The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam
"In Vietnam today, you will hold only the ground you stand upon."

Step into the depths of the deepest dark forest and see this war through my dad's eyes in this award-winning true story of his experience in Vietnam's deadly Central Highlands.

Twenty-year-old Will Bowe is living on his family's farm when he's drafted in 1965. He and his impossibly young friends will become "skytroopers" in the 1st Air Cavalry Division's new airmobile infantry. Flying into the jungle battlefield by helicopter, they soon learn what "search and destroy" means and face the reality of this new war.

Based on once-classified staff journals, situation reports, and military maps, we follow Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry as they march through rice fields, search villages, climb jungle-covered mountains, and endure many harrowing battles.

From the war zone, Will sends home many of the photographs and letters now featured in this book, often scribbled in haste before another mission, or by flashlight under a poncho in the rain. They will travel over eight thousand miles across the ocean to be placed in a mailbox that stands across from a farmhouse along a dusty county road in Wisconsin.

Many fellow soldiers are interviewed for this story, as are family members and friends of the fallen. Recalling the humor and friendship they shared, along with the sadness and tragedy of a tour of duty in Vietnam, their memories are now woven together, along with the letters, photos, and reports, to tell of one infantry company's war story: From their training at Fort Carson to their historic voyage across the sea, their first steps into the dark highland jungles, their many battles fought together, and eventually... their final patrol.
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The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam
"In Vietnam today, you will hold only the ground you stand upon."

Step into the depths of the deepest dark forest and see this war through my dad's eyes in this award-winning true story of his experience in Vietnam's deadly Central Highlands.

Twenty-year-old Will Bowe is living on his family's farm when he's drafted in 1965. He and his impossibly young friends will become "skytroopers" in the 1st Air Cavalry Division's new airmobile infantry. Flying into the jungle battlefield by helicopter, they soon learn what "search and destroy" means and face the reality of this new war.

Based on once-classified staff journals, situation reports, and military maps, we follow Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry as they march through rice fields, search villages, climb jungle-covered mountains, and endure many harrowing battles.

From the war zone, Will sends home many of the photographs and letters now featured in this book, often scribbled in haste before another mission, or by flashlight under a poncho in the rain. They will travel over eight thousand miles across the ocean to be placed in a mailbox that stands across from a farmhouse along a dusty county road in Wisconsin.

Many fellow soldiers are interviewed for this story, as are family members and friends of the fallen. Recalling the humor and friendship they shared, along with the sadness and tragedy of a tour of duty in Vietnam, their memories are now woven together, along with the letters, photos, and reports, to tell of one infantry company's war story: From their training at Fort Carson to their historic voyage across the sea, their first steps into the dark highland jungles, their many battles fought together, and eventually... their final patrol.
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The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam

The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam

The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam

The Ground You Stand Upon: Life of a Skytrooper in Vietnam

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$19.99 
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Overview

"In Vietnam today, you will hold only the ground you stand upon."

Step into the depths of the deepest dark forest and see this war through my dad's eyes in this award-winning true story of his experience in Vietnam's deadly Central Highlands.

Twenty-year-old Will Bowe is living on his family's farm when he's drafted in 1965. He and his impossibly young friends will become "skytroopers" in the 1st Air Cavalry Division's new airmobile infantry. Flying into the jungle battlefield by helicopter, they soon learn what "search and destroy" means and face the reality of this new war.

Based on once-classified staff journals, situation reports, and military maps, we follow Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry as they march through rice fields, search villages, climb jungle-covered mountains, and endure many harrowing battles.

From the war zone, Will sends home many of the photographs and letters now featured in this book, often scribbled in haste before another mission, or by flashlight under a poncho in the rain. They will travel over eight thousand miles across the ocean to be placed in a mailbox that stands across from a farmhouse along a dusty county road in Wisconsin.

Many fellow soldiers are interviewed for this story, as are family members and friends of the fallen. Recalling the humor and friendship they shared, along with the sadness and tragedy of a tour of duty in Vietnam, their memories are now woven together, along with the letters, photos, and reports, to tell of one infantry company's war story: From their training at Fort Carson to their historic voyage across the sea, their first steps into the dark highland jungles, their many battles fought together, and eventually... their final patrol.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798331432119
Publisher: Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date: 07/15/2024
Pages: 346
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

Joshua Bowe lives in Chaska, Minnesota with his wife Misty. Two of their four children are in college, and two have families of their own. He served twelve years in the Minnesota National Guard and continues to work full-time for the National Guard as a civilian. You can follow his blog and post reviews on his Amazon and Goodreads author pages. Check out his YouTube channel to view a book trailer and slideshow featuring photos taken by his dad and fellow soldiers during their time in Vietnam.

Wilbur Bowe lives in Cameron, Wisconsin with his wife Carol, where they raised their two sons, Joshua and Nicholas. Born and raised on his family’s dairy farm in Tilden, Wisconsin, drafted in 1965 and sent to Vietnam, he returned as a combat veteran in 1967. Since then, he has spent most of his life as a maintenance electrician. Now retired, he spends much time building and fixing things for his friends, neighbors, and local Catholic church. Along with others in his infantry company, he contributed greatly to The Ground You Stand Upon, much of it written over fifty years ago in the jungles of a foreign land.
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