Hard to Kill: A Hero's Tale of Surviving Vietnam and the Catholic Church

Book excerpt: This is the inspiring memoir of an extraordinary warrior who fought bravely for his country and his faith.. Shot in the head during a massacre in which sixty-eight of seventy men in his company were killed or wounded on a black mountain in Vietnam, Joe Ladensack had an out-of-body experience that inspired him to become a Roman Catholic priest. Back home in Arizona, Ladensack displayed the same valor and courage that earned him two Silver Stars and six Bronze Stars in Vietnam. He became the first priest to voluntarily testify before a grand jury about the worldwide clergy abuse scandal. He helped expose more than fifty sexual predators in the Diocese of Phoenix, brought down a bishop, and sent a half-dozen priests to prison or fleeing in exile.