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I SERVED was written differently from most other Vietnam memoirs. Instead of being a chronological recitation of my experiences growing up in the orphanage and then going to Vietnam and serving with Co. F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry, I made its focus be the characters in the story. That is its greatest strength and what makes it such a good read. Because I focused so closely on character, you really get to care about the person Don Hall because you know what makes him tick, what is important to him, and what drives him. You are also engaged by the other people you meet in the story because they are so clearly drawn. You don't have to be a military buff to enjoy the book. I SERVED is a factual story backed up by official U.S. Army records. Col. William C. Maus, the man who formed F/51st LRP, told me where to find that documentation. I also have copies of handouts we received when we went to Recondo School. Before he died, he told me how much he enjoyed reading the book. He praised me for having written such a great story about a unit he was proud to have commanded. He was a visionary who knew our unit was the vanguard for future U.S. Army military strategy and tactics. I remember his telling me at the time that F/51st LRP was making history. Being just a naïve 19-year-old staff sergeant, I didn't understand the significance of that statement. I do now. The current print and ebook versions of I SERVED are a second edition to the original 1994 hardbound edition, with a revised preface and afterword, a new War Stories section (with stories from other men with whom I served), and new photographs. I Served is a first-person account of the lonely childhood and manhood rites of passage of a Catholic orphanage schoolboy and plankholder in Company F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry. From separation from most of his siblings, to life in an orphanage in Virginia, to the dank jungles of Viet Nam, and finally to homecoming and marriage to his childhood sweetheart, Don Hall tells his story. I Served takes us on a journey we cannot stop once the first page is turned.

Author Biography: Don C. Hall grew up in a Catholic orphanage in southwest Virginia and enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1965, shortly after his 17th birthday. He served in Vietnam in 1967-68 as a team leader in Company F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry. After leaving the service in 1970, he served as a police officer and then later worked as a private investigator. Together, Don and his wife Annette wrote I Served. In addition, they recently finished producing a documentary about Don's unit, titled "Silent Victory: the story of Co. F, 51st Long Range Patrol (Airborne) Infantry." Don and Annette have known each other since the eighth grade and have been married since July 1968. They have one daughter.

The year was 1958 and the dark-haired man with the gaunt, scowling face steered the dusty Plymouth down the rutted, dirt road.