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by Sheriff Terry Ashe (Retired) (Author)
There was no money for college when Terry Ashe graduated high school. The farm family of four was left destitute when Terry's dad, a highly decorated World War II veteran, was hit and severely disabled by an uninsured driver on the way to work. As their father languished in a Veterans Hospital, the family lost everything. Terry and his brother moved from house to house as their mother worked several jobs to support her boys. Young Terry knew only a hardscrabble life, but he was determined to follow in his father's footsteps, serving his country in the armed forces and becoming a Sheriff, like his childhood hero, Wilson County Sheriff Harold Griffin. Ashe trained as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division and was promptly sent to Vietnam. Many near misses, close calls, and chance encounters tested and reconfirmed his faith during the Tet Offensive. He describes experiences in detail, including his miraculous survival of the deadly ambush of his recon team as it drove into enemy territory. Ashe recounts the lifelong lessons learned, the nightmares that remain, and the lives of friends lost during the Southeast Asian battle. Awarded three Purple Hearts, the Bronze Star, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Ashe returned stateside to find he had not experienced his father's war but had fought in a controversial conflict that would take years for the U.S. to reconcile.
