SAN DIEGO, July 11, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Some people are meant to fight. Others are meant to bring joy to those in need of a smile. Author Joy Wilkerson was one of these smile makers, a life commitment she recounts in her new book, Bring Joy to Vietnam: A Journal of Notes (now available through 1stBooks).
Actress, model, racecar driver, mother and object of millions of men's affection, especially in South Vietnam during the war, Joy Wilkerson has now added author to the list with this memoir of her visit to the war torn Asian country. It all began when she broke into show business with the help of friend Danny Thomas. After a few appearances on television, she began to correspond with soldiers in the war. One of the military newspapers asked for some publicity photos, a request she gladly granted. Soon, she was receiving mailbag upon mailbag of fan letters. She spent all day writing to some 4000 pen pals in the war.
She began to form friendships with all of them. She cites her role as a mother for being the cause of her sensitivity to these men. Through her letters, she rode an emotional roller coaster of elation and devastation, giving hope and hearing of deaths. She decided to help them.
"The support I provided for the armed forces at home and at war sites was both wonderful and terrible. With great sorrow, I would hear from friends of those who were killed and feel pain of all who suffered during the war," Wilkerson says.
Determined, compassionate and persistent, Wilkerson, with help she elicited from the servicemen themselves, was able to persuade the Hollywood Overseas Committee to send her to Vietnam. In her mind, it was the least she could do. In April of 1967, she disembarked for Vietnam with actor Dale Robertson and became a smash with the soldiers. She earned all 113 titles from the Armed Forces and was eventually given the title "Miss South Vietnam."
Written as an honor to those pen pals who fought and died, Bring Joy to Vietnam is a memoir about an extraordinary woman and her eclectic career.
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