Black Brothers of the Parachute Silk

This novel is set against one of the least-told chapters of the Vietnam War: the experience of Black American soldiers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade, the first U.S. Army combat unit deployed to Vietnam. The characters in this book are invented. The history is not. The 173rd Airborne Brigade - nicknamed "The Sky Soldiers" by Taiwanese allies - deployed to Bien Hoa Air Base on May 5, 1965. They conducted the only combat parachute assault of the entire Vietnam War on February 22, 1967, during Operation Junction City. They fought at Dak To in November 1967 in some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Approximately 300,000 Black Americans served in Vietnam. They were drafted at disproportionate rates, assigned to combat roles at disproportionate rates, and received Medals of Honor at rates that did not reflect their service until Congress mandated a review in 1996. This novel attempts to make present, in human terms, a portion of what they experienced.

Pagina's: 97, Paperback, Independently published