Chapter 2. The Shift to Digital

News from the Front

In 1968 John’s uncle, Grant Wilson, was drafted into the US Army and sent to Vietnam. They put him in the infantry, gave him an M16, and assigned him to a mortar team. His assignments at firebases around Vietnam made it impossible for him to call home, so he sent letters to talk about what he was experiencing and to reassure the family that he was safe.

image

Grant Wilson in Vietnam in 1968.

Photo courtesy of Grant Wilson

The letters were handwritten by Grant. They are now yellowed by time and have that strange old-paper smell. Some are smeared with mud from the monsoon season. In the letters Grant ...

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