AN ELOQUENT APPEAL TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AS THEY RETURN HOME

AN ELOQUENT APPEAL TO SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AS THEY RETURN HOME

Book: “Fishing With Hand Grenades”

by John P. Allen

Ari Pontz has recently published “Fishing With Hand Grenades,” a book based on the true story of an eighteenyear-old US Marine who fights for his life in Vietnam in 1968, and must then battle his own inner demons in the conflict’s aftermath.

The story contains a first-hand account of the war experience and post-war battle for survival of “Danny Sullivan,” a working-class teenager from Philadelphia. It is filled with brutal combat action, heartwarming anecdotes of friendship and brotherhood, and detailed descriptions of life in the trenches in Vietnam. From Dan’s enrollment in the Marine Corps while a high school senior, through his grueling Marine training and the harrowing tour he served in Vietnam, to the adversity he faced when he returned home, the riveting story describes a young man struggling through the worst of circumstances to survive a war he had never intended to fight.

The book also closely examines the underlying factors that made returning home such an ordeal for many Vietnam veterans, and challenges Americans, now confronted with a comparable situation as a growing number of US soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan, to learn from history.

According to Pontz, the book is unique insofar as it relates a Marine’s experience through the eyes of another eighteen-year-old (Pontz began the manuscript as a high school senior, and completed it, for the most part, during his four years as a student at Penn State).

Pontz notes that the reader will find the story “uplifting, will be humbled by the courage and sacrifice it depicts, and will gain a new respect for the American foot soldier.”To learn more, you can read the book jacket and an excerpt. 

Buy the Book on Amazon.com

About the Author:  Ari Pontz was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, and continues to live in the Philadelphia area with his wife, Corey. He is a 1999 graduate of Penn State University and a portfolio manager and partner in an investment management company.