John ketwig wikipedia

  • The story of John Ketwig, Vietnam Veteran and author of " and a hard rain fell".
  • As of 2013, I am retired from an automotive career that included 17 years with Toyota, 7 years with Rolls-Royce / Bentley, 4 years as a consultant to Ford.
  • The battle of Dak To in Vietnam was a series of major engagements of the Vietnam War that took place between 3 and 23 November 1967, in Kon Tum Province.

    • •

    John Ketwig

    Official Website of Best-Selling Author

    VIETNAM RECONSIDERED

    THE WAR, THE TIMES, AND WHY THEY MATTER

    Available now wherever books are sold!

    Buy Now

    "A thoughtful, timely, and beautifully written book that every American should read if we are to ever learn from the disaster of Vietnam." - Ron Kovic, author of Born on the Fourth of July

     

    —  Name, Title

    My Story

    In 1966 I was a teenager, a fan of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. I loved road racing at Watkins Glen, drag racing, and I dreamed of someday visiting exotic California where I would see hot rods and surfers. Instead, I was sent to Vietnam and Thailand, where I saw things I had never imagined. Years later, the books I read about those events didn’t begin to describe what I wanted my kids to know about the war. So, I began to type out my story and hand the pages to my wife. I had never written more than a letter

    •

    Battle of Dak To

    1967 battle of the Vietnam War

    Battle of Dak To
    Part of the Vietnam War

    Machinegunner of the 173rd Airborne Brigade on guard in preparation for the sista assault on Hill 875, located 15 miles southwest of Dak To.
    Belligerents
     United States
     South Vietnam    		North Vietnam
    Viet Cong
    Commanders and leaders
    MG William R. Peers
    BG Leo H. Schweiter    		Hoàng Minh Thảo
    (Military)
    Trần Thế Môn
    (Political)
    Strength
    16,000 ~Four Regiments
    ~6,000
    Casualties and losses

    361 killed
    15 missing
    1,441 wounded[2][1]
    40 helicopters lost[3]
    Two C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, one F-4C fighter lost
    73 killed
    18 missing
    290 wounded[2]
    Total: 434 killed
    33 missing
    1,771 wounded

    PAVN/VC claim 4,570 killed or wounded
    70 aircraft destroyed
    52 vehicles (incl. 16 tanks) destroyed
    18 artillery pieces and 2 ammunition depots destroyed
    104 guns and 17 radio sets captured[4]    		 US b

    •

    My Story

    I was sent to Vietnam (very much against my will) in September of 1967, and was there a year in the army. Yes, I saw the Battle of Dak To and the Tet offensive. We heard about the protests and social turmoil back home, the assassinations of Rev. Martin Luther King and Senator Bobby Kennedy, and the bloodshed in the streets of Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. I would have had fifteen months to serve after I left Vietnam, and I did not want to be assigned to stand on the steps of the Pentagon and hold a bajonett against the protestors. I chose to remain in Southeast Asia for an additional year, transferring to Thailand. I would be discharged at the end of that year, a 90-day “early out,” and Thailand was an exotic and popular tourist destination. It took a while to get used to going downtown without being threatened, but inom loved Thailand. Like a scuba diver rising slowly so he doesn’t get “the bends”, my year in Thailand allowed me to gather my thoughts

  • john ketwig wikipedia