My Summer Vacation on the Cambodian Border

My Summer Vacation on the Cambodian Border is a memoir of the unlikely and extraordinary boyhood year of Desmond Cormier who lived in Saigon with his family during the escalation of the Vietnam war. From exotic excursions through the streets and markets of Old Saigon, to the dangerous and thrilling summer visits to the provinces along the Cambodian border, Cormier recalls this most memorable year of his life with straightforward clarity and delicately details the unfolding loss of a boyhood innocence, and its unusually rapid transitions towards adulthood, accelerated by the many life changing events, both in the Vietnamese country, and within Cormier's family.

Desmond Cormier was born in New Jersey and spent his childhood and teenage years traveling the world with his family. After graduating from the University of Virginia he worked as a deep-sea diver and Sub Sea Engineer on offshore drilling rigs. He later became an art teacher and taught for 26 years in the Charlottesville City Schools. He is now retired and living with his wife on their farm in Virginia.