We Never Wanted a Parade

life, hoping to become a journalist, when one day you 
make a decision that changes your whole life—to 
become more than a man…to become a US Marine. 

We Never Wanted a Parade is the coming-of-age memoir 
of Don “Tack” Tackett, who discovers loss, respect, and 
becoming a man in the steam-filled jungles of Vietnam. 
With his unit all but gone, Tack is re-assigned and begins 
the process of making friends and earning respect all 
over again with sound judgment and good leadership.

“I thought every day in the bush would be my last. I 
just knew today was the day I would get hit…When I 
turned every corner I could visualize confronting the 
little bastard that would end my life. It was a very scary 
thought. If that wasn’t enough, we had to deal with the 
booby traps…Then the night would come. It was so dark 
we couldn’t see the guy next to us, let alone seeing out 
into the bush where we just knew a sapper was going 
to sneak up and cut our throats. Then daybreak would 
come. Thank god for daybreak. We’d lived another day, 
another day closer to going home…”