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.