The Mailman Went UA (A Vietnam Memoir)

Some readers will be upset by the use of racial references, some will be upset by the vulgar language, some by the stark brutality, some by the sexual references.  I can sanitize my manuscript and give the reader a false sense of how war reduces the humanity of an individual.  Not only that, but sanitizing the past distorts history and lulls a person into a nonchalant manner of behavior in determining courses of action.  The end result is that I would defeat the purpose that compelled me to write my book in the first place. So what is the point?  I hope that you understand what I am trying to achieve. As I put this book together over the years, I constantly questioned my ability and skill to compose my manuscript in a cohesive manner and even my right to do it, but here it is. I think the main problems were that I couldn't look at it objectively and that I tried to write it as an 18-19 year-old. I wanted to present the naiveté and immaturity, which had awesome power and control over life and death. At the same time, naiveté and immaturity could strangle you. The title, The Mailman Went UA, came from our little song and dance routine that we performed when we didn't receive any mail. It reflected the utter desolation of aloneness and heartbreak that extended beyond the lack of mail to who you were as a human being, and that impact is impossible to shake. The mail was our only touch with any degree of normalcy. It was more than a connection with the "World." It was the essential element in preserving our sanity. We were surrounded by death and destruction and became unfazed by them, but we were always hit hard when we didn't receive any mail.