2018 is the 50th anniversary of my departure from Vietnam. My tour of duty in the area southwest of Da Nang began on June 18, 1967 and officially lasted until I hopped on the sweet silver bird on the Fourth of July in 1968. I began writing my memoir in 1970, two years after my return from Vietnam. During my tour of duty as a Marine 81mm mortarman, I occasionally found time to click away with my Instamatic camera, recording a visual record of certain aspects of life in the Nam. I have included some of these photos after the Epilogue. Enjoy. Additionally, I faithfully maintained a diary, on which I have relied to present a portrayal of my Vietnam War experience that is as accurate as possible. Occasionally, I have blended aspects of several events to expedite the narrative; when I did this, I was following my instincts as a writer as opposed to those of a historian. I have attempted to be as fastidious as possible, but if I fell short, please forgive me. I want the reader to be aware that my primary goal in Jello's Nam is to offer my recollection-a remembrance-and not a reflection about the events that creates the tapestry of my memoir. There will be those that find the crude language, pejorative terms and racial slurs to be offensive, which I understand; they are indeed. I, however, have chosen to present an accurate portrayal of the language that many young Marines in my memoir used in 1967 and 1968. Furthermore, I ask much of the reader concerning military terminology, so I am providing a quick course in Vietnam War lingo in the Preface for those whom might find this useful. While in Vietnam, I promised myself that if I survived, I would become a teacher with the purpose of helping my students to think critically; additionally, I made a commitment to write and to talk about my war experience to help enlighten people about the realities of war, which includes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I spent 30 years of my adult life teaching middle school and high school students, and for 25 years I have spoken in high school classes about my war experience. Jello's Nam: A Memoir is my fourth book that deals with the topics of the Vietnam War and PTSD. Because death stared me in the eyes at least a half-dozen times, I realize that I have been blessed because I was given the gift of life. I share my experience in the hope that people will listen with their hearts and come away with a clearer understanding of the insidious nature of war.
About the Author: Born in New York City, Peter Bourret has lived in Tucson, Arizona for sixty-five years, where he attended twelve years of Catholic school, graduating from Salpointe Catholic in 1965. After serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment as an 81mm mortarman in Vietnam during 1967 and 1968, he graduated from the University of Arizona in 1971 and received a Masters Degree from the U of A in 1974. Prior to the start of his teaching career, Bourret volunteered with a local adult education program for several years; then, he taught social studies for seven years at Apollo Middle School and also taught English for eighteen years, seventeen of them at Sahuaro High School. Currently retired, Bourret has volunteered in the local public schools, teaching writing to second and tenth graders; he has volunteered for the past three years at the VA where he helps teach a class about PTSD. In addition to being a guest speaker for over a quarter century in high school American history classes, he speaks to classes at the University of Arizona College of Nursing about how to best serve the needs of patients with PTSD. For the past five years he has been a guest speaker/teacher in the Creative Writing classes at Salpointe Catholic High School. Bourrert received a First Place medal for "Alone with it on Veterans Day" in the personal experience category at the 2014 National Veterans Creative Arts Festival; additionally, in 2015 and in 2017, he also was awarded First Place medals for two other pieces of writing. War: a memoir was published online in 2014 by The Writers' Circle, Inc. @ www.riwriterscircle.com . Bourret has also published three books of poetry: The Physics of War: Poems of War and Healing (2015), and Land of Loud Noises and Vacant Stares (2015), and Snowflakes From the Other Side of the Universe (2015). Three Joss Sticks In The Rain, his first novel, was published in 2016. Jello's Nam: A Memoir was published in July 2018; he is in the process of finishing the second installment of his memoir, which focuses on his battle with PTSD and how he learned to deal with the trauma of his war experiences.