Troubled Hero: A Medal of Honor, Vietnam, and the War at Home

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication

TroubledHero TroubledHero A Medal of Honor, Vietnam, and the War at Home Randy K. Mills Indiana University Press b l o o m i n g t o n a n d i n d i a n a p o l i s This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2006 by Randy K. Mills All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kays, Kenneth M., (Kenneth Michael), 1949–1991 Troubled hero : a medal of honor, Vietnam, and the war at home / Randy K. Mills. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-253-34795-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Kays, Kenneth M., (Kenneth Michael), 1949–1991 2. Medal of Honor—Biography . 3. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961–1975—Veterans— United States—Biography. 4. United States. Army—Medical personnel—Biography. 5. United States. Army. Airborne Division, 101st—Biography. 6. Post-traumatic stress disorder —Patients—United States—Biography. I. Title. U53.K39M556 2006 959.704'37—dc22 2006006950 1 2 3 4 5 11 10 09 08 07 06 To those who endured that darkest of nights on Fire Support Base Maureen, 7 May 1970, and to those who died there: Robert Berger, Peter Cook, Lawrence Fletcher, Jose Gonzalez, Lloyd Jackson, Robert Lohenry, and Joseph Redmond. And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is . . . tender-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren’s heart [in war] faint as well as his heart. Deuteronomy 20:8 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. Romans 13:7 Show me a hero and I’ll show you a tragedy. Anonymous ...