COLD WAR KEY WEST: Red-Alert Paradise.
The Florida Keys conjures images of Hemingway and Margaritaville, but it was also the closest point to our Cold War enemies. Nineteen-year-olds were entrusted with defending against air attacks from Cuba. Historian Marc Leepson discusses Key West’s military installations at the height of the Vietnam Conflict and the Cold War, and describes what it was like to be on active duty on the beach while the Vietnam War raged on the other side of the world. [on the cover]

EXOTIC PARASITES: Parasites from War Zones. Many service members returned from Vietnam with parasites. These veterans didn’t know they had them and—at least then—the parasites gave no indication of their presence. Now, forty years later, these veterans are sick. They don’t know why, and their doctors—who often know little about tropical Asian parasites—don’t know why.

A SITUATION ON KNIFE’S EDGE: The West Los Angeles VA Controversy Continues. Originally deeded to the government in 1888 to be “permanently maintained as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers,” the 338-acre property is surrounded by very wealthy Los Angeles communities whose residents envision uses having nothing to do with veterans. In a recent ruling, however, the courts sided with veterans. Journalist Paul Rogers presents an update on challenges to that ruling.