Left for Dead

A Second Life after Vietnam

Jon Hovde and Maureen Anderson

Left for Dead: A Second Life after Vietnam is published by the University of Minnesota Press. The cover images at right and below may be used for book promotion purposes. Photo credit: Jim Davis.

Jon as a teenager at his parents' farm near Fertile, MN.

An APC--armored personnel carrier--like the one Jon was driving when he was injured in Vietnam.

A Rome plow in Vietnam. Similar to a bulldozer, the soldiers in the APCs provided security for these plows as they leveled trees.

What's left of the engine compartment of Jon's APC after he struck an anti-tank mine near Cu Chi, Vietnam, January 8, 1968.

Leslie L. Cowden of Anoka, MN, who pulled Jon from the wrecked APC and helped save his life.

Jon spent time recovering from his injuries at Letterman's General Hospital in San Francisco, spring, 1968.

Jon's family visited while he was recuperating at Letterman's General. Left to right: Jon's twin sister, Cathy; his mother, Arleene; his father, Ole; Jon.

Jon and his buddy in Vietnam, Keith Bolstad, who was also from Jon's hometown of Fertile. Photo taken May 13, 1968, at the home of Jon's uncle, Randy. Keith later married Jon's twin sister, Cathy.

Jon worked at 3M from 1974 to 1981, and this photo of his family appeared on the cover of a company newsletter.

Jon giving the Memorial Day address in Goffstown, NH, in 2000. Goffstown was the hometown of Jon's friend, Richard Godbout, who was killed in Vietnam about a week before Jon was hurt.

Jon with his nurse from Vietnam, Kay Layman, outside the Fargo Air Museum in May 2004. Jon and Kay were reunited in 1998 and they have stayed in touch since.

Jon loves telling his story to students.

Print Media: Again, we'd like to hear from you by e-mail if you use any of the photos.