Bury Him: A Memoir of the Viet Nam War by Captain Doug Chamberlain
Category: Non-Fiction (18 +), 348 pages
Genre: Memoir, Biographies of the Marines
Publisher: Love the West Publications LLC
Release date: November 2019

“…His book recounts his agonized response to a direct order to ‘bury’ the remains of a fallen Marine in Vietnam…”
—John E. Brown, III
Past president of JBU, and former AR State Senator

Synopsis

In this frank, engaging memoir, Captain Chamberlain chronicles the missions, personal courage and sacrifice of the Marines he was privileged to command; painfully recalls the unspeakable order he and his Marines were forced to obey; and the cover-up which followed. Nearly four decades later, Captain Chamberlain makes right what was wrong; brings closure to the family of a fallen and abandoned warrior and attempts to put to rest the guilt which plagued his military career and life. Unlike most books on the Viet Nam War, this book is written at a tactical level by a Marine Company Commander who was there.

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Guest Post

LIVES CHANGED FOREVER

an excerpt and author commentary from BURY HIM by Capt. Doug Chamberlain

“As I approached them, I could see the shock on their faces.  Those next few seconds of time changed my life forever.  At their feet lay a partially decomposed Marine on a poncho…he was lying face-up, and his most significant injury seemed to be that most of his left leg was missing.  What appeared to be his name was printed on his flak jacket with the use of a magic marker, which was a common practice in most units.  I could see that his “dog tags” were still on a chain around his neck.  I checked to see if the name on his flak jacket matched the name on his dog tags, and it did.”

Combat in war can be very debilitating mentally, especially for those who have been drafted into military service.  Most Americans do not have a visual concept of attempting to kill another person and succeeding.  An even more bizarre fact is that most people in combat are never aware of why they actually had to kill another person…a person who was a mother’s son, someone’s brother, or someone’s father.  Through it all, the statement attributed to United States Army General George Patton concerning the object of war is undeniably true:  The object of war is not to die for your country.  The object of war is to make sure some other poor dumb bastard dies for his.

To convince young Americans to serve in the Viet Nam War, there were enticements…enticements that were pledged to those warriors.  One time honored assurance was that if those who served our Country in that war in Southeast Asia made the ultimate sacrifice, their remains would be returned to their families…no matter what.

This is a book about the betrayal of a young Marine, and his family, whose remains were discovered after being left behind in a bomb crater for five weeks.  The gruesome truth was that I was then ordered to bury him in the jungles of South Viet Nam and participate in a cover-up in an attempt to make sure his family would never know the truth.  The horrible tragedy destroyed the trust and patriotic fervor of the Marines under my command, and the mental anxiety we experienced as a result of that unconscionable act changed our lives forever.

About the Author

Doug Chamberlain, the grandson of homesteaders in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska, grew up with the “country values” instilled in him in the rural environment of a very small community. Even though there were only 10 students in his high school graduating class, several of his classmates pursued careers, public service, and military service that took them to various locations around the world. His rural values and the foundational reinforcement of those values at the University of Wyoming and John Brown University proved to be tested in their entirety when he became a Marine Infantry Officer in the Viet Nam War. His life changing experiences in that war proved to haunt him during his search to solve a mystery that spanned 50 years…and Bury Him details the sordid facts and the horrible truth that had eluded him.

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Giveaway

Prizes: ​ One of Four $25 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Capt. Doug Chamberlain, author of BURY HIM (ends May 8)

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