A Patriot After All: The Story of a Chicano Vietnam Vet / Edition 1

by Juan Ramirez

Overview

Juan Ramirez always believed he would die in Vietnam. As a teenager growing up in the San Francisco area in the early 1960s, "Nam was there, just over the horizon, like the distant thump of artillery." His father and uncles had served in World War II, another uncle in Korea. Numerous cousins had enlisted. At nineteen, Ramirez decided to embrace the war. In 1968, the year of the Tet offensive, Ramirez joined the U.S. marines.

Two bloody tours later, Ramirez survived, but at immense cost. Twice wounded, undesirably discharged, and plagued by survivor's guilt, Ramirez surveys the toll of Vietnam on flesh and spirit in this captivating memoir.

Ramirez tells his story in a voice not often heard from the war, that of a Chicano soldier. By tracing his roots, and exploring the cultural pressures and social demons that weighed on his family and community, Ramirez offers an unflinching look at the fall and redemption of one Mexican American veteran.

"Ramirez has given us a rather unique and clear-eyed view inside the life and times and thoughts of a young Chicano who joins the marines and goes to Vietnam to find his destiny. . . . Fascinating reading."—Joseph L. Galloway, author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826319593
Publisher:	University of New Mexico Press
Publication date:	02/01/1999
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	920L (what's this?)

About the Author

Juan Ramirez owns a landscaping business in Watsonville, California.

Editorial Reviews

. . . [Ramirez] presents unique and clear views of a young Hispanic who joins the Marines and goes to Vietnam to find his destiny. . . . important because it is penned by a Chicano soldier.

. . . ÝRamirez¨ presents unique and clear views of a young Hispanic who joins the Marines and goes to Vietnam to find his destiny. . . . important because it is penned by a Chicano soldier.

"Ramírez examines in a brutally honest voice the effects of his family, alcoholism and drug abuse on his own life before, during and after his service in Vietnam. . . a touching examination of the Vietnam war and a frank exploration of a troubled Mexican-American family."

An honest account by a courageous vet, "A Patriot After All" traces Ramirezs painful struggles toward self-acceptance after the war. Adds another dimension to the growing literature of the Vietnam War.

It is a phenomenal story, and a success, for all the right reasons. . . . the style is transparent, the story unerring in its effort to educate.

." . . [Ramirez] presents unique and clear views of a young Hispanic who joins the Marines and goes to Vietnam to find his destiny. . . . important because it is penned by a Chicano soldier."

From the Publisher

Ramirez has given us a rather unique and clear-eyed view inside the life of and times and thoughts of a young Chicano who joins the aimes and goes to Vietnam to find his destiny...Fascinating reading.
— Author of We Were Soldiers Once...And Young

Joseph L. Galloway

An introspective memoir in which the first-time author bluntly and self-critically examines his life before, during, and after his service in Vietnam.

Kirkus Reviews