Gloucester author Michael J. Hebert has won several national awards for his first non-fiction book, “Ever Vigilant: Tales of the Vietnam War.”

The book came in first place out of 700 other works and won the 2022 Best Book of the Year Award from PenCraft Books. In August, it received a Silver Medal Award from the Military Writers Society of America at the 2022 book awards ceremony held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Other recent awards include winning author for memoir in the 2022 International Impact Book Awards, finalist in the American Writing Awards, and Notable Top 100 in the Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards.

In “Ever Vigilant,” the author, a former gunboat captain, shares vivid memories of his 1969-70 experience as a U.S. Army patrol boat operator in Vung Ro Bay, Vietnam.

The 322-page paperback book, published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, is an introduction to a young man’s journey and coming of age in a war zone, and is available for purchase on amazon....