Book signing Saturday at Sun Rose Words & Music
OCEAN CITY — U.S. Army veteran Ken Byerly has written a second book about the way the Vietnam War affected both service members and civilians, this one focused on eight graduates of Pennsylvania Military College who lost their lives during the conflict.
Byerly is scheduled to sign copies of his new book, “Paid in Full,” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at Sun Rose Words & Music, 756 Asbury Ave. in downtown Ocean City.
Byerly, 78, grew up in New York and spent his life “in many, many places,” but has lived on the island for the past 30 years.
He attended Eastern Military Academy and is a graduate of Pennsylvania Military College in Chester. He spent two years in Germany and then 1971-72 in Vietnam. He was a captain with the 26th General Support Group in I Corps, supporting the 101st Airborne Division in Camp Evans and Camp Eagle based out of Phu Bai.
After his service, he spent about 36 years in the pharmaceutical industry, traveling a lot as a salesman and then serving as director of sales, overseeing a 450-person sales force and $3 billion in sales responsibility.
He and his wife of 56 years, Jean, have two sons, ages 56 and 50.
The new book, which was released March 29 to coincide with Vietnam Veterans Day, tells the tales of the eight graduates of the Pennsylvania Military College who were killed in Vietnam.
“When I was writing the first book, doing a lot of research, I found out not a lot of information about the guys who graduated from PMC and died in Vietnam was available. I realized talking to several people that nobody has ever acknowledged their sacrifice and I decided to take it upon myself to write about them,” Byerly said, noting the graduation years for the group spanned from 1962 to 1969.
Byerly said writing both books was cathartic for him and the families of those involved.
“Considering one of them (Bill Ahlum) was my big brother when I pledged fraternity and another was one of the most famous cadets in PMC history, I felt pretty good about it,” he said.
That most famous, or infamous, cadet? Jack Geoghegan, whose “exploits in the service” was the topic of “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson.
He said the other six have amazing stories as well.
Byerly said last week he was able to meet the widow of one of the soldiers during a talk at Widener University (formerly Pennsylvania Military College) and “she was extremely thankful and very happy that it was done.”
He said the woman brought her granddaughter along to experience the event.
“It was an extremely emotional event and it made me feel good that she was there and her granddaughter could listen to the people talking about her grandfather,” Byerly said.
He said the process has been very rewarding because he was able to meet family members of five of the eight soldiers.
“I met some very strong, independent widows and women and the child of Jack Geoghegan. They are very strong, determined and at the same time, understand what their husbands went through and feel it’s important that the story be told,” Byerly said.
He said the families were pleased that the men got the recognition they deserve but were also sad “because it brings back memories they had tried to put aside for 50 plus years. They first feel that way, but when they share the book with their children and grandchildren, they are extremely happy.”
The first book, “Welcome Home: The Lucky Ones,” co-authored with John Laughlin and Mike Moran, details the lives of Vietnam War veterans to give them the honor they didn’t get when they returned home, to set the record straight on some misconceptions about the war and for families to understand more about their loved ones, Byerly said.
In the book, the trio chronicles the tales of three soldiers and one airman who served during the war, only to return home to find a bitterly divided nation.
Byerly takes readers through his life and the lives of his fellow soldiers — Col. Steve Raho, an infantry officer from Virginia; and John Laughlin, who lives in Marmora — as well as Airman Mike Moran, an Ocean City resident who flew B-52 Bombers.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
