home

   My Name is America The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty By: Ellen Emerson White Wiki by: Lindsey Chamberlain



__Plot Synopsis: __ Patrick Flaherty, a young man from Boston, who decided to sign up for the US Marines on his eighteenth birthday, just as his dad, uncles, and grandfather have. He turned down two football scholarships to major colleges to fly over to Vietnam and join the war. Patrick was first shipped to Khe Sanh, Vietnam in 1968. Where he was stationed on Hill 881s. Once on the hill Patrick was known has the "new guy", clean, young and unexperienced. But after his first month he was excepted in his platoon, even though he had to go through a series of nicknames: "Boston", "Mick", and "Mighty Mouse". Since Hill 881s was right in the middle of the war, the men lived in trenches. At first Patrick disliked his trench mate (Bobop, a jazz musician who always carried a mouth piece in his pocket), but later they became each other's look out and loyal friends. Patrick gets his real first taste of death when another man in his platoon, Hollywood is killed from a bomb. Patrick once quoted in the book, "Doesn't feel like Boys with Toys this time- it feels like Men with Weapons". After a few months of fighting Patrick's platoon is finally relieved and is lifted out of Khe Sanh to Quang Tri. There the men are allowed to shower, given clean clothes, food, and a "safe" place to sleep. But during the night a bomb has hit the tent of Patrick's platoon. Patrick wakes up in the hosptial with a lung punctured, and other injuries. From this Patrick is allowed to leave the marines early and return to the United States. But during that night of the bombing Bebop was killed, leaving Patrick with a feeling of regret because he is alive and his buddy was killed. Patrick soon returned to the US, where he became part of the Boston Fire Department for twenty-five years. He married his high school sweet heart after returning home and had four childern. He never knew that joining the Marines meant growing up.

__Ellen Emerson White: __ Is an American author that writes novel for young adults. Her novels are usually Sports Biographies and Historical Fiction/Biography books. Ms. White's books are with realistic people who struggle with very difficult lives such as war, murder, kidnapping, or some other trouble. Many of her fiction novels feature characters who reside in Boston or are from Boston. Ms. White grew up in Narragansett, Rhode Island. She has written a series of other books including her first book, //Friends For Life//. She wrote four stories about the Echo Company in the midst of the Vietnam War under the pseudonym Zack Emerson. Ms.White got the name Zack from her shepherd dog. She has also written the Santa Paws series under the pseudonym Nicolas Edwards.

__My Thoughts: __ Personally I loved this novel. I first thought that reading a book about the Vietnam War would just bore me... But Honestly I could not put the book down. It was so easy to relate to Patrick. I would refer this book to anyone not just because I enjoyed this novel but the fact I actually learned true facts about the Vietnam War I never knew before. I have seen the memorials for this war but after reading this book I have realized how much we should honor the Vietnam veterans.