'American Boys' Wins Big Book Honor

Journalist Louise Esola ‘s book, American Boys , which we reviewed on The VVA Veteran ‘s Books in Review II page back in January, has been named the grand prize winner of the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards for 2015.

The book tells the story of the USS Frank E. Evans —a Navy destroyer cut in two by an Australian aircraft carrier in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam in 1969—and the ongoing quest to have the names of those who perished engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“I self-published American Boys after years of trying to get a publisher—by way of three literary agents—to take on a Vietnam War book, ” Esola said. “This story is important to a lot of people.”

Escola’s article, “The Continuing Tragedy of the USS Frank E. Evans , appeared in the July/August print issue of The VVA Veteran .