Fishing with Hand Grenades is based on the riveting true story of an eighteen-year-old U.S. Marine grunt who fights for his life at the height of the Vietnam War, in 1968, and must then battle his own inner demons in the conflict’s aftermath.

Filled with brutal combat action, heartwarming anecdotes of friendship and brotherhood, and detailed descriptions of life in the trenches in Vietnam, this first-hand account follows the war experience and post-war battle for survival of “Danny Sullivan,” a working-class teenager from Philadelphia. From Dan’s enlistment in the Marine Corps during his senior year in high school, through his grueling Marine training and the harrowing tour he served in Khe Sanh and A Shau Valley, to the adversity he faced when he returned home, the story describes a young man struggling through the worst of circumstances to survive a war he had never intended to fight.

Fishing with Hand Grenades relates a Marine grunt’s war experience through the eyes of another eighteen-year-old, author Ari Pontz, who had just completed high school when he began to write this story. It closely examines the underlying factors that made returning home such an ordeal for many Vietnam veterans, and challenges Americans, now confronted with a comparable situation as a growing number of US soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan, to learn from history.

 Fishing with Hand Grenades is not a pretty story. It is an appalling tale that simmers with anger and elicits profound sadness. But the reader will also find it uplifting, will be humbled by the courage and sacrifice it depicts, and will gain a new respect for the American foot soldier.

About the Author:

Ari Pontz was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, and continues to live in the Philadelphia area with his wife, Corey. He is a 1999 graduate of Penn State University and a portfolio manager and partner in an investment management company.