Lt. Colonel Jay R. Jensens six Years In Hell :: essays research papers

Lt. Colonel Jay R. Jensen's "Six Years In Hell" The book I have chosen to read for this review is one entitled "SIX YEARS IN HELL." It is a book written by one Lt. Colonel Jay R. Jensen in a first person manor. He was a military pilot who flew over Vietnam and was captured and taken as a POW. This book covers his time in the military before hand describing the daily procedures etc. of his military life. The author graduated from Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah in 1949. He then joined The Utah Air National Guard during the Korean war. Mr. Jensen was on active duty for 20 months, after which he attended Brigham Young University. He graduated with a B.S. degree in Accounting and majors in Banking and Finance. After college he obtained the rank of cadet Colonel in the Air Force ROTC. Lt. Colonel Jensen was well decorated after his retirement in 1978 that concluded 28 years of service. His decorations included: Two Silver Stars, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with V for Valor, Air Medal, two Purple Hearts, Presidential Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with two Oak Leaf Clusters, POW Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnam Service Medal with 14 Bronze Campaign Medals, Air Force Longevity Award (for over 24 years), Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Hour Glass Device (for 20 years), Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Vietnam Cross for Gallantry with Device, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. All these decorations and the time spent in the military I believe more than present his qualifications for writing this book. This book that he was so qualified to write I must bend to say was rather well written. The author took time to explain everything individually and even those things that seem quite trivial were given careful explanation. If there was something that the author felt was not apparent or was not to be taken at face value he footnoted it at the bottom of the page. These footnotes were especially helpful for those of us readers who may not be that "militarily inclined." I particularly enjoyed the story of Roscoe the base's mascot which was probably one of the longest examples of footnoting throughout the book. The book is written from the perspective of the author at the time he experienced it. The descriptions are so well written that one can almost see or relate to what is being described, but as time progresses you can tell the author's moods change as the mode of descriptions differs.