General Issue Blues, Viet Nam to Here: A Warrior's Tour [Paperback]

Sonny Gratzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 1997

GI Blues is my poetic venture into a past life as a warrior in Viet Nam, the friends, sights, sounds and enemies of the place, and a return to God's country. It is a dive into other depths, losing lovers and loved ones, confronting regrets and coming to terms with it all. So far I've given it a fair run.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Viet Nam) left Gratzer with severe visible wounds, the kind that surgeon's scalpels work to repair. His words have allowed a different type of reconstruction." (Mick Holien, The Missoulian, January 6, 1998). "Books about Vietnam have been written by journalists, correspondents, politicians and generals. But if you want to get a feel for what it was really all about, read the poetry in General Issue Blues by a warrior who almost died there." (Montana Arts Council Artist Search, March/April 1998). While more than a dozen major surgeries have helped repair the physical wounds caused by bullets and shrapnel, Gratzer used poetry to help heal the mental wounds left by the war. This collection of poems recounts his wartime experiences and 'the challenges of life after survival.'" -- Book Life, The Missoulian, December 21, 1997

"George Gratzer takes you back to the war in Vietnam -- his poems evoke vivid memories of rice paddy ambushes, helicopter assaults, mines and booby traps. G.I. Blues wrenches your heart, grips your gut, brings tears to the eyes of the toughest old soldier. Well done, Sonny." -- Colonel Joe Clemons, Infantry, US Army, Ret.

"Once a tough kids from Butte, Sonny Gratzer came home from Viet Nam with a chest full of medals and severe war wounds. Readers need to keep a keen eye and ear open for Gratzer and other veterans who write. Years later their poems and stories express wonder, grief and healing from some of the deepest sources." -- Patrick Todd, Montana Poet and Humanitarian

"Sonny Gratzer's poems capture the scent of combat, the dangers and miseries of war, and the many kinds of wounds suffered even after the battles have been fought." -- Nathaniel Blumberg, dean and professor, editor, publisher, and author of Charlie of 666: A Memoir

From the Publisher

"This book is Sonny's garden of essences, word crystals, refined from a tumultuous lifetime of seeing, cultivating, composting, tearing into it, getting torn up, rising and falling as the seasons require. They describe a soldier's soulful journey among friends and foes along the many avenues connecting life and death. I hope it's a long time from now but when Sonny gets his final call to Supreme Angelic Command Headquarters, my epitaph for him will be:

He made passionate love with life

And fought well he enemies."

-- Printer Bowler

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 76 pages
• Publisher: Heartland Journals (November 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915945029
• ISBN-13: 978-0915945023
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,998,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humbled and Proud Son of "Sonny", March 3, 2000

By 

A Customer (Valencia, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: General Issue Blues, Viet Nam to Here: A Warrior's Tour (Paperback)

For years upon years, my bedroom in the basement on King Street (which he custom built with his hands, sweat, and broken body), was directly underneath my dad's "Vietnam writing room" (which I secretly called his office or den). This private place was, and will always be, home to his greatest weaponry; Mr. George Michael Gratzer's mind, memories and an ancient electric IBM. I wondered, while trying to sleep, when the pounding on the keys would finally end. Now I pray that sound won't go away. Gratefully, it'll be impossible to finish reading this wonderfully written work of art. I believed I knew my dad; after carrying his first published book around with me for a few years, I know I do! You, as well, will also be one of the privedged few to better understand the reality of Vietnam "lived" by one of this country's most honorable of men. His poetry captures you and puts you into the shoes of a man movies are made of, books are written about, and characters are dreamed of. As a little boy I would cautiously ask my dad to tell me what Vietnam was like...what the truth was. Sometimes he reluctantly spelled it out for me, which is what he's done here. During my Marine Corps career, a day didn't pass that I didn't think of my dad. Would I ever be under the command of a man who could lead the way he can? Although I knew some incredible studs, they couldn't hold a candle to "Bandit 6!" He IS the best of the best of THE best of men.

Nobody's perfect, but this book is. I know - I grew up with it every day, and now I carry this little piece of history with me everywhere. Everyone has something, if not a lot, to gain from any of his books (he's working on more and has been for the last few decades). We should be so lucky when they publish. Can't wait. He's written some darned impressive country music lyric's also! Where's Shania when you need her? As the gallant old man would put it...with silent breath whispering and eye's sparkling eerily, "Keep 'yer eyes peeled...they could be anywhere." But you can find it right here at amazon.com. Congratulations, DAD! I salute you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid and haunting, April 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: General Issue Blues, Viet Nam to Here: A Warrior's Tour (Paperback)

Sonny Gratzer's undeniably powerful poems are reminders that every person is shaped and haunted by something. From his vivid images of the Vietnam War and its after effects on his life, an almost unbearable lonliness emerges. Written from an inner territory of emotional and physical turbulence, his collection of love and war poems depicts a body and soul torn, stitched, torn and mended again while forever visible scars remain.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hard hitting description of war's impact on a soldier., March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: General Issue Blues, Viet Nam to Here: A Warrior's Tour (Paperback)

Captain Sonny Gratzer, as a commander, was the stereotype of the leader whose men would follow him anywhere. They did too. He was fearless and a leader who sensed needs. He was highly decorated. Severly wounded, "General Issue Blues" recounts his long struggle recouperating and dealing with the myriad feelings and emotions about the war. His poem, "I Remember You" in the book, describes how today he remains the Patriot and leader he was over thirty years ago. To quote from this poem, "To men who gave and gave. Never questioning when I raved Except To wonder if I would stand by you? Yes! I stood with you and Gave at the boonie office too. See I cared then--and I still do."