Capturing Skunk Alpha: A Barrio Sailors Journey In Vietnam

Last night I finished reading the memoir Capturing Skunk Alpha: A Barrio Sailor’s Journey In Vietnam by Raul Herrera. I received this book in June but was getting bombarded with so many early books finally on Thursday I got to it and finished it last night. On the evening of July 11^th 1967 A Navy surveillance spotted a suspicious trawler which going in the direction of the Quang Ngai coast of South Vietnam. Finding out this suspicious trawler was carrying weapons to North Vietnam, Raul his Navy comrades had to do what they could to stop the trawler and capture it dubbing it Skunk Alpha hence the title of this book.

Writing & Storytelling

Raul Hererra’s writing flows very well and I like it when non-fiction does that instead of being dry, thought he military jargon if you’re like me and don’t know what the words mean can be a bit confusing. I also enjoyed the fact that we read a little bit about his life before joining the Navy. As a Catholic I also enjoyed the fact that he kept his faith in God and in Saint Christopher to get him back home. I hope Raul writes another book going more in depth about how life was after returning home from Vietnam. I liked that Raul had pictures and the maps in the book added authenticity to it.

Overall

Overall this was a great book. If you enjoy non-fiction, autobiographies, biographies, books about war you will enjoy this book. Thank you Raul Herrera for writing about your journey and thank you for your service to our country! I look forward to our Q&A together!