Book Review

Budapest to Vietnam
by Nick Hun and Michael L Jewell
Njh Consulting Services
(June 4, 2021)

318 pages

Budapest-to-Vietnam-800px

By How Miller

From Budapest to Vietnam:

“The chatter of the enemy was getting much too close., and we were receiving some “incoming” from the tree line about 75 yards out. It was time to break contact with them, but first to ‘get some’ before departing.

“I took the M79 from the striker next to me and zeroed in on the tree line where the bushes showed some movement. I was experienced firing the old M20 (3.5 inch) Bazooka in training with the 1st Airborne Battle Group of the 187th Infantry at Fort Bragg, making the conversion to the M79 quite easy.

“Having a relatively free line of fire, I shot the M79 toward the enemy three times. The first one impacted long and the second one short. This established a bracket around the target, allowing me to place the final round with deadly accuracy. As I fired one more time, the HE (high explosive) round landed just as four or five NVA soldiers, with AK and SKS rifles at the ready, stepped proudly out of the jungle into the tall grass.

“We heard them scream and watched them fall, helmets flying like Frisbees, as they were instantly blown up in a haze of gray smoke. Departing, I turned one last time to witness their throes of death in the smoking elephant grass.”

Nick Hun has written a book about a well-lived life. It is his story — a man who emigrated with his family from Budapest, Hungary, at the age of seven and thrived in the United States. His career has included service as an MP, a Green Beret, and many other roles.

His SF career ran from Chi Linh and Dong Xoai A camps to directing the establishment and building of Bunard in hostile VC-controlled territory.

He then volunteered to help out the hard-hit 173rd Airborne Brigade for a tour as a ground-pounding airborne officer and went on to be a helicopter pilot, returning to Vietnam for many “interesting” missions in Cobras and other craft.

Afterwards, he returned to the MPs and continued up the ranks, reaching full bird colonel with realistic designs on his first star. Nick served at West Point, Fort Riley, and Panama, commanded a recruiting battalion, and served as an active-duty advisor to the WV National Guard. After military retirement, he worked with his state government as the WV Commissioner of Corrections.

Then he served many years as a VA team leader and counselor, and upon retiring from that, he became a private investigator and author.

He obviously was following the track of the regular army career officer with a notable, but “respectably” short duration, stint with SF, and never stopped. It is quite a story.

About the Author:

How Miller has served as the editor of Chapter 78’s Sentinel since January 2021. Read How’s Member Profile to learn more about him.

How-Miller