SKI: MEMOIRS OF A VIETNAM VET

BY A. L. SUTTON

The war did not end for Ralph. It resumes on even the slightest provocation: A tree line on a freeway instantly becomes a place where enemy fire erupts from, and rain brings back vivid memories of the horrors of war in the jungles of Vietnam.

After years of debilitating stress caused by PTSD from his service in Vietnam, Ralph has made a chilling decision. Strategically situated in a high-rise apartment building, he will make the citizens of Los Angeles pay for all of his suffering and disrespect, as well as the suffering of all of his fellow Marine Corps vets.

In both prose and haunting poetry, we follow Ralph on a fascinating journey of war with first-hand accounts of battles at the height of the Vietnam War, and a thriller inner-battle that awaited him, on the home front. Despite the odds, Ralph discovers a more powerful weapon that will defeat all of his enemies and change his life forever.

Arnold Lee (Al) Sutton was born March 24, 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri. His mother, Geneva, was only 18 years old at the time and was more like a sister than a mother. Al’s true mother figure was his grandmother, Bettie—he never knew his father. In 1966, Al joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served two 13 month tours in Vietnam. He was highly decorated as a helicopter crew chief. In 1989, he began to suffer the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During both outpatient and inpatient treatment, Al wrote poetry as well as short stories as a way to cope with the stress of his condition. “Ski” is the result of his self-treatment. Al currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Sarah. He is a deacon at Solid Rock Baptist Church.