DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Ken Dula watches actors rehearse a play based on his life, reflecting on his experiences in Durham during the 1960s, when he was drafted to serve in the Vietnam War.

"I almost lost my life three times, but I had a praying mother I could lean on," said the U.S. Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient. "I often wondered, 'Would I make it? Would I ever make it back home?'"

Titled "Guns of Ava" , the play is based on a novel by Brenda Womble, a North Carolina Central University professor and the play's director. It tells Dula's story of serving in the military, leaving behind the love of his life, and coping with the struggles of war during the height of the civil rights movement.

"I want to tell the story from a Black man's perspective because we don't often hear

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