“Exceptional. Captures the spirit of Band of Brothers and the classic humor of Catch-22. A Netflix-ready Vietnam War memoir, Lucked Out is also damn funny.”
— Rob MacGregor, New York Times best-selling author, Indiana Jones series
"Armed with enough colorful metaphors to give Raymond Chandler a run for his money. A journey readers won’t forget. An unvarnished snapshot of war. "
—Kirkus
"Book clubs will want it at the top of their reading lists. Highly recommended."
—Midwest Book Review
LUCKY CHARM?
Any war is a mix of patriotism, brotherhood, and a whole lot of luck. This is the incredible, oftentimes hilarious story of Pat Moffett, a very lucky twenty-year old, a self-admitted street-smart wise-ass kid from Brooklyn who joined the United States Army’s famed 101st Airborne Division, and was shipped 8,000 miles away to the bloody war in Vietnam—and somehow, despite one misadventure after another, lived to tell this tale.
Shortly after touching down in 'Nam, Private Pat Moffett realized if he was to survive the madhouse of war, he'd better make the best of it. With a bit of Irish luck and gift of blarney, Pat’s true-life wartime capers in Vietnam began with a vengeance as he ran secret personal missions for army brass—and found himself embroiled with currency schemes, the black market, impersonating officers, hijacking a helicopter to get pizza, dating bar girls, cutting deals, dodging bullets, picking shrapnel out of his butt, skirting police, getting dragged into street fights, being stalked by tigers, rescuing orphans, and going from being nearly arrested to getting a Bronze Star.
But if not for a fateful typographical error, Pat would have been assigned to a platoon that got entirely wiped out in a jungle massacre. For Pat it was a lucky stroke, one that changed his life for good and became a reminder of just how lucky he was during those fourteen months in ’Nam.
Lucked Out is Pat Moffett’s brilliant, irreverent firsthand account of his tour in Vietnam that ranges from the outrageous to the mind-bending, packed with action, but truly, in the end, is an embrace of all those with whom he was lucky enough to have served.
“Wicked, dark humor that reminded me of the brilliant TV series M*A*S*H.”
— Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff, New York Times best-selling author
“Your next must-read that has it all: the irreverence of Jarhead, the comedic antics of Stripes, the zany escapades in Kelly’s Heroes and Good Morning, Vietnam, [and] the satirical edge of Animal House.”
— David Niall Wilson, USA Today best-selling author
"Insanely funny . . . a gifted story-teller who pulls no punches. A terrific book."
—Patrick Hemstreet, Critically-acclaimed author, US Navy special-warfare-trained medic
Scroll up now and grab your copy of what one soldier calls "Brilliant, shocking, hilarious. A great book."
Ice Cream in the Cupboard
Pat Moffett married Carmen in 1976 and moved to Great Neck Long Island where they raised their five children together. In 1998, Pat was recognized as Long Island's International Executive of the Year. That same year, Carmen was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's.
After years of struggling with the disease, Carmen was finally admitted to a nursing home. It was then that Pat decided to write a book based on his and Carmen's love story and its tragic turn after she was diagnosed, the internationally acclaimed ICE CREAM IN THE CUPBOARD (ICIC).
After Carmen's death in 2010, Pat continued to work with the Alzheimer's Association and Carmen's doctor, Gisele Wolf-Klein, raising awareness and providing support for the caregivers and loved ones of Early-Onset Alzhimer's victims. In 2012, he received the Tikkun Olam Award (Translation: Repairer of Lives) from the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center. In 2014, he was recognized by the Alzheimer's Association as Humanitarian of the Year. Pat's dream is to honor Carmen and to provide hope and comfort to as many people as possible who have been affected by Alzheimer's. He brought his book to the big screen with the purpose of helping even more families understand this devastating illness.
PAT FACTS
Pat Moffett served as Vice President, Global Logistics & Customs Compliance at VOXX International Corp from 1980 to 2017. He began his career in the Bill of Lading department for an ocean cargo carrier at just 17 years old.
LITERARY AND FILM WORKS
Ice Cream in the Cupboard
It started with strange behavior—a hostile outburst here, a peculiar lapse of memory there. Then it became violent. The beautiful, vivacious Carmen Moffett was behaving in ways her husband Pat could not understand. Their marriage had been a long love affair. Together, they raised five beautiful children and were looking forward to planning their retirement together. Then came the outbursts, both verbal and physical, and the forgetting. Confused and increasingly nervous, Pat consulted doctors, but no one could find anything physically wrong with Carmen. Worse yet, she could not remember doing the things that rattled Pat. Finally, several years later, incidents at Carmen's workplace forced her to another doctor, who diagnosed the devastating illness. As she slipped away, Carmen reached out for Pat. He was the one she could remember, even if she did not always know exactly who he was. With remarkable grace and an incredibly strong will, Carmen accepted that she was fading.
Now available as an Audiobook!
"
WHAT IS EARLY-ONSET ALZHEIMER'S?
Early-onset Alzheimer's is an uncommon form of dementia that strikes people younger than age 65. Of all the people who have Alzheimer's disease, about 5 percent develop symptoms before age 65. So if 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's, at least 200,000 people have the early-onset form of the disease.
Affiliations & Awards
-
Spotlight Caregiver Advocate—Long Island Alz & Dementia Center, 2021
-
Person of the Year—Nassau County Deputy Sheriffs Association, 2017
-
Humanitarian of the Year—Alzheimer's Association, 2014
-
Man of the Year—U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Columbia Association, 2012
-
Top 20 Logistics Executives in the United States, 2002
-
Chairman & Founder, Long Island Import-Export Association
Fortunate
Soldier
Fortunate
Soldier
Pat Moffett is the author of the critically acclaimed book Fortunate Soldier, about his service during the Vietnam War. He is a lifetime member of the Vietnam Veterans of America.
Vist the World of The Fortunate Soldier
This is an interactive site please turn on
your speakers!
INTERVIEWS WITH PAT
© 2017-2025 Pat Moffett