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Memoirs of a Citizen in Uniform is the brief account of an ordinary college student dealing with the draft and the Vietnam War, from his attempts to avoid service in 1968 to his release from active duty as a naval officer after seven months of combat in 1973. It is told from the perspective of his 73-year-old self, aided by his wartime journal. He neither glorifies nor denigrates his experiences, but rather chronicles a young man's maturing in a difficult and tumultuous time and under stressful circumstances. Told conversationally and with the author's sense of humor occasionally showing through despite the situation, it is the history of a difficult era from a youth's viewpoint.
Originally conceived as a strictly personal narrative, Memoirs of a Citizen in Uniform attempts something more. The author, who holds a master's degree in history, has combined a youth's journal with a mature man's reflections and researched history.
Subjects include:
The draft, draft evasion, the elimination of student deferments and the draft lottery, and antiwar demonstrations on campus.
The Easter Offensive of 1972, a chapter of the Vietnam War little understood by a war-weary America.
Operation Thunderhead, a highly-classified CIA attempt to rescue American prisoners of war held in Hanoi.
The day-to-day life of a destroyer officer, at home and in war, together with the popular culture of the early 1970s, from Country Joe and the Fish to Joan Baez to Jane Fonda.
Written mainly as a description of military service for the author's contemporaries who did not serve, Memoirs of a Citizen in Uniform may also be of interest to students of the history of the Vietnam Era as well as young people contemplating military service.
