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In this unique memoir, readers spend one year in the life of a Marine rifleman during the early part of the Vietnam War. From the book's beginning, readers discover a world unknown to most civilians: being separated from family by half the globe; a life of low pay; high, potentially life-threatening stakes. Also described are little-known operations such as Operation Golden Fleece, Operation Taut Bow, and Operation Wayne. As readers progress through the book, they trek along with the narrator through rice paddies where elephants have trod before them and encounter sniper fire in remote villages. One fact remains clear: "The bravery of the Marines was demonstrated as they continued to fight against superior odds." By the book's end, readers also see another side of the war as the author acknowledges, "I think now looking back we did not fight the enemy, we fought ourselves."
Those particularly interested in firsthand accounts of historical and military events will appreciate this book for its detail and its clarity. The memoir is also enhanced by the detailed maps and photographs that accompany the accounts. The book's structure is unique, beginning with a brief narrative that serves as the strategy, then progressing to more detailed recollections that form the sections "Assembly Area," "Staging Area," "The Four Phases of Offensive Combat," and "Long Trip Home." This format forms a swift, sweeping pace that leaves readers unable to leave the battlegrounds for too long and makes them feel part of the book's platoons. This vivid memoir is an honorable account that possesses the honesty and vulnerability of books like Dispatches and What It Is Like to Go to War. Readers curious about what it was really like to be a soldier during the Vietnam War might enjoy this book.