Byron Holley

Vietnam: a Battalion Surgeon Returns Byron Holley

Byron Holley spent the longest year of his young life in Vietnam as surgeon of the 4th Battalion 39th Regiment 9th Infantry Division. He lived like a swamp rat in the boonies of the Mekong Delta, and his actions were sometimes all that made the difference between life and death. Holley never got used to death, to seeing men he knew go home in body bags. Serving under Col. David H. Hackworth, Holley saw the outfit begin to act more like an elite bunch of Rangers than the rag-tag, half-drunk group it had been. He watched Hackworth turn the 4/39 into the fighting and feared Hardcore Recondo battalion. Now, twenty six years later, Doc Holley returns to the land of so much pain and suffering, his trip a mission to visit the exact location where one of his special friends died in one of the fiercest battles fought in the Mekong Delta. What he found will surprise even the most cynical skepticforgiveness, warmth, and hospitality from the very people who took his friends life, defending their ancestors land so long ago. This is a story of love and healing and is a must-read for anyone who was there or had someone they loved over there.