Article in the Stockton Record by Dana Nicols

COPPEROPOLIS - In April, Charity L. Maness received a battered shoebox of 44-year-old love letters that changed the direction of her writing career.

Maness, who lives in Copperopolis, until then had specialized in romance novels such as "Prince Charming," published in 2010, and humor such as "From Positive Test to Empty Nest," published in 2009.

The letters in the shoebox had no happy ending.

James D. Piper wrote them to his wife, Michelle, during the final months of his life as he went through basic training and then served in the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam. He wrote the last letter on April 9, 1967.

Piper was killed during combat two days later. He was 19.

Michelle, now Micki Phillips, asked Maness to write a book based on the letters.

That plunged Maness into research on the Vietnam War. She was starting from scratch.

Maness said she'd never read works such as Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" or Michael Herr's "Dispatches," popular non-fiction works on the experience of U.S. soldiers in southeast Asia.

"Before starting writing this book, I knew nothing other than that I was a veterans' advocate," Maness said.

She had assisted the recent successful effort to form a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Copperopolis. Her son, Marine Corps Sgt. Chris Maness, had served overseas in Cuba, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Maness spent months transcribing Piper's letters and producing a book in which the letters alternate with accounts of the war gleaned from government records and media accounts. The result is "It's Lonely Here in Hell," Love Letters from Nam.


The book reproduces the letters in their entirety. Maness said the only thing she edited out were two appearances of the F-word, replaced with an F and dashed lines. She did that, she said, in the hope that eliminating it would mean adults would be more likely to encourage high school students to explore the book.

The book is painful to read. The letters make it clear that James D. Piper, a young man from San Lorenzo, was very much in love with Michelle, whom he married shortly before he got his draft notice.

Maness said she believes Piper did what he could to shield his wife from the horrors of what he was experiencing. Still, before the end, Piper does tell her of killing Vietnamese adversaries, and he uses a racist slur to refer to them.

One of the most heartbreaking incidents comes as Piper is ordered by an officer to beat an elderly woman during an interrogation.

"I had to slap an old woman across the face to make her talk yesterday," he wrote in a letter dated April 6, 1967. "I felt bad, just as if I had slapped Grandma Pacheco."

Between the letters, Maness provides context on the magnitude of military operations. More important, she shows the conflict between official pronouncements that the U.S. was winning and the secret reports that showed otherwise.

Piper, the 19-year-old foot soldier, apparently saw it too. Although he wanted to serve his country, he also noted several times that military operations were almost never as brief and easy as commanders predicted.

Once, he describes counting bodies of slain enemy soldiers, but can't understand why he "considered them as dead animals."

"It's hard to explain, but then again it's a hard war to explain," Piper wrote.

Reading his letters, and government records, was a journey for Maness as well.

"The research, it leads to more questions and more questions," Maness said. "It leads down this path to ... I can't believe my government was thinking this."

Maness said neither she nor her children had been taught about the contradictions between what the government said about the war in Vietnam and the reality portrayed in secret reports.

"I really feel if we had been taught about it, we might have made different decisions now," she said, referring to more recent engagements in the Middle East. "History is bound to repeat itself if you don't learn from it."

So far, about 500 people have purchased "It's Lonely Here in Hell."

To her surprise, some of those who liked her previous writing have shied away from the book of letters.

"The reporter wouldn't return my calls. The library wouldn't return my calls," she said of places in Kentucky that previously welcomed her when she came through for book signings.

Finally, a librarian told her why: "Because it had 'Hell' in the title."

The word came from a line in one of Piper's letters.

New audiences have found Maness, however. She said a number of Vietnam veterans have approached her at book signings and told her their stories.

Now, she's working with a number of those soldiers as well as a psychologist who specializes in post traumatic stress disorder to write a new volume with their accounts of war.

"I really feel these soldiers, these veterans' stories, need to be told."

Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 607-1361 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/calaverasblog.

Added a few new speaking engagements

Apparently, though I cannot recall, I faired well at my first speaking engagment at the Calaveras County Taxpayers Association luncheon.
Though incredibly nervous, the subject is near and dear to my heart which helped the words flow a bit better.
But as I said, I don't remember...I was petrified.
With this said, a few people in the crowd felt I presented myself and my story well and asked me to please speak at their organizations functions.
So here I am, signing on for speaking engagements.
I do feel it is important to clarify at this point... I write well I do not speak well.


