the Bones of Pleiku: Send 'em home or send me back - Softcover

All I wanted was a simple vacation from the ordinary frustrations of life, what I got was a few years of trying to recover American (MIA/POW) Missing in Action remains from Vietnam. ...and a book.

BookReview
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
The Bones of Pleiku: Send 'em home or send me back is a real life memoiras recalled by author John Michael Hanzlik. As the author is a veteran of theVietnam war, this semi-historical account actually takes place mostly in thenineties when John returns with his wife to visit her family in Vietnam. Thoughsome tales hark back to what it was like to actually live in the country besetby war, most of the action is focused on John's mission to retrieve someMissing In Action remains from the war days. It's these objects which sparkheartfelt stories and interesting new perspectives on the war that saw so manypeople die needlessly on both sides.

The individual tales recalled, chapter by chapter, by author John MichaelHanzlik reveal a compassionate but also brutal depiction of what survival andreflection on war can be. Though some tales are told with humour and light,others create harrowing images of the reality of war, and the difficulties ofcross-cultural relations, both on a personal and political scale. It is clearthat Hanzlik has witnessed and experienced a lot. His perspective on the worldthen versus the developing modern struggles provides some really interestinginsight into the human condition and its capacity not just for destruction, butfor rebuilding and promoting how life goes on after trauma. I would definitelyrecommend The Bones of Pleiku as an inspirational, educational and eye-openingwork to bring the history of wartime and post-war Vietnam to a new audience.