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Above The Fold - February 22, 2010
Courageous Vietnam War Vet
And Insightful True-Life Author
Gary Prisk was educated at The University of Washington and enjoys side trips to the Army's Ranger School and Airborne School. He spent a bit of time in the Vietnam War as a grunt with the storied 173rd Airborne Brigade and eventually found sanctuary in construction and writing.
Gary's army career was influenced by "The Major" who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day - and his father was one of Field Marshal Montgomery's personal liaison officers.
Gary's writing has been influenced by the brothers Wallace and Charles Kuralt.
To learn more about Gary, visit his website at:
Gary's army career was influenced by "The Major" who landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day - and his father was one of Field Marshal Montgomery's personal liaison officers.
Gary's writing has been influenced by the brothers Wallace and Charles Kuralt.
To learn more about Gary, visit his website at:
BOOK VIDEO TRAILER:
Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt
(Gary Prisk)
Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt
(Gary Prisk)
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Gary Prisk (Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt)
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Gary. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book with our readers.
What inspired you to craft this semi-autobiographical novel about the Vietnamese conflict?
Gary Prisk: Searching for a way to honor my father's service in WWII, I found that I wanted to also toast the honor of my comrades. Comparing memories of my father and memories of combat turned out to be a natural contrast. Novelizing my story came at the insistence of two brothers, Wallace and Charles Kuralt. Edits from Wallace and insightful side-bars from Charles. As an aside, this was "Vietnam's war"... not "The Vietnam War"... or "The Vietnamese Conflict". Subtle perhaps... in my view a critical distinction.
AR: Was it difficult for you to recount some of the harsher experiences that you had during your time of service?
GP: No is the short answer. Infantry combat is a deeply personal and deeply scarring experience. Memories of these times lose bits and pieces over the years. I can see most of the detail simply by closing my eyes.
AR: What's the significance of the book's title?
GP: The story ties my father's experience in WWII to my experience in Vietnam. Diggers and Grunts fought Vietnam's war. Dogfaces and Brownjobs fought World War II. Each is a common moniker for an infantryman. Digger is Australian, Dogface is American, Brownjob is British, and Grunt is American.
AR: Over the years, many books have been written about the various aspects of the Vietnam War. What can our readers look forward to in Digger Dogface that sets it apart from other offerings?
GP: Most authors use words to "tell" the reader a story. I prefer to use fiction elements such as theme, dialogue, characterization, and dramatic unity, all built around my experiences, to "show" the reader my story. People want to read about people... their struggles and their dreams. Every reader, male or female, will find someone they know is this book. Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt must be read twice for the reader to understand the depth of combat's scar... for the reader to embrace the image of an evil liquid center.
AR: What's the main message that you'd like readers to take away from the book?
GP: When an infantryman joins his unit in combat, the first thing he loses is his Christian name. Tagged with a nick-name, Pops, Ski, Boo and the like, the next thing he loses is his soul. If he dies in combat his nick-name will carry on in the hearts of his comrades. If he lives, his memories will joust with his guilt and keep his soul from gaining ground.
Infantrymen get all of the memories... suspended in a frame where death may come with a this step or that... days or weeks on end... the gunfight and the killing is a welcome interlude, followed by the incremental decay of the man's spirit. The infantryman is the only one in the Defense Department mix that can kill the wrong person... proximity means he can be tried for murder. Your soldier can not sort out your country's mess... nobility be damned. And so, the infantryman will never come home. His family may wish it wasn't so...
AR: We noticed that you're currently working on two high-action novels about World War II. What can our readers look forward to in them?
GP: I am completing a story set in 1939 London, New York, Geneva, Alexandria, Rangoon and Singapore. Three story threads tie gold & currency arbitrage, British Special Operations Groups, and Nazi business consortiums into a tangle of fast-paced intrigue. Book three is formatted into a critical path. I am transforming my father's exploits from London, Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, into a fictional account. Being true to my father's honor will make this one a tough go... research.
AR: In addition to your tour in Vietnam, you also served during Desert Storm. Please share more with us about your experiences in that conflict.
GP: When Iraq invaded Kuwait I was serving on active duty as the Reserve-Component Chief of the Battle Coordination Center for Seventh Army Corps in Stuttgart, Germany. One of eighty-two reserve officers titled Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMA's) I was the ranking reserve officer assigned to Seventh Corps.
That day we began organizing the deployment of our forward medical units and our Apache Helicopter units to Italy for the short hop to Saudi Arabia. The mission-driver was that Iraq intended to take over the Saudi oil fields.
After nineteen days of deployment activities, all eighty-two IMA's were sent home and placed on a twenty-four hour stand-by for re-deployment to Saudi Arabia. This stand-by status was maintained until January 10th. All IMA officers were replaced by active duty personnel for the 100-hour blitz we call Dessert Storm.
I retired from the Army Reserve in 1994.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
GP: www.garypriskauthor.com
AR: How can they contact you directly?
