About this title.

It is 1967. The New Zealand Government has allied itself with the USA and committed its armed forces to fight in Vietnam. Infantry companies are drawn from the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, based in peninsula Malaysia. When the men fly out to war, their wives and children are left behind in the Commonwealth Brigade garrison. Sergeant Major John Barr deals with the realities of war, amongst the villages, padi fields and jungle of Vietnam. His wife, Patricia, and their children, cope with life in a foreign land. Through the eyes of an experienced soldier, we view the triumphs and tragedies, the horror and humour of men at war. As his Company fights a cunning and ruthless enemy, we meet both heroes and those who are not. We share their wins and their losses. Through Patricia’s eyes, we see the loneliness and the strain imposed upon the women left behind… the constant dread of the knock on the door. Some deal with it – some do not. They, also, are ‘at war’. The war rips at them all. Will John and Patricia survive? You can be sure that

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About this Author.

Now in his seventies, Dave Hayward was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand. He joined the army at the age of sixteen and at twenty was a corporal commanding a section of Infantry in Malaya during the ‘Emergency’. His first novel ‘Point of the Spear’ is based on that experience. Dave remained a soldier for thirty-three years and saw active service again in Borneo during Indonesia’s ‘Confrontation’ with Malaysia and in South Vietnam. It is this latter experience that is the basis of his second novel. Dave retired as the Sergeant Major of the Army – the ultimate senior-soldier appointment. His first-hand knowledge of the world of the twentieth century Infantry soldier is recognised as unique and he is regularly invited to address students at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. In his younger days Dave was both a race and rally driver, but latterly preferred the challenge of 4WD adventures in Australia’s outback. He has recently embarked on yet another adventure – he married his neighbour, the lovely Jan Casey. “It’s not over, ‘til it’s over!”

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