Looking Both Ways

Two Men Face War

By: Wil I. Jackson

Narrated by: Mike Jackson

I invite the listener to enter the lives of two young men with completely opposite views of the Vietnam War. One was a helicopter pilot, flying gunship in Hueys. The other enlisted in the navy to keep from being drafted by the US Army. Slightly fictionalized to provide a coherent narrative and to protect their identities and the identities of several supporting characters, the story line is amazing in revealing details that are true, almost beyond belief.

Interestingly, both men chose to be called Jim - not Jimmy or Jimbo, but Jim, with great determination! They met at historic Hay Street United Methodist Church in downtown Fayetteville. They both thought of adopting the children of their previously married wives, being genuine in their parental love for these three young stepsons. The earlier marriage of one spouse raised a lot of questions about her past. Both wives played significant roles in the telling of their husbands' stories. Both of their fathers were WWII veterans, one a highly decorated paratrooper in the Battle of the Bulge. The other father was on the island of Okinawa, where he was a part of our army's invasion into Japanese territory. He became a part of the "cleanup" operations after A-bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Their lives took many twists and turns during those turbulent years. And if you learn their backstories, you will be eager to continue with the in-between stuff of greatest importance. While the writing is principally memoirs, it is also a sociological study of a significantly changing time - the 1960s and early 1970s. One assessor of this project says the book belongs on the shelves of university and public libraries. I invite my listeners to learn to be kinder instead of rigidly opinionated, as we look at the other person's point of view - politically, religiously, or otherwise.

Thank you for your interest in this project.

Wil I. Jackson

©2012 Wil I. Jackson (P)2020 Wil I. Jackson