ANDY ADKINS
US Navy Veteran... City Firefighter... Engineer... Consultant... Author
"Life is a journey, one step followed by another..."
NOW AVAILABLE!
I'm pleased to announce that my new book, The 'Nam "AC-48", is published and available on Amazon. It's a tribute to the 48 servicemen from Alachua County, Florida who died in the line of service during the Vietnam War.
Much has been written about the Vietnam War, but The 'Nam "AC-48" is unique. This is a personal look ... beyond the numbers. I didn't want to stop at the 58,266 names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall or even the 1,567 still listed as Missing in Action.
I wanted to present a more personal side - the individual.
Forty-eight young men with ties to Alachua County, Florida lost their lives in Vietnam. This book is about them. These men volunteered or were drafted - it makes no difference. They answered the call from their Country. To them, it was the patriotic thing.
"God, Family, Country."
Patriotism has been described as love and duty to your Country. But as you read some of these stories, you will understand it is also the love and duty to their comrades ... members of their unit.
Please take time to think of these young men, not just as another number or name as part of the KIA or MIA; don't think of them as just the cost of war.
These young men - sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands - were real people with real lives that were cut far too short. They will never know what we are able to enjoy, in part because of their ultimate sacrifice. Thank them and thank you for taking the time to read this book.
For more information, click HERE.
Also available in audio
My latest blog post: 6/9/26 #216 - D-Day+3: No Better Place to Die
My father-in-law, Dr. Rufus Broadaway, served with the 82d Airborne during World War II. He jumped into Normandy on D-Day, 82 years ago. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him and my dad, who also served in World War II in Europe with the 80th Infantry Division.
It's hard to imagine what these men, along with tens of thousands of other courageous soldiers and sailors encountered during those first few days during the D-Day invasion. Even after intensive training for two years, you never know what to expect.
They say, "expect the unexpected," but over the years, I've learned that the "they" probably never faced combat like this.
I repost this story every year, not on D-Day, but a few days later because from what Rufus told me during one of our multiple interviews, "The war just got real."
Books written by Andy Adkins
80th Division (WWII) Books edited by Andy Adkins
