Marine Corps Gazette

Images from the Otherland: Memoir of a United States Marine Corps Artillery Officer in Vietnam

Sympson provides neither a Vietnam history nor an autobiography, but rather a personal journey to find understanding among threads of a life that, for him, lead back to the beginning of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Particularly moving is his account of Operation TEXAS, when Sympson coordinated the firing of 2,500 rounds of artillery, and his continuing loyalty to those also serving their Nation's interests in Vietnam, including LtCol P.X. Kelley. Gen Kelley returns the sentiment in the book's foreword.