We Never Wanted a Parade

Imagine growing up in a small town, leading a normal life, hoping to become a journalist, when one day you make a decision that changes your whole life-to become more than a man...to become a US Marine. "We Never Wanted a Parade" is the coming-of-age memoir of Don "Tack" Tackett, who discovers loss, respect, and becoming a man in the steam-filled jungles of Vietnam. With his unit all but gone, Tack is re-assigned and begins the process of making friends and earning respect all over again with sound judgment and good leadership. "I thought every day in the bush would be my last. I just knew today was the day I would get hit...When I turned every corner I could visualize confronting the little bastard that would end my life. It was a very scary thought. If that wasn't enough, we had to deal with the booby traps...Then the night would come. It was so dark we couldn't see the guy next to us, let alone seeing out into the bush where we just knew a sapper was going to sneak up and cut our throats. Then daybreak would come. Thank god for daybreak. We'd lived another day, another day closer to going home..."