PUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM

This memoir is a coming of age story interwoven into a series of tales from the archives (read memory) of a Korean veteran drafted after college, who never made it to Korea.  In all cases, the story lines are true, but the dialogue is fictitious.  As the venues changed, so did the recruit, who became a soldier, but never made it into battle.  It’s for the reader to decide whether or not the Army made him into a man.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN EXCERPT

An attractive gamine came into the bar and sat at one of the few empty tables. She was medium height with light brown hair, her mouth set as if it were going to break into a laugh any second. I walked over.

“Mind if I join you?” I said.

Surprise flitted across her face. Her eyes were hazel—soft and luminescent.

“Of course not,” she said in perfect but accented English. “You dress like a Frenchman, but I think you’re Canadian.”

“Why do you think that?”

Her eyes grew a little wider. “American?”

“Mais, oui. Je travail aux Army près d’Orléans.”

She exposed a hint of dimples that went well with her devastating eyes. “Well now, a polite American speaks French. My name is Julie.”