Step Away from the War: How I Built a Life Around the Vietnam War

What does a juvenile delinquent, steelworker, dope-smoking hippie, pansexual, decorated combat Vietnam vet, Unitarian Universalist, Doctorate of Business Administration, and tenured professor all have in common? The author of this memoir tries all these titles and more as he attempts to describe a life of considerable contrast, twists and turns, and a long-term battle of making sense of it all.In 1968, the oldest of ten Catholic kids in a steelworker family living in the blue-collar suburbs of Detroit found himself faced with a decision. Was it being drafted into the U.S. Army and a tour in Vietnam, Canada, or prison?...Tom did his tour. What started out as a memoir of his one year of service as a combat infantry grunt in Vietnam, Tom decided to frame the experience with life before and after. Hippies drafted in the late 60s had short hair and no beards in the Vietnam War, but they did have tell-tale indications. Helmets or hats with a peace sigh or flower and a faint scent of marijuana usually gave them away. Tom soon found out he was not alone in this situation. The reader follows the adventures of a small band of combat hardened, dope-smoking draftees through the thickets, rice paddies, base camps, and foxholes of South Vietnam the year after the TET offensive with one common objective, to stay alive for 365 days and go home. To escape the omnipresence of violence and death, Peters eventually turns to LSD for a short fateful period. Though decorated for heroism in combat, the author and friends are reluctant warriors more concerned with each other's safety than winning any battles in a war they're convinced is wrong and doomed. Spec. 4 Peters survives the year and returns to the steel mill where his father works. But the war follows him, as it does with all veterans and the memoir traces his footsteps through a battle against survivor's guilt, substance abuse, depression, and an obstacle-course of self-rejection and self-realization. Once home from the war, Tom can't assume he's safe, especially at the steel mill where dangers are as present as 'Safety First' signs. Peters explains his need for a high-intensity replacement for combat by seeking one of the most demanding and thrilling crane operating jobs, the hot metal and ladle cranes. Tom's description of a 'runner' points out the adrenaline rushing nature of this crazy, little-known procedure. Though raising a family has a sense of normalcy...bouts of depression, a nagging suicidal thought, and mounting pressures of trying to go to college and work at the mill end in divorce. Peters eventually finds himself with a Bachelor's and Masters' degree and an opportunity to retire from the mill after 30 years and head out west...a long-term dream. Life in California, a new wife and a fourth child at the age of 55 make for interesting times. Add a Doctorate degree and a successful professorship and this memoir culminates with a return trip to Vietnam. Enjoy!