{"product_id":"23-days-9798233169700","title":"23 Days","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Jerry Buchanan\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Jerry Buchanan\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Jerry Buchanan\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Military\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e23 Days of Valor: The Hero of Straight Creek\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA young soldier's courage. A mother's thirty-year wait. A community's promise kept.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1968, PFC Samuel \"Sammy\" Johnson Jr. left the winding roads of Pennington Gap, Virginia, for the dense jungles of Vietnam. He wasn't chasing glory; he was a young man driven by a singular, selfless mission: to provide for his mother, Margaret, and his eleven siblings following the death of his father.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSammy's combat service lasted only twenty-three days. On October 23, 1968, near Katum Airfield, he displayed extraordinary bravery under fire-earning the \u003cstrong\u003eBronze Star with \"V\" Device for Valor\u003c\/strong\u003e. It was a rare distinction for a soldier with less than a month in-country, yet for fifty-five years, the full scope of his heroism was lost to \"missing paperwork\" and the fog of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e23 Days of Valor\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e is the moving account of a half-century journey to bring a soldier's legacy home. Told through three intimate lenses, the book explores: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Soldier: \u003c\/strong\u003e The \"no-teeth\" boy on a bicycle who transformed into a heroic \"Black Lion\" of the 28th Infantry.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Mother: \u003c\/strong\u003e Margaret Johnson's decades-long vigil, holding onto the memory of her son while navigating a changing world and personal tragedy.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Legacy: \u003c\/strong\u003e The tireless efforts of the Pennington Gap Women's Club and the Lee County community to finally see Sammy's name etched in stone.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday, the \u003cstrong\u003eSamuel Johnson Jr. Memorial Bridge\u003c\/strong\u003e stands over Straight Creek in St. Charles. It overlooks the very school parking lot where Sammy once rode his bike and told jokes-a permanent bridge between a soldier's sacrifice and the family that never forgot him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA story of honor, Southern roots, and the enduring bond of family, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e23 Days of Valor\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e ensures that PFC Samuel Johnson Jr. will never be lost to history again.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jerry Buchanan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47776231522455,"sku":"9798233169700","price":1044.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798233169700.webp?v=1777995077","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/23-days-9798233169700","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}