GP: Readers can e-mail me at: diggerdogface@yahoo.com
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
GP: Yes. A veteran of war is unique. Their memory is filled with personal treasures... bits of time the veteran visits alone. Don't be offended... this process will never end. Listen when your veteran shares a story... it means he trusts you with a bit of his heart... it means his soul is winning its battle. Don't worry if the story changes over the years... your soldier's memory is just mixing the bits. Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt is a story for the soldier's family... his friends. Your soldier is in the story and you will smile when you find him.
AR: Thanks again, Gary, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Gary. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book with our readers.
What inspired you to craft this semi-autobiographical novel about the Vietnamese conflict?
Gary Prisk: Searching for a way to honor my father's service in WWII, I found that I wanted to also toast the honor of my comrades. Comparing memories of my father and memories of combat turned out to be a natural contrast. Novelizing my story came at the insistence of two brothers, Wallace and Charles Kuralt. Edits from Wallace and insightful side-bars from Charles. As an aside, this was "Vietnam's war"... not "The Vietnam War"... or "The Vietnamese Conflict". Subtle perhaps... in my view a critical distinction.
AR: Was it difficult for you to recount some of the harsher experiences that you had during your time of service?
GP: No is the short answer. Infantry combat is a deeply personal and deeply scarring experience. Memories of these times lose bits and pieces over the years. I can see most of the detail simply by closing my eyes.
AR: What's the significance of the book's title?
GP: The story ties my father's experience in WWII to my experience in Vietnam. Diggers and Grunts fought Vietnam's war. Dogfaces and Brownjobs fought World War II. Each is a common moniker for an infantryman. Digger is Australian, Dogface is American, Brownjob is British, and Grunt is American.
AR: Over the years, many books have been written about the various aspects of the Vietnam War. What can our readers look forward to in Digger Dogface that sets it apart from other offerings?
GP: Most authors use words to "tell" the reader a story. I prefer to use fiction elements such as theme, dialogue, characterization, and dramatic unity, all built around my experiences, to "show" the reader my story. People want to read about people... their struggles and their dreams. Every reader, male or female, will find someone they know is this book. Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt must be read twice for the reader to understand the depth of combat's scar... for the reader to embrace the image of an evil liquid center.
AR: What's the main message that you'd like readers to take away from the book?
GP: When an infantryman joins his unit in combat, the first thing he loses is his Christian name. Tagged with a nick-name, Pops, Ski, Boo and the like, the next thing he loses is his soul. If he dies in combat his nick-name will carry on in the hearts of his comrades. If he lives, his memories will joust with his guilt and keep his soul from gaining ground.
Infantrymen get all of the memories... suspended in a frame where death may come with a this step or that... days or weeks on end... the gunfight and the killing is a welcome interlude, followed by the incremental decay of the man's spirit. The infantryman is the only one in the Defense Department mix that can kill the wrong person... proximity means he can be tried for murder. Your soldier can not sort out your country's mess... nobility be damned. And so, the infantryman will never come home. His family may wish it wasn't so...
AR: We noticed that you're currently working on two high-action novels about World War II. What can our readers look forward to in them?
GP: I am completing a story set in 1939 London, New York, Geneva, Alexandria, Rangoon and Singapore. Three story threads tie gold & currency arbitrage, British Special Operations Groups, and Nazi business consortiums into a tangle of fast-paced intrigue. Book three is formatted into a critical path. I am transforming my father's exploits from London, Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, into a fictional account. Being true to my father's honor will make this one a tough go... research.
AR: In addition to your tour in Vietnam, you also served during Desert Storm. Please share more with us about your experiences in that conflict.
GP: When Iraq invaded Kuwait I was serving on active duty as the Reserve-Component Chief of the Battle Coordination Center for Seventh Army Corps in Stuttgart, Germany. One of eighty-two reserve officers titled Individual Mobilization Augmentees (IMA's) I was the ranking reserve officer assigned to Seventh Corps.
That day we began organizing the deployment of our forward medical units and our Apache Helicopter units to Italy for the short hop to Saudi Arabia. The mission-driver was that Iraq intended to take over the Saudi oil fields.
After nineteen days of deployment activities, all eighty-two IMA's were sent home and placed on a twenty-four hour stand-by for re-deployment to Saudi Arabia. This stand-by status was maintained until January 10th. All IMA officers were replaced by active duty personnel for the 100-hour blitz we call Dessert Storm.
I retired from the Army Reserve in 1994.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
GP: www.garypriskauthor.com
AR: How can they contact you directly?
GP: Readers can e-mail me at: diggerdogface@yahoo.com
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
GP: Yes. A veteran of war is unique. Their memory is filled with personal treasures... bits of time the veteran visits alone. Don't be offended... this process will never end. Listen when your veteran shares a story... it means he trusts you with a bit of his heart... it means his soul is winning its battle. Don't worry if the story changes over the years... your soldier's memory is just mixing the bits. Digger Dogface Brownjob Grunt is a story for the soldier's family... his friends. Your soldier is in the story and you will smile when you find him.
AR: Thanks again, Gary, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!