall was a great place to gather and drink beer and the East Garrison was, and I hope still is, an extremly beautiful place. His discriptions and mind set of those crazy times are thought provoking beyond compare. The Lt. Chito chapter was histerical!! Another book by Mr. Salven, please....