MWSA Book Review

The Other Casualty of War

Author:  Paul Bylin

Publisher:  Publish America

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A No-Holds Barred Memoir of PTSD Vietnam Veteran

Author Paul Bylin doesn’t try to portray himself as some sort of innocent angel who is lead off into war in the 1960’s nor does he claim to be any kind of a hero.  He does however; show us in his gripping book, “The Other Causality Of War,” the human failings of a young high school drop-out from the inner city, trying to come to grips with the life and death reality of the Vietnam War!  To Paul it became a lifelong battle between inner rage, guilt and at times, sanity and sobriety.

Most of us veteran advocates knew little of the man, Paul Bylin, who in the 1990’s did so much to call public attention and awareness to the MIA/POW cause.  All most of us knew about Paul was that he was emotionally charged with getting the facts out about those missing men in Vietnam.  But there is so much more about this man that you will learn when you read his brief memoir.  He really hangs it all out there and exposes himself to the reader and to the public at large.  His personal and emotional confessions show courage and at times, some very hard learned wisdom that his experiences have gifted him to understand.

He battled back from drugs and booze and depression to share his personal tale.  I think many veterans will be able to relate to his words and what he has gone through.  More than half of the book deals with his time on his two “tours of duty” in Nam but the most moving stuff comes when he returns state-side again and has to face the rest of his life.

This book is not suitable for all readers but it is highly recommended for families, friends and the veterans themselves who are dealing with PTSD issues.  There may be a message and some life lessons to be learned within these pages.

Synopsis

As a young teenager, Paul thought school was a waste of time.  He quit school to find out what the world had in store for him.  After many odd jobs he decided to take control of his destiny and join the Army.  He takes you through the emotions of boot camp, the orders to go to Vietnam, and the loneliness of being thousands of miles away from his friends and family.  He also recalls the fear, the noise, and the death that surrounded him during his two tours.  When his tour was over he thought that he would resume a normal life.  Now, thirty-plus years later, he realizes that the war never ended for him.  He continues to fight and dream every day and night.  He hopes to reach out to those that served and remind them, those who have never seen war, that freedom is not free.