A man of letters
The Year I Said Goodbye
By Stan Cohen. Wakefield Press. 270pp.$27.50.

Reviewer: CPL Jon Garland

In 1970, at the age of 25, Peter Winter left his wife and baby son to serve in Vietnam.

He, like so many others, endured not only the discomfort and danger of serving in a combat zone but the pain of separation from loved ones for an extended period.

During his year away he wrote constantly to his wife Raylene and other members of his family.

The letters describe the country, the people, fellow soldiers and all those aspects of deployed life that give the reader a window into the experience that was Vietnam.

They also describe the feelings of loneliness and longing while away, and the joy of being reunited again.

These letters were kept and stored, then discovered by Peter’s son Mark-John several years later.

In book form they lose none of their poignancy. There is something here that every serving or former military member will recognise from his or her own experience. Pre-operation nerves, short-time syndrome and isolation are all reflected in the letters, written at odd hours in strange locations throughout Peter’s tour.

His son has a section at the end of the book talking about his memories as a boy and the way, as a result of finding the letters, he now has a better understanding and relationship with his father.

With an introduction by Lynne Cosgrove, The Year I Said Goodbye is nothing more than it says it is – letters from a soldier to his family during a year of the Vietnam War. It’s easy to read and it’s rewarding to do so.