Charles J Sharps

This material was written by a former Shake'n'Bake, instant NCO who survived a year in the jungles of central Vietnam on search and destroy missions with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. It pays tribute to the soldiers he served with and expresses his feelings of responsibility for his men. It also lays bare his realization of the fine line between rational leadership, irrational killing, and young men conquering their daily fears in the elements knowing if they are exposed long enough to the enemy they are challenging the odds of survival. Through a potpourri of combat yarns, he gives extraordinary glimpses of the chancy and hard life of the airborne grunt that actually did the fighting. Included in One More Wake-Up, are stories about life after Vietnam where as a veteran remembering the past he copes with the present.