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My 89 yr old Dad, Wally is his name and he has dementia. He really doesn't enjoy doing much these days and will just sit for hours unless we change it up for him. The other day, I was reading The Book and Dad pipes up...What you reading"? Long story shorter, I started reading to him and He loves the book. He laughed so much at the cussing and all and told me he was in the navy, and Yes , you must cuss like a .....Sailor. He wants me to read It all the time now and has his favorite chapters too. He has some really interesting comments about the captain, as you may imagine and could just not comprehend how the man could condone killing children. This has really been great. You struck a chord I think. Dad now has something he looks forward to...when he remembers....Thanks Mushroom.
This book deals with my own awakening to the reality of war and the moral questions that war raises. Fighting in war is a messy and bloody business. We face a moral dilemma with our first kill. We are all taught that hurting people and certainly killing people is wrong. When we are put into a position where killing is "necessary", our moral compass goes haywire and we have to deal with it, not only in that moment, but for the rest of our lives.
Author's Bio.
- MUSHROOM MONTOYA
- Mushroom Montoya circumnavigated the globe aboard the USS Trippe DE1075 after killing soldiers, woman and children in Viet Nam. Now, as a shaman, he heals the planet one person at a time. Mushroom Montoya has an active shamanic healing practice in Long Beach, California and he teaches at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal State Univ. Long Beach.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Wally Brightens Up
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Vietnam Veterans of American Books in Review II
Vietnam Body Count by Mushroom Montoya
Montoya served two tours in Vietnam aboard the USS Trippe (DE 1075) and the USS Truxton (DLGN 35). In his creatively written memoir, Vietnam Body Count (CreateSpace,
370 pp., $17, paper), Montoya tells us that after killing soldiers,
women, and children in Vietnam, he circumnavigated the globe.
Montoya’s worked in “R” (Repair) gangs on board his Navy ships. He fixed things such as broken plumbing. His job was to keep a ship from sinking and he also fought shipboard fires. They called him a snipe.
This memoir, which reads very much like a novel, pays homage to Herman Wouk’s classic shipboard novel, The Caine Mutiny. The main plot is the tension between Chief Jaffe and Mushroom Montoya, whom Jaffe decides is a “peacenik” and must be gotten off his ship by any means possible.
Jaffe tries again and again to frame Montoya as a drug user, which he is not. Mushroom is a guy who showed up for this stint in the Navy, his second, with hair down to his shoulders. He burns up his rage at the killing by running around and around the ship’s smokestack screaming. He also meditates, which seems suspicious to the chief. Montoya, who is from California, even has a mantra.
The captain of the ship, as we are alerted by the title, is obsessed with getting a positive body count. He is a Commander, not a Captain, and also is obsessed with making Captain. Unfortunately, his ship has killed friendly villagers and American and South Vietnamese soldiers, which has given the ship a negative body count.
To get the body count up, the captain decides to bomb a Catholic church during Sunday morning mass. Intel indicates that the VC are hiding ammo under the floor of the church. Montoya and friends decide to alert the priest that the attack is coming so that the church will be empty when the bombs hit. Montoya is told that it would be tantamount to treason to give this information to the priest.
Montoya’s efforts to thwart his captain’s goals are fueled by letters from his friend Kathy, who asks him if he is the sort of guy who took part in the My Lai Massacre and the napalming of Vietnamese children. She says that she hopes “he is not involved in stuff like that.”
Of course, the purpose of war is to kill, so he is involved in stuff like that. All of us who were there were involved.
Montoya holds forth about the purpose of the Vietnam War. He says we were not there to stop the spread of communism, but “we’re pouring [money] into the pockets of the cigar smoking fatties at Dow Chemical.” He goes on to say: “We’re killing the Vietnamese so that American business can thrive.”
I was pleased when Jane Fonda was addressed as a subject in this philosophical war memoir. Mushroom says he was proud of her when she was in Hanoi trying to stop the war. Montoya agrees with Fonda, and praises her and her film Barbarella.
