Vietnam Vet Claims Publishers Rejected War Memoir for Four Years Until He Removed All Profanity

Johnny Clark says his Vietnam memoir Guns Up was rejected by every major publisher for over four years. After removing all profanity from the manuscript due to religious conviction, three magazines simultaneously called to publish excerpts from the four-year-old submission, followed by nine publishers offering contracts within a month. Random House editor Pam Strickler, who had previously rejected the book, purchased it but asked Clark to add profanity back in because no one would believe a Vietnam War book without it. Clark refused and the book has remained in print for 42 years, now on the Marine Corps Commandant's reading list.