ANDY ADKINS

The 'Nam "AC-48"


Published by: Andy Adkins
Release date: March 2026
Format: Paperback, eBook
ISBN13: 9798995028604
Pages: 150

Buy the Book: Amazon

Note that all proceeds from the sale of "The 'Nam AC-48" will be donated to the Vietnam Veterans of America, local Chapter #1092.

FREE for Veterans [click here]

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OVERVIEW

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.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • A Note from the Author
  • Preface
  • Information Resources
  • List of Abbreviations
  • List of Ranks (Officers, Enlisted men)

  • Henry Dennis Babers - (Marine Corps)
  • Martin Robert Beck - (Army)
  • Larry Will Bloodsworth - (Army)
  • James Boston, Jr. - (Army)
  • Norman Kenneth Bristow - (Army)
  • Willie Lee Brown, Jr. - (Army)
  • Vernon Thomas Carter, Jr. - (Marine Corps)
  • Randolph Wright Ford - (Navy)
  • Charles Richard Geiger - (Army)
  • James Richard Golding - (Army)
  • Charles Andy Gordon - (Army)
  • Wesley Ira Goswick - (Army)
  • Terry Durand Graham - (Army)
  • Frederick Jordan Hampton - (Air Force)
  • Eugene Scott Hancock - (Navy)
  • Tommy Lee Hankison - (Army)
  • Samuel Harrell - (Army)
  • Lindy Edward Henry - (Air Force)
  • Carl Post Hetrick - (Marine Corps)
  • Donald Lee Hettich - (Army)
  • Ross Thomas Hulslander - (Army)
  • James Milton Jefferson - (Air Force)
  • Marcus Claude Jones - (Marine Corps)
  • Michael Ward Kirkpatrick - (Coast Guard)
  • Freddie Lee Kleckley - (Army)
  • Noah Morris Kraft - (Marine Corps)
  • Benjamin Gaines Lang - (Air Force)
  • John Winslow Lawrence, Jr. - (Army)
  • Auburn Dale Mccomb - (Navy)
  • Lorenzo Columbus Maulden - (Army)
  • Manuel Eduardo Mesa, Jr. - (Army)
  • Thomas Wayne Peterson - (Navy)
  • Johnny Lee Proctor - (Marine Corps)
  • Leslie Eugene Rembert - (Army)
  • Robert Ivan Rice - (Marine Corps)
  • Ronald Michael Rigdon - (Marine Corps)
  • Charles Edward Roland - (Army)
  • James Mikel Runnels - (Navy)
  • Robert Lee Shorter - (Marine Corps)
  • Neal Arthur Smith - (Army)
  • Robert Eugene Thompson - (Army)
  • Charles Roland Townsend - (Navy)
  • Frederick Mell Vickery III - (Marine Corps)
  • Joshua Welch, Jr. - (Army)
  • David Eric Wieland - (Air Force)
  • Jerome Cordell Winters - (Marine Corps)
  • Johnell Witherspoon - (Army)
  • Henry Bertram Wright - (Army)

  • About the Author
  • Acknowledgements

  • Appendix
  • Alachua County Vietnam War Servicemen Final Resting Place
  • Alachua County Memorial Sites
  • Service Medals, Awards, & Decorations
REVIEWS

Mainstreet Daily News: "New book remembers Alachua County residents who died in Vietnam War"
by Seth Johnson
(read more)

Alachua County Today: "48 Lives, One County: Honoring Alachua County's Vietnam Fallen"
by H. Bryan Boukari
A Gainesville Navy veteran has turned a Memorial Day moment into a 150-page tribute to the 48 men from Alachua County who gave their lives during the Vietnam War. (read more)

The 'Nam AC-48 carries a powerful sense of purpose. The way you honor the forty-eight men from Alachua County, not just as soldiers but as sons, brothers, and fathers, gives the book a depth that goes far beyond history. It's a tribute that invites reflection, gratitude, and rememberence.

--Theresa S. (March 2026)