At the left side of this site there is a section for speaking engagements. I will attempt to keep these updated.

Again, thank you all for your support.

Veteran interviews

Interviews with Vietnam Veterans for my latest work - In Their Words, Vietnam - are coming along very well. I find myself drawn into their world as they relive their experiences...so much so that time flies by. I am honored that they are willing to share their lives so openly with me, and through me, with you.

Each time I leave an interview I feel I have left a friend, a lifelong friend.

New book in the works...

I feel I have found my niche. As those of you who know me will atest, I am an avid Veteran advocate and supporter. This and my love of the written word has lead me to yet another non-fiction work.

"In Their Words" Vietnam.

This book will be a collection of Vietnam Veterans stories, their thoughts, their emotions, their memories...in their words.

Working with a PTSD psychologist to form an interview outline and an informed consent I have begun in earnest the interview process. I am careful to honor their words and their memories.

As with the last book, I am adding historical content to help place the reader at that place and time in history.

This will be a page turner folks. A real history lesson, one we should never forget.

I will keep you posted as to my progress.

First Speaking engagement, quickly followed by more...

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Association has asked me to make a small presentation at their monthly luncheon this upcoming week...I said yes.
I am nervous and excited. The up side?   I will know a few people in the crowd....the down side...I really am not good at public speakin. I write well...I DO NOT speak well.
We shall see:)

This will be a good experience for me as I have also been asked to be guest speaker in Sonora in February. All this will lead up nicely to my book signing in Sacramento February 18 at the California State Military History Museum. (Featured February author.)

Thank you all for your support:)

Added new book signing

The Calaveras County Taxpayers Asociation has invited me to attend ther January luncheon to make a short presentation and sign copies of "It's Lonely Here in Hell" Love Letters from Nam.

January 27, 2012 2-4 Murphys Hotel, Murphys CA

Upcoming book signing at the California State Military Museum, Sacramento

I will be the featured author at the California State Military Museum on February 18, 2012.

Front and Center

The Monthly E-Newsletter of the California State Military Museums


Part of the United States Army Museum System
Issue 27, December 2011


February 18: 1:00 pm: Meet the Author: Charity Maness author of "It's Lonely Here in Hell": Love Letters from Nam.



"It's Lonely Here in Hell": Love Letters from Nam


by Charity L Maness by CreateSpace


Paperback






List Price: $14.99


Our Price: $12.55


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Prices shown are for online sales only.. Prices at the event may vary.

Nashville....what an amazing adventure

I can't thank my hosts, Janet and Gary Piper, enough for all they did for Micki and me on our visit to Nashville. The booksignings, flights, parties, dinners, touristing, and all around fun time was beyond my expectations!
The following is a link to the excessive amount of photos I took while on this trip:)

Nashville 12-11

One more day...Tennessee Here I Come!

I am so excited to be heading to Tennessee tomorrow to meet Jim's younger brother Gary and his wife Janet.
Venderbilt Barnes and Noble will be hosting a book signing for me!
I hope to see amazing sites, meet interesting people, and share my written work...Jim's story.

Amazing words for "It's Lonely Here in Hell" Love Letters from Nam

I am so impressed with your treatment of this so very dear to me subject but over and above my feelings I applaud you for finally bringing the human aspect of an actual soldier to life and showing the world that there truly were real live members of our military that gave their lives, not in vain but to protect us at all cost. Jimmy was only 4 years younger than me when he first came into my life but I was a married woman at 19 and he was not yet driving. I remember how I so loved who he was at the moment I first met him and how special his relationship was with his family. I have such fond memories of swimming in the pool with the boys and playing games with them. Mostly I remember the special depth and spirit of this young man. He, as you know was always, from a very young age a very very special person. This family was so blessed to have had the Blessing of knowing him. My children grew up hearing of Jimmy and he has always been a special treasure to us. Thank you for this precious gift and your understanding of the need of your respecting Michelle's need to find a special tribute to this very special human being who put his life on the line and knew more at his age about love and commitment than most any other human being I have ever known.




Thank you and God Bless You!
 
Toni Rhodes Glover

Book signing at Bristol's Cafe in Arnold!

Photo at radio interview

So, as you can see, an interview on the radio is not conducive to eye contact communication...thats me back there behind the mic and other assorted radio station stuff:)