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In 2015, Don Bacque released “A Walk in the Park: A Vietnam Comedy”, a comedic book about his experiences in the Vietnam War, in which he served in the Army’s 5th Special Forces, popularly known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear. H
He stated that at least two God-inspired occurrences facilitated the completion of this book: First, he found that his memories of the war were fading but when he was packing to move to his new house he came across wartime letters he had written to his wife, Cookie, that served as the basis of his manuscript; and, second: Don was encouraged by his close friend, Carl Bauer, to join Carl’s writing class where he had to submit a chapter of his life story for each class, which eventually kept him on track to finish the project. Carl Bauer didn’t live to read the outcome of Don’s story about his feelings on the war, but Carl’s life lives on through his magnetic energy which ignited Don and so many others of us to follow our path and make a difference in life.
Don details the adventure that led him to Vietnam and it is one to which we can all relate as it was “never supposed to happen.” He had mistakenly believed that his poor eyesight would spare him from combat: Why would the Army send a man who was legally blind into combat if he might lose his glasses and mistakenly shoot the wrong side?? How could a man who was afraid of heights be made to jump from planes and into war zone conflicts??
As Don recounts the many close friends he made, the lessons learned, and the gradual disillusionment he experienced as the futility of the Vietnam War became apparent, “A Walk in the Park” is an important read for all generations. To purchase the book, please visit Amazon here.
The resulting work is one you will enjoy as you also learn about the foibles of military service and the true grit required of our men and women who serve and protect the United States of America and our allies! The adventure that began for Don Bacque on February 11, 1968 changed his life and led him to be the well-grounded man he is today. Inspirationally, Don is well aware that God’s grace is real and that heroes, while not necessarily recognized, walk among us every day.
We thank Don Bacque also for his service to our community, as he served as a Louisiana State Representative from 1988 to 1992, and was the founding chair of Leadership Lafayette. He also organized a Vietnam Veterans group in Lafayette and served as the state co-chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee that built a monument in New Orleans to honor the 881 veterans from Louisiana who did not return from the war.
