Along the Way - Ross, Thomas A

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Résumé :
Along the Way is a collection of bright uplifting stories about wartime service during one of the most negative and controversial periods in American history. Soldiers did not commit the U.S. military to war in Vietnam. However, young Americans bore the brunt of that commitment on both foreign battlefields and in their own hometowns when they returned. Not only did the soldiers fight battles against an enemy who hated them, but upon returning home they often faced countrymen who seemed to hate them as well. Few Americans who served in Southeast Asia were pot smoking, cursing, killing machines, as they have too often been portrayed. Most were warm and sensitive sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers who had traveled far from their homes to help a country in its fight for freedom. The great majority of the more than three million men and women who spent time in Vietnam were decent people who either felt they were fulfilling their patriotic duty or simply believed they were serving their country. Most of them were young, either still in or scarcely out of their teens when they were asked to shoulder heavy responsibility and face life-and-death situations, some of them on a daily basis. Along the Way is a firsthand account of the many acts of selfless heroism and courage witnessed a young Special Forces (Green Beret) military adviser during his tour of duty in a surprisingly picturesque Southeast Asian nation. These are stories that others have said made them proud to be an American.

Biographie:
Thomas A. (Tom) Ross, was raised in Pensacola, Florida where he lived with his family and attended college until he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966. After receiving a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Tom applied to and was accepted by the U.S. Army Special Forces, the elite unit also known as the Green Berets. Compelled to serve at a time when our country's involvement in Southeast Asia was escalating, Tom volunteered for service in Vietnam. After more than a year of unconventional warfare training, Tom was sent to South Vietnam as a military adviser. He arrived in-country during the infamous 1968 Tet Offensive that involved simultaneous enemy attacks all over South Vietnam. He was immediately assigned a combat position as the Operations and Intelligence Officer of Detachment A-502, the largest Special Forces A Team ever formed. These positions provided Tom with a unique vantage point from which he was able to observe both men and women as they coped with their wartime assignments. Upon returning home to the United States, Tom was shocked when he learned that American civilians were spitting on the uniforms of other returning soldiers while hurling hateful epithets at them. In response, he immediately began writing Privileges of War, a book that told good stories of the selfless and courageous deeds that he witnessed in Vietnam. After earning the rank of Major during military service, Tom took on less aggressive, more refined, more sophisticated roles. For several years, he served as the vice-president of his family's custom-design jewelry firm in Pensacola, very different from his military exploits. Then, with two undergraduate degrees and a master's degree, and with years of experience, Tom sought larger arenas in which to work. With his family's blessing, he found those arenas and served as an executive with two world-renowned jewelry companies. And, at one, he enjoyed pastries and tea with Audrey Hepburn during a Breakfast at Tiffany that he hosted in her honor-not something you typically expect of a former Green Beret. Tom's unique life experiences have resulted in invitations as a guest speaker as well as appearances on CNN, CNBC, NBC, and ABC television. He has also been a guest on various talk radio stations across the country. Today, Tom is the President and CEO of his own successful custom-design jewelry firm, The Ross Jewelry Company, in Atlanta, Georgia. Not surprisingly, he remains extremely dedicated to family, friends, community, and country. Tom and his wife, Amy, live in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.