The Fortunate Son

Timothy Trainer was born in Tokyo, Japan. An Army brat, he grew up on various Army posts then served a tour of enlistment in the Army. He used his military benefits to earn multiple degrees. His advanced studies included a return to Japan to study in Tokyo for sixteen months. After earning his law degree and passing the bar exam, he moved to the Washington, DC area in 1987. His legal career focused on intellectual property issues with a more specific emphasis on combating international trade in infringing goods. He worked at multiple federal agencies that required extensive travel and consultations with foreign governments. In the private sector, he headed a DC-based trade association resulting in his work with INTERPOL, UN Economic Commission for Europe, and other international organizations. He has testified before congressional committees on several occasions. He was a private-sector advisor with a clearance to the US Department of Commerce from 2000-2020. Joshua Tree Publishing published two prior books authored by Mr. Trainer. The Fortunate Son: Top, Through the Eyes of Others was published in 2017 and the novel, Pendulum Over the Pacific, in 2019. Mr. Trainer has authored numerous professional articles and co-authored a legal treatise for fifteen years. His book, Potato Chips to Computer Chips: War on Fake Stuff was published in 2015 by Thomson Reuters. For more information, visitTimothyTrainer.com

The Fortunate Son recounts the parallel lives of an army brat and a group of Vietnam veterans who intersect decades after the war. The veterans open up to me, the army brat, perhaps in a way they never have with their own families. Why? Through my father, Top, their First Sergeant, we have a common link. Over the years, we've gotten to know each other. They begin to understand the sacrifices of an army family. But, more importantly, they want me to understand how our family's sacrifice and my father's tour of duty in Vietnam with them, in the jungles, gave them confidence to believe they would make it home alive.The Fortunate Son is not about a single battle or a single soldier's tour of duty. You will meet us, learn something about us, and get a glimpse of our lives during the war years. You'll find out why half a century after that tour of duty ended, we remain bound together. If you've ever been in the military or part of a military family, you'll know that we all are bound together. For those who find the military to be foreign and unknown, our story may help you to understand why it binds so many together.
Fourteen of these soldiers have shared their stories. Their stories describe two life transitions-first from civilian teenagers or young men to combat grunts trying to stay alive in the jungle-and then back to stateside life. What happens between these transitions, as they slog through the jungle day by day paints their portrait of Top, my father. Now, I appreciate why they remain bound together half a century after their tour ended. Their stories are an unexpected gift that bestows new insight to me on my father. So, as you read and "listen" to these soldiers' stories, both what they say and how they describe Top, you understand why I've learned that I am The Fortunate Son.
Author Timothy Trainer is an army brat, born into the Army in Japan and was a high school junior when his father retired from the Army. He did not arrive in the United States until he was past his fifth birthday. After arriving in the United States, the Army life meant living in various parts of the United States, on and off post, depending upon his father's duty station.
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