PROUD AMERICANS

Book excerpt: Proud American Vietnam Artillery Soldiers…Then and Now By: Terry L. Nau Told in the voices of Vietnam veterans looking back on their war, Proud Americans is an oral history of the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery unit that served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1972. The 2/32, nicknamed the Proud Americans, fired the first 175 millimeter rounds in the Vietnam War. The unit stayed in Vietnam for seven years, refreshed by more draftees and enlisted soldiers. From rescuing other American soldiers, to the Tet Offensive, to surviving 42 days of mortar attacks, the veterans share their personal stories of service. Bonds, slow to form, became unbreakable as black, Hispanic, white, and immigrant soldiers became brothers. Proud Americans honors the sacrifices of those who never came home and those who did. Reflecting on their journeys to and from Vietnam, these veterans share an intimate view of their dangerous service.