My father, Capt. Michael J. Frankwicz, served as a U.S. Army adviser in Kontum, Vietnam, in 1962-1963 - part of the first wave of American advisers sent before most of the country knew the United States was involved there. Before Vietnam, he served in the 10th Mountain Division’s 86th Infantry Regiment in Germany, after going through Infantry OCS at Fort Benning.
He transcribed his wartime letters and added his own reflections, written decades later, into a finished manuscript and tried to get it published before he passed away in 2001. He was candid about how civilian leadership in Washington - particularly Robert McNamara -handled the war, and about how early advisers like him were later scapegoated as it escalated.
After he passed, I carried his original work with me for years until, on Veterans Day 2024, I opened the old binder that held it and began reading it again. In that quiet reflection - thinking of my father and of other veterans’ experiences - I decided to finally honor his wishes and set out on a journey of editing his manuscript into the book it is today.
He grew up in Janesville, Wis., and after Vietnam met my mother in St. Louis, where he lived out the rest of his life. The book is told in three parts - Pre-Vietnam, War Diaries, and Other Thoughts About the War - plus an appendix on the Principles of War. It’s grounded throughout in faith, dissent, resilience and the toll of institutional betrayal.
It was officially published in January 2026 and is available in paperback and hardcover through IngramSpark (for libraries and retailers) and on Amazon.
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9934356-0-2
Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-9934356-1-9
LCCN: 2025926881
