Spoken interview

Click on the player strip below to start the interview playback.

Here’s some background information for starters:

Don Bodey: I  live near where I was born, in  rural Indiana, in places I keep saying I am “fixing up,” like I’ve been saying about places in Florida for awhile, Oregon for nine years, Chicago for another nine. I’m a carpenter, and for most of my life I’ve been making my living by “fixing” houses while  I live there amongst the fixings, then get another one, fix it up.

Somehow I’ve also been a writer and sometimes a teacher of writing. I’ve taught at colleges and universities as a part timer. I got my Bachelor’s degree in 1968 and was immediately drafted into the Army, trained to be a mortar man, sent to Vietnam for 405 days, discharged. I earned  my MFA at Oregon, and came away with the beginning of  what would become F.N.G. 

I spent some years building houses on the coast, then ended up in Chicago, teaching and writing. Within six months, in 1985, my book came out, then won the Midland Award, and my house burned down. That tragedy overwhelmed the book. With two old friends–one was  81 years old–I bought a bar in a rather “tough” Chicago neighborhood and that lasted 3 years, during which I became a father. Full circle:20 years after I left, I came back to Indiana, with my wife and son, and went to work as a carpenter again, for the ensuing 20 years.

Without the mental wherewithal to be a writer and a fixer-upper, I assumed the pragmatic role of a carpenter again, and writing all but disappeared from my life. But it’s a strong pull to want to write, so when a publisher, Victor Volkman, offered to re-publish the book, and suggested I write something to tie it into today, I jumped at the chance. It took about 18 months to put it together, but the happy result is this new edition, which ultimately, consequently, brings me here.

Made in America, Sold in the Nam: A Continuing Legacy of Pain

SKU 978-1-61599-049-8
$27.95
1
Product Details
UPC: 978-1-61599-049-8
Brand: Modern History Press
Hope and Healing For All Who Have Been Touched by War

For Viet Nam Vets: an opportunity to verify their experiences
against experiences of others leading to validation and perhaps
even an airing of their suspicions and fears about themselves. No
matter how long it has been, healing is possible.

For Families of the KIA: peace and understanding about the experiences
of their loved one and if they have letters from their loved
ones, perhaps a way to fill in what could never be spoken.

For Adult Children and Spouses of Vets: empathy for their war
experience, in spite of whether or not there has been communication
about how it really went down.

For Vets of Recent Conflicts: a shortcut to understanding the
overall experience of war and how one copes with its indelible
marks. Discover the commonality of those who have endured their
time as warriors.

For Society and Generations to come:

  • Learn what really happens during a modern military conflict.
  • A plea for wisdom in how we deal with other peoples on Earth.
  • A chance to break the cycle of doing the same things and hoping
    for magically different outcomes.



    "That there is conflict and confusion over how we are to view the
    Viet Nam War and how we are to feel about those who sacrificed for
    this effort, makes this book all the more important. These pieces give
    the average person insight into what really happened to those that
    served and what they thought that they were trying to accomplish.
    There is some personal truth, buried emotion, and a few heroes in
    their own right."

    --Tami Brady, TCM Reviews



    Book #2 in the Reflections of History series from Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPRess.com



    Author page www.RickRitter.com

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