Best-selling author Walter “Butch” Maki is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who went on to become a senior advisor on a U.S. presidential campaign, a successful entrepreneur, and a family man. Covid isolation offered him the focus to give voice to his PTSD battles and write his debut novel, Bikini Beach (May 2023), where he reveals “how love, understanding, and friendship are the special forces that get his main character, Mack, through the Vietnam War and civilian life that followed it.” You’ll find Butch on his website BikiniBeach.info and his Amazon author page.
Butch, please tell us a little about your novel Bikini Beach.
Bikini Beach, a first-person account, is based on actual events. The story is about Donald Makinen, or “Mack,” a soldier in Vietnam in his early twenties and his fifteen-year battle with PTSD upon his return home.
Tell us about your main character Mack Mackinen. What is his most endearing quality and his greatest flaw?
Macks greatest quality is his devotion to duty while not believing in the war. His greatest flaw would be his PTSD.
Describe the main setting in your story and what the day-to-day activities were like for the servicemen and women.
In Vietnam it was mostly helicopter missions with ASS and Trash missions. Ass being hauling men and trash cargo; an aircrew in Vietnam which involves hours and hours of boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.
Did you have any opinions about U.S. involvement in Vietnam at the time that colored the telling of this story?
Yes, I saw the Vietnam War as a total waste of resources and men. The country’s leaders were corrupt, and the population was uneducated and too rural to worry about anything but caring for their family.
What prompted you to write Bikini Beach?
I was quarantined during COVID and driving my wife crazy. She suggested I write the book about Vietnam, which I had toyed with for years. I worked six to ten hours a day, five days a week to complete the work.
As a combat veteran, did you struggle with any part of putting this story together, and if so, can you tell readers what you did to move past it?
I did in parts of the story, but I worked through it with all the blessing I had.
Were there any surprising moments while writing your novel? Something you had forgotten or hadn’t realized previously that ultimately ended up in your novel?
I called friends who I served with to review or remember all the situations.
What was the biggest challenge you experienced during the war?
Getting back to flying after a crash or the helicopter got shot up and barely made it back to base.
Were there any lessons you learned that you’ve carried throughout your life?
I offered another crew chief $100 to swap places with me on a mission. If he agreed, I’d take his safe command and control ship while he flew the combat assault. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t take the deal, but I had to make the offer. That day, his helicopter crashed, and he died in the wreckage. It taught me a hard lesson: never assume someone else has it easier than you do.
What do you hope readers will take away from Bikini Beach?
The dedication by the soldiers and the real problems with PTSD for returning soldiers.
Who are some of your favorite authors, and how have they influenced your writing?
My favorite author, Joe Badal, gave me invaluable advice. He told me I had a great story but encouraged me to turn it into a novel. He said that would give me the space to add more depth and color to the narrative.
Su Lierz writes dark fiction, short story fiction, and personal essays. Her short story “Twelve Days in April,” written under the pen name Laney Payne, appeared in the 2018 SouthWest Writers Sage Anthology. Su was a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Albuquerque Museum Authors Festival Writing Contest. She lives in Corrales, New Mexico, with her husband Dennis.
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