In Country, War Stories from Jennings' Vietnam Veterans
“These stories I tell you about the war are just stories to you, but for me, they’re still real. I can still smell it. I can still hear it. I am there.”
Bob Miller (JHS Class of ’64), 7th Cavalry, veteran of the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley“I was among the dazed and numbed that day, and I don’t trust everything that I think I remember correctly.”
Ken Roy (JHS Class of ’66), Marine, following the battle on Hill 174“I guess I compartmentalized a lot of this — I put it aside — and now I think I’ve lost the key to many of those compartments.”
Rear Adm. Dan Lestage (JHS Class of ’57), Navy surgeon aboard the USS Oriskany“Like many veterans of front-line battles, Rick was extremely reluctant to discuss his experiences in Vietnam. Our children called him ‘the silent warrior.’ As John [Semmes] shared information with me, I began to see a side of my quiet, rather stoic husband that our children and I never knew . . . that Rick not only endured such horrors but also performed so heroically on the battlefield.”
Julie Boudreaux Ingalls, widow of Rick Ingalls (JHS Class of ’67),
Hero of the Night Raids
Dave Precht
ISBN: 978-1-68593-276-3
8.5 x 11 hardcover
158 Pages
Published 2025
Encouraged by his Jennings High School English teacher (and aunt) Mary Carter, Dave Precht embarked on a career in journalism that took him from the Jennings Daily News to the post of editor-in-chief of one of the largest outdoor magazines in the country.
Along the way, he worked as a reporter for the Lafayette Advertiser and the Houston Post. In 1979, Precht moved to Montgomery, Alabama, and began editing magazines for B.A.S.S. Inc. He was editor of Bassmaster Magazine for 18 years, during which time the publication’s circulation grew to 650,000. He retired from B.A.S.S. as vice president/publications and communications in 2019 after more than 40 years with the company.
He and his wife Linda have three children and eight grandchildren. They live in Birmingham, Alabama.
Precht joined the Brothers Beyond the Perimeter team in 2021 after admiring the way the group honored his high school friend Rick Ingalls in Book II of the series.