|
BY DUTY BOUND
is Vietnam's To Hell and Back—a must read. It is an
electrifying tale of a lifetime–an inspiring story of
overcoming prejudice, of honor and survival. Best book of
the year." — Lt. Col. Ralph R. Ramirez, California Center
for Military History
BY DUTY BOUND
Survival and Redemption in a Time of War
By Brig. Gen. (CA, Ret.) Ezell Ware, Jr., with Joel Engel
As a young, impoverished black man growing up in segregated Mississippi, Ezell Ware Jr.’s dream of becoming a pilot seemed like an impossibility. The house where he was raised had dirt floors and no running water, and no one in his community had a college degree or even a bank account. His determination to make his dream come true led him to serve first in the U. S. Marines (where he was the top recruit in his training class) and, after working as a policeman, to serve again in the military as an Army pilot. Flying helicopters in Vietnam, Ware traded the hardship of living under Jim Crow for the dangers of combat; nevertheless, with a single-mindedness that he would demonstrate throughout his whole life, he chose to pursue a lifelong Army career and even returned to the Far East when his first tour of duty ended. It was on his last mission, coming back from a troop deployment in Vietnam, that his helicopter got shot down, leaving him and his badly wounded commanding officer stranded in enemy territory.
BY DUTY BOUND (Dutton, March 2005, $23.95) is Ezell Ware’s tale of survival in terrifying circumstances, and of the upbringing that gave him the strength he needed to live for three weeks in the jungle. During his long trek back to safety, Ware faced armed enemies, starvation, monsoon rains, and diseases—and learned that his injured captain, who he was keeping alive, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The two men, tenaciously fighting to stay alive, would find themselves changed forever by their experience in the jungle together.
BY DUTY BOUND is a firsthand account of the horrors of prejudice and war, told by a unique witness. It is also the story of humanity, a humanity that Ware fought for and won on many different battlefields.
Publication Date: March 7, 2005
Price:
Hardcover $23.95
Publication
Date: March 7, 2006
Price: Paperback $14.95
About the Author:
Ezell Ware, Jr. recently retired as brigadier general with the California National Guard, after a distinguished Marine and Army career for which he was highly decorated. A longtime resident of California, he now makes his home in Austin, Texas. A journalist for The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times, Joel Engel coauthored By George (the New York Times best selling autobiography of George Foreman) as well as the book that became The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid. Joel Engel lives in California.
|
