American Boys

In the middle of a dark night off the coast of Vietnam on June 3, 1969, the USS Frank E. Evans is rammed by a ship ten times her size, sending her forward half to the bottom of the South China Sea and into oblivion. Seventy-four Americans are killed in the mysterious collision. The truth is confined to a footnote of the Vietnam War. Buried in obscurity even today, as the 74 names of those killed are not on the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. In American Boys, journalist Louise Esola has uncovered and pieced together a powerful story. Groundbreaking and astonishing in scope, American Boys is a tale of heartbreak and perseverance. It's the story of a shattering injustice, of love and healing, and of a great generation of those who fought and vowed to never forget, though their nation has. "... a classic story of men and war."   —Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times "...new light on a tragic chapter of the Vietnam War." —Joseph L. Galloway, We Were Soldiers Once...and Young