In Liberating Strife: A Memoir of the Vietnam Years, Volume 2

In Country

The author begins his tour of duty in Vietnam as his fiancé and family continue their own daily lives in a nation wracked by continuing controversy and crisis. His assignments “behind the lines” in the war zone sometimes seem calm by comparison with the nation’s domestic turbulence as he enjoys friendships with Army buddies closer than any he has ever experienced. Eventually the US intervention in Cambodia and the shootings at Kent State bring the war at home to a bloody climax as the domestic violence stemming from resistance to the war seems to threaten the very social fabric of the nation.  Love renders the pain of their separation and anxiety over the state of America bearable, as the two young lovers cling to the hope of their own reunion and better days ahead eventually for their troubled nation. Their dreams of beginning a life together are finally realized, but not before personal tragedy teaches them the fragility of life in a way they never would have anticipated.