Vietnam Soldier

The poignant story of one platoon of soldiers in the Vietnam War as told by their young lieutenant who led them for one year in the jungles and mountains around Hue City, South Vietnam. It puts to rest the idea that Vietnam soldiers were some kind of monsters or "Baby Killers", but rather they were young men thrown together in a terrible war, who attempted to do the very best they could in some rather bad conditions. He describes his young soldiers in individual chapters exposing their individual personalities and shows that they were a true cross section of America because of the draft that conscripted them into the army of the time. They were young men that did not evade the draft when their country called. They may not have agreed with the cause, but they answered the call of their country. They were true patriots. The book is not so much a war story as it is a timeline of personalities who served in just one platoon for one year in Vietnam. Gary contends that his platoon was not unlike a lot of platoons that served at the time with young draftee soldiers thrown together in the hopeless cause that The Vietnam War became because of the Political decisions of the time. He feels that the Vietnam Veteran was poorly treated during the Vietnam war years and is to this day not understood by many in the country in which they answered the call to duty when selected.