Navy Draftsman Second Class Michael Noeth is my friend. Like other great people, he’ll somewhere cringe at my high thoughts and words of him. Most of us come across truth as it appears before us like a highway car accident. We’d like to know the realities but shield our squinting eyes so we can close them faster if the horrors are overwhelming.
Title: A Wound in the Mind
Author: Francis J. Partel, Jr.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Fran McGraw
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B00361FBVS
It is 1968. The US naval war in Vietnam is at peak level of intensity. USS Ticonderoga, Attack Carrier 14, is in the Gulf of Tonkin for her fifth combat cruise of the war prosecuting Operation Rolling Thunder. The historical naval novel has moved forward from the Napoleonic Wars of C. S. Forester and Patrick O'Brian to the modern navy. The ships and weapons may have changed, but time-tested traits of courage and leaderhip remain very much in demand.
Ltjg. Cannon has just returned to his stateroom when Gunnery Sergeant Mates phones him to take on the defense of a marine's marine who won the Navy Cross in the brutal Hill Fights of Khe Sanh in 1967. LCPL Cachora is charged with assault and battery while on liberty in Hong Kong. Ltjg. Cannon along with Ens. Chase take on an uphill struggle to defend their client. With the odds stacked against them, they creatively mount a spirited defense. This is the thrilling drama of Cahora's court-martial.
Introduction: Jim Enderle, Dispatches Editor
I was asked to introduce myself, so here goes. I’m an active duty (until this November’s retirement) Navy Chief Petty Officer/Hospital Corpsman stationed in Groton, CT. I oversee, as leading chief, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation/Traumatic Brain Injury/Behavior Health Clinics situated on the Navy’s New London Submarine Base. After retirement, I hope to continue serving my comrades in arms in one form or another.
MWSA members: here is the link to my upcoming interview on Military Author Radio Sunday evening at 1730 PST: http://www.militaryauthorradio.com/. Looking forward to seeing you all in Dayton!
Note to MWSA members: I'll be featured in a one-hour interview on www.militaryauthorradio.com hosted by Tom Gauthier and Dari Bradley on Sunday, April 15th at 5:30 P.M. PST. Members are invited to call into the show at 347-308-8613. Hope to talk to you "on the air."
