Autobiography Review

To Nam And Back
by Randall Juge
ISBN-10: 1595263160
Review by Heather Froeschl

Randy Juge ends his book with the line, “Think of all those names on a memorial wall that can’t tell their story.” And so he took the time to tell his. “To Nam and Back” is one pilot’s tale of his role in the Vietnam War.

Questioning, “Why me?” in regards to why he survived while so many did not, is surely something most veterans of wars do. Randy Juge examines the “whys” in every chapter of his book. He relates the story of his Purple Heart incident, when a bullet passes right through his flight helmet, luckily just grazing his skull when it could have killed him. He shares tales of having to wait for another helicopter to land and watching as it hit unseen wire only to crash, and of a fist-sized hole in his tail-rotor shaft, which could have easily taken him down. He jokes about his using many of “this cat’s” nine lives. And he tells the tales of men who he lived side by side with in the war, men who he joked with, made bets with, trained with, and flew with. Juge explains why he has trouble with authority figures thanks to Colonel Chicken Shit, his feelings about the Vietnamese people, and the power of forgiveness.

Besides the war stories though, Randy Juge tells his readers about his family, and how the war affected those in his life. He shares the American Tale of a veteran. This is a personal story of a very public war. It is well written, in a personable tone. It is likely near to what many Vietnam veterans would share if they were asked to tell their own story. If only more of them would, so that we will never forget. I applaud the author on a job well done.