Once a Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam

New York: Ballantine Books, c1990. 1st Ballantine Edition. Seventh Printing. Mass market paperback. good. pocket paperback, 339 pages. Wraps, map, glossary, some wear to cover edges and tear at front. An account of one man`s remarkable experiences in Vietnam, a portrait of a humane soldier whose sense of responsibility came to extend to the people of the Vietnamese village he was ordered to defend. The memoir of a young American soldier who became the most powerful man in a remote rural district of Vietnam In the spring of 1969, First Lieutenant David Donovan arrived in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam to work as military advisor with village chiefs and local militia to win the war. But as he was the highest-ranking person in the entire district, his life there was far more complex than anyone could have imagined. This is Donovan's gripping account of combat missions and night ambushes in the swamps and jungles of the Delta; his heartrending tale of personal involvement with the culture and families in his charge; his humane introspection on his awesome responsibility as both warrior and king; and his stark reflections on the changes he saw in himself and his country upon his return to the United States.