"Linda's story is uniquely American - overcoming all odds to form a partnership between community and military that was unheard of in 1968 ... a partnership that today serves as the example for our entire Armed Forces."
- Colonel Derek K. Thomson, U.S. Army
A Story Unlike Any Other, But Relatable to Millions
With the backdrop of the Vietnam conflict, A Dove Among Eagles is a powerful memoir about trauma, courage, devotion and love at a time when American society was tearing itself apart and blaming a military that was more victim than perpetrator of the violent forces wracking the nation. Indeed, Vietnam changed us all -- especially Linda Patterson.
A story 52 years in the making, A Dove Among Eagles is set in San Mateo, California, in 1968. The author, then 26 years old, receives a letter from her 18-year-old brother Joe -- a cry for help from a paratrooper caught in the middle of an unpopular war. News of the antiwar protests has been plummeting the morale of Joe's combat company of 130 paratroopers. In desperation, he turns to Linda to find a way to let these young, courageous soldiers know that they've not been rejected by the country they love.
Specifically, Joe asked Linda to enlist the city of San Mateo to "adopt" the 130 paratroopers of his combat company. On March 4, 1968, after Linda's dogged persistence, the city of San Mateo formally adopted A Co. of the 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. San Mateo was the only city in the nation to do such a thing during the Vietnam War.
Three weeks later, SGT Artavia was killed in a firefight. Grief-stricken and distraught by the loss of her brother, Linda garnered her strength and passion to carry on with Joe's last wishes. What she did next was beyond imagination and straight from the heart.
Into a War Zone and into Their Hearts
In December -- without government authorization and with only her grit to guide her -- Linda traveled to Vietnam to spend Christmas with her brother's unit. Met by her military escort at Tan Son Nhut airport outside of Saigon, she would fly to the northern part of South Vietnam, further north than civilians were allowed to travel. The potential dangers she would inevitably face did not phase her. She knew her "Screaming Eagles" would protect her. And they did.
Her journey was life-changing. For eight days, she anxiously waited in the company's base camp while the men of the Company hacked their way through a mountainous jungle to get to her. And once they arrived, she spent three days with her brother's buddies, developing a true love for them all. She would also fall in love with her military escort, Steve Patterson, her brother's platoon leader who was also seriously wounded while leading the battle in which Joe was killed. Since then, Steve would be Linda's escort for life. The journey had just begun.
America Supporting Americans
For the past 50 years, Linda's passion in life has been a tribute to her brother, as she has enlisted more than 300 cities across the country in supporting and adopting tens of thousands of service men and women in all branches of our military. To be sure, Linda's remarkable and meaningful life journey is unique in American history. For her life's work, she has been recognized and honored by the highest levels of our country. Those original men of the 1968 unit simply call her "Sis."
With a foreword by Colonel Rob Campbell, U.S. Army, Retired, 1st Brigade Commander, 101st Airborne Division.
