Vietnam Veteran Talking AboutHisNewBook,‘Grunt’
The Rockbridge Regional Library in Lexington will host author Peter Farnham Wednesday, April 9, at 2 p.m., to talk about his recently published memoir about his military experiences, “Grunt - Three Years in the Infantry, 1967-1970.”
American involvement in Vietnam began in 1956, with the arrival of a small American training team, and ended 19 years later in 1975 with the fall of Saigon to the People’s Army of North Vietnam. Over 58,000 Americans were killed during the war, as well as hundreds of thousands of North Vietnamese soldiers.
Glasgow resident Pete Farnham was an infantryman at the height of the war, serving in the First Infantry Division as a squad and platoon leader from October 1968 to October 1969. He spent his year patrolling along the Cambodian border 80 miles north of Saigon, a prime North Vietnamese infiltration route.
The word “grunt” is a selfdeprecating term infantrymen of the era used to describe themselves, and while there is a little intentional humor in the term, it is also a term of pride and honor.
“I’ve been called many things in my life, some of them pretty nasty,” Farnham said, “but the name I’m proudest of is ‘grunt.’ In writing this book, I am honoring all grunts, living and passed, past and present. I am just the storyteller. The book is really about all of us.”
The bulk of the book covers Franham’s year in Vietnam, but he also discusses his year of training prior, including 10 weeks at a notorious site at Fort Eisenhower, Ga., cleared by Agent Orange, and his graduation from the army’s early Non-Commissioned Officer Candidate Course. He summarizes his last year in the service and how Vietnam has resonated in his life since.
Copies of Pete’s book will be available for sale after the talk.
