From our FORTIS Non-Fiction Imprint
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Vietnam was a bloody and divisive war that shaped a generation.
In 1968, with the elimination of law school draft deferments, Steve Bailey’s door to academia slammed shut. Another door opened to two years of training through Louisiana’s swamps, Panama’s jungles, and Officer Candidate School. In May 1970, he arrived in Vietnam as a 24-year-old Army infantry lieutenant for his one-year tour.
After a brutal 72-hour firefight near the Iron Triangle and Cu Chi, Bailey searches the body of a fallen North Vietnamese soldier and finds the unexpected: a waterproof-wrapped art book of delicate sketches of palm trees, mountains, and portraits. The enemy soldier was an artist who carried his humanity into battle. That discovery haunts Bailey for fifty years.
He returns home to a divided nation where scorn pains as deeply as any battlefield wound.
We Were There confronts the moral weight and reality of combat, from a 14-year-old girl executed by the Viet Cong, to a friend killed during aerial reconnaissance, to memories that won’t fade. Bailey writes about what soldiers carry home: not just trauma, but the responsibility to honor the fallen. His decades-long quest to return the art book culminates in 2022, when he meets with the Vietnamese Ambassador in Washington, D.C., and formally returns the drawings to the Vietnamese people. It is an act of reconciliation that transcends the war.
This is an honest, unflinching memoir where brutality and compassion collide, where courage and doubt coexist. In war’s aftermath, duty remains: to honor the fallen and bear witness for those who can no longer speak.
Key Takeaways
- The memoir details Steve Bailey’s experience as an Army infantry lieutenant in Vietnam during a tumultuous time in 1970.
- He discovers an art book on a fallen enemy soldier, which highlights the humanity in war and haunts him for decades.
- After decades of efforts, he returned the art book to the Vietnamese people in 2022 in a significant act of reconciliation, symbolizing healing beyond the war.
- Bailey explores the moral complexities of combat, sharing personal stories of loss, trauma, and responsibility to honor the fallen.
- Bailey’s background includes military honors and a career in law and real estate, showcasing his diverse life post-service.
About The Author
Steve Bailey was commissioned as a second lieutenant and Commandant’s List graduate of the Army Infantry Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Following jungle school in Panama in 1970, he was assigned to lead a five-man counterinsurgency team in the Republic of Vietnam. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, a Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart.
Steve is a graduate of East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, received his J.D. from Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana, and was a member of the New Mexico Bar Association. He was a successful entrepreneur and the owner/president of a large real estate company in Connecticut.
Steve and his wife, Mary, and their dog, Mia, live in Florida. They are the proud parents of three adult children and have six grandchildren. Steve is a hobbyist artist and boasts that his wife granted him permission to display one of his masterpieces in a guest bedroom.