21 Months, 24 Days

I am Richard Udden, a Vietnam combat infantry veteran and Purple Heart recipient who lives in Marshfield, Massachusetts. I recently published a memoir about my journey to Vietnam and back titled, "21 Months, 24 Days".

The story begins in the late sixties when draft boards were gathering young men for the Vietnam War. High school kids who were not bound for college had to enlist or wait for a draft notice. The burden fell on the children of blue-collar families because college was not an easy option for them. Instead of starting a career, they had their lives put on hold to fight a war. I was one of those kids.

Threatened by the draft, I enlisted in the Army. I expected an easy two years working in a trade. Instead, they assigned to the infantry and sent me to Vietnam. There in the jungle, I hunted and fought the Vietcong. When my company was sent to Cambodia to disrupt enemy supply lines, I was wounded by shrapnel from a booby trap. All of this happened before my twenty-first birthday.

The book reads as if you were sitting with me in a bar and hearing it firsthand over a beer. You will learn how it felt to make it through basic training and advanced infantry training. Find out what it was like to live and work in the jungle. Experience the day-to-day grind of combat assaults, jungle patrols, and pulling guard on a firebase. Feel the adrenalin rush of a firefight. Hear about the lighter moments like smoking pot for the first time and R&R. Through words and pictures, you will experience every aspect of my journey to Vietnam and back again.

This book is not a typical war story about good, evil, heroes and glory. Instead, it provides a sincere portrayal of a young soldier’s progression through immaturity, doubt and growth while fighting and surviving a questionable war.

I have a website at www.21months24days.com if you would like to learn more about the book. It is now available on Amazon as a paperback and Kindle as an Ebook. Contact me by Email at reudden@gmail.com with any questions or comments.

Thank you for considering my book!

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