Veterans Book Club

Our VBC community brims with talented people of extraordinary experience. Some of them have written books.

Below are selections written by veterans and experts who have joined us at our online or live programs. A few of these are best purchased through outlets like Amazon. Others can be ordered directly from us, and we will ship them out to you. Just click the links to order. We’re grateful to the authors who have donated books to the VBC so our readers can broaden their understandings of war, military service, and history. After you read a book, let us know what you think by writing a review. We’ll post it here.

CURRENT TITLES

Edison 64: A Tragedy in Vietnam and at Home

Richard Sand

Suggested Donation: $25

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Thomas Alva Edison High School in North Philadelphia suffered more students killed in the Vietnam War than any other school. Richard Sand tells their story and pays tribute to them in Edison 64: A Tragedy in Vietnam and at Home.

The VBC has autographed copies that we’d be happy to ship to you.

Suggested Donation: $25

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You can watch Richard and others talk about the Edison 64 on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here: https://youtu.be/BkDZuBgSSPQ

MAT 111 Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1971

Jim Roberts

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In 1968, the US Army launched a new program to enlist thousands of local militias in South Vietnam to take the fight to the Viet Cong. Five-man American Mobile Advisory Teams (MAT) fanned out to South Vietnamese hamlets and villages and embedded themselves, often far away from US and ARVN forces. The program was a bright spot in the US war effort, but historians have largely ignored Army MAT’s history. Luckily for us, we have Vietnam veteran Jim Roberts, who has written a masterful book on the subject, MAT 111 Dong Xoai, Vietnam 1971. Jim’s memoir tells the up-close-and-personal story of his year fighting a war with the South Vietnamese.

You can watch Jim and others depicted in the book talk about their MAT Team experiences on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

Jim is generously donating his book royalties to the VBC! The book can be ordered here.

Make sure you purchase through Amazon Smiles. Choose the Veterans Breakfast Club as your charity of choice with this link.

The Last Prisoners

Dai Gia Pham

Suggested Donation: $20

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When Saigon fell on April 30, 1975, Americans closed a chapter of their war in Vietnam. But for millions of South Vietnamese people, the struggle was just beginning. Dai Gia Pham served with the US military—first with the Air Force, then with the US Embassy in Saigon—only to be left behind after Saigon fell. Dai would endure 17 years imprisonment in Communist “re-education camps” before making it to the United States in 1993. The Last Prisoners is a beautifully-written memoir of Vietnam’s traumatic history after the Fall of Saigon.

Dai Gia Pham has donated copies of his memoir to the VBC that we’d be happy to ship to you.

Suggested Donation: $20.

Order here

You can watch Dai and Vietnamese survivors talk about their experiences on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

The Depths of Hell: Memoirs of a Soldier Who Endured 10 Years in Communist Vietnam Concentration Camps (1975-1985)

Michael Peavey Do

Suggested Donation: $20

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Michael Do was one of thousands of ARVN (South Vietnamese Army) officers condemned to so-called “re-education camps” after the Fall of Saigon in 1975. His memoir, The Depths of Hell, describes his ten years of surviving torment without giving up hope. It’s a fascinating and expertly-drawn inside look at Vietnam’s suffering decade of 1975-1985.

Michael Do has donated copies of his memoir to the VBC that we’d be happy to ship to you.

Suggested Donation: $20.

Order here

You can watch Michael and Vietnamese survivors talk about their experiences on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

LZ Sitting Duck: The Fight For FSB Argonne

John Arsenault and Thomas Gourneau

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On March 20, 1969, Fire Support Base Argonne, located northwest of Khe Sanh on the Laotian border, became the scene of one of the most difficult fights faced by Marines in Vietnam. Surrounded, outnumbered, and cut off from resupply, elements of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines fought their way out of besieging NVA forces. John Arsenault was there and with Thomas Gourneau wrote the first published account of the battle, LZ Sitting Duck: The Fight For FSB Argonne. The book is a collection of first-hand stories from the event which Karl Marlantes used as inspiration for his famous novel, Matterhorn. A terrific read from a grunt’s-eye view.

