Time-Line Vietnam: The Tiger That Ate the Firebase

By Ray Bows

True story of 14 months in the life of a US Army Staff Sargeant and the events leading up to his arrival in the combat zone during the Vietnam War. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0929973038
• ISBN13: 9780929973036
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Bows & Company
• Length: 159 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

EXCELLENT!

Master Sergeant Ray Bows, US Army (Retired), and Pia Problemi have collaborated on the most interesting book I've read in a long time. Time-Line Vietnam: The Tiger That Ate The Firebase is an excellent book. They should be proud of their joint endeavor. I've read Ray's other books and found them most interesting. He had done so much research for each. BUT this time around he actually talked about his own experiences and Pia helped him put it on paper. This non-fiction book covers bits and pieces of Ray's military career but mostly about why he volunteered to go to Vietnam. He openly shared his emotions, thoughts, feelings, etc of a period that has effected his life ever since. Pia wrote in her Foreword, "In understanding the after affects of trauma, such as those caused by war, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which bring on nightmares and flashbacks, I have learned that the heroes are not only those who die during war, but also the survivors who carry invisible scars....This book evolved from persistent thoughts I had, and the question I finally asked Ray, `Why did you volunteer for Vietnam.'" In his Introduction Ray wrote, "My once closely guarded memories are arranged in the same chaos that I still live them....My mind flashes back, then, flashes forward to events relevant to earlier circumstances." And he has done it so well capturing that Fast Forward and Rewind aspect of life. This book begins with Ray's sudden "descent" into Vietnam in June 1968 and ends with his arrival back in The World. In between the first and last chapter Ray shared his reasons for volunteering for a tour of duty in Southeast Asia. He had already been to Korea and Europe. He was a young "twenty-two year old staff sergeant" in the Army when he found himself assigned on temporary funeral escort detail. This changed his life in many ways. Ray included information about two other people who played important roles in Ray's life. Though he didn't know them personally he provides a real tribute to Army Specialist 5 (SP5) Robert J Wiedemann and Marine Private First Class (PFC) Joel W Mock. Ray shares with his readers how he came to know of these two young men. Regarding Robert, Ray wrote, "he would become a friend--a friend I never knew." Ray's Uncle Paul had already been assigned to Vietnam. He was a part of the 1st Cavalry Division that took part in the IaDrang Valley battle made famous in the book We Were Soldiers Once...and Young. Paul was another reason Ray volunteered for Vietnam. In February 1969 Ray was at CuChi when it came under attack. He described that night. He wrote of the Vietnamese soldier who pistol-whipped him on another day. He wrote about another soldier who risked his own life to save someone else's when a helicopter crashed nearby. So you can see this book is not just about him. Ray spoke of other events and people he met during his year in-country. Ray commented that "Vietnam is a gleaming, polished bauble that I periodically take off