Chief Jaffe, on the other hand says, “She’s a fucking traitor. I hope they shoot the bitch.” Montoya replies, “She has big balls.”
For readers who enjoyed The Caine Mutiny and want to read a book similar to it in many ways—but which takes part in the Vietnam War—this is the book for you. I found it a refreshing contrast so many Vietnam War memoirs that laud the American war in Vietnam, but forget about all the innocent villagers who died from being shelled, and the many American soldiers who died as a result of indiscriminate friendly fire.
Blasting a Roman Catholic Church off the face of the earth on Sunday morning was not an effective way to win hearts and minds or defeat the spread of communism.
The author’s website is http://vietnambodycount.blogspot.com
—David Willson
https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/tag/mushroom-montoya/
Montoya’s worked in “R” (Repair) gangs on board his Navy ships. He fixed things such as broken plumbing. His job was to keep a ship from sinking and he also fought shipboard fires. They called him a snipe.
This memoir, which reads very much like a novel, pays homage to Herman Wouk’s classic shipboard novel, The Caine Mutiny. The main plot is the tension between Chief Jaffe and Mushroom Montoya, whom Jaffe decides is a “peacenik” and must be gotten off his ship by any means possible.
Jaffe tries again and again to frame Montoya as a drug user, which he is not. Mushroom is a guy who showed up for this stint in the Navy, his second, with hair down to his shoulders. He burns up his rage at the killing by running around and around the ship’s smokestack screaming. He also meditates, which seems suspicious to the chief. Montoya, who is from California, even has a mantra.
The captain of the ship, as we are alerted by the title, is obsessed with getting a positive body count. He is a Commander, not a Captain, and also is obsessed with making Captain. Unfortunately, his ship has killed friendly villagers and American and South Vietnamese soldiers, which has given the ship a negative body count.
To get the body count up, the captain decides to bomb a Catholic church during Sunday morning mass. Intel indicates that the VC are hiding ammo under the floor of the church. Montoya and friends decide to alert the priest that the attack is coming so that the church will be empty when the bombs hit. Montoya is told that it would be tantamount to treason to give this information to the priest.
Montoya’s efforts to thwart his captain’s goals are fueled by letters from his friend Kathy, who asks him if he is the sort of guy who took part in the My Lai Massacre and the napalming of Vietnamese children. She says that she hopes “he is not involved in stuff like that.”
Of course, the purpose of war is to kill, so he is involved in stuff like that. All of us who were there were involved.
Montoya holds forth about the purpose of the Vietnam War. He says we were not there to stop the spread of communism, but “we’re pouring [money] into the pockets of the cigar smoking fatties at Dow Chemical.” He goes on to say: “We’re killing the Vietnamese so that American business can thrive.”
I was pleased when Jane Fonda was addressed as a subject in this philosophical war memoir. Mushroom says he was proud of her when she was in Hanoi trying to stop the war. Montoya agrees with Fonda, and praises her and her film Barbarella.
Chief Jaffe, on the other hand says, “She’s a fucking traitor. I hope they shoot the bitch.” Montoya replies, “She has big balls.”
For readers who enjoyed The Caine Mutiny and want to read a book similar to it in many ways—but which takes part in the Vietnam War—this is the book for you. I found it a refreshing contrast so many Vietnam War memoirs that laud the American war in Vietnam, but forget about all the innocent villagers who died from being shelled, and the many American soldiers who died as a result of indiscriminate friendly fire.
Blasting a Roman Catholic Church off the face of the earth on Sunday morning was not an effective way to win hearts and minds or defeat the spread of communism.
The author’s website is http://vietnambodycount.blogspot.com
—David Willson
https://vvabooks.wordpress.com/tag/mushroom-montoya/
Monday, October 21, 2013
The US Navy Has a Proud Tradition of Serving Our Country
My book is not intended to disgrace the Navy veterans who served their country, nor is it my intention to disgrace the Navy.
