Harrison native John Brown's novel 'a labor of love'

Jul 07, 2018 883

BY: Rusty Marks

If the fictional city of Jeweltown and its suburbs bear more than a slight resemblance to the Clarksburg area in writer and columnist John Brown’s novel “Augie’s War,” there’s a reason for that. And if the main character — Harrison County native Augie Compton — reminds anyone of Brown, well, there’s a reason for that, too. “I thought I could write this book about Vietnam,” said Brown, who, like Augie, grew up in an Italian-American family in Harrison County.

“But I know one of the ways I got through things over there was to think about home. I remember growing up working at my grandfather’s bakery.” Like many West Virginians of his generation, Brown did a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 with the Americal Division. Although he was not stationed on the front line, he was close enough that his base was the target of regular Vietnamese rocket attacks.

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SOURCE: https://www.wvnews.com

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