Undesirable : the Vietnam War and a father's battle for justice / Laura Kalpakian.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kalpakian, Laura, 1945- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Veterans--United States--Biography.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal narratives, American.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Psychological aspects.

Military discharge--United States.

Military discharge.

Psychological aspects.

Veterans.

Johnson, Doug, 1950-2021.

Johnson, Doug.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies

Personal narratives

Personal narratives -- American

Personal narratives.

Physical Description:

vii, 309 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, 2026.

Summary:

"The powerful true story of a parent's unflagging battle on behalf of a beloved son struggling with PTSD, mental illness, and addiction and a family who bore the burdens of war for decades. In January 1969, angry after a fight with his father, nineteen-year-old Doug Johnson-in what will be a fateful choice-decides to enlist in the Army. Once in Vietnam as a point man, Doug becomes addicted to speed and heroin, goes AWOL multiple times, and is court martialed and imprisoned. In order to avoid a second court martial, he agrees to accept an "undesirable" discharge that denies him veterans' benefits and any recognition of his wartime service. In late August 1970, drugged, malnourished, and clutching the sandal of a dead Viet Cong, Doug staggers off a plane into the arms of his father. But Doug's return home is only the beginning of this story. The core of Undesirable recounts another war: Doug's father against the US Army. For three years, he fights to have his son's "undesirable" discharge changed to "honorable." Half a century later Laura Kalpakian-devoted daughter and sister-exhumes the evidence her father collected. From this trove of documents she assembles a heartbreaking story of a father's love for his son and a son's experience at war. Undesirable: A Father's Odyssey demands that we ask what we-and our government-owe to our veterans for the physical, psychological, and emotional sacrifices they and their families make"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The Sandal

The Safe

Righting Wrongs

Before

"Scared Shitless"

"Dad Will Do Something, Dad Will Do Something"

"Light Still Shining Upon My Lost Soul"

"I Keep Looking for a Hand to Guide Me"

"I Will Have Completely Emerged into a Totally New Person"

"My Boy Must Be Saved"

"I Pray, Mr President that you will intercede"

"If the Opium Didn't Kill Me, the VC Would"

"Please in the name of God, do something today"

"An outstanding and very beautiful individual"

"The problem of course is what should be done with Private Johnson"

The Undesirable is undeserved

"The General was not aware"

"Shame and Trepidation"

The Wait

The Epidemic

"A New Man"

The Armenian Connection

The Fifteen Point Silver Bullet

Victory-and Surrender

After

"A Scar in the Canyons of My Memory"

Coda

Timeline.

ISBN:

9780826369796

0826369790

OCLC:

1577230684

Publisher Number:

90104891763