cmyr
01-29-2007, 12:48 PM
Author shares Vietnam memoir at library
MARSHFIELD -- Usually when people think of library programs, they think of story times, puppet shows and children's reading programs.
As a place of life-long learning, Marshfield Public Library sponsors programs to encourage people of all ages to find out more about their world, explore issues and learn new things.
Library sponsored programs for adults are meant to provoke thought and discussion.
On Wednesday, local author Samuel Brantley will read and discuss his Vietnam memoir, "Zero Dark Thirty," at 7 p.m. in the library's Beebee Forum Room.
As a child, Brantley vowed he would one day fly single-seat jets. His boyhood dream was realized when he flew tactical aircraft, specifically A-4E Skyhawks, over south Vietnam in the late '60s.
As a child, Brantley vowed he would one day fly single-seat jets. His boyhood dream was realized when he flew tactical aircraft, specifically A-4E Skyhawks, over south Vietnam in the late '60s.
Then, in the spring of 1968, during the Tet Offensive, the Marine Corps assigned Capt. Brantley to the First Battalion of the Seventh Marines as a FAC, or Forward Air Controller outside of Da Nang.
Aviator Brantley found himself grounded, engaged in infantry fire fights that he writes are "men changers ... life-altering, brutal, never-to-be-forgotten lessons ... studies in death, pain, and waste."
Surviving his tour of duty in Vietnam, Brantley returned to the United States and to a welcome of spitting, name calling and insults, where "combat vets were in the way." During such times, he constantly had to reign in the "icy beast unleashed in combat."
After leaving the military, Brantley tries to fit in, but finds he is unable to deal with an uncaring, ignorant society. He sought refuge in the California desert where as a hermit with a gun, he experienced some strange and wonderful events that finally allow him to "come back in."
Following his reading, Brantley will sign copies of "Zero Dark Thirty," which will be available for purchase that evening.
MARSHFIELD -- Usually when people think of library programs, they think of story times, puppet shows and children's reading programs.
As a place of life-long learning, Marshfield Public Library sponsors programs to encourage people of all ages to find out more about their world, explore issues and learn new things.
Library sponsored programs for adults are meant to provoke thought and discussion.
On Wednesday, local author Samuel Brantley will read and discuss his Vietnam memoir, "Zero Dark Thirty," at 7 p.m. in the library's Beebee Forum Room.
As a child, Brantley vowed he would one day fly single-seat jets. His boyhood dream was realized when he flew tactical aircraft, specifically A-4E Skyhawks, over south Vietnam in the late '60s.
As a child, Brantley vowed he would one day fly single-seat jets. His boyhood dream was realized when he flew tactical aircraft, specifically A-4E Skyhawks, over south Vietnam in the late '60s.
Then, in the spring of 1968, during the Tet Offensive, the Marine Corps assigned Capt. Brantley to the First Battalion of the Seventh Marines as a FAC, or Forward Air Controller outside of Da Nang.
Aviator Brantley found himself grounded, engaged in infantry fire fights that he writes are "men changers ... life-altering, brutal, never-to-be-forgotten lessons ... studies in death, pain, and waste."
Surviving his tour of duty in Vietnam, Brantley returned to the United States and to a welcome of spitting, name calling and insults, where "combat vets were in the way." During such times, he constantly had to reign in the "icy beast unleashed in combat."
After leaving the military, Brantley tries to fit in, but finds he is unable to deal with an uncaring, ignorant society. He sought refuge in the California desert where as a hermit with a gun, he experienced some strange and wonderful events that finally allow him to "come back in."
Following his reading, Brantley will sign copies of "Zero Dark Thirty," which will be available for purchase that evening.