Boston Boy Goes to War

Amid the tumult of the Vietnam war era, Boston Boy Goes to War chronicles the adventures of Special Forces Officer James Driscoll from Boston to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines. With bravery and leadership, he wins battles despite flawed Pentagon mindset and strategy doomed to lose the war. President Kennedy was skeptical of military involvement in Vietnam. He preferred a light footprint of Special Forces. Had he lived, he would not have committed a large US military presence fueled by a controversial draft of young Americans. Jimmie Driscoll's West Roxbury neighborhood bled its young men in Vietnam. His father, a Boston police captain, served as an army ranger in Korea. Jimmie followed the same patriotic tradition. He advanced through the Special Forces ranks by combat heroism in the secret war in Laos, then Vietnam and the Philippines. In Bangkok, Thailand he fell in love with Tassanee Oleson the beautiful daughter of a Danish shipping magnate and Taiwanese international banker. A Princeton graduate and fluent in Thai and Mandarin, she carves out a promising career with the CIA. Jimmie and Tassanee bond and survive battles and danger across Thailand, the secret war in Laos, the war in Vietnam and bandits in the Philippines. Along their adventure they interact with the Thai Princess Mother, a future president and a colorful cast of soldiers, thieves and heroes and politicians. Jimmie's wounded Marine brother and Tassanee's voluptuous California cousin add heroism and spice to the novel.