On his first combat assignment, Cornett accompanied the Vietnamese Rangers on a search-and-destroy mission near Khe Sang. There he gained entree into a culture that he would ultimately respect greatly and admire deeply. Cornett's most challenging military duty began when he joined the Phoenix Program. As part of AK squad, he dressed in enemy uniform and roamed the deadly Central Highlands, capturing high-ranking VC officers in hot firefights and ambushes. It was there, deep in enemy territory, where the smallest mistake meant sudden death, that the Vietnamese fighting men earned his utmost respect. While offering rare glimpses of an aspect of the war most of the military and media never saw, Cornett tells the full, gut-wrenching story of his Vietnam. He also gives an unsparing view of himself - telling a no-holds-barred story of an American soldier who made sacrifices far beyond the call of duty . . . a soldier who, in defiance of the U.S. government, refused to turn his back on the Vietnamese. On his first combat assignment, Cornett accompanied the Vietnamese Rangers on a search-and-destroy mission near Khe Sang. There he gained entree into a culture that he would ultimately respect greatly and admire deeply. Cornett's most challenging military duty began when he joined the Phoenix Program. As part of AK squad, he dressed in enemy uniform and roamed the deadly Central Highlands, capturing high-ranking VC officers in hot firefights and ambushes. It was there, deep in enemy territory, where the smallest mistake meant sudden death, that the Vietnamese fighting men earned his utmost respect. While offering rare glimpses of an aspect of the war most of the military and media never saw, Cornett tells the full, gut-wrenching story of his Vietnam. He also gives an unsparing view of himself - telling a no-holds-barred story of an American soldier who made sacrifices far beyond the call of duty . . . a soldier who, in defiance of the U.S. government, refused to turn his back on the Vietnamese. On his first combat assignment, Cornett accompanied the Vietnamese Rangers on a search-and-destroy mission near Khe Sanh. There he earned entree into a culture that he would ultimately respect greatly and admire deeply. Cornett's most challenging military duty began when he joined the Phoenix Program. As part of Ak squad, he dressed in enemy uniform and roamed the deadly Central Highlands, capturing high-ranking VC officers in hot firefights and ambushes. It was there, deep in enemy territory, where the smallest mistake meant suddendeath, that the Vietnamese fighting men earned his utmost respect. While offering rare glimpses of an aspect of the war most of the military and media never saw, Cornett tells the full, gut-wrenching story of his Vietnam. He also gives and unsparing view of himself -- telling a no-holds-barred story of an American soldier who made sacrifices far beyond the call of duty...a soldier who, in defiance of the U.S. government, refused to turn his back on the Vietnamese. Alan G. Cornett is the son of a career army officer. A retired U.S. Army first sergeant, he spent six years in Vietnam, most of them in combat. He has been an alternate for the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, a championship parachutist, and had a bit part in the movie Tank. There's no doubt that the army goes a long way in turning a civilian into a soldier. It teaches him skills, supplies him with the latest combat equipment, then gives him the time and place to become familiar with the two. The army even goes as far as attempting to instill strength, discipline, and an ability to think quickly under harrowing conditions. But, through my experience, I've learned that the qualities that will save your ass when faced with the hell of war are qualities developed long before Uncle Sam comes knocking at the door. Those qualities can make the difference between whether you fly home in your uniform or are shipped back in an aluminum box. And if you make it home, those qualities can make the difference between whether you live again or simply exist. Those qualities find their origin in your upbringing and your heritage. For me, I see the seeds of my personality being sown as far back as the 1800s with the birth of my paternal grandparents. Robert Alan Cornett was born in 1878. Robert was a salesman with a gift of gab and was loved by everyone, including Helen Talent, the nurse he was to marry. Though he was known as a nice guy, a "lifelong drunkard" may have been a more fitting career title. Because of my grandfather Robert's alcoholism, Grandmother Helen basically functioned as a single parent to my father and his sister from their birth on. She was officially left a single parent when Grandfather Robert abandoned her completely, leaving her to deal with their children and the Great Depression on her own. His drinking would eventually land him on the streets and out of my father's life. Before the age of ten, my father had to rely on his own wit