In Striking Eight Bells, George Trowbridge recounts his journey from the Midwest to a warship in the Gulf of Tonkin during the closing months of the Vietnam War. Choosing to enlist in the Navy at 19, versus being drafted into the military, Trowbridge left a wife and newborn son in the States as he traversed the oceans of the globe to fight in America’s most unpopular war. George shares the details of the living conditions on board a naval destroyer during this era, what it was like going through training, the grind for his ship’s crew in supporting ground forces with naval gunfire as well as the strike attacks his ship made on enemy coastal defenses, and finally coming home at the end of the war. This emotional story is not only historically focused, but it also is informative about life in the military, all filtered through the personal lens of a first-hand perspective.

Adventure, Biographical, War, Action, Memoir,,Memoir,Action

Formerly an Iowa farm boy, I had been married less than a year when my draft number was about to come up for military service. Rather than escape the draft, I decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy and travel across the globe to fight in America’s most unpopular war.

My story ends upon our ship's arrival back in the U.S. after surviving the war. We had participated in the Cease Fire Campaign of 1972-1973 in bringing the North Vietnamese back to the peace talks in Paris, which brought about the cease fire agreement in January of 1973.

Iowa, Ilinois, Virginia. Onboard a U.S. Navy destroyer from Norfolk, Virginia to Vietnam including ports in Hawaii, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

Yes

Voyage and Return

Happy Ending, Philosophical Questions, Coming of Age, Meaningful Message

Language/Profanity

Name: George Trowbridge

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Role: Logical

Key Traits: Flexible, Aspiring, Naive, Strong Moral Code, Adventurous,Naive,Faithful,Adventurous,Aspiring

Name: Janice

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Role: Emotional

Key Traits: Adventurous, Beautiful, Engaging, Faithful, Flexible,Faithful,Flexible,Gracious

Name: Chip

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Role: mentor

Key Traits: Leader, Adventurous, Blunt, Confident, Decisive, Educated,Adventurous,Decisive,Flexible,Honorable

Name: Joe

Age: 22

Gender: Male

Role: emotional

Key Traits: Confident,Empathetic

"Striking Eight Bells: A Vietnam Memoir," is as story of an era and time that has rarely if ever been told. I recount my journey from Iowa to becoming a crewmember aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer during the closing months of the Vietnam War. Enlisting in the Navy at 19, I left a wife and newborn son to traverse the oceans of the globe to fight in America’s most unpopular war. I share many details of the living conditions on board a World War II era naval destroyer, the grind for our ship’s crew in supporting ground forces with naval gunfire as well as the strike attacks my ship made on enemy coastal defenses, and coming home at the end of the war. My story is somewhat emotional, but is also historically focused and informative about life in the military during the Vietnam War era, all filtered through the personal lens of a first-hand perspective. I wrote my story to revive the memory of an era of where many young men struck out into the world at a young age leaving the security of families behind, but often ended up serving in one of the military services due to the Vietnam draft system. I also tell of the sacrifices made by the crews of U.S. Navy destroyers in conducting combat operations along the coasts of South and North Vietnam, which has not been recognized, essentially flat out ignored, but definitely it is a story that now needs to be widely told.

George Trowbridge served over 20 years in the U.S. Navy, and retired from active service in 1992 as a Master Chief Petty Officer, Quartermaster with the Surface Warfare (SW) designation. He served at sea in five different destroyers or frigates and on coastal-river fast patrol boats, including the USS Rich. George completed seven overseas deployments, starting with Vietnam and ending with Desert Shield/Desert Storm. His shore tours were as a Navy recruiter in the Chicago metro area and later as a navigation instructor at the Navy’s Officer Candidate School. After retiring from the Navy, George sailed for several years as a Merchant Marine Officer on board various commercial merchant vessels. His experiences working on board merchant vessels prompted him to become a training provider for the maritime industry. George has founded two maritime training institutions and has managed two other similar institutions in the Gulf of Mexico region. George and his wife Janice live in Largo, Florida. He recently semi-retired, but still teaches marine technologies and ship navigation training courses part-time.

Age: 35-54,55+,18-34

Target Gender: Universal

Military active duty, veteran groups, Military and veteran families, Baby boomers and Millennials.

Status: Yes: with a Publisher

Publisher: Richter Publising, LLC

Year Published: 2018

Yes

ISBN-10 : 1945812362 ISBN-13 : 978-1945812361