by Jon Hovde and Maureen Anderson;
reviewed
by Clarence Schadegg
Left For Dead, A Second
Life After Vietnam received the Minnesota book award for Best Non-Fiction
for 2006. Actor Fess Parker said it was the best Vietnam account
he’d read in twenty years. The book
describes co-author Jon Hovde’s journey from a fully ambulatory
young man to a double amputation. Left For Dead is the 59-year-old
veteran’s poignant memoir. Hovde wouldn’t talk about his
experiences in Vietnam before he visited the Vietnam War Memorial.
Yet he says that after his visit to the wall “you couldn’t
shut me up.” Hovde was one of thousands of Vietnam Veterans at
the commemoration of the Vietnam Memorial on November 13, 1982. Secretary
of Defense Caspar Weinberger’s words at the time echoed what
many of the veterans felt but rarely said out loud.
“When your country called you, you came. When your country refused
your honor, you remained silent. With time our nation’s wounds
have healed. We have finally come to appreciate your sacrifices and
pay you the tribute you so richly deserve. Welcome home.”
These words reflect
Hovde’s life story. On January 8, 1968,
at 19 years of age, his tour of duty came to an abrupt end. An anti-tank
mine explosion ripped through the Armored Personnel Carrier he drove.
As he was pulled from the burning wreckage, he wasn’t expected
to live. His injuries were extremely severe and he lost a lot of blood. “When
I woke up six days later…I wanted to die. I knew right away
I’d lost an arm and a leg, but that wasn’t it. Everything
hurt so much. God it hurt.”
The medical treatment
he was given sometimes felt worse then his injuries. Hovde wasn’t sure he’d live, but if he did he wanted to
keep his three-part pledge with God: “I will have the fastest
car in Polk County, Minnesota; I will not be dependent on the government
(I didn’t know how I was going to become a productive member
of society given my amputations, but I knew I could figure that one
out.); and, I will make a difference with my life.”
Hovde met the first
two, and he’s still working
on the third. ![]()
Left For Dead is a powerful
story about what it took for one man to move forward as he healed
from physical and mental disability. Now an author, Hovde is also
a much sought-after public speaker. To get a copy of this book
and to know more about the author, go to www.jonhovde.com
