In August 2014, I was living in Cebu City, Philippines, more than 8,000 miles from the Missouri town where I grew up. Then one night I turned on the national news—and there was Ferguson. My hometown had suddenly become world news, and the Ferguson on television looked nothing like the one I carried in my memory.
In 1983, while camping alone in Yellowstone’s backcountry, I followed every piece of advice the park rangers gave me. I survived a frightening night convinced a bear was outside my tent—only to wake up surrounded by an entire herd of grazing bison. It’s a true story I’ll never forget.
War isn’t just firefights and history books. It’s also rumors, practical jokes, wildlife, and the strange folklore that soldiers tell each other to survive. These are some of the unforgettable legends of Vietnam.
n 1969 I took cover beneath a Marine convoy truck during a sniper attack near Da Nang. Forty years later, I discovered that same stretch of ground may have become part of one of Vietnam’s premier championship golf courses.
Coming home from Vietnam wasn’t the end of my Marine Corps story. Camp Pendleton became the place where I rediscovered friendship, found love again, and slowly learned how to live outside a combat zone.
Duke wasn’t just the family dog. He was a companion, a character, and part of the memories that made a house feel like home. Looking back, I sometimes wonder who really belonged to whom. This is the story of Duke—the dog with a tail, a personality, and a permanent place in my memory.