LZ Sitting Duck: The Fight For FSB Argonne is available for purchase on Amazon Make sure you purchase through Amazon Smiles. Choose the Veterans Breakfast Club as your charity of choice with this link.

You can watch Thomas Gourneau, John Arsenault, and other veterans talk about the battle on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

Fights Like a Girl: Women Warriors Past to Present

Pete Mecca

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VBC program host Pete Mecca has interviewed hundreds of veterans and written two books capturing some of the best stories he’s heard. Veterans: Stories From America’s Best tells dozens of stories, from World War I to 9/11. They tell of combat and survival against the odds. Fights Like a Girl takes the experiences of 50 women warriors, past and present, to detail the rich history of female fighters, from pirates to samurai, generalissimos, ancient mariners, and sailors donning in male uniforms. Fights Like a Girl is an ode to women of all races, creeds, and colors who have taken up the sword to protect their countries, their honor, and their children.

You can order autographed copies directly from Pete at https://www.veteransarticle.com/books.html

You can watch our interview with Pete Mecca on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

Veterans: Stories from America’s Best

Pete Mecca

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You can order autographed copies directly from Pete at https://www.veteransarticle.com/books.html

You can watch our interview with Pete Mecca on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here.

The Golden Brigade: The Untold Story of the 82nd airborne in Vietnam and Beyond

Robert J. Dvorchak

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Army veteran and VBC regular Bob Dvorchak is the beloved historian of the 82^nd Airborne Division, which he had the privilege of serving with as an embedded journalist in Operation Desert Storm. Bob chronicled his tour in Drive On: The Uncensored War of Bedouin Bob and the All-Americans. That experience inspired Bob to follow with The Golden Brigade: The Untold Story of the 82nd Airborne in Vietnam and Beyond.

Drive On can be purchased through Amazon. Make sure you purchase through Amazon Smiles. Choose the Veterans Breakfast Club as your charity of choice with this link.

The Golden Brigade is a 528-page history that includes 64 pages of photos and maps. The price: $35, plus $5 shipping and handling. You have two options to order: send check to the author for autographed copies sent from home at Robert J. Dvorchak, 178 Jade Drive Verona, PA 15147; or purchase with credit card through the bookstore of the Indiana Business Journal:

https://www.ibjcustompublishing.com/…/the-golden-brigade/

Drive On: The Uncensored War of Bedouin Bob and the All-Americans

Robert J. Dvorchak

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Drive On can be purchased through Amazon. Make sure you purchase through Amazon Smiles. Choose the Veterans Breakfast Club as your charity of choice with this link.

https://www.ibjcustompublishing.com/…/the-golden-brigade/

Kaiten: Japan’s Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII

Michael Mair and Joy Waldron, Co-Author of The USS Arizona

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One of our most fascinating and dynamic VBC programs was with Mike Mair, author of Kaiten: Japan’s Secret Manned Suicide Submarine and the First American Ship It Sank in WWII In November 1944, Mike’s father was on the oiler USS Mississinewa when the ship erupted in a ball of flames in Ulithi Atoll Harbor. Japan’s secret weapon, the Kaiten—a manned suicide submarine—had succeeded in its first mission.

Kaiten tells the full story of the suicide subs from both sides. U.S. Navy survivors recount their gripping experiences in the wake of the attack, as well as the harrowing recovery efforts that came later. Japanese pilots reveal their terrifying experiences training to die for their country and Emperor, never knowing when their moment of doom would come.

Kaiten can be purchased through Amazon. Make sure you purchase through Amazon Smiles. Choose the Veterans Breakfast Club as your charity of choice with this link.

You can watch our interview with Mike on our Veterans Breakfast Club program here: