In his re-released, critically acclaimed memoir, A Field of Innocence: Nam, 1968: A Hell of a Way to Come of Age, Vietnam veteran and co-founder of Fallen Warriors Foundation Jack Estes introduces readers to the true and horrifying reality of his time in Vietnam. As an 18-year old boy who was broke and flunking out of college with a pregnant girlfriend, Estes joined the Marine Corps in 1968 during the height of the Vietnam War. Although it seemed like the best option at the time, Estes did not imagine what was to follow.
Through a powerful narrative and his own letters that he wrote to his new wife, Estes recounts his experiences from the first days of boot camp to the blood shed in the jungles and villages of Vietnam. A true coming of age story, A Field of Innocence reveals the reflections of a young Marine’s journey through the brutal choreography of war.
Throughout his riveting work of non-fiction, Estes also discusses:
- What it was like to fight in the jungles
- He also lived with 10 other marines in a small Vietnamese village and came to love the people
- The turmoil he experienced growing from a teenage boy into a man during war
- The harrowing bloodshed during the Vietnam War
“I share the horrifying year I spent fighting in the jungles where the only Vietnamese we saw were the ones we killed," said Estes. “I also take the reader on my tour and not only describe the terrifying battles of Vietnam, but also share the longing for home, my wife, and my baby girl.”
Jack Estes is the author of the critically acclaimed Vietnam memoir, A Field of Innocence from Warner Books. His articles and essays have appeared in Newsweek, The L.A. Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Oregonian, and many more. He has also written an award-winning screenplay A Soldier’s Son, which took first place in 2006 out of 1500 entries at the Film Makers International Screenwriting Contest, top ten at Script Shark, and first place at Willamette Writers Conference. A Soldier’s Son has been adapted into a novel that is due for release in 2014. He has also written the novel Searching for Gurney, which won a Fellowship at Squaw Valley Writers Conference and took first place at the Willamette Writers Conference. The novel will be published in 2015.
Over 20 years ago, Estes and his wife traveled to Vietnam for healing and to deliver medical and educational supplies to schools, hospitals, and orphanages. He also returned to the village where he once lived, to what his wife Colleen calls his "original point of pain." From this trip, Estes and his wife created the Fallen Warriors Foundation, to honor the sacrifices of American soldiers and help heal the pain of war. Over the years, Fallen Warriors Foundation has delivered hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods to the poorest villages in Vietnam. Estes also led a group of disabled veterans back to for their healing. He has also led nurses and doctors back to remote villages and primitive hospitals to give care.
Estes attended Portland State and Southern Illinois Universities. Currently, he lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon with his wonderful wife.