Dick Rose spent a year in Vietnam (September 1967-September 1968) in Vietnam, as a Navy senior chief petty officer in Saigon and throughout the Mekong Delta. He was in charge of a team of twelve photojournalists who accompanied the forces of the Brown Water Navy, the rivers and canals of the Delta. He had fourteen combat missions, earning the Navy Commendation Medal with combat 'V', as well as the Combat Action Ribbon and various campaign ribbons. He wrote while in Vietnam, and for 25 years afterward-essays, commentaries and newsletter columns. He had to face the dilemma of telling his wife of his early orders to Saigon, which he describes with an underlying humor. He sat in on briefings for the commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Vietnam. He was at a Special Forces camp one mile from the Cambodian border when Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Humor, anger, disillusionment and admiration, poetry, and even an epiphany are part of this collection, as are a review of Robert MacNamara's book, a fictionalized version of one of his combat missions and a short story that is universal. While serving as president, vice president, and newsletter editor of the San Fernando Valley Chapter 419 of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), he wrote many of these articles. All participants experienced their own war in Vietnam. Some speak of it, others do not, will not, cannot. This is one man's view. Dick Rose is also the author of the award-winning novel, Tarnished Brass Curtain.
About the Author: Dick Rose is a retired U.S. Navy Journalist who spent 18 years as a public relations specialist, with jobs including News Director and disc jockey for two Armed Forces Radio Stations, media relations officer, and leader of a team of 12 photojournalists in the Mekong Delta from 1967 to 1968. He earned a Master's degree in English (with a creative writing emphasis) from San Diego State University. He is the author of two books, "Tarnished Brass Curtain: A Novel of Vietnam," which won the Independent Press 2011 National Excellence Award in the Military Fiction category; and "Vietnam Through Rose-Colored Glasses," a collection of commentaries, poems, and fiction, published in December 2012. "Tarnished Brass Curtain" was originally published in 2001 as "Moveable Forts and Magazines," and is still available in that form. It is an expanded version of his Master's Thesis. His new book, a collection of short stories, "Did You Ever Try to Melt a Lemon Drop?" will be published in spring, 2013. The Chicago-born Dick Rose is a widower who wife, Barbara, died in 2007 after 51-1/2 years of marriage. He lives in Henderson, Nevada with his daughter, Debbi. Dick Rose is a retired U.S. Navy Journalist who spent 18 years as a public relations specialist, with jobs including News Director and disc jockey for two Armed Forces Radio Stations, media relations officer, and leader of a team of 12 photojournalists in the Mekong Delta from 1967 to 1968. He earned a Master's degree in English (with a creative writing emphasis) from San Diego State University. He is the author of two books, "Tarnished Brass Curtain: A Novel of Vietnam," which won the Independent Press 2011 National Excellence Award in the Military Fiction category; and "Vietnam Through Rose-Colored Glasses," a collection of commentaries, poems, and fiction, published in December 2012. "Tarnished Brass Curtain" was originally published in 2001 as "Moveable Forts and Magazines," and is still available in that form. It is an expanded version of his Master's Thesis. His new book, a collection of short stories, "Did You Ever Try to Melt a Lemon Drop?" will be published in spring, 2013. He is the holder of the Navy Commendation Medal with combat "V," the Navy Combat Action Ribbon and numerous campaign ribbons. The Chicago-born Dick Rose is a widower whose wife, Barbara, died in 2007 after 51-1/2 years of marriage. He lives in Henderson, Nevada with his daughter, Debbi.