Collaborated with Vietnam War Veteran Infantry Platoon Leader John S. Tomko Jr. on his Autobiography, available for purchase on sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I designed the book cover for Infantry Platoon Leader John S. Tomko Jr.’s Autobiography, “19 Miles: Cambodia 1970 and Other Stories.” It covers the Sanctuary Offensive campaign that took place between May 1 and June 30, 1970, intending to cut enemy lines of communication, seizing the sanctuary areas and capturing the shadowy COSVN (Central Office of South Vietnam). It is available for purchase on sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

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Tomko asked for the design to incorporate the 199th Brigade patch, 12th Infantry Regiment patch, the Combat Infantry Badge, and to connect them with the bamboo jungle of Cambodia and South Vietnam. Additionally, he supplied a prior design he wished to work from. The "19 Miles" from the title references the total distance United States forces were allowed to enter into Cambodia and were ordered to leave by June 30th, 1970, as directed by then President Richard Nixon.

For my interpretation of the design I separated the images within boxes to create the sense of multiple events, similar to the "and Other Stories" that the title references. I placed the patches and badge at the top to better replicate the scale of each in relation to each other and give them their own space. To fill the space beneath the badge, I included helicopters reflective of the Huey, a main feature of the war and main means of transportation and re-supply - Tomko really liked this inclusion. Instead of alluding to bamboo through only color, I used a forest of bamboo that also visually points to the title and sat the title within a "rocker patch" reminiscent of the ones worn by the 75th Ranger Regiment. To further tip the viewer towards Vietnam, the patch includes the colors of the Vietnam service medal stripes.

Once the design was approved by Tomko, the publisher added the back description as seen on the online listings.
 

Graphic Design, Digital Illustration

2022