Ghosts In The Wire

Abstract

Ghosts In the Wire is a vivid first-person account of what many veterans experienced upon their return from the war in Vietnam. It is a sequel to Rast's first book--Don's Nam, which quintessentially depicts his tour of duty in Vietnam during 1969 and 70 with the Orient Express.

Rast eloquently and passionately takes the reader on a gut-wrenching roller coaster ride of flash-backs, horror, courage, and outlandish humor that is presented unlike the headlines and TV news could ever hope to depict. It is essential, poignant reading for those veterans who were in ‘Nam and cannot forget, and also for those who were not there, but strive to understand the electrifying intensity, and often surrealistic events that war and its aftermath creates.

The events and characters jump to life from his old muddy diary, which was locked in a footlocker for twenty-eight years, and leave the reader crying, laughing, or just plainly boiling with rage as this dramatic story unfolds in a manner that is truly spellbinding.

About the Author

Don Rast was born in Brownwood, Texas and is a graduate of Louisiana State University. While attending LSU he was commander of the Army Bengal Raiders, which emphasized training in counter-guerilla tactics and special warfare techniques. He is a Distinguished Military Graduate and holder of numerous art awards. His seven years in the military resulted in a variety of interesting assignments and experiences such as written about in this book, which is a sequel to his first book--"Don's Nam." He was a convoy commander in the 534th and 379th Transportation Companies, 7th Transportation Battalion (Orient Express) in Vietnam; a battery commander with the 8/17th (SP155) Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; project officer for Operation Red Hat (the removal of toxic chemical munitions from Okinawa to Johnson Island. Created and implemented a fifty-man Bureau of Customs contraband detachment while stationed at Naha Military Port, Okinawa, Japan, and served as a company commander of a transportation unit at Fort Eustis, Virginia. His military decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm.

In civilian life, Mr. Rast has owned and operated a 24-hour restaurant (Sambo's), sold insurance, estate planning, and home improvements. He is currently at work on two books while continuing to do abstract paintings. The first of these two books (Bayou Samurai) is about his additional experiences in Asia with the military and Bureau of Customs. The second is a self-help book about how not to get taken by home improvement companies.

Don Rast has a lambent ken with explicit insight into whatever subject he finds an interest in. Currently, he owns a home improvement company. His equivocal approach to ontology is, to say the least--esoterically and portentously that of a Universalist.