Jacks Chase

Ten Thousand Miles From Home is the first book of the Jacks Chase series. It tells the tale of young aspiring journalist Jack OSullivan, who is drawn to the action and drama of the Vietnam war like a magnet. Determined to make his mark in the world as an award winning war correspondent, he hounds his editor and anyone else who matters until they finally give in and send him ten thousand miles to the other side of the earth into a world of bombs and bullets, a world of fear and confusion. He enters into a frustrating struggle and finds that the Vietnam conflict (like most wars) is not just man against man, but also man against the elements of nature and his own personal state of mind. He learns that the things his WW2 veteran father tried to warn him about war, are more mind-damaging that he could possibly imagine. Told first hand, this is Jacks story of the end of his innocent youth and his difficult initiation into the life of a man in war. Along the way he not only discovers friendships found and lost, but has to learn to survive amongst the harsh and unforgiving environment and also finds himself embroiled in an ever-deepening mystery surrounding one of the best soldiers in the platoon, Sergeant Ben Cale. What starts out as the prospect of a great story, becomes a situation which captures Jacks full determination to get to the bottom of; the involvement of elements of high level secrecy only strengthens his resolve to pursue the story to the end. With the help of his camera-man and good friend Wesley Banks, he manages to uncover some of the aspects of the mans personality, but while attempting to bring light to the shadows of his hidden past they manage to attract some unwanted attention. Striving to balance the art of good journalism without over-stepping the official boundaries and trying to stay sane and alive while out in the jungle with the platoon gives Jack a constantly changing mix of satisfaction, frustration and of course, at times, total mental stress.