The Sandman
by
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This book is composed of essays dedicated to those remnants of the Legion of the Damned, who against the odds and the perils of fortune, returned to what they thought was home. . . .and, were received as less than human and spat upon. They were judged by those who were less than they. . . .and judged poorly. For those who fell before us, may they rest in the arms of their God. These Essays on Engagements chronicle parts of the journey of the one known as the Sandman. They are the result of candid conversations with the one known only to a few people in Southeast Asia.
'It seems as though the Engagements described in these essays occurred yesterday. Since, most of the wounds have healed and some of the memories have mellowed. We did not question why we there so much as we counted the days until we could return to home. Perhaps it's been too long since we looked at what happened in Southeast Asia those many years ago and how those events affected our perceptions of what is right and wrong. Most of the soldiers I served with died during the Campaigns. To my knowledge, there are only 5 of us left. Whether we, those who returned, were extremely good at what we did or just extremely lucky is up to history to determine. I believe we were extremely lucky. Statistically, there is no rational basis for any of us surviving the Year of the Monkey in Southeast Asia.
So you are aware, officially, I do not exist; nor was I ever in Southeast Asia. This was proven years after the Southeast Asian Campaigns when I attempted to join the VFW at the invitation of an acquaintance. When asked to verify my claim of service with the US Army on foreign shores, the US Military could produce no records of my ever being in the Army.
Prior to my experience in Southeast Asia, the US Army Special Forces asked if I would join their organization on several different occasions. I declined, in that I did not feel worthy of wearing a Green Beret. The Army graciously accepted my regrets; sent me to the training it felt I would need, and assigned me to several different A Teams and eventually the B Team in Chau Doc Province.
Furthermore, to ensure that the readers harbor no misconceptions, I am not a hero. I have no medals or citations. I have only a Combat Infantryman's Badge since I served as a combatant while working in Chau Doc Province. I have only one claim: no one-man or woman-while working for me was ever killed while performing his or her assigned tasks. I knew then as I know now, there must be a better way and I did not and would not waste my people. These essays have come to be through the urging of my friend KC-Thanks.'
The Sandman
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About the Book
The Sandman's comin'.
Like an evening breeze in the rice, the Sandman could not be stopped. From the tepid rice paddies and steaming jungles came the one who made the soldiers sleep. This enigmatic persona and bane of the North Vietnamese as well as the American and South Vietnamese Forces again emerges after 30 years to describe the emotional journey that forged the psyche of a dreaded assassin and the dedicated ally of the Vietnamese who knew this special operations officer.
The Sandman in Vietnam, Essays on Engagements, presents a fresh perspective and provides critical insights on the Southeast Asian Campaigns in the Year of the Monkey-1968-and how those events continue to affect our lives and mold our society. The Sandman places the aloof accounts of military operations second to the emotional battles that were fought, lost, and seldom won.
The Sandman offers readers a view of the soldiers' paradox: Soldiers must-by military doctrine-do the impossible. Simultaneously, the soldier must deny the existence of emotion-that which spurs one to do the impossible. Here readers can experience the conflict and find themselves within reach of the highs and lows that only the combat soldiers know. As you read The Sandman, you will find yourself laughing till the tears run down your cheeks, then notice you are crying at the profound sadness.
Further, The Sandman offers the millions of family members and friends of these soldiers a frame of reference that helps them understand their sons, husbands, and lovers and how the experience of Southeast Asia affected their relationships. These readers, who have been dealing with the residual damage of Southeast Asia, can come to understand the basis for the soldiers' point of view, and the soldiers' methods for processing information.
Reviewer comments:
This book reveals the legend of the Sandman. Arguably one of, if not the most, notorious and terrifying assassins of the Vietnam War. As with most legends this book presents sparkling kernels of truth interspersed in the miasma of fear and danger that was inspired through the embellishments of North and South Vietnamese as well as American soldiers. Yet today, the one who made the soldiers sleep has, with God's help, successfully beaten the sword into a plowshare and I am proud to call The Sandman friend
The tale is told with the same haunting detachment that became the Sandman's cloak of survival, the details of The Sandman's Essays on Engagements burst from the page like the lethal spurts of an assault rifle. Then we glimpse, for just a moment, at that which is everywhere and nowhere-that which answered the Country's call--the 'intelligent vapor' that is the soul of the Sandman
This thought-provoking book is not the McNamara version of 'winning the hearts and minds of the people.' Furthermore, not everyone will find The Sandman entertaining nor will they agree its underlying message, but not often does everyone agree with the truth. Some may not even believe it, but they won't be able to avoid thinking about it and what it means
About the Author
C. M. Boyles, CPE, is a three-time, award-winning writer and editor with 28 years experience in industry as an engineering manager, international consultant, and editor, and a combat veteran of Southeast Asia.