Back by popular demand, Jack Carr, former Navy SEAL and author of The Terminal List came to the Nixon Library to talk about his new release, Cry Havoc, a thriller that brings the worlds of special operations and CIA paramilitary units into direct collision in the jungles of Vietnam.
Carr was joined in conversation by Tony Cordero, a Gold Star Son and founder of Sons and Daughters in Touch, a national organization supporting the children of those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.
Their discussion explored Carr’s meticulous research, writing process, and the real-life inspirations behind his work. “The book [Cry Havoc] is incredibly factual where it needs to be,” Cordero noted. “The research and the specifics are so precise.”
Set in 1968, the bloodiest year of the Vietnam War, the story resonates differently for those who lived through that era versus those who know it only through history books. Though fictional, Cry Havoc draws deeply from real events and historical figures, even weaving in the 1968 presidential campaign and Richard Nixon’s efforts to bring an honorable end to the war.
More than fifty years after the war’s end, their conversation underscored why this history still matters and the enduring lessons it continues to offer today.
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