Doug Francescon was a Section

 Leader in “G” Battery, 29^th 

Artillery. His unit was attached

to F Company,  2^nd Battalion,

5^th Marine Regiment, 1^st Marine Div.

In bloody fighting on July 4^th, 1967

their position was overrun by

elements of the NVA. Both sides

suffered tremendous losses. Doug

was wounded and all of the members

of his section were killed including

his best friend, Waylen Powell.

He now lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife,

Pati. They have four children, and four grandchildren.

For over thirty five years Doug refused to admit that

his past still haunted him until one Veteran’s day

when he was invited to speak at a local high school

about the war.

That day in the classroom made him realize that he

must face the past, and deal with a dark side of

himself, a side that was as much a part of him as

the man who reads stories to his grandchildren.

In 1967 Doug was turned onto a killer, as cold and

brutal  as any animal in any jungle. That part of him

still exists, the same as it does in all men and women

who are thrown into war, or any kind of extreme

violence. This book is his way of sorting out the

causes and effects of his feelings.