99.9% of those
of us, who served, did so with honor. My father served in the Navy in WWII. My
sister (who is 15 years younger than I am) served in the Navy and so did my first
born son.
My book is an anti-war book, not an anti-Navy book.
My book is an anti-war book, not an anti-Navy book.
Even
in the best institutions, individuals go astray and they bring disgrace to their
organizations.
Individuals in any organization sometimes discover things that most of the other members of the organization are not aware of. They can choose to keep it to themselves or they can choose to tell others. Sometimes they wait, letting time pass before they tell anyone.
Individuals in any organization sometimes discover things that most of the other members of the organization are not aware of. They can choose to keep it to themselves or they can choose to tell others. Sometimes they wait, letting time pass before they tell anyone.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Emailed Reviews
From Eileen Bossarte - Spetember 20, 2013
Hi! This is Eileen from your early Osher days. I don't have an Amazon account & had my son order your book. Now I can't put my two cents in on Amazon but had to let you know how much I appreciated it.
So many levels. But the sun came out every morning. Thank
you for the beautiful descriptions. They acted as a counterweight for
the rest. Although the book is about the Viet Nam war, I found your
drawing of the bias you met acted as a balloon that hung over all. At
least when not stuck on a ship you can turn it off. No wonder you had
your nightly scream. (When life starts welling up on me I think of you
and your persistent screaming & it helps.)
Hi! This is Eileen from your early Osher days. I don't have an Amazon account & had my son order your book. Now I can't put my two cents in on Amazon but had to let you know how much I appreciated it.
From Dirk Brennecke - October 31,2014A few months back, I read and very much appreciated “Viet Nam Body Count”.
It provides very vivid reading, and reminded me of All Quiet on the Western Front and For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Reviews from Barnes and Noble
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Anonymous Posted August 30, 2013
Wonderful book. So honest and compelling. The story unfolds so
Wonderful book. So honest and compelling. The story unfolds so naturally and you are drawn into the hearts and minds of the characters. I know this had to have been a very cathartic mission for the author. What a marvelous testament to the lives of all those who live this story for real. Looking forward to the next book from this author.
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Anonymous Posted August 31, 2013
A poignant, well-written account of the impact of the Viet Nam
A poignant, well-written account of the impact of the Viet Nam experience on an intelligent, idealistic young man with a strong moral character as he confronts morality with ambition and profits, ignorance and bigotry. The indiscriminate dehumanization of young children as efficient targets and events such as the delay in a Friday order to bomb a Catholic church until Sunday Mass to maximize the body count shake the author and this reader to the core. I would highly recommend this book for its compelling account of that time and continuing lessons for today.___________________________________________________________
Seattle Times article by Jerry Large
_____________________________________________
By 989vet Seattle, WASeptember 16, 2013 at 9:05 AM
Rating:
(2) Thanks Brother Montoya. Thanks, Jerry.
Rating:
(2) Thanks Brother Montoya. Thanks, Jerry._______________________________________________
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Vietnam vet puts his screams into words
Montoya is serene and witty, a Navy veteran, retired architect, father, community volunteer and now an author who has put into words some of what made him scream as a young man.
He’s written a book, “Viet Nam Body Count,” which he calls a slightly fictionalized account of his two tours of duty during that war. It is painful, funny sometimes, and it manages to give a realistic sense of young men at war.
Montoya’s father served in the Navy during World War II, and Montoya signed up when he turned 18, ready to do his part. But cranking up body counts so that superiors would look good wasn’t what he had in mind.
In the book, his ship, the USS John Trippe, joins a line of ships just off the coast of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1971. Montoya was 22 by then and the spotter for the ship’s big gun one day. It was his job to watch the beach through a pair of giant binoculars mounted on a tripod and to identify targets for the gunner.
Montoya saw three young boys carrying a box along the beach. The gunner, who should have waited for Montoya to say whether or not they were enemy combatants, fired on them. Montoya yelled for him to stop, but the gunner fired again. The gunner, a freckle-faced kid, climbed out of the gun mount smiling and celebrating the three kills.
