The late October rain continued to pelt the once contested landing zone while the able bodied readied their cargo of dead and wounded for evacuation. The ever haunting, whining turbine engine of the medevac chopper eerily but fittingly cried out in wait for its cargo home. Also fittingly, the time of day, for it was at the twilight's last gleaming that its cargo of patriots readied for lift-off. Again, the unforgettable thump, thump, sound of the rotor blades slapped the wet air and played to all who could hear, like background music to a movie, a movie of war that raged in Vietnam. The trajectory of the bullet that ripped into the young paratroopers chest, knocked him on his backside thus saving him the added indignity of laying face down in the mud of the monsoon drenched jungle floor. With life rapidly escaping his body through the gaping wound, Johnny dreams of being with Mai, a beautiful Eurasian girl he d only recently met and fell in love with on an in-country R&R at Vung Tau. To be back in the world, to play his guitar and to live out his life with Mai consumed his every thought. Shortly after returning to his combat unit, Johnny Richards, a cocky Irish, blue-eyed blues guitarist from the streets of Chicago, is gravely wounded on a combat air-assault into an enemy stronghold, after taking a bullet for a buddy. Are Johnny and Mai allowed to live out their dreams? Does the bullet that cut him down cut short his young adventurous life and their dreams? In 1983, at The Vietnam Memorial, better known as The Wall, Johnny s hopes, dreams and survival come face to face with the emotional but spiritual realization that is his. The Wall Of Broken Dreams is an adventure for sure, as any Vietnam War story should be. More than that though, it is also an inspirational story of the hopes and dreams of a young man serving his country with an elite army combat platoon in Vietnam. The Wall Of Broken Dreams has an appeal not only the military action/adventure reader, but also to those who seek a story of love and inspiration. Sadly, war and its many costs are a most important topic today and many from the Vietnam era to our current war weary public will be able to relate to this story.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
For those of us who went to Vietnam it became more than just a rite of passage. It was a coming of age event. Others never lived long enough to take any of the lessons home with them from that passage. It was a faraway time and place, and in the way of all wars, one that separated boys from their homes, families and their very souls. The Vietnam war, though, stole more than the youth of these young warriors, fresh from the streets of America; it took them on a journey that for most became a nightmare or, at the very least, a surreal dream. Friendships with our fellow soldiers became substitute families. We fought and died for each other, not for some vague ideology or the flag of our country or a patriotic ideal for politicians to make rhetoric about at a Fourth of July parade. Nor was it about killing commies or stopping the Domino Effect. Some of these young men were just out of high school and our bonding became the deepest and most meaningful relationshipsof our lives. There will never be anyone more ingrained in our memories and in our hearts than those with whom we fought side by sideduring our tour of duty. Duke Barrett takes the sacred elements of the Nam Experience and weaves them into a synthesis that is the true, fundamental foundation of any authentic story about the war in Vietnam, be it a memoir or a work of fiction, and makes it a meaningful background to his novel. His story is about those young men who were with us, and whose loss took such a heavy spiritual toll on each and every veteran. We did not have time to grieve or mourn and shed tears. We could not afford to show any emotions... It don t mean nothing! I believe that some veterans who read this story may actually find some personal healing while others who are not veterans may find some understanding. This story is an adventure but be prepared for an emotional and inspirational journey as well. But then, when you wake up maybe all that you just read was just a dream! --W.H. Bill MacDonald, Author, founder and former President of the Military Writers Society of America
So often we think about war in abstract terms but Vietnam vet, Duke Barrett, has made the traumatic and long-lasting implications of battle spring to life in this poignant story about the courage, loyalty, patriotism and conflict of a young soldier. We root for him to realize his dreams, knowing fully well that the deck is stacked against him. --Sigrid Macdonald, editor and author of D' Amour Road'
So often we think about war in abstract terms but Vietnam vet, Duke Barrett, has made the traumatic and long-lasting implications of battle spring to life in this poignant story about the courage, loyalty, patriotism and conflict of a young soldier. We root for him to realize his dreams, knowing fully well that the deck is stacked against him. --Sigrid Macdonald, editor and author of D' Amour Road'
About the Author
DUKE BARRETT IS A COMBAT VETERAN of the Vietnam War. The Chicago-born paratrooper served as both an infantryman and a reconnaissance scout with the United States Army s 1st Air Cavalry Division at An Khe, South Vietnam. For his service in country, the army parachutist, a.k.a glorified grunt, was awarded the Combat Infantryman s Badge and the Purple Heart. Upon completion of his tour of duty, Duke was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, America s Guard of Honor, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Upon completion of his military obligation, Duke resumed a music career, which had been interrupted by the draft. Spending a number of years touring the nation as a professional musician, Duke had the good fortune to play every major nightclub and theater from coast to coast, to include Broadway s Alvin theater in New York City, where he played in the pit orchestra for the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, starring Debbie Boone. The one timer Rock n Roll drummer, and former Golden Gloves Champ, always had an eye for pretty women, and in 1970, married the beautiful Mitsuko Hori. Through thick and thin, Duke and Mitsi have managed to remain married after all these years, and have three beautiful children: two sons, and a delightful daughter. They ve also been blessed with two grandsons. A graduate of The University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Duke is a 25- year employee of the U.S. Postal Service in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the gainfully employed letter carrier continues to play music on a part-time basis
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More About the Author
Biography
Duke Barrett, a combat veteran of the Vietnam War, served with the 1st Airborne
Brigade, of the Army's 1st Air Cavalry Division at An Khe, South Vietnam, in 1965-66.
