November 8, 1965 · War Zone D
GHOSTS OF VIETNAM
Operation HUMP • Hill 65
On November 8, 1965, young men of the 173rd Airborne Brigade climbed Hill 65 and stepped into history. Operation Hump — the U.S. Army's first major battle in Vietnam — would change everything. Some walked away. Many did not.
By Paul Rutowski
In Their Words
There were 49 letters to be written to the families of our deceased, numerous awards and decorations to be submitted and then process the replacements that soon descended on the battalion.
Richard "Dick" Chegar
S-1 Battalion Adjutant Officer
Paul & Avonne
About the Author
PAUL RUTOWSKI
One battle. One generation. One legacy sixty years in the making.
Among the fallen on November 8, 1965 was PFC Dennis David Rutowski. Two years later, his nephew, Paul Rutowski, was born into the long echo of that day. Decades later, the stories found him — the letters, the voices of brothers-in-arms, the memories passed across kitchen tables and through folded photographs.
Drawn from a lifetime of conversations with veterans and families, Ghosts of Vietnam transforms those firsthand accounts into an unforgettable story of courage, chaos, and sacrifice. Through vivid scenes and carefully crafted interludes, the novel guides readers deep into the heart of the war.
“I've spent decades gathering these stories because they deserve to live on — not as fading memories, but as a living legacy.”
Also Coming Soon
RAWHIDE
Life and Legend of a Rogue Army Colonel
Al Conetto & Paul Rutowski
From How It All Began
It began in a room that still belonged to Dennis.
At my grandparents' house on Lake Tichigan—the home of Dennis's parents—I slept in the bedroom he had left behind, surrounded by the belongings of a young man who went to war in 1965 and never came home.
I was born in 1967. I never met my uncle.
But somehow, I came to know him.
His letters were still there, carrying the anxious handwriting of a young soldier trying to sound brave for the people he loved.