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We Gotta Get Out Of This Place: One Soldier's Long Journey Home
| Title | We Gotta Get Out Of This Place: One Soldier's Long Journey Home |
| Writer | |
| Date | 2024-10-07 15:35:12 |
| Type | |
| Link | Listen Read |
Desciption
Working for $1.50 an hour in the design department of an embroidered emblem manufacturing company didn’t hold much allure for nineteen-year-old Art Grau, so the letter from the US government caught his eye. He, the letter announced, could enjoy an exciting career in the military. Enlisting to serve in the Army Security Agency, Art studied intelligence gathering and was assigned to Germany. Two years and one impulsive decision later, he was in Vietnam. Landing in ’Nam at the start of the Tet Offensive, Art flew recon missions with the First Air Cav. He watched friends die, struggled to survive, and found that his penchant to get into ridiculous situations didn’t diminish because he was in a war zone. Then he came home. Home wasn’t the same place he left. Vietnam veterans were treated with suspicion and contempt. Like many veterans, Art chose to hide his service from the world, along with the nightmares and panic attacks he brought back from the war. We Gotta Get Outta This Place is Art’s tale—a tale not just of war but also of the challenges of returning home. It’s taken him fifty years to tell his story. He deserves to be heard. Read more
Review
A wonderful book giving the reader an opportunity to see into the experiences and life of a Vietnam Veteran. Art has an ability to describe enough about his experiences--without going into detail--to give the reader a sense of what he was going through, but also added a touch of humor that clearly he has arrived at through years of reflection. Vietnam Veterans will be able to "read between the lines" and understand better than the rest of us what Art went through (which might be similar to their own experiences). I found myself less engaged on the merits/demerits of the Vietnam War, and more in tune to Art's life, experiences, and feelings (positive and negative) as he reflected on the meaning of his experiences. Even more important, though, is by writing his story this way, the reader doesn't find themselves taking a position for or against the Vietnam War, but more interested in learning about one Vet's experiences. Even with Art's misgivings about "why" at the end, the reader clearly understands this is part of the process he went through to make sense of it all and not a political statement. Well written, this book shows the best and worst of humanity through the author's eyes, and outlines Art's journey from torment to peace.