When Montoya said they were civilians, the gunner accused him of spoiling the moment. “ ‘They’re not boys,’ he shrieked, his cheeks turning red. ‘They’re not people, they are just targets! Damn it! I couldn’t do my job if they were people.’ ”
Later that day, Montoya heard the captain say he’d get a promotion if body counts were high enough. That’s when Montoya climbed up to the deck and started running around the smokestack screaming. It became a cleansing and coping ritual for him after dinner each day.
His crewmates got used to it, and most talked about the craziness of what they were doing as the quest for more bodies increased. Killing enemy soldiers was war, but blowing up a village, blowing up a church to raise the body count was something else.
I met Montoya a decade ago because of his volunteer work and wrote a column about him in 2003 when he was a project manager for the federal General Services Administration (GSA). He retired in 2008, and he and his wife, Denise, moved to Long Beach, Calif., to care for her mother. But they’re in town to visit friends and give a couple of readings. We talked about the book before a reading at Midori Teriyaki Wok in Auburn.
Montoya spent four years in a Catholic seminary high school and said what he learned there put him in two camps: He was taught to do his duty, and he was taught all life is sacred. In Vietnam, he said, those two mindsets created “a conflict I wasn’t able to reconcile. That’s why I ran around screaming.”
And his patriotism, instilled by his father, ran deep. “The only question I had about the military was which branch to join.”
Montoya performed his duty to the best of his ability, despite his misgivings, and it pained him every day. He sought and received an early discharge, but only after serving two tours in Vietnam.
He always liked writing and thought from the start he’d like to do a book about his experiences, so he had asked friends and relatives to save the letters he was sending them.
His initial plan was to give them to a relative who was a writer and have her put something together. But his time in Vietnam didn’t turn out the way he imagined, so he put the idea aside.
He carried on with his life, eventually becoming an architect for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Long Beach. In 1991, his wife got a job in King County and they moved to Renton, and he went to work for the GSA.
His oldest son, Jeremy, had followed his grandfather, father and aunt into the Navy straight out of high school. After his enlistment, he joined the Naval Reserve while attending college.
One weekend heading back to his reserve unit from lunch, his motorcycle collided with a car. Jeremy was 20.
The Montoyas donated his organs and they became active in supporting organ donation.
Montoya dedicated the book to parents who have lost children no matter what side of the Vietnam War they were on, as well as to soldiers and civilians who died or were harmed. “We suffer for the rest of your lives when our children die,” he said.
For years, he would choke up at the thought of Vietnam. He volunteered at the VA, but that was emotionally difficult for him. Change came though. He was being treated after a second heart attack, and the doctors at the VA hospital suggested he join a group for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), something he’d never considered.
“That became my safety net,” he said.
Visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., helped, too, as did the coping tools he learned, after his son’s death, from The Compassionate Friends, an organization that supports families that have experienced the death of a child.
A friend invited him to join a writers group, and two years ago he started writing the book. The first year he would write a chapter as he thought of incidents. Sometimes it became too painful, and Denise would suggest he write about something funny. The second year he took all the chapters and put them together and edited them.
Writing didn’t put the pain to rest, he said, but he hopes it will help people think of war differently. There ought to be better ways to resolve conflicts, he said.
He’s pretty sure most people know by now that comparing body counts isn’t the right way.
Jerry Large’s column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/vietnam-vet-puts-his-screams-into-words/
Reviews of Jerry Large's Seattle Times Article
Rating:
From the sound of things, Mushroom Montoya has the same condition, which compels someone to write in order to come to terms with reality, in whatever genre he or she choses, fiction or non-fiction. Writers such as he is, are always very important, in part to help us understand history; and hopefully, apply it to current events and understand them in context.
If he never writes another book, the one he's written will help more people than he might ever know. It will help those who were born years after the Vietnam war, understand what it was like to serve in combat during that conflict; and what the war concerned. History served first hand, is almost always more accurate.
Here's hoping he has more to say as a writer.