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| The Vietnamese cover of “Bare Feet, Iron Will ~ Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam\'s Battlefields” by James G. Zumwalt Photo: Nguoi lao dong |
James G. Zumwalt, a Vietnam veteran and author of “Bare Feet, Iron Will ~ Stories from the Other Side of Vietnam\'s Battlefields,” published last year in America by Fortis Publishing, would give 500 Vietnamese copies of the book to the Vietnamese soldiers based in the Spratly Islands and 6 northern provinces of the country.
Distributed by First News Company in Vietnam, the book, which was begun in 1994, took 17 years to finish as the author made 54 trips to the country for data research and interviews with veterans who used to be his enemies.
As James listened to their personal stories of loss, sacrifice and hardship, it opened his eyes to how a technically inferior army, driven by an "iron will," was able “to emerge triumphant,” the website Amazon wrote in its book review.
“I want to give these books to the soldiers who are protecting Vietnam. With this “bare feet and iron will” that made Vietnam’s victory 35 years ago, these soldiers would surely be further empowered and encouraged to guard their land.”
Now an author, speaker and business executive, James came from a military family -- his father, Elmo R. Zumwalt was the Marine Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt -- and served in the US Marine as a Lieutenant Colonel during the American War.