In the Shadows of Vietnam: The Gallant Life of Fr. Philip Salois

In 1970, a young infantryman's platoon encountered an ambush in the jungles of Vietnam. Six members of his unit were trapped behind enemy lines, facing certain death if they were not rescued. Specialist 4 Philip Salois and a fellow grunt were determined to rescue their six comrades. Phil asked God to protect him and see him through this ordeal unharmed in return for a promise to do anything God wanted of him afterwards, not an uncommon promise from many men about to do battle.

Four years later, while attending a Catholic seminary in California, this Rhode Island native heard an inner voice reminding him of the promise he made, and what God had planned for him. Fourteen years after the ambush and rescue, Phil Salois in 1984 became Fr. Philip Salois, a Catholic priest about to embark on a new mission. This time, the mission was to rescue veterans who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) caused by the horrors of their deployment in Vietnam.

Over nearly forty years, Fr. Phil brought spiritual healing to countless troubled veterans, from infantrymen to chaplains alike in his role as the Chief of Chaplains in the Boston VA Healthcare System, and in his numerous retreats and conferences all over the U.S.

This is the true story of the life of a gentle giant, a man who received the Silver Star for his meritorious acts of valor in Vietnam, and a man who has merited the highest distinction for his service to his fellow man, from veterans' organizations to religious and civic groups alike.

Fr. Phil fought long and hard to overcome his own PTSD, and he is still fighting for veterans to lift the weight from their troubled shoulders. He is one in a million!