The Hero from School I Walked with Heroes

Jerry A. Guzzetta, the author of the book I Walked with Heroes pens the story of the American soldiers who were present during the Vietnam War. The book presents a perspective which is rather hidden generally, and the author aims to bring light to the experiences he and others witnessed during the conflict. The book, and this section specifically is a dedicated to all the heroes Guzzetta shared the battleground with, acknowledging their resilience, bravery, and patriotism for the country. 

This story is about a warrior, a friend and a patriot who remains very close to the heart of the author even today. The inspiring life of Larry Mootheart. As the author describes, Mootheart and him were in the same school, and the former, was a sort of bully who used to push around other kids for fun. Guzzetta shared an incident where Mootheart jumped the line, passing one of his friends. This small incident made Guzzetta confront Mootheart on the way home from school. They both lived three blocks away from each other, and considering their ages, it was evident that they would find each other on the road to home, as they didn’t have many places to go. On the way home when Guzzetta went up to confront him for what he’d done to his friend at lunch time, with Mootheart throwing a punch on his left eye as soon as he finished saying that. This, swelled the writer’s eye and turned it black, blue, purple and ‘very patriotic’ colors. Next day, when Guzzetta was sitting head down in the school, he saw the big black boots of Mootheart just in front of him. 

The writer knew he’s here to give him a pair of those very patriotic eyes, but instead, he began by asking him “Are you okay?”. Turns out, they were having lunch together the same day, and the once fearful Mootheart was a very close friend of the author Guzzetta. Mootheart had also joined the military before Guzzetta, as door gunner on a helicopter, and unfortunately, on the 19th of September, 1969, Mootheart was KIA (Killed in Action) along with the rest of his crew when his helicopter went down. The author Jerry A. Guzzetta takes absolute pride in walking with some of the bravest men America has seen, Larry Graydon Mootheart was one of them. Larry is still close to the author’s heart, and this section in the book depicts how much his friendship with the author Jerry A. Guzzetta is valued. 

The book I Walked with Heroes by Jerry A. Guzzetta is an account that is filled with such inspirational men who fought for the nation, if you’re an enthusiastic reader looking to delve deep into the other side of the Vietnam War, grab your books now, as it is available for purchase on Amazon!