Xray His Mark

By Richard Melvin Barone

One of the prevalent myths about the Vietnam War is that going to college was a way to avoid going to Vietnam, and that only those who couldn't afford to go to college--the underprivileged-were sent to Vietnam. Contrary to popular belief, three times as many college graduates served in the Vietnam War as did in World War II. This book explains why.During the height of the Vietnam War, the Army resorted to a bait-and-switch scam that recruited thousands of unsuspecting college graduates into its combat ranks. Marc and Eliot join to become signal officers but are switched to the infantry, a misfortune that turns their beloved diplomas into one-way tickets to the jungles of Vietnam. Finding uncertainty in a certain war, they manage to avoid the dreaded infantry. Eliot re-ups to become a journalist and write military propaganda in Saigon, while Marc lucks-out and becomes a company clerk in base camp. But when Marc comes face-to-face with the company's point man, he sees something compelling and can no longer sit on the sidelines.Eliot believes truth exists in self-directed survival-the news he writes on the war. Mark believes in other-directed survival-the brotherhood of war. Both learn, however, that truth can never be disclosed, like the nameless dead plowed into mass graves underground. This is a story of survival, not only on the battlefield, but in the mind of a soldier who doesn't know why others always die in his place.Xray is the phonetic word for the letter X, but for Marc Doria, it is more than just his call sign. It becomes his mark-an x-ray of his brain, the title of his diary, and the means of his very existence. All descriptions of combat operations involving Delta Company are authentic and based upon the experiences of the author.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1502863928
• ISBN13: 9781502863928
• Release Date: November 2014
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 342 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"