Your chance to relive a little piece of "The Good Old Days" and find the answers to these burning questions: Which future Coast Guard Captain said "Shit, Mal, let's do a 360 and get out of here." Which Coast Guard astronaut said, when asked to describe his scariest moment, "Flying as Malcolm Smith's co-pilot." Which Coast Guard aviator got the blame for putting training wheels and streamers on the commanding officer's and XO's new bicycles. Which Coast Guard aviator threw up in his glove while flying rather than make a mess in the cockpit. This book brings back some of the funniest moments of the Coast Guard during the time period between the "Old Guard" and the new modern Coast Guard. "For more than two decades, Mal has threatened to write a book to chronicle his many colorful experiences during his Coast Guard aviation career. Mal can spin a tale better than any sailor and his exploits in and out of the cockpit are indeed legendary. But the fact is, the closer he gets to the completion of this life-long dream of his, the more nervous I become. I can't wait to read it!" RADM David W. Kunkel, COAST GUARD AVIATOR #1726 "Malcolm Smith is a master storyteller with a flair for finding humor in everyday activities and recounting his observations with entertaining splendor that leaves you thirsting for another. Since meeting him when I was a teenager in Alaska, I have been absorbed by his colorful renditions and have long awaited this composition. I just hope I'm not the subject in one of his stories." CAPT. E. Darrell Nelson, COMMANDING OFFICER, CGAS KODIAK

Ehrhart documents his troubled return to American society. The account conveys the Vietnam veterans' anger, alienation and moral confusion and reveals the delayed stress in his stateside life.

T his BOOK EXAMINES the world confronted by the men of an American combat division during the Vietnam War. Although the unit in question is the 25th Infantry Division, this is not a unit history or standard military chronology. Instead, I try to view all of the major parts of the soldiers' world-including subjects as diverse as climate, living conditions, deadly combat, and morale. The world inhabited by the soldiers of the 25th Division was not theirs alone; the men and women who served with other frontline units in Vietnam will immediately recognize the major landmarks. Using the 25th Division as a focal point, I hope to help the people of today better understand what the Vietnam War was like in fact, not fiction. This work is based on a variety of sources. The documentary foundations come from a great number of 25th Division records generated during the war; the most important of which are the large quarterly Division reports. They, in turn, are complemented by the quarterly reports that came from II Field Force, Vietnam, the Army headquarters for the units operating in the provinces near Saigon. The Center of Military History, Department of the Army, provided these documents to me while I was doing research on the village war in a Vietnamese province. I used this research to write The Dynamics of Defeat: The Vietnam War in Hau Nghia Province (Westview Press, 1991), which deals with the political and military struggle waged by both sides in an important part of the 25th Division's area of operations.

Unfortunate Sons is a compelling story It will draw you into Joe Tyson's world as a young Marine Tanker, full of fun and enthusiasm. You will share the daily routines of patrols and combat situations as if you were right there with him. You will learn about the deadly toll the war had over the 3rd platoon as they participated with line infantry for seventeen straight months. Now combat veterans, they have become bitter and angry over the effects of the war. Never knowing when they were going home had a deep, profound effect on these men, leaving them to believe they had been forgotten by their superiors. So mount up and feel and see with your mind's eye what it was like to be a Marine Tanker in the Vietnam War.

This is the story of a journey that begins with a jolt--the bumpy, sometimes lonely, existence despite being surrounded by many. The story tells of faith searching reason, diving headfirst into independence, along with the learning curve in making life-and-death decisions. It tells about a gypsy with a Peter Pan heart living the hippie era, the mental trials and tribulations of relationships, life in the fast lanes of rock and roll. It tells about the worm towing the ship of fame and fortune from Alaska, crossing paths, tempting fate, and hearing the voices of ancient reason. This is a story of coming to terms with reality and packing up the rose-colored lenses of lost dreams and hopes. It is the turning of pages as life unravels its truth. It is about contemplating life's purpose and the existence of a creator, reasoning for the weary sorrows in the world through indefatigable searching leading to understanding.