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A Knavish Piece of Work

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A Knavish Piece of Work is a significant book. Set primarily in 1975, it highlights the Mayaguez incident, a "rescue mission" conducted by the Ford Administration shortly after the fall of Saigon. Told through the eyes of the deceased (and the soon-to-be deceased), the book is fittingly a ghost story, revitalizing the pall of the Vietnam Era that still hangs over this country. Within the shadowlands of the dead, the book contrasts the trauma of survivor's guilt with the inauthenticity of the leadership responsible for the War: a paradox that will forever haunt its survivors. The book quotes often from Hamlet, from which its title is derived, but it resonates also in Shakespeare's Henry V: "Be the cause not good, the king will have much to answer for come Judgement Day, when all those legs and arms and heads will join together and cry out, 'We died for this??!!"

I was a Deck Officer in Henry B. Wilson (DDG-7) during the battle. I'm amazed that after 30 years, the incident is still seared in my mind.

Two items of interest come to mind. I was Officer of the Deck in Wilson for the morning watch (0400 - 0800) the day after the battle. Our orders were to circumnavigate Koh Tang at slow speed, 2000 yards from the island and look for Americans. While our information was that all U.S. personnel had been removed from the island, the evacuation was pretty chaotic and so we were looking - just in case.

My own experience confirmed the experience of the Recon personnel sent to the island. There were some wicked currents around Koh Tang. At one point the currents had pushed us within 1500 yards of the beach - well within small arms range. We had to steer 45 degress away from the island to maintain station.

The other noteworthy aspect of the watch was that shortly after first light, a Cambodian came out on the beach. I suspect he was acting on some sort of dare or "in your face" move. Since I was a qualified Gun Director Officer, and one of our 5 inch guns was ready to go, I considered jumping up into the director and dropping a couple air bursts at the tree line. There is little doubt that we could have got him.

I considered it for a short while but decided that shooting him would not accomplish anything and would wake 450 exhaused personnel (ship's company as well as abut 100 marines)with an adrenalin shot they really didn't need.

It wasn't until years later that I found out that there were indeed Americans still on the island. If we had fired, they would have known were were still there...

For anyone who wants to see a pivotal historical moment brought to life, this book is for you! Mr. Fulsang uses his literary skills to bring alive the treacherous, duplicitous and heartfelt story of one Vietname war vet to life in this magical realism piece, "A Knavish Tale." Building on the structure of Shakespeare's Hamlet, this book showcases how the American government defrauded and failed our country's heroes during one of the bloodiest, and most dubious, wars in our history. The storytelling is fast-paced and easy to get into and will appeal to both military buffs and those just looking for a good read. Well-researched and well-written! The lessons this book reveals are sadly apt for today's generation as well as those long passed.

A Knavish Piece of Work, Ejner Fulsang's novel about the political betrayal and ensuing senseless deaths of American sericemen during the Mayaguez Incident in 1975, is a heartbreaking primer on the bureaucratic nature of war. Old men in comfortable offices make face-saving decisions, and young men on bloody beaches die on account of them.

Like Capote's In Cold Blood, Fulsang's novel is fictionalized in form but not in fact. It is eerily mystical and, at the same time, grittily real as the reader is drawn inexorably along to a concluding conflict that did not need to happen. You want realism and war? Fulsang is a combat veteran who can walk the walk and talk the talk. Men in combat come alive on these pages. Some scenes are so vividly drawn that the author urges caution for any veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) before reading particular chapters.

This book is not only a fitting tribute to the bravery of these betrayed servicemen, but is also an indictment of intransigent self-serving politicians making decisions of horrific consequences far from the fields of battle. Extremely engrossing, A Knavish Piece of Work, is a book you will not be able to put down. Highly recommended!

This book is outstanding at several levels. As a fiction novel, it is at par with novels by renowned writers like Dean Koontz and James Patterson. All these writers pull you in immediately at the start of the book and keep your attention throughout the story.

The story line which was based on actually events and people was truly astonishing. It was really hard to tell fiction from fact at times. I'm glad Ejner provided links to references of factual material. It made the story that more astonishing.

Lastly, I find the subject matter most profound. Vietnam and its aftermath have been imprinted in the lives of my generation (the same generations as the author). Regardless whether you served in Vietnam or protested against it, the book brought back some of the feeling of that time.

I'm happy to be able to recommend this new work to widely different readerships: Anyone interested in the politics of the 1970s American military, or suppressed military history in general, but also to those who get drawn into a good human drama, which this is. Even fans of ghost stories will find a new take here.

Entwined through an absorbing narrative of the hero's two relationships, the one with his wife eroding while that with his long-dead army buddy is unexpectedly resurrecting, "A Knavish Piece of Work" exposes a black if brief episode of Vietnam-era American military history: Intentional mis-deployment of the military by the Ford White House for PR gain, with disastrous consequences.

The book describes for us in fascinating detail the Mayaguez incident, at the tail end of the Vietnam War. I think all military details presented us are true as far as can be known, and the author has obviously done extensive research in the matter. Eighteen servicemen died in that harrowing battle, but Fulsang, an ex-army helicopter pilot and officer, maintains they were sacrificed for no good reason, only base political ones. The hero of the story, at a crossroads in his own life, develops a growing obsession to uncover those reasons, guided by his sprit contact who has not found rest since his death in that battle so many years before.

But the book is not at all a dry exposition of military history, which is why I can so easily recommend it (I'm NOT a military guy). The hero's own story occupies nearly half the book, and it's worth it. I needed to find out about BJ's own fate just as much as about the buried piece of history; both threads make the book a pleasure to read. The author's writing seems effortless and it all flows well. If he's not much published, it doesn't show in this book. An impressive piece of work.

No one will ever know for sure, not even the author. Two men united by their love for flying and inbred patriotism would serve together as pilots in the military and then go their separate ways. Then one day without warning they would meet again. This wouldn't have been unusual had one not been dead. This fact wouldn't even have been noteworthy in a VA hospital, but it wasn't in a hospital that the two were reunited. It was on a clear day while visiting the Vietnam Memorial that author Ejner Fulsang was to meet with Richard Van de Geer whose name is the last name on the Memorial. As a matter of record, 2LT Van de Geer was the last man to be killed in this vulgar undertaking by political morons parading around in business suits with flags in their lapels who should have been hung along with their spouses for good measure.

There really wasn't any reason for the two to meet since the author had served in Korea, not Vietnam. He wasn't even aware that Van de Geer had served in Vietnam, not to mention that he'd been killed. He was simply paying his respect to fallen comrades in person as he'd done in his mind many times. The only sad thing about this book as far as I'm concerned is that it will, for the most part, be Sci-Fi junkies who'll appreciate this extraordinary work of art. Since I have been recording the efforts of an angel named Zabar since 1952, I suspect the reception "A Knavish Piece of Work" will receive from the good people will range from one of skepticism to declaring it the devil's work. Yet, it is these same people who can hardly wait to warm church pews on Sunday morning to listen to sermons about angels, and for good reason. Angels are in some 250 verses of the Old and New Testaments; but let these good people step outside that building and they will patronize you, at best, if you mention an encounter with a celestial being.

The passion in this review is partly from the author's writing and partly because of my personal abhorrence of hypocrisy.

Knavish Piece of Work is a must read for any student of military history, political science or international relations. Especially those beginning or at the mid-point in their careers in any field of national government.

Whether our career intend to be President, senior staff, analyst or political advisor, we all must understand the big picture as well as the reasons why political decisions must be taken and be vitally concerned with the potential cost when boots go on the ground.

Ejner Fulsang weaves a page turning, gut wrenching micro-epic that has undoubtedly played out many time through out history. Necessary as that may have been or will be, it is the duty of those in high places to thoroughly understand why and never forget those who,in lower places, are doing thier duty and often paying a very personal and pitilessly painful price for well intended political decisions.

D. M. Black
Col. USMC Ret.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book and read it cover to cover in a day. As a door gunner on Knife 31 and one who was shot down during the Mayaguez Mission I found the book both gut wrenching and extremely insightful at the same time. Ejner Fulsang uncovered some of the most interesting and disturbing information regarding the planning of the Mayaguez mission at the highest level and made it a most interesting read. A friend who borrowed the book relayed that he was so glued to it he read it in six hours without putting it down. Thanks for bringing the truth to light.
JD Harston, Flight Mechanic/Gunner of Knife 31 and Koh Tang Survivor.