The airborne infantryman, an 11B2P-military jargon for infantry parachutist-refers to
himself as a "glorified grunt."
In time served in Vietnam, the Chicago-born paratrooper was assigned to Alpha
Company, 1/8th Cav as a rifleman, and Delta Company Reconnaissance, 1/8th Cav as
senior scout, where he was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Purple
Heart.
Upon completion of his tour of duty in Vietnam, Duke was assigned to the 82nd Airborne
Division, "Americas Guard of Honor," at Fort Bragg, N.C. and was honorably discharged
in 1967. With his military obligation fulfilled, Duke resumed his music career-a career
that had been interrupted by the draft in 1965.
Spending a number of years on the road playing music with various bands and acts, Duke
had the good fortune to play just about every seedy to glamorous nightclub from coast to
coast. He also was fortunate enough to play every major theatre in North America, to
include New York's Broadway, where he played drums in the pit orchestra for the
musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, starring Debbie Boone.
A graduate of The University of Wisconsin, Duke has never applied his major, Political
Science, to his music nor to his 28-year career as a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier, but
does have "plenty of opinions." Time wasted? He says not. "Uncle Sam paid for it."
The one time rock 'n' roll drummer and former Golden Gloves champ, Duke has always
had an eye for pretty women, and in 1970, married the beautiful Mitsuko Hori. Through
thick and thin, Duke and Mitsuko have managed to remain married after all these years
and have three beautiful children, two sons and a delightful daughter. They've also been
blessed with two grandsons.
Still able to get up and about and make his appointed rounds, Duke is employed
by the U.S. Postal Service in Las Vegas, Nevada, and plays music on a part-time
basis.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
No Hollywood wannabe..........,
By
This review is from: The Wall Of Broken Dreams (Perfect Paperback)
Before you ever pick up this book, you need to decide what sort of student of the world you are. We are all students in one way or the other- some of us want to know clinically, scientifically how something goes. We want only the black and white, no emotional grays or reds to muddy the water. We only want to know what statistics will prove and history books will retell. Others of us want to know what really happened, the heart of the story, the colors other than the black and the white. We need to see the story with our hearts and the important parts that will never be printed in history books. So before I tell you what I thought of this book, I need to know what sort of student you are? If you are the scientist, then don't read further. Neither my review nor this book has anything for you. If you are a student of the heart and the mind and know even black and white make another color when mixed together, then I would like to offer this book to you.
