American Boys: The True Story of the Lost 74 of the Vietnam War - Louise Esola

In the middle of a dark night off the coast of Vietnam on June 3, 1969, the USS Frank E. Evans is rammed by a ship ten times her size, sending her forward half to the bottom of the South China Sea and into oblivion. Seventy-four Americans are killed in the mysterious collision. The truth is confined to a footnote of the Vietnam War. Buried in obscurity even today, as the 74 names of those killed are not on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. In American Boys , journalist Louise Esola has uncovered and pieced together a powerful story. Groundbreaking and astonishing in scope, American Boys is a tale of heartbreak and perseverance. It's the story of a shattering injustice, of love and healing, and of a great generation of those who fought and vowed to never forget, though their nation has. ... a classic story of men and war. --Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times ...new light on a tragic chapter of the Vietnam War. --Joseph L. Galloway, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young