Army Intelligence captain Gerald Lynn Rosanbalm was monitoring the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1968. He saw what the North Vietnamese were up to and he reported back – but his reporting was not enough to stop the Tet Offensive, the battle that changed the war in Vietnam, 24 hours in which US forces took more casualties and fatalities than ever before in its history over that short period of time. That battle changed the course of the war.
And Jerry was there, and nearly died in those killing fields . . .
Jerry took six rounds in an heroic action and barely survived.
After recovering he opted to stay in the military and was reassigned to Germany. He was there when the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia. Not too long after that he was arrested by US Army counterintelligence and accused of being a Soviet spy!
Jerry was no spy. At the time he was something worse – a gay man in the military.
This is a heartbreaking, exciting adventure story (filled with pathos and humor) that carefully and methodically narrates how Jerry fought back. He fought the false charges and won.
He would not let the Army brand him a traitor. Gay, yes. Traitor, no f’n way!
But it was a hard fight, including incarceration in an army hospital!
The Saigon Sissy is a life-affirming story that will reward its readers with tears and laughter. No one who reads this book will ever forget the humanity and courage of Capt. JERRY ROSANBALM on his road to glory.
This book was written in 1992 but was impossible to bring out back then. Many New York publishers turned it down because of Jerry’s honesty about his sexual desires, in and out of the Army. Some powerful people in the gay community also hindered its publication. Jerry died in 2006 of AIDS related illness. More than anything he wanted this book to see the light.
As a tribute to this wonderful bigger -than- life, great American I bring this book to the public: vox populi vox dei.
