Date of interview: 22 January 2020

Tom Keating , Author of Yesterday’s Soldier, A Passage From Prayer to the Vietnam War.

Tom Keating is a graduate of Stonehill College, where he studied for the priesthood at Holy Cross Seminary for five years before serving in the United States Army, including a tour of Vietnam from 1969 to 1970 as a conscientious objector. He served with the 47th Military History Detachment, then served with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Logistical Command, and Headquarters Company, US Army Vietnam, (USARV) also in Long Binh. His service earned him two Army Commendation Medal. His memoir of his military experiences in the US Army, Yesterday’s Soldier, A Passage From Prayer to the Vietnam War is the story of his journey from Infantry Officer Candidate to
conscientious objector.
After his military service, Tom attended Boston University and completed his Master’s degree in Education, and taught at the high school in Burlington, MA for eight years. A career in corporate communications and learning with companies like Wang Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM and EMC Corporation followed. He also produced news and public affairs broadcasts for local Boston television and national cable television programs.
Tom joined the AGAPE writing program for veterans at the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College under the direction of Roxana Von Kraus. He attended the Joiner Institute Master Writing Program at the Joiner Institute Writers’ Workshop Festival held at the University of Massachusetts, Boston in 2017 and 2018.
Excerpts from his memoir have appeared in national anthologies. “Convoy for the Con Voi” was published in “War Stories 2017”, an anthology edited by Sean Davis, writer, artist and combat veteran of Iraq. . Another excerpt, “Shakedown” appears in Complacency Kills, an anthology published by Warrior Writers Boston in their book.

MWSA: How long have you been associated with MWSA?

Tom Keating: I have been a member since 2019.

MWSA: What was my inspiration for writing Yesterday's Soldier?

Tom Keating: i have been writing this book on and off for years. I was inspired to write after reading other Vietnam War Memoirs and felt my story was unique and should be added to the genre.

MWSA: How difficult was the process of writing ?

Tom Keating: Writing a memoir of something that you lived through 48 years ago is hard. Lucky for me I kept a journal of my war time, and my wife kept all my letters from the war zone. All were useful in creating and adding to my memory of people, events and the times

MWSA: Why did you publish through Amazon's KDP?

Tom Keating: On the advice of my editor, we went through Amazon's KDP because it was faster to get published. Amazon makes it easy to publish one's work.

MWSA: What are you working on now?

Tom Keating: I have a local story about three veterans, from different eras, who lived in my town and I want to weave their stories together and create their times and experiences from WW2, through Korea and Vietnam.

MWSA: What did you find out about yourself in writing this book?

Tom Keating: I found that my writing speaks to people directly, that I have a way of writing that is direct and clear. I also found out that I am a stickler for accuracy and it was useful during the proofing cycles.