Freedom Hill
The Alpha and Omega
by
Book Details
About the Book
This book looks at the Vietnam War from a new angle.
While most books on the subject center around a battle or operation, this book
introduces the central character as he comes of age and faces the draft. It
stays with him through that process and his traumatic experience of Marine
Corps boot camp. The work then follows him to Southeast Asia where his life is
graphically chronicled and we get an amazingly candid look at the day-to-day
war through the eyes of a young draftee. The toughest battles for most veterans
of that war were fought in the mind. The severe mood swings from the deepest
depressions to unbelievable highs kept combatants teetering on the edge of
sanity. This book expertly exposes the emotional roller-coaster that threatened
the stability of the mind. For the first time, you will understand why the
Vietnam War was so damaging to so many veterans. Hundreds of thousands of young
men served in the Vietnam War, each came home with a story--this book tells most
of them. This fresh revealing look at the Vietnam experience is one you won’t
want to miss.
About the Author
J. Eldon Holbrook was born and raised in the small
town of Brainerd, Minnesota and attended Washington Senior High School. The
Vietnam draft was moving into full swing in 1968, and due to a series of catch
22’s, he found himself the victim of this draft while still attending school.
When he arrived at the induction center in Minneapolis, MN, he learned he had
been drafted by the Marine Corps. He completed boot camp and a combat tour in
Vietnam before returning to his hometown in Minnesota. He quickly grew restless
in that environment and reenlisted in the Marine Corps to regain the excitement
he had grown accustomed to. He retired from the Marine Corps a Gunnery Sergeant
in 1999.