Mr. Barrett is not a polished writer, but he does not profess himself to be anything other than a Vietnam veteran with a story to tell. He would tell you this book is fiction and because I am not a veteran myself I cannot argue with the storyteller. But I will say this; although the author tells you his characters are fabricated, I would venture to say I sense they are woven from the threads of his memories. The specific events might be made up, but the emotion of the story is not. The young characters in his book may never have existed individually, but I believe they are all an accumulation of many young men who grew old together in a war and the jungle that stole their youth, and pieces of their bodies, minds and souls. It is a fictionalized truth. You can't really make up a story like this- unless you first lived something just like it and made it through, perhaps not untouched, but alive and with your spirit mostly intact. You don't have to be a veteran to know when someone is blowing smoke- Either walk the talk or.......... This book is the talk of a man who has done the walk and you can feel, touch and sense it with all of your being. The story has a conversational feel to it and as I said, it isn't very polished. But because of its down to earth quality, it feels as if a real soldier is telling the story- not a researcher or someone with a team of assistants and editors to " fix the story". The tale has a certain touching quality that many other books lack because it feels right, and certainly something that most Vietnam War books lack. Many mass produced books about the Vietnam War, even some written by real veterans, have a whole bunch of blood and thunder and not much about the soldiers.This isn't Hollywood, but frankly, we have those other books if we want that. This novel is told in a way you can imagine the young man and the other men he served with. You can picture it all, some of it makes you laugh, some of it makes you scared,some of it makes you sort of crocuh down in your head when you turn the page, and some if it should shame us as a nation. It does not contain the thoughts of the secretary of state or a general's version of how the war might have been better fought. I have never been to war, but have studied the Vietnam War my entire life and have often heard veterans say that much of what they went through as young soldiers was bearable only because of the close bonds they had with other young men that became their brothers. Much of this story shows this, and in fact this story really isn't about what war costs in dollars and cents or bullets and bombs or loss or gain of land, but the cost in the intangible things that cannot be seen or held in your hand, but can also never be fixed, replaced or returned. I would recommend this novel because I believe even though it is fiction; it is also as true as any book you will likely ever read about the soldier of the Vietnam War. The fact that it is a bit rough around the edges makes it all the more real and memorable compared to the piles of others that have been mass produced and do a disservice those who served in this God forsaken war.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Work,
By
This review is from: The Wall Of Broken Dreams (Perfect Paperback)
BRAVO on an OUTSTANDING piece of important literature. Duke Barrett has captured a real grunt's eye view of the whole picture. Not just a bang bang shoot 'em up war story but a serious look at how everyone is touched by war and a very nice love story with a surprise ending. I have only been to the WALL one time. I teared up pretty good. And THANK YOU Duke for NOT portraying the Vietnam soldier (and that includes Marines, Airman and Sailors) as drug addicted blood thirsty killers. This will probably never make it to the big screen because it is too intelligent and real. But it really should be read by everyone. Yeah I know a rapidly shrinking number of folks have even heard about the war in Vietnam, but the realities Duke portrays so well would apply to the Roman legions as well as the space raiders of the next millennium. This is a human story about real people and real life and real death.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartbreakingly Beautiful,
By Charlene Rubush "author and book lover" (Donalsonville, Georgia) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Wall Of Broken Dreams (Perfect Paperback)
Only those who have seen combat, can accurately describe it. Duke Barrett's service in Vietnam as a paratrooper and infantryman prepared him well to write this haunting, moving novel.
As a young soldier, he takes us deep into"the bush" and shows us the harsh realities he is forced to face. We see the war through Johnny Richard's youthful blue, Irish eyes. We trudge through the jungle by his side as he's caught up in fierce firefights, grenade explosions, barrages of enemy gunfire, horredous deaths of his fellow soldiers, and much more. As a reader, I squirmed watching the scene as Johnny's sergeant leads a burial detail. The images of stiff, dead enemy soldiers with eyes wide open, is beyong disturbing. This is but one of the many tragic scenes that give us an honest, harsh look at the unfathomable agonies that combat soldiers endure. I was amazed by Barrett's book. How can one survive such an experience at a young age, then, so many years later, find the strength to recall such memories in excruciating detail? This is courage personified. Barrett weaves a story that encompasses so many aspects of life. The intensity of falling in love with a beautiful Eurasian girl, the pleasures of playing a blues guitar, the camaraderie of friends, and the love of, and longing for home. And of course, the hardest question of all, "What if?" There is a mystical, spiritual quality to Barrett's work. Reading it I felt he had been on a long, hard journey through a barren land. But just off in the distance, he glimpsed a sign. "Welcome home, soldier. Welcome home." This book can help all combat vets and their families, as well as enlighten the general public to what we ask of our soldiers. It's a fine read for all of us, as we seek answers to why mankind continues to have wars, and how we can heal from them. Highly recommended, down-to-earth